... Drohende Ölkatastrophe im Roten Meer – IS im Jemen – und mehr
July 23, 2020: Making sense of the Yemen War – Covid-19 accelerates hunger crisis in Yemen – Eye-witnesses of air raid, while Britain resumes arms sales to Saudis – Challenging oil disaster in the Red Sea – ISIS in Yemen – and more
Schwerpunkte / Key aspects
Kursiv: Siehe Teil 2 / In Italics: Look in part 2: https://www.freitag.de/autoren/dklose/jemenkrieg-mosaik-668b-yemen-war-mosaic-668b
Klassifizierung / Classification
Für wen das Thema ganz neu ist / Who is new to the subject
cp1 Am wichtigsten / Most important
cp1a Am wichtigsten: Coronavitrus und Seuchen / Most important: Coronavirus and epidemics
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: Spannungen am Golf / US-Iran crisis: Tensions at the Gulf
cp10 Großbritannien / Great Britain
cp11 Deutschland / Germany
cp12 Andere Länder / Other countries
cp12a Katar-Krise / Qatar crisis
cp12b Sudan
cp13a Waffenhandel / Arms Trade
cp13b Mercenaries / Söldner
cp13c Kulturerbe / Cultural heritage
cp13d Wirtschaft / Economy
cp14 Terrorismus / Terrorism
cp15 Propaganda
cp16 Saudische Luftangriffe / Saudi air raids
cp17 Kriegsereignisse / Theater of War
cp18 Kampf um Hodeidah / Hodeidah battle
cp19 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
Ältere einführende Artikel u. Überblicke für alle, die mit den Ereignissen im Jemen noch nicht vertraut sind, hier:
Yemen War: Older 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
Siehe erster Artikel unten in cp1 / Look at first report below in cp1
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Wie sehr Kinder im Jemen unter den Pandemie-Folgen leiden
Krieg, Armut, Hunger und nun die nächste Katastrophe: Die Pandemie trifft das geschundene arabische Land mit voller Wucht.
Die weltweit größte humanitäre Katastrophe – so nennen die UN das Drama im Jemen. Seit mehr als fünf Jahren ist das Armenhaus der arabischen Welt gefangen in einer tödlichen Kombination aus Krieg, Armut, Hunger und Krankheiten. Mehr als 24 Millionen Menschen, das entspricht 80 Prozent der Bevölkerung, sind auf Hilfe angewiesen. Für die meisten ist das nichts anderes als Überlebenshilfe.
Besonders verheerend wirkt sich die Mangelernährung aus. Der Hunger wütet in weiten Teilen des Landes. Allein das World Food Programme der Vereinten Nationen (WFP) versorgt gut zwölf Millionen Jemeniten.
Doch den Helfern geht das Geld aus, die Unterstützung wird deshalb drastisch reduziert. Bei einem Spendengipfel kamen jüngst trotz aller Appelle lediglich 1,3 Milliarden Dollar zusammen – nötig wären 2,4 Milliarden gewesen. Für die vom Welternährungsprogramm versorgten Familien heißt das: Sie müssen zwei Monate lang mit den Lebensmitteln auskommen, die zuvor für einen Monat gedacht war.
Auf dem freien Markt an Essbares zu kommen, ist für die meisten Einwohner aber fast unmöglich. Die Preise haben unerschwingliche Höhen erreicht. Sogar einfache Jobs sind Mangelware, die bescheidenen finanziellen Rücklagen längst aufgebraucht, die Währung wertlos.
Hilfsorganisationen berichten von entkräfteten Müttern, die ihre Babys nicht mehr stillen können. Und von verzweifelten Männern, die weinen, weil sie keine Ahnung haben, wie ihre Familien an die nächste Mahlzeit kommen sollen
Kein Wunder, dass die Pandemie den Jemen mit voller Wucht trifft.
Mein Kommentar: Ein Überblick über die humanitäre Krise, aber in typisch westlicher Manier in isolierter Betrachtung: Die entscheidende Rolle des Westens, die zu diesen Zuständen entscheidend beigetragen hat, wird nicht erwähnt.
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Mercy Corps: The facts: What you need to know about the crisis in Yemen
The crisis in Yemen, caused by prolonged conflict, has led to staggering impacts on human life, basic public services and the economy. More than 3.6 million people have been displaced and approximately 17 million are in desperate need of food.
Almost 100 civilians were killed or injured every week in 2018, and the toll on innocent families is only becoming more severe as escalation in violence has led to increased displacement and death. People are struggling to survive, severe outbreaks of COVID‑19, cholera and other communicable diseases are ongoing, and the risk of famine looms.
Millions of Yemeni people need our help. As of July 2020, more than 24 million people within the country are in need of humanitarian assistance, and the UN’s Humanitarian Response Plan for June through December of 2020 is facing a shortfall of more than $2 billion for humanitarian response.
This devastating humanitarian crisis has, for years, gone largely unnoticed. But the world can’t afford inaction any longer — too many lives are at risk.
Mercy Corps is there to connect communities with desperately needed resources, but our work is only possible with your knowledge and support. Learn more about the crisis and find out how you can help.
https://europe.mercycorps.org/en-gb/blog/quick-facts-yemen-crisis
cp1 Am wichtigsten / Most important
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Making sense of the Yemen War
The past is essential for contextualizing the conflicts and power struggles that shape Yemen in the twenty-first century. Yemen has long been plagued by conflict, sometimes simmering, sometimes erupting into all-out war. Contemporary unrest, which spiralled into war in 2015, is neither a recent phenomenon nor can it be viewed as a single conflict. Rather it is the product of numerous local, regional and international agendas, many of which are rooted in Yemen’s history, both recent and further back.
This essay begins with an overview of Yemen’s modern history as a tool for understanding the origins of today’s conflicts. It next looks at how Yemen’s ‘Arab Spring’ ended in disappointment, with the much-lauded UN-led National Dialogue essentially a failure. It then explains how an insurgency known as the Houthis in Yemen’s north – at once political, religious and tribal – was able to overrun much of the country and take over the reins of government in 2014, precipitating the current war. Finally, it examines to what extent the war can be considered sectarian or proxy. By way of conclusion, it looks ahead to future challenges and the prospects for peace.
The analysis presented is distilled from a decade of research, mainly working with primary Arabic sources, including official statements, private conversations, speeches, sermons and poems of militant groups and assorted tribes, as well as interaction with government bodies, and significant time spent on the ground in Yemen, both in the run up to and during the current war.
The Houthis largely laid down their weapons to join the 2011 Arab Spring uprising and attend the subsequent National Dialogue Conference of 2013–14. The UN-sponsored Dialogue was designed to set the country on a new and peaceful democratic track. Its 565 delegates, however, had been picked hurriedly and were less representative in practice than in the theory laid out on the Dialogue’s website.
Even more crucially, the Dialogue neglected to tackle the most difficult and pressing issue of how the new Yemen would be shaped politically and geographically, with the implications this would have for access to power and resources. While Western governments lauded the Dialogue, the Houthis, already sceptical of the transition process led by the southern-born President Hadi, were forced to endure the extension of Hadi’s two-year term beyond 2014 to allow time to resolve core issues and produce a constitution.
Amassing in the capital in September 2014, the Houthis took over key buildings and instructed Hadi to appoint a cabinet. In January 2015, a federal plan was drawn up that left the Houthis without access to a seaport or oil. In response, the Houthis abducted Hadi’s chief of staff and placed Hadi under house arrest.
The trigger for the Houthi takeover was thus domestic, related to resources and power, rather than ideological or externally driven by Iran.
There is also some evidence to suggest that Iran and its proxy, Hezbollah, provided military advisers to the Houthis, but this was probably not as significant as the various parties to the conflict claimed.
While there is clear evidence of Iran supplying limited amounts of mainly small weapons and advisors to the Houthis, tangible evidence for Iranian military assistance in the form of heavy weapons in the early stages of the war is scant. The alliance that the Houthis forged with former President Ali Abdullah Saleh was far more pivotal to Houthi success than Iranian assistance. With or without Iran’s involvement, the underlying structure of the conflict and Houthi grievances would probably have been the same.
The Houthis can be considered part of a broad pro-Iran constellation in the Middle East, which also comprises Lebanese Hezbollah, significant elements of the Iraqi government, and the Syrian regime of Bashar al-Assad. Yet a shared hatred of the United States and Israel, together with an admiration among some Houthis for Shi’ite leaders, does not translate into the Houthis simply being an Iranian proxy.
It is likely that the Houthis have a pragmatic attitude toward Iran, rather than an ideological alignment. They are willing to accept help as long as it suits them. This notion of Houthi pragmatism is also borne out by their improbable alliance in 2014 with Saleh, previously their arch-enemy who led six wars against them over the preceding decade.
From Iran’s standpoint, its own interests are served by playing up its role in Yemen for several reasons related to regional power politics, but it is critical to distinguish between Iran’s rhetoric and its actions. Iran did not need to supply much to the Houthis in the way of expensive weapons and advisors to achieve its goals. It simply needed to create the perception of this to worry international audiences, please domestic hardliners, increase Iran’s standing as a key regional stakeholder, and antagonise Saudi Arabia. Goading Saudi Arabia into an expensive, complex, unpopular, and potentially unwinnable war has brought several advantages for Iran.
Nevertheless, there is evidence that Iran’s military reach in Yemen has increased as the war has dragged on. The UN panel of experts on Yemen concluded in January 2017 that it had ‘not seen sufficient evidence to confirm any direct large-scale supply of arms from the government of the Islamic Republic of Iran’. Iran is not the only one to benefit from emphasising its role in Yemen. The Yemeni government has long attempted to cast the Houthis in the role of Iranian proxy, trained, armed and ideologically influenced by Iran. This has encouraged greater military support and funding from Saudi Arabia and its Sunni Gulf allies.
It is important to note that the Houthi insurgency was neither the product of Islamic sectarianism nor a proxy war between Saudi Arabia and Iran. Yemen is not a naturally sectarian country and the two main ‘sides’ in the war that erupted in 2015 do not divide neatly along sectarian lines.
In conclusion, the Yemen war essentially grew out of domestic political, cultural and tribal disputes stretching back through history. The rise of the Houthis’ political arm, Ansar Allah, over the past decade and the growing regional influence of Iran have been concomitant rather than inextricably linked. The Houthi alliance with Iran sprang more from necessity than ideological alignment. However, the longer the war has dragged on, the more vulnerable the Houthis have become to Iranian influence. It may still turn into a long drawn out international sectarian conflict.
As is often the case in the Middle East, the war has neither followed logic nor delivered the short sharp shock that was originally envisaged to restore stability. Since launching its bombing campaign in 2015, Saudi Arabia has failed in all three war aims: to contain Iran, restore the Hadi government and prevent Yemen from fragmenting.
Yemen looks to be in the process of fragmenting. The north-south divide remains as potent now as at any time in Yemen’s mod-ern history.
Meanwhile, peace consultations lumber on with the half-hearted participation of the main actors. But whether or not a broad deal is struck, the future looks bleak and the chances of Yemen fragmenting are high. If a peace deal is reached, it will leave multiple fractures throughout society. Many of those trying to survive in economically wrecked communities, disillusioned, with their deep-seated grievances unaddressed, have both weapons and battlefield experience. Perversely therefore, it may be that the risks of conflict contagion, and with it a resurgence of militant jihad, actually increase after a peace deal is finally brokered.
Worse still, if a peace deal is not reached, all the key ingredients are present for Yemen to become a failed state: the proliferation of armed militias attached to old north-south fault-lines, foreign proxies building resentment through human rights violations, growing sectarianism, the perilous exploitation of extremist groups by state actors to further (and provide cover for) their own political agendas, an entire generation of dispossessed youth that has known only war, a catastrophic cholera epidemic, over two million children out of school, a looming water crisis, millions displaced, and millions more starving. Yemen could be at risk of complete implosion – by Elisabeth Kendall
https://engelsbergideas.com/essays/making-sense-of-the-yemen-war/
= https://newlinesinstitute.org/isis/isis-in-yemen-caught-in-a-regional-power-game-2/
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Neuer UN-Bericht: Rückkehr zu alarmierendem Hunger im Jemen
Das UN World Food Programme (WFP) hat heute gemeinsam mit der UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), UNICEF und anderen Partnern die neuesten Analysen zum Hunger – die sogenannte Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) – für 133 Bezirke im Jemen veröffentlicht.
Die Prognose:
Bis Ende des Jahres werden der Analyse zufolge zusätzlich mehr als 1 Million Menschen in den südlichen Gebieten des Jemens akut Hunger leiden.
Der akute Hunger in den untersuchten Gebieten wird von derzeit 25 Prozent der Bevölkerung auf 40 Prozent bis Ende des Jahres ansteigen – ein Anstieg von 2 auf 3,2 Millionen Menschen bei einer untersuchten Bevölkerung von 7,9 Millionen.
16 Distrikten in acht Gouvernoraten weisen das höchste Hungerlevel (IPC4) auf: Ad Dhalee (3 Distrikte), Marib (3), Al Bayda (2), Shabwah (2), Abyan (2), Taizz (2), Al Jawf (1) und Hadramaut (1).
Die Gebiete, für die in den nächsten sechs Monaten die schlimmste Verschlechterung prognostiziert wird, sind Abyan, Aden, Ad Dhalee, Hadramaut, Lahj und Taizz.
