... Krise in Aden: Die US-Sichtweise – Tariq Saleh in Taiz – Die Absurdität der Waffenverkäufe Großbritanniens – Jemens verschwindende Dattelpalmen –Internationale Medienberichterstattung über Syrien und Jemen im Vergleich – Mohammed bin Zayed und die Außenpolitik der VAE – und mehr
July 28, 2020: Map: Armed conflicts in Yemen – Civilian impact of the Yemen War, April–June 2020 – COVID-19 and the humanitarian crisis in Yemen – Crisis in Aden: The US view – The absurdity of UK arms sales – Yemen’s disappearing date palms – International Media Coverage of the Syrian and Yemeni Crises – Mohammed bin Zayed and UAE Foreign Policy – and more
Schwerpunkte / Key aspects
Kursiv: Siehe Teil 2 / In Italics: Look in part 2: https://www.freitag.de/autoren/dklose/jemenkrieg-mosaik-669b-yemen-war-mosaic-669b
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
cp12 Andere Länder / Other countries
cp12a Katar-Krise / Qatar crisis
cp12b Sudan
cp13a Waffenhandel / Arms Trade
cp13b Kulturerbe / Cultural heritage
cp13c 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
cp1 Am wichtigsten / Most important
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Map: Armed Conflict in Yemen
https://public.tableau.com/profile/sue.grist#!/vizhome/YemenSG2020-04-140813/ArmedConflictinYemen
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Civilian Impact Monitoring Project: Quarterly Report - Q2: April - June 2020
This is the Civilian Impact Monitoring Project quarterly report, providing an overview of all incidents of armed violence reported in April, May and June 2020 across the country that had a direct civilian impact. The report covers civilian casualties, incident distribution, type of armed violence and impact upon civilian infrastructure, as well as providing key analytical takeaways from the quarter.
ANALYTICAL HIGHLIGHTS
More incidents of armed violence impacted civilians in Q2 2020 than in Q1 2020 Despite efforts to mediate a cease in hostilities in various parts of the country, the number of incidents of armed violence reported to have directly impacted on civilians saw a slight increase in Q2 2020, up 3% from 456 in Q1 to 472.
As hostilities persisted across the country, an average of 157 civilian impact incidents were reported on a monthly basis in Yemen, up from 152 during Q1.
The number of airstrikes to have impacted on civilians increased, despite the unilateral Ramadan ceasefire Despite the Ramadan ceasefire, airstrikes persisted across northern parts of Yemen, prompting an uptick in the number of airstrikes reported to have directly impacted on civilians during Q2, largely responsible for the increase in total country-wide civilian impact incident rates. The number of airstrike incidents reported to have impacted directly on civilians in Yemen in Q2 doubled from Q1, rising from 44 to 88 incidents, 68% (60) of which hit civilian houses. Through each month in Q2, the number of airstrike incidents increased, from 24, to 31, to 33 in April, May and June respectively, resulting in a growing impact on civilians. By contrast, the number of shelling incidents reported to have directly impacted on civilians dropped by 8% from Q1; from 281 to 258.
More civilian houses were impacted by armed violence in Q2 than in Q1, the majority on account of shelling The total number of incidents of armed violence reported to have impacted on civilian houses rose 17%, from 252 in Q1 to 295 in Q2.
full report: https://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/CIMP%20Quarterly%20Report_2020_Q2.pdf
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Unparalleled: COVID-19 and the Humanitarian Crisis in Yemen
After five years of devastating conflict, Yemen now faces an escalating COVID-19 crisis. The effects of the war have drastically diminished the country’s ability to cope with a pandemic, and the economic impact of the crisis is rapidly becoming devastating as well.
If allowed to take hold, COVID-19 threatens the lives of nearly 30 million people who are already suffering through the world’s worst humanitarian crisis. Nor is the risk posed by COVID-19’s spread in Yemen limited to Yemenis. A pandemic that recognizes no borders or fault-lines cannot fester anywhere without threatening health security everywhere. Yet the international response so far has been both muted and slow. A new approach is urgently needed—one that aims not only to address the immediate threat that COVID-19 poses, but to tackle the underlying conditions that have left Yemen so uniquely vulnerable to the virus in the first place.
This report explains how Yemen became so vulnerable to COVID-19, traces the impact of the pandemic so far, including the risk to vulnerable groups, and offers a critical perspective on the international action necessary to prevent further catastrophe in a country already suffering the world’s worst humanitarian crisis—from renewed pressure for a ceasefire to a dramatically scaled-up humanitarian response.
This report firstly addresses the factors that have allowed this unparalleled state of affairs to come about. These include not only the conflict, but poor governance, corruption, food insecurity, poverty, disease, climate shocks, and, crucially, the absence of effective, sustained international leadership and support. The paper also identifies which groups are most threatened by the pandemic: internally displaced persons (IDPs); refugees and migrants; prisoners; and women, children, and persons with disabilities. It then assesses the devastating impact that the virus has had on these communities and the wider population thus far.
To assess that impact, we spoke to a number of medical personnel, activists, journalists, and aid workers inside and outside of Yemen. Given the sensitivity of the subject matter, and the ongoing efforts to suppress vital information about the true impact of COVID-19 on Yemenis, most of those interviewed requested to remain anonymous. We have gladly adhered to their request.
Finally, the report urges the international community to pay far closer attention to the situation in Yemen and to provide much greater, more coherent, and more conflict-sensitive support to the war-torn country. Such support is now more urgent than ever. If allowed to take hold, COVID-19 threatens the lives of nearly 30 million people who are already suffering through the world’s worst humanitarian crisis. Nor is the risk posed by COVID-19’s spread in Yemen limited to Yemenis. A pandemic that recognizes no borders or fault-lines cannot fester anywhere without threatening health security everywhere. Yet, thus far, the international response has been both muted and slow. A new approach is urgently needed—one that aims not only to address the immediate threat that the coronavirus poses, but to tackle the underlying conditions that have left Yemen so uniquely vulnerable to the dual crisis of conflict and COVID-19 in the first place – by Leah Zamore, Hanny Megally , Tayseer Alkarim
https://cic.nyu.edu/publications/unparalleled-covid-19-and-humanitarian-crisis-yemen
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Crisis in Aden: The View from Washington
Southern Yemen’s political crisis, which pits Emirati-backed separatists against Saudi-backed forces loyal to Yemen’s UN-recognized government, creates complicated dilemmas for policymakers in Washington.
Washington was quick to endorse the Riyadh Agreement. At the time, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo stated that it is “very important for the unity, stability, and prosperity of Yemen that the Yemeni government and STC resolve their dispute.” Yet this agreement was problematic for multiple reasons. The different parties left the roundtable in Saudi Arabia with different interpretations of the Riyadh Agreement and the timing of its implementation.
By early January, the STC withdrew from committees that were implementing the agreement.
Moreover, a sensitive issue that fueled friction between Hadi and the STC was the role of al-Islah. This Islamist group, affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood, has been a part of Yemen’s UN-recognized government and supported the Saudi-led coalition against the Iranian-backed Houthi insurgents. Despite the fact that Saudi Arabia has designated the Muslim Brotherhood a “terrorist” entity, Riyadh makes an exception for al-Islah in Yemen.
Therefore, the Hadi government’s ongoing relationship with al-Islah has been a major factor contributing to the STC’s view that Hadi is illegitimate.
Implications for US Foreign Policy
Since 2015, much of the US focus on Yemen has pertained to the Saudi-Houthi conflict. Yet the southern question is relevant to Washington’s interests as the STC’s “coup” in Aden has implications for American foreign policy.
Although the US does not view the UAE-backed STC as a direct threat to US security, Washington sees its actions as undermining US interests in Yemen and the wider region. As Nabeel Nowairah, an independent Yemeni analyst, explained: “The US thinks of Yemen as a problem. Splitting the country into two makes the problem two.” Prior to 2011, Washington’s efforts in Yemen mainly pertained to counter-terrorism operations targeting al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP). “Most of those operations were conducted in southern governorates like Abyan, Shabwa, Al-Dhale’, and Hadramout,” said Nowairah,
Yet for too long, policymakers in Washington have ignored underlying issues which have resulted in hundreds of thousands of Yemenis supporting the STC, as well as the idea of secession being so popular in the South. There are two important points that many who analyze southern Yemen overlook.
Not all in the South support the STC today, however. Even among southern Yemenis who back a North-South split, there is opposition to the STC. Locals who stand against the STC do so for various reasons, including the group’s relationship with Abu Dhabi that leads many to label the STC a UAE “proxy.”
Understanding the al-Islah-STC rivalry is key. This struggle for power between the Islamist group and the UAE-backed faction heavily contributes to the South’s complex landscape which is largely shaped by cycles of violence. “For many southerners, the Islah is seen as a major aggressor since the 1994 North-South civil war because its leaders were given room to act with impunity in the South, including taking lands by force and criminalizing dissent” according to Fatima Abo Alasrar, a Non-Resident Scholar at the Middle East Institute. “There is no reason to believe that this will change anytime soon.
Continued fighting between warring factions in the South will of course dim the prospects for peace in Aden and the rest of the area. Such violence will also fuel greater tension between the US’ Gulf partners. Just as the GCC’s Qatar rift has pitted US partners in the Arabian Peninsula against each other at the expense of Washington’s interests, Riyadh and Abu Dhabi’s strategic clashes in southern Yemen are problematic from an American perspective. As a close partner of both the Saudi kingdom and the Emirates, the US would like to see these two Gulf powerhouses working in close coordination, which is less likely if Yemen’s southern question continues fueling friction in Riyadh-Abu Dhabi relations.
Since the STC’s “coup” in late April, the US State Department has been clear that it supports the parties returning to the Riyadh Agreement. The fact that Abu Dhabi never expressed support for the agreement after its signing in November and the lack of pressure from the UAE on the STC to abide by it are likely both sources of tension between Washington and Abu Dhabi.
