Dies ist die Fortsetzung von Jemenkrieg-Mosaik 625, Teil 1 / This is the sequel of Yemen War Mosaic 625, part 1:
https://www.freitag.de/autoren/dklose/jemenkrieg-mosaik-625-yemen-war-mosaic-625
Schwerpunkte / Key aspects
Kursiv: Siehe Teil 1 / In Italics: Look in part 1
Klassifizierung / Classification
Für wen das Thema ganz neu ist / Who is new to the subject
cp1 Am wichtigsten / Most important
cp1b Am wichtigsten: Kampf um Hodeidah / Most important: Hodeidah battle
cp1c Am wichtigsten: Saudischer Luftangriff tötet 35 Zivilisten / Most important: Saudi air raid kills 35 civilians
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 Separatisten und Hadi-Regierung im Südjemen / Separatists and Hadi government in Southern Yemen
cp7 UNO und Friedensgespräche / UN and peace talks
cp8 Saudi-Arabien / Saudi Arabia
cp9 USA
cp9a USA-Iran Krise: Wachsende Spannungen am Golf / US-Iran crisis: Mounting tensions at the Gulf
cp11 Deutschland / Germany
cp12 Andere Länder / Other countries
cp12b Sudan
cp13a Waffenhandel / Arms Trade
cp13b Wirtschaft / Economy
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
cp6 Südjemen und Hadi-Regierung / Southern Yemen and Hadi-government
(A T)
Unknown gunmen kill security official in southern Yemen
An official of the newly-recruited security forces was killed by unknown gunmen in Yemen's southern port city of Aden on Monday, a government official told Xinhua.
"Two masked gunmen opened fire and assassinated a security official named as Abu Raghed while he was driving his vehicle in the northeastern parts of Aden," the local government source said on condition of anonymity.
http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2020-02/17/c_138792475.htm
(A K P)
Yemen [Hadi gov.] demands friends to pile pressure on the militia to stop planting landmines
(B P)
Film: Even the Anchor of #AlArabiya, the most prominent #Saudi news channel, can't help laughing when the repoerter says here is Marib international airport! Saudi authorities have been deceiving both Saudi and #Yemeni nations for many years.
https://twitter.com/SalmaAlNafjan/status/1229323287601217538
(A P)
Haytham: We assure our great southern people, “The situation is under control.”
Nizar Haytham, the spokesperson for the Southern Transitional Council, made an important statement about the events that are witnessed at the eastern entrance to the capital Aden, “The Point of Al-Alam”, in which he says:
To our people, at home and abroad ..
We assure you that things are totally under control, and there is no longer any cause for concern.
We would like to point out that there were attempts to circumvent the terms of the Riyadh Agreement, by the Brotherhood, which was met by the leadership of the Southern Transitional Council with categorical rejection
https://en.smanews.org/haytham-we-assure-our-great-southern-people-the-situation-is-under-control
and
(* A K P)
Southerners warn of terrorism return to the south under the cover of implementing Riyadh Agreementاا
Southern activists warned against the return of leaders linked to terrorist groups under the cover of implementing the Riyadh Agreement, after the directives for the return of one of the leaders of the presidential protection brigade and the former guard of Osama bin Laden, who called Zaki Abdullah Hassan “Abu Al Abed” at the head of a force consisting of 110 elements to deploy in the Sabyha areasin Lahj governorate.
Activists described this step as dangerous and launched a tag on Twitter #returning_terrorists_to_south_rejected” to express the refusal to return those leaders to provoke chaos in the liberated provinces, after great stability during the last period.
The leader of the Transitional Council, Mohammad al-Ghaithi, said: When it comes to (the return of terrorism) … there will be no political umbrella to pass that.
He added whoever was an element in the leadership of the organization, or a personal companion to Osama bin Laden, or was involved in terrorist acts, will not return under the umbrella of legitimacy or under the umbrella of anyone.
and
(* A P)
STC Statement on Challenges Affecting Riyadh Agreement
The STC signed the Riyadh Agreement with full commitment in its implementation. In concrete terms, we have delivered some important elements of the Agreement. Notably we facilitated the return of the Prime Minister and other Ministers of the government to Aden; redeployed Southern forces and allowed inspections of military sites; was at the forefront in the release of detainees; and intensified our diplomacy, including by maintaining a negotiating team to continue engagement with the Yemeni government.
The Agreement was ambitious from the onset. This was a challenge we were willing to accept given the needs of our people, and of our vision to play a decisive role in ending the civil war in Yemen. Despite our constructive approach, we have faced intransigence and blockages in moving the implementation process forward. This has included the movement of government troops towards Aden that would have caused instability on the ground, as well as credible reports of human rights violations in Abyan and Shabwa at the hands of government forces. And important steps such as appointment of new Governors and security chiefs for the South remain on hold despite our efforts to move on those issues.
http://en.adenpress.news/news/18439
and a similar statement: https://twitter.com/ElanaGulf/status/1229398858343600131
My comment: This is how the separatists are violating the Riyadh agreement and putting the blame on others: They prevent Hadi government militia from entering Aden, and blame them for being terrorists. While they try to put pressure on the Saudis and further blame Islah Party and the Hadi government, caress their UAE puppet masters and demonstrate how wonderful their militia is:
(A P)
Protest stand in front of Arab Coalition headquarter in the capital #Aden in solidarity with sons of Bakazem with Brotherhood militia prisons in #Shabwa
A committee for the follow-up of the prisoners and forcibly disappeared of the sons of Bakazem in the district of Al-Mahfid in Abyan organized a peaceful protest in front of the headquarter of the Arab Coalition Command in Boryka district in the capital Aden, demanding to reveal the fate of their forcibly disappeared sons in the detention centers of the terrorist Brotherhood’s terrorist militia in the city of Ataq in Shabwa governorate.
(* A P)
Southern Transitional Council Foreign Affairs issues important press statement
[Aden – Monday, February 10, 2020] The conflicting political agendas of the Yemeni government led to a number of pivotal political and military failures. In addition to that, the contradictory players within the Yemeni government caused unequivocal obstruction to the implementation of the “Riyadh Agreement”. Moreover, the Yemeni government carried out political, media, economic and military fallacies, those are continuous attempts to cover those apparent failures and contradictions. As a result, this has eventually led to further complications.
This suspicious behavior reflects the continued efforts by the Yemeni government to thwart the great efforts of the Arab Coalition led by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia towards the war against the Houthi rebellion, the fight against terrorism and extremism, stablisation of the security and political landscapes.
(A P)
Al-Islah militia kidnaps a child from the center of Gool Al-Raida in Shabwa
https://en.smanews.org/al-islah-militia-kidnaps-a-child-from-the-center-of-gool-al-raida-in-shabwa
(A P)
#Gratitude_UAE_soldiers_forever is a widespread southern hashtag on #Twitter
https://en.smanews.org/gratitude_uae_soldiers_forever-is-a-widespread-southern-hashtag-on-twitter
(A P)
Lahj security belt thwarts drug trafficking to the capital Aden
https://en.smanews.org/lahj-security-belt-thwarts-drug-trafficking-to-the-capital-aden
My remark: „Security Belt”: Separatist militia, known for human rights violations.
(* B P)
As Saudi Arabia’s footprint in Aden grows, its relationship with the STC sours
The relationship between supporters of the STC and Saudi Arabia remained amicable in public, but was already showing signs of strain
On the evening of February 14, dozens of activists and supporters of the UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council (STC) gathered in front of the headquarters of the Saudi-led coalition forces in Aden, chanting "you Saudi liars, you are supporters of terrorism."
Although not the first time the UAE's local affiliates have protested against Saudi Arabia, their chants had never been so clear and direct, especially not in a city where the UAE has created, funded, and otherwise controlled numerous armed groups.
The standard script of STC members and their supporters at rallies in the interim capital has been to chant their praise for the UAE, followed by voicing appreciation for Saudi Arabia. More recently, however, the latter has become a focal point of criticism in campaigns led by STC activists on social media.
The change in tone appears to have come as a result of Saudi Arabia’s more direct activity in the south, particularly with its role in overseeing the implementation of the Riyadh Agreement signed between the Government of Yemen and the STC late last year. More specifically, an incident on February 8 appears to have sparked the change in tone from STC supporters toward Saudi Arabia.