Zitate
David Beasley, WFP-Exekutivdirektor
„Das Bild, das die jüngste Hungeranalyse der südlichen Bezirke des Jemen zeichnet, ist wirklich herzzerreißend. Wenn die internationale Gemeinschaft nicht mit einer dringenden Finanzspritze hilft, werden wir wieder dahin zurückgeworfen, wo wir 2018 waren, als wir uns vom Rand einer Hungersnot zurückkämpfen mussten.“
„Die jemenitische Bevölkerung wird seit Jahren wegen des Konflikts von Hunger und Mangelernährung heimgesucht. Jetzt sorgt COVID-19 dafür, dass das Elend weiter zunimmt. Die Welt muss etwas gegen diese sich ausbreitende humanitäre Katastrophe tun, bevor es zu spät ist.“
Laurent Bukera, WFP-Landesdirektor im Jemen
„Der Jemen hängt am seidenen Faden. Die Prognose für die nächsten Monate ist sehr beunruhigend
https://de.wfp.org/pressemitteilungen/neuer-un-bericht-rueckkehr-zu-alarmierendem-hunger-im-jemen
Medienberichte: https://www.fr.de/politik/corona-krise-verschaerft-hunger-jemen-13840735.html
https://www.evangelisch.de/inhalte/172873/22-07-2020/un-corona-krise-verschaerft-hunger-im-jemen
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Yemen: Hunger crisis accelerating under Covid-19
One in every four vulnerable families have lost all income and half have seen their incomes drop by over 50 per cent -- new NRC survey reveals.
Millions of Yemenis already facing dangerous levels of hunger are being pushed into deeper poverty since Covid-19 hit the conflict-devastated country.
A survey by the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) has found one in four vulnerable families have lost all their income since the pandemic hit the country in April. A staggering 94 per cent of families reported food as a top concern and almost half of respondents said they lost at least half of their income, just as prices for food and water also went up.
Even before Covid-19, Yemen was the site of the largest food crisis in the world. A concerted aid effort pulled the country back from the brink of famine last year, but it now risks sliding back.
“The coronavirus pandemic, coming on top of a lethal confluence of other challenges, has accelerated the misery of the poorest nation in the region, with more families already in poverty earning even less and facing more hunger,” says NRC’s Country Director for Yemen, Mohamed Abdi. “The families we spoke to were already on the edge of survival and now almost all of them tell us their situation is worse.”
Most families NRC interviewed have fled their homes due to the violent conflict, and are now living in inadequate, overcrowded conditions. Despite this, parents had been making every effort to support their families, often by doing the lowest-paid jobs available that are now becoming even more precarious.
“Our main meal is bread and tea,” says Abdulrahman, a former fisherman from Hodeidah who was surviving on aid and from labouring work that has now dried up. “Even potatoes are out of reach.”
“We are more scared of food prices than of Covid-19,” said Ali, father of eight who was forced to flee their home in Taiz.
On top of all the humanitarian needs, food and fuel imports dropping, prices rising, and an economy on the verge of collapse, fighting is escalating once again while aid funding is running out. As global leaders discuss Covid-19 recovery packages for wealthy economies, NRC is calling for even a fraction of these same efforts to be directed towards Yemen, in the form of a cash injection to stabilise the economy, a restoration of aid funding, and an end to the restrictions on imports.
“Never before have Yemenis faced so many threats at once, and all this at the height of a devastating pandemic,” NRC’s Abdi said. “Yemen needs a rescue package. And there must be a ceasefire. The fact that airstrikes and bullets are still continuing even now is outrageous. Countries complicit in funding and supporting this war must stop fanning the flames, and help silence the weapons once and for all.”
Key survey findings & statistics
450 households were surveyed in nine districts where NRC works across Yemen between 29 June and 5 July – that is: Az Zuhrah, Bani Al-Harith, Ma’ain, Amran, Abs, Hajjah City, Tuban, Tur Al-Bahah, Ash-Shamayatayn. All families surveyed were vulnerable enough to have previously received assistance from NRC.
94% of the families surveyed by NRC reported food as a priority for their household. 96% felt food would be a pressing need over the next three months.
Families reported to NRC that since the first case in Yemen was reported in April:
79 per cent have seen their income drop by at least a fifth, and 47% by at least half.
94% reported that prices for basic items have gone up.
36% said key items are no longer available in markets.
46% reported the cost of water has gone up.
95% reported to NRC they have no space for family members to isolate if they get sick.
Even before Covid-19, 17 million people in Yemen were in need of urgent food assistance, according to the Famine Early Warning Systems Network.
80%-90% of Yemen’s food needs to be imported, but following restrictions related to Covid-19 food imports have decreased by 43% in March and 39% in April according to WFP, compared to the same months in 2019.
Funding for humanitarian aid in Yemen is at a historical low according to UNOCHA, with only $0.6 billion received so far, compared to $2.6 billion this time last year.
WFP’s July Food Security and Price Monitoring Report showed food prices have been increasing in Yemen since the beginning of 2020, and are close to hitting 2018 crisis levels. They report the number of households with inadequate food consumption has increased from 29 percent in May to 36 percent in June. Food consumption is deteriorating for all groups but is worst in areas with a high intensity of conflict (42 percent of households).
The UN reports that the cost of the minimum food basket has risen by as much as 35 per cent in some areas since the outbreak of COVID-19.
The latest REACH Joint Market Monitoring Initiative Report showed nearly 25% of vendors report additional difficulties acquiring goods due to COVID-19, and that the price of water trucking has gone up by 150%.
https://www.nrc.no/news/2020/july/yemen-hunger-crisis-accelerating-under-covid-19/
and
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Yemen sees return to alarming levels of food insecurity
Economic crisis, conflict, floods, desert locusts – and now COVID-19 - could wipe out improvements in food security in parts of Yemen, UN agencies warn
Economic shocks, conflict, floods, desert locusts and now COVID-19 are creating a perfect storm that could reverse hard-earned food security gains in Yemen, warns the latest Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) analysis released today by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), the World Food Programme (WFP) and partners.
The analysis carried out so far in 133 districts in southern Yemen[1] forecasts an alarming increase of people facing high levels of acute food insecurity, i.e. in Crisis (IPC Phase 3) and Emergency (IPC Phase 4) by the end of the year.
Acute food insecurity in these areas eased last year thanks to a massive scale-up of humanitarian assistance but all the good work could quickly be undone as the number of people facing high levels of acute food insecurity is forecast to increase from 2 million to 3.2 million in the next six months.
This would represent an increase from 25 percent (in February-April) to 40 percent of the population (in July-December) suffering from high levels of acute food insecurity even if humanitarian food assistance and access to those in need are maintained.
Drivers of acute food insecurity:
Economic decline is the main driver. Economic crisis and inflation persist with the local currency in free fall, rising food prices and a near depletion of foreign exchange reserves. For example, from mid-December 2019 to mid-June 2020, the local currency (Yemeni riyal) lost an average of 19 percent of its value against the US dollar, surpassing the 2018 crisis levels.
Conflict remains a key driver of acute food insecurity.
COVID-19 is affecting food availability, access and market supply as well as income-earning opportunities and wages. Important measures to restrict the spread of COVID-19 have led to import delays, logistical barriers, and disrupted markets. Remittances from Yemenis abroad have also decreased by about 20 percent and are expected to continue declining.
New desert locust and fall armyworm breeding areas are emerging as a consequence of ecologically favourable conditions, including rains, and threaten food production in Yemen, the region and beyond.
Cereal production this year, for example, is forecast to be 365,000 metric tonnes -- less than half of pre-war levels.
Flash floods have already had a devastating impact in some areas, and most of the districts along the Arabian coast are expected to be hit by cyclones in the coming months.
"The IPC is telling us that Yemen is again on the brink of a major food security crisis. Eighteen months ago, when we faced a similar situation, we were generously funded. We used the resources we were entrusted with wisely and massively scaled-up assistance in the districts where people were the hungriest and most at risk. The result was tremendous. We prevented famine. Unless we receive the funding we need now, we won't be able to do the same this time," said Lise Grande, the Humanitarian Coordinator for Yemen.
"The people of Yemen have already been through a lot and are resilient. But they are facing now too many hardships and threats all at once - from COVID-19 to Desert Locusts invasions. Small-holder farmers and families who depend upon agriculture for their livelihoods need our support now more than ever," said Hussein Gadain, FAO Representative in Yemen.
"Yemen is facing a crisis on multiple fronts," said Laurent Bukera, WFP Country Director in Yemen. "We must act now. In 2019, thanks to a massive scale-up, WFP and partners were able to reverse the deterioration in the worst hit areas of Yemen. The warning signs have returned and with Coronavirus pandemic added to the mix, it could get a lot worse if humanitarian action is delayed."
"A dangerous combination of conflict, economic hardship, food scarcity and a crumbling health system has pushed millions of children in Yemen to the brink, and the COVID-19 crisis could make things even worse," said Sherin Varkey, UNICEF's acting Representative in Yemen. "More and more young children are at risk of becoming severely malnourished and requiring urgent treatment. Increased and sustained support is vital if we are to save these children's lives."
What do we need to do now?
The IPC analysis's recommendations for urgent actions include:
http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/1298770/icode/
and by WFP: https://www.wfp.org/news/new-report-yemen-sees-return-alarming-levels-food-insecurity
and media reports: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-yemen-security-malnutrition/yemens-children-starve-amid-rising-fears-of-famine-idUSKCN24N20T
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For Sama’a: As Britain resumed arms sales to Saudi Arabia, a deadly airstrike in Yemen
Eyewitnesses in Yemen tell Declassified UK’s reporter on the ground about the aftermath of an airstrike that killed a young girl and her grandmother.
Salem had a message for the British population: “You’re targeting civilians, this never targeted any military targets, the casualties are civilians.”
Four strikes – of the kind that have repeatedly struck Yemen in five years of war – hit al-Maqash between 10.30pm and 11pm, the eyewitnesses say. One strike smashed the door and windows of the house of Ahmed Shalool, a local khat trader.
Inside the house, Shalool’s granddaughter Sama’a sustained a shrapnel wound and later died in hospital while his mother, Maryam Abu Raya’ah, was killed immediately.
The blasts in al-Maqash injured several others and the distressing aftermath was reported by Al Masirah, an outlet controlled by the Houthi movement which is fighting the Saud-led coalition in Yemen.
The airstrikes took place six days before the UK government announced a resumption in arms exports to Saudi Arabia, provoking widespread condemnation.
As it eased restrictions, the British government claimed: “There is not a clear risk that the export of arms and military equipment to Saudi Arabia might be used in the commission of a serious violation of international humanitarian law.”
Yet, within nine days of the arms ban being lifted, a further 29 civilians died in such airstrikes in Yemen, according to the Yemen Data Project.
Eyewitnesses at al-Maqash spoke to an independent Yemeni reporter sent by Declassified UK to collect testimony from the Houthi-controlled area in the northwest of the country.
A neighbour of Ahmed Shalool, who wished to remain anonymous, said: “I was the one who transported all of the seven wounded in my car to the hospital, all of them women except two men, but the girl died at the hospital.”
The raids hit a depot housing mattresses and blankets collected from humanitarian organisations, he said. Also hit were solar panels for a water pump belonging to a local farmer.
During the strikes, the Shalool family was trying to get out of their home and flee. “His wife and daughter fled to our home and survived,” said the neighbour.
The neighbour told our reporter: “This aggression has no mercy for adults or children nor distinguishes between a civilian or a military site.”
Asked his opinion on British government support for the Saudi coalition, he commented: “They do not care for people’s lives. What is important for them is money and selling weapons. If Yemenis are being shelled or killed, it’s all right, never mind.”
A spokesperson for the Saudi-led coalition claimed that the airstrikes targeted a workshop containing drones and Katyusha rocket launchers.
Another eyewitness, a local of the area, disputed this claim. “They are liars,” he said. “It was a water tanker project and a garage of shelter supplies like mattresses, blankets, and kitchen tools.
“Whatever the target is, they always say it’s a military target, even if it was a home, they say it is a military site.”
Another local person told our reporter that the depot contained humanitarian supplies stored by the Houthis. Our reporter said the only military site he saw in the area was a checkpoint some 150m from the depot.
‘Fears and trauma’
The owner of the key shop, who goes by the nickname Abu Majed, told our reporter: “If you want to bombard Houthis then stop bombing civilians. Here we have only maintenance workshops of cars, shops, the largest market for vegetables in Saada and people looking for a job to make a living.”
Sitting with his three children and an employee, he added: “If I knew there were military sites here, I would not have opened a store here…There is only a police checkpoint.”
Asked if his children are affected by the bombing, he replied: “All of them have fears and trauma. This boy,” he says, referring to his 5-year-old son, “was in his mother’s belly while warplanes bombed during the early days of war and was born during bombing. Now, when he hears aircraft, he runs away immediately.”
He says his children were too scared to come back to the shop for a week after the bombing.
Another of Abu Majed’s sons, 16-year-old Abdul Rahman, recalled: “The airstrikes were carried out while we were about to close the store and return home. We thought it could be a car exploding. I looked from the door on the street and saw people run away and flee. I fled to the store and saw a woman with two children and a man.”
He added: “We hid by the store building. One of the two children escaped toward the street, just as we heard the third explosion. Some shrapnel landed near the child. I went to take the child and get him back to his parents near our store and then heard the fourth explosion.”
“I have smelled death,” he added. “They want to destroy Yemen.” – by Matt Kennard and Mark Curtis
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Eine Million Barrel Öl bedrohen das Rote Meer
Im Roten Meer fällt ein mit mehr als einer Million Liter Barrel Öl gefüllter Tanker auseinander. Es droht eine Umweltkatastrophe.