To be sure, the STC’s declaration of self-rule adds new complications to UN- and US-endorsed efforts aimed at resolving the Houthi-related conflict in northern Yemen,
At this juncture, it seems that the US is not anywhere close to accepting Yemeni partition. The Trump administration is still set on reviving the Riyadh Agreement, even if many observers are pessimistic about the accord’s prospects for successfully resolving the Hadi-STC conflict. Indeed, observers are justifiably pessimistic regarding the Riyadh Agreement
Ultimately, the possibility of the Riyadh Agreement never succeeding has to be seriously considered given all the factors that dim its prospects—notably the UAE’s pursuit of its own national interests in relation to Socotra and the African continent. As the US weighs its options for how to deal with the STC and its actions that are possible due to Abu Dhabi’s support, officials in Washington may have to contend with a clash of American and Emirati interests vis-à-vis southern Yemen.
In the final analysis, Yemenis themselves, who have been suffering from the horrendous effects of continued warfare, COVID-19, widespread malnourishment, flash floods, a collapsed health care system—to say nothing about a possible ecological catastrophe stemming from the FSO SAFER, will continue to be the victims of the world’s worst humanitarian crisis regardless of the outcomes of geopolitical agendas pursued by the US and its GCC partners – by Kristian Coates Ulrichsen
https://insidearabia.com/crisis-in-aden-the-view-from-washington/
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Long the enemy, Emirati cash is buying Tareq Saleh new friends in Taiz
Poverty and disillusionment have led many in the southwestern province to join the ranks of the man they accused of killing civilians
Memories of misrule, crackdowns and siege lie deep in the southwestern Yemeni province of Taiz, with the name "Saleh" long evoking animosity from its residents. Or, at least, it used to.
Today, impoverished Yemenis in Taiz are joining the ranks of Tareq Saleh, a man seen by many as responsible for hundreds of deaths in the province. They are joining him for one reason: Emirati money.
As nephew of Ali Abdullah Saleh, Yemen's longtime autocrat removed by a popular uprising in 2012, Tareq has a reputation as part of a regime that had many enemies in Taiz. Particularly among supporters of the Islah party, a local heavyweight that manages to be both a Saudi client and Emirati enemy.
Violence, too, has left its stain. Tareq is accused of leading a deadly crackdown on anti-Saleh protests in 2011, and later served in his uncle's ranks as the deposed president in 2014 allied with the Houthi movement against the government and began Yemen's ongoing war, which has devestated Taiz.
Gathering the remnants of his uncle's forces, Tareq headed southwest. Handed arms and cash by new patrons Saudi Arabia and the UAE, he establish the well-trained National Resistance Forces (NRF), primarily made up of former members of the Yemeni Republican Guard.
That never sat well with Islah and the people of Taiz, though for long Tareq's activities were restricted to the western coast around Mocha. But increasingly the RSF is found around Taiz, with attractively high salaries drawing new fighters every day.
Though this cash has helped wipe the slate clean for many, Islah's animosity has remain unchanged, and competition between the two forces has already spilled out into open conflict between parties ostensibly now on the same side.
The rule of money
The salaries of NRF fighters are 10 times those of soldiers in the Yemeni army. The prospect of higher salaries has prompted thousands of pro-Hadi fighters to leave Houthi-controlled areas, along with their families, to join the National Resistance.
Most of them now live in al-Turbah, a town in rural Taiz that lies on the strategic main road between the eponymous provincial capital and the port city of Aden.
Since the NRF has replaced Sudanese and Emirati forces on the western coast, its fighters receive their salaries in Saudi riyals, as opposed to government fighters, who get paid in local currency.
“If there is anyone who wants to join the battles with us, he is more than welcome and he will receive his salary from the first month,” Ansi said.
Moreover, the NRF hires guards and drivers from among the local population, thus attracting new supporters and encouraging residents to become more amiable to the group’s presence in their areas, despite their initial animosity.
NRF fighters pay exorbitant rents, though, with some paying double the going rate.
“The landlords increased their rents, but we pay as per their request. We are displaced people and we are not happy to pay high rents,” Ansi said. “Our sin is that we are trying to reduce the suffering of people in rural areas.”
These developments have forced the pro-Islah military police in Taiz city to send reinforcements to impose restrictions on the movement of Tareq’s forces in al-Turbah.
Protests
As a result, the NRF and their supporters in Taiz took to the streets in al-Turbah last weekend, demanding the withdrawal of the new military camps, most of which are linked to Islah forces, in the area.
Loyalties
Islah is loyal to Hadi and represents the government in Taiz, but it is difficult for the party to impose its decisions on all parties there.
“We consider Tareq’s forces to be militias since they are not loyal to the president and they don’t have any authority to stay in Taiz,” Ahmed, a military police member, told MEE.
“If Tareq’s fighters want to fight the Houthis, they can move with their weapons and vehicles to the western coast rather than spreading in the rural areas of Taiz."
Ahmed said that many residents don’t want NRF fighters to stay in their villages, but they don’t dare to speak up as most of them are civilians and fear military leaders.
https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/tareq-saleh-yemen-finds-supporters-taiz
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'Isolated incidents': The legal absurdity of UK arms sales for Saudi war in Yemen
The British government will use the ostensible stamp of legal approval to continue selling arms to Saudi Arabia for its brutal campaign in Yemen
The UK government’s announcement of the resumption of arms export licensing to Saudi Arabia and its allies may well prove to be the nail in the coffin for thousands more Yemenis, as the war in their country extends into its sixth year.
Declaring that potential breaches of international humanitarian law by the Saudi-led coalition amounted only to "isolated incidents", Secretary of State for International Trade Liz Truss announced herself to be satisfied that Saudi Arabia has a "genuine intent and capacity" to comply with international law and that there is therefore no clear risk of the misuse of weapons.
How did the government reach this conclusion in the face of ongoing attacks on civilian targets and infrastructure in the war?
However, the government engaged in two steps of legal and political manoeuvring to reach a conclusion that there is no pattern of potential breaches, and therefore no clear risk, meaning that arms licences could resume.
First, it is unclear how the government got from a starting point that treats all potential breaches as breaches, to a conclusion that there is only a "small number" of possible breaches.
The Ministry of Defence (MoD) says that on 4 July 2020 it holds details of more than 500 "alleged instances of breaches or violations of International Humanitarian Law (IHL) in Yemen". If the MoD has knowledge of more than 500 alleged breaches, and the government treats all potential breaches as actual breaches, then that means that the vast majority of these 500-plus alleged instances of violations have not been "assessed as a possible breach".
Significant definitional work has gone into narrowing the category of what constitutes a "possible breach" and putting distance between "allegations that are assessed as likely to have occurred" and those that are "assessed as a possible breach". If this sounds like pedantic wordplay, that’s because it is, albeit wordplay with deadly serious ramifications for the population of Yemen.
The government has constructed a position that allows it to both facilitate ongoing arms exports and claim adherence to international law. Second, it is unclear how the government reached the conclusion that these potential breaches constitute "isolated incidents". The government was required by the Court of Appeal to assess whether past incidents were part of a pattern.
On the basis that the possible violations "occurred at different times, in different circumstances and for different reasons" the government has concluded they were isolated. But one can just as easily – in fact, much more persuasively – conclude that this is evidence of widespread and systematic attacks over a long time period.
Ample evidence
There is a wide range of evidence in the public domain that indicates widespread and sustained attacks on civilian targets and infrastructure.
Whitewashing Saudi Arabia
It was not persuasive then, and it is not persuasive now. The government’s policy is based on risk assessment, which is supposed to be preventive – so if there is evidence indicating a potential breach, it should be factored in in a preventive manner.
The government has refused to engage with, let alone refute, the wide range of credible allegations in the public domain that indicate violations of international law, instead relying on ostensibly superior secret information that the public is not entitled to engage with.
And it is now refusing to publish the information on which it has based its revised methodology – stating that it has published the criteria for decision-making and the quarterly lists of licences granted.
However, what is missing is any substantive explanation of the rationale for decisions actually taken: there is frequently a glaring gap between the government’s publicly stated position and its actual licensing practice, a gap that the stock repetition that the UK has "one of the most robust control regimes in the world" does not address. – by Anna Stavriankis
https://www.middleeasteye.net/opinion/uk-arms-sales-whitewashing-saudi-arabia
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Yemen’s Disappearing Date Palms: Applied Environmental OSINT
This is an applied case study of environmental open-source investigation on how the war is affecting agriculture and food security in Yemen.
The lush, idyllic region in Hudaydah, on the west coast of Yemen, featuring wadis and fertile valleys, was a place known for its date palm orchards long before a war broke out in 2015. That was the year that Ansar al Allah, better known as the Houthis, an armed group coming from rural areas of Yemen. Years of bloody fighting and a relentless bombing campaign by the Saudi-led coalition ensued to restore the Yemeni government, then led by President Hadi, resulted in the largest humanitarian crisis today. Thousands of civilians are being killed and many more wounded, while millions are displaced by the ongoing war. But it also has wider ramifications, as it includes displaced farmers, damaged water infrastructure, loss of food security, and conflict-affected agriculture. Next to these direct causes, increased droughts and locust swarms also took a toll on Yemen’s agriculture, worsening the food security of millions of people who are now starving or else on the brink of starvation.How severe is the conflict-damage to Yemen’s agricultural industry and how can we know more about what this means for Yemen’s nature, biodiversity, and the people depending on these things?
