... Beschuldigungen gegen Iran, Versagen der Saudis, wachsende Spannungen am Golf – und mehr
Sep. 21, 2019: The Yemen war: The end of Saudi Arabia? – Who are South Yemen’s separatists? – After Houthi raids against Saudi oil facilities: Blames against Iran, Saudi failure, mounting tensions at the Gulf – 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
cp1c1 Am wichtigsten: Huthi-Angriff auf saudische Ölanlagen: Deutsch / Most important: Houthi air raid at Saudi oil facilities: German
cp1c2 Am wichtigsten: Huthi-Angriff auf saudische Ölanlagen: Englisch / Most important: Houthi air raid at Saudi oil facilities: English
cp2 Allgemein / General
cp2a Allgemein: Saudische Blockade / General: Saudi blockade
cp3 Humanitäre Lage / Humanitarian situation
cp4 Flüchtlinge / Refugees
cp5 Nordjemen und Huthis / Northern Yemen and Houthis
cp6 Südjemen: Separatisten und Hadi-Regierung / Southern Yemen: Separatists and Hadi government
cp7 UNO und Friedensgespräche / UN and peace talks
cp8 Saudi-Arabien / Saudi Arabia
cp8a Jamal Khashoggi
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
cp13 Waffenhandel / Arms Trade
cp14 Terrorismus / Terrorism
cp15 Propaganda
cp16 Saudische Luftangriffe / Saudi air raids
cp17 Kriegsereignisse / Theater of War
cp18 Sonstiges / Other
Klassifizierung / Classification
***
**
*
(Kein Stern / No star)
? = Keine Einschatzung / No rating
A = Aktuell / Current news
B = Hintergrund / Background
C = Chronik / Chronicle
D = Details
E = Wirtschaft / Economy
H = Humanitäre Fragen / Humanitarian questions
K = Krieg / War
P = Politik / Politics
pH = Pro-Houthi
pS = Pro-Saudi
T = Terrorismus / Terrorism
Für wen das Thema ganz neu ist / Who is new to the subject
Einführende Artikel u. Überblicke für alle, die mit den Ereignissen im Jemen noch nicht vertraut sind, hier:
Yemen War: Introductory articles, overviews, for those who are still unfamiliar with the Yemen war here:
https://www.freitag.de/autoren/dklose/jemenkrieg-einfuehrende-artikel-u-ueberblicke
Neue Artikel / New articles
(* B H K)
Film: Yemen, a forgotten war with 70,000 dead and today's worst famine
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PAsEv5fmv1Y
cp1 Am wichtigsten / Most important
(** B K P)
Will The Yemen War Be The End Of Saudi Arabia?
The attack on Saudi Arabia’s major oil processing station in Abqaiq over the weekend was a major turning point in global politics. It may be even bigger than many of us realize.
While forces within U.S. political circles, Israel and Saudi Arabia keep trying to shift the blame to Iran, the most likely scenario is that the Houthis in North Yemen were responsible for the attack as a follow up to last month’s hit which showed off the capabilities of their new drones.
That attack set the stage for the latest one in a classic case of the past being prologue. By showing the world it was capable of throwing drones anywhere in Saudi Arabia rebels in Yemen created plausibility for last weekend’s attack.
And as I said the other day this attack begs a lot of questions. And the ham-fisted push to blame Iran for it, after President Trump all but ruled out a military response from the U.S. from all corners of the U.S. and Saudi establishment opens up even more.
If this was a swarm attack from Iraq and Iran, as claimed now (and supported by factless conjecture) then how did all the vaunted U.S. technology fail to account for it?
U.S. Naval CENTCOM is in Bahrain folks. Are these people blind as well as incompetent?
No. I don’t think they are. Say what you want about U.S. political leadership and the nigh-treasonous bureaucracy supporting it, I don’t think our military is that fundamentally corrupt, lazy or stupid.
What are we spending all of the money on, after all?
By continuing to spin this attack up as Iranian in origin people like Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and the Saudi Arabian government are throwing the Pentagon under the bus.
The truth is that by trying to re-frame this as an attack by Iraqi Shi’ite militias, the Popular Mobilization Units (PMU), in conjunction with the IRGC, we are trying to further separate them from the Iraqi government who still openly support them and deflect against Saudi Arabia’s inherent weakness.
The PMUs have been our target politically in Iraq for months now so as to restart the chaos in Iraq.
Think back to the drone incident in June which nearly landed us in a war with Iran. The story morphed and changed with each day. The Iranians had the data, the proof, on their side and they let morons like Pompeo say provably false things before releasing it.
“Drip Drip Drip” is the strategy, as Andrew Breitbart used to call it. Drip out some information and allow your target to lie about it. Then drip out the next bit exposing that lie. And so on, and so on.
That’s what Iran did in June, humiliating Trump at every turn. And I’m sure if they weren’t behind this attack they will do the same thing in the coming days.
And I also think the U.S knows this as well. And that’s why nothing much more will come of it. It will be used diplomatically to tie Trump’s hands and front a lie to conceal more important truths.
And this brings me to the stark possibility Pepe Escobar laid out in his recent column. The Houthis may, right now, be in a position to launch an all-out attack from Yemen on Saudi Arabia and destabilize the country.
An uprising in the east has always been on the table. It’s why the Saudis need $80+ per barrel oil. They have to pay for social programs that keep the population relatively happy.
From every side now, the Saudi Kingdom is under existential threat. So, I’m not surprised they are trying to push the blame for this incident onto Iran.
The quick announcement by newly-minted Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman that Aramco’s production will be back to normal quickly was done to reassure potential investors in the upcoming Aramco IPO, a $400 billion affair. It is the lynchpin to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s (MbS) Vision 2030 plan for modernizing the kingdom’s economy.
That fits with the desire to deflect the source of the attack away from their war in Yemen. Because, as bad as the optics are for the U.S. military, they are far worse for the Saudis if the Houthis are truly the culprits.
At a minimum the changing of the energy minister was a signal that a shift in Saudi policy is forthcoming. But without suing for peace soon MbS may not have time he thought he did.
Because there is no appetite for all out war with Iran in the U.S. The Saudis are no longer the ‘good Arabs’ to most Americans.
The military doesn’t want to put the soldiers at risk, Wall St. doesn’t want to see a financial collapse that makes Lehman Bros. look like a couple of Amish kids on rumspringa.
War with Iran will not be conventional. It will come from all sides, all across the Shia Crescent, but especially Yemen. Of this the Iranians have been very clear, regardless of the outcome. They believe their missile technology is superior to U.S. air defense systems
So, MbS better come to the conclusion quick that a settlement in Yemen is the key to his near-term survival.
And while an all-out war would certainly bring $150+ per barrel oil which the Saudis need to balance their budget, they most likely wouldn’t be the ones selling into that market – by Tom Luongo
https://tomluongo.me/2019/09/19/will-the-yemen-war-be-the-end-of-saudi-arabia/ = https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/luongo-will-yemen-war-be-end-saudi-arabia = https://www.lewrockwell.com/2019/09/thomas-luongo/will-the-yemen-war-be-the-end-of-saudi-arabia/ = https://www.globalresearch.ca/will-yemen-war-end-saudi-arabia/5689754
(** B K P)
Who are south Yemen's separatists?
The Southern Transitional Council, backed by United Arab Emirates, is leading the separatist cause in Aden.
The separatist fighters in Aden are loyal to the Southern Transitional Council (STC), a political body established in Aden in 2017 that wants to restore independence in the south.
The capture of Aden by secessionists has shifted the centre of the Yemen war to the south and brought renewed focus to the country's decades-old southern question.
"The STC wants to have authority over the territories they operate in," said Sama'a al-Hamdani, an independent Yemen analyst and non-resident scholar at the Middle East Institute.
"This could potentially mean sharing power with the government temporarily before asking for a referendum on secession," she continued.
"They also want to be recognised internationally for their role in supporting the coalition and the Yemeni government throughout the war."
The STC was behaving akin to what Topham called a "government-in-waiting in the south with state-like characteristics and a would-be parliament, the National Assembly".
UAE role in south Yemen
Since 2016, the United Arab Emirates has provided military and financial backing to the Security Belt, a now STC-dominated paramilitary group comprised of some 90,000 Yemeni fighters.
In 2015, the coalition relied on the Security Belt to secure territories in the south and reinstate the government in Aden, with Hadi's forces regaining full control of the city in July.
Human Rights Watch in 2017 alleged the militia had carried out abuses, including arbitrarily detaining people and forcibly disappearing dozens.
"The STC was considered part of the [Saudi-UAE-led] coalition and a key partner to Hadi's government," al-Hamdani said.
Yet the fighting between the UAE-backed Security Belt and government forces supported by Saudi Arabia has exposed divisions between the coalition's two key leaders.
To curry favour with the international community, Topham said the STC has been "claiming continued support for the Hadi government in public statements, while simultaneously embarking on an international lobbying offensive for its separatist cause".
But there are fears the UAE is using the southern separatist sentiment for its own geopolitical interests, especially given the fact the south is rich in natural resources.
"The UAE has economic priority in south Yemen," Afrah Nasser, an independent Yemeni journalist and analyst, told Al Jazeera. "Their aspirations in the south has to do with their investment interests."
Cracks in a unified Yemen
While secessionist sentiment in the south has been fuelled by recent political developments, it is rooted in its past.
Southern Movement
In 2007, the ongoing political and economic marginalisation in the south led to the formation of the Southern Movement, or al-Hirak al-Janoubi.
Until 2011, the movement staged regular protests calling for the return of the South Yemen republic that attracted crowds of thousands.
The government response to these rallies was brutal.
What next?
Outside of Aden, smaller separatist movements in other southern provinces do not back the STC's vision of re-establishing the South Yemen republic through the use of force, with the STC unlikely to easily traverse the fragmentation of allegiances within the south.
"All of the United Nations Security Council handling of the Yemen conflict has consistently affirmed the Hadi government's legitimacy and Yemen's territorial integrity as its legal basis," Topham said.
Furthermore, the STC is "not the only group to claim the mantle of the southern independence cause", she added, referring to other rival separatist groups with ambitions of representation.
According to Nasser, about 25 other separatist groups exist in the south.
"They are all for independence but have different visions on how to achieve that so in that sense are much more polarised," she said – by Linah Alsaafin
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/09/south-yemen-separatists-190919074008631.html
cp1a Am wichtigsten: Seuchen / Most important: Epidemics
(* B H)
Epidemics of infectious diseases have been spreading fast as a result of the lack of healthcare in Lahj governorate. The Radfan Public Hospital received about 300 cases of cholera and dengue fever during the last two months.
https://twitter.com/BelqeesRights/status/1175144903912886272
(* B H)
36 Deaths of Cholera since the Beginning of 2019 in Al-Mahweet
The Health office in Al-Mahweet Governorate confirmed the death of 36 cases of cholera since the beginning of January until 16 September. A report issued by the health office in the governorate recorded 29 thousand and 625 cases of epidemic in various districts of the province and 813 suspects cases outside the province.
https://english.almasirah.net/details.php?es_id=8877
cp1b Am wichtigsten: Kampf um Hodeidah / Most important: Hodeidah battle
(* A K)
Saudische Angriffe im Jemen
Knapp eine Woche nach der Attacke auf saudische Ölanlagen hat Riads Militärkoalition Angriffe auf die Huthi-Rebellen im Jemen geflogen. Ziel war eine Seeminenfabrik nahe der Hafenstadt Hodeida.
Die von Saudi-Arabien angeführte Militärkoalition hat mehrere Ziele der Huthi-Rebellen im Nachbarland Jemen angegriffen. Dabei seien mehrere Produktionsstätten von Seeminen und ferngesteuerten Booten zerstört worden, meldete die staatliche saudische Agentur SPA.
Zuvor hatten die Streitkräfte nach eigenen Angaben einen Angriff der Huthis mit einem ferngesteuerten Sprengstoffboot vereitelt. Das Boot sei im Süden des Roten Meers entdeckt und zerstört worden, hieß es. Es sei von Hodeida aus gelenkt worden. Das Ziel des Sprengstoffboots war unbekannt.
https://www.tagesschau.de/ausland/jemen-krieg-107.html
(A K P)
Saudis threaten UN-brokered truce in strike near Yemeni port city
“This attack seems symbolic and packaged for a domestic audience,” said Peter Salisbury, Senior Analyst at Crisis Group. “The Saudis likely felt the need to demonstrate their willingness to respond to Houthi cross-border attacks. They’ve struck this site before which raises questions about the utility of such a strike expect for show.”
“Yemen, in the eyes of some in the Riyadh and elsewhere, represents the low-hanging fruit in terms of demonstrating a willingness to retaliate against Iran,” he added.
My comment: And a lot of space for pro-Saudi propaganda by F. Alasrar.
(A K pH)
US-Saudi Aggression Violates Stockholm Agreement, Launches 4 Raids on Hodeidah
US-Saudi aerial aggression launched four raids on Friday in Hodeidah province, in clear violation of the Stockholm Agreement.
According to Almasirah correspondent in the province, the aerial aggression launched 4 raids on Al-Jabanah area in Al-Haly district, amid continuous overflights.
He added that the forces of aggression bombed towards 7-Yolio area.
On Thursday, the forces of aggression targeted, with various machine guns, houses and property of citizens in the besieged city of Ad-Durayhimi, while a military bulldozer of the aggression developed fortifications east of Al-Sha’ab city.
https://english.almasirah.net/details.php?es_id=8882
(A K P)
[Sanaa] Government Spokesman: Aggression Declaration of Military Operation in Hodeidah, Detention of Ships Violate Stockholm Agreement
The announcement of the aggression countries for a military operation in Hodeidah is a clear violation of the Stockholm Agreement, officially renounced it and clear escape from any entailed consequences, Spokesman of the National Salvation Government Daifallah Al-Shami said on Friday.
And also https://english.almasirah.net/details.php?es_id=8885
and
(A K P)
Abdulsalam Warns of Stockholm Agreement Collapse After US-Saudi Aggression’s Raids on Hodeidah
“Intensive raids on Hodeidah in a dangerous escalation that would torpedo the Stockholm Agreement, the coalition of aggression have to bear the consequences of this escalation,”
https://english.almasirah.net/details.php?es_id=8884
(* A K pS)
Coalition's JFC for Support of Legitimacy in Yemen: Qualitative Operation North of Hodeidah Targeting Iranian-Backed Terrorist Al-Houthi Militia's Locations of Assembling, Booby-Trapping Remote-Controlled Boats and Sea Mines
The spokesman of the Joint Forces Command (JFC) of the Coalition for the Support of Legitimacy in Yemen, Colonel Turki Al-Malki stated that following the statement issued by JFC of Coalition on Thursday (Sep 18, 2019) regarding the interception and destruction of a remote-controlled booby-trapped boat, the Coalition's Joint Forces carried out in north of Hodeidah a qualitative operation at dawn today targeting Al-Houthi terrorist militia's hostile targets that pose a threat to regional and international security.
He explained that the destroyed targets included (4) sites for the assembling and booby-trapping of remote-controlled boats as well as naval mines. These sites are used to carry out hostilities and terrorist operations that threaten maritime shipping lanes and routes and international trade in Bab Al-Mandab Strait and the southern Red Sea.
Colonel Al-Malki further said that Al-Houthi terrorist militia is taking the governorate of Hodeidah as headquarters for launching ballistic missiles, drones, booby-trapped and remote-controlled boats, as well as indiscriminately deploying naval mines, in a clear violation of international humanitarian law and in violation of the provisions of Stockholm Agreement and the ceasefire agreement in Hodeidah.
He stressed that the Coalition's Joint Forces Command has the legitimate right to take and implement appropriate deterrence measures to deal with these legitimate military goals.
https://www.spa.gov.sa/viewfullstory.php?lang=en&newsid=1971533
My comment: Nice pretense story to justify military action. The meain threat to shipping in the Bab al-Mandeb is Saudi warships pounding the Yemeni coast line.
Comment: #Saudi-led coalition torpedoes Sweden agreement by announcing of the start of a military operation north of #Hodeidah.
https://www.facebook.com/LivingInYemenOnTheEdge/photos/a.963391330380564/2496636637056018
and
(* A K)
Saudi-led coalition launches military operation north of Hodeidah in Yemen
The coalition had called on civilians to stay away from the targeted sites and asserted that the military operation was conducted in a way that follows international humanitarian law and that it took the necessary precautionary measures.
“We had forgotten the raids and fear and slept for months in peace. ... But tonight the sounds of explosions and planes frighten us as they continue to fly across the city’s skies,” resident Mohammed Abdullah told Reuters.
(* A K pS)
Coalition to Restore Legitimacy in Yemen: Interception and destruction of remote-controlled booby-trapped boat launched by Iranian-affiliated Houthi terrorist militia from Hudaydah
Official Spokesman of the Coalition to Restore Legitimacy in Yemen Colonel Turki Al-Malki stated that the coalition's naval arm detected on Thursday's morning ( September 19, 2019) an attempt from Iran-affiliated Houthi terrorist militias to carry out an imminent hostile and terrorist act in the south of Red Sea by using a remote-controlled booby-trapped boat. The Houthi terrorist militias launched this boat from Hudaydah governorate.