Seit dem Beginn des Krieges liegt der Tanker «Safer» vor der Küste Jemens. Eigentlich hätte das Schiff bereits vor zwei Jahrzehnten verschrottet werden müssen. Der 45-jährige Tanker ist aber immer noch in Betrieb – auch wenn er bereits vor Jahren praktisch aufgegeben wurde und nicht mehr gewartet wird.
Die Tanks des Schiffs sind mit etwa 1,14 Millionen Barrel Öl gefüllt. Erst kürzlich drang Wasser in den Maschinenraum ein, der Tanker drohte zu sinken. Davor war ein Ausrüstungsteil weg gerostet und verfehlte eine Pipeline nur knapp. Die «Safer» fällt zunehmend auseinander.
Fliesst das Öl ins Rote Meer, wird der Planet mit einer der schwersten Umweltkatastrophen aller Zeiten konfrontiert. Das berichtet unter anderem «Le Temps».
Die Gefahr ist seit Jahren bekannt, auf internationaler Ebene gab es während den letzten zwei Jahren immer mehr Aufrufe, den Tanker seetüchtig zu halten, ihn nicht sinken zu lassen und das Öl zu entsorgen. In der Zwischenzeit ist die Bedrohung für die Natur so gross geworden, dass sich auch der UN-Sicherheitsrat mit dem Thema auseinandersetzt. «Wir sind seit Jahren handlungsunfähig», sagt Jens Laerke, Sprecher des UNO-Büros für die Koordinierung humanitärer Angelegenheiten (OCHA) gegenüber «Le Temps». Die UNO habe ein technisches Expertenteam zusammengestellt, das bereit sei, die Schäden am Tanker vor Ort zu beurteilen und eventuell die ersten Notreparaturen durchzuführen.
Die Huthi-Milizen hätten sich mit der Mission einverstanden erklärt, so Laerke. Davon abgesehen gebe es für die Techniker keinen Schutz, die Mission sei riskant. So halten sich zum Beispiel hartnäckige Gerüchte über Sprengladungen, die um das Schiff herum und vielleicht sogar an Bord angebracht sein sollen.
Allerdings haben die Huthi-Milizen der UNO bereits in der Vergangenheit den Zugang zum maroden Tanker zugesichert, bevor sie ihre Einwilligung ohne Erklärung wieder zurückgenommen hatten. Neben der instabilen Lage im Jemen spielt im Poker um die «Safer» auch der Ölpreis eine Rolle: Zu Beginn des Krieges war das Öl, das auf dem Schiff gebunkert wird, etwa 80 Millionen Dollar wert. Seitdem ist der Ölpreis zusammengebrochen und das Öl, das aus den 430 Kilometer entfernten Marib-Ölfeldern stammt und von schlechter Qualität ist, hat einen grossen Teil seines Werts verloren.
Der Preiszerfall ist so drastisch, dass die Einnahmen aus dem gebunkerten Öl möglicherweise nicht einmal reichen sollen, um die notwendigen Arbeiten zum Entleeren des Schiffes zu bezahlen – womit die Gefahr der drohenden Ölpest abgewendet werden könnte.
Aber der Poker um die «Safer» hat noch eine weitere Dimension
Trotzdem scheint einigen Beteiligten klar, was die drohende Ölpest im Jemen ausrichten könnte. Denn die «Safer» hat mehr Öl geladen, als zum Beispiel die «Exxon Valdez», die 1989 eine Ölpest vor der Küste Alaskas verursachte – was noch immer als eine der grössten Umweltkatastrophen in der Seefahrt gilt.
Zusätzlich zu den Hunderttausenden Vögeln und Fischen, wäre eine Ölpest im bereits blutenden Jemen wohl nicht nur eine Umwelt-Katastrophe, sie würde wahrscheinlich auch eine humanitäre Katastrophe auslösen. Im Jemen leben mehr als 100'000 Familien vom Fischfang. Dann würde eine Ölpest auch die Wasserentsalzungsanlagen bedrohen, welche für die Bevölkerung vielfach die einzige Möglichkeit darstellen, an Trinkwasser zu gelangen. Und da das Land praktisch alle seine Waren importiert, ist es auf passierbare Küstengewässer angewiesen, was im Falle einer Ölpest nicht mehr gewährleistet wäre.
Lise Grande, UN-Koordinatorin für humanitäre Hilfe im Jemen, sagte gegenüber der AFP: «Es wird eine Umweltkatastrophe wie keine andere geben, und es wird eine humanitäre Katastrophe sein, weil das Öl den Hafen von Hodeida unbenutzbar machen wird.» – von Tobias Tscherrig
https://www.infosperber.ch/Artikel/Umwelt/Eine-Million-Barrel-Ol-bedrohen-das-Rote-Meer = https://www.sonnenseite.com/de/umwelt/eine-million-barrel-l-bedrohen-das-rote-meer.html
und
(* B K P)
Jemen: Die nächste Katastrophe?
1,1 Million Barrel Rohöl befinden sich vor der Küste Jemens auf einem Öltanker mit dem Namen FSO Safer, der unterzugehen droht
Die humanitären, ökologischen und wirtschaftliche Folgen eines Öl-Austritts
Die Auswirkungen wären erheblich für rund 126 000 Menschen, die in der Fischereiindustrie arbeiten und ihren Job durch eine Umweltkatastrophe am Roten Meer verlieren würden. Mark Lowcock, Chef für humanitäre Angelegenheiten der Vereinten Nationen, spricht davon, dass 1,6 Millionen Jemeniten direkt betroffen wären, wenn es zu einem Austritt des Öls aus dem Tanker kommen würde.
Ein Großteil des verschütteten Öls würde Nahe der Küste verbleiben, was bedeutet, dass der von den Houthis kontrollierte Hafen von Hudaydah (dem "Tor" für humanitäre Hilfe im Jemen) für Monate schließen müsste. Die Preise für Lebensmittel und andere lebensnotwendige Güter würden in die Höhe rasen. Ein Feuer auf dem Schiff wiederum könnte die Luft der ohnehin schwachen Bevölkerung zusätzlich verpesten. Außerdem sind 969 Fisch- und 300 Korallenriff-Arten vom Austritt des Öls gefährdet, wie die jemenitische Umweltgruppe "Holm Akhdar" berichtet.
https://www.heise.de/tp/features/Jemen-Die-naechste-Katastrophe-4847377.html
(** B T)
ISIS in Yemen: Caught in a Regional Power Game
The Islamic State in Yemen has changed over the past two years from simply being a branch of the transnational jihadist movement to an entity resembling a proxy or a tool in a broader conflict between regional players. The United States and its allies should be wary of taking at face value claims made by the group and must closely monitor regional states and their respective Yemeni partners, which benefit from the existence of jihadist actors such as ISIS. These regional patrons along with their proxies in the war-torn country have been using ISIS as a justification for their expansionist policies, as a scapegoat for politically motivated acts of aggression, or as a disruptor of the peace process, and a vehicle through which to stoke tensions inside the Saudi-led Arab coalition.
ISIS’s Failures in Yemen
Despite the hype over its November 2014 launch, amid a flurry of early defections from al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, the Islamic State failed to take off in Yemen because of its indiscriminate brutality, poorly attuned messaging, weak tribal links, and overbearing leadership style. By late 2016, the group was largely confined to a rugged corner of central Yemen’s Bayda’ governorate.
Reincarnation of ISIS in Yemen
Out of the ashes of ISIS’s obliterated camps in Bayda’ governorate in central Yemen, meanwhile, a reincarnation of the group was emerging around a new set of leaders. While the brand, flags and rhetoric remained unchanged, there were several points on which the new post-2018 group differed from Yemen’s original Islamic State. It appeared to latch onto local rivalries and attempted to inject more culturally attuned camaraderie into its photosets and videos.
But the most obvious change was in the targeting set. During 2017, ISIS mainly assaulted al-Houthi fighters in Bayda’. During 2018, it switched to targeting al Qaeda, which ISIS accused of collaborating with the Yemeni military. Al Qaeda began to complain of incessant ISIS harassment and was finally provoked into open war with its jihadist rival from July 2018 to early 2020. In this nearly two-year period, the local chapters of ISIS and al Qaeda were consumed with killing one another to the near total exclusion of all other adversaries.
During the final quarter of 2018, 69% of ISIS attacks targeted al Qaeda, only 31% targeted al-Houthi rebels, and none targeted the Yemeni military or southern security forces. During the first half of 2019, at an operational peak, 86% of ISIS attacks targeted al Qaeda and only 14% targeted al-Houthi fighters. Testimonies from ISIS defectors point to the bewilderment of fresh recruits at being immediately immersed in courses dedicated to to be exterminated, rather than the “Shi’ite Rejectionist” al-Houthi faction or the “Zionist-Crusaders and their regional agents”.
ISIS Yemen and the al-Houthi fighters
A January 2020 U.N. report theorizes that this reluctance to target al-Houthi fighters indicates the new incarnation of ISIS is actually collaborating with its professed arch-enemies, asserting that “The Houthis have provided tactical help, cooperation, prisoner exchanges and handover of military camps to [ISIS] under Houthi supervision.”
This picture is complicated by ISIS’s apparent recent switch in targeting back to the al-Houthi rebels. In the first half of 2020, 94% of ISIS attacks claimed to target al-Houthi fighters, while only 6% targeted al Qaeda. This looks like a compelling change, but there are some important caveats. First, the attacks on the al-Houthi faction are all small-scale. Second, the claimed switch coincides broadly with the U.N. report and thus might be designed with the express intent of disproving it. Third, the claimed attacks on al-Houthi fighters have reportedly been contradicted by locals. Even in the rare instances where ISIS issues communiques it rarely goes beyond recycled footage of stick huts set alight and captives pleading for mercy who may or may not be from the al-Houthi group.
In short, there is little evidence of ISIS fighting al-Houthi rebels, but their claiming to do so works well for both parties. For ISIS, this aligns with its parent organization’s sectarian narrative and provides material for its weekly Naba’ bulletin. For the al-Houthis, ISIS claiming attacks on them buttresses the Iran-backed movement’s claims of fighting terrorists, and thereby justifies a further military push into Bayda’. The al-Houthi faction can thus present itself to the international community as a wronged party and a potentially useful ally in combating ISIS.
ISIS Yemen versus al Qaeda: Who’s Winning?
Despite alleged al-Houthi assistance to ISIS, al Qaeda had the upper hand until the end of 2019. Al Qaeda had made common cause with local tribes to fight the double scourge of ISIS and the al-Houthi rebels and drove ISIS out of some camps. I
In 2020, however, ISIS’s fortunes may be on the rise again. Its numbers appear to have tripled
ISIS has also sought to capitalize on al Qaeda’s paralysing culture of suspicion, infighting, and leadership squabbles, which has resulted in the recent desertion of at least 18 of its militants.
ISIS has also sought to capitalize on al Qaeda’s paralysing culture of suspicion, infighting, and leadership squabbles, which has resulted in the recent desertion of at least 18 of its militants.
The ISIS strategy is to fuel mistrust and exacerbate rifts inside al Qaeda. Its narrative fits neatly with statements published by angry al Qaeda militants in April 2020 protesting the innocence of some of those executed on spying charges and questioning their leadership’s investigation methods.
Decline or Deviation?
Both ISIS and al Qaeda are shadows of their former selves. While ISIS looks to have the upper hand currently against al Qaeda, its overall activity has diminished dramatically in 2020. One way to assess ISIS activity is to monitor its martyr eulogies because the number of deaths generally equates to the number and scope of operations, albeit imprecisely. ISIS’s martyr eulogies have declined significantly, from 49 in 2018 to 23 in 2019, and just 3 during the first six months of 2020. It is also worth noting that 93% of these martyrs were killed in Bayda’, indicating that this province has, thus far, remained the epicenter of formal ISIS activity.
This picture of declining ISIS activity is reflected in the frequency of its operational claims.
The number and scale of operations claimed by ISIS has dropped sharply in 2020
A New Proxy War?
How can one explain this apparent decline? Of course, it may in part be the result of counter-terrorism operations, the need to lie low, battle fatigue, or even COVID-19. It is more likely that Yemen’s militant extremists have been co-opted by regional actors and/or their domestic partners to serve political agendas.
It is difficult to draw straight lines between political principals and their jihadist proxies, largely because all actors in Yemen suffer from deep internal factionalization, rendering loyalties extremely fluid.
In such a messy melting pot, it is almost inconceivable that Yemen’s splintered jihadist groups, weakened by drone strikes and riddled with spies, could have avoided getting swept up to unwittingly serve well-funded geopolitical agendas. In other words, both ISIS and al Qaeda, or the various factions within them, are likely being weaponized by regional powers rather than being fought as enemies – by Elisabeth Kendall
https://cgpolicy.org/articles/isis-in-yemen-caught-in-a-regional-power-game/
cp1a Am wichtigsten: Coronavirus und Seuchen / Most important: Coronavirus and epidemics
Siehe / Look at cp1
(A H)
11 new cases of coronavirus reported, 1,640 in total
http://en.adenpress.news/news/23629
(* B H P)
UN: COVID-19 fatality rate is alarming high in Yemen
Net-The United Nations (UN) said on Monday that COVID-19 fatality is alarming high in Yemen.
The increase of deaths is taking place amid funding shortfall required to support response to the epidemic, the UN says.
The UN aid agencies requested $385million in funding to support COVID-19 operations in the country.