Going by the latest contribution of the Saudi- and Emirati-backed Yemeni government to the Convention on Biodiversity — in particular its 6th report, submitted in 2019 — the state of Yemen’s environment is grim. Increasing pollution from industrial practices and the dumping of waste water and pesticides is affecting soils, surface and groundwater, with rapidly declining areas for agriculture and climate crisis impacting the land and people who depend on it. Other reports indicate that the limited forestry in the country is declining as desperate Yemenis need firewood due to high fuel price, with an estimated over 800.000 trees cut on a yearly basis. That’s just one of dozens of themes relating to wider environmental issues the report tackles. This is the time to explore links between conflict, environmental infrastructure, natural resources, and livelihoods.
Through online data sources, existing remote sensing analysis, and free satellite imagery we can get a peek at the lesser known consequences of Yemen’s war by visualising this with open-source earth observation data. This article has two parts: The first part is a brief introduction into environmental open-source research, with a focus on data on agriculture changes, damage to water infrastructure, and the consequences for food security in conflict-affected Yemen. The second part will focus on a specific sector, namely date farm plantations in the agricultural rich region of Hudaydah on Yemen’s west coast to see what we can find out about the impacts of the conflict on date production.
This is by no means a comprehensive overview, as there are many complexities related to the agricultural situation pre conflict: these included programs that forced a focus on cash crops to climate crisis factors, as well as mismanagement and wider reverberating effects from past conflicts and policies. Complexities, however, shouldn’t scare interested individuals off from broadening knowledge on this topic.
This article address three key issues:
Armed conflict can result in direct and indirect damage to water systems and agricultural infrastructure through targeting, displacement, and/or failing environmental regulations. This can severely impact production and thus food security for civilians in and after armed conflicts.
There is a wealth of open-source information on various aspects of food security, water use, droughts, and wider issues related to environmental conditions that can help researchers and civil society to monitor ongoing risks to food security. UN agencies, international organisations, academic research, civil society reports and open-source investigations provide all bits and pieces of information that can paint a clearer picture of specific environmental security risks.
Earth observation with various sets of satellites from commercial and public providers was applied to look specifically at the collapse of Yemen’s date plantations in Hudaydah (see image below) governorate. Date palms have been an export commodity and a nutritious fruit, while also providing employment opportunities in the agricultural industry. Open-source reporting indicates that an estimated two out of four million local date palms trees were directly or indirectly affected by the war. Our analysis of three key date palm areas in Hudaydah confirms substantial loss of tree cover and healthy vegetation at these date plantations.
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[from late 2918 / early 2019] Comparison of International Media Coverage of the Syrian and Yemeni Crises and its links to Foreign Policy Making
Syria and Yemen are both countries in which the aftermath of the Arab Uprisings resulted in the eruption of a domestic conflict into a multiplied proxy war. Since then, many international media channels started reporting on the on-going events that occurred, especially in Syria. In Syria, many global key players started to get involved in the conflict such as the US, Britain, France and Russia. Yemen was marked as an important territory for regional hegemons such as Saudi Arabia and Iran which are involved in a proxy conflict in various countries in the Middle East, two of them being Syria and Yemen. With the emergence of global and regional players as well as international media channels in both conflicts, the correlation between foreign policy making and media is questioned. This thesis aims to examine how foreign policy making and media influence one another by analysing in which way politics in media intertwine in the cases of Syrian and Yemeni crises.
The main aim of this thesis is to analyse the correlation between foreign policy making and media in the cases of Syrian and Yemeni conflicts. In other words, to explore how do foreign policy makers influence media and in which way do various media channels have an impact on policy makers.
The first chapter explores the idea of policy makers’ influence on media. Therefore, various media theories such as the ‘manufactory consent theory’ by Chomsky and Herman will be introduced. Secondly, foreign policy making of global and regional actors in both conflicts will be analysed to better understand their links to media. Therefore, the chapter includes the analysis of the on-going proxy war between Iran and Saudi Arabia and the consequences it leaves on the conflicts in Syria and Yemen. Also, the chapter deals with foreign policy making of global powers such as the US, Britain and Russia and their roles in Syria and Yemen.
The second chapter is a content analysis of international media channels that have headquarters in one of the regional/global powers mentioned above. Therefore, five different media channels will be analysed - CNN, BBC News, Russia Today, Arab News and Tehran Times. The chapter will include an analysis of two events - the Douma chemical attack in Syria and Operation Decisive Storm in Yemen. By analysing the events, a common link between foreign policy making of each country and its influence on war coverage of both events will be analysed.
The third chapter argues that media influence foreign policy making. Therefore, it examines three different theories by which media influence foreign policy. Firstly, iti ntroduces the theory of media framing and implements the findings from the previous chapter to the media framing theory. Secondly, it studies the influence of social media on the Arab Uprisings and the impact it had on policy making in Syria and Yemen. Thirdly, it explains one of the well-known theories such as the CNN effects on the crises in Syria and Yemen. Furthermore, the chapter analyses in which cases are the media most proneto influence foreign policy - by Vanda Bais
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Reflections on Mohammed bin Zayed’s Preferences Regarding UAE Foreign Policy
The assertive foreign policy and outsize regional influence wielded by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) during the decade since the beginning of the Arab Spring in 2011 has attracted significant attention to the personalities, institutions, and interests that have shaped decision-making in this federation of seven emirates led by Abu Dhabi. The conduct of foreign policy in the UAE has evolved from a consensual to a risk-taking approach over the first two decades of the 21st century. Importantly, while the shift in foreign policy is rooted in a process of change that predates the Arab Spring, it acquired potency and urgency after 2011 as regional threat perceptions sharpened and domestic constraints on Abu Dhabi weakened. What appears to be essential now is the extent to which UAE decision-makers might absorb lessons from foreign policy overreach as well as safeguard the durability of the alignment between Abu Dhabi and Saudi Arabia moving forward.
Although, on paper, Mohammed bin Zayed held no formal position within the federal (UAE-level) government and his older half-brother, Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, has been president of the UAE and ruler of Abu Dhabi since 2004, by the late 2000s Mohammed bin Zayed had become the de facto center of influence and authority, first within Abu Dhabi itself and then, in the 2010s, across the UAE as a whole. This process was facilitated by his strong power base within the ruling family as the oldest of six full brothers who came to occupy key positions across the federal government. In addition, this was reinforced by the fact that Sheikh Khalifa suffered increasingly from serious health concerns which long predated but culminated in his debilitating stroke and subsequent withdrawal from public life in 2014.
Evolving Threat Perceptions
Over the decade since the Arab Spring, the UAE—under the effective direction of Mohammed bin Zayed—has acted assertively, and in many instances aggressively, against a perceived threat from politicized and transnational forms of Islam that it sees emanating from the Muslim Brotherhood and Iran. As Peter Salisbury observed in a recent Chatham House report on UAE foreign policy, under Mohammed bin Zayed’s leadership the country has come to view these issues as “an existential threat to its broadly secular approach to government as well as to the stability of the so-called ‘status quo’ powers in the region.” Over the same period, the UAE (and in actuality, Abu Dhabi) has moved far closer to Saudi Arabia as the two crown princes—Mohammed bin Zayed and Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud (MbS)—have acted in concert and forged a geopolitical axis that has reshaped regional politics in the Arabian Peninsula.
The zero-tolerance approach toward any form of oppositional mobilization or Islamist activity has been the most striking feature of Mohammed bin Zayed’s decade-long de facto leadership. This had domestic roots as MbZ––who had been influenced by the Muslim Brotherhood in his youth––has believed that local Islamists had designs on political power within the UAE and posed a threat to his secular vision of a UAE model of development.
His security-focused approach has gradually expanded to the view that all forms of political Islam are an existential threat not only to the UAE but also to the wider region, without any nuance, and that the UAE can and should take them on in all regional theaters.
Also in 2011, MbZ noted Qatar’s assertive approach toward the Arab uprisings and believed that Doha was backing popular challenges to status quo authoritarian leaders. This drove him to develop an interventionist approach of his own, albeit in a direction diametrically opposed to that of Doha. The UAE moved closer to Saudi Arabia during the 2010s, partly to counter Qatar but also to increase its own heft in regional geopolitics, especially vis-à-vis Iran. This started initially during the reign of King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz and in support of a common interest in suppressing the Arab Spring challenge to the regional order, but it grew in a faster, deeper, and far more integrated manner after the accession to power of King Salman bin Abdulaziz and the rapid rise of Mohammed bin Salman (MbS) in 2015. Far from being natural allies, the UAE and Saudi Arabia had a long history of tension, from boundary disputes in the 1950s through the 1970s to a spike in friction in the 2000s which culminated in an acrimonious falling-out in 2009 over the GCC’s planned monetary union and a short yet sharp naval clash in March 2010.
The approach taken by MbZ exposes the UAE to the risk of getting entangled in regional conflicts that appear unwinnable and to a conduct of foreign policy that is based more on personalities rather than settled institutional interests.
As the increased appetite for risk-taking has injected volatility and unpredictability into UAE foreign policy-making, it will be instructive to assess the degree to which Mohammed bin Zayed absorbs the lessons and limitations of policy mistakes and changes course, such as the partial Emirati reconfiguration of its means of power projection in Yemen in 2019.
It is far from clear whether the UAE’s redeployment in Yemen was coordinated with, or even communicated to, Saudi Arabia in advance, and its precipitous manner is likely to have caused tension among the two major external parties to the conflict. The subsequent declaration of “self-rule” by the (Abu Dhabi-based) leadership of the Southern Transitional Council in April 2020, following the acrimonious collapse of the Riyadh Agreement signed by the STC and the Saudi-backed government of Yemen’s President Hadi in November 2019, are further indications that Emirati and Saudi interests in the political future of an eventual post-conflict Yemen are by no means aligned. Other tensions could also create and widen cracks in the Emirati-Saudi partnership if post-pandemic economies in the Gulf increasingly compete for smaller regional and international markets and market shares – by Kristian Coates Ulrichsen
cp1a Am wichtigsten: Coronavirus und Seuchen / Most important: Coronavirus and epidemics
Siehe / Look at cp1
(A H)
10 new cases of coronavirus reported, 1,691 in total
http://en.adenpress.news/news/23666
(* B H K P)
Covid-19: Yemen's 'unprecedented calamity'
The Saudi-led Arab coalition's nearly five-and-a-half years of bombing Yemen and warfare between various Yemeni actors have created conditions across the country which make it nearly impossible to effectively cope with Yemen's Covid-19 crisis.