That evening, UAE-backed Security Belt Forces prevented military units belonging to the Yemeni government from entering Aden, thereby hindered efforts by the Saudi military commission to implement the redeployment of troops as stipulated in the military annex of the agreement. The next day, STC supporters' began voicing unprecedented criticism towards Saudi Arabia.
From ally to “conspirator”
Prior to the February 8 checkpoint incident, the relationship between supporters of the STC and Saudi Arabia remained amicable in public, but was already showing signs of strain. The STC’s success in controlling Aden last August with the support of the UAE and the Security Belt Forces, followed by Saudi Arabia’s lack of decisive intervention on the ground, gave the STC a boost towards improving the relationship with Saudi Arabia by moving toward the Riyadh Agreement while still maintaining the upper hand.
After February 8, however, many STC activists and journalists voiced accusations that Riyadh was conspiring with the government to “overthrow” Aden by allowing access of the Coastal Defense Forces led by Brigadier General Zaki Abdullah. Moreover, STC activists and journalists accused Saudi Arabia of planning to topple Aden by backing a “terrorist leader,” referring to Al-Muaili, who participated in terrorist operations with the Arab Afghans in the early 1990s. This is a common accusation STC and UAE loyalists have levelled against their opponents, including after the UAE bombed Yemeni army units on the outskirts of Aden in September, then claimed they were not military forces but rather members of a terrorist group.
With the STC’s media continuing to criticize Saudi Arabia in the week that followed the Al-Alam checkpoint incident – including direct accusations of supporting terrorism – the Riyadh Agreement itself appears no closer to being implemented.
https://al-masdaronline.net/national/344
(* A K P)
Military Source in Sana’a Reveals New Air Defense System
A senior military source at the Salvation Government revealed on Saturday evening details about the advanced surface to air missile used to shoot down the Tornado fighter jet over the skies of Al-Maslob district in Al-Jawf governorate.
"It is part of a new, domestically-designed and sophisticated air defense system," he said.
The military source explained, in an interview with Almasirah channel, that the new air defense system is entering service for the first time. “Intercepting the Tornado warplane in the skies of Al-Jawf governorate is the first operational experiment of the weapon used to shoot down the British-made Tornado."
“The new air defense system constitutes a serious obstacle to aerial aggression," the military source added, without referring to the fate of the plane's crew, or confirming their death or news that they were captured by the Army and Popular Committees.
https://english.almasirah.net/details.php?es_id=11218
(A P)
Yemen Govt Urges Int’l Community to Curb Iran’s Weapons Smuggling to Houthis
The Yemeni government has renewed its call to the international community to classify the Houthi group, which is loyal to Iran, as a terrorist organization. This came after the group continued to pose a threat to Yemenis, international interests, and neighboring countries.
The Yemeni government also called for greater international pressure on Iran to stop smuggling arms shipments to the group. This followed a US Navy warship seizing a shipment of Iranian weapons that officials said were being sent to Houthis in Yemen.
My comment: This seems to be the Hadi government’s main point of interest: Saudi air raids killing scores are not.
(A P)
Lamlas: Saudi sponsorship ensures implementing Riyadh Agreement
The General Secretary of the Southern Transitional Council and acting president of the Council, Ahmed Lamlas said that the Riyadh Agreement will make progress towards the implementation.
In his statements to the press, Lamlas made it clear that the breakdown of the agreement is impossible as long as the wise leadership of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia sponsors and supervises it.
He also reiterated to the press the STC's keenness to fully implement the Saudi-brokered deal
http://en.adenpress.news/news/18430
My comment: LOL.
(A P)
Gargash: Escaping from implementing Riyadh Agreement is reflected as weakness in facing of #Houthi
UAE Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dr. Anwar Gargash, condemned the attacking campaigns on UAE and its efforts.
Gargash wrote on Twitter: “The Riyadh Agreement resulted with an exceptional Saudi effort to unite the Yemenis against the Houthi coup, and evading its application is reflected weakness and disintegrated in the confrontation against the Houthi.”
(A P)
Emirati military expert attacks Islah militias and calls them traitors
Emirati military expert Khalfan Al-Kaabi launched an attack on the terrorist Brotherhood’s militia affiliated to the Yemeni legitimacy that is taken over by Islah Party.
Al-Kaabi wrote on Twitter, “The insolents of the Islah Party and those who attribute themselves to legitimacy are trying to falsify the role of the Emirates and its men, while those insolents have been young and dwarves, their land was liberated by the men and heroes of the South and the Coalition.”
https://en.smanews.org/emirati-military-expert-attacks-islah-militias-and-calls-them-traitors
My comment: This means: The UAE lashes out against the Hadi government.
(A P)
[Separatists destroy Christian cemetery]
Examples and scenes of what was exposed to the Jewish [no, Christian] cemetery in Al-Maalaka and next to the headquarters of the Governorate Court The [separatists] transitional appetite for an important and strategic location has opened for residential, commercial, building, Emirati machinery and crews (photos)
https://twitter.com/anesyem/status/1228773450229129216
(* A P)
Two detainees, Manaf Sa'ad and Hilmy Aqeal, have been released from Bir Ahmed prison in the interim capital of #Aden, run by the Security Belt Forces and supported by #UAE, although there were release orders issued by the prosecution since 2018.
https://twitter.com/BelqeesRights/status/1228493060562128898
(A H P)
Aden Hosts Love and Loyalty Festival
Love and Loyalty for Aden Festival took place on Friday, in Martyr Jaffar Mohammad Saad Corniche in Khormaksar district, organized by Love and Loyalty for Aden foundation (LLA).
The 6th edition of the festival was held amid broad popular participation and media presence in Khormaksar city. Many people, especially the women and children enjoyed the whole program that contained a number of activities covering several domains of creativity and art such as rhetoric, poetry, singing, music, dance, theatrical performances, painting and children's games among others.
The acrobatic shows, photo and drawing exhibitions, face painting and balloon twisting gave the festival a favorable impression and an atmosphere of fun.
http://en.adenpress.news/news/18424
Photos: http://en.adenpress.news/news/18435
(A K P)
Socotra coast guard battalion returns to army days after defecting
The defectors, who were lured to the STC by higher salaries, called on the Yemeni army to better support their efforts on the island
The coast guard battalion of the Yemen army’s 1st Marine Brigade on Socotra Island pledged allegiance to the internationally recognized government days after defecting to the UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council (STC).
During a small military parade, the soldiers of the 1st Marine Brigade said they are committed to the military and would not rebel against state institutions.
The soldiers renewed their pledge to work with the commander of the brigade and the government-appointed battalion command, and pledged not to receive any salaries from the STC.
https://al-masdaronline.net/local/333
cp7 UNO und Friedensgespräche / UN and peace talks
(* B P)
Understanding The Prisoner Swap In Yemen's Civil War
NPR's Audie Cornish speaks with Peter Salisbury, senior Yemen analyst for the International Crisis Group, about the announcement of a prisoner exchange in the country's civil war.
Salisbury: But with these two parties, the problem we've had consistently is they're OK at agreeing things with each other and not very good at actually turning those agreements into action. So we're going to have to hold our breath on this one...
I mean, as with everything in the Middle East, it's a little bit more complicated than just an Iran-backed group and a Saudi-backed group. What's perhaps more interesting to me at the moment is this has happened as we see an escalation in fighting between Saudi-backed government forces and Houthi forces in the north of the country, and as the Saudis and the Houthis try to almost separately negotiate a truce over the border where the Houthis have been firing drones and missiles at Saudi infrastructure and the Saudis have been sending airstrikes back and both have been sending forces to fight each other over the border.
This feels, at the moment, like more of a signal of that track - the negotiations between the Houthis and the Saudis is going OK. The Saudis were apparently in the room for negotiations this time, which they hadn't been at previous meetings. So that track's kind of going OK, while relations between the Houthis and the government plummet, which is a very interesting dynamic to see right now.
the shift that we see is that the Saudis have been involved this time around, and that's probably a signal that the Saudis and the Houthis are improving their relations. And they've been talking to each other directly since last October.