Yet, as of Monday's morning 20 July, the UN COVID-19 operations in Yemen received only $55 million which is only 14 percent of the actual need, according to the Spokesperson for Secretary-General António Guterres, Stephane Dujarric,
https://www.alsahwa-yemen.net/en/p-40939
(A H P)
UNO: Zahl der Todesopfer durch Corona im Jemen - 5 mal so hoch wie weltweit
UN-Sprecher Stephane Dujarric beklagte am Montagabend die schlimme Situation im Jemen und gab diese Zahl bekannt.
Dujarric fügte hinzu: "Die Corona-Todesrate im Jemen beträgt mehr als 27 Prozent der Fälle und ist sehr besorgniserregend."
Zuvor hatte das jemenitische Gesundheitsministerium [Sanaa – Reg.] mitgeteilt, dass die Vereinten Nationen über die gesundheitlichen Katastrophen in diesem Land sprechen, jedoch deren Ursache ignorieren und vor dieser Katastrophe die Augen schließen.
Mein Kommentar: Diese Zahl ist verzerrt, weil es viel zu wenig Tests gibt.
(A H)
Boss of an intensive care unit in Yemen spends 10 DAYS in a Covid-induced coma after being misdiagnosed with dengue fever because doctors wrongly thought the country was virus-free
Dr Madhi Mahdi Abdel Kawi initially diagnosed with Dengue Fever
After recovering from 10-day coma he went back to working in hospital for free
Country had only 500 ventilators and up to a 'million cases of coronavirus'
(A H)
Yemen reports 10 new Covid-19 cases
https://debriefer.net/en/news-18649.html
http://en.adenpress.news/news/23619
(* B H)
COVID-19 scapegoating triggers fresh displacement in Yemen, warns migration agency
COVID-19 fears have prompted fresh displacement in war-torn Yemen, and forced many of those on the move to sell what little they have to survive, UN humanitarians said on Tuesday.
From the end of March to 18 July, more than 10,000 people interviewed by the International Organization for Migration (IOM), cited “fear of infection and the impact of the outbreak on services and the economy”, as their as reasons for leaving virus hotspots.
“A woman named Salam in Aden told our staff about people selling their mattresses, blankets and children’s clothing in order to meet their basic needs”, spokesperson Paul Dillon told journalists in Geneva. “Displaced women who used to work as maids are forced to beg in the streets because potential employers are afraid they’re carrying the virus.”
Following interviews with displaced individuals, IOM said that some were travelling from Aden and Lahj to areas within the same governorates less affected by the outbreak; others were making for districts in Abyan despite active fighting elsewhere in the governorate.
“One of the key concerns that we have and one that’s shared by the humanitarian community not just in Yemen but elsewhere, is the emergence of these false narratives about COVID-19”, Mr. Dillon said. “False information that’s been circulated in different areas about the virus and the emerging and very clear examples, of xenophobia and xenophobic attacks being directed at displaced people.”
Latest data from IOM’s Data Tracking Matrix indicates that “more than 100,000 people have been forced to flee due to fighting and insecurity since January”, amid ongoing violence linked to the country’s grinding conflict, which is well into its sixth year, Mr. Dillon continued.
The actual number of displaced people is likely to be higher, he added, as data is only being collected in 12 of 22 governorates amid access restrictions, while many of those displaced because of the pandemic, were moving for the “second, third or fourth time”.
https://news.un.org/en/story/2020/07/1068731 = https://www.iom.int/news/internal-displacement-yemen-exceeds-100000-2020-covid-19-emerging-new-cause
Film: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UPQmC8PDDtM
(B H)
JEMEN: "ICH WÜNSCHE MIR DIE ZEIT VOR CORONA ZURÜCK."
Kaum ein anderes Land auf der Welt ist für Kinder gefährlicher als der Jemen.
Eigentlich kümmert sich Dr. Masar Khalid um Kinder, die unter Malaria, Dengue oder anderen Fieberkrankheiten leiden. Sie arbeitet im Al-Basateen Health Centre in Aden, der viertgrößten Stadt im Jemen. Hier hat Save the Children ein Gesundheits- und Ernährungsprogramm in 113 Gesundheitseinrichtungen gestartet. Doch die Corona-Pandemie erschwert ihre Arbeit enorm.
"Am 29. April wurden uns die ersten Covid-19 Fälle gemeldet. Wir haben unser Bestes gegeben, um unsere Kliniken auf den Anstieg weiterer Fälle vorzubereiten. Wir haben unsere Reinigungskräfte angewiesen, überall mehr als einmal zu desinfizieren, versucht, dem Gesundheitspersonal ausreichend Schutzausrüstung zur Verfügung zu stellen, damit sie sich nicht infizieren", berichtet Dr. Masar Khalid.
„Ich hätte es nie gedacht, aber ich vermisse die Zeiten vor Corona. Ich vermisse den Klang von Kindern, die in unserer Klinik in der Kinderkrippe spielen. Wir sind stolze und belastbare Menschen und ich bin mir sicher, dass wir die Kraft haben, auch in diesen dunklen Zeiten weiterzumachen.“
https://www.savethechildren.de/news/jemen-ich-wuensche-mir-die-zeit-vor-corona-zurueck
(A H)
Yemen reports 13 new coronavirus cases, all in Hadramout province
https://debriefer.net/en/news-18622.html
(A H)
Yemen COVID-19 Preparedness and Response Snapshot - As of 18 July 2020
(A H)
One death and two new cases of Corona virus recorded in the southern governorates
(B H)
Yemen WASH Cluster COVID-19 Bulletin, 14 July 2020
A WASH Response is a COVID Response
- Scale up Community prevention; Shielding high-risk persons
- Saving lives starts in communities
- Urgent funds needed for emergency WASH
- Continuing WASH with adapted programing in COVID-19
- Support the Health strategy
https://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/yemen-wash-cluster-covid-19-bulletin-14-july-2020-enar
Yemen WASH Cluster - Humanitarian Dashboard ( January - June 2020)
https://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/yemen-wash-cluster-humanitarian-dashboard-january-june-2020
(* B H P)
Religious Discussions on Coronavirus in Yemen
This policy report focuses on the religious discourses surrounding the pandemic of COVID-19 in Yemen. It aims at discerning this diversification and to point out to some discursive and theological implications that has to do with the current political conflict in Yemen, secularization processes and the polemical debates between the established traditional religious elite and the emerging young public intellectuals. Based on the author’s analysis of the data, they classify the Yemeni religious debate into two main trends: plain religious discourse and rationalized one. Within both trends, they find different voices that belong to different sects and schools of thought in Yemen. Nevertheless, the sectarian and religious orientations of the main interlocutors of this debate are not ignored.
The newly emerged coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has triggered different types of reactions in Yemen. These reactions can be narrowed down into two: one has to do with the situation of the health care system during the war that is tearing the country and one is related to the capacity of a divided state to face the pandemic. The second type of discourse has taken a more religious orientation as it concentrates more on the metaphysical and messianic reasons behind the spread of the disease and its consequences on the different nations of the world including the Muslim countries.
Many lay Muslims as well as clergymen have expressed in different ways their shock to see the Holy Houses of God in Mecca and Madinah closed for the first time in their lives.1 The calamity of Covid-19 can be classified according to Islamic Jurisprudence as nāzila a novel case or an emerging event that effects the Muslim individuals and/ or community and which requires fatwā a legal opinion to be issued by Muslim 'ulamā' (sing. 'ālim, lit. “learned”), legal and theological experts or jurists. However, “a nāzila is not the opinion of a single jurist, but becomes part of a formal and comprehensive juridical consultation, together with non-legal experts relevant to the discussion.”2 In this direction of thinking, a legal opinion on a dangerous disease, such as Covid19, should be promoted by both religious and epidemiologists.
Based on that, many 'ulamā' and preachers have contributed to the heated discussions on this issue. The main feature of their contributions is that they have been quite diverse, and reached no status of ‘Islamic consensus’. Ali Gomaa (b. 1952) an Egyptian Islamic scholar who served as Grand Mufti of Egypt (2003–2013) tended to adopt the theory that links the spread of the coronavirus to 5G wireless technology.3
In Yemen, it is safe to say, in general, that religious debate on this issue intersects with these different strands of religious discourse in the Arab world. However, there are some local features in these discussions that reflect the diversification of the religious and political landscape in Yemen. The paper, thus, aims at discerning this diversification and to point out to some discursive and theological implications that has to do with the current political conflict in Yemen, secularization processes and the polemical debates between the established traditional religious elite and the emerging young public intellectuals7 who tend to use social media in this virtual battle. Based on our investigation of the data which is mainly collected from the bulk of material available online, we can classify the Yemeni religious debate on this issue into two main trends: Plain religious discourse and rationalized one. Within both trends we find different voices that belong to different sects and schools of thought in Yemen. Thus, our classification is based on the logical nature and mode of reasoning of a given discourse more than the sectarian affiliation of its producer. Nevertheless, sectarian and religious orientations of the main interlocutors of this debate are not ignored – by Mr Abdulsalam al-Rubaidi & Mr Khalid al-Absi
https://www.kas.de/de/web/rpg/detail/-/content/religious-discussions-on-coronavirus-in-yemen
(A H)
25 new cases of coronavirus reported, 1,606 in total
http://en.adenpress.news/news/23601
(A H)
UNICEF provides Yemen with 20-ton medical supplies to fight Covid-19
https://debriefer.net/en/news-18590.html
(A H)
Covid-19 claims more 3, infects 5 Yemenis
https://debriefer.net/en/news-18570.html
and also http://en.adenpress.news/news/23594
(A H)
24 new cases of coronavirus reported, 1,576 in total
http://en.adenpress.news/news/23584
(B H)
Film: Stay and Deliver: YEMEN
After five years of conflict, over 24 million people in Yemen are in need of urgent aid and more than 3.6 million have been uprooted from their homes. With only half of the country’s health facilities operational and given the already precarious situation across Yemen and the dire living and
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mkXP0wqo66E
(B H P)
The advantages of being poor during COVID-19 pandemic
Yet so far, although Yemen has been so ravaged, the total cases at the time of writing numbered only 1,526, and the deaths per million amounted to only 12.
And it is time to strike a note of hope, for — as measured by registered infection and mortality cases — the region as a whole has been far less devastated than much of the world. This needs some detailing.
Omitting the two richest continents, the mortality rate of the rest of the world is 2.9 percent — exactly half that of the rich nations.
This is a global statement that measures the difference (by and large) between rich and poor, suggesting that, presently, poor nations fare far better than rich nations in a stark COVID-19 world.
Our big data on the Arab Middle East reinforces this, but also points to the reasons behind what seems to be a counter-intuitive global trend.
The outcome of this statistical exercise is very hopeful, certainly optimistic. For the eight nations as a whole, relative lack of wealth and social infrastructures is being compensated for by the age distributions of their populations. This is a principal explanation of low incidence and mortality of COVID-19 in comparison to wealthy regions such as Europe and North America.
https://www.arabnews.com/node/1706151
My comment: ??? He takes the official figures for granted – and drawing further conclusions from them leads to dubious results.
(B H)
Yemen - 2020 AWD / Cholera Response Dashboard - Weeks 1 - 26
https://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/yemen-2020-awd-cholera-response-dashboard-weeks-1-26
cp2 Allgemein / General
(* A K P)
Interactive Map of Yemen War
(* A K)
MILITARY SITUATION IN YEMEN ON JULY 20, 2020 (MAP UPDATE)
https://southfront.org/military-situation-in-yemen-on-july-20-2020-map-update/
MILITARY SITUATION IN YEMEN ON JULY 19, 2020 (MAP UPDATE)
https://southfront.org/military-situation-in-yemen-on-july-19-2020-map-update/
MILITARY SITUATION IN YEMEN ON JULY 18, 2020 (MAP UPDATE)
https://southfront.org/military-situation-in-yemen-on-july-17-2020-map-update/
MILITARY SITUATION IN YEMEN ON JULY 16, 2020 (MAP UPDATE)
https://southfront.org/military-situation-in-yemen-on-july-16-2020-map-update/
(A P)
‘Saudi Arabia is legally responsible for war crimes in Yemen,’ insists Nobel Laureate
The Yemeni activist and 2011 Nobel Laureate Tawakkol Karman has said that Saudi Arabia is “legally responsible” for all the crimes of the Arab coalition it leads in her country.
“Saudi Arabia is the one who is leading the coalition formally and practically… This is what the world knows and what has been announced,” Karman wrote on Facebook. “Saudi Arabia therefore bears legal responsibility for all the crimes committed by the Arab Coalition, whether the perpetrator is Saudi Arabia or one of the member states. To say that the UAE is guilty of laundering Saudi crimes, on the one hand, and tempting the Saudi army to continue to mess with the Yemenis’ lives, on the other, is useless.”
The human rights activist made her comment after it was reported that the French judiciary has opened an investigation against Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Zayed who is accused of complicity in the torture of prisoners in Yemen detention centres controlled by the UAE armed forces. The French can look into such cases on the basis of universal jurisdiction.
(* B H K P)
Yemen: A Failure of Human Security
Yemen is witnessing some of the worst human security failings in recent years.
Human security makes the individual the referent object of security. Human security focuses on establishing ‘freedom from fear’ and ‘freedom from want’ for every individual. However, threats to human security remain numerous. The 1994 report lists seven main categories of threat, including food security, health security and personal security. Yemen is one example of a state failing to meet human security in these aspects.