Colonel Al-Malki announced a destruction of the boat which represents a threat to regional and international security as well as to maritime routes and global trade.
https://www.spa.gov.sa/viewfullstory.php?lang=en&newsid=1971439
(A NK pS)
Two children were wounded after #Houthi group opened fire on their family while they are on their way to al-Shuaila village in Hayes district, south of #Hodeida governorate (photo)
https://twitter.com/BelqeesRights/status/1174690982899699713
(A K pH)
SEVERAL SHELLS TARGET RESIDENTIAL AREAS IN HODEIDAH
According to the source, the aggression’s mercenaries bombed different parts of Ad Durayhimi District using heavy machine gun, causing damages to civilians’ properties.
https://www.yemenpress.org/yemen/several-shells-target-residential-areas-in-hodeidah/
(A K pS)
[Hadi government army] Spokesman: Government’s forces will fight back in Hodeida
https://www.alsahwa-yemen.net/en/p-33224
(A K pS)
Army defeats Houthis’ infiltration attempt south of Hodeidah
http://en.26sepnews.net/2019/09/19/army-defeats-houthis-infiltration-attempt-south-of-hodeidah/
(A K pS)
Two women uncovered a minefield Houthi south of Hodeidah
Two women on the Yemeni west coast, south of Hodeidah, uncovered a joint minefield planted by Houthi coup militia.The rains removed dust from part of the explosive objects, leaving engineering teams to clear and clear the site (photos)
and
(A K pS)
Army engineering teams dismantles minefield planted by Houthi militia in Hodeidah
(A K pH)
In Hodeidah, US-Saudi forces targeted civilians' houses and properties with several machine-guns in Ad-durayhimi district. US-Saudi mercenaries fired shells on Engineering college and 7th-July residential neighborhood in Al-Halee district.
https://english.almasirah.net/details.php?es_id=8871
(A K pS)
Army engineering teams dismantles minefield planted by Houthi militia in Hodeidah
(A K pH)
A security source confirmed to the Yemeni News Agency (SABA) that a citizen was shot and houses were severely damaged by artillery and Katyusha rockets in al-Jah area in Beit al-Faqih district in Hodeidah province
The source pointed out that a military bulldozer of the forces of aggression has continued to develop fortifications in the desert north of the Faculty of Engineering.
The aggression forces have targeted villages with heavy and medium machine guns in the Kilo 16 district of Beit al-Faqih district, and shelled the villages in al-Duraihimi with more than 17 mortar shells.
https://www.uprising.today/saudi-led-invaders-launch-series-of-bombings-across-yemen/
cp1c1 Am wichtigsten: Huthi-Angriff auf saudische Ölanlagen: Deutsch / Most important: Houthi air raid at Saudi oil facilities: German
(* A B K P)
Zwischen den USA und dem Iran wird der Ton rauer: Nach den Drohnenangriffen auf die größte Ölraffinerie Saudi-Arabiens ist die Lage erneut extrem angespannt. Saudi-Arabien und die USA machen den Iran verantwortlich. Es steht eine militärische Konfrontation im Raum. Die weiteren Entwicklungen im News-Ticker.
(* B K P)
Film: Drohnenangriff in Saudi-Arabien: Schaltgespräch mit Michael Lüders am 16.09.19
Im Schaltgespräch spricht phoenix-Moderatorin Sara Bildau am 16.09.19 mit Michael Lüders (Sicherheits- und Nahostexperte) über den Drohnenangriff in Saudi-Arabien und die Lage im Jemen.
“Wer nun am Ende wirklich hinter diesem Angriff steht, das können wir heute nicht wirklich abschließend beurteilen. Theoretisch sind die Houthi-Rebellen dazu in der Lage, aber ob sie es wirklich waren, das muss man abwarten. Der Iran selber wird mit an Sicherheit grenzender Wahrscheinlichkeit nicht den Startschuss gegeben haben. Man kann der politischen Führung in Teheran vieles vorwerfen, aber gewiss nicht, dass sie dumm wäre. In dieser Situation einen solchen Angriff zu befehlen oder dahinter zu stehen, das wäre ja geradezu eine Einladung an die USA, Israel und Saudi-Arabien, den Iran anzugreifen.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5hdfRDyPGtQ
(* B K P)
WELT HINTERGRUND: Made in Jemen - so effizient sind die Billig-Drohnen der Huthis
Bereits seit längerem beobachten internationale Experten den Einsatz unbemannter Flugzeuge durch die Huthis. Im Gegensatz zu handelsüblichen Drohnen, die beispielsweise die Terrormiliz Islamischer Staat (IS) in Syrien und im Irak eingesetzt hatte, wurden in der Vergangenheit bei den Huthis vor allem Drohnen vom Typ «Kasef-1» festgestellt. Diese sind nach einem Bericht einer UN-Expertenkommission identisch mit Drohnen, die auch im Iran produziert werden. Dieser Drohnen-Typ hat eine Spannweite von rund drei Metern und kann mit einem 30 bis 45 Kilogramm schweren Sprengsatz bestückt werden. Die Reichweite beträgt rund 150 Kilometer. Im Juli dieses Jahres stellten die Huthis neue Drohnentypen der Öffentlichkeit vor. Experten gehen davon aus, dass diese eine Reichweite von bis zu 1000 Kilometern haben könnten.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AJ4wTbRpR-o
(* B K P)
Audio: Kriegsdrohungen gegen Iran – Interview mit Prof. Dr. Mohssen Massarrat
Nach den Angriffen auf zwei Ölraffinerien in Saudi-Arabien hat US-Präsident Trump mit einem Vergeltungsschlag gedroht. Während Außenminister Maas den Angriff verurteilt, fordert die CDU eine Wiederaufnahme der Rüstungsexporte nach Saudi-Arabien. Die Linke wirft Maas Zynismus vor. Ein Konfliktforscher warnt vor einem Flächenbrand.
https://soundcloud.com/sna-radio/kriegsdrohungen-gegen-iran-interview-mit-prof-dr-mohssen-massarrat
(* B K P)
Der diffuse Krieg
Um eine weitere Eskalation zu vermeiden, sollte Europa das tun, was es am besten kann: Diskret eingreifen.
Nein, es droht kein Krieg zwischen dem Iran und Saudi-Arabien. Dieser Krieg findet bereits statt.
Schlag und Gegenschlag waren, so paradox es klingt, besonnen. Eine Schlacht auf iranischem Boden ist weniger wahrscheinlich als in Europa befürchtet.
Nur: Der Schaden des Krieges, der schon tobt, ist dennoch enorm. Die Erleichterung über die zunächst ausbleibende Eskalation blendet.
Die US-Regierung hat gut daran getan, nach Samstag nicht sofort plump zu vergelten, mit Luftschlägen auf iranische Raffinerien etwa. Sie wägt inzwischen offenbar umsichtiger ab, wie der Führung des Iran beizukommen ist. In jedem Fall werden sich US-Militärs beeilen, die saudische Luftabwehr auf Vordermann zu bringen.
Aber auch die Europäer müssen schnell handeln, allen voran Deutschland und Frankreich. Waffenlieferungen, wie sie schnell gefordert wurden, sind da wenig hilfreich. Der saudischen Führung fehlt es offenbar nicht an Rüstung, sondern an Geschick. Damit kann Europa jetzt aushelfen. Und zwar an der Front der Diplomatie.
Die brandstifterische Regionalpolitik der saudischen Führung hat das Land am Samstag eingeholt. Das gilt es zu nutzen. So sollte die Bundesregierung dafür sorgen, dass die von Saudi-Arabien geforderte UN-Untersuchung zügig Ergebnisse bringt. Auch neue Maßnahmen gegen iranischen Waffenschmuggel sollte sie unterstützen. Und zugleich die geschwächten Saudis gerade jetzt unter Druck setzen, den Feldzug im Jemen zu beenden.
https://www.zeit.de/2019/39/saudi-arabien-drohnenangriffe-oelanlagen-iran-jemen
Mein Kommentar: Ein typischer Mainstreamartikel, der sich aufs erste Lesen ganz gut anhören mag, aber eine ganze Menge unterschwellige Propaganda unterschieben will.
(* B K P)
Film: Drohnenangriff in Saudi-Arabien: Einschätzungen von Marcel Pott (Nahost-Experte) am 17.09.19
Marcel Pott (Nahost-Experte) im Studiogespräch zu einem möglichen Militärschlag der USA nach den Drohnenangriffen auf eine Ölraffinerie in Saudi-Arabien.
[…] Saudi-Arabien hat Hunderte von Milliarden Dollar ausgegeben für seine Aufrüstung, und die Luftabwehr hat ja in diesem Fall eklatant versagt. Diese Frage muss auch erst einmal geklärt werden.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZlNmUnTj0KA
(A K P)
Film: Nach Angriff auf Ölraffinerie in Saudi-Arabien setzt Deutschland vorerst auf Deeskalation
Für US-Außenminister Mike Pompeo war der Urheber des Angriffs auf saudische Ölinstallationen schnell ausgemacht: der Iran soll es gewesen sein. Und während Präsident Trump mit Vergeltung droht, will sich die Bundesregierung (noch) nicht festlegen und fordert eine saubere Aufklärung.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QHDAQvuIB_A
cp1c2 Am wichtigsten: Huthi-Angriff auf saudische Ölanlagen: Englisch / Most important: Houthi air raid at Saudi oil facilities: English
(** B K P)
The Crisis Over The Attack On Saudi Oil Infrastructure Is Over - We Now Wait For the Next One
The crisis about the Yemeni drone and cruise missile attack on two Saudi oil installations is for now over.
The Saudis and the U.S. accuse Iran of being behind the “act of war” as Secretary of State Pompeo called it. The Saudis bomb Yemen with U.S. made bombs since 2015. One wonders how Pompeo is calling that.
The Yemeni forces aligned with the Houthi Ansarallah do not deny that their drones and cruise missiles are copies of Iranian designs. But they insist that they are built in Yemen and fired from there.
President Trump will not launch a military attack against Iran. Neither will the Saudis or anyone else. Iran has deterred them by explaining that any attack on Iran will be responded to by waging all out war against the U.S. and its ‘allies’ around the Persian Gulf.
Trump sent Pompeo to Saudi Arabia to hold hands with the Saudi gangster family who call themselves royals. Pompeo of course tried to sell them more weapons. On his flight back he had an uncharacteristically dovish Q & A with reporters.
The crisis is over and we are back to waiting for the next round. A few days or weeks from now we will see another attacks on oil assets on the western side of the Persian Gulf. Iran, with the help of its friends, can play this game again and again and it will do so until the U.S. gives up and lifts the sanctions against that country.
The Houthi will continue to attack the Saudis until they end their war on Yemen and pay reparations.
As long as no U.S. forces get killed the U.S. will not hit back because Trump wants to be reelected. An all out war around the Persian Gulf would drive energy prices into the stratosphere and slump the global economy. His voters would not like that.
Some diligent researchers have since found that there was a previously unknown Patriot air-defense unit in the area which was itself protected by several short range air-defense cannons [see second report below here]
But one Patriot system covers only 120° of the horizon. The attacking drones came from a western directions while Saudi Arabia’s enemies are to its east and south. The older Patriot 2 version the Saudis have is also not of much use against low flying drones and cruise missiles.
There is also the oddity that the Patriot unit’s radar system was shut off.
The explanation for that is likely rather trivial.
https://www.moonofalabama.org/2019/09/the-crisis-over-the-attack-on-saudi-oil-infrastructure-is-over-we-now-wait-for-the-next-one.html = https://www.lewrockwell.com/2019/09/no_author/the-crisis-over-the-attack-on-saudi-oil-infrastructure-is-over-we-now-wait-for-the-next-one/
(** B K P)
Damage At Saudi Oil Plant Points To Well Targeted Swarm Attack
Saturday's attack on the Saudi oil and gas processing station in Abqaiq hit its stabilization facility
The U.S. government published two detailed pictures of the attack's result.
Two processing areas were hit and show fire damage. At least the control equipment of both was likely completely destroyed.
The targeting for this attack was done with detailed knowledge of the process and its dependencies.
The north arrow in those pictures points to the left. The visible shadows confirm the direction. The holes in the tanks are on the western side. They were attacked from the west.
The hits were extremely precise. The Yemeni armed forces claimed it attacked the facility with 10 drones (or cruise missiles). But the hits on these targets look like neither. A total of 17 hits with such precise targeting lets me assume that these were some kind of drones or missiles with man-in-the-loop control. They may have been launched from within Saudi Arabia.
There is no information yet on the damage in Khurais, the second target of the attacks.
The U.S. and Israel are able to commit such attacks. Iran probably too. Yemen seems unlikely to have this capability without drawing on extensive support from elsewhere. The planing for this operation must have taken months.
Any direct attack on Iran would result in swarms of missiles hitting U.S. military installations in the United Arab Emirates and Qatar. Saudi water desalination plants, refineries and ports would also be targets.
It is doubtful that Trump or the Saudis are ready to risk such a response.
The attack on Abqaiq was not the last one and all Saudi installations are extremely vulnerable.
Saudi Arabia has no defenses against this kind of attacks. The U.S. has no system that could be used for that purpose. Russia is the only country that can provide the necessary equipment. It would be extremely costly, and still insufficient, to protect all of the Saudi's vital facilities from similar swarm attacks.
Attacks of this kind will only end when Saudi Arabia makes peace with Yemen and when the U.S. ends its sanctions of oil exports from Iran.
(* B K)
On paper, the point air defenses at the Abqaiq oil processing facility are rather formidable... by 1995 standards, at least. A battery of Shahine SAMs (French system from the early 1980's) 3 or 4 anti-aircraft gun sections, each with 2 twin 35mm cannons and a fire control unit
Except that none of those systems were designed to intercept cruise missiles, and against aircraft-sized targets, the Shahine and Skyguard radars have a 20km detection range. Against smaller targets, like a drone or cruise missile, the detection range (& warning time) is shorter.
The attackers knew this, and didn't waste cruise missiles on the air defense sites, as shown in post-strike @planetlabs images. Perhaps they flew drones into the radars, but either way, if the strike package arrived simultaneously, it would easily overwhelm Abqaiq's defenses.
Even if the air defenses did respond, they were short-handed - the south-eastern and south-western gun emplacements were empty.
And with old equipment defending a site well inside of Saudi Arabia, these probably weren't the RSADF's elite troops.
o, yeah, the Saudi military has some questions to answer, but at the same time, there wasn't a whole lot they could do, especially at the short-range end of the spectrum.
Ack! Turns out I missed the Patriot battery (or two) located next to Abqaiq. My sincere apologies.
Yup, that's definitely a Patriot battery to the east of Abqaiq. Looks like it was fairly empty on September 16, though (images) – by Michael Duitsman
https://twitter.com/DuitsyWasHere/status/1174186756708679681
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Saudi Oil Attacks Raise Questions About Nature of Yemen Conflict and Legitimate Military Targets
These attacks raise several key questions. Two we’d like to address are whether they change the current classification of the conflict in Yemen, and second, whether oil facilities are targetable under IHL?
The actors involved in the attacks and the classification of the conflict
IHL operates on the basis of a dichotomy of international and non-international armed conflicts (IACs and NIACs), where classification depends on the nature of the belligerent parties involved. Despite the multiplicity of actors involved in the conflict in Yemen, all of the ongoing conflicts remain non-international in their nature as none of them occur between two or more States, but only between States and organized groups and between such groups. The same conclusion has been reflected in the recent report by the U.N. Group of Eminent Experts on Yemen.
While there have been some indications that Iran is supporting the Houthis’ military campaign, the provision of training, arms or financial support alone would not suffice for the ‘internationalization’ the conflict. In other words, provided that the attacks in Saudi Arabia were indeed conducted by the Houthis, they would be covered by the rules of the pre-existing non-international armed conflict between the group and Yemen, with Saudi Arabia being a ‘co-belligerent’ State in the conflict.
The legal framework governing the attacks would, however, change if the attacks were conducted by Iran. Under IHL, any “resort to armed force between States” would trigger an international armed conflict, even if such use of force is limited to minor skirmishes.
The legality of the attacks against oil facilities
The second question raised by the attacks is whether they have been conducted against a legitimate military target or whether they amount to an attack against civilian objects, an act prohibited by IHL.
The requirements outlined in Article 52(2) API need to be met cumulatively, i.e. the object must both make an “effective contribution to military action” and the attack on it must offer “a definite military advantage” to the party that carries it out.
With regard to the first requirement, it is questionable whether oil facilities can provide an “effective contribution to military action.” The core of the debate is whether economic assets, including oil facilities, can constitute, by their very nature, legitimate military objectives in as they may eventually result in the purchase of arms and may ultimately enable the adversary to continue fighting. Some have argued that oil installations are an example of what would normally constitute a military objective, provided that they make an effective contribution.
Most notably, the United States. interprets the requirement of “military action” as including “war-sustaining” capabilities, and has previously targeted ISIS-controlled oil infrastructure on that basis This approach has been criticized for being too expansive and has not been accepted to be a valid interpretation of article 52(2) API.
Further, Article 52(2) API requires attacks to provide a “definite” military advantage. This requirement prohibits belligerents from carrying out attacks that would make them gain a mere hypothetical or speculative advantage.
Another issue arising from these kinds of attacks relates to the environmental damage that can occur in the aftermath of an attack against such facilities
It therefore appears that regardless of who the actors are behind the attacks (whether Iran itself or the Houthi rebels) and the classification of the conflict in Yemen, the attacks cannot be justified under IHL on a number of grounds. Paradoxically, it is the United States that is voicing the loudest criticism and concern about these attacks while being the State that has advanced the legal interpretation that allows the targeting of objects like oil facilities – by Ilya Sobol and Margherita Stevoli
My comment: I disagree with some main points. The idea that the Yemen War would be a "non-international" conflict because it should not be "between two or more States, but only between States and organized groups" is mereley arbitrary, as it just is based on the fact that the Houthi government is not internationally recognized. But, actually in fact this Houthi government now for several years is ruling the main part of an internationally recognized state, the Republic of Yemen. Why the international recognition should mean anything here? The fact that the Houthis actally ARE the government of Yemen controlling 70 % of Yemen's population points to a real difference to actually non-state actors and movements like the Taliban. Even, the IS when having created and actually governed its self-created "Islamic State" could not be compared to Houthis' Yemen: This "Islamic State" by itself never had been internationally recognized, there just were "Syria" and "Iraq". - Imagine, in WWII the US, Britain, the Soviet Union, France and China would have declared they no more would recognize the German Nazi government - acoording to Sobol's and Stevoli's logic, this would have changed WWII into a "non-international conflict". This would be highly absurd.
All conclusions drawn from the absurd assumption the Yemen War would be a "non-international conflict" are void.
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Saudi Arabia up in Flames: Riyadh Is Headed for a Major Disaster
The move is part of a retaliatory campaign by the Houthis in response to the indiscriminate bombings conducted by the Saudi air force over more than four years.