And the talks between the two were really precipitated by this massive attack on Saudi oil infrastructure, which you'll remember from last September (also audio)
https://www.npr.org/2020/02/17/806729382/understanding-the-prisoner-swap-in-yemens-civil-war = https://www.wfae.org/post/understanding-prisoner-swap-yemens-civil-war#stream/0
(* A P)
Konfliktparteien einigen sich auf umfangreichen Gefangenenaustausch
Die schiitischen Huthi-Rebellen und die anerkannte Regierung im Jemen wollen ihre Gefangenen austauschen. Unklar ist noch, wie viele von der Einigung betroffen sind.
Zum ersten Mal seit Beginn des bewaffneten Konflikts im Jemen haben sich die Konfliktparteien auf einen Austausch einer großen Zahl Gefangener ihrer Gefangenen geeinigt. Vertreter der von Saudi-Arabien unterstützten Regierung des Jemen trafen sich dafür mit Vertretern der Huthi-Rebellen zu Gesprächen. Die beiden Seiten hätten sich in Jordanien auf einen umfassenden Austausch geeinigt, teilte der UN-Jemenbeauftragte Martin Griffiths mit. Die Namenslisten dafür sollten "unmittelbar" folgen.
Die international anerkannte Regierung im Jemen und die schiitischen Huthi-Rebellen hatten sich bereits bei ihren Friedensverhandlungen 2018 in Schweden unter Vermittlung der Vereinten Nationen grundsätzlich auf den Austausch ihrer 15.000 Gefangenen geeinigt. Bisher kam es jedoch nur zu sporadischen Austauschen von einigen hundert Gefangenen. UNO und IKRK erklärten, die jüngste Vereinbarung sei eine wichtige Etappe zur Umsetzung des Stockholmer Abkommens.
Wie viele Gefangene von der neuen Einigung betroffen sind, war zunächst unklar. Huthi-Sprecher Mohammed Abdel Salam schrieb auf Twitter, die Rebellen wollten 1.400 Gefangene freilassen, darunter Saudi-Araber und Sudanesen, die auf der Seite der Regierung kämpfen.
https://www.zeit.de/politik/ausland/2020-02/jemen-konfliktparteien-gefangenenaustausch-saudi-arabien
(A P)
[Hadi] Gov official: Agreement on prisoners to bring further full release
Undersecretary of the Human Rights Ministry and the government representative to the UN-sponsored negotiation on prisoners’ exchange, Majed Fadhayl, said that the phased-release agreement with the Houthis on the exchange of prisoners and abductees will eventually lead to a full release of all prisoners and detainees.
https://www.alsahwa-yemen.net/en/p-37921
(* A P)
UN: Warring parties in Yemen agree on major prisoner trade
Yemen´s warring sides have agreed to implement a long-delayed and major prisoner swap, the United Nations said on Sunday, in a sign that talks to end the disastrous war between the country's internationally recognized government and its Houthi rebels could be making progress.
It would be the "first official large-scale" exchange of its kind since the beginning of the conflict in the Arab World's poorest country, according to the U.N.
The prisoner swap deal was seen as a breakthrough during 2018 peace talks in Sweden. The Houthis and the internationally recognized government agreed then to several confidence-building measures, including a cease-fire in the strategic port city of Hodeida.
Implementation of the tentative peace plan stumbled amid ongoing military offensives and a deep-seated distrust between the two sides.
The U.N. mission in Yemen said that both the rebels and Yemeni government had decided to "immediately begin with exchanging the lists for the upcoming release" of prisoners. Sunday's statement came after seven days of meetings between the two sides in Jordan´s capital, Amman.
"Today the parties showed us that even with the growing challenges on the ground, the confidence they have been building can still yield positive results," the U.N. envoy Martin Griffiths said.
The U.N. mission did not disclose specific numbers for the expected prisoner exchange.
Abdul-Qader al-Murtaza, a rebel official in charge of prisoners´ affairs, said in a tweet that the first phase of the deal includes the release of more than 1400 prisoners from the two sides. He said talks would continue for another two days to "prepare and revise the final lists."
The talks were co-chaired by Griffiths´ office and the International Committee of the Red Cross, ICRC. Representatives from the Saudi-led coalition also attended the talks, the U.N. said.
Griffiths urged both parties to move forward with the agreed-upon prisoner exchange "with the utmost sense of urgency." He did not elaborate when they would start the exchange.
and
(* A P)
Yemen’s conflicting parties agree on exchange of 1,400 prisoners - Ansar Allah
United Nations Secretary General’s Special Envoy for Yemen Martin Griffiths confirmed that the conflicting parties had reached such an agreement
The parties to the Yemeni conflict have agreed to exchange 1,400 prisoners, Al Masirah news said on Sunday citing Mohamed Abdul-Salam, the chief negotiator of the Ansar Allah (Houthi) movement at talks in Jordan.
According to Abdul-Salam, the United Nations-brokered talks with the Yemeni government delegation in the Jordanian capital city have yielded an agreement on the exchange of 1,400 prisoners within the Stockholm settlement process.
"Citizens od Sudan and Saudi Arabia" will be among those to be released under the agreement, he noted.
United Nations Secretary General’s Special Envoy for Yemen Martin Griffiths confirmed that the conflicting parties had reached such an agreement. He said the prisoner exchange would be carried out in several stages, but did not specify how many. Neither did he say when the exchange process was supposed to be over. Griffiths called on the Yemeni government and the leaders of Ansar Allah to abide by the agreements reached in Jordan.
https://tass.com/world/1120695
and also https://www.arabnews.com/node/1628616/middle-east
https://apnews.com/743f2cd0adb0730647e5f93937017488
https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20200217-yemen-agreement-on-prisoner-exchange-deal/
and
(* A P)
A joint statement by OSESGY and ICRC on the outcome of the third meeting of Prisoners’ Exchange Committee
Delegates representing the parties to the conflict in Yemen agreed on a detailed plan to complete the first official large-scale exchange of prisoners since the beginning of the conflict. This is a step towards the fulfillment of the parties’ commitment to the phased release of all conflict-related detainees according to the Stockholm Agreement. At the conclusion of a seven-day meeting today, Sunday, the parties decided to immediately begin with exchanging the lists for the upcoming release.
“I urge the parties to move forward with the exchange they agreed on today with the utmost sense of urgency. Progress has been too slow on this front. The pain of the thousands awaiting reunion with their loved ones must end,” said Martin Griffiths, the UN Special Envoy for Yemen, “Today the parties showed us that even with the growing challenges on the ground, the confidence they have been building can still yield positive results.”
“Today, despite ongoing clashes, we saw that the parties have found common humanitarian ground that will allow many detainees to return to their loved ones. This shows that only the parties themselves have it in their hands to bring about positive and lasting change. This is very encouraging and will hopefully lay the ground for further releases in a near future,” said Franz Rauchenstein, the head of the ICRC in Sana’a.
(* B P)
Despite Yemen violence spike, Saudi says talks with Houthis progressing
Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister said on Saturday that Riyadh was still committed to back-channel peace talks with Yemen’s Houthi rebels, despite a recent increase in violence in the five-year conflict.
The United Nations has been trying to re-launch political negotiations to end the war and, separately, Riyadh has been holding informal talks with the Houthis since late September about de-escalation.
“We have a back channel and it’s not yet ready to move to the highest level,” Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud told the Munich Security Conference.
“It’s making progress. We have seen some deterioration recently, but we are committed to moving it forward,” he added, referring to a recent rise in military activity by the Iran-backed rebels.
and
(A P)
[Hadi gov.] Yemen minister: Houthi-Saudi dialogue is ‘unequal’
Yemeni minister of transport, Saleh Al-Jabwani, described on Sunday the Houthi-Saudi dialogue as “unequal”, Al Araby Al Jadeed reported.
Speaking to Al Araby TV, Al-Jabwani announced: “The dialogue between the two sides is futile.”
https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20200217-yemen-minister-houthi-saudi-dialogue-is-unequal/
cp8 Saudi-Arabien / Saudi Arabia
(A P)
Oliver Stone to Head Jury of Inaugural Red Sea Film Festival in Saudi Arabia
Oliver Stone will serve as jury president of the international competition at the inaugural Red Sea Film Festival, set to take place in the Saudi Arabian city of Jeddah next month.