Food (In)security
As a result of the conflict, poverty is rife within Yemen. Almost half of the population is living on less than US$3.10 a day, and over five million people live on less than $1.90 a day. Even more people are at risk of falling into poverty. Without income, buying necessities becomes almost impossible. The economic situation in Yemen, in terms of wages, employment, and the Yemeni currency itself, is worsening, yet food prices continue rising.
However, there is more to food security than the ability to buy food.
Health (In)security
In addition to inadequate economic and food insecurity, Yemen faces a severe health crisis.
Personal (In)security
In the last five years, over 112,000 people have died as a direct result of the conflict in Yemen.
What Solution?
Efforts by the United Nations and several international NGOs have alleviated some of the suffering through providing humanitarian aid and assistance in Yemen. But with the combination of continued conflict and a global pandemic, the outlook for Yemen continues to be a human security disaster, unless one of these issues can be alleviated.
http://www.strifeblog.org/2020/07/22/yemen-a-failure-of-human-security/
(* B K P)
Rethinking Approaches to Peacebuilding in Yemen (Online Event, 7th July 2020)
Crisis Group's major new report, "Rethinking Peace in Yemen", is based on a year and a half of extensive field research inside Yemen, and more than 100 in-person and telephone interviews with Yemeni actors, and regional and international stakeholders. The report maps out shifts in Yemen’s political geography over five years of conflict, recommends that policy makers rethink the requirements for peace and argues that a wider range of actors need to be included in UN-led talks. It calls for a more limited agreement to end the war focused on securing a ceasefire and the resumption of services, while avoiding too rapid a recentralisation of power in the capital.
Speakers: Peter Salisbury, Senior Analyst for Yemen at International Crisis Group; Nadwa Dawsari, Non-resident Fellow at the Middle East Institute; Amb. Barbara Bodine, Distinguished Professor at Georgetown University and Director of Institute for the Study of Diplomacy. Moderator: April Longley Alley, Deputy Program Director, Middle East and North Africa at International Crisis Group
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9yZnLfe7Qh0&t=3186s
Parts you shouldn't miss: -@peterjsalisbury's report overview at minute 6:15; Peter on Houthi willingness to accept peace at 1:00:43; while spreads anti-Houthi bias here: 23:15; -Nadwa on Iran-Houthi links at 57:12; -
(* B K P)
Why Have the Houthis Failed to Seize Yemen’s Marib Province?
The Houthi militia in Yemen has been aware of the strategic weight of the oil rich Marib province, but they have faced insurmountable challenges in the course of their unsuccessful attempts to take it over.
The ongoing battle is not the Houthis’ first bid to bring Marib to its knees. In 2015, tribesmen in the province engaged in fierce clashes with the Houthis and succeeded in pushing them back. Taking over Marib has been a Houthi dream that has not come true so far, and it does not appear it will be achieved. Today, the province is the last stronghold of the UN-recognized Yemeni government in the north. Should it fall to the Houthis, it would mean the government presence is eliminated from North Yemen except for some districts in Taiz.
Since the start of the year, the Houthis have gained ground in the Nehm district of Sanaa and Al-Jawf province which are adjacent to Marib. The collapse of the government forces in April had emboldened the Houthis to eye a military win in Marib. They want to bring the province under their rule because it is the richest one in Yemen’s north with significant fuel resources, namely gas and oil. Furthermore, the province has a strategic location. It is at a crossroad between Al-Beidha, Al-Jawf, Sanaa, Shabwa, and Saudi Arabia.
The Houthis have been aware of the strategic weight of this province, but they have faced insurmountable challenges in the course of their multiple foiled attempts to take it over. This has happened for a variety of reasons.
First, Marib is a tribal society and it is not easy to subjugate its people by force. They tend to fight to the last man. The only possible way to earn their support is by building good connections with their leading tribal figures. Unlike other provinces in North Yemen, people in Marib have felt a collective responsibility to fend off Houthi incursions.
Second, Marib did not fall into the partisan rivalry trap when the Houthis took over Sanaa in September of 2014.
Third, the strong leadership of Marib’s governor has been a catalyst for the steadfast resistance of his province since early 2015.
Finally, the province leadership has not solely focused on war efforts, leaving the economy and the public services needed by civilians unaddressed. Instead, Marib has seen a tremendous improvement in its basic service sectors including health, education, electricity, and road infrastructure. At present, the city has been a safe haven for the locals as well as the displaced and its population has jumped from 300,000 to 3 million.
While the Houthi preoccupation with taking over Marib has not vanished, the forces defending the province have been firm and unwavering.
https://insidearabia.com/why-have-the-houthis-failed-to-seize-yemens-marib-province/
(* B K P)
Yemeni Activist: Riyadh Keeps Bombarding Yemen During Covid-19 Pandemic
Fatik al-Rodaini, journalist and human rights activist, says neither the holy month of Ramadan nor the coronavirus outbreak could make Saudi Arabia stop aggression against the impoverished Arab country.
In an exclusive interview with FNA, Yemeni activist said, “During the last five years, we have been experiencing cholera outbreak which has killed thousands of people, but the Saudi-led coalition did not stop the war. Covid-19 is just another disease in Yemen, and neither Saudi Arabia nor the West cares about it.”
Fatik al-Rodaini is a Yemeni journalist and the founder of Mona Relief Organization, a Yemeni non-profitable NGO for Humanitarian Relief and Development based in the capital Sana’a.
Below is the full text of the interview:
Q: Saudi Arabia announced ceasefire in Yemen due to the coronavirus outbreak; but, the coalition forces pushed ahead with more attacks at the same time. How do you view this contradiction?
A: It is not the first time that Saudi Arabia announces a ceasefire in Yemen. We have experienced the same situation before and the Saudi regime showed it is not committed to its own-promised ceasefires at all. However, more attacks and killings are carried out contrary to the ceasefire. It is the same policy followed by the Saudi regime since the beginning of the attacks in March 2015. Saudis are never committed to any truce or agreement which holds up the war.
Saudi Arabia is not concerned with the suffer of the Yemeni people. During the last five years, we have been experiencing cholera outbreak which has killed thousands of people, but the Saudi-led coalition did not stop the war. Covid-19 is just another disease in Yemen, and neither Saudi Arabia nor the West cares about it.
Q: Neither the killer virus nor the holy month of Ramadan caused Saudi war machine to stop the war. Why is Saudi Arabia persists in shedding the blood of the Yemenis?
A: The holy month of Ramadan this year is not different from those in the last five years. Yemenis are now familiar with and accustomed to the circumstances of the war and they live with it every day of their life. So, Ramadan is the same with other months of the year for the war-torn nation. They dream to live a life, like most of the people all over the world, in peace. Millions of Yemeni people wait to see the end of war; not a temporary ceasefire. We need to live in peace.
But, it is not in Yemenis’ hands to bring peace to their own country; on the other side of the war conflict is Saudi Arabia which insists to maintain its interest, a Saudi-puppet regime, in the country, no matter how many people they kill, injure or how they destroy the country, in the month of Ramadan, or during coronavirus outbreak.
The war will continue until the moment Saudi Arabia wakes up from its dream of conquering Yemen, which is well-protected by its fighters.
https://en.farsnews.ir/newstext.aspx?nn=13990430001142
(* B K P)
Film: YEMEN CRISIS: Why is it forgotten?
Almost within touching distance of some of the world’s wealthiest capitals lies Yemen - where the level of suffering of its people has the UN calling this “the worst humanitarian crisis in the world.” And yet the conflict has disappeared from the front pages. What is it going to take to save a population that seems largely to have been forgotten?
Guests: Stephen Day, Professor of International Affairs; Afrah Nasser, Yemen Researcher at Human Rights Watch; Sherine El Taraboulsi-McCarthy, Overseas Development Institute.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f5VOPJ7gWAk
(* B K P)
Important interview with @HassanElTayyab and @AmrHSayed on what's ahead for the fight to end U.S. complicity in the war on #Yemen. Please watch here (note: commentary in Arabic and interview in English):
https://twitter.com/shireen818/status/1284487473092075520
Film: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=By4aOoOdXKQ
(A K P)
Turkish presence off Yemeni coasts poses no problem for Houthis
The Turkish presence in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden poses no problem for Houthis, a member of the group's politburo said Monday, after the Turkish defense ministry had declared intention to send a frigate to the Gulf of Aden next September.
"No problem in the Turkish navy's presence in the international waters of the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden," Mohamed al-Bokhaiti added in a tweet, "as long as Yemen's sovereignty is respected on its territorial waters.
https://debriefer.net/en/news-18616.html
(A P)
AL chief: Political pact only way out of Yemen crisis
The Arab League (AL) Secretary-General accentuated political deal as the only way out of Yemen's crisis and a guaranty for the country's independence in the face of regional interferences harming its interests and its neighbors' security, Egyptian media quoted an official at the AL secretariat as saying.
The AL supports Yemen to cope with the ongoing hard stage, Ahmed Aboul Gheit added at meeting with the [Hadi gov.] Yemeni Prime Minister Maeen Abdulmalek
https://debriefer.net/en/news-18617.html
My comment: AL is a Saudi mouthpiece; this does not mean anything.
(* B K P)
Dozens Of Civilians Killed In Another Saudi Massacre
Civilians have borne the brunt of the Saudi coalition bombing campaign from the start.
The airstrike in Al-Jawf is just the latest in an increasing number of airstrikes this year. The bombing campaign has been intensifying over the last few months at the same time that the pandemic is ravaging the population. The first half of 2020 saw a marked increase in airstrikes compared to the previous year:
Civilians have borne the brunt of the Saudi coalition bombing campaign from the start. Most civilian casualties in the war have been the result of Saudi coalition strikes, and Saudi coalition attacks have consistently hit non-military targets at least a third of the time every year since the bombing began. The dishonest conceit that U.S. and U.K. arms and support make civilian casualties less likely has been disproved again and again by the conduct of the Saudi coalition.
The U.K. government has announced that it will resume arms sales to Saudi Arabia despite extensive evidence that shows how the Saudi coalition uses the weapons that the U.S. and U.K. sell to them.
Abdulaziz Kilani comments on the outrageous decision:
Its policy on selling arms to Saudi Arabia suggests that Britain is not only turning a blind eye to the Saudi-led coalition’s atrocities in Yemen, but also providing what seems to be a cover-up for crimes committed by the coalition in Yemen. That is because the Saudi air strikes on hospitals and other civilian sites for five years clearly represent a pattern of violations by Riyadh.
Supporters of the Saudi coalition have long sought to portray attacks on civilians as accidental, but the record shows that there has been a systematic targeting of civilian infrastructure, food production, and sources of clean water. Hundreds of documented war crimes show that these are not “isolated” attacks, but rather an integral part of how the Saudi coalition has chosen to wage war against the people of Yemen. All arms sales to Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and other members of the coalition must be halted in order to protect the lives of innocent Yemenis – by Daniel Larison
(* A P)
Public outrage as coalition continues to violate Yemen sovereignty
In a flagrant violation justified by security precautions, the coalition has imposed new arbitrary conditions on flights of Yemenia Airways including orders to send to it manifests and passports of all passengers 48 hours before flights take off, Debriefer has learned.
The new conditions have been in effect since Thursday when Yemenia Airways resumed flights into and from Yemen, a source in the company said.
"The coalition asked the company to send manifests of all flights without exceptions including coloured copies of passengers' passports to the operations room of the coalition in the Saudi capital Riyadh 48 hours before flights take off," the source said.
On Saturday, the coalition prevented a Yemenia flight carrying 171 passengers, who have been stranded for months in Egypt, from landing in Yemen and forced it to go back to Cairo.
When we asked the coalition why it did that, it said, "You, Yemenia Airways, did not meet the new conditions", the source said.
The coalition's move has sparked wide public outrage on social media, with people and activists saying what the coalition has done with the Yemenia flight was a blatant violation of Yemen's sovereignty.
https://debriefer.net/en/news-18583.html
(* A P)
Houthis say UN breached Safer assessment agreement
The United Nations breached agreement to assessing the Yemeni floating storage and offloading (FSO) facility Safer, member of Houthi Supreme Political Council said Wednesday, calling for involvement of a third party not engaged in the Saudi-led coalition.
"The foreign ministry regretfully told us about the UN's violation of the deal on Safer tank," Mohamed Ali al-Houthi tweeted.
While the UN envoy's office asked for comments in writing, "we hold them responsible, since we had expected dodges," he said without further details.
https://debriefer.net/en/news-18660.html
and
(* B K P)
Film: Can an environmental catastrophe in Yemen be averted?
Fighting has divided the cities, destroyed the economy and triggered a humanitarian crisis and Yemen is also on the verge of an environmental disaster.
For five years, the oil tanker FSO SAFER has laid idle off the coast, with 1.1 million barrels of oil on board.
As Yemen's Houthi rebels battle with the Saudi-backed government for control of the country, the ship has been left to rust.
The United Nations has described the tanker as a ticking time bomb - one that will eventually cause an ecological and humanitarian disaster if nothing is done.
Who is to blame?
Presenter: Laura Kyle; Guests: William Lawrence - professor of political science and international affairs at American University; Hussain Al Bukhaiti - pro-Houthi journalist; Zeina Khalil Hajj - executive director of Greenpeace Middle East North Africa region.
https://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/insidestory/2020/07/environmental-catastrophe-yemen-averted-200718190307545.html = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V3xvEFmn9GE
and
(B)
Infographic by Holm Akhdar: Disasters of oil tankers in Yemen's territorial waters
https://twitter.com/holmakhdar/status/1284859654233903106
(* A K P)
Yemeni Tribes Reject Saudi Compensation, Seek Revenge for Jawf Bloodshed
Yemeni tribes in the northern province of al-Jawf have rejected a financial offer from Saudi Arabia to compensate for Wednesday airstrikes that claimed over two dozen civilian lives, saying the only thing that would calm them down is revenge.