The Saudi kingdom finds itself in an increasingly dangerous situation as a result of the retaliatory capacity of the Houthis, able to inflict severe military and economic damage on Riyadh with their missile forces. Estimates suggest that Riyadh is losing something in the region of $300 million a day from the Houthi attacks.
The withdrawal of Egypt and the United Arab Emirates from the conflict in Yemen, driven by their desire to improve relations with Tehran, and the impossibility of the United States intervening directly in the conflict, has created significant problems for the House of Saud.
Saturday’s retaliation is the real demonstration of what could happen to the Saudi economy if Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) refuses to sit down and negotiate a way out of one of the worst military disasters of the contemporary era.
The Houthis have in recent months managed to strike their targets in Saudi Arabia dozens of times using different aerial means. This highlights once again the total failure of American air-defense systems in the country.
Pompeo blames Tehran for the Yemeni attack on Saudi Arabia, of course without offering any proof. Riyadh and Tel Aviv are increasingly isolated in the Middle East. Washington is only able to offer tweets and paranoia about Iran to help its allies, given that a direct intervention is seen as being too risky for the global economy, not to mention the possibility of the conflict becoming a wider regional conflagration that would sink any chance of reelection in 2020 for the present administration.
The Yemeni response is part of an increasing asymmetric logic, which has as its primary objectives the halt to Riyadh’s bombings of Yemen by increasing the costs of doing so such that they become unsustainable
There is no need for a false flag to blame Iran for the work of the Houthis. The corporate media is enough to have the false accusations repeated without the help of the Israelis or US-based neocons.
The Saudis are more cautious, even if unable to decide how to proceed. In Yemen, they have no more cards to play
Conclusion
There could not be any worse news for the neocons, Wahhabis and Zionists. If the Houthis could inflict such damage using 10 drones, then Tel Aviv, Riyadh and Washington must be having conniptions at the thought of what the Iranians would be capable of doing in the event that they themselves were attacked.
Any power (in this case the US and their air-defense systems) and its close ally would do everything to avoid suffering such a humiliation that would only serve to reveal their military vulnerabilities – by Federico Pieraccini
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Saudi leaders thought the kingdom was safe — they were wrong
The Saudi leadership has reacted to the attacks on the country’s critical oil infrastructure with deep concerns about its acute vulnerability. Despite spending a fortune on the military and the renewed presence of American troops in the kingdom, the crown jewels of the Saudi economy were delivered a deadly blow.
It is clear that Iran and the Houthis are collaborating, both in the operation of the attack and the ensuing public discussion. Tehran wants to hide its hand, and the Houthis want the credit. The Yemenis can cite self-defense, in light of the fact that Saudi Arabia has been launching air strikes on Yemen for over four years.
The attack was far more devastating than any attack from Iraq’s Saddam Hussein with Scud missiles in 1991 or al-Qaida terrorists in 2006. The Saudis are facing a serious threat that they clearly did not anticipate. The long-term damage to the infrastructure is unknown.
Trump administration officials have characterized the behind-the-scenes Saudi reaction as akin to the shock of 9/11 in America. The Saudis have spent a fortune since 1991 on air defense.
But the big difference between the Americans’ reaction to 9/11 and today’s Saudi reaction is the Saudis have no serious options to respond; they need the Americans to fight their war.
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has sought to project the image of a strong nationalist leader, adept in the use of force. In fact, his war in Yemen has been a disaster since the start.
The new attacks are now a major humiliation for Mohammed bin Salman who has been exposed as ineffectual in defending the country against its historic rival Iran, and its partner the Houthis. Despite having the third-largest defense budget in the world, the kingdom cannot defeat a rag-tag militia in the Arab world’s poorest country, or protect its oil infrastructure from its enemies.
If the Trump administration takes only token steps against Iran, the Saudis can expect more attacks.
It is imperative that the international community find an end the costly war in Yemen, which serves as a pretext for the Iranians. It’s in the kingdom’s self-interest to get out of the quagmire the crown prince has put it in — and sooner rather than later – by Bruce Riedel
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Le Monde Describes Yemeni Attack on Saudi’s Aramco as Terrible Humiliation to Bin Salman
The French Newspaper Le Monde considered that the raid on two major Saudi facilities, which Riyadh ‘blamed on Tehran’, was a humiliation and an affront to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the nationalist brigade.
In a report by veteran reporter Benjamin Bart, the paper said Saudi Arabia is now embarrassed, and hopes today that the propaganda film it published in 2017 describing its overwhelming response to Tehran, was not filmed at all.
Bart says the video he has seen so far has seen more than 1.5 million people mimic a video game that Saudi Arabia is occupying Iran and destroying its military bases, before Revolutionary Guards commanders can confront invading forces or fire any bullet, all with cheers from the Iranian people and welcoming King Salman’s soldiers.
But less than two years after the publication of the film, the reality is striking, but contrary to what the writers of the screenplay had coveted, the Saudi air defense system could not respond to an attack on the Kingdom’s largest refinery, Abqaiq and the nearby Khuwairis oil field.
“This is a severe blow to the credibility of Saudi Arabia in the face of Westerners,”
https://english.almasirah.net/details.php?es_id=8880 = https://english.almanar.com.lb/831701
(* B K P)
Billions spent on U.S. weapons didn’t protect Saudi Arabia’s most critical oil sites from a crippling attack
After this weekend, when a devastating attack on Saudi oil facilities blindsided the kingdom, some observers were left wondering what protection Riyadh’s outreach to the United States has bought it.
Notwithstanding the expensive military hardware purchased by Saudi Arabia, experts say, the Saturday attack represented an unusually well-planned operation that would have been difficult for even the most well-equipped and experienced countries to detect and neutralize.
Russian President Vladimir Putin responded to Saturday’s attack with mockery. At an event Monday in Turkey, Putin suggested that Saudi Arabia buy the Russian-made S-300 or S-400 missile defense system, as Iran and Turkey had done. “They will reliably protect all infrastructure objects of Saudi Arabia,” Putin said.
The S-400 system is untested in real-life situations, but it costs less than the Patriot system and has technical features that are, on paper at least, an improvement on the U.S. system, including a longer range and the ability to operate in any direction.
Although Saudi Arabia once flirted with the idea of buying the S-400 system, it was probably aware that doing so would have a disastrous effect on its relationship with the Trump administration.
There is no evidence that the S-400, if deployed, could have handled Saturday’s incident better than the Patriot system. Even the best missile defense system cannot have a 100 percent success rate
Knight said Saudi Arabia’s missile defense system was developed in the 1990s after watching the Iran-Iraq war and the Persian Gulf War
However, cruise missiles and drones fly far closer to the ground, making them harder for radar to detect. Given the low altitude, shooting one down carries greater risk, especially when detected late. “If you are wrong, you just blew up a British Airways flight,” Knights said.
Saudi Arabia has several missile defense systems that can target a low-altitude flight. Thomas Karako, a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said that in theory the Patriot system could protect against such a threat, although it is primarily designed for ballistic missiles.
However, it would depend where it was placed. “The defended area for a Patriot battery is relatively small,” Karako said. “There are real limits, even if you have a ton of Patriots, on what you can defend.”
It is unclear whether the targeted oil facilities, in Khurais and Abqaiq, were defended by Patriot batteries or other systems – by Adam Taylor
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/world/billions-spent-on-us-weapons-didnt-protect-saudi-arabias-most-critical-oil-sites-from-a-crippling-attack/ar-AAHtLP8 = https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2019/09/17/billions-spent-us-weapons-didnt-protect-saudi-arabias-most-critical-oil-sites-crippling-attack/
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Media visit Saudi oil plant damaged in strike blamed on Iran
Saudi Arabia on Friday took media on a tour of oil facilities damaged by attacks that Washington and Riyadh blame on Iran, showing melted pipes and burnt equipment.
At Abqaiq, one of the world’s largest oil processing plants, reporters saw a punctured, blackened stabilizer tower that Khalid Buraik, Saudi Aramco vice-president for southern area oil operations, said would have to be replaced.
As reporters examined a shattered separator dome draped with a red tape labeled “Danger”, Buraik said 15 towers and facilities had been hit at Abqaiq, but it would regain full output capacity by the end of September.
At Khurais oilfield to the west, which the Saudi defense ministry says was hit by four missiles, Reuters reporters were shown repair work under way, with cranes erected around two burnt-out stabilization columns, which form part of oil-gas separation units, and melted pipes.
“We are confident we are going back to the full production we were at before the attack (on Khurais) by the end of September,” Fahad Abdulkarim, Aramco’s general manager for the southern area oil operation, told reporters.
“We are working 24/7...This is a beehive.”
Workmen wearing red high visibility jackets and white helmets moved through the site, a large compound the size of several football stadiums containing interconnected structures of piping and towers.
A mound of blackened debris lay on the ground. An executive said the scorched mess once covered much of the surface of the facility but now only a small mound is left.
Some workers sprayed what appeared to be water on the ground. Mobile cranes and water trucks stood near the crumpled, mangled remains of a fire-damaged stabilization tower.
(* A E K P)
Inside Saudi Arabia's response to a raid on the heart of the oil kingdom
By the time Aramco’s team was dealing with the fires at the first site in Khurais, where more than 200 people were at the time, strikes were still hitting the facility, according to the company. More than a hundred contractors were immediately evacuated.
“PHOENIX FROM THE ASHES”
By midday Saturday in Saudi Arabia, Nasser and other senior company Aramco executives were headed to the damaged plants, first to Khurais and then to Abqaiq, one of the sources briefed on the matter said.
That night, Nasser was joined at Abqaiq, the world’s biggest oil processing facility, by Prince Abdulaziz and Aramco’s new chairman Yassir al-Rumayyan, according to sources and pictures released by the state news agency.
Aramco, which runs a variety of large projects in the kingdom, deployed more than 5,000 contractors and pulled employees from other projects to work around the clock to bring production back, according to Nasser’s public comments and one of the sources briefed on the matter.
Initial assessments were that the damage was significant and that bringing full production back online could take weeks or even months, said Saudi officials and industry sources who visited the sites or were briefed on the attacks.
Saudi oil officials were scrambling to produce a report on the extent damage for the kingdom’s top leadership, including King Salman, the energy minister’s father, according two of the sources briefed on the matter. But engineers needed 48 more hours for a final assessment, the people said.
By Tuesday, the kingdom had managed to restore full supplies to customers by drawing oil from their massive oil inventories. The company also announced production would return sooner than expected – by the end of the month. Aramco had emerged “like a phoenix from the ashes,” said Prince Abdulaziz in remarks to news media that night in Red Sea city of Jeddah.
The news restored some confidence, prompting a fall in oil prices that had jumped on Monday.
(A K P)
China's Xi speaks to Saudi Arabia's King on phone: Xinhua
Xi told the Saudi King that China condemned an attack on the country’s oil facilities and called on all parties to avoid taking steps that would escalate the situation.
(A E K)
Oil heads for weekly gain of around 8% after Saudi attacks
(A K P)
The Latest on tensions in the Persian Gulf (all times local):
6:20 p.m.
The leader of Lebanese militant group Hezbollah has called on Saudi Arabia to stop its war in Yemen, or else it will face more attacks on its soil.
6:10 p.m.
As he weighs his options on Iran, President Donald Trump is stressing restraint as he prepares to meet with military leaders.
Trump said Friday that during the 2016 presidential campaign, some of his critics warned that he would get the United States into war. Trump says he could have easily ordered military strikes against Iran, but doesn’t want to have to do that.
5:45 p.m.
President Donald Trump says his administration is imposing additional sanctions on Iran
https://apnews.com/adb2de5ac268474793efbea0d3f4d7c3
(A K P)
Saudi Arabia shows attack site damage as Iran pledges tough defense
Saudi Arabia on Friday took media to inspect oil facilities hit by attacks that Washington and Riyadh blame on Iran, showing melted pipes and burnt equipment, as Tehran vowed wide retaliation if heightened tensions boil over into hostilities.
(A K P)
Saudi oil attacks: Nato chief 'extremely concerned' about escalation
The head of the Nato military alliance has said he is extremely concerned that tensions will escalate after an attack on Saudi oil facilities.
Jens Stoltenberg also said Iran was "destabilising the whole region".
[and overview, just parroting US claims]
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-49721301
My comment: This really is not NATO’s matter. No Middle East state is a NATO member. This only would make sense if the NATO no more is an allaince of mutual defense but a tool for achieving and securing world-wide US dominance. Well, exactly this is NATO now.
(B K P)
The End of Saudi Arabia’s Illusion
Time to face reality: The United States doesn’t want to go to war with Iran to protect its Arab allies.
The missiles that struck last weekend in Saudi Arabia did not just destroy oil tanks. They also dealt the final blow to a doctrine that has been fading for years: the belief that the United States maintains a security umbrella able to protect the oil-rich Persian Gulf states from their enemies — and, especially, from Iran.
President Trump’s miscalculations helped us get there. But the current Gulf crisis is not just about this administrations and the pitfalls of ist „maximum pressure campaign.
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/19/opinion/saudi-arabia-attack.html
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UN: Sanctions Committee panel on Yemen participates in Saudi Aramco attacks investigation
The United Nations announced that a team of experts from the Sanctions Committee on Yemen arrived in Saudi Arabia on Thursday to investigate attacks on Aramco oil facilities,.
"The Committee of Experts on Yemen has arrived in Saudi Arabia and has begun an investigation into the attack on oil facilities," said UN spokesman Farhan Haq.
A French military spokesman said the army had sent seven experts to Saudi Arabia to participate in the investigation.
https://almasdaronline.com/articles/171762
(A K P)
AL-HOUTHI COMMENTS ON UN INVESTIGATION INTO ARAMCO ATTACK
Mohammed Ali al-Houthi said that Saudi Aramco attack proved the UN double standards and positions being led by the major powers permanent members of the Security Council.
Al-Houthi continued in his commenting ” the UN experts left for Saudi Arabia to investigate the attack on Aramco’s facilities, But they did not leave to investigate into the Saudi crimes and massacres committed against the Yemeni people, and for probe into the Yemeni children who were killed by the US-British-French weapons in Yemen, or the greatest humanitarian tragedy.”
“Do the Yemenis need to replace their bodies with oil barrels and mobile phones, so that the world realizes the atrocity, criminal acts and terrorism made by America, Britain, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates in Yemen?”
“they did not leave for Saudi Arabia to force them to respect the UN conventions. They did not leave and will not leave for the sick people of Yemen, who are registered by the lists of UN organizations because they need treatment abroad. They did not leave to support a besieged people and an independent republic, which is being trampled.”
https://www.yemenpress.org/yemen/al-houthi-comments-on-un-investigation-into-aramco-attack/
(A K P)
Arab blood vs. Arab oil, primer on US policy, says Zarif
"Arab blood vs. Arab oil / A primer on U.S. policy," wrote Zarif in a tweet on Thursday, then listed some instances of many crimes committed in Yemen by the Saudi-led, US-backed coalition since March 2015:
"4 yrs of indiscriminate bombardment of Yemen - 100,000 dead Yemenis - 20M malnourished Yemenis - 2.3M cholera cases," which Zarif said equated to "carte blance for culprits."
However, "Retaliatory Yemeni strike on oil storage tanks," Zarif said equated to "unacceptable "act of war".
https://en.mehrnews.com/news/150241/Arab-blood-vs-Arab-oil-primer-on-US-policy-says-Zarif
(A K P)
Iran questions US coalition for 'peaceful resolution' – Gulf tensions
Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif accused the US of valuing oil more than people in the Middle East, before leaving for New York to attend the next week's United Nations General Assembly, state media said.
Iran's foreign minister on Friday questioned US plans for a coalition for a "peaceful resolution" in the Middle East while listing repeated Iranian diplomatic initiatives.
"Coalition for Peaceful Resolution?," Mohammad Javad Zarif said in a statement on Twitter, and listed eight diplomatic initiatives by Iran since 1985, including a peace plan for Yemen in 2015, and a regional non-aggression pact for the Gulf region proposed earlier this year.
In another tweet, Zarif accused the United States of valuing oil more than people in the Middle East
(A K P)
Ansarullah Political Bureau Member: Saudi Regime, US Accuse Iran of Attack Aramco to avoid Pressure to Stop Aggression on Yemen
He said in his tweet on Wednesday night that the goal of the rush to accuse Iran of attack is to remove any affiliation of the attacks to their aggression on Yemen so as not to turn into a pressure on them to stop it.
https://english.almasirah.net/details.php?es_id=8873
(A K P)
US Official Claims Attack on Saudi Aramco Facilities Was Sanctioned by Iran's Ayatollah – Report
A drone attack on Saudi Aramco facilities on 14 September was sanctioned by Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, an anonymous US official claimed in an interview with CBS News. According to the anonymous source, Khamenei allegedly gave the greenlight to the operation only under the condition that be impossible to trace it back to Tehran.
The broadcaster further cited one US official claiming that Washington had obtained satellite images, which have not been released, showing Iran's alleged preparations for the attack. The official added that the US didn't realise the purported meaning of the preparations at the time and was "caught completely off guard".
My comment: “an anonymous US official”: such are the typical bullshit sources. Might-be even a CIA invention.
(A K P)
U.S. consulting with Saudi Arabia on ways to counter threats from north
The U.S. military said on Thursday it was consulting with Saudi Arabia on ways to mitigate threats from the north after Saturday’s attack on Saudi oil facilities, which U.S. officials have blamed on Iran.
A Pentagon spokesman, speaking at a news briefing, declined to say whether the U.S. military believed the drone and missile attack was launched from Iranian territory, deferring to Saudi Arabia’s ongoing assessment
(A E K)
Real crunch from Saudi Arabia's oil outage has yet to be felt
Saudi Arabia’s ability to avert a global oil supply crunch will only become clear in a few weeks, because for now its crude held in storage can fill the gap and mask the scale of damage to its facilities, traders and analysts say.