The Platoon and Wall Street director will oversee a jury that will be focused on "original, daring productions by emerging and established voices," the festival said
Comment: All the film festivals, concerts, boxing matches, & racing events in the world can't cover up the fact that the #Saudi regime is an absolute dictatorship that is bombing the poorest nation in the MidEast, #Yemen, funds jihadis, finances coup govts, & more.
https://twitter.com/iPouya/status/1229513222576836608
(* A P)
Saudi Authorities Threaten to Execute 5 New Minors on Political Charges
The Saudi authorities threatened to execute 5 new minors on charges of political background, according to what the dissident Saudi, Qatifi Activist, announced on Twitter.
"The Saudi government threatens to execute 5 new minors on charges of a political background, and this brings the number of minors detained under threat of execution to 11," the Qatifi Activist account wrote in a tweet on Twitter.
The account 'Qatifi Activist' had previously published on "Twitter," lists of 39 detainees from the Qatif region face death sentences.
https://english.almasirah.net/details.php?es_id=11213
(A P)
Saudi Arabia and Djibouti sign commercial and investment program
The two sides confirmed their endeavor to upgrade and diversify trade of goods and services and create appropriate environment for investments, exchange of experiences and information flow in a number of fields as well as opportunities for investments, market research and encouraging of joint activities.
https://www.spa.gov.sa/viewfullstory.php?lang=en&newsid=2034962
My comment: The Saudis searching for more influence at the Horn of Africa.
(A P)
Fake “thinker” Bernard-Henri Lévy @BHL is now whitewashing #Saudi Monarchy, the world leading child killer. He is an overrated writer.
https://twitter.com/AliAlAhmed_en/status/1228677429201448962
referring to https://twitter.com/KSAMOFA/status/1226501523359838208 (photos)
(B P)
Film: In addition to killing the Yemeni people by the warplanes & starving them, the Kingdom of Terrorism "Saudi Arabia" has decided to send away the Yemeni labors in including those who have valid residence permits.! Footage for some of those affected by the decision.!
https://twitter.com/LongLiveYemen/status/1228383252399955968
cp9 USA
(A P)
Al-Jubeir Receives Delegation of Advisers and Assistants of the members of the US Congress
Saudi Minister of State for Foreign Affairs and Cabinet's Member Adel bin Ahmed Al-Jubeir received here today a delegation of advisers to and assistants of members of the US Congress.
https://www.spa.gov.sa/viewfullstory.php?lang=en&newsid=2035853
[Saudi] General Entertainment Authority receives delegation from US Congress
https://www.spa.gov.sa/viewfullstory.php?lang=en&newsid=2035913
(A P)
Saudi Foreign Minister Receives President of Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington
Prince Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah, Minister of Foreign Affairs, received here [Riyadh] today the President of the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington Douglas Silliman.
During the meeting, they reviewed fields of research cooperation and cast light on the importance of the roles being played by the research centers to bring about understanding of the political situation and its potentials amid the challenges facing the region and the entire world.
https://www.spa.gov.sa/viewfullstory.php?lang=en&newsid=2035875
My comment: Keep this in mind when reading the next article by this “think” tank.
(A P)
Dubai Ruler receives Ivanka Trump at GWFD 2020
http://www.wam.ae/en/details/1395302824231
While @IvankaTrump talks investments & entrepreneurship in the UAE, there are Americans, British, Canadians etc. detained over bounced cheques, false allegations, unfair trials & corruption. UAE is UNSAFE for foreign investors & locals steal their companies for sport!
https://twitter.com/RadhaStirling/status/1229108752265158656
Is @IvankaTrump aware the UAE attacked & hostile boarded a US flagged yacht in international waters to force #PrincessLatifa back to #Dubai where she says she has been locked up against her will & tortured? UAE falsely claim it was a “rescue mission”.
https://twitter.com/RadhaStirling/status/1229111618254012417
(* B P)
Audio: Interview With John Kiriakou On His Book, 'CIA Insider's Guide To Iran Crisis'
It was only about a month ago that it seemed President Donald Trump's administration was going to escalate tension and take the United States into an all-out war in Iran.
Joining the show this week is CIA whistleblower John Kiriakou, who is the co-author of a new book, The CIA Insider's Guide To The Iran Crisis: From CIA Coup To The Brink Of War, which he co-authored with journalist Gareth Porter.
Our wide-ranging conversation with John veers into discussion of Israel's influence over U.S. foreign policy and what struggles a possible President Bernie Sanders administration would have in challenging The Blob—the foreign policymaking elite in Washington, D.C.
https://www.patreon.com/posts/34041186
cp9a USA-Iran Krise: Wachsende Spannungen am Golf / US-Iran crisis: Mounting tensions at the Gulf
(* B P)
Das Iran- und Hisbollah-Phantom – Wie eine geheimdienstliche Intrige Israels und der USA die Außenpolitik Lateinamerikas vergiftet
Teil 1: Donald Trumps Exhumierung einer 26-jährigen Verschwörungstheorie
Nach der Ermordung General Qassem Suleimanis durch eine US-amerikanische Drohne und dem iranischen Vergeltungsschlag, beides im Irak, suggerieren die Haltungen der Administrationen Donald Trump und Hassan Rohani eine vorläufige Deeskalierung des Konflikts.
Der Eindruck täuscht, auf jeden Fall seitens der USA. Die Trump-Administration zauberte in den vergangenen Wochen mit der buchstäblichen Exhumierung einer sechsundzwanzig Jahre alten Verschwörungstheorie im Handumdrehen einen neuen potenziellen Kriegsschauplatz aus dem Hut; diesmal in Lateinamerika.
Demnach bedrohe der Iran, insbesondere jedoch die von ihm unterstützte libanesische Partei und schiitische Miliz Hisbollah, die Sicherheit Lateinamerikas. Dies Behauptung stellte US-Außenminister Mike Pompeo am 20. Januar als Antwort auf eine Frage des kolumbianischen Radiosenders La W auf, wie verlässlich die Beobachtungen der Hisbollah in Venezuela durch den amerikanischen Geheimdienst seien. Als lärmende Bühne zur Wiederinszenierung der Iran/Hisbollah-Legende hatte Pompeo Ende Januar einen einwöchigen, sogenannten “Hemispherischen Anti-Terrorismus-Gipfel“ in die kolumbianische Hauptstadt Bogotá einberufen und eine europaweite Offensive zum Verbot von Hisbollah gestartet, die seit 1995 auf einer US-Schwarzliste als „terroristische Vereinigung“ geführt wird.
Der hartnäckige Druck des US State Departments mit dem Ziel der Kriminalisierung der libanesischen Partei und Miliz wird seit Jahren ausgeübt, hat jedoch seine Wiege in Israel. Die Offensive zeigte allerdings Wirkung, kurz vor und nach Pompeos Ansturm.
https://www.nachdenkseiten.de/?p=58473
(* A K P)
US military offers Iraq a partial pullback
United States prepared 'in principle' to withdraw from some areas, though Anbar province's Ain al-Assad base is a 'red line'
The US military has offered senior Iraqi security officials plans for a partial pullback of troops from Iraq in response to January’s parliamentary vote calling for foreign forces to leave the country, Middle East Eye can reveal.
A meeting between the two sides, held in great secrecy last week, heard that Washington was prepared “in principle” to discuss withdrawal.
A representative of the US military told the Iraqis present that the United States was prepared to leave positions in or near Shia-majority areas, such as Balad Air Base, which is located 80km north of Baghdad and houses US trainers and contractors.
Washington, the Iraqis were told, could even consider reducing its presence in Baghdad.
“We are prepared to leave some of the Shia-majority areas, like the base in Balad. Maybe we could reduce our presence in Baghdad,” the military representative told his Iraqi counterparts, who understood from this that the US presence in the Iraqi capital would be reduced to guarding its embassy and the airport.
However, the US side categorically ruled out withdrawing from their biggest air base in Iraq, and the indeed the whole Middle East, Ain al-Assad.
The Anbar province base came under ballistic missile fire from Iran last month, in response to the US killing of the top Iranian commander, Major-General Qassem Soleimani, and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, the deputy head of the Hashd al-Shaabi paramilitary forces, at Baghdad airport.