Years ago, the UN labeled Yemen the "most needy place on Earth." Currently, four out of five Yemenis rely on aid for survival and millions live on the brink of starvation. A consequence of the Covid-19 crisis has been a drying up of international aid worldwide. This year, the UN faces a shortfall of roughly $1 billion in funding, which has led to an already chronically underfunded health care system in Yemen completely collapsing.
On top of all of these factors, the politics of Yemen's civil war have severely exacerbated the nation's coronavirus crisis. Today, there are three major power centers in the country.
The virus itself does not recognise political differences and threatens all Yemenis, which in an ideal set of circumstances would prompt the country's warring factions to agree to a ceasefire in order to cope with the pathogen.
Tragically, however, that has not taken place in Yemen.
In fact, the Covid-19 crisis has only added more vitriol and hostility to the relations between these three sides of the conflict.
Without a central authority governing Yemen, a successful nationwide response to Covid-19 pandemic is highly unrealistic.
At this juncture, outsiders can only estimate Yemen's current coronavirus death toll as authorities in the country have provided official numbers which are far too low to be taken seriously, and the amount of testing which has taken place is so small. Yet with burial prices increasing seven-fold in certain areas of the country, it is indisputable that the number of cases and true death toll is going up drastically.
The intersection of war and multiple health crises makes Yemen's future inevitably calamitous – by Giorgio Cafiero
https://english.alaraby.co.uk/english/comment/2020/7/24/covid-19-yemens-unprecedented-calamity
(A H)
7 new cases of coronavirus reported, 1,681 in total
http://en.adenpress.news/news/23657
(A H)
Latest developments on #Corona virus in the governorates of the south
https://en.smanews.org/latest-developments-on-corona-virus-in-the-governorates-of-the-south
(A H)
Yemen reports 7 new coronavirus cases, 5 deaths, 17 recoveries
https://khabaragency.net/news129662.html
(B H)
UNDP Yemen establishes COVID-19 Rapid Response Facility to help manage the crisis
As part of UNDP’s COVID-19 response in Yemen, the office established a Rapid Response Facility (RRF) to help the government and authorities address the pandemic.
The COVID-19 RRF aims to generate income opportunities through humanitarian and development responses through mainstreamed activities that cope with ongoing UNDP interventions.
The focus of the Facility will be to focus upon preparing and protecting Yemeni from the pandemic and its impacts. It will also work to address the provision of adequate response during the outbreak and to help Yemen recover from the socio-economic impacts of COVID-19.
UNDP Yemen will rely on local and global experiences in responding to large scale emergencies including health epidemics such as cholera.
The main areas of RRF work will be:
Increasing Covid-19 awareness among Yemenis
Strengthening public health systems
Creating Livelihoods for vulnerable populations affected by the disruptive effects of COVID-19
(A H)
No new cases of Covid-19 reported in Yemen
http://en.adenpress.news/news/23649
(A H P)
Thermal cameras installed at Aden ports
http://en.adenpress.news/news/23645
(A H)
Yemen records 20 Covid-19 infections in Hadhramout alone
https://debriefer.net/en/news-18712.html
(* B H)
COVID-19 Devastates an Already War-Torn Yemen on Brink of Collapse
“Abyan and neighboring areas lack testing facilities…those living in remote areas face significant difficulties in getting tested, because they have to travel long distances and incur the expenses,” said Dr. Rana Abdullah, program manager for health and nutrition at ACF.
Some parts of the south have no access to humanitarian assistance at all. Dr. Abdullah noted that ACF has not been able to provide aid to Khaber Al Marakasha, located outside of Aden, since September 2019 because of the deteriorating security situation.
Health workers said they were forced to provide advice and services over WhatsApp given their inability to travel to rural areas because of security concerns and the risk of contracting the virus. According to the Economist, approximately 55 of Yemen’s 333 districts are without any doctors.
COVID-19 has also compounded the crisis for the country’s displaced persons
Five years of conflict in Yemen has effectively shattered its healthcare system, while the country experiences a cholera outbreak and the instability caused by millions of displaced persons.
(* B H)
Wikipedia: COVID-19-Pandemie im Jemen
Der offizielle Beginn der COVID-19-Pandemie im Jemen ist auf den 10. April 2020 datiert, als der Notstandsausschuss der Regierung eine erste Infektion mit dem Coronavirus auf Twitter bestätigte.[1] Die Pandemie betrifft die neuartige Erkrankung COVID-19. Diese wird durch das Virus SARS-CoV-2 aus der Gruppe der Coronaviridae verursacht und gehört in die Gruppe der Atemwegserkrankungen.[2] Ab dem 11. März 2020 stufte die Weltgesundheitsorganisation (WHO) das Ausbruchsgeschehen des neuartigen Coronavirus als weltweite Pandemie ein
https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/COVID-19-Pandemie_im_Jemen
(* B H)
Wikipedia: COVID-19 pandemic in Yemen
The first confirmed case relating to the COVID-19 pandemic in Yemen was announced on 10 April 2020 with an occurrence in Hadhramaut.[2] Organizations called the news a "devastating blow" and a "nightmare scenario" given the country's already dire humanitarian situation.[3]
The country is seen to be extremely vulnerable to the outbreak, given the dire humanitarian situation due to the Yemeni Civil War, exacerbated by the ongoing famine, cholera outbreaks, and military blockade by Saudi Arabia and its allies.[4][5] The Yemeni healthcare system has been "all but decimated" by the war, with many healthcare facilities destroyed by airstrikes and shelling and a lack of healthcare workers.[6]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/COVID-19_pandemic_in_Yemen
(B H)
Film: What is the country Yemen like? | Global #Coronavirus Appeal 2020 | British Red Cross
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G6QTrmvCbBs
(* B H)
Film: Hunger kills Yemenis amid COVID-19 pandemic | Yemen crisis | WION
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=44-Fc4_ULlM
(* B H)
From Armley to Yemen, an aid worker’s journey and Covid-19 SOS – Jonathan Cunliffe
I’m responsible for our work in Yemen, the war-torn country which has had half of its health centres and hospitals destroyed due to airstrikes and other attacks. I’ve spent three years there in total.
Before Covid, Yemen’s health system was overwhelmed. Now it’s drowning.
The official figures do not show the true picture. They have declared around 1,500 cases and 425 dead. That’s a death rate approaching 30 per cent, whereas in the UK the figure is less than one per cent.
It gives you an idea how many people have not been tested because of lack of capacity. Estimates vary but, according to the London School of Tropical Medicine, infection rates are at least 50 per cent while the UN say they could be as high as between 80 and 90 per cent. Over the next month or so, we may be looking at around 80 to 90,000 dead.
The DEC is raising money for people in the most fragile places in the world. Yemen is the most fragile state on the globe
(* B H)
COVID-19 is spreading in Yemen. Why aren't hospital beds full?
Fear of contracting COVID-19 in hospitals and the perceived stigma of catching and spreading the disease are keeping people at home, even if they require medical care, Ducarme said. Only half of the 20 beds reserved for patients with moderate COVID-19 symptoms are currently occupied in one new MSF-supported coronavirus treatment center at Sheikh Zayed Hospital in Sanaa.
“It's something that we are seeing not only in the COVID centers, but also in the health facilities and hospitals in the whole country. It's quite concerning for us, the decreasing numbers of patients arriving at the hospitals,” Ducarme said.
Another hospital MSF supports with intensive services for malnourished children typically has a 100% bed occupancy rate. Bed occupancy rates are now below 50%.
"This is not because there's less malnutrition. This is because we don't see [the children] anymore, because they stay at home and they don't come,” Ducarme said.
“What we're seeing is not representative of what's out there, that's for sure. We don't see most of them [critical-care COVID-19 patients], very likely. But we also see more people coming from outside Sanaa, from other governorates, where the response is even more challenging and limited,” Ducarme said.
"There's no large-scale surveys that can be done, or it's very complex here to do that. So having a full understanding of what exactly is happening in the communities is a challenge,” Ducarme continued.
https://www.devex.com/news/covid-19-is-spreading-in-yemen-why-aren-t-hospital-beds-full-97749 = https://eeas.europa.eu/delegations/yemen/83406/node/83406_es
(* B H)
Covid-19 kills scores of health workers in war-torn Yemen
Data gives insight into scale of pandemic in country already hit by humanitarian crisis
At least 97 Yemeni healthcare workers have died from Covid-19 as the disease ravages the war-torn country, according to a report that gives an insight into the true scale of Yemen’s poorly documented outbreak.
Local doctors and medical students tracked their colleagues’ deaths from Covid-like symptoms in order to figure out the impact of the virus in a country where testing facilities are almost non-existent and data from both government and rebel-held areas is unreliable.
Yemen’s official total number of cases is 1,610, with 446 deaths, so the high number of healthcare worker casualties outlined by the report suggests the true caseload and mortality figure is far higher.
In a country where half of all medical facilities are out of action, and aid funding shortfalls are exacerbating the existing malnutrition and cholera crises, the loss of just one medical professional has a devastating exponential effect. About 18% of the country’s 333 districts already have no doctors.
Dr Nahla Arishi, a paediatrician working on the emergency coronavirus response in the southern city of Aden, contracted the virus herself in May but recovered.