(A K P)
Pakistan PM expresses full support to Saudi Arabia after attacks on oil facilities: SPA
“Pakistan fully supports the kingdom with all its capacities in confronting these sabotage acts,” the state news agency cited him
(A K P)
China hopes for 'objective' probe on Saudi attacks
(A K P)
Mohammed Al-Houthi Comments on International Community’s Disregard for Yemenis Blood
Mohammad Ali Al-Houthi, member of the Supreme Political Council, condemned the international community's duality towards the crimes committed by the US-Saudi aggression against the Yemeni people and the retaliatory operations in the face of these crimes, denouncing the bloodshed of the Yemenis.
https://english.almasirah.net/details.php?es_id=8865
(* B K P)
‘Act of war’: Trump administration warns a retaliatory attack on Iran is on the table
The US has issued its strongest threat to Iran yet, with Donald Trump saying an attack is possible and could escalate into a new war.
[Overview article]
(* B K P)
Audacious Drone Strikes on Saudi oil installations creates global stir
The news has been nothing short of a heart ache to oil importing countries. These facilities which process around 8.5 million barrels of crude per day account for 5% of global supplies.
Adding weight to the US observations, Iraqi intelligence official told Middle East Eye Network, that strikes were made with Iranian drones from Hashd al-Shaabi bases in South Iraq in retaliation to Riyadh funded Israeli attacks on Iraqi militia. Earlier in August, Israel with American support attacked Irani trained troops, their depots and convoys from the Kurdish Bases controlled by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) killing one and injuring 23 personnel.
Without even producing an iota of evidence, US secretary of state, Mike Pompeo pointed fingers at Iran. He lashed out at Iran
[Overview article]
(* A K P)
One Operation Costs UAE Regime A Lot: Yemen Army Spokesman
Yemen’s army spokesman Yahay Saria said in a statement” just one operation by the Yemeni army will cost the UAE regime a lot.
The spokesman revealed new details of the second deterrence operation that targeted Saudi oil facilities” we have dozens of targets within our target bank in the UAE, including Abu Dhabi and Dubai, and may be targeted at the moment.”
These Yemeni aircraft have fission heads carrying four precision bombs to attack the targets and can be jammed from enemy Radars.
“Our armed forces have high capabilities to manufacture and produce many drones in record time,” he said.
This process is a good example of the capabilities reached by our forces in planning and implementation”, Saria added.. Yemen will not hesitate to respond to the aggression and has legitimate right to target all legitimate targets in the aggression countries.”
Seria reiterated that the new Yemen can be able to slap the enemy, which underestimated the Yemenis’ blood, stressing that more oil installations and vital targets will be burned if the aggression continues on Yemen.
https://sabanews.net/en/news3069424.htm
(A K P)
Destruction of Saudi Oil Facilities Far Greater than What’s Been Announced: Yemen
The spokesman for Yemeni Armed Forces said the extent of damage caused on Saturday by Yemeni drone attacks on Saudi oil facilities is “far greater” than what the kingdom has acknowledged.
(A P)
Zarif Hits Back at Pompeo for Lies, Push for War
Iran’s Foreign minister lashed out at his US counterpart for resorting to the habit of telling lies and for his attempts to deceive the US president into another war by accusing Tehran of involvement in recent Yemeni attacks on Saudi oil facilities.
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Spokesman: US, S. Arabia Raise Allegations against Iran to Save Face
Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Seyed Abbas Mousavi said that the US and Saudi Arabia's allegations that Tehran was behind the Yemeni drone attacks against the Saudi oil installations are out of desperation.
One of the reasons why Saudi Arabia and the US raise allegations against Iran is "their endangered prestige", Mousavi said on Thursday.
https://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13980628000413
(A E P)
Saudi Arabia Asks Iraq for Millions of Barrels of Crude After Yemeni Drone Operation
Aramco has also informed PetroChina that some of its loadings of light crude oil for October will be delayed by up to about 10 days after attacks on the kingdom’s oil facilities, a senior Chinese state oil source with knowledge of the matter stated.
https://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13980628000591
(A K P)
Afghan Parliament Condemns Sabotage Attack on Two Aramco Plants
https://www.spa.gov.sa/viewfullstory.php?lang=en&newsid=1971860
Ethiopia Condemns Sabotage Attack on Two Saudi Aramco Plants
https://www.spa.gov.sa/viewfullstory.php?lang=en&newsid=1971527
Australia Condemns Sabotage Attacks on Two Aramco Facilities
https://www.spa.gov.sa/viewfullstory.php?lang=en&newsid=1971312
Islamic Broadcasting Union condemns sabotage aggression against Aramco's oil plants
https://www.spa.gov.sa/viewfullstory.php?lang=en&newsid=1971234
STC Denounces Aramco Attacks
Southern Transitional Council denounced the attacks of two oil refineries of Aramco, a Saudi Oil Company
https://en.smanews.org/stc-denounces-aramco-attacks
(B K P)
Why Iran is getting the blame for an attack on Saudi Arabia claimed by Yemen's Houthis
The key question, however, is who was responsible. Yemen’s Houthi rebels, at the center of a civil war against Saudi-backed forces, have claimed responsibility; on Monday, they threatened additional attacks.
(B K)
For Saudi Arabia, an oil field attack was a disaster. For Russia, it’s a weapons sales pitch. (Link to washington Post article)
https://twitter.com/mradamtaylor/status/1175103859892654080
cp2 Allgemein / General
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Interactive Map of Yemen War
(B H K)
Film: Yemen, Saudi and International Hypocrisy
IHRC Chair Massoud Shadjareh discusses events in 'Saudi' and Yemen this week, and the hypocrisy of the international community's response.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LkqnI3E1ots
My remark: For IHRC: https://www.ihrc.org.uk/.
(* B P)
According to Rasd Coalition reports, there are still 2,852 civilians detained by the conflict parties in #Yemen , 211 have been #abducted & their fates are still unknown, & 99 #detainees are still being tortured until now according to the testimony of their families & friends.
https://twitter.com/ycmhrv/status/1174720505309536257
(* B H K)
Film: Propaganda videos like these being shared on SM of #Yemen children promising to fight and sacrificing self for country. This is so wrong. Warring factions brain washing kids, recruiting #childsoldiers and ruining a whole generation. It's beyond criminal and must immediately stop.
https://twitter.com/omeisy/status/1175036421628997641
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Huthis wollen Angriffe auf Saudi-Arabien einstellen
Die vom Iran unterstützten Huthi-Rebellen im Jemen haben angekündigt, Drohnen- und Raketenangriffe auf Saudi-Arabien einzustellen, wenn auch das Nachbarland seine Angriffe beende. "Wir hoffen, dass Riad positiv auf die Initiative reagiert", sagte Mahdi al-Maschat, Präsident des Obersten Politischen Rates der Huthis im Huthi-eigenen Fernsehsender Al-Masirah. "Ich fordere alle Kriegsparteien auf, sich aufrichtig an ernsthaften Verhandlungen zu beteiligen, die zu einer umfassenden nationalen Versöhnung führen können."
Sollte Saudi-Arabien mit seinen Bombardierungen und Luftangriffen allerdings fortfahren, hätten die Huthis das Recht, darauf zu reagieren, warnte al-Maschat. Für diesen Fall drohte er mit "einer Zeit großer Schmerzen".
https://www.zeit.de/politik/ausland/2019-09/jemen-huthis-saudi-arabien-angebot-verhandlungen
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Yemen's Houthis propose to Saudi Arabia that both sides halt missile strikes
Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis will stop aiming missile and drone attacks at Saudi Arabia if a coalition targeting Yemen does the same, a Houthi official said on Friday, nearly a week after the Houthis claimed a strike on Saudi oil facilities.
Speaking on the group’s Al Masirah TV, head of the Houthi political office Mahdi al-Mashat called for a halt to strikes on both sides and for serious talks among all players involved.
“I call on all parties from different sides of the war to engage seriously in genuine negotiations that can lead to a comprehensive national reconciliation that does not exclude anyone,” said Mashat.
The Saudi-led military coalition did not immediately respond to request for comment on the Houthi announcement.
Mashat said that the Houthis “would not hesitate to launch a period of great pain” if their call for peace was ignored.
In the speech, Mashat boasted of the group’s rapidly improved military capabilities and said “significant advancement” would be seen in the coming period, particularly in air and missile defense.
and
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[Sanaa] President Mahdi Al-Mashat speaks on fifth anniversary of September 21 Revolution
President of Yemen announces temporary halt to all retaliations against Saudi Arabia
The president of the Supreme Political Council, Mehdi al-Mashat, has addressed the Yemeni people on the occasion of the fifth anniversary of the September 21 Revolution.
In his speech on the occasion, in recognition of the efforts of peace both domestic and international, led by the Secretary-General of the United Nations and his Special Envoy to Yemen, President al-Mashat announced an initiative to achieve peace.
He called on all Yemeni parties to engage in serious and genuine negotiations leading to a comprehensive national reconciliation that does not exclude any party, for the sake of building ties of fraternity and safeguarding the primacy of the higher national interests.
President al-Mashat renewed the amnesty for former collaborators with the Saudi-led invaders. He called on all misled individuals and leaders to take advantage of this opportunity and “return to the bosom of the homeland and to do the right thing.”
The President furthermore announced the temporary cessation of all attacks against Saudi territory by drones, ballistic missiles, winged missiles and all others forms of retaliation.
“We await the response of this kind or better [from the Saudis] in a similar declaration to stop all forms of targeting and aerial bombardment of our Yemeni territory, and we reserve the right to respond if this initiative is not responded to,” he said.
“We affirm that the continuation of the war will not be in anyone’s interest, but may lead to serious developments that we do not want to take, although we are certain that its greatest harm will not be on us, but on the countries of aggression in the first place, primarily and directly,” he added.
President al-Mashat also called on the countries of aggression to immediately lift the ban on Sana’a International Airport, to stop intercepting ships bound for the port of Hodeidah and to respect the suffering of the Yemeni people.
“Certainly, for the pretext raised about the revenues of the port of Hodeidah and about the illusion of arms smuggling through the port, we confirm our readiness to supply the revenues to the central bank branch,” he said.
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/09/houthis-stop-attacks-saudi-arabia-190920183802126.html
and original text here: https://www.facebook.com/LivingInYemenOnTheEdge/photos/a.963391330380564/2498557850197230/?type=3&theater
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Saudi-led forces launch airstrikes on Yemeni city of Hodeidah
[Overview article]
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The Ansarullah’s Aramco Drone Strike versus “The Real Act of War” against Yemen
Pompeo’s provocative pronouncement that the Ansarullah’s drone strike on Aramco’s oil facilities was an “act of war”is extremely hypocritical because it ignores the fact that the Saudis were the ones to initiate the international dimension of the War on Yemen as part of the US’ long-running Hybrid War on Iran, and any conventional US and/or Saudi attack against the Islamic Republic in response to its alleged involvement in the attack would amount to an “act of war” against the entire world due to the global economic consequences that such a move would very likely trigger.
US Secretary of State Pompeo provocatively described the Ansarullah’s drone strike on Aramco’s oil facilities last weekend as an “act of war“, thus making many observers fear that his country and the Saudis are plotting a reciprocal response against them and their Iranian political supporters that both also blame for complicity in the attack, therefore potentially leading to a larger regional conflict. There are reasons to doubt that such a scenario will actually transpire, but the arguments thereof will be explained after elaborating on the hypocrisy of the “act of war” pronouncement.
It was the Saudis, not the Ansarullah, that initiated the international dimension of the War on Yemen out of their serious concern that this rebel group’s rapid successes in the neighboring country would eventually lead to their Iranian rival making military inroads on their doorstep
Seeing as how no evidence has emerged in the past 4,5 years to corroborate the Saudis’ suspicions about Iran’s future plans to tilt the regional balance of power against it in the event that the Ansarullah were to have taken full control of Yemen, it can be said that their formal intervention was predicated on the concept of “preemptive war” to offset that seemingly impending scenario that they convinced themselves (whether rightly or wrongly) was on the brink of unfolding had they not actively thwarted it. Critics allege that perspective is nothing more than the paranoid delusions of a crumbling Kingdom, but it should be pointed out that Iran has never made a secret of exporting its Islamic Revolution
Irrespective of whether there really was a secret Iranian hand behind the Aramco attack or not, few doubt that the country has the drone and missile capabilities to turn that incident into child’s play and carry out something far more devastating if it were ever attacked.
With this in mind, a US-Saudi strike on Iran would be an actual “act of war” against both their target itself and the rest of the world. – By Andrew Korybko
http://oneworld.press/?module=articles&action=view&id=1071 = https://www.globalresearch.ca/ansarullah-aramco-drone-strike-real-act-war/5689658
(* B H K P)
Joint NGO Statement on Yemen – 74th UN General Assembly
Humanitarian Crisis in Free Fall
After almost five years of conflict, and despite all efforts to halt displacement, hunger and disease, Yemen remains the worst humanitarian crisis in the world. The suffering inflicted on Yemeni people is entirely manmade and will continue to deteriorate rapidly on all fronts without urgent action to end the violence, and to address humanitarian needs. Unfortunately, despite the Stockholm agreement, the situation for ordinary Yemenis has altered little since last year, with growing numbers of humanitarian need [1], and escalating violence all highlighting the deteriorating situation.
Increased fighting risks pushing the country into utter devastation: Conflict continues on many fronts particularly in Al Dhale, Taizz, Hodeidah, Hajjah, and Aden. Increased conflict and political stalemate in Hodeidah, as well as the recent flare in fighting and escalation of conflict in Aden, both of which are major port cities, jeopardises the safety of civilians and threatens channels for critical fuel, food and medical supplies to the rest of the country. It is crucial that these remain open and fully functional. Millions of Yemeni women, men and children are dependent on these lifelines for their survival.
Civilians continue to bear the brunt: Civilians and civilian infrastructure including hospitals, schools, water facilities, food transport, farms and market places, continue to be hit by all parties with impunity, along with the potential use of starvation as a tactic of war continuing to exacerbate an already dire humanitarian situation as reported by the UN Group of Eminent Experts on Yemen, as well as in the UN Secretary General’s Annual Report on the Situation of Children and Armed Conflict.
A lost generation of Yemeni children: The two million children and young people who remain out of school are being deprived of an education, exposing them to violence and exploitation. Millions of displaced children cannot access education, and ongoing attacks on schools or their use and occupation by armed groups mean children’s safety at school cannot be guaranteed. In 2018 alone, there were 44 verified attacks on schools and 32 instances of military uses of schools [2], highlighting the extent of the issue.
Populations on the brink of starvation:
Only a political solution can bring the war to an end and reinstate peace in Yemen and support lasting solutions to the dire humanitarian situation. All parties must immediately cease hostilities, agree to a nationwide ceasefire, and cooperate in ‘good faith’ with UN Special Envoy Martin Griffith, and help restart a broader peace process.
https://www.savethechildren.net/news/joint-ngo-statement-yemen-%E2%80%93-74th-un-general-assembly = https://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/joint-ngo-statement-yemen-74th-un-general-assembly
(* B K P)
Another War Looming in Yemen
Fight against the Houthis have almost stalled but another conflict i.e. between Hadi government and Southern separatists is gaining momentum. A temporary stalemate has set in, as Saudi and Emirati officials hold discussions. The two governments have issued statements supporting unity and legitimacy in Yemen. But there is little guarantee that the joint Saudi-UAE appeal, will be heeded on the ground in Aden. Current situation in South is very fragile and clashes can erupt anytime.
The international community and Arab world can’t just remain mute spectators of this conflict. As a divided Yemen will result in years of on and off war between the north and south and Southern Yemen will be more of a haven for militant Salafi groups like Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) and Iran may deepen its relationship with the Houthis in the north and make it a client state.
A divided Yemen is a perfect recipe for chronic instability and conflict in a country that occupies a strategic position along one of the world’s most important trade routes. A decentralized federalist state that provides equal degrees of autonomy and resource sharing to southern separatists, northern Houthis, and other traditionally independent regions in Yemen might form the foundations of a future Yemeni state.
The first step toward de-escalation of this conflict should be that outside powers reduce their roles and let Yemenis come in forefront and decide for themselves.
https://ekurd.net/another-war-looming-yemen-2019-09-20
(* B K P)
How To Get The U.S. To Care About The War In Yemen
“Over 85,000 children dead from war and starvation in Yemen. And now you may pay more at the pump!”
Here in the United States, it took a major attack on Saudi Arabia oil facilities to bring much attention to Yemen.
I’m struck by how the main focus of most media outlets is on a temporary shortage in the global oil supply that is driving up gasoline prices and may be another big blow to the economy. Yemen gets a moment in the spotlight when we may have to pay 20 extra cents at the pump — not so much when 85,000 children under the age of five starve to death – by Mark Fiore
https://progressive.org/dispatches/how-to-get-the-u-s-to-care-war-in-yemen-fiore-190920/
(A)
Bethan McKernan, The Guardian: Just back from a 6,000km journey through Houthi, government and separatist south Yemen. On the way we met dozens of people who shows how cholera, hunger and airstrikes have destroyed their lives. Stories out next week.
https://twitter.com/mck_beth/status/1174996789839069185
(* B K P)
Attack on Saudi oil fields: A broader view
Complex, yes. But complicated? Not really. The Saudi oil fields strike was claimed by Shiite Houthis in Yemen. But it’s best understood as part of a conflict with Iran involving actors across the region.
But the story behind the headlines is how the Middle East’s map of violence is being transformed, because this unprecedented strike is only the latest escalatory salvo in an expanding regional power struggle between the U.S. and its allies on one side, and on the other Iran and its proxy forces.
The conflict has simmered for years. But the primary catalyst bringing it toward a full boil? President Donald Trump’s withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal in May 2018, and the imposition of a “maximum pressure” campaign of sanctions against Iran, that have led the Islamic Republic to bite back.
The U.S.-Iran standoff, once limited to Iranian small boats harassing U.S. Navy ships in the Persian Gulf, or pinprick Israeli airstrikes against the Lebanese Hezbollah in Syria, has now enveloped the region.
Every actor has also expanded its target range.