For the US side, Ain al-Assad was its “red line”.
The representative said: “We cannot even start talking about withdrawing [from that base]. Withdrawal is out of the question.”
Such was the sensitivity of these discussions that they were held well away from Iraq. The meeting took place in the private residence of the Canadian ambassador to Jordan in Amman, Middle East Eye was told.
Present at the meeting was a representative of the US military, a Nato official and a senior Iraqi security adviser.
The private offer made to the Iraqis in Amman goes well beyond US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s last stated position a month ago.
https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/exclusive-us-military-offers-iraq-partial-pullback
and also https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2020/02/16/618795/Iraq-US-troops-withdrawal-Ain-alAsad-airbase
(A K P)
Baghdad explosions: rockets strike near US embassy in Iraq
Multiple blasts and circling aircraft heard near enclave where US mission is located
Multiple rockets hit near the US embassy in Iraq’s capital early on Sunday, an American military source said, the latest in a flurry of attacks against US assets in the country.
The assault sent warning sirens blaring across the diplomatic compound but it was unclear what was hit and how many rockets made impact, the US source and a western diplomat based nearby said. There were no casualties and only minor damage, a US military spokesman said.
(A P)
Fearful of US, Saudi Arabia, UAE not willing to defuse tensions with Iran: FM Zarif
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif says Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are not willing to defuse tensions with Iran maybe because the United States has warned them against holding any dialog with the Islamic Republic.
"It is one or two countries, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, who want to have tension in our region," Zarif said while speaking in the panel discussion 'A conversation with Iran' during the 56th Munich Security Conference (MSC) in Germany on Saturday.
(A P)
US policy of 'maximum pressure' on Iran failed to achieve goals: President Rouhani
Iran's President Hassan Rouhani says the US policy for exerting 'maximum pressure' on Iran has already failed and all economic indexes show that the country has weather the worst phase of that policy.
(A P)
Iran’s president: Trump doesn’t want war ahead of 2020 vote
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said Sunday that he doesn’t believe the U.S. will pursue war with his country, because it will harm President Donald Trump’s 2020 reelection bid.
Rouhani said that Trump knows that war with Iran will “ruin” his chances of winning the 2020 U.S. presidential election.
https://apnews.com/347907901ba8a847852286fa1744935e
(A P)
U.S. Media Outlets Fail to Disclose U.S. Government Ties of ‘Iranian Journalist’ Echoing Trump Talking Points
(A P)
Chinese Foreign Ministry Condemns US Wars in Middle East, Aimed at Protecting Washington’s Private Interests
https://english.almasirah.net/details.php?es_id=11211
(* A P)
Saudi minister: Iran must change behavior before any talks
Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister said on Saturday no private messages or direct contact had taken place to ease tensions with Iran and that Tehran first needed to change its behavior before talks can happen.
My comment: While Saudi Arabia takes for granted it could continue its war in Yemen and supporting terrorists in Syria etc.
And
(* A P)
No dialogue for now as Saudis, Iranians camp on positions
Iran and Saudi Arabia appeared no closer to bridging their differences on Saturday with both sides sticking to their positions and regional facilitator Oman seeing no breakthrough before U.S. elections in November.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and his Saudi counterpart Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud both attended the Munich Security Conference on Saturday and took part in a session on defusing tensions in the Gulf.
But the two were kept apart with Zarif even claiming that his Saudi counterpart had asked to reshuffle the schedule so that he wouldn’t have to meet him.
(A P)
IRGC Commander Boasts of 3,000 km-Wide ‘Axis of Resistance’ Stretching From Yemen to Lebanon
Revolutionary Guard Aerospace Force Commander Brig. Gen. Amir-Ali Hajizadeh has called on Iran’s partners in the unofficial ‘Axis of Resistance’ alliance to join together to defeat the US and Israel.
“All countries of the Axis of Resistance are united, and we must join hands to kick American troops out of the region and annihilate the Zionist regime,” Hajizadeh said, speaking to Yemen’s pro-Houthi al-Masirah television.
My comment: And what does this actually tell?
(A P)
Iran: Trump wrong if he thinks Tehran regime will collapse
Iran’s foreign minister said Saturday that U.S. President Donald Trump is receiving bad advice if he believes an American “maximum pressure” campaign against his country will cause the government in Tehran to collapse.
https://apnews.com/6852961b4b503f5ac16eeb351d73fa05
(* B K P)
Wie die irakische Demokratie von der Nato verletzt wird
Die Missachtung eines Beschlusses des irakischen Parlaments zum Rückzug aller ausländischen Truppen ist ein Exempel zur Realität der vielstrapazierten "westlichen Werte"
Es gehört eigentlich zu den Essentials der vielstrapazierten "westlichen Werte", dass Regierungen, die Beschlüsse des Parlaments missachten, als undemokratisch gelten und zur Ordnung gerufen werden müssen. Zumindest, wenn sie wie in Venezuela als politisch missliebig gelten. Dann darf sich ein Parlamentspräsident sogar im Ausland als Präsident Venezuelas gerieren, obwohl er im eigenen Land nichts zu sagen hat.
Doch es gibt auch Regierungen, die im Name der westlichen Werte regelrecht unter Druck gesetzt werden, die Beschlüsse ihres Parlaments zu ignorieren.
(* B K P)
Weitere Lügen über den Iran: Das Weiße Haus kann sich einfach nicht zurückhalten, wenn neue Fakten auftauchen
Wenn die irakische Untersuchung der Fakten um den Dezember-Angriff auf K-1 zuverlässig ist, dann sind die rücksichtslosen Aktionen der Donald Trump-Administration im Irak Ende Dezember und Anfang Januar nicht zu rechtfertigen. Schlimmer noch, es scheint, dass das Weiße Haus nach einem Vorwand suchte, um einen hochrangigen iranischen Funktionär anzugreifen und zu töten, um eine Art von Botschaft zu senden, eine Provokation, die leicht zu einem Krieg hätte führen können, der niemandem nützen würde. Tatsächlich hat die Trump-Administration über die Entwicklungen im Nahen Osten so oft gelogen, dass man ihr nicht mehr trauen kann. Leider würde die Forderung nach einer Rechenschaftspflicht der Trump-Mannschaft einen Kongress erfordern, der bereit ist, seiner Verantwortung für die Wahrheit in der Regierung gerecht zu werden, unterstützt von Medien, die bereit sind, es mit einer Regierung aufzunehmen, die regelmäßig jeden oder jede Gruppe bestraft, die es wagt, sie herauszufordern. Das ist die bedauerliche Realität im heutigen Amerika.
http://www.antikrieg.com/aktuell/2020_02_14_weitereluegen.htm
and English version:
More Lies on Iran: the White House Just Can’t Help Itself as New Facts Emerge
If the Iraqi investigation of the facts around the December attack on K-1 is reliable, the Donald Trump administration’s reckless actions in Iraq in late December and early January cannot be justified. Worse still, it would appear that the White House was looking for an excuse to attack and kill a senior Iranian official to send some kind of message, a provocation that could easily have resulted in a war that would benefit no one. To be sure, the Trump administration has lied about developments in the Middle East so many times that it can no longer be trusted. Unfortunately, demanding any accountability from the Trump team would require a Congress that is willing to shoulder its responsibility for truth in government backed up by a media that is willing to take on an administration that regularly punishes anyone or any entity that dares to challenge it. That is the unfortunate reality in America today.
https://www.unz.com/pgiraldi/more-lies-on-iran-the-white-house-just-cant-help-itself-as-new-facts-emerge/https://www.unz.com/pgiraldi/more-lies-on-iran-the-white-house-just-cant-help-itself-as-new-facts-emerge/
(A K P)
Cowardly assassination of Gen Soleimani pushed Iran, US very close to war: Zarif
(B K P)
Film: Trump's order to assassinate Soleimani was terrible political calculation: Analyst
Political analyst Alexander Azadgan believes US President Donald Trump's order to assassinate Iranian Lieutenant General Qassem Soleimani amounts to "a terrible political calculation".
(* A K P)
Top Democrat blasts Trump's 'false' justification for Soleimani killing
The administration highlighted the 2002 authorization passed ahead of the invasion of Iraq that toppled Saddam Hussein's regime.