The Arabic-language al-Khabar al-Yemeni news website reported on Thursday that the elders of the al-Jawf tribes, in their meetings and contacts with the Bani Nuf tribe, had thrown their support behind tribal revenge for the recent casualties, underlining that an attack on Bani Nouf tribe would be an attack on all the tribes in al-Jawf.
The news website said Saudi Arabia had dispatched a number of representatives to the tribes in al-Jawf to pay reparations and appease them but they had refused to accept the financial compensation.
https://english.almasirah.net/details.php?es_id=14026
(* B H K P)
“This Is Trump’s War”: U.S.-Backed Saudi Bombing in Yemen Continues as Coronavirus Spreads
We speak to Yemeni scholar Shireen Al-Adeimi, who calls the ongoing crisis “Trump’s war.” “We’re seeing death rates that are just astronomical,” Al-Adeimi says. “The war continues, the bombing continues, the blockade is still enforced.”
SA-A: There’s a lot of misinformation. People are just not sure: Should they be taking precautions? Is this really happening? You know, as the interviewee just said, they were certain that this was happening, but they weren’t being announced. So people are still unsure about what’s happening, but they’re also not able to kind of take the precautions that we’re able to take — many of us are able to take here.
For example, there’s 17 million people in Yemen. That’s about 56% of the population doesn’t have access to clean water. This is drinking water. So, how are they going to use soap and water to wash their hands frequently? We have 3, 4 million people who are internally displaced, that are in camps. How are they going to social distance? Where are they going to get water? Where are they going to get food? You have 80% of the population that’s immunocompromised because they’re hungry. And so, you know, this isn’t a country that’s able to take any kind of precautions.
So, people are confused. They know that a lot of people are dying around them. We’ve heard of many people and, you know, friends — my parents were professors at Aden University., and we received a list of all of these people who died. Many of them were their former colleagues. We don’t know for sure if it was because of coronavirus or not, but chances are, you know, it’s either coronavirus or one of the many outbreaks that are currently plaguing the Yemeni healthcare system.
All of this is happening, and the U.S. is still helping the Saudis and the Emiratis drop bombs in Yemen. Two days ago, you know, 16 people were killed in an airstrike, and mostly women and children. Two days before that, 11 people were killed in an airstrike. And so, the airstrikes are still ongoing. The blockade is still ongoing. And this is in the middle of a pandemic. And, you know, I can’t imagine a country that has it worse than Yemen currently. It was the world’s worst humanitarian crisis before COVID, and because of the U.S.'s intervention, and now it's even worse than that.
But the situation right now is dire for everybody. And, you know, we can’t talk about these things in isolation. The root cause here is that Yemen is under occupation, it’s under bombardment, it’s under a blockade that’s killing a child every 10 minutes, at least, for the last five years from preventable illnesses, like cholera, diphtheria, dengue fever. A child could die from a simple fever because there’s no medicine to relieve that fever. Children are starving to death because there’s no food, there’s no water. And so, we really have to be talking about the root causes, and not think about all of these as isolated incidents.
It’s really time to take back responsibility and for people to be held accountable for this. This is Trump’s war. And this is Congress’s doing, if they continue to stay silent while he is perpetuating this violence against Yemenis. And the countries like Canada or France or the U.K. or Germany, all of these countries are benefiting still from the sale of weapons to the Saudis and Emiratis. You know, you can’t go and say, “Well, we want peace in Yemen,” when you are actively profiting from the war in Yemen or participating in the killing of civilians in Yemen. And so, I think Yemenis feel like the international community has let them down, absolutely let them down. But it’s really time to stop blaming people who are occupied, and think about the people who are occupying them and bombing them and starving them to death. And it’s time to put an end to all of that.
https://www.democracynow.org/2020/7/17/coronavirus_spread_yemen_us_backed_saudi = https://truthout.org/video/us-backed-saudi-bombing-in-yemen-continues-as-covid-19-spreads/
Film: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6c3UfPvuxBc
(B H K P)
Why aren’t we talking about the crisis in Yemen?
A brief history of the worst humanitarian crisis in the world
The crisis in the country, as millions of people fear for safety and survival since the conflict began intensifying in 2015, persists as the worst in the world. The UN has reported that with increasing urgency, humanitarian support is becoming the only lifeline for tens of millions throughout Yemen.
cp2a Saudische Blockade / Saudi blockade
(A K P)
Arab coalition still detaining oil tankers: Houthi minister
The Saudi-led coalition is still denying oil tankers access to Yemen with no reason, the Houthi oil minister said Wednesday.
"Thousands of medical facilities will stop due to the aggression forces' preventing oil from entry to Yemeni areas," Ahmed Abdullah Daris added in remarks to the Iranian al-Alam TV.
Tens of oil tankers were stopped by the Arab coalition in Djibouti waters or off Jizan, he claimed, despite the entry permits obtained from the UN.
https://debriefer.net/en/news-18668.html
(* A K P)
313 Government, private hospitals will be suspended due to depletion of oil derivatives: [Sanaa gov.] Health Ministry
Thousands of patients live moments of the aggression coalition oil derivatives ships and preventing their entry into the port of Hodeidah.
In light of the intransigence of aggression and its deliberate denial of access to oil derivatives, the health sector faces difficult and catastrophic conditions that adversely affect the health services of patients and put their lives at risk of death.
https://www.saba.ye/en/news3103499.htm
(* A K P)
Internet could be cut off amid acute fuel crisis triggered by coalition actions in Yemen
The telecommunications and information technology ministry in the Houthi salvation government on Monday warned the internet could be cut off as the Saudi-led coalition is continuing to block fuel ships from entering Hodeidah seaport.
If the coalition state members continue their siege and holding of fuel ships, millions of Yemeni people will soon be deprived of the internet and telecommunication services, it said in a statement.
It appealed to the UN and the international community to do their responsibilities and force the coalition to lift the unjustified blockade on Yemen.
"The internet cut off will isolate 30 million people from the world, disable 1.842 hospitals and educational facilities, hamper activities of more than 2 million students and researchers and paralyse all sectors," the ministry said.
Separately, the Houthi-run Almasirah TV quoted spokesperson for the health ministry in the salvation government, Yousuf Al-Hadhri, as saying : "We are communicating with the UN agencies in Yemen to solve the fuel crisis. But the UN is not interacting and does not have a vision."
"A tragedy is unfolding. Citizens will not be able to reach hospitals," Al-Hadhri said.
https://debriefer.net/en/news-18625.html
and also https://uprising.today/breakdown-of-telecommunications-and-internet-services-expected-to-hit-yemen/
(* B E K P)
Houthis accuse UN envoy of providing misleading picture about Hodeidah seaport revenues
The Houthi Group has accused the UN envoy to Yemen, Martin Griffiths, of giving a misleading picture of how the revenues from Hodeidah seaport are used, saying the UN envoy knows they have been spent on salaries of public servants.
"If the UN is serious, we can pay all the wages in one week," acting chairman of the supreme economic committee in Sanaa, Hashim Ismail, said, according to a statement carried by the Houthi-run Almasirah TV.
Ismail said Griffiths has turned against the Stockholm Agreement to justify blocking of fuel from entering Yemen and to support the agenda of the Saudi-led coalition. "The UN envoy to Yemen is not talking about the state revenues misspent or stolen by the internationally recognised government," he said.
The Stockholm Agreement was signed by the Houthis and the agreement in Sweden in December 2018.
Under it, the two sides agreed to a ceasefire in Hodeidah province and redeployment of their forces from inside the city of Hodeidah and the seaports of Hodeidah, Al-Saleef, and Ras Isa to agreed locations outside the city, an exchange of prisoners and an understanding on Taiz province including easing a Houthi blockade on Taiz city.
"No progress has been made on the economic file which has been employed to serve military agenda of the coalition," Ismail said.
The coalition has been fighting the Houthis in support of the government since March 2015.
The government has not responded to a call by Griffiths to address the economic issues, he said, adding that 70% of the economic plan of the Houthi supreme political council has already been put into effect.
"The UN envoy asked us to provide information about how the revenues from Hodeidah seaport are spent. We gave the information but he provided a misleading picture. There is UN insistence on depriving employees in regions controlled by the salvation government (Houthi government) of half salaries," he elaborated.
https://debriefer.net/en/news-18620.html
and also https://www.saba.ye/en/news3103361.htm
https://english.almasirah.net/details.php?es_id=14071
and
(B E P)
[Sanaa gov.] Finance Minister: UN Protesting Sana’a Pay Half A Salary, Preventing Ships from Reaching Port of Hodeidah
Finance Minister, Rashid Abu-Lahom, Monday, confirmed that the Ministry of Finance has submitted all documents to the United Nations that it has spent the balance accumulated in the salary initiative to pay out half of the salary to employees.
In a statement, Abu-Lahom told Almasirah that "the United Nations and the pro-US-Saudi aggression party were embarrassed by our ability to pay half a salary on a regular basis and they prevented ships from reaching the port of Hodeidah." Abu-Lahom pointed out that the United Nations wants the National Salvation Government to keep these amounts in the account without any horizon for the issue of paying out half of the salaries as agreed upon.
He pointed out that the envoy's office visited the central bank in Hodeidah and looked at operations and the account, checking the amount of accumulated. The office want these funds to be collected in the account and do not be used for paying out salaries. "This explains the envoy’s resentment of paying out the half salary on a regular basis for the six months." he said.
https://english.almasirah.net/details.php?es_id=14072
(A K P)
Houthis say petrol shipment arrives at Yemeni Hodeida port
https://debriefer.net/en/news-18587.html
(B K P)
Saudi blockade is about to completely shut down entire Yemeni health, transport and agriculture sector
26 million Yemenis in acute risk of death due to Saudi policies
The Yemen Petroleum Company (YPC) has launched a humanitarian appeal for help on Friday, due to a dire lack of oil derivatives across Yemen.
In a statement, the company called on the world and all international humanitarian organisations to assume their responsibilities to avoid a new disaster from hitting Yemen.
The company warned of “an unprecedented disaster in the coming days due to the continued non-admission of oil derivatives.”
It noted that the continued detention of oil tankers by the Saudi-led invaders will lead to the shutdown of over 400 hospitals and 5,000 health centers, as well as all oxygen factories that provide services to over 26 million citizens. It will also lead to the cessation of about 23,000 water provision systems and to power outages for all citizens.
(B K P)
YPC: UN Basic Partner with Saudi-led Aggression in Detention of 20 Vessels
Al-Adhrai considered the United Nations as a basic partner with the Saudi-led aggression in the continued detention of 20 vessels, including three carrying diesel and two loaded with domestic gas, in addition to the detention of 15 others loaded with 391889 tons of gasoline and diesel, equivalent to 10200 locomotives.
"We are on the verge of a real humanitarian catastrophe because of the near depletion of the quantities of oil derivatives in the warehouses, as the actual requirement of gasoline and diesel amounts to 10 million and 500 thousand liters per day,” he said. “The company resorted to distributing the remaining quantities of diesel and gasoline available to the stations to distribute them according to a catering plan that meets the needs of the citizens for the longest period.”
https://english.almasirah.net/details.php?es_id=14044
(* B K P)
Houthis government warns healthcare services will stop due to lack of fuel
The health ministry in the Houthi salvation government on Sunday warned the situation of the healthcare sector in Yemen is catastrophic as the Saudi-led coalition is continuing to hold fuel ships off Hodeidah seaport.
"Around 5.000 public and private medical centres and clinics will shut down across the country, leaving 25 million people without healthcare services," spokesperson for the ministry, Yousful Al-Hadhri, wrote on Twitter.
In addition, 150 public and private hospitals and healthcare facilities will stop their operations partially and completely and could turn into first aid centres, he said, adding that the epidemiological situation will worsen as epidemic control, monitoring and treatment facilities depend largely on fuel.
https://debriefer.net/en/news-18595.html
(* B K P)
Houthis dedicate 90% of fuel reservoirs for military operations
The Houthi theocratic militia have lately been dedicating 90% of the "huge" fuel reservoirs in their controlled areas to military operations against the government, well-informed sources told Yemeni media platforms.
The militia warned of "a genocide-like" effect would result from the depletion of fuel in Sana'a, which hyperbole analysts say the Shia militia used to get the UN's help with further fuel supply and to boost their case for lifting the Arab Coalition's naval and air blockade – to be able import Iranian arms and other aid.
Human rights activists told Bawabati news website they are "shocked how the Houthis hold the 'fuel' issue over the United Nations to obtain what they wants in spite of the huge surplus of fuel they have accumulated and the fact that they (Houthis), as the UN itself acknowledges, are the ones who violated the mechanism" regulating oil and other imports, known as UN Verification and Inspection Mechanism for Yemen (UNVIM).
In keeping with their endless attempts to expand and capture new territories from the government, the UN-pampered militia are now attempting on Marib province, amassing troops, fuel and other resources without limits. The militia's self-styled 'Martyrs Authority' has just revealed that their militia lost "2000 fighters" in attempts on Marib and adjacent Aljawf over the two weeks.
https://www.alsahwa-yemen.net/en/p-40889
My comment: From an anti-Houthis, pro-Islah Party news site.