Likewise, Houthi rebels in Yemen now use ever-more sophisticated drones and missiles to attack Saudi Arabia – their increasing accuracy and range a result of Iranian support – in retaliation for four years of devastating Saudi airstrikes that have helped make Yemen the world’s worst humanitarian disaster.
All the while, high-value targets, which once might have been deemed off-limits for fear that they would start an all-out war, are increasingly common.
The one constant? Escalations of such magnitude that they are broadening the map.
Partial list of clashes – by Scott Peterson
https://www.csmonitor.com/World/Middle-East/2019/0919/Attack-on-Saudi-oil-fields-A-broader-view
(* B K P)
For children’s sake, let there be peace in Yemen?
If the US and the Saudis could afford to start a war with Iran, they could have done it long ago. If past tense situations were any indication of a behavioural pattern, there is enough reason to believe that this time, too, the developments, however grave they are, will not lead to a war against Iran.
It should also be recalled that during the US’ standoff with Iran over the Islamic republic’s nuclear power programme, Saudi Arabia and Israel kept prodding the US to launch an attack on Iran. But the US did not attack Iran. President George W Bush and even President Barack Obama would only say that all options were on the table.
In 2001, Iran, together with Iraq and North Korea, was one of the three countries of President Bush’s Axis of Evil. Iraq was attacked and invaded, but not Iran.
This is because, in US assessments, Iran is not like Iraq. Iran has the ability to hit the US and its regional allies where it hurts, although it is only an average military power when compared to the US or even Saudi Arabia.
Meanwhile, some analysts believe that Iran is being blamed because the US defence shield the Saudis have bought and installed had failed to detect and destroy the Houthi drones and missiles. So the arms suppliers to save their skin now say the missile came from the eastern direction indicating Iran or Iranian backed groups in Iraq -- and not from Yemen in the south.
However, Yemen’s Houthi rebels have claimed responsibility for the attack, which if taken positively sends a powerful peace message that it is time to start talks on ending the war.
The international community needs to step in to make peace, instead of being a spectator in a bloody war that kills daily scores of children in Yemen
But the world community’s indifference is appalling, even after the United Nations has described the situation in Yemen as the worst humanitarian crisis since the Second World War.
Saudi Arabia, it is learnt, has requested the Trump administration to facilitate talks with the Houthis. The Yemen war does not have a popular backing in Saudi Arabia or in the Arab world. Peace offers an opportunity for the Saudi crown prince to re-enter the world stage. For the starving and ailing children’s sake, let there be peace in Yemen – by Ameen Izadeen
http://www.dailymirror.lk/opinion/For-childrens-sake-let-there-be-peace-in-Yemen/172-174797
(B K P)
Beneath contempt
The ruling caste of Saudi Arabia present the most striking example in world history of the extreme combination of avarice and personal cowardice. They are gagging for a war with Iran so long as somebody else fights it for them.
It is not that Saudi does not have its own military – bombing civilian Shia Houthis from a great height with no chance of retaliation is great sport.
For US Vice President Mike Pence, after meeeting Mohammed Bin “Chopper” Salman, to denounce this attack as “An act of war” is pretty otiose. There are many thousands of mutilated or orphaned Houthi children who could have told him there was a war on, had he bothered to talk to them rather than their oppressor – by Craig Murray
https://www.craigmurray.org.uk/archives/2019/09/beneath-contempt/
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Yemen’s Southern Military Crisis
Military infighting between secessionist groups and forces aligned with Hadi’s government in southern Yemen reflect the deep fissures in the country’s political and military landscapes.
This military infighting—as southern militias are all ostensibly part of the formal Yemeni military—mirrors the struggle for Yemen’s future institutional structure. Since 2015, rivals continue disagree about whether Yemen should be a unified state, a partitioned one, or a federal government. The anti-Houthi front was formed despite these existing schisms. However, these contradictions and divergences can no longer be sustainable. After four years of fighting, the deep fragmentation within Yemen’s formal military and the Saudi-led coalition has now reached a breaking point.
Geographical and ideological differences deepen the military conflict. Due to the 1990 north-driven unification and the south’s defeat in the 1994 civil war, northern officers and soldiers have since dominated the army’s composition. The southerners were thus largely kept out from the unified military. Yemen’s army soldiers have a tribal background and, in many cases, belong to the Hashid tribal confederation, of whom Saleh and the Al Ahmar family are part. They also share ties with the Yemeni Congregation for Reform (Islah), the party affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood and the tribal-conservative milieu. Capitalizing on his web of Islamist tribal-military loyalties in Mareb and al-Jawf, General Ali Mohsin Al Ahmar became vice president and deputy supreme commander of the armed forces for President Abd Rabu Mansur Hadi. Since President Hadi was formerly Saleh’s vice president, southerners mostly perceive him as a defender of northern interests, although he comes from the southern region of Abyan.
Moreover, a hate legacy since the 1986 intra-southern civil war is still alive and affects current military balances.
Aden’s clashes are yet another crisis that has faced Yemen’s military since the 2011 uprising. The factionalism and shifting alliances that have defined Yemeni politics have spread to its army. In 2011, the anti-government protests broke the army into two rival factions. One faction was in support of the former president Ali Abdullah Saleh, who resigned in late 2011. The other faction— led by General Ali Mohsin Al Ahmar and the prominent Al Ahmar family (not related to General Ali Mohsin)—was against him. In 2014 and 2015, the Houthi insurgency exacerbated these cleavages.
The military’s growing fragmentation weakens the anti-Houthi front, thus increasing risks for Saudi national security.
De-escalation and reconciliation efforts in the south should take into consideration the post-2011 security picture and its impact on the military—after all, factionalism and alliances of convenience produced Yemen’s current southern escalation. If these political contradictions are not addressed, new military rifts are likely to emerge resulting into further fragmentation – by Eleonora Ardemagni
https://carnegieendowment.org/sada/79881
(* B P)
The Yemen war's latest casualty is the press
The last surviving English paper in Yemen, the Yemen Observer, printed its final issue this year while only a handful of Arabic papers remain.
The slow death of journalism
Though there are tens of online English websites in Yemen, the quality is not high and is predominantly based on translations, not journalism.
"All media outlets around the world have a political orientation or affiliation in addition to being funded by ads and sales," Al Kibsi said. "When both of these factors are gone, they eventually shut down."
Before the unification of Yemen in 1990, there were two English newspapers in the south of Yemen published in the 1960s, the Aden Chronicle and The Recorder.
After the unification of south and north Yemen, the Republic of Yemen enjoyed a period of robust journalism with Dr Abdul Aziz Al Saqqaf establishing the Yemen Times in 1991.
When Saudi Arabia launched its military intervention to restore the internationally recognised government of Abed Rabu Mansour Hadi, many of the independent Arabic daily newspapers were forced to close under threat of attack or financial issues from the blockade.
The English newspaper, the Yemen Times, was among those that ceased printing as a sign of the shrinking freedom of the press in Sanaa. Its editor, Nadia Al Sakkaf was the minister of information in the Hadi government, so when Hadi fled from Sanaa in February 2015, the paper came under pressure in Sanaa from the Houthis and Saleh alliance – by Naseh Shaker
https://www.trtworld.com/magazine/the-yemen-war-s-latest-casualty-is-the-press-29940
(* B K P)
Yemen’s Houthis – and why they’re not simply a proxy of Iran
What was once a small opposition movement which emerged in Yemen’s north in the early years of the 21st century, is now a player of national, and increasingly, regional significance.
The entry of regional powers into the conflict in Yemen was prompted, in part at least, by fears of Iranian expansionism and the framing of events by the Saudis and their allies as a sectarian war. Yet, while the Houthis have benefited from support from Iran, the suggestion that they constitute little more than an Iranian proxy is wide of the mark.
There is limited evidence that Iran controls the Houthis’ strategy.
There are also significant doctrinal differences between the Houthis’ Zaydi version of Shia Islam and that practised in Iran
Framing the conflict as a sectarian war by proxy also misses the complexity of the motivations and the nature of the alliances fighting on all sides. In taking control of the capital, the Houthi movement drew support from a complex array of local groups, tribesmen and military officers who resented what they saw as their marginalisation at the hands of central government.
The expansion of the Houthi movement was also made possible by the shortcomings of the post-2011 transitional process and the Hadi government’s failure to address corruption or to pursue meaningful political reforms.
Insisting the conflict is a sectarian one also misses the extent to which regional players are using events in Yemen as a projection of their ambitions for power.
Despite this complexity, the US and its allies in the region, notably Saudi Arabia, find it convenient to see the Yemeni conflict as a simple proxy war between the Saudis and their allies on one side, and Iran and the Houthi movement on the other. In so doing, they condemn Yemen to the unnecessary prolongation of a brutal conflict that is long overdue for resolution – by Vincent Durac
http://theconversation.com/yemens-houthis-and-why-theyre-not-simply-a-proxy-of-iran-123708 = https://www.juancole.com/2019/09/yemens-houthis-simply.html
cp2a Saudische Blockade / Saudi blockade
(A K P)
[Sanaa government] Oil Minister Calls UN To Intervene To Release Oil Derivatives Ships
Minister of Oil and Minerals Ahmed Daress on Thursday called on the United Nations to intervene rapidly to release gas and oil derivatives ships held by Saudi-led aggression coalition to alleviate the worsening humanitarian situation in Yemen.
https://sabanews.net/en/news3069431.htm
cp3 Humanitäre Lage / Humanitarian situation
(* B H)
Film: Kids in Yemen talk about airplanes
CARE spoke to children about what they know about airplanes and what they told us was heart wrenching.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F1jxGgN55x0
(B H)
Red Cross: Yemen Social media dashboard
https://www.icrc.org/en/social-media-dashboard/country/ye/yemen
(B H P)
Film by Houthi Almasirah TV: Students in al-Dhali inaugurate new school year indifferent to aircraft sounds and rocket whiz
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OVaTdzHw_hE
(* B H)
Film by Center for Strategic & International Studies: Yemen’s Crisis
Many observers describe the situation in Yemen as the world’s worst humanitarian crisis. Nearly 80 percent of the country’s 28 million residents require assistance, and more than 7 million people are at risk of famine. Providing humanitarian assistance presents many challenges, as fighting and blockades frequently impede humanitarian access, and combatants divert aid supplies for political and financial gain. This discussion will examine how the dynamics of Yemen’s conflict help shape the country’s humanitarian situation, and participants will explore potential avenues to address issues of aid access.
Panelists include: Dr. Aisha Jumaan, Founder and President, Yemen Relief and Reconstruction Foundation; Peter Salisbury, Consulting Senior Analyst on Yemen, International Crisis Group; Sheba Crocker, Vice President for Humanitarian Policy and Practice, CARE. Moderator: Jon B. Alterman, Senior Vice President, Zbigniew Brzezinski Chair in Global Security and Geostrategy, and Director, Middle East Program, CSIS
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I_k8zFqK4-Q
Comment by Ali AlAhmed: First brown face on Yemen @CSIS after four and half years on Saudi war on Yemen. So far no panels on Saudi war on Yemen per Saudi and UAE funding influence.
https://twitter.com/AliAlAhmed_en/status/1174766907209240578
(* B H)
ICRC: 75% of Yemenis have no access to healthcare
The International Committee for the Red Cross (ICRC) said yesterday that 75 per cent of Yemenis have no access to healthcare.
On Twitter, the ICRC wrote: “There are 27 million people living in Yemen. There are 20 million people in Yemen with no access to healthcare. That’s almost 75% of the population. That’s catastrophic.”
In another tweet, the ICRC wrote: “Almost 75% of people in Yemen have no access to healthcare. Nearly 50% of health facilities in Yemen no longer function. Less than 30% of the desperately needed medicines and medical supplies are entering Yemen.”
https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20190919-icrc-75-of-yemenis-have-no-access-to-healthcare/
Almost 75% of people in Yemen have no access to healthcare. Nearly 50% of health facilities in Yemen no longer function. Less than 30% of the desperately needed medicines and medical supplies are entering Yemen (with film)
https://twitter.com/ICRC/status/1173554930726187008
(* B H)
Decades-Old Conflict Over Water in Yemeni Village Comes to an End
More than 20 million people in Yemen are food insecure and water is a scarce resource, with access further restricted by over four years of conflict. This is especially challenging for farmers who depend on water for a good harvest. Through support from the International Organization for Migration (IOM), in partnership with the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO), access to water has been improved for Yemeni farmers living across nearly 4,000 acres of agricultural land in the coastal governorate of Lahj.
In the area of Al Faradha, improved access to water for 2,000 farmers, as reported by the local community, has also meant an end to a 37-year-old local conflict.
Through funding from the United Nations Peacebuilding Fund, IOM partnered with FAO to support the community in Al Faradha solve their long running water access issues. The UN organizations worked with the local Water User Association to kick start the process. The three partners met the parties involved in the local conflict to understand their issues and work together on possible solutions.
IOM and FAO implemented this UN Peace Building Fund project in both Sana’a and Lahj governorates. As a result of the project, thousands of farmers have improved access to water through rehabilitated irrigation channels in seven sites throughout Lahj governorate’s Turban Valley, with around 400 people from local communities employed during the construction work.
The irrigation channel rehabilitations have not only assisted farmers in rebuilding their livelihoods and given vulnerable households an income but helped communities end age-old local conflicts.
https://www.iom.int/news/decades-old-conflict-over-water-yemeni-village-comes-end
(* B H)
Record 12.4 million people reached with food aid in Yemen: U.N.
A record 12.4 million people in Yemen received food aid in August, the first time the targeted population was reached fully, the U.N. World Food Programme (WFP) said on Friday.
At the same time, WFP said it still needed $600 million from donors to provide uninterrupted food deliveries for the next six months in the war-torn country. Rations could be cut from October if funds are not forthcoming, it added.
(B H)
Being the largest development actor in #Yemen, #SFDYemen builds #Human_Capital & #Resilience for Haidan villagers #Saada. This is not possible without engaging them in knowing their needs and solutions and leveraging their capacities and resources Supported by @DFID_UK (photos)
https://twitter.com/SFDYemen/status/1174751198798389249
(B H)
Protection Cluster: Yemen Response and Gap Analysis - Activities of Protection Cluster Including Child Protection and Women Protection Sub-Clusters, January - August 2019
(* B H)
United Nations Population Fund: UNFPA Response in Yemen: Monthly Situation Report #08 August 2019
The conflict is becoming increasingly volatile and fragile.
Severe funding shortage to the Yemen Humanitarian Response Plan are forcing UNFPA and other humanitarian partners to downsize humanitarian responses. UNFPA, echoed the urgent call by UN Humanitarian Coordinator in Yemen, Lise Grande, for donors to provide $2.6 billion promised earlier this year. One million Yemeni women will lose access to life-saving reproductive health and protection services, if more funding is not received by September.
By the end of September, 175 of the 268 health facilities UNFPA currently supports will be shut if more funding is not received in the course of September.
https://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/unfpa-response-yemen-monthly-situation-report-08-august-2019
cp4 Flüchtlinge / Refugees
(A H)
Yemeni Kung Fu champion Hilal Al-Haj has died off Spanish Melilla city while trying to reach Europe in search for a better and safe life, his brother said in a eulogy on Facebook on Friday.
https://twitter.com/FuadRajeh/status/1174831036431290368
cp5 Nordjemen und Huthis / Northern Yemen and Houthis
(A P)
Freedom and Independence rally to be held in celebration of five years of Revolution
Fifth anniversary of September 21 Revolution to be marked by massive marches
The Yemeni Organising Committee of Events has called on the Yemeni people to participate in the mass rally titled “Freedom and Independence”, to be held on Saturday afternoon in Sana’a to mark the fifth anniversary of the September 21 Revolution of 2014.
The committee, in a statement obtained by the Yemeni Press Agency, stressed the importance of broad participation in this rally in order to confirm that the Yemeni people are moving forward in the battle for freedom and independence
(A P)
Mohammed al-Houthi reaffirms Ansarullah’s support for republican system
"We are Republicans, and do not call for reestablishing the Imamate", al-Houthi states
Supreme Political Council Member Mohammad Ali al-Houthi has reiterated Ansaruallah’s position on the republican system and the concept of the Imamate in Yemen.
“We are Republicans, and we do not call for the establishment of the Imamate in the state system,” al-Houthi said in a televised interview with Al-Masirah TV Channel on Thursday.
He pointed out that the former regime, referring to the government of Hadi that was overthrown by a popular revolution in 2014, was suffering of old age, and that it considered older leaders as constituting the entire state.
https://www.uprising.today/mohammed-al-houthi-reaffirms-ansarullahs-support-for-republican-system/
and
(A P)
YEMENIS COUNTERING WORLD’S STRONGEST, WEALTHIEST COUNTRIES: HOUTHI
Mohammed Ali al-Houthi, chairman of the Supreme Revolutionary Committee of Yemen, has said that the war-wracked country is countering the world’s “strongest and wealthiest” countries in its fight against the Saudi war.
Al-Houthi stressed that Yemen would strive to counter aggression on “all levels” and that it was time “to ward off the enemy,” Yemen’s Arabic-language al-Masirah television network reported.
Al-Houthi also slammed countries participating in the war on Yemen, adding that if they “were seeking the freedom of the Yemeni nation, they wouldn’t seek to partition [the country] and kill [the people].”
https://www.yemenpress.org/yemen/yemenis-countering-worlds-strongest-wealthiest-countries-houthi/
(* A P)
Missile and Drones experts from the Revolutionary Guards in Sana'a
The sources pointed out that the two experts, General Mahmoud Bagheri Kazimabad and General Javed Berdbar Sher Amin had entered into Yemen with false passports as doctors belonging to the United Nations, according to the sources. The sources pointed out that the experts Mahmoudabad and Javed Amin are covered by US sanctions and are wanted in five sanctions imposed by Washington for their association with the Iranian Revolutionary Guards and enable them Houthi militias to fire rockets on civilian sites and economic facilities in Saudi Arabia. The arrival of the two Iranian experts to Sana'a coincides with the escalation of Houthi militias attacks with rallies and missiles inside Yemen and civilian targets in southern Saudi Arabia, and some of its leaders continue to make threats of attacks and attacks on countries in the region.