House Foreign Affairs Chairman Eliot Engel slammed the Trump administration Friday over last month's killing of Iranian military leader Qassem Soleimani, arguing a new report justifying the attack undermines the argument that the operation was in response to an imminent threat.
"The administration’s explanation in this report makes no mention of any imminent threat and shows that the justification the President offered to the American people was false, plain and simple," Engel said in a statement.
"To make matters worse, to avoid having to justify its actions to Congress, the administration falsely claims Congress had already authorized the strike under the 2002 Iraq war resolution," the New York Democrat added. "This legal theory is absurd."
https://www.politico.com/news/2020/02/14/eliot-engel-qassem-soleimani-killing-115237
Full statement: https://engel.house.gov/latest-news/engel-statement-on-the-white-houses-latest-justification-for-soleimani-killing/
(A P)
FAA allows US civilian flights to resume over Persian Gulf
https://apnews.com/115bc151f9cc214574d8eaf3b19c5e89
(* B E P)
Ein Angriff auf die iranische Bevölkerung
Trumps Sanktionen: Im Mai 2018 zerriss Donald Trump den so wichtigen Iran-Deal und verhängte neue Sanktionen – mit verheerenden Auswirkungen auf die Wirtschaft und die humanitäre Lage.
Seit der Islamischen Revolution von 1979 wird der Iran – mit nur wenigen Jahren Ausnahme – mit mehr oder weniger heftigen Wirtschaftssanktionen belegt.
Welchen Zweck verfolgen die jahrzehntelangen Sanktionen überhaupt?
Seit langem ist der Iran im Grunde der einzige Staat von Mauretanien im Westen bis an die Grenzen Chinas (der MENA-Region, Middle East and North Africa), der sich nicht so Recht dem in Washington konstruierten Weltwirtschaftssystem und seinen US-dominierten Institutionen wie Weltbank und IWF unterwerfen mag. Und so waren erdrückende Wirtschaftssanktionen stets ein effektives Mittel, um die widerspenstige Theokratie der Mullahs, wenn schon nicht in dieses US-dominierte System zu inkorporieren, doch wenigstens unten und maximal isoliert zu halten.
Seit langem steht offiziell im Kern der Sanktionen der Vorwurf vonseiten des Westens, Teheran würde sein ziviles Atomprogramm missbrauchen, um an der Atombombe zu bauen.
„Die Sanktionen sind im Wesentlichen derart konzipiert, dass sie der breiten Öffentlichkeit schaden, insbesondere schutzbedürftige Personen wie Frauen, Kinder, ältere Menschen und Patienten“, so das vernichtende Urteil des iranischen UN-Botschafters.
https://www.freitag.de/autoren/jakob-reimann-justicenow/ein-angriff-auf-die-iranische-bevoelkerung
(* B P)
Iranian digital influence efforts: Guerrilla broadcasting for the twenty-first century
Iran has invested significant resources and accumulated vast experience in the conduct of digital influence efforts. These clandestine propaganda efforts have been used to complement Iranian foreign policy operations for the better part of a decade. Nonetheless, Iranian influence capabilities have gone largely unstudied by the United States, and only came to widespread attention in August 2018 with the first public identification of an Iranian propaganda network. Following the US assassination of Iranian Major General Qasem Soleimani and a sharp escalation in US-Iranian tensions, it is important to understand the perspective, methods, and intent of Iranian influence efforts.
For Iran, information dominance represents a central focus of both foreign and domestic policy. Iran sees itself as engaged in a perennial information war: against Sunni Arab powers, against the forces of perceived Western neocolonialism, and particularly against the United States.
Where Iran turns this apparatus against the United States and its allies, it is often to achieve definable foreign policy objectives. In 2014, for example, Iran helped amplify a Lebanese conspiracy theory that the United States had created the self-declared Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS).98 The clear objective was to blunt US soft-power efforts in Lebanon and to strengthen the relative position of the Iranian-backed Hezbollah, which was engaged in its own propaganda battle. Iran exhibits similar behavior in its routine amplification of Palestinian civilian deaths at the hands of the Israeli Defense Forces, the killing of Yemeni civilians by the Saudi-led coalition, or its focus on the toll of US air strikes in Iraq and Syria. Each is intended to diminish the image of US-aligned powers, while masking Iran’s role in these and other proxy conflicts.
My comment: And what? The US commits such “guerilla broadcasting on a much larger scale. – And as long as US and US allies misbehavior and crimes offer one perfect through ball to Iranian propaganda – the Iranians simply will use them: And thus, in all these cases, Iran needs little “propaganda”; they just have to – and just do – report the simple facts.
(A K P)
Iran: US killing of general was a miscalculation
The U.S. killing of a top Iranian general was a miscalculation that has had the effect of bolstering support in Iraq for the removal of American troops, a longtime goal of Tehran, Iran’s foreign minister said Friday.
https://apnews.com/fabd16e85306010974731ef1c83b58da
cp11 Deutschland / Germany
(A K P)
SPD fordert Verlängerung des Rüstungsexportstopps für Saudi-Arabien
Wegen des anhaltenden Jemen-Kriegs fordert die SPD eine Verlängerung des Rüstungsexportstopps für Saudi-Arabien bis mindestens Ende des Jahres. "Ohne grundlegende Kehrtwende Saudi-Arabiens im Jemen-Krieg, eine der schlimmsten humanitären Katastrophen weltweit, kann und darf es weiterhin keine Rüstungsexporte geben", sagte die stellvertretende Vorsitzende der SPD-Bundestagsfraktion, Gabriela Heinrich, der Deutschen Presse-Agentur. "Aus Sicht der SPD-Bundestagsfraktion muss deswegen das Moratorium mindestens bis Ende des Jahres verlängert werden."
https://www.sueddeutsche.de/politik/ruestungsexporte-riad-soll-weiter-warten-1.4801258 = https://www.boerse-online.de/nachrichten/aktien/spd-fordert-verlaengerung-des-ruestungsexportstopps-fuer-saudi-arabien-1028910090
(A K P)
Deutsche Rüstungsexporte: Saudi-Arabien erwartet Einlenken der Bundesregierung
Seit 15 Monaten gilt der deutsche Rüstungsexportstopp für Saudi-Arabien. In sechs Wochen steht die Entscheidung über eine Verlängerung an. Die saudische Regierung hat eine eindeutige Erwartungshaltung.
Der saudische Außenminister Prinz Faisal bin Farhan al-Saud erwartet von der Bundesregierung die Aufhebung des Rüstungsexportstopps gegen sein Land. "Wir hoffen, dass Deutschland versteht, dass wir die Mittel brauchen, um uns zu verteidigen", sagte er in einem Interview der Deutschen Presse-Agentur.
(A K P)
Saudi Arabia urges Germany to lift arms export ban despite continuing war on Yemen
Saudi Arabia, which is in the midst of a bloody war on Yemen, has urged Germany to lift its ban on arms exports to the kingdom.
In an interview with German news agency DPA on Monday, Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud claimed that the Riyadh regime needed the German weapons to “defend ourselves.”
“We hope Germany understands that we need the means to defend ourselves,” he said, pointing to attacks on two major oil facilities in Saudi Arabia last year, which Riyadh and the United States blamed on Iran without evidence but which the Yemeni forces took responsibility for.
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2020/02/18/618933/Saudi-Arabia-Germany-arms-export-ban-Yemen
cp12 Andere Länder / Other countries
(A P)
Just this week, #Bahrain's contemptible regime has arrested and imprisoned at least four CHILDREN, one of whom is barely 10yrs old, for alleged "illegal assembly"! - 10YO Amin Ridha Ali - 12YO S.Mohamed S.Mahmoud - Hussein Jaafar AlRayes - Ali Mahdi AlDurazi (photos)
https://twitter.com/PrintempsArabeS/status/1229554054084415489
(* B P)
‘This isn’t humanity’: Inside the Bahraini women’s prison overseen by officials trained with UK money
The only detention facility for women in Bahrain, Isa Town has a smooth, white concrete exterior. Within its walls, prisoners report unhygienic living conditions and insect-ridden food.