“We have lost our best colleagues, people who can’t be replaced easily,” she said. “Coronavirus is also killing the morale of medical staff.”
Dr Yassin Abdul Warith, one of Yemen’s leading epidemiologists, Dr Salem Saleh Muhammad al-Omari, the head of internal medicine at the University of Aden, and Dr Arif Ahmed Ali, a public health specialist, are among the doctors who have died.
The loss of five gynaecologists and midwives will also have a disastrous impact in a country where one in every 260 women die during pregnancy or childbirth.
https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/coronavirus-yemen-medical-workers-killed-novel-virus
(A H)
Yemen records 14 Covid-19 infections, 1,654 in total
https://debriefer.net/en/news-18690.html
and also http://en.adenpress.news/news/23640
(B H)
Film: Yemen - Engineer makes private rooms for sterilization and coronavirus prevention
In a race with the Coronavirus pandemic to limit its spread in the region, and in light of the collapse of the health system in Yemen with simple capabilities and self-efforts, the engineer, Imad Hassan, in the governorate of Taiz in southern Yemen, he made special aluminum rooms containing water sprays, sterilization sensors and protection against the Coronavirus, Imad is seeking to stop increase of the dead numbers in the city of Taiz, which the Houthis have besieged for nearly 5 years, and many people think that these rooms will contribute to stem the spread of corona and limit the number of infections in the region
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xwY1hSbYNKU
(A H P)
EU unterstützt Menschen im Jemen mit humanitärer Luftbrücke
Als Reaktion auf die Coronavirus-Krise ist über die humanitäre Luftbrücke der EU ein weiterer Flug aus Lüttich in Belgien in den Jemen gestartet. Auf diesem Weg wird medizinisches und anderes notwendiges Material in den Jemen geliefert, um die humanitäre Hilfe für das Land zu verstärken und die schwächsten Bevölkerungsgruppen zu unterstützen. Schweden und die EU hatten sich hierfür gemeinsam eingesetzt. Zusätzlich stellt die EU weitere 70 Mio. Euro bereit, um die Hilfe in ganz Jemen aufzustocken. Damit beläuft sich die von der EU geleistete humanitäre Hilfe im Jahr 2020 auf 115 Mio. Euro.
https://ec.europa.eu/germany/news/20200723-jemen-humanitaere-luftbruecke_de
und auch https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/de/IP_20_1384
(A H P)
Coronavirus global response: EU Humanitarian Air Bridge and €70 million in additional aid for Yemen
A new EU Humanitarian Air Bridge flight has departed from Liège, Belgium, with medical and other essential supplies to reinforce the humanitarian response in Yemen. In total, over 220 tons of critical items are being delivered to the most vulnerable Yemenis. It has been facilitated by the collaborative efforts of Sweden and the EU.
This EU Humanitarian Air Bridge makes up for logistical challenges and restrictions in the wake of the Coronavirus pandemic, since the usual supply lines have been seriously affected. In addition, the EU is allocating an additional €70 million to scale up assistance across Yemen, bringing its humanitarian support in 2020 to €115 million.
(* B H)
A Tipping Point for Yemen’s Health System: The Impact of COVID-19 in a Fragile State
In Yemen, where an already weak health system has been destroyed by five years of conflict and 80% of the population is in need of humanitarian assistance, COVID-19 is exacerbating what was already the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.
MedGlobal, alongside partners Project HOPE and the Center for Global Health at the University of Illinois, details the ongoing impact of COVID-19 on Yemen’s fragile health system in its new report: *A Tipping Point for Yemen’s Health System: The Impact of COVID-19 in a Fragile State. As of July 18, there have been 1,610 confirmed cases and 446 deaths from COVID-19 according to official reports. This amounts to around a 27% mortality rate of Yemenis who are confirmed to have COVID-19 - more than 5 times the global average and among the highest COVID-19 mortality rate in the world.
The COVID-19 outbreak is also disproportionately harming one of Yemen’s most critical human resources: health workers. This report documents 97 health workers - epidemiologists, medical directors, midwives, and other critical medical professionals - who have died in Yemen reportedly from COVID-19. In this uniquely dire context, when one medical professional dies, the effect is exponential and extends to their entire community.
This report explores how COVID-19 is exacerbating the already overwhelming health crisis in Yemen
https://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/tipping-point-yemen-s-health-system-impact-covid-19-fragile-state
full report: https://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/A-Tipping-Point-for-Yemen%E2%80%99s-Health-System072020.pdf
(* B H)
Jemens Corona-Experte aus Essen
Marwan Al-Ghafory ist kein Virologe, aber die womöglich wichtigste Corona-Informationsquelle im Jemen. Über die kostenlose App "Tabiby" erreicht der Kardiologe aus Essen zehntausende Menschen.
Marwan Al-Ghafory will das ändern. "Ich schreibe jeden Tag Artikel und übersetze fachmedizinische Studien. Mein Team und ich posten täglich zwischen sieben und zehn Artikel. Wir nahmen uns der Aufgabe an, unser vergessenes Volk über Covid-19 aufzuklären."
Der deutsch-jemenitische Arzt tut dies von Deutschland aus. Seit 2011 lebt Al-Ghafory in Essen und arbeitet dort in einem katholischen Krankenhaus. Der 39-Jährige ist kein Virologe, aber als Mediziner kann er den Menschen im Jemen die neuesten Corona-Erkenntnisse fachlich korrekt und verständlich erläutern.
Hunderttausende folgen ihm auf Facebook und Twitter, täglich stellen sie ihm Fragen. Der Arzt beantwortet sie online, manchmal auch in Zeitungen oder im Programm arabischer Fernsehsender - und über eine kostenlose Smartphone-App, die er selber entwickelt hat. Sie heißt "Tabiby", auf Deutsch "Mein Arzt".
https://www.tagesschau.de/ausland/corona-jemen-tabiby-101.html
und auch https://www.mdr.de/nachrichten/audio/audio-1476312.html
(B H)
Communication with communities (CwC) for COVID-19 Yemen Fact Sheet (July 2020)
Prior to the COVID-19 outbreak in Yemen in April, UNHCR started empowering refugee and internally displaced Yemeni families to better protect themselves against the infection through awareness-raising, focussed on factbased information, mitigating infection transmission, and referral pathways. UNHCR also monitored closely well-known border areas for COVID-19 related access constraints.
https://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/communication-communities-cwc-covid-19-yemen-fact-sheet-july-2020
(* B H)
Yemen facing hidden cholera crisis as COVID cases set to peak in coming weeks – Oxfam
Thousands of people in Yemen could be dying from undetected cases of cholera because COVID-19 has overwhelmed the country's health facilities and people are too frightened to seek treatment for fear of the virus, Oxfam said today.
The number of coronavirus cases in Yemen is likely to peak in the coming weeks while the heaviest rains are expected in August which could deepen a hidden cholera crisis.
The numbers of recorded suspected cholera cases since March have shown an abnormal decrease. In the first three months of 2020, there were more than 100,000 suspected cases of cholera in Yemen but this dropped by 50 per cent in the second three months. Last year, the numbers increased by 70 per cent in the second quarter because it coincides with the start of rainy season.
It means it’s likely there are already tens of thousands of people suffering with undetected and untreated cases of cholera. According to the WHO, half of those diagnosed with cholera will die from the disease if its left untreated but with timely and adequate treatment, that will remain below 1%.
https://www.oxfamamerica.org/press/yemen-facing-hidden-cholera-crisis-as-covid-cases-set-to-peak-in-coming-weeks-oxfam/ = https://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/yemen-facing-hidden-cholera-crisis-covid-cases-set-peak-coming-weeks-oxfam
cp2 Allgemein / General
(* A K P)
Interactive Map of Yemen War
(* A K)
MILITARY SITUATION IN YEMEN ON JULY 27, 2020 (MAP UPDATE)
https://southfront.org/military-situation-in-yemen-on-july-27-2020-map-update/
Latest Updates on Yemen, 26 July 2020 (Map Update)
https://english.iswnews.com/14395/latest-updates-on-yemen-26-july-2020/
MILITARY SITUATION IN YEMEN ON JULY 25, 2020 (MAP UPDATE)
https://southfront.org/military-situation-in-yemen-on-july-25-2020-map-update/
(A P)
Group: Yemen rebels should be sanctioned over moored tanker
A leading international rights group on Monday urged the U.N. Security Council to impose additional sanctions on Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels unless they provide U.N. experts access to an oil tanker moored off the coast of Yemen and in danger of leaking.
Human Rights Watch says the impact of an oil spill on livelihoods, access to water and food, and on fuel prices could significantly exacerbate Yemen’s humanitarian crisis. An oil spill could also shut down the port of Hodeida, a lifeline for millions of Yemenis who depend on commercial imports and humanitarian aid.
The tanker “threatens to destroy entire ecosystems and demolish the livelihoods of millions of people already suffering from Yemen’s war,” said Gerry Simpson, associate crisis and conflict director at HRW.
https://apnews.com/0b5a6d9528cf79b91a4f0c1d083f1740
(* B P)
Houthis claim Qaeda, ISIS fighters arrive to fight alongside Gov't, coalition forces
Houthi interior minister, Abdulkarim Al-Houthi, on Sunday said they have obtained information many Al-Qaeda and ISIS fighters have arrived in regions controlled by the internationally recognised government to fight alongside the forces of the government and a Saudi-led coalition supporting it, especially in Bayda province.
The deteriorating security situation and increasing rates of all crimes in "occupied" regions have negative impacts on the security situation across the country, he said in a statement carried by the Houthi-run 26th September news website.
The flow of African refugees is a systematic plan of the coalition to use African migrants and refugees to disturb the public peace in Yemen, he said, pointing out that the Houthi salvation government is dealing with the flow of illegal refugees and migrants in accordance with international conventions.