My remark: As claimed by a Saudi news site.
(* B K P)
Obedient Proxy? Iranian-Huthi Ties In Focus After Saudi Oil Facility Attacks
Relations between Iran and the Huthis have moved closer since 2015 when Iran’s main regional rival, Saudi Arabia, and its allies, conducted a bombing campaign in Yemen
But relations between the two have moved closer in recent years due to the Yemeni war, a common enemy in Sunni Muslim Saudi Arabia, and a rejection of the dominant U.S. regional order, says Thomas Juneau, an associate professor at the Graduate School of Public and International Affairs at the University of Ottawa. He describes relations between the two as “very pragmatic.”
“Iran sees a nonstate actor which it can support -- this helps it gain influence in Yemen and pressure Saudi Arabia,” Juneau says.
“The Huthis are equally pragmatic: faced with a military onslaught by the far more advanced Saudi military, no other external actor would have been willing to support them so much,” he adds.
Farea al-Muslimi, the chairman and co-founder of the Sana'a Center for Strategic Studies and associate fellow at the Middle East and North Africa Program at Chatham House, wrote in 2017 that the war in Yemen made the relationship between Iran and the Huthis “more essential.”
“To Iran, the Huthis have not, in fact, been much of strategic allies, but they could rather be perceived as the least costly, yet the closest, middle finger that could be raised against Saudi Arabia from its own backyard.”
“It is clear that this [Iranian] support has steadily increased over the years, but its level should not be exaggerated, as many Iran hawks in the U.S. and elsewhere do,” Juneau says – by Golnaz Esfandiari
https://www.rferl.org/a/proxy-huthi-iran-saudi/30173612.html
(A P)
Yemen to emphasize international diplomatic representation
Ministerial meeting affirms need to increase diplomatic outreach of Republic of Yemen
https://www.uprising.today/yemen-to-emphasize-international-diplomatic-representation/
(* B K P)
Houthis killed 43 civilians in one week
The Houthis rebels have killed 43 civilians among them six women and twelve children in areas under their control in north Yemen, a local human rights organization said on new report released on Wednesday.
The Yemeni Network for Rights and Liberties documented human rights abuses carried out by the Houthis against the civilians from 6 September to 13 September 2019.
Total human rights violations that were verified reached over 1,000 abuses, according to the Yemeni Network for Rights and Liberties.
Seven civilians out of the total 43 murder cases, were killed in a weapon store explosion in a residential area of Hodeida, the report noted.
https://www.alsahwa-yemen.net/en/p-33225
My remark: By an anti-Houthi news site, mixing up victims of military actions and of tyrannic rule.
cp6 Südjemen, Separatisten und Hadi-Regierung / Southern Yemen, separatists and Hadi-government
Siehe / Look at cp1
(* A K P)
Militia fighters from the Sabeha tribes clashed with forces aligned with the Transitional Political Council for the South (STC), a southern Yemeni secessionist group, in Lahij governorate in southern Yemen on September 19. Sabeha tribesmen intercepted STC-aligned forces that were trying to attack areas controlled by forces aligned with President Abdu Rabbu Mansour Hadi’s government, according to anti-STC media. STC-aligned forces were attempting to attack the 4th Jabali Infantry Brigade in neighboring Taiz governorate, according to these reports. The Sabeha tribes recently pledged to prevent the passage of any forces between Taiz and Lahij.[1]
(A P)
Oil vessels detained in Hadhramaut
Local authorities prevent export in protest against lack of funding to southeastern province
The local authorities of Hadhramaut province, which are loyal to the UAE occupation, have on Wednesday prevented a ship from anchoring at al-Dhabba port on the coast of Hadhramaut. The vessel was supposed to transport crude oil from the oil fields in the province.
According to local sources, the local authority earlier prevented another ship from loading crude oil from the oil port of al-Dhabba.
The move comes as a way to pressure Hadi’s government to fulfill its obligations to improve and provide basic services, including electricity and fuel, in the province, which has not received its share of the oil export revenues amounting to 20% since the year 2016, the sources added.
The provincial leadership hopes to pressure Hadi into conceding to their demands, by putting financial pressure on his rule.
https://www.uprising.today/oil-vessels-detained-in-hadhramaut/
(* B H P)
The Road from Yemen: Part 6 - Retracing the Steps of the Displaced
Deportations across Yemen’s invisible internal border: ‘This kind of thing will keep happening’
The violence has since escalated and raises fears of a “civil war within a civil war” as the two groups vie for control of Aden and other areas in the south. It is not the first fighting between the Yemeni government forces and those backed by the UAE - the Southern Transitional Council (STC) and Security Belt forces - which support the secession of the south. It has, however, been the most destructive and worrisome and included reported air raids by the UAE on Saudi-back government forces that killed as many as 300 people.
Another event that took place in reaction to the missile strike but received much less attention, particularly in the western media, was the deportation from southern governorates of people from, or perceived to be from northern Yemen. Mass deportations of this kind also took place in 2016, as historical divides aggravate the country’s displacement crisis.
In Aden in particular, groups of people wearing Security Belt fatigues stopped shopkeepers, restaurant owners and day workers from governorates that formed part of North Yemen before the country’s unification in 1990. They beat them up, insulted them and threatened them with death if they did not leave the city immediately. People from Taiz were particularly targeted. The authorities and monitoring groups registered hundreds of displacements in early August, but the exact number is unknown.
We interviewed with some of those affected.
Ammar,* a 30-year-old construction worker living and working in al-Mansoura district since 2010, was stopped in the street with his five co-workers as they were returning from their lunch break on 4 August. He said:
“As we left the restaurant, a group of Security Belt soldiers stopped us in the street and asked us where we were from. We are all from Taiz and our response led to a beating and racist insults. There were about ten of them and they threatened to kill us if we stayed in Aden. We quickly went home, packed our things and left.”
Other non-residents and even residents of Aden were also affected by the political tension and violence.
http://www.internal-displacement.org/expert-opinion/the-road-from-yemen-part-6
(A K P)
Minister of Defense directs military units to stop dealing with the commander of the fourth reverse region
Defense Minister Lt. Gen. Mohammed Ali al-Meqdeshi issued an order to stop dealing with any instructions issued by the commander of the 4th Military Region.
Although General Fadl Hassan appeared next to the deputy prime minister during the clashes, as soon as the situation was resolved militarily by UAE-backed forces, Hassan appeared alongside the transitional leaders who led the armed rebellion in the city.
https://almasdaronline.com/articles/171776
(A K P)
"Transitional" gunmen raid the house of a pro-government military commander in Aden and loot its contents
https://almasdaronline.com/articles/171777
and also https://www.uprising.today/separatists-attack-hadi-officers-house-in-aden/
(A K)
Clashes between gunmen and army personnel at Al-Abbr Triangle point in Hadramaut Desert
Members of an army checkpoint at “Al-AbbrTriangle point in the Hadhramaut desert in eastern Yemen clashed with gunmen who refused to stop at the point and started shooting at their members.
https://almasdaronline.com/articles/171779
(B P)
Documents Revealing Exhausting Aden Resources for the Interest of Northern Governorates
Documents of General Foundation of Electricity in Aden revealed that most of the foundations’ resources were exhausted in buying network materials, oils, spare parts and other things for stations in addition to sending monthly share of revenues to the Ministry of Electricity.
My comment: Separatist propaganda is telling: We only want to care for ourselves.
(A P)
Government trusts Saudis to end rebellion in Aden
The Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mohammed Al-Hadhrami renewed on Wednesday his government’s confidence on the Saudi efforts to end rebellion in Aden.
https://www.alsahwa-yemen.net/en/p-33226
My comment: LOL.
(A K P)
[Separatist militia] First Brigade Backup and Support Reinforces Abian Fronts with Heavy Weapons
Tthe first brigade backup and support, under commandership of Hanash Al-Nemri, reinforce Shakra – Abian with a battalion of heavy weapons on Monday September 16, 2019
https://en.smanews.org/first-brigade-backup-and-support-reinforces-abian-fronts-with-heavy-weapons
(A P)
STC Launches the New School Year with the [Southern Yemeni] National Anthem in Aden
https://en.smanews.org/stc-launches-the-new-school-year-with-the-national-anthem-in-aden
STC Launches the Singing of National Anthem in Al-Nahda Secondary School in Sheikh Othman
(A P)
Abian Rises Southern Flags Over Schools and Public Facilities
https://en.smanews.org/abian-rises-southern-flags-over-schools-and-public-facilities
(A K P)
Severe Loses of Muslim Brotherhood Militias after An Attack of Southern Resistance Over a Security Checkpoint in Maifa’a
(A P)
Yemen demands Japan, Bangladesh to reject politicizing HR issue
http://en.26sepnews.net/2019/09/19/yemen-demands-japan-bangladesh-to-reject-politicizing-hr-issue/
My comment: LOL.
(A K P)
Ben Brik Visits Southern Injured in Egyptian Hospitals
Hany Ben Brik, vice president of the Southern Transitional Council, visited the injured of southern armed forces being treated in Egypt.
https://en.smanews.org/ben-brik-visits-southern-injured-in-egyptian-hospitals
(B P)
Muslim Brotherhood conspires against the Coalition in Yemen
Al-Islah party, the political arm of the Muslim Brotherhood in Yemen, is still setting the goals of the Iranian-backed Houthi militias and Muslim Brotherhood as a priority over the interests of Yemen.
Al-Islah Party was in shock after the Arab intervention in the Yemeni crisis, this helped in preventing the scheme to control the Yemeni state in cooperation with the Houthi militia, despite all ideological differences between the two parties.
http://en.adenpress.news/news/13332
My comment: Separatist propaganda blaming their internal enemy Islah Party, again repeating conspiracy theories. And more of this:
(A P)
Al Jaadi: The Islah Party Turned the War into a Lucrative Trade
In a tweet, Al Jaadi said and reiterated that the war in Yemen cannot end with victory as long as the Muslim Brotherhood 'Islah Party' dominates the decisions of the legitimacy and is at the forefront of the scene.
He added, "The Islah Party turned the war into a lucrative trade that generates vast amounts of money, weapons and governmental positions, as well as the support it receives from Qatar and Turkey."
http://en.adenpress.news/news/13330
and
(A P)
Yemen's legitimacy is a heavy burden on the Coalition, Al-Jaadi says
Al-Jaadi said in his tweets "it's for the first time that a government overthrows its saviours and does what it takes to disrupt their efforts and even goes as far as to assassinate Coalition military commanders, just as yesterday in Shibam through its terrorist tools."
"the Yemeni government continues to vigorously endeavour to tear the Arab Coalition apart, most recently, the appointment of someone close to the Muslim Brotherhood and lacks the slightest degree of diplomacy as Minister of Foreign Affairs and what's more, he showed manifest hostility with his statements towards the Coalition, in particular the United Arab Emirates."
http://en.adenpress.news/news/13338
(A P)
Shatara: Everyone blames Hadi for the decisions he made
Member of the Presidency of the Southern Transitional Council, Lutfi Shatara that everyone blames Yemen's President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi for the decisions he made on Thursday, appointing Salem bin Brik a Minister of Finance, Mohammed al-Hadhrami a Minister of Foreign Affairs and Ahmed al-Fadhli a governor for the central bank.
Shatara tweeted that Hadi brought the Houthis to Sana'a and made them the biggest rival for the region after having been strengthened by the former president Ali Abdullah Saleh during six wars.
He explained that Hadi strengthened Islah party, Yemen's Muslim Brotherhood which was founded by Saleh and it was as Saleh's partners in ruling the country and in corruption before it turned against him." adding that "Hadi made Islah the biggest rival for Yemenis in both northern and southern Yemen and then he left the country along with his leadership."
http://en.adenpress.news/news/13336
(A K P)
Lauder Security Belt Forces [Separatist militia] Warn the Islah Militias
http://en.adenpress.news/news/13329
(A P)
Shatara: The Government Must Stop Punishing the Public
Member of the Presidency of the Southern Transitional Council Lutfi Shatara called on the legitimate government to stop punishing the public by denying them the public services and their salaries
Member of the presidency pointed that the government has to fulfil its obligations towards the public services, in providing the public such as electricity and water and not to use it as a political card that negatively affects people's lives.
http://en.adenpress.news/news/13328
My comment: What a joke. The separatists had expelled the Hadi government troops and officials from Yemen and seized the city – and now they claim the Hadi government should care for public services and salaries. After you seized the city, it’s your job, guys, and if this does not work now it’s your failure. This is how taking and governing a city is working, folks.
(A P)
Hadi Makes Limited Cabinet Reshuffle
reshuffle of three ministerial portfolios within the government of the prime minister Dr. Moein Abdul-Malik.
Mohammed Abdullah Al-Hadrami is appointed as the new Minister of Foreign Affairs of Yemen and Salem Saleh bin Brik is appointed as the new Minister of Finance. Ahmed Ubaid Al-Fadhli is appointed as governor of the Central Bank of Yemen.
https://www.spa.gov.sa/viewfullstory.php?lang=en&newsid=1971519
http://en.26sepnews.net/2019/09/19/president-hadi-names-new-ministers-central-bank-governor/
https://almasdaronline.com/articles/171763
https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20190920-hadi-reshuffles-cabinet-in-yemens-south/
(* A T)
4 civilians killed, 20 injured in bomb blast on bus carrying passengers near Al-Wade’ah port
Four civilians were killed and about 20 others injured on Thursday when an explosive device exploded as a passenger bus passed near the Al- Wade’ah international outlet in Hadramaut province, eastern Yemen.
A military source told Al-Masdar Online that an explosive device planted on the international road near the Port of Al- Wade’ah, which links Yemen and Saudi Arabia, exploded while a mass transport bus carrying more than 40 passengers was passing by which was coming from Saudi Arabia.
The blast, believed to have been planted to target a military convoy expected to pass through the area (photos)
https://almasdaronline.com/articles/171761
Photos also here: https://twitter.com/sadeqalwesabi/status/1174664405281386498
And also https://almasdaronline.com/articles/171768
(* A T)
Coalition commander killed in Hadramaut Valley and four soldiers in targeting military patrol in Shebam city
The commander of the coalition forces (Saudi nationality) was killed in the Hadramaut Valley and four of his companions in a violent explosion targeting military vehicles, Wednesday morning, in the city of Shebam in Hadhramauti province in eastern Yemen.
A military source told Al-Masdar online that the explosion targeted a military patrol of the first military zone deployed in Hadhramauti valley, which was carrying the commander of the Forces of the Arab coalition in The Valley of Hadramaut Brigadier General "Abu Nawaf", who was killed along with four other soldiers, including two Saudi soldiers and two Yemenis, in addition to injuring About a dozen other soldiers were injured.
https://almasdaronline.com/articles/171758
and also https://republicanyemen.net/en/archives/21040
(A E P)
STC offers full support for al-Bahsani's decision to halt oil export
The President of the National Assembly of the Southern Transitional Council, Major General Ahmed Saeed Bin Brik called on all members of Hadramai society to stand against tampering and theft of Hadramout's wealth in solidarity with the decision made by the governor of Hadramout, Major General Faraj Salmin al-Bahsani to halt exportation of crude oil.
http://en.adenpress.news/news/13325
My comment: The governor is supported by the separatists?
(* A K P)
Hadi forces carry out attacks against separatists in Aden
Conflict in Aden flares up as Hadi loyalists are on the move
Gunmen believed to be affiliated with Hadi’s forces have on Wednesday launched a twin attack targeting the UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council’s militias in Aden province, southern Yemen.
https://www.uprising.today/hadi-forces-carry-out-attacks-against-separatists-in-aden/
cp7 UNO und Friedensgespräche / UN and peace talks
(* B H K P)
UN Human Rights Council: Implementation of technical assistance provided to the National Commission of Inquiry to investigate allegations of violations and abuses committed by all parties to the conflict in Yemen (A/HRC/42/33)
Pursuant to Human Rights Council resolution 39/21, the present report provides an overview of the technical assistance and capacity-building which the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights has been providing since March 2016 to the National Commission of Inquiry to investigate allegations of violations and abuses committed by all parties to the conflict in Yemen, and in line with international standards. In her report, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights describes the mandate of the National Commission and the difficulties it has faced in implementing it. She concludes with a set of recommendations, calling upon all stakeholders to implement the recommendations made in previous reports of the High Commissioner and of the Group of Eminent International and Regional Experts on Yemen to the Human Rights Council.
cp8 Saudi-Arabien / Saudi Arabia
(A P)
Film: Via @al_sudairi: Pro #Saudi Monarchy men try to get dozens to join them in singing Saudi national anthem on its national #SaudiNationalDay #Riyadh. Watch the response The people are no thrilled
https://twitter.com/AliAlAhmed_en/status/1175040055288745984
(* B P)
Crucifixion, beheading: Saudi Arabia carries out executions
Scottie Nell Hughes discusses a heartrending new UN report about the 134 people brutally tortured and publicly executed in Saudi Arabia this year alone for the “crime” of opposing the government.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CqA9vTZ-R3g
(* B E P)
To Keep Exports Flowing, Saudi Arabia Looks to Import Oil
Attacks on the kingdom’s oil facilities are changing global trade flows in unusual ways
Less than a week after a withering attack on the heart of Saudi Arabia’s oil industry, the country is pulling out all the stops to do what it has promised it always would: give customers every drop of oil they’ve ordered.
Aramco, its state-owned oil giant, is reaching out to foreign producers for crude to send to its domestic refineries, so it can divert its own oil to foreign buyers, according to oil traders. It has also been buying other petroleum products, like refined fuels, from neighbors, reversing the region’s usual trade flows in which Saudi Arabia has long been the supplier of last resort in times of crisis.
Saudi officials earlier this week said they would use excess inventory and untapped production capacity to meet customers’ needs until it restored capacity at facilities damaged by the attacks.