(A K P)
Coalition's blocking of fuel, basic supplies an insult to UN, Houthi Gov't says
Prime minister in the Houthi salvation government, Dr. Abdulaziz bin Habtour, said the Saud/UAE coalition's blocking of fuel and basic supplies from entering Houthi-controlled regions represents an insult to the UN.
At a meeting with the UNDP resident coordinator in Yemen, Lise Grande, he called on the UN to take strict action over the coalition's economic escalation and war on the Yemeni people, the Houthi-run Saba news agency reported.
https://debriefer.net/en/news-18573.html
(* A K P)
Yemen Petroleum Company Launches Humanitarian Appeal for Help Due to Lack of Oil Derivatives
Yemen Petroleum Company launched a humanitarian appeal for help Friday due to the lack of oil derivatives.
In a statement, the company called on the world and all international humanitarian organizations to assume its responsibilities to avoid the disaster in Yemen.
The company noted that the continued detention of the oil tankers will lead to the stoppage of over 400 hospitals and 5,000 health centers and all oxygen factories that provide services to over 26 million citizens. It will also lead to the cessation of about 23,000 water and power outages for all citizens.
It stressed that preventing the entry of oil derivatives will cause complete paralysis in the transportation movement as more than 80,000 cargo carriers, 70,000 public transportation and half a million private transportation will stop.
https://english.almasirah.net/details.php?es_id=14017
and also https://debriefer.net/en/news-18547.html
(A K P)
Film: YSC affiliate @YousefHadhrami gives a detailed account of how one acquires petrol in a country under Saudi-American blockade & siege. Yousef is one of the lucky ones. There are still millions of people starving in Yemen's rural highlands.
https://twitter.com/YSCouncil/status/1283451459594530822
cp3 Humanitäre Lage / Humanitarian situation
Siehe / Look at cp1
(B H)
Audio: What A Relief! Podcast - Yemen - Islamic Relief USA
Learn about what IRUSA programs in Yemen are accomplishing.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hqAVReRfgZE
(B H)
Finally, Ibrahim is Recovering from a Rare Disease: Success story
Aِِِِِِِِِl Hali District, Al Hudaydah Gov.
“Before you examine the body of a patient, be patient to learn his history. For once you learn his history, you will also come to know his body.”
Out of every 50,000 children, a child comes down with a syndrome known as Sturge -Weber. A five-year-old boy, (Ibrahim Hussein) suffered from a Sturge -Weber Syndrome since he was born. Unfortunately, he was misdiagnosed as epilepsy by many doctors when admitted to different hospitals in Sana’a Gov, which compounded the suffering of him, and increased his cramping.
The Integrated Project of Health, Nutrition, and WASH was a divine gift for Ibrahim and his family through the interventions that were conducted in Al Hali District, Al Hudaydah Gov. The project aimed to rehabilitate an abandoned health center, and provide doctors and free medicine, so Ibrahim was diagnosed and treated well by one of those doctors.
“A Correct Diagnosis is Three-fourths of the Remedy.”
https://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/finally-ibrahim-recovering-rare-disease-success-story
(B H)
From Hunger to Hope: Success story
Rateel is a 10-month-old girl, who was born into a poor family that consists of 6 members. The whole family lives in a room that is not qualified for a normal life. Extreme family deprivation and poor hygiene have led to worsening of the condition of the newborn child.
Rateel's mother used all the primitive methods to treat her ten-month-old daughter, who had a severe fever, diarrhea, and lack of appetite, but her health was still worsening!
Unfortunately, At Tuhayta District Hospital was closed for a long time, and when it was reopened by BFD, Rateel's mother went to the hospital, in a final attempt to save the life of her daughter, who was not leaving her lap day and night. "At first, Rateel suffered from loss of appetite and a fever followed by weakness and wasting, and we did not know what her illness is or where to go since the hospital was situated in the front lines. When BFD rented another building, which is far from the conflict, we took Rateel for treatment, and her condition was diagnosed as acute malnutrition." Rateel's father said.
https://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/hunger-hope-success-story
(A H)
Continuing support to YEMAC’s demining efforts in Aden through provision of vehicles and mine detectors
Today the United Nations Development Programme provided its national partner, the Yemen Executive Mine Action Center (YEMAC), with 36 vehicles (20 soft skin pick-ups, eight soft skin trucks, and eight soft skin ambulances) and 300 mine detectors to support their daily demining efforts in Aden and the neighboring governorates.
This handover is complementary to the efforts that took place in Sana'a in May 2019. The vehicles and mine detectors will be used to expedite demining operations, which ensures the return of internally displaced people (IDPs) and help the economy to recover by enabling communities to put their land to productive use. Senior officials from YEMAC, the Yemen Mine Action Coordination Center (YMACC), Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation attended the event.
(A H)
Two UNICEF cargo planes arrive at Sana'a International Airport
https://www.saba.ye/en/news3103532.htm
(B H)
CARE begins distributing cash aid in Maswar district in Amran
The aid targets 1,137 poor and displaced families and the host community in the district in the province, which also came in coordination with the Supreme Council for the Administration and Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs and International Cooperation.
https://www.saba.ye/en/news3103456.htm
(* B H P)
Accountability dilemmas and collective approaches to communication and community engagement in Yemen
This study explores how and to what extent collective approaches to communication and community engagement have – or have not – been implemented in Yemen, and the degree to which they have been effective in ensuring that the humanitarian operations are people-centred and responsive to the needs of affected communities. It examines these issues from the perspectives of international humanitarian actors and local NGOs, local humanitarian actors and Yemenis.
This report takes a strong political economy approach, as it is necessary to understand how a collective approach to CCE should be implemented in a highly politicised conflict context such as Yemen. As in other conflict zones, the humanitarian response in Yemen is deeply intertwined with the politics of the ongoing conflict (Schimmel, 2006; Peters and El Taraboulsi-McCarthy, 2020). Aid agencies are often restricted from distributing aid directly – a role that is taken on by local authorities who are often party to the conflict (Dehghan and McVeigh, 2017). Communication between international humanitarian actors and Yemeni people is often constrained by the difficulties and ambiguities inherent in navigating the complex political landscape of a war, where each side is backed by geopolitical powers outside of the country. Like all resources in conflict, communication is controlled, politicised and intimately bound up in conflict dynamics. Other aspects of community engagement, including participation and the ability to provide feedback, are instruments of power that play a role in determining which aid resources are distributed and to whom. While it is difficult, if not impossible, to depoliticise the humanitarian response in Yemen, a conflict-sensitive approach needs to be taken to improve the whole response, especially with regards to CCE.
and full document: https://www.odi.org/sites/odi.org.uk/files/resource-documents/unicef_cce_yemen_web.pdf
(A H)
Heavy rains, flooding hit Hadramout, Shabwa
Strong winds, heavy rainfall and flash flooding that hit Hadramout and Shabwa caused considerable material damage to public and private properties, in addition to impeding freedom of circulation and movement in most the areas of the province.
http://en.adenpress.news/news/23620
(B H)
Photos: Yesterday @monareliefye's honored 200 volunteers who participated in hygiene work and in raising awareness in Sana'a in the beginning of this year.
https://twitter.com/monarelief/status/1285670606000852992
(B H)
Yemen commodity tracker (April - June 2020)
This quarterly tracker monitors commercial imports to Hudaydah and Saleef ports via the United Nations Verification and Inspection Mechanism (UNVIM). It also reports prices of basic food and fuel commodities as monitored by the World Food Programme. This edition covers the second quarter data of 2020.
https://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/yemen-commodity-tracker-april-june-2020
(B H)
RFP: Rehabilitation of Water network system & Playground, Yemen
Yemen multi-sectoral emergency and recovery assistance.
Activity Type:
Rehabilitation of Water network system in Blok 11 in Bir Fadl, Al Mansoura District, Aden Gov.
Rehabilitation of child friendly space in Foqom village in Al Buryqah district, Aden Gov
Location of project: Aden Governorate as the following:
Water network system in Blok 11 in Bir Fadl, Al Mansoura District, and:
Child friendly space in Foqom village in Al Buryqah district
https://www.mercycorps.org/tenders/rfp-rehabilitation-water-network-system-playground-yemen
(B H)
Press Release: Our New Bread Factories in Yemen
UK charity to open two bread factories in Yemen to feed 6,000 every day
UK charity Muslim Hands is opening two bread factories in Aden and Ma’rib as part of their £1.5 million pledge to support various projects in Yemen. The bread factories will aim to support food-insecure families by baking 6,000 loaves daily for the next six months, which will reach out to 3,000 beneficiaries every day in each location. The bread factory in Aden will open its doors at the beginning of August, with Ma’rib following one month later.
(B P)
Film (Arabic): From above the rubble ... the summer centers in Taiz are challenging and persistent despite the difficulties
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sCX3LT5ofc8
My remark: The enemies of the Houthis object that these summer centers are used for pro-Houthi indoctrination.
(* B H)
Success story: WASH for health
Success Story of Al Qnaza'a Village Project, At Tuhayta District, Al Hudaydah Gov.
At Tuhayta is one of the worst-affected Districts in Al Hudaydah Governorate when it comes to water scarcity, food shortages, and severe malnutrition. What added insult to injury is the armed conflict, which becomes worse day after day. So far, the residents of At Tuhayta encounter a rapidly deteriorating humanitarian situation since the district is situated in three front lines known as "The Triangle of Death". Not only do the populations suffer from poverty, war, and deterioration of basic services but they also endure the encroachment of sand, which occasionally affects the arrival of necessary and vital supplies.
Moreover, the threat of Cholera and Acute Watery Diarrhea (AWD) still looms over At Tuhayta District. Where essential services such as WASH are not available or accessible, people are more susceptible to WASH-related illness and death. What makes the matters worse is the open wells, where most of the inhabitants trek long distances to reach them in search of water, in which they end up with contaminated water from those exposed boreholes.
“It’s been years that we are all suffering the consequences of the uncovered and unclean wells. We get infected with cholera and other diseases,” says Yahya Fadhl Mezjaji, a 59-year-old resident of Al Qnaza'a Village, At Tuhayta District, “and we used to walk more than 9 km to reach the nearest borehole, which is not covered too and all the animals nearby drink of it.”
The majority of inhabitants in Al Qnaza'a Village measured to be the poorest, in which they cannot afford to buy 2,000L of clean water (Water Truck). "Hardly a week goes by without one of my children suffering from severe diarrhea as a result of water pollution, '' says Al-Hajj Yahya Mezjaji, "safe sources of water are not available, and I barely make a living to feed my family; therefore, I am unable to buy clean water." He adds, "What I get most of the time is contaminated water from the exposed wells."
BFD (Building Foundation for Development) funded by YHF (Yemen Humanitarian Fund) has been scaling up its response in water, sanitation, and hygiene to prevent and control diseases. Consequently, BFD could help 8,153 inhabitants of Al Qnaza'a Village, At Tuhayta District by constructing an elevated reservoir with a capacity of 100 m3, installing water networks to each HH (Household) with a length of 8,100 m3, and installing a solar energy system that produces 34125 Watt. Most importantly, BFD cleaned Al Qnaza'a borehole and conducted pumping tests, in which the yield was determined to be 12 L/S.
https://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/success-story-wash-health
and a similar story: https://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/providing-al-shubelaih-hf-clean-water-success-story
(B H)
Film (in Arabic): Yemen: Because of the color of their skin, the "marginalized" in Sanaa suffer from poverty and racism as well
In this random neighborhood located in the south of Sana'a, many poor families live in Hashiya houses, and they belong to the category of so-called marginalized people in Yemen and their members do not complain of poverty alone, but also racial discrimination because of the color of their skin, as Mujahid Azzam, one of the representatives of the marginalized in the Yemeni capital, confirms this.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qK2Ec3hfjIo
(B H)
Film: Hundreds of households in the Tehama area build houses from straw to face the heat of summer and due to the poor economic situation
https://twitter.com/BelqeesRights/status/1285253635543371776
(B H)
Yemen: Organizations Monthly Presence April 2020
https://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/yemen-organizations-monthly-presence-april-2020
(B H)
UNFPA Response in Yemen: Monthly Situation Report #06 June 2020
UNFPA’s appeal for $100.5 million in 2020 has received only 52 per cent thus far; forcing UNFPA to suspend 80 per cent of its reproductive health programme in May. The UNFPA-led Rapid Response Mechanism will stop by August if more funding does not become available in the coming weeks. UNFPA requires $68.4 million for the humanitarian and COVID-19 response up to the end of the year.
Despite limited funding, UNFPA's reached over a million women with lifesaving reproductive health and protection services within the last six months.
https://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/unfpa-response-yemen-monthly-situation-report-06-june-2020
(B H)
Wartime - Disadvantaged Childhood - CSSW and UNICEF Protect flowers and innocence in seven districts of Marib Governorate
In partnership with the Health and Population Bureau and funded by UNICEF, the project was implemented in seven districts of Marib Governorate, including Marib Al-Madinah, Harib, Sirwah, Madghal, Majzar, Raghwan and Al-Wadi during the period from April 2019 to April 2020. The project will continue its services until September 2020.
Among other goals, the project includes:
Identify children affected by conflict
Identify survivors of gender-based violence issues
Cases management
Ascertaining response to children's needs,
Providing medical, physical and psychological rehabilitation to vulnerable children
In his speech, CSSW Chairman, Yahya Al-Daba, said that the IMSRP project directly accommodated the needs of children. He added: "Many children in need of project services have been approached in the targeted districts, and retrieved the innocent life, services and care they once enjoyed”.