For three weeks in April last year, female inmates were blocked from going to the prison shop where they were able to buy hygiene products, a report by the Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy (Bird) found.
Human rights groups including the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention allege Ms Mansoor was subjected to an unfair trial on trumped-up charges because of the activism of her exiled son-in-law, Sayed Ahmed Alwadaei.
“This is completely inhumane treatment,” the mother of five says.
Since 2012, £6.5m of British taxpayers’ money has been spent on training Bahraini public institutions
(A P)
Kuwait renews support for peace in Yemen
Kuwait has renewed its support for Yemen’s legitimate government to reach a sustainable peace with the Houthis rebels in Yemen.
https://www.alsahwa-yemen.net/en/p-37872
My comment: Taking sides is no advantage if you want to broker a peace.
cp12b Sudan
(* B P)
To get off sanctions list, Sudan cuts rights deals with global players
Sudan’s transitional authorities are cutting deals on human-rights with international players as part of a comprehensive plan to avoid economic isolation.
This past week, officials in Khartoum said they will be handing over all Sudanese indicted by the International Criminal Court for trial at The Hague, and that they were also reaching a deal to compensate families of US soldiers killed in terror attacks linked to Sudan, in particular the USS Cole incident in Yemen in October 2000.
A US court had initially fined Sudan $300 million and attached various Sudanese assets abroad. Last year, the US Supreme Court overturned that fine on a technicality.
But Washington has been adamant that the 17 navy men killed in the attack must be compensated as orders, refusing to remove Sudan from the state sponsor of terrorism.
In 2017, Washington had removed certain economic sanctions it imposed on Sudan for human-rights violations. But that has not helped the economy as many global dealers fear penalties in engaging with Sudan.
In the meantime, Sudan says the actual rendition of Bashir could depend on the formal agreement it reaches with Darfur rebels, legal reforms that could define rendition or accession to the ICC vis-à-vis local trials as well as consultations with local victims or their families in Sudan.
My comment: Sudan must pay US$ 70 million for 17 killed US navy men; this is ca. 4 million per person.. For those Muslims killed by US wars since 2001, the US should recompensate 4 million x 4 million = 16 trillion. Open the purse, guys. But this will never happen.
cp13a Waffenhandel / Arms trade
Siehe / Look at cp11
A K P)
Italian union workers refuse to resupply Saudi weapons ship over 'Yemen war crimes'
Italian union workers refused to load electricity generators onto a Saudi ship with weapons on board as it made its way across Europe, in the latest such protest against the deadly war in Yemen.
The Bahri-Yanbu vessel loaded arms in Antwerp, Belgium earlier this month but was prevented from picking up another batch of weapons in the French port of Le Havre following protests by human rights groups.
Activists said the weapons violate a UN treaty because they could be used against civilians in Yemen, where a Saudi-led military coalition has engaged in a brutal war against Iran-backed Houthis since 2015.
Protesters gathered in Genoa with banners that read "No to war".
Unions tried to have the boat banned from Italy but the ship docked despite the attempts. However, workers refused to load two generators aboard the Saudi boat due to their possible use in the Yemen conflict.
"We will not be complicit in what is happening in Yemen," union leaders said in a statement, with port officials confirming the generators were blocked on the quay.
and
(* B K P)
“We Can’t Be at Peace With Ourselves If We’re Complicit in Saudi’s War”
Weapons of mass destruction shipped from Europe are decisive to Saudi Arabia’s war in Yemen. But in Italy, the dockers who are supposed to load the warships are taking strike action — showing how workers can block the machinery of destruction.
In May 2019 dockworkers in Genoa, Italy refused to load the cargo of the Saudi warship Bahri Yanbu. In a strike echoed by similar actions in Marseilles and Le Havre, workers at the northwest Italian port insisted that they would not be complicit in Saudi war crimes in Yemen.
Yet the petro-monarchy’s “ships of death” continue to ferry weapons of mass destruction from the West to the Gulf. On February 6 the Bahri Yanbu secretly docked in Sheerness, Kent, amid protests by the Campaign Against Arms Trade. Campaigners instructed lawyers to challenge the legality of the ship’s presence in British waters. But the Bahri Yanbu then passed via Cherbourg for Bilbao, where local activists saw explosives being loaded onto the vessel.
The ship is now due to arrive in Genoa on February 17 — and dockworkers are again planning to strike. Workers from Genoa’s Autonomous Collective of Dockworkers (Collettivo Autonomo Lavoratori Portuali) told local broadcaster Fivedabliu about the reasons why they are taking action.
CALP: We have been talking about this for four years now. Basically, because almost every day we were at the quay seeing ships being loaded with armored vehicles, containers with explosives, and so on . . . In the last year we have seen weapons firms loading much more, let’s say, serious cargo, things like armored cars with mounted howitzers, armored personnel carriers, helicopters. Then there was the cargo that we blocked them from loading in May: generators that were intended to be used to power the drones that bomb Yemen.
cp13b Wirtschaft / Economy
(* B E)
From khat to coffee: revitalising an age-old Yemeni crop
In Haraz, farmers and exporters are bringing new life to a globally acclaimed and desired product
Yemen has exported coffee since the 1400s: the Red Sea port of Mokha gives chocolatey coffee its name. Although native to Ethiopia, the coffee plant was developed into the form that gives us the modern beverage by Sufi monasteries in Yemen that shared it with traders and pilgrims. Eventually, coffee made its way to Constantinople (now Istanbul), Baghdad and London, leading to the rise of the coffee house.
Today the global coffee industry is worth £61.4bn, making coffee the most valuable trading commodity in the world after oil. Decades of political instability, however, mean that the quality and availability of Yemeni beans has fluctuated – but now a growing handful of dedicated farmers and exporters are determined to restore Yemen’s reputation as the birthplace of black gold.
cp15 Propaganda
(A P)
UN, western media took side of Houthis during Yemen's war
The UN and the western media outlets seem have always taken the side of Houthis from the beginning of the armed conflict between the Yemeni government and Houthis, running for about six years.
The UN's bias
Firstly, the UN's successive humanitarian coordinators in Yemen often cry for "civilian casualties" only when the terrorist Shia theocratic militia cry.
The militia has claimed that the Arab Coalition killed thirty-one civilians near the wreckage of a Saudi warplane in northern Yemen's province at midnight on Saturday. The office of the UN Humanitarian Coordinator, as usual, took the Houthi word for it and quickly condemned the strike without verifying the truth of it and examining why and how curious civilians would gather around the wreckage of a warplane in the middle of a desert, a warzone, at midnight?
Secondly, assuming the UN has evidence of civilian casualties, which it hasn't , the development of military capabilities by a militia of diehard theocratic Jihadists to such a surprising level that they are now able to down the global standard modern warplanes should be far more worrying than the loss of 30 civilian lives now.
The western media's bias
This Houthi militia's continuous and various horrific atrocities have been largely ignored by the western media outlets covering Yemen over the past years.
Over the past month alone, the militia killed and injured civilians including very young girls in rocket shelling on downtown Taiz and Marib, the government-held cities in the west and east respectively.
https://www.alsahwa-yemen.net/en/p-37923
(B P)
After 5 years of conflict in Yemen, shoots of peace are finally emerging
Arguably, Yemen is now at its calmest since the civil war began. A number of Houthi provocations, in the form of continued missile and drone attacks, have failed to provoke a resumption in hostilities. This has set the country up for an opportunity in 2020 to finally end the death and destruction that Yemen’s people have had to endure for far too long.
To build a more endurable peace, the Yemeni government must have a committed partner in the Houthis. So far, they have failed to fulfill this role.
(B P)
Saudi Press: Saudi Arabia's Justice System Witnesses Qualitative Achievements
Al-Bilad newspaper said that the justice system in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia witnesses qualitative achievements and transfers during the era of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz and HRH Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. The paper said that the comprehensive development in the justice sector included modernization of litigation procedures, and issuance of several important judicial principles that enhance transparency.
https://www.spa.gov.sa/viewfullstory.php?lang=en&newsid=2035458
(A P)
Sec. Pompeo: The U.S. Navy interdicted 358 Iranian-made missiles + other weapons components on their way to the Houthis in Yemen. This is another example of the world’s largest state sponsor of terror the Islamic Republic of Iran continuing to defy the UN Security Council.
https://twitter.com/SecPompeo/status/1228285173936140290
My comment: Looking at US arms exports, fueling wars and repression all over the world, shows how bizarre this man is.