In the short term, Aramco went to global markets seeking products including diesel, gasoline and fuel oil for domestic use, according to traders. To preserve its own crude for exports, Saudi Arabia needs to reduce the amount of domestic crude it refines to make those products.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/to-keep-exports-flowing-saudi-arabia-looks-to-import-oil-11568885401
Comment: This is a must read article. My own assessment is this: the scale of the (Iranian) attacks is much larger - and more damaging - then what #KSA has publicly acknowledged. It’s will take a long, long time before production returns to “normal.”
https://twitter.com/SigiMideast/status/1174993236231970817
and
(* A E P)
Saudi Arabia ‘bullies’ wealthy families to pump cash into oil IPO
Rich locals including Prince Alwaleed pushed to become cornerstone Aramco investors
Saudi Arabia is pressuring wealthy families to buy in to the initial public offering of its state oil company, as part of a plan to achieve the $2tn valuation coveted by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
Eight people familiar with the talks said they were part of a plan to build confidence in the Saudi Aramco deal, which has been rocked by last weekend’s devastating attacks on Saudi Arabia’s oil infrastructure.
Four of the sources said the aim was to “strong-arm”, “coerce” or “bully” some of the wealthiest families in the kingdom to become cornerstone investors in what has been billed as the world’s biggest ever IPO.
Many of the families targeted had members previously imprisoned in Riyadh’s Ritz-Carlton hotel in 2017 and 2018, in what the government billed as a crackdown on corruption.
(* B P)
Film: Side event at #HRC42: enforced disappearances, arbitrary detention and executions in #SaudiArabia. Watch LIVE here
https://twitter.com/ALQST_ORG/status/1174671856470675456
(B P)
Video footage showing #Saudi's continued, unjustified military presence in #Qatif, where armored vehicles constantly storm through residential areas, terrorizing the locals and often destroying property or even running over pedestrians.
https://twitter.com/PrintempsArabeS/status/1174786038126002177
cp8a Jamal Khashoggi
(A P)
Another questionable organization resort to cultural disdain of #Arabs and natives by holding an event with all white panel on the murder of #JamalKhashoggi
https://twitter.com/AliAlAhmed_en/status/1174728609476599815
referring to
Justice for Jamal: The United States and Saudi Arabia One Year After the Khashoggi Murder
As we approach the one-year anniversary of Jamal Khashoggi’s brutal murder, please join POMED and 12 other human rights and press freedom organizations for a public event on Capitol Hill to commemorate Jamal’s life, to call for accountability, and to cast a light on the Saudi government’s repression of those who are perceived to be critical of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and his regime.
https://pomed.org/event/justice-for-jamal/
https://twitter.com/POMED/status/1174722424635633664
My remark: On POMED: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_on_Middle_East_Democracy
cp9 USA
(* B K P)
TRUMP CAN STILL PROVE HE'S A DEAL MAKER—BY BROKERING PEACE IN YEMEN AND DEFUSING A REGIONAL WAR WITH IRAN | OPINION
The "Art of the Deal" seems to have eluded our president since taking office. In an arc of crises spanning from Venezuela to North Korea, Trump's supposed talent for negotiations has produced noticeably few breakthroughs.
Yet, for all its complexities and fault lines, opportunity for diplomacy in Yemen remains, and there are compelling reasons for the Trump administration to devote considerable resources to achieving peace. As noted by Martin Griffiths, UN Special Envoy for Yemen, the war's great secret is that it can be ended.
Ending Yemen's conflict won't instantly put an end to the rivalry that has brought the U.S. and Iran to the brink of war, but could be exactly what is needed to set a new course for a more peaceful future for the U.S. and the Middle East.
https://www.newsweek.com/trump-defuse-peace-yemen-saudi-iran-regional-war-art-deal-1460195
My comment: This will not happen, as it’s not in the US ruling elite’s interest.
(* B K P)
Facing Iran, Saudi Arabia still owes US $181 million for Yemen refueling
The Pentagon was set to outline new military options to President Donald Trump on Friday to respond to an attack on Saudi Arabia’s oil industry, but Riyadh still has an unpaid bill with the Pentagon for $181 million over assistance in Yemen.
Despite the Trump administration’s emphasis on the U.S.-Saudi alliance in the wake of an attack that both sides attribute to Iran, Saudi Arabia has not repaid the Pentagon for its midair refueling assistance for its bombing runs over Yemen, nine months after the Pentagon announced it would seek to recoup its costs.
Amid questions about whether it was the responsibility of the Saudis to defend themselves, Trump ― known for his perennial focus on burden-sharing in security arrangements ― told reporters on Monday that Saudi Arabia would play a large role. He emphasized that Riyadh has been a “great ally” for its investments in the U.S., saying: "Saudi Arabia pays cash.”
(A P)
Tulsi Gabbard to Trump: Acting as Saudi Arabia's B*tch Is Not 'America First'
(A P)
The Saudi dictator's fake charity is now looking for a new Manhattan location, after we successfully pushed @NYPL library to cancel.
https://twitter.com/SunjeevBery/status/1174744557357084674
referring to https://miskglobalforum.com/forum/
(B P)
All the #Saudi-backed “think-tanks” & analysts calling for war are too stupid to realize that war in the #Gulf will end their #Saudi patron, thus funding, their records will come out.
https://twitter.com/AliAlAhmed_en/status/1174639330687672320
cp9a USA-Iran Krise: Wachsende Spannungen am Golf / US-Iran crisis: Mounting tensions at the Gulf
(A K P)
Confirmed: Network data show intermittent disruptions to internet connectivity in #Iran from 6:30 PM UTC amid reports of disruptions and outages affecting online industrial and government platforms; limited impact affecting specific providers; root cause not yet established
https://twitter.com/netblocks/status/1175174740199317507
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U.S. to deploy military forces to Saudi Arabia, UAE after drone attacks on oil sites
"The president has approved the deployment of U.S. forces which will be defensive in nature," Secretary of Defense Mark Esper said Friday.
The United States is deploying military forces to the Middle East after Saturday's drone attacks on major oil sites in Saudi Arabia that the administration of President Donald Trump has blamed on Iran.
"The president has approved the deployment of U.S. forces which will be defensive in nature and primarily focused on air and missile defense," U.S. Secretary of Defense Mark Esper said at a news conference Friday.
Answering reporters' questions about the deployment, Gen. Joseph F. Dunford Jr., chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, described the troop deployment as "modest" and "not thousands."
Dunford said he planned to confer with U.S. Central Command and Saudi officials to work out details of the deployment, which he said would be announced next week.
Esper said troops would be primarily focused on air and missile defenses.
The United States will also accelerate shipment of military hardware to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, he said.
The defense secretary said the troop deployment to those nations is happening as Iran has engaged in a "significant escalation of violence" in the region.
My comment: “deployment of U.S. forces which will be defensive in nature”: 7,000 miles away from US territory?? LOL.
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Who Needs John Bolton? Trump’s Neocons Are Determined to Go to War Against Iran
Make no mistake, the neocons are still in the White House and they want a war. The neocons or the neoconservatives want the U.S. to promote its form of democracy throughout the world and want to ensure its interests takes center stage in international relations through its military power.
According to Bush Jr., Iran was a threat to the U.S. and the world when he said that
The Bush administration was full of neocons who wanted to launch a war against Iran, but settled with attacking Iraq instead and we know what was the outcome
The Trump administration is continuing the same neocon approach by blaming Iran for everything that happens in the Middle East and threatening military action every chance they get.
Did Saudi Arabia give the “smoking gun” evidence to Washington? What will the Trump and his neocon war mongers do now? Remember when Iran was blamed for the attacks on two oil tankers in the Gulf of Oman? The Trump regime was quick to point fingers at Iran
Washington’s inner circles which are full of neocons on both sides of the aisle, both Democrats and Republicans want a war with Iran regardless of how they get it.
Washington’s aggressive behavior towards Iran is about oil since Iran has one of the largest oil reserves in the world – By Timothy Alexander Guzman
https://www.globalresearch.ca/trump-neocons-determined-go-war-against-iran/5689692
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U.S. sanctions Iran's central bank, fund after Saudi oil attack
The United States on Friday imposed another round of sanctions on Tehran, including on Iran’s central bank and a development fund, following last week’s attack on oil facilities in Saudi Arabia that Riyadh and Washington have blamed on Iran.
U.S. President Donald Trump outlined the action to reporters at the White House on Friday after first announcing his plan for further sanctions earlier this week on Twitter.
The sanctions target the Central Bank of Iran, the National Development Fund of Iran and Etemad Tejarate Pars Co, an Iranian company that U.S. officials said is used to conceal financial transfers for Iranian military purchases, the U.S. Treasury Department said in a statement.
Given previous U.S. efforts to cut off funds to Iran, it was not immediately clear how much more impact the latest sanctions would have.
Asked about the possibility of a military response on Iran, Trump said the United States was always prepared and that a military strike was always a possibility. Friday’s action is the “highest level of sanctions,” Trump said.
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UK PM Johnson and Emir of Qatar discuss Aramco attacks in London meeting
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Hezbollah says Iran would destroy Saudi Arabia in any war
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Saudi Arabia should open dialogue with Iran to save itself
It's in Saudi Arabia's interest to achieve by diplomacy what it constantly failed to achieve with its weak military
The attacks are a culmination of five years of erratic and undiplomatic moves that put the whole Arabian Peninsula including the small Gulf statelets in danger.
The biggest miscalculation that Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman made was to think that his new US-made jet fighters would launch devastating attacks on Yemen's Houthi rebels, thus pre-empting an Iranian takeover of its poor, southern neighbour.
However, nearly five years since the onslaught on Yemen began, none of these objectives have been achieved. In fact, Saudi military vulnerabilities proved to be a crippling obstacle to achieving these goals. Yemeni Houthi attacks have expanded and reached as far as the capital and major cities.
While the damage that this war has inflicted on Yemen is now well-documented, its impact on Saudi Arabia’s military capabilities and reputation is irreparable.
If the Saudi military wanted to test its capabilities in Yemen, with the war becoming a training field for its soldiers and pilots, then the whole world can now see how it is badly trained and unfit to conduct a war - even with all the US and British guidance and equipment.
The sponsors of Saudi military must certainly be disappointed if they believed a disciplined and well-trained Saudi army and air force could deliver the desired outcome.
No 'Desert warrior'
In comparison, many partners and allies of Saudi Arabia seem to be more satisfied by the UAE's performance in Yemen. But all military might is relative. The recent rift between the two coalition countries over south Yemen indicates that even Saudi Arabia's closest partner in the destruction of Yemen is having second thoughts about the war.
In a fully fledged war with Iran on behalf of Mohammad bin Salman, which the international community may not be ready to embark on, it is certain that the Saudis could fight alone. Whether the international community wants a war now remains to be seen, but King Salman and his son are now pleading to enlist Trump and others in a coalition of the willing.
They are even proposing to launch an investigation to establish the source of the attack, which they definitely want to lead to Iran. But let’s not forget how Saudi Arabia blocked every UN initiative to investigate its war crimes in Yemen after civilian casualties reached a horrific figure.
The Saudis also resisted and rejected any international investigation of its crime of the century that resulted in the murder of Jamal Khashoggi in its own consulate in Istanbul.
Saving Saudi Arabia
The Middle East in general and Saudi Arabia in particular are not that relevant to this American administration, as their main focus is beyond the region and its old rivalries and intrigues. Trump neither respects Saudi leaders nor cares about their fate.
Saudi leaders will find out that sooner or later the US will allow them to sink into oblivion, like the many dictatorships supported but later dropped by Washington.
It is in the interest of Saudi Arabia to achieve by diplomacy what it constantly failed to achieve with its weak military. Saudi Arabia should end the Yemen war as soon as possible, pay for the reconstruction of Yemen, and open dialogue with Iran to save itself. The US will not come to its rescue – by Madawi al-Rasheed
https://www.middleeasteye.net/opinion/saudi-arabia-should-open-dialogue-iran-save-itself
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Iran's Zarif says Saudi, UAE want to "fight Iran to the last American"
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said on Friday that U.S.-allied Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates seem to wish to “fight Iran to the last American”.
Zarif was responding to a statement a day earlier by U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo
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As chance of Trump, Rouhani meeting at U.N. fades, talk turns to Security Council
The chances of a meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani while they are both in New York next week for the annual gathering of world leaders at the United Nations have dwindled since an attack on Saudi oil facilities.
As the world waits to see what happens next and Washington and U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres suggested the U.N. Security Council has a role to play following Saturday’s attacks, some attention has turned to when and how it could.
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Ruhani darf zu UN-Versammlung in die USA einreisen
Irans Präsident Hassan Ruhani und sein Außenminister Mohammed Dschawad Sarif haben nun doch ein Einreisevisum für die USA zur Teilnahme an der UN-Vollversammlung in New York in der kommenden Woche erhalten, wie ein Sprecher bestätigte. Zuvor hatte Sarif seinem US-Kollegen Mike Pompeo vorgeworfen, der iranischen Delegation Einreisevisa für die Teilnahme an der UN-Vollversammlung in New York verweigern zu wollen.
Die USA seien aber verpflichtet, den UN-Delegationen Visa auszuhändigen. "Minister Mike Pompeo versucht jedoch, mit selbst fabrizierten Bestimmungen von dieser Verpflichtung abzuweichen", twitterte Sarif.
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VAE treten internationaler Koalition für maritime Sicherheit bei
Die Vereinigten Arabischen Emirate haben am Donnerstag bekannt gegeben, dass sie dem International Maritime Security Construct beigetreten sind, einer internationalen Allianz, die die Sicherheit der Seeschifffahrt und des internationalen Handels schützen soll.
Salem Mohammed Al Zaabi, Direktor der Abteilung für internationale Sicherheitskooperation im Ministerium für auswärtige Angelegenheiten und internationale Zusammenarbeit, sagte, dass der Beitritt der VAE zum Bündnis die regionalen und internationalen Bemühungen zur Abwehr von Bedrohungen für die Seeschifffahrt und den Welthandel sowie für die Binnenschifffahrt unterstützt um die Energieversorgung der Weltwirtschaft zu sichern und zur Wahrung des Weltfriedens und der internationalen Sicherheit beizutragen.
Die Allianz schützt die Interessen ihrer Mitglieder und ihrer Handelsschiffe bei der Durchquerung von Meerengen. Das Einsatzgebiet umfasst die Straße von Hormuz, Bab Al Mandab, das Oman-Meer und den Arabischen Golf.
http://www.wam.ae/de/details/1395302788187
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UAE joins international coalition for maritime security
The United Arab Emirates on Thursday announced it has joined International Maritime Security Construct, an international alliance that aims to protect the safety of maritime navigation and international trade.
Salem Mohammed Al Zaabi, Director of the International Security Cooperation Department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, said that the UAE's accession to the alliance comes in support of regional and international efforts to deter threats to maritime navigation and global trade, and in order to secure the flow of energy supplies to the global economy and contribute to the maintenance of international peace and security.
The alliance protects the interests of its members and their merchant ships when passing through maritime corridors. Its operation area covers the Strait of Hormuz, Bab Al Mandab, the Sea of Oman and the Arabian Gulf.
http://wam.ae/en/details/1395302787797
and
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UAE follows Saudi suit, joins anti-Iran naval mission in Persian Gulf
Following in the footsteps of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates has joined a US-led naval mission purportedly aimed at protecting shipping lanes in Middle Eastern waterways.
Washington moved to set up the coalition after pinning the blame on Tehran for two attacks on oil tankers in the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman in May and June.
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2019/09/19/606562/UAE-Persian-Gulf-Saudi-Arabia
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Zarif: Military strike on Iran will lead to 'all-out war' in region
Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif says a possible military strike against his country by the United States or Saudi Arabia will unleash an “all-out” war in the region.
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2019/09/19/606587/zarif-cnn-interview-iran-strike-allout-war
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Iraq will not join US-led Persian Gulf patrol force: Foreign Ministry
The Iraqi Ministry of Foreign Affairs says Baghdad will not join a US-led mission in the Persian Gulf purportedly seeking to protect maritime navigation, warning that such a military force will “complicate the political and security situation” in the Middle East region.
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Iranian military official says enemies will regret aggression against Tehran
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U.S. building coalition after Saudi oil attack, Iran warns against war
The United States said on Thursday it was building a coalition to deter Iranian threats following a weekend attack on Saudi Arabian oil facilities.
“We are here to build out a coalition aimed at achieving peace and a peaceful resolution. That’s my mission, that’s what President Trump certainly wants me to work to achieve and I hope that the Islamic Republic of Iran sees it that way,” Pompeo told reporters.
He did not provide details about the coalition.
My comment: New coalitions every week.
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Sirens to ring out over Riyadh as Saudi’s Civil Defense test warning system
https://www.arabnews.com/node/1556191/saudi-arabia
Films: https://twitter.com/AhmadAlgohbary/status/1174698073869737985
https://twitter.com/AhmadAlgohbary/status/1174701224584724480
cp10 Großbritannien / Great Britain
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Film: The War in Yemen: British lawyers to launch war crimes inquiry
To date, no national investigations into alleged war crimes have been carried out. Families of the victims are now seeking justice in other countries. Ahmet Alioglu has more from London.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BhxAnM7snGI
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British government continues to aid repression in human rights-abusing countries, new data shows
The British government is continuing to approve the export of hi-tech surveillance equipment and software of the type that is being used by states abusing human rights to monitor and repress dissent, new government figures show. The government's exports of 'telecommunications interception equipment' to repressive states are likely unlawful.
In the past 12 months, “telecommunications interception equipment”, or software and technology for such equipment, has been exported to 13 countries, including authoritarian regimes such as the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Saudi Arabia, Oman and Qatar.
Such technology enables security forces to monitor the private activities of groups or individuals, potentially enabling them to crack down on political opponents.
cp11 Deutschland / Germany
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Menschenrechtler: Waffenexporte an Kriegsparteien im Jemen beenden
Menschenrechtler und Kirchen fordern ein Ende aller Rüstungsexporte an Staaten, die am Jemen-Krieg beteiligt sind. Die Gemeinsame Konferenz Kirche und Entwicklung (GKKE) begrüßte am Donnerstag in Berlin, dass die Bundesregierung den Rüstungsexportstopp nach Saudi-Arabien um weitere sechs Monate verlängert hat. Allerdings seien auch die Vereinigten Arabischen Emirate, Ägypten, Bahrain, Jordanien, Kuwait, Senegal und der Sudan Teil der Koalition, die nach wie vor im Jemen "einen brutalen Krieg unter grober Missachtung des humanitären Völkerrechts" führe.