"Thousands of illegal African refugees have been deported to their countries. Others who were fighting alongside Saudi forces were arrested while Saudi Arabia was trying to send them to Yemen," he said, according to the website.
https://debriefer.net/en/news-18754.html
(A K P)
Yemeni govt Houthis exchange prisoners bodies in Baydha
The Houthis have swapped prisoners and bodies with the Yemeni government in the central governorate of Baydha, local tribal source said.
https://debriefer.net/en/news-18747.html
and also https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20200727-yemeni-army-and-houthis-conclude-prisoner-swap/
(A P)
Senior official defects from Saudi-led side, joins National Salvation Government in Sana’a
High-ranking media official Mohammed Ali Saad arrived in Sana'a, offering his services to the Revolution
Mohammed Ali Saad, formerly Chairman of the Board of Directors of the October 14 Foundation for Journalism and Media, announced on Saturday his defection from Hadi’s government after his arrival in the capital Sana’a.
Mohammed Ali Saad was received and welcomed by Information Minister Daifallah al-Shami.
During the meeting , Saad revealed what is happening in the occupied southern provinces, especially Aden, and the extent of the collapse of all necessary services and terrible insecurity in southern Yemen.
“For those who wonder why I came to Sana’a: I came to protect my country from occupation, fragmentation and infighting. That’s what I’m here for,” Saad said.
(* B H K P)
Yemen Crisis: A Vortex of Death and Destruction
The end to the six-year-old conflict is not in sight and the warring parties — government and non-government forces look uncompromising on their respective stances. It is worthwhile to note that the conflict has seen the destruction of public infrastructure such as schools, hospitals and the stoppage of basic supplies to the affected people apart from rendering nearly 3.6 million people homeless. According to the Yemen Data Project, more than 17,500 civilians were killed and injured since 2015, and many of the civilians killed in air strikes were women and children. More than 20 million people in Yemen are experiencing food insecurity; 10 million of them are at risk of famine.
Pertinently, the violence in Yemen began well before the North and South Yemen
Yemen’s fragile economy has been heavily impacted ; thousands of families do not have a steady source of income while many public servants have not received a regular salary in several years. The country’s failing economy has worsened the humanitarian crisis.
https://thegeopolitics.com/yemen-crisis-a-vortex-of-death-and-destruction/
(* B H P)
Opinion: The time to step up for the people of Yemen is now
But humanitarian aid cannot substitute for a solution to the conflict that has ravaged Yemen for years. As a matter of immediate urgency, there needs to be a firm and unconditional cease-fire to avoid further loss of life and allow aid to reach people in need.
More than anything, after five years of relentless conflict, the guns need to fall silent. There has to be a renewed sense of urgency for finding a diplomatic way out of the war, for humanitarians to get the access they need to help, and for the people in Yemen to rebuild their lives. The EU, together with other members of the international community, continues reaching out to parties and stakeholders in support of U.N. efforts to put an end to the war and get the parties to the negotiating table.
Ultimately what is needed is a political solution. It is fundamental that all parties to the conflict answer the U.N. secretary-general’s call on those fighting to end hostilities.
This is urgent; this tragedy cannot go on. The people of Yemen have suffered enough.
https://www.devex.com/news/opinion-the-time-to-step-up-for-the-people-of-yemen-is-now-97773
(B P)
Film: UN warnen vor Ölkatastrophe: Maroder Tanker vor Jemen im Roten Meer
https://www.tagesschau.de/multimedia/video/video-734561.html = https://www.tagesschau.de/multimedia/video/video-734427.html = https://www.ardmediathek.de/ard/video/un-warnen-vor-oelkatastrophe-maroder-tanker-vor-jemen-im-roten-meer/tagesschau24/Y3JpZDovL2Rhc2Vyc3RlLmRlL3RhZ2Vzc2NoYXUyNC8wMWFjMjYzOS0yN2NjLTQ0YjctYTRkZS0xZDE0ZjdmNjY4YzkvMQ/
(* B P)
Yemen: Allow UN to Secure Oil Supertanker
Houthi Stonewalling Risks Environmental, Humanitarian Disaster
Houthi authorities in Yemen should immediately permit United Nations experts access to a supertanker moored off Yemen’s coast that risks spilling over a million barrels of crude oil into the Red Sea, Human Rights Watch said today. The UN says a spill would have catastrophic environmental and humanitarian consequences, including destroying livelihoods and shutting down the port of Hodeida, a lifeline for millions of Yemenis who depend on commercial imports and humanitarian aid.
The aging tanker, known as “the Safer” and owned by the Yemeni state-run Safer Exploration and Production Operations Company (SEPOC), has been stranded 5 nautical miles off Yemen’s coast and 32 nautical miles from Hodeida since 2015.
“The Houthi authorities are recklessly delaying UN experts’ access to the deteriorating oil tanker that threatens to destroy entire ecosystems and demolish the livelihoods of millions of people already suffering from Yemen’s war,” said Gerry Simpson, associate crisis and conflict director at Human Rights Watch. “The UN’s top experts are on standby to prevent the worst and should immediately be allowed on board the vessel.”
The storage tanker holds an estimated 1.1 million barrels of crude oil – 4 times as much as spilled during the catastrophic 1989 Exxon Valdez disaster. A 430-kilometer pipeline connects Yemen’s oil fields in Marib governorate to the tanker. Oil was previously transferred from the tanker to other vessels for export, until the Houthis took control of the nearby coastline in early 2015.
https://www.hrw.org/news/2020/07/27/yemen-allow-un-secure-oil-supertanker
My comment: Obviously, the tanker must be inspected and secured. The Houthis themselves are demanding it. HRW should not take sides in the underlying conflict. Both main sides of the conflict insist on their preconditions, and finally, the Un should select experts from neutral countries (keep in mind: any NATO country or country supplying arms to Saudi Arabia is not). Of course, the Houthis should give access to these neutral experts - this would be in their own interest.
and
(A P)
[Hadi] Government calls for strict Int'l position on Houthi evasiveness over Safer tanker
https://debriefer.net/en/news-18713.html
(A K P)
Film from Sep. 19: Uncontrolled Spread of Weapons and Security Chaos Claims Lives of Citizens and Children in Taiz
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X11cxfzlmPw
cp2a Saudische Blockade / Saudi blockade
Siehe / Look at cp7
(* B K P)
United Nations Offers to Release Detained Oil Tankers in Exchange for Not Paying Half Salary for Employees, Government Rejects
An official source in the Salvation Government revealed that the aggression with the United Nations offered to the Supreme Political Council during the past days to release the detained oil tankers in exchange for stopping paying half of the salary for state employees.
The source added that, "The offer was presented to the President of the Supreme Political Council, Mahdi Al-Mashat, who rejected the offer and confirmed the bias to the employees and the importance to alleviate their suffering due to the interruption of salaries. He directed the government to continue spending half of the salary every two months and pay it before Eid al-Adha.“
The source pointed out that the Ministry of Finance began implementing the directives of the President and addressed the Central Bank in Sana'a with the disbursement of half of the salary for all employees, using the combined funds, which amounted to approximately 8.5 billion riyal.
The source called on the United Nations to keep up with the payment process of half the salary in order not to argue later falsifying the facts, as what has happened recently by its envoy Martin Griffiths.
The source pointed out that the salary initiative fund is still open and Hodeidah ports revenues are supplying it. He confirmed that the government is willing to spend the full salary according to the 2014 if there is seriousness with the United Nations and the other party in implementing their obligations of Stockholm agreement.
https://english.almasirah.net/details.php?es_id=14162
and also https://uprising.today/un-blackmails-yemen-with-oil-derivative-shipments-as-bargaining-chip/
and
(* B K P)
[Sanaa] Gov. official reveals international bargaining to halt payment of half of salary rejected by President al-Mashat
An official at the National Salvation Government revealed on Sunday that US-Saudi aggression coalition forces and the United Nations had submitted a proposal to the Supreme Political Council in recent days that included the release of tanker ships detained in exchange for stopping paying half the wages of the State's employees.
The official explained in a statement to Saba that during the past days the United Nations and the forces of aggression made an offer to the Supreme Political Council included the release of oil derivatives ships detained for several months in exchange for the suspension of the process of paying a half of the employees' salary before Eid al-Adha.
The official said that the offer was submitted to the president of the Supreme Political Council Mahdi al-Mashat, who in turn rejected the offer in full and in detail and confirmed the bias towards the employees and work to alleviate the employee's suffering due to the interruption of salaries, and directed the government to continue disbursing in accordance with the previous decree regarding the payment of half of the salary every two months and the disbursement of the Due of half of the salary before Eid al-Adha.
https://www.saba.ye/en/news3103932.htm
and
(* A K P)
Houthis say rejected offer to get fuel in return for stopping wages
The Houthi Group said on Sunday the United Nations and a Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen have offered to release fuel ships held in the Red Sea in return for stopping half salaries the group gives to state workers in regions under its control.
The group says the coalition has been for months preventing 20 fuel ships from entering Hodeidah seaport.
President of the supreme political council, Mahdi Al-Mashat, rejected the offer altogether and ordered to continue paying half salaries to state workers every two months, an official in the Sanaa-based salvation government said in a statement carried by the Houthi-run Saba news agency.
https://debriefer.net/en/news-18756.html
and
(A P)
Houthi talk about Int'l pressure to stop paying public servants "insolence", says [Hadi] Gov't
Information minister in the internationally recognised government of Yemen, Muammar Al-Eryani, on Monday described a statement by the Houthi Group that the group is facing international pressure to stop paying public servants as insolence and underestimating of the minds of the Yemeni people.