Child Protection
Among other major components, the project included protection. It identified protection issues for conflict-affected children experiencing difficult access to health services.
(B H)
Infographic May 2020 - High-Impact Health Response Project
https://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/infographic-may-2020-high-impact-health-response-project
(* B H)
Yemeni residents paid to repair their homes destroyed by fighting under UN-Habitat project
When fighting broke out in Yemen’s West Coast Districts at the end of 2017, most of the people living in Qataba town fled and their houses were destroyed.
Mariam Saleh Mahdi and her family remained as they could not afford the transport, but their house was hit by shells and Mariam’s sister was injured and died a few days later. The family walked to a nearby village and stayed for four months. When they returned in May 2018 they found their home had been completely destroyed.
“The walls and the roof fell off and the house had no doors nor windows. The roof could not protect us from the rain anymore and the house was not safe to live in. I felt helpless, I had no idea how to rebuild the house on my own and with no source of income,” said Miriam who was looking after her sister’s children.
She said that when UN-Habitat team came to the village for the first time and started collecting data, she did not believe they would help. But she was surprised when she heard that her house would be rebuilt and that she would be paid to repair her own home as part of a cash for work initiative. She uses the cash to buy food for the family and plans to save for a television powered by solar energy.
Mariam’s house was rehabilitated as part of UN-Habitat’s project “Responding to the immediate needs of shelter, water, sanitation and hygiene in Al-Hudaydah Governorate, Yemen” funded by the Government of Japan.
(* B H)
Yemen appeals for international support amid 'massive' locust outbreak
Huge swarms are sweeping across the war-torn country, destroying crops before help can arrive
Yemeni officials have called for urgent international support to battle a major locust outbreak that is jeopardising food supplies in the war-ravaged country.
Officials in Yemen’s Ministry of Agriculture have appealed to the UN and international organisations for further assistance amid a surge in desert locusts as huge swarms invade the eastern and northern parts of the country, destroying vital crops.
“Many provinces in southern and northern Yemen have been experiencing a massive outbreak of the desert locust [the likes of] which hasn’t been seen in decades,” said Ali Juneid, an engineer at the agriculture ministry in Yemen.
Yemen once had an effective locust response mechanism but the civil war has left the country unable to control regular invasions of the pests. If international organisations and surrounding countries don’t step in to provide support, the situation will get worse for everyone, Ali Saif Al Sheibani, head of the General Directorate of the Plant Protection in the Yemen Ministry of Agriculture warned.
“The locust swarms know no borders. They aren’t just threatening our country but the neighbouring countries as well. So our neighbours should be standing by us in our fight to overcome this new ordeal,” he said.
Farms in the provinces of Marib, Hadramawt, Shabwa, Abyan, Lahj and Al Dhalea have been invaded by desert locusts in vast numbers, causing major damage to agriculture, which poses a significant threat to Yemenis who are already suffering from severe food shortages he told The National.
Over 20 million people are food insecure in Yemen, with a staggering 10 million at risk of famine, according to the World Bank.
(* B H)
The Largest Humanitarian Catastrophe of Yemen
I am calling for international solidarity and aid for Yemenis who are currently living in the worst conditions imaginable without clean water, food, or shelter. Today in Yemen, there is war, an economic crisis, cholera outbreaks, the Chikungunya virus and COVID-19, all in the same country.
Since the conflict began in Yemen, the country is also experiencing the largest food insecurity emergency in the world. Although the World Food Bank has sent barrels of donated food, Al-Jazeera and BBC report that these containers have been unable to reach civilians who are in great need. This is due to the lack of available fuel coupled with damaged roads hindering the distribution of supplies. Pregnant and breastfeeding women are hit the hardest by food insecurity, as they require the greatest dietary diversity of iron and folic acid. The effects of malnutrition leave them with weak immune systems, and as such, they are deficient in the proper physiologic coping mechanisms needed to fight infections and colds. Furthermore, they have had to rely on untreated water supplies and unprotected wells for sustenance, placing themselves at risk of life-threatening illnesses. Failing to assist these people is a veracious shame for the international community.
The human rights violations mentioned above raise ethical concerns regarding the suffering and dignity of individuals dying in settings like Yemen.
There is a humanitarian emergency, the largest one the world has seen, in Yemen that stands at risk of exterminating people due to its crisis intensity. As citizens of the world, educating ourselves about these issues in war-torn countries is important. Our voices are the most powerful instruments for change and courageously demanding organizations to deliver services to Yemenis is now, more than ever, vital.
https://in-training.org/the-largest-humanitarian-catastrophe-of-yemen-20353
(B H)
Secret aid worker: why do we still value expats more than local staff?
The aid sector flies people thousands of miles to do jobs that could be done by locals, and pays them more as well – but jus
NGOs keep shouting about equality while huge inequality exists within their own workforces. My friends and family think I’m far better off than my peers as I get paid in dollars, but I could earn the same if I worked in any big company in my country.
Comment: Funny how this is very much relevant in #Yemen..I often sit with Yemeni #aidworkers, colleagues, who understand the context better than expats, work harder than expats yet there are always huge differences in treatment & compensation just because..
https://twitter.com/SofieAlj/status/1284562461430034434
cp4 Flüchtlinge / Refugees
(? B H)
Flucht nach Dschibuti
Unsere jemenitische Autorin besucht Landsleute, die in Dschibuti Zuflucht vor dem Krieg gefunden haben. Politisch sind sie unbedeutend, denn sie stehen ja nicht vor Europas Toren.
Khaled ist einer von 2.300 Jemeniten, die vor den Kämpfen, den Versorgungsengpässen, vor Hunger und Krankheit flohen und auf der anderen Seite des Roten Meeres Zuflucht fanden. Markazi liegt in der Hafenstadt Obock, im Norden Dschibutis am Horn von Afrika. Als maritimer Umschlagplatz hat die Kleinstadt am Eingang des Golfs von Tadschura mit etwa 8.000 Einwohnern schon seit der französischen Kolonialzeit an Bedeutung gegenüber der Hauptstadt eingebüßt. Dennoch strömen immer mehr Menschen in den kargen Landstrich, in dem das Thermometer regelmäßig über 40 Grad Celsius anzeigt (Bezahlschranke)
https://magazin.zenith.me/de/gesellschaft/jemenitische-fluechtlinge-dschibuti-0
(A H P)
Houthis deport 245 African migrants from Yemen
The Houthi group on Monday announced the repatriation of 245 African unofficial migrants, accusing the International Organization for Migration (IOM) of underperformance in its responsibilities for migrants.
The migrants detained in the Yemeni northern governorate of Sa'ada had illegally entered the country through southern coasts with help from the internationally-recognized government, the Houthi-run migration authority said in remarks carried by the Sana'a-based Saba.
https://debriefer.net/en/news-18636.html
(B H)
IOM Yemen | Rapid Displacement Tracking (RDT) - Reporting Period: 12 - 18 Jul 2020
(A H)
QRCS, OCHA provide shelter for displaced Yemenis
Qatar Red Crescent Society (QRCS). To help those families and preserve their dignity, QRCS’s representation mission in Yemen will provide the basic shelter needs for 500 families and pay six-month residential rentals for 1,000 families.
https://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/qrcs-ocha-provide-shelter-displaced-yemenis
cp5 Nordjemen und Huthis / Northern Yemen and Houthis
(A P)
Al Houthi militants reportedly clashed among themselves in Rada'a city in al Bayda governorate on July 18. The clashes occurred when a faction of al Houthi militants attempted to free its members from an al Houthi prison. Al Houthi militants previously clashed among themselves in Yemen’s capital, Sana'a, on July 14.[6]
(A P)
Houthis say they don't intend to exclude Islah Party
Prominent leader in the Ansar Allah Group, also known as the Houthis, Mohammed Al-Bukhaiti on Wednesday said the group does not have intentions to exclude the Islah Party from politics.
The party is considered the offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood in Yemen.
"It is very regrettable that the Muslim Brotherhood, including Rashid Al-Ghannouchi, stands on the side of the aggression on Yemen," he wrote on Twitter.
"We are in a state of war with the Muslim Brotherhood in Yemen, but we don’t intend to exclude them. We act based on the cause of a nation, not a party or sect as they do," he added.
https://debriefer.net/en/news-18671.html
(A P)
Industry office in Sanaa confiscates 38 tons of expired food
https://www.saba.ye/en/news3103399.htm
(A E P)
Yemen Houthis sack director of Cooperative and Agricultural Credit Bank
The Yemeni Houthis have sacked the director of the Cooperative and Agricultural Credit Bank (CACC) amid accusations from the internationally recognised government that the group is trying to control state finances and institutions to expand its influence.
Yemen’s Saba news agency said the president of the Houthis’ Supreme Political Council issued a “decree” to appoint Ibrahim Ahmed Ahmed Al-Houthi as chairman of the Board of Directors of CACC.
The Minister of Information of the internationally recognised government, Muammar Al-Iryani described the Houthis’ decision as “illegal” and part of a scheme to overrun banks and state institutions.
My comment: Whewther this is “illegal”, depends on which government is legal.
(A K P)
“We will liberate every inch of Yemeni land,” Ansarullah promises
Mohammed al-Bukhaiti retorts to Turkish announcement that it wants to interfere in Yemen
Leading figure in Ansarullah, Mohammed al-Bukhaiti has on Monday commented on the announcement made by Turkey, regarding its intention to deploy forces in the Gulf of Aden and the Arab Sea under the pretext of “fighting piracy” by next September.
Mohammed al-Bukhaiti confirmed that “every inch of land in Yemen will be liberated in the coming days, without the need to replace one occupation with another.”
https://uprising.today/we-will-liberate-every-inch-of-yemeni-land-ansarullah-promises/
(B P)
Film (Arabic): Yad_protect_wid_Adoption #Here_The march Effective humanitarian cases from Al-Garmin in the central prison in the capital, Sanaa, 07-20-20
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wnK1BO2eHCc
(A P)
Yemen Houthis to lift parliamentary immunity of 12 pro-government officials
Yemen’s Houthis have begun procedures to lift the parliamentary immunity from 12 members of the Yemeni Parliament loyal to the internationally recognised government, paving the way for their trial on charges of collaborating with the Saudi-led Arab coalition.
and reaction of Hadi gov. parliament speaker. https://www.spa.gov.sa/viewfullstory.php?lang=en&newsid=2112083 and https://www.alsahwa-yemen.net/en/p-40926
(A H P)
WFP sets up new mechanism to control steal of aids in Sana’a
The World Food Program (WFP) set up a new hotline to its beneficiaries in the capital Sana'a city to receive complaints and verify delivery of rations to intended households, the London-based Asharq Al-Awsat daily Newspaper quoted residents in Sana'a.
The reported mechanism comes amid constant accusations against the Houthis leaders on stealing of food aids and selling or diverting them to their affiliates.
The residents of Sana'a said that they received phone calls and short messages from staff of the WFP Office in Sana’a questioning them about last time they received food rations and hurdles they face when collecting their rations.
Some respondents to the WFP questionnaire, reported receiving no food aids over the past nine months, others received nothing over the past six months and the remaining said that they collected food items three months ago.
https://www.alsahwa-yemen.net/en/p-40903
(B)
Increasing insecurity in Ibb
Houthis-held Ibb governorate witnesses unprecedented levels of insecurity with increasing crime rate.
The Houthis-run security service recorded over the past six months, more than 350 deaths and injuring in various districts of Ibb.
The Houthis’ security report said that 1,722 crimes took place in Ibb between January to the end of June of this year.
Reported crimes included murder, murder attempts, banditry, robbery and business of drugs.
It recorded 105 premeditated murder crimes, 20 involuntary manslaughter crimes, 227 murder attempts.
However, other enormous number of cases thought to be underreported throughout Ibb.
https://www.alsahwa-yemen.net/en/p-40904
(B P)
Division grows among Houthis’ leaders over stolen aids and funds
Well informed sources in Sana'a said on Saturday that new divisions emerged among senior Houthis’ leaders over leverage and stolen funds coming from humanitarian aids and accumulated illegal taxes.
Intensity of these disputes among the Houthis’ leaders grow every now and then, according to the sources.
The London-based Asharq Al-Awsat daily Newspaper quoted sources close to the Houthis that one brother to the Houthis’ leader, Yahya Al-Houthi who holds the minister of education post in the rebels’ cabinet, left Sana'a four months ago to his hometown in Sa’ada.
The sources said that Al-Houthi deserted Sana'a and refused returning to his office in Sana'a following his dispute with the Secretary General of the Supreme Council for the Management and Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (SCMCHA), Abdulmohsen Tawoos.
https://www.alsahwa-yemen.net/en/p-40884
My remark: By an anti-Houthi, pro-Islah Party news site.
(A P)
A #Houthi leader abducted the manager of Al-Thawrah hospital in Ibb Governorate, his deputy and a number of doctors.
https://twitter.com/BelqeesRights/status/1284509954142097408
A local source said Abu Rami, the Houthi supervisor in Waraf area, attacked the hospital with a number of armed men after asking the manager to use the hospital ambulances for the funeral of some Houthi members.
https://twitter.com/BelqeesRights/status/1284509956327211009
Fortsetzung / Sequel: cp6 – cp19
https://www.freitag.de/autoren/dklose/jemenkrieg-mosaik-668b-yemen-war-mosaic-668b
Vorige / Previous:
https://www.freitag.de/autoren/dklose/jemenkrieg-mosaik-667-yemen-war-mosaic-667
Jemenkrieg-Mosaik 1-667 / Yemen War Mosaic 1-667:
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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