(B P)
Who besieges who in Yemen?
Western media often portray Yemen as besieged by the Arab Coalition, and the word 'Yemen' in their writing is used in the sense of Houthi-controlled territories.
The outlets present the Arab Coalition's closure of Sana'a Airport in particular as the core of the tragedy.
The fact of the matter is quite the opposite: The government-held cities, heavily populated with IDPs, are the only ones besieged .
https://www.alsahwa-yemen.net/en/p-37901
(A P)
Cartoon: This is how #Iran-backed #Houthi rebels abide by implementing the #UN-sponsored Stockholm Agreement.
https://twitter.com/RepYemenEnglish/status/1228786945645518848
(A P)
Yemeni minister of foreign affairs lauds unified position of the UN security council towards the crisis in his country
Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Yemen Mohammed Al-Hadrami met in the German city of Munich today with the Estonian Minister of Foreign Affairs Urmas Reinsalu on the sidelines of Munich Conference for Security, currently being held in Germany.
During the meeting, the Yemeni minister of foreign affairs lauded the unified position of the UN security council on Yemen, confirming his country's desire to reach a political solution of the crisis in Yemen.
https://www.spa.gov.sa/viewfullstory.php?lang=en&newsid=2034967
(A P)
Vice President of Yemen lashes out at Houthi militias, describing them as negligent of world community efforts to bring about peace
Vice President of Yemen Gen. Ali Mohsen Salih met in Riyadh today with the Charge d'Affaires of the embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany in Yemen Yan Gerald.
The Yemeni news agency quoted Salih as lashing out during the meeting at the Iran-backed Houthi militias, describing them as continuing to undermine the peace process and negligent of world community efforts aiming to bring about peace
https://www.spa.gov.sa/viewfullstory.php?lang=en&newsid=2034990
(A P)
More Saudi coalition „We are benefactors“ propaganda
http://www.wam.ae/en/details/1395302823914 and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yd5DPaAq7pY
http://en.adenpress.news/news/18425
https://www.spa.gov.sa/viewfullstory.php?lang=en&newsid=2034772
https://www.spa.gov.sa/viewfullstory.php?lang=en&newsid=2035804
https://www.spa.gov.sa/viewfullstory.php?lang=en&newsid=2035776
https://www.spa.gov.sa/viewfullstory.php?lang=en&newsid=2035778
http://en.adenpress.news/news/18441
(B P)
Tehran and its Three Fantasies
Thus, for Iran to continue to live, and hopefully even prosper, one must hope and pray for the end of the strategy of which Soleimani was the poster-boy.
That strategy has been built on three big fantasies.
The first of these is that Iranians as a nation are united behind Khomeini’s messianic regime and ready to put up with poverty, injustice and even oppression in order to keep “The Revolution” alive. Over the past few years that fantasy has been punctured by almost continuous protests, strikes and socio-political turmoil at various levels throughout Iran. For the first time in its long history, Iran has experienced simultaneous revolts in over 100 towns and cities, involving people from all walks of life and all social and ideological backgrounds.
We don’t know the exact level of support that Khomeinism may still attract in Iran; that would only be possible if elections are held in an atmosphere of freedom and plurality. But even regime apologists now admit that the Khomeinist support base is in melting mode.
The second fantasy on which Tehran’s illusions are based relates to the claim, often peddled by the late Soleimani, that the Muslim world, even the world as a whole, is somehow thirsty for leadership, if not actual control, from Tehran and see the Islamic Republic’s “Supreme Guide” Ali Khamenei as a savior of mankind.
http://en.adenpress.news/art/44
cp16 Saudische Luftangriffe / Saudi air raids
Siehe / Look at cp1c
(A K pS)
Coalition airstrikes hit Houthi targets in Saada
The Arab Coalition launched a series of air strikes targeting Houthi rebels in several areas of Saada governorate, the Houthi main stronghold.
Military field sources reported that the Coalition airstrikes pounded a Houthi control and operations room in Haidan district in the southwest of Saada.
The air strikes also hit the Houthi positions, weapons depots and gatherings in the areas of Razej, Sahar and Saqeen, a number of pro-Iran rebels were killed and injured as a result, the same sources added.
http://en.adenpress.news/news/18427
(A K pH)
More Saudi coalition air raids recorded on:
Feb. 17: https://english.almasirah.net/details.php?es_id=11243 / https://www.saba.ye/de/news3088105.htm / https://www.saba.ye/en/news3088083.htm Sanaa p., Marib p., Saada p.
Feb. 14: https://english.almasirah.net/details.php?es_id=11196 / https://www.saba.ye/de/news3087727.htm Sanaa p., Marib p., Jawf p.
cp17 Kriegsereignisse / Theater of War
Siehe / Look at cp11b
(A K)
Yemen: 18 Houthis trying to access military zone killed
Number of rebels also wounded during incident in Al-Jawf province
Eighteen armed Houthi rebels were killed in Yemen’s northern province of Al-Jawf while attempting to infiltrate a military zone, state media reported Monday.
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/middle-east/yemen-18-houthis-trying-to-access-military-zone-killed/1736036
(A K pS)
Four people injured by Houthi projectile blast in al-Dhale
Four people(women and children) were injured by a blast of an explosive remnant of Houthi militia in the liberated area of Hajr in the north west of al-Dhale province on Saturday.
http://en.adenpress.news/news/18432
(A K)
Two hospitals hit in clashes between Gov’t and Houthi forces in Marib several days ago. These hospitals serve 15,000 civilians, most of them displaced. War on health in Yemen must end
https://twitter.com/YemeniArchive/status/1229393410089418753
Pictures of the aftermath of the missile strike on Al-Jafra Hospital in Marib
https://twitter.com/MusaalaOrg/status/1229390455277858818
cp18 Sonstiges / Other
(* A)
Desert Locust situation update - 17 February 2020
Widespread breeding in progress in the Horn of Africa
The situation remains extremely alarming in Kenya, Ethiopia and Somalia where widespread Desert Locust infestations and a new generation of breeding threatens food security and livelihoods in the region. The situation is less worrisome in Uganda and Tanzania.
http://www.fao.org/ag/locusts/en/info/info/index.html
(A P)
After a five-year absence, officials eye the return of Yemen’s football league
Despite optimism over the prospect of renewing the regular league, it will be an uphill battle as footballers and the YFA face ongoing difficulties
The Yemeni Football Association (YFA) announced on Jan. 30, 2020 that it will be launching the first and second division football leagues in Yemen, following a freeze that has lasted more than five years. In an official statement, the YFA addressed all clubs in the first and second divisions, asking them to provide the Federation with their approval to move ahead with launching the league in April.
A number of friendly matches and mini-tournaments have been organized in late 2019 and the beginning of 2020, including most notably a two-week tournament in Seyoun, Hadhramawt governorate.
Indeed, the success of this tournament and the momentum it created was part of the reason that officials decided to announce their intention to launch the regular football season.
Despite optimism over the prospect of renewing the regular league, it will be an uphill battle as football players and the YFA as a whole continues to face many difficulties. Most significantly, there is a lack of security in several governorates, and some stadiums are nearly within eyesight of the ongoing fighting.
Another major hurdle is the meagre funds available to the participating clubs.
https://al-masdaronline.net/sports/336
(A)
German's FES Screens 10 Days Before the Wedding
The Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung screens the movie 10 Days Before the Wedding, which will be followed by a panel discussion with the film director and member of the National Assembly of the Southern Transitional Council, Amr Gamal, and the main actress, Sali Hamada.
http://en.adenpress.news/news/18428
English trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tG3G6QFk_8g
Arabic trailer, English subs: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ptGrm0c9Q9g
Vorige / Previous:
https://www.freitag.de/autoren/dklose/jemenkrieg-mosaik-624-yemen-war-mosaic-624
Jemenkrieg-Mosaik 1-624 / Yemen War Mosaic 1-624:
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 air raids:
Untersuchungen von Angriffen, hunderte von Filmen / Investigations of attacks, hundreds of films:
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