Such a statement aims to mislead the public opinion, cover up Houthi looting of public funds and undermine the government and UN efforts to pay salaries of public servants on a regular basis, he wrote on Twitter.
https://debriefer.net/en/news-18777.html
(* B H K P)
YPC Director: Reserve Completely Run Out, All Vital Sectors Threatened to Stop in Coming Days
Yemen Petroleum Company director, Ammar Al-Adraei, confirmed that ships seized by the US-Saudi aggression carry four thousand tons of oil derivatives and food imports.
Al-Adraei told Almasirah, Friday, that "Yemen Petroleum Company’s reserve has completely run out, and all vital sectors are threatened to stop in the coming days."
"Today, we count on God and our leadership, but we are now unable to secure oil",
https://english.almasirah.net/details.php?es_id=14132
(* B H K P)
Houthis say northern areas run out of diesel
The Sana'a-based Yemeni Petroleum Company (YPC) has run out of diesel, the Houthi group said Friday, warning that life could stop in northern areas under their control.
Diesel supplies depleted at YPC, and this would impede life, the Houthi oil minister said at a protest outside the UN HQ in Sana'a City meant to criticize the UN envoy to Yemen.
The oil ministry had already released an appeal, but no response," Ahmed Daris added. "Meetings, protests and press conferences have brought no yield, and the UN and world have yet to hear our voice.
"The UN has to pressure the aggression coalition into releasing the oil tankers and allowing them entry to Hodeida port."
https://debriefer.net/en/news-18727.html
(* B H K P)
Situation of health sector in Houthi-run Yemen very difficult due to acute fuel shortages
The situation of the healthcare sector in regions controlled by the Ansar Allah Group, the Houthis, is very difficult due to acute fuel shortages. The group says a Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen has been holding 20 fuel ships in the Red Sea and preventing them from entering Hodeidah seaport for more than a month.
Emergency and ambulance sections at all public and private hospitals will completely shut down in two weeks, vice director of the emergency department at the health ministry of the Houthi salvation government, Abdulkarim Al-Nahari, said.
"If this happens, the mortality rate will increase to 800 deaths per day," he warned. The emergency and ambulance sections consume around 3.1 million liters of diesel and benzene per month, he revealed, according to the Houthi mouthpiece, Almasirah TV.
"The Yemeni petroleum company has provided us with 50% of the monthly required fuel. Now it has told us we are running out of fuel," he said.
Last week, the oxygen factory at the Althawra Hospital shut down but reopened shortly afterwards. It is now facing the threat of permanent shutdown.
Houthi oil and minerals minister, Ahmed Daris, said during his participation in a protest at the UN office in the capital Sanaa on Friday the country is running out of fuel.
https://debriefer.net/en/news-18735.html
and also https://english.almasirah.net/details.php?es_id=14144
(A K P)
Gov’t official: Houthis force transportation firms to mislead international organization
[Hadi gov.] Minister of Information, Muamar Al-Eryani, said on Thursday that the Iran-backed Houthis militia has forced transportation and cargo companies and car rental services to mislead international organizations by requesting them to sue the government and the Saudi-led coalition over suspension of fuel imports to the Houthis-controlled Hodeida port.
Al-Eryani said that the Houthis-led coup is to be blamed for the harms and damage of the state-run firms and the private sector.
https://www.alsahwa-yemen.net/en/p-40993
My comment: This seems to be the most absurd contribution to this subject.
(B H K P)
Photos: A fuel crisis is brewing in the northern governorates of #Yemen. For 6 weeks now, residents of the main city of Sana’a have witnessed kilometre-long queues for petrol. The price of petrol on the black market has shot up. Some gas stations have already run dry.
https://twitter.com/Fatikr/status/1286743198308528129
(A P)
UN did not respond to humanitarian calls to release oil derivatives ships: [Sanaa gov.] Oil Minister
The Minister of Oil and Minerals, Ahmed Dares affirmed that the United Nations did not respond to the humanitarian appeals and calls that launched by authorities in Sanaa
https://www.saba.ye/en/news3103712.htm
(* B H K P)
Blockade Still a Serious Problem for Northern Yemen
Also despite repeated UN demands over the past weeks for the Saudis to allow aid in, not only have the Saudis not accepted the repeated international calls for aid to be allowed in, there’s no sign that the Saudis have acknowledged the calls at all, seemingly ignoring the situation entirely as the civilian toll mounts.
This is while the US-backed, Saudi-led blockade has been a serious problem for northern Yemen, where a destroyed single port is expected to provide food, medicine, and fuel for some 15 million civilians, but which the Saudis have repeatedly blocked UN and other aid ships from entering.
This has only turned the country into a humanitarian disaster, where thousands of American bombs are being dropped, 1.5 million people are displaced and more than 90% of the population is in need of assistance. The major difference? In Yemen, the US is one of the primary causes of the problem.
The United States is actively aiding and abetting Saudi Arabia while the country indiscriminately kills civilians in what amounts to war crimes by almost anyone’s definition. The US, who often purport to care about democracy and human rights, is also helping the Saudi regime – one of the most repressive regimes on the planet – cover up those crimes at the United Nations.
These actions are abhorrent and make the US complicit in Saudi war crimes. It’s shameful the brewing scandal has hardly received any attention from the US political establishment or the news.
https://en.farsnews.ir/newstext.aspx?nn=13990503000515 = https://www.islamtimes.org/en/news/876358/blockade-still-a-serious-problem-for-northern-yemen
cp3 Humanitäre Lage / Humanitarian situation
(* B H)
The Yemen Crisis Harms Its Trees
The fear of an environmental crisis, in addition to Yemen’s ongoing crises, is not to be taken lightly.
Yemen reels under a severe fuel crisis, coinciding with an acute shortage in cooking gas. The price of a cooking gas canister has skyrocketed to 8,000 YER [37.23 USD] since mid-September 2015.
Residents have resorted to gathering and purchasing firewood, in addition to other rudimentary methods, due to price increase for scarce cooking gas. Since the outbreak of the current crisis in March 2015, the cost of a bundle of firewood has increased by 300% — previously priced at 700 YER [3.26 USD] and jumping to 2,000 YER [9.31 USD].
Informal businesses have sprung up across the war-torn nation selling wood on street corners, or hauling it on camels and donkeys around neighborhoods. Households are cutting down trees and shrubs in an effort to address the firewood demand, eradicating vegetation and eroding the soil.
Forests are 2.70% of total land area in Yemen. Such actions will affect the flora and fauna — already suffering from drought — in addition to the health and safety hazards linked to the usage of firewood in closed spaces.
https://www.navantigroup.com/news-1/yemen-crisis-harms-its-trees
(B H)
Film: First Year of Yemen Emergency Crisis Response Project
Summary of the first year of Yemen Emergency Crisis Response Project. Figures and achievements.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MmTieoFAe1M
(B H)
Aid to 250.000 people in Yemen
In the first six months of 2020, IHH delivered emergency aids to 250.000 people in Yemen where the humanitarian crisis is still continuing. This aid was delivered to all regions in Yemen.
https://www.ihh.org.tr/en/news/yemene-250-bin-kisilik-yardim
(B H)
UN emergency fund hit record annual pay-out to under-funded crises
UN humanitarian chief Mark Lowcock has released US$100 million from the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) to urgently boost humanitarian response in ten under-funded emergencies in Africa, the Middle East, southeast Asia and the Americas.
The funds will help front-line aid groups deliver life-saving assistance to extremely vulnerable people and support programmes that address needs exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Together with $125 million released earlier, the Underfunded Emergencies Window of the CERF has now allocated $225 million to support crisis response in 20 countries this year – the highest annual amount in the fund’s history, up from $200 million in 2019 which was itself a record.
The largest single allocation announced is $35 million for Yemen
https://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/un-emergency-fund-hit-record-annual-pay-out-under-funded-crises
(B H)
WFP Yemen Situation Report #06, June 2020
While distributions under the June cycle are ongoing, the May distribution cycle was concluded in June. WFP reached 8.1 million people with general food assistance. Of which, 5.9 million people were assisted with in-kind food rations, 1.6 million people with food vouchers, and some 590,000 people with cash assistance.
Signs of a severe fuel crisis have started in areas under the Sana’abased authorities in the first half of June as a number of fuel vessels continue to be held in the Saudi-led Coalition (SLC) holding area. No major impact on WFP’s operations was reported during June; however, delays were experienced at the district level where smaller trucks are used to deliver food to distribution sites and
As part of the collective humanitarian response to COVID-19 in Yemen, in June, WFP Bilateral Service Provision (BSP) coordinated 17 cargo flights from Dubai, Salalah and Djibouti, transporting more than 1,500 m³ of essential cargo to Yemen for the COVID-19 response.
https://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/wfp-yemen-situation-report-06-june-2020
and also https://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/wfp-yemen-country-brief-june-2020
(* A H)
U.N. moves last grain from frontline store symbolic of Yemen's aid struggle
A U.N. grain store that symbolised aid agencies’ struggle to navigate the front lines of Yemen’s war has finally been emptied and distributed to a starving population almost two years after fighting cut access, the U.N. food agency said on Monday.
The Red Sea Mills, a milling facility rented by the World Food Programme (WFP) as part of an aid operation feeding 13 million people a month, had become a focal point of a frozen conflict in the strategic port of Hodeidah.
Located in a complicated web of frontlines between forces loyal to Yemen’s internationally recognised government and those of the Iran-aligned Houthi group, the grain store became inaccessible in September 2018 and suffered shelling damage.
Enough to feed nearly four million people, the grain risked rotting in the humid climate. It took a year of negotiations and risky cross-frontline operations to regain access and resume milling and distribution in September last year.
Aid agencies have repeatedly complained that the combatants in the five-year-old conflict across Yemen have restricted access to needy populations and aid supplies.