„Diese Staaten dürfen keine Waffen und Rüstungsgüter aus Deutschland erhalten."
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Krieg im Jemen – Offener Brief an die Mitglieder des Bundessicherheitsrates
Im Folgenden veröffentlicht Die Freiheitsliebe einen offenen Brief von 56 Bündnissen und Organisationen an den Bundessicherheitsrat, jenem Gremium also, in dem in Deutschland Rüstungsexporte beschlossen werden.
wir, die unterzeichnenden Organisationen, begrüßen, dass die Bundesregierung laut Koalitionsvertrag keine Waffen mehr an Staaten exportieren will, die unmittelbar am Jemen-Krieg beteiligt sind. Zudem begrüßen wir das gegenüber Saudi-Arabien verhängte Rüstungsexportmoratorium, mit dem Genehmigungen von Rüstungsexporten nach Saudi-Arabien gestoppt und Firmen dazu aufgefordert wurden, bereits bestehende Ausfuhrgenehmigungen nicht zu nutzen. Dies waren wichtige erste Schritte.
Angesichts der eklatanten Verletzungen des humanitären Völkerrechts und der Menschenrechte durch Kriegsparteien im Jemen muss die Bundesregierung zwingend über die bisherigen Maßnahmen hinausgehen.
Daher fordern wir Sie als Mitglieder der Bundesregierung auf:
Verhängen Sie ein umfassendes und zeitlich nicht befristetes Rüstungsexportverbot gegenüber allen Mitgliedern der von Saudi-Arabien angeführten Militärkoalition im Jemen, solange diese am bewaffneten Konflikt beteiligt sind oder die Gefahr besteht, dass auch deutsche Rüstungsgüter zu Menschen- und Völkerrechtsverletzungen im Jemen beitragen. Dieses darf keine Ausnahmen für Komponentenlieferungen im Rahmen europäischer Gemeinschaftsprojekte und bereits erteilte Exportgenehmigungen zulassen.
Folgen Sie der Entschließung des Europäischen Parlaments und setzen Sie sich für ein EU-Waffenembargo gegen alle Mitglieder der von Saudi-Arabien angeführten Militärkoalition im Jemen ein.
https://diefreiheitsliebe.de/politik/krieg-im-jemen-offener-brief-an-die-mitglieder-des-bundessicherheitsrates/ = http://justicenow.de/2019-09-20/krieg-im-jemen-offener-brief-an-die-mitglieder-des-bundessicherheitsrates/
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Pressemitteilung von Sevim Dagdelen, 19. September 2019
Kriegsdrohungen sind inakzeptabel – saudischen Botschafter einbestellen
„Das Säbelrasseln des saudischen Botschafters in Deutschland, Prinz Faisal bin Farhan al-Saud, gegenüber dem Iran ist unerträglich und nicht akzeptabel. Es kann nicht sein, dass der Vertreter der saudischen Diktatur von Deutschland aus mit Krieg droht. Die Bundesregierung muss den saudischen Botschafter einbestellen, um klarzustellen, dass seine Kriegsdrohungen gegen den Iran mit seinem diplomatischen Status hier unvereinbar sind.
cp12 Andere Länder / Other countries
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Iran’s Rouhani: Saudi, UAE started war in Yemen with support of US, Israel
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Spokesman: Ansarullah Encouraged by Iran to Participate in Political Talks
Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Seyed Abbas Mousavi said that his country has done efforts to convince Yemen's Ansarullah movement to participate in meetings which aim to settle the crisis in the country politically.
https://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13980628000559
cp12a Katar-Krise / Qatar crisis
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#Qatar Former Min. Of Energy (& direct maternal Uncle to HH Father Amir Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al Thani) HE Abdulla Bin Hamad Al Attiyah "Reason for Blockade by #Saudi #UAE Bahrain, is their desire to seize & control the largest #Gas field in the world owned by Doha."
https://twitter.com/suhaibnasir/status/1174612450563514369
referring to film: https://twitter.com/AJArabic/status/1174556222093058048
cp13 Waffenhandel / Arms trade
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Yemen Group of Experts’ Report Highlights Need to Halt Arms Sales
[Just Security is publishing a series of articles by experts discussing the major UN report on the Yemen War. This is the third article in the series.] [Just Security is publishing a series of articles by experts discussing the major UN report on the Yemen War. This is the third article in the series.]
Why should this matter for U.S. lawmakers? Because, simply put, along with allies including the United Kingdom (UK), and France, the United States arms, trains, refuels (until 2018 at least) and shares intelligence with Coalition forces. Just this spring, President Trump, citing new military tensions with Iran, used an “emergency” loophole in U.S. arms control law to bypass Congress to complete the sale of more than eight billion dollars in weapons to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Jordan. The move circumvented U.S. law that gives Congress power to review weapons sales.
By knowingly supplying the means by which the Saudi and Emirati-led Coalition repeatedly violates international human rights and international humanitarian law – including the crucial rules of proportionality, distinction, and precautions in attack – the U.S. shares responsibility for these violations.
The report of the Group of Eminent Experts has been clear about exactly this issue in its conclusions based on the investigation of emblematic airstrikes carried out by the Saudi and Emirati-led coalition: such repeated patterns raise “a serious doubt about whether the targeting process adopted by the coalition complied with these fundamental principles of international humanitarian law.”
Most importantly for the U.S. context, the report raises questions of responsibility related to third states, including the United States (others include the UK, France, and Iran), who directly or indirectly support parties to the conflict through the provision of arms. Specifically, the Group concludes that all arms transfers to members of the Saudi and Emirati-led Coalition, even by States that are not party to the Arms Trade Treaty, may not only trigger State responsibility in the sense that they may violate the obligation of States to cooperate to bring to an end any serious breach of international law, but also could amount to knowingly aiding or assisting members of the Saudi and Emirati-led Coalition in the commission of internationally wrongful acts.
Following the Group of Experts’ reporting, the U.S. government cannot bury its head in the sand and pretend that it does not know of the risks associated with arms transfers to parties to this conflict. Despite copious evidence of coalition air strikes that have violated international humanitarian law by indiscriminately or disproportionately killing and injuring Yemeni civilians and the conclusions about responsibility of arms supplying states by the Group of Experts, the United States continues to supply arms to Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
But something is changing in Washington, DC.
Stopping arms sales will help end this madness, and the time to act is now – by Rasha Mohamed and Philippe Nassif
https://www.justsecurity.org/66237/yemen-group-of-experts-report-highlights-need-to-halt-arms-sales/
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Raytheon: Security from 22,000 miles above Earth
Raytheon developing payload for a more resilient missile warning system
Advanced missile technology in the wrong hands threatens global security. Countering the threat starts with early missile detection.
To give military commanders that early warning ability, Lockheed Martin turned to Raytheon as one of two contractors selected to design the payload for its Next Generation Overhead Persistent Infrared, or Next Gen OPIR, Block 0 resilient missile warning satellite.
“When the stakes are this high, there’s no room for error,” said Roy Azevedo, president, Raytheon Space and Airborne Systems. “This is an urgent program, so going fast and getting it right the first time are critically important.”
https://www.raytheon.com/news/feature/security-22000-miles-above-earth
Comment by Ali AlAhmed: After its ware machine failed miserably in even dictating let alone stopping over 20 missiles & drones in #Saudi days ago @Raytheon is trying to keep its stock afloat. May your company go bankrupt & your CEO arrested for war crimes #Yemen
https://twitter.com/AliAlAhmed_en/status/1174780001511755785
cp14 Terrorismus / Terrorism
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Houthi rebels and Al Qaeda exchange 115 prisoners
“The Houthis released 50 Al Qaeda militants, meanwhile Al Qaeda gave 65 Houthi fighters,” said Majed Fadel, a deputy in the Ministry of Human Rights and member of the government prisoner exchange committee.
“This is not the first prisoner swap deal between the two sides... the Houthis have exchanged prisoners with Al Qaeda four times before, but all the previous deals took place very confidentially,” Mr Fadhel added.
https://www.thenational.ae/world/mena/houthi-rebels-and-al-qaeda-exchange-115-prisoners-1.912347
and also https://almasdaronline.com/articles/171769
cp15 Propaganda
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Iran is escalating with the US, not Saudi
The Sept. 14 attack on Saudi Aramco’s oil facility generated precisely the type of confusion that the Iranian regime aimed to create. Once the magnitude of the attack and its impact on the oil market became clear, policy discussions and public discourse in Washington centered on whether the United States needs to protect the Saudis, while completely ignoring that the attack was a direct result of the U.S.-Iran escalation.
That Iran is the culprit behind the attack on the Abqaiq and Kurais oil installations, regardless of where it originated, should not have come as a surprise to anyone.
Despite Iran’s clear motives, it has tried to influence events by driving a narrative of victimization to solicit sympathy for the perpetrator of the attack rather than the victim. By claiming that the Houthis alone are responsible for the planning and execution of the attack in response to “aggression,” Iran is trying to frame the conflict as a regional one in which the U.S. should not be intervening.
https://www.mei.edu/publications/iran-escalating-us-not-saudi
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#Houthi president, Mehdi al-Mashat, announced the cessation of targeting #Saudi territory by drones, ballistic missiles, and any form of targeting. They want #KSA to reciprocate. This is basically #Iran signaling to Trump that it will de-escalate for now.
https://twitter.com/YemeniFatima/status/1175113649029074944
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Weakened Iran Shows It Can Still Hold the Global Economy Hostage
Sun Tzu, the author of the 2,500-year-old The Art of War, is overquoted, but even in ancient China he knew the value of asymmetrical warfare—how smaller forces, such as guerrillas or today’s drones, possess advantages over huge ones, like standing armies or zillion-dollar fighter jets. He also knew to provide a battered opponent an escape, advising the conquering side to “leave an outlet free. Do not press a desperate foe too hard.”
Both of those lessons are on display in Iran. President Trump’s “maximum pressure” strategy has weakened Iran and hobbled its economy as intended. But it’s also made that country more dangerous, pushing it to strike back in unconventional and hard-to-counter ways, with its leaders rejecting a return to talks while their backs are up against the wall.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-09-19/how-iran-is-holding-the-world-s-economy-hostage
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We visited Saudi Arabia on the eve of 9/11. The Kingdom is changing for good
It was the eve of September 11, and we - a group of Evangelical leaders - found ourselves in al-Ula, having already spent most of the day in a candid dialogue with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s remarkable Crown Prince, Mohammed bin Salman.
Some of our friends (and critics) found it startling that a group of Evangelicals would venture to Saudi Arabia on a day fraught with so many horrible memories, but we actually believed it to be the most appropriate time to focus on where the Kingdom must go, can go, and where we believe it is going.
We were not disappointed.
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Cartoon: #Houthis claim responsibility for Aramco attack !!!!
https://twitter.com/RepYemenEnglish/status/1174710359141359617
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KSRelief chief urges UN to condemn Iranian violence in Yemen
Iran-backed Houthi militias had been shelling government-controlled civilian areas in the past five years
So far 113 Yemeni civilians have been killed, 1,030 have been injured and 20,357 Saudis have been displaced from border regions
The head of the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center (KSRelief) called on the UN to pass a resolution condemning the Iranian government for its support of a wave of violence by the Houthis against civilian targets in Yemen.
Dr. Abdullah Al-Rabeeah said the violence is having a “significant negative impact” on the people of Yemen and on the humanitarian aid effort led by the Saudi government.
https://www.arabnews.com/node/1556986
My comment: This is from Saudi Arabia! LOL, LOL, LOL.
(A P)
The Iran War: Danger Lurks In Inaction
Last weekend’s drone raid on the Saudi oil fields, along with the Israeli elections, opens a new chapter in Middle Eastern relations. Whether the attack on Saudi oil production, which has temporarily stopped more than half of it, was launched by Iranian-sponsored Yemeni Houthis or by the Iranians themselves is beside the point, as the Houthis had no independent ability whatever to acquire and use such weapons.
The Iranians are behind the incident. There is room for legitimate debate about the merits of the conflicting sides in the Yemen war, but there can be no doubt that by any standards, the direct attack on Saudi Arabia was an act of war, and as it was entirely dependent on Iranian weapons procurement and instruction, it is an escalation of the war-by-proxy between Iran and Saudi Arabia in Yemen with an outright act of war by Iran against Saudi Arabia.
There is no reason to believe, or even to recommend, that Saudi Arabia should turn the other cheek and engage in reactive pacifism. Because the Trump administration has ignored the efforts of American political factions, including recalcitrant Republicans, to ditch the Saudis, Washington retains great influence on the Saudi response to what is a severe provocation. This can be seen as a great opportunity, as it furnishes a justification for administering a heavy blow against the most troublesome regime in the world.
An air assault on Iranian oil facilities and nuclear military sites would be entirely justified, and this measure should be prepared as the next step, with the prior approval of a reasonable range of supportive countries, as the instant response to any further provocations – by Conrad Black
https://www.nysun.com/foreign/war-in-the-gulf-danger-lurks-in-inaction/90838/
My comment: Might-be the most warmongering article I had seen so far. Articles by this author: https://www.nysun.com/authors/Conrad+Black
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Here’s All The Evidence That Iran Is Responsible For The Saudi Attack
https://dailycaller.com/2019/09/19/evidence-that-iran-is-responsible-saudi-attack/
My comment: It’s an overview article, given a propaganda spin by the headline.
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Iran Hit the West Where it Hurts: At the Pump
The Iranian regime is likely responsible for this weekend’s attack on Saudi oil facilities that caused the largest spike in oil prices in nearly 30 years. This attack on a US ally is a part of a larger Iranian escalation against US and partner interests in the Middle East since May. Iran is now willing to strike these interests harder than before and will do so again if the US does not deter it.
The Iranian regime attacked the Abqaiq facility because its regional provocations and escalatory behavior since May have failed to deter the US from pursuing its maximum pressure campaign.
The risks of escalation following a US or Saudi retaliatory strike are clear and serious. But inaction also carries serious risks. Iran will likely take further escalatory steps against American and partner interests if the Trump administration does not respond appropriately to this attack.
https://www.criticalthreats.org/analysis/iran-hit-the-west-where-it-hurts-at-the-pump
My comment: And more of warmongering:
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More Saudi coalition „We are benefactors“ propaganda
http://en.adenpress.news/news/13343
http://www.wam.ae/en/details/1395302788077 and photos: http://en.adenpress.news/news/13337
http://en.adenpress.news/news/13327
http://wam.ae/en/details/1395302787896
cp16 Saudische Luftangriffe / Saudi air raids
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Saudi coalition air raids and shelling day by day
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Saada Province :20. 9.2019
Photos of the destruction caused by the US-Saudi warplanes in Al-eqab area . The airstrike targeted a citizen's car .
https://www.facebook.com/SaudiArabia.war.crimes.against.Yemen/posts/2109054746057175 = https://twitter.com/AggressionY/status/1175126624657756160
(A K pH)
More Saudi coalition air raids recorded on:
Sep. 19: https://english.almasirah.net/details.php?es_id=8871 Saada p., Hajjah p., Asir
https://www.yemenpress.org/yemen/three-air-strikes-hit-asir/ Asir
cp17 Kriegsereignisse / Theater of War
(* B K pS)
18 civilians including children killed, wounded by Houthi militia in running month
The Iran-backed Houthi rebel militia continues its abuses against unarmed civilians, women and children, by indiscriminate artillery shelling of houses and direct targeting in various areas.
September Net reports statistics on the number of civilians, who were killed and wounded by the Houthi rebel militia, in different areas within 19 days of this running month.
(A K pH)
Al Houthi forces claimed to attack Saudi soldiers in Jizan region in southwestern Saudi Arabia on September 18, killing multiple soldiers. The Saudi government has not commented on the alleged attack.[4]
(A K pH)
Film: AGGRESSION’S ARTILLERY SHELLS HIT SAADA PROVINCE
https://www.yemenpress.org/yemen/aggressions-artillery-shells-hit-saada-province/
(A K pH)
a girl was wounded by machine-gun fire in the Ma’imra Directorate of al-Matun, Jawf province
https://www.uprising.today/saudi-led-invaders-launch-series-of-bombings-across-yemen/
cp18 Sonstiges / Other
(-)
Film: My story in your passion is a long story .. #Three_koukabani # songs_ Yemen
https://twitter.com/TubeU_twt/status/1174749376729600000
(* A P)
Twitter deletes more than 4,000 fake accounts operated from the UAE and tweets about Yemen
Twitter has deleted a group of more than 4,000 accounts, managed from the UAE, and tweeted heavily about Yemen and other issues.
The company said it deleted a larger network of 4,258 accounts, managed exclusively from the UAE, using fake names and posting tweets mostly about Qatar and Yemen.
The company did not identify an entity responsible for the operation.
The company also deleted 267 accounts from the UAE and Egypt for engaging in a "complex media campaign" targeting Qatar and Iran while sending intensive pro-Saudi messages.
https://almasdaronline.com/articles/171771
(A K)
In war, you can die more than once. Idris' family receives two bodies of one deceased
While the villagers were waiting for a new victim to arrive, the group's gunmen informed them that they were carrying the body of the young man, who had been buried more than six months earlier.
https://almasdaronline.com/articles/171760
Vorige / Previous:
https://www.freitag.de/autoren/dklose/jemenkrieg-mosaik-576-yemen-war-mosaic-576
https://www.freitag.de/autoren/dklose/jemenkrieg-mosaik-576a-yemen-war-mosaic-576a
Jemenkrieg-Mosaik 1-576 / Yemen War Mosaic 1-576:
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/
Liste aller Luftangriffe / and list of all air raids:
http://yemendataproject.org/data/
Untersuchung ausgewählter Luftangriffe durch Bellingcat / Bellingcat investigations of selected aur raids:
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