The flour delivery comes as fears of famine in Yemen are resurfacing, the United Nations has said.
and
(* A B H)
WFP saves a massive stock of wheat from Yemen’s frontline
The United Nations World Food Programme’s saves food stored at the Red Sea Mills near Hodeidah nearly two years after Yemen’s war had cut off access to half of the agency’s stock of wheat in the country.
Last week, the last grain was transported out of the Red Sea Mills. As that final truck trundled out of the huge milling facility, it marked the end of a race against time to salvage the wheat and deliver it to the families who desperately need it.
Inside each bag of flour saved from Yemen’s frontline is a story of determination, dedication and success within a crisis that just keeps getting worse.
“The Red Sea Mills in many ways became a symbol of the many challenges we face as we work tirelessly in Yemen to get food to those who so desperately need it,” said Ally-Raza Qureshi, Deputy Country Director for WFP in Yemen. “I’m immensely proud that the mills now become a symbol of WFP’s success working in one of the most complex emergencies in the world.”
Just a few hundred metres from a volatile frontline, the team at the Red Sea Mills has since managed to mill and dispatch more than 740,000 bags of flour in the last nine months. Nearly every day since late September 2019, trucks have left the silo complex carrying the vital humanitarian assistance. They have crossed the frontlines countless times to get the flour out of the besieged area and into the hands of the people who need it the most.
https://insight.wfp.org/wfp-saves-massive-stock-of-wheat-from-yemens-frontline-e8d52ffb7055
(* A H)
Yemen: Torrential floods wreak havoc in war-stricken country
Exceptionally heavy seasonal rains and deadly floods have hit Yemen hard in recent months, killing dozens of people and affecting tens of thousands of families across the country.
The start of heavy rains in mid-April coincided with the announcement of the first COVID-19 case in the conflict-torn nation, which is already struggling to cope with ongoing fighting, a fragile and overwhelmed healthcare system, high inflation and seasonal diseases.
"This year was the first time such torrential rains hit Aden, we are not used to such floods. Overnight my family and I found ourselves homeless and our belongings ruined. We are terrified now every time we hear an announcement that it will rain and feel paralyzed because we just can do nothing about it,” said Abu Fatima, who lost his home because of recent flooding in Aden province (photos)
https://www.icrc.org/en/document/yemen-torrential-floods-wreak-havoc-war-stricken-country
(* A H)
Flood in Yemen kills 16 people
Torrential rains and flooding killed at least 16 people in northwestern Yemen in the last 48 hours, local media reported on Sunday, citing residents.
Thirteen of the victims were swept away by floods in Hodeidah province, while the other three had drowned in the floods in the adjacent province of Hajjah.
The floods damaged dozens of homes, roads and farms in the Hodeidah's northern districts of Luhayyah, Qanawis and Zuhrah, as well as the Hajjah's southern district of Bani Qa'is.
http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2020-07/26/c_139241552.htm
and also https://debriefer.net/en/news-18752.html
and
(* A H)
13 citizens died as a result of floods in Az Zuhrah, Qanawis, Alluheyah in Hodeidah
The [Sanaa gov.] acting governor of Hodeidah, Mohammed Ayash Qahim, and the deputy first deputy of the province, Ahmed al-Bashri, on Saturday inspected the flood damage in the district of Az Zuhrah, Qanawis, Alluheyah, which resulted in the death of 13 people.
Qahim was briefed on the extent of the damage caused by torrential rains that washed away 50 houses, damaged hundreds of houses, dozens of hectares of farmland and killed hundreds of cows and livestock.
https://www.saba.ye/en/news3103785.htm
and
(* A H)
Photos: Floods due to heavy raining in the country forced a lot of people in Hajjah province and Hodeidah in northern & western #Yemen to flee. Most of them are already vulnerable and barely they can survive. Many people killed or injured they really lost the meaning of safe life.
https://twitter.com/Fatikr/status/1287504184682721281
https://twitter.com/Fatikr/status/1287525067623194626
https://twitter.com/AhmadAlgohbary/status/1287717634562301953
and
(A H)
Film: Floods at Saada province
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CvePc4HGIww
and
(A H)
Flash flood, bridge collapse shut Aden-Abyan road
The international road between Aden and Abyan was shut on Sunday, after the collapse of a bridge due to heavy rainfall and flooding that hit the province of Abyan.
In addition to the closure of the road, at least one car had been washed away, but no casualties reported
http://en.adenpress.news/news/23658
(B H)
Photos: @monarelief's team distributing now eid clothing to 500 children in the capital Sana'a based on a fund by our #Kuwaiti donors #Yemen
https://twitter.com/Fatikr/status/1287302763471425537
https://twitter.com/Fatikr/status/1287472735552180225
https://twitter.com/Fatikr/status/1287659806162137088
https://twitter.com/Fatikr/status/1287871868850987010
https://twitter.com/Fatikr/status/1288182874483589122
(* B H)
Film: Jemen: Hunger bedrohlicher als Covid-19
https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=300768364377702
(A H)
The already poor energy infrastructure in #Yemen has worsened by the conflict, and without electricity there's little hospitals can do. So we provided a solar power system for Awmara Hospital in #Arhab district of #Sanaa, which provides its services to thousands in the area (photos)
https://twitter.com/ICRC_ye/status/1287082358265589761
(B H)
Film: Two years after this family was provided with this rainwater harvesting cistern, see what it got!
https://twitter.com/SFDYemen/status/1286530259815464960
(* B H E P)
Yemen Socio-Economic Update, Issue 48 - May, 2020
Social protection has become a haven for those who are lacking the necessities of secure life given the current difficult times that the entire world has been experiencing where millions of people lost their jobs with the ensuing risks surrounding them in just about everything.
Despite the protracted crises plaguing Yemen for years as well as the disasters, conflicts and wars that devastated the livelihoods, lands and health of its people, it nevertheless manages to resist and cope with such circumstances based on great hope in God at the first place and that severity is always followed by relief, prosperity, stability and peace. Bearing in mind these rationale and others, this issue comes as a lifeboat for social protection being a human right.
Social protection is defined as “a set of policies and programs designed to reduce and alleviate destitution and poverty levels prevalent in many developing communities through multiple constructive interventions and policies, as part of the national development strategies to reduce poverty and promote inclusive and sustainable growth, including increasing the household incomes, advancing productivity, HR development, stimulating domestic demand, facilitating structural transformation of the economy, promoting decent work and social justice while seeking to realize human rights represented by social security for all. The social protection programs need to be part of institutional pro-community programs.
As a means to mitigate the impacts of conflicts and pandemics as well as a tool to build resilience and early recovery, social protection is also a key element of any social safety and social security net, especially under the current economic and social situation in Yemen. For all that, the Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation played a great and important role in mobilizing international support to ensure continuity of the social protection umbrella in Yemen and adapt it to multiple crises and epidemics.
Given its importance, the issue of social protection will be addressed in two parts in the framework of this monthly bulletin. The first part (in this issue) will provide a background idea about social protection and successive crises in Yemen, followed by a review and analysis of key activities by the national funds, institutions and agencies.
https://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/yemen-socio-economic-update-issue-48-may-2020-enar
Full report: https://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/YSEU48_English_Final.pdf
(B H P)
DRPY, UNDP and Key Developmental Actors in Yemen Highlight Humanitarian-Development-Peace Nexus
At the invitation of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the Saudi Development and Reconstruction Program for Yemen (SDRPY) participated in a virtual international donors meeting on Thursday on development priorities in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic with a focus on the newly developed socio-economic framework in Yemen. UN Humanitarian Coordinator in Yemen Lise Grande and World Bank Regional Manager in Yemen Raja Kattan co-chaired the meeting, with UNDP Deputy Resident Representative Dr. Nahed Hussein, ambassadors from countries supporting development in Yemen, and representatives of international development organizations in attendance.
Grande thanked the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, together with the World Bank, for having “stepped forward right at the start and provided urgent funding to the teams on the ground here in Yemen at the very beginning” of the COVID-19 pandemic. “Without that,” she said, “we would not have had a public health response.”
During the meeting, the SDRPY team emphasized 4 important tracks of the strategic socio-economic framework for Yemen, namely: (1) building the capacity of healthcare institutions to enable them not only to provide curative care, but also to take public health preventive measures to deal with the existing pandemic and future health emergencies; (2) sustainable job creation; (3) effective private sector engagement in economic recovery; and (4) affirmation of the interrelationship between the humanitarian and development path and sustainable peace, known as the Humanitarian-Development-Peace Nexus.
My comment: „Grande thanked the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, together with the World Bank, for having” what??
(A H)
Cargo plane carrying medical supplies arrives at Sanaa Airport
A cargo plane belonging to the European Union arrived at Sanaa International Airport on Saturday, carrying more than 20 tons of medical supplies.
https://www.saba.ye/en/news3103758.htm
(B H)
The most vulnerable families in al Mahwit #Yemen face severe food insecurity--many families survive on humanitarian aid and help from relatives and neighbors. Often, these families cope by eating only one meal a day
https://twitter.com/NavantiGroup/status/1286665968706625538
(A H)
Yemen: Floods strike Sanaa slums after night of heavy rain
Residents of slums in the Yemeni capital of Sanaa were hit by floods, which destroyed many of their homes, after a night of heavy rain in the area
"We suffer from the rain and floods that hit us, because they destroyed our homes and camps. Roofs of houses fell on the heads of their owners, causing families to become homeless in their search of a place to sleep," said local official Mujahid Azzam (with film)
and also http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2020-07/24/c_139237534.htm
(B H)
Photos: Do you remember Salwa? This is Salwa before and after receiving treatment at Aslam Malnutrition Center in Abs area, #Hajjah governorate. She is getting better day after day. Thank you all for helping her to live a normal life like other children in this world.
https://twitter.com/AhmadAlgohbary/status/1286774858140061696
(A H)
ICRC-provided 20-ton medical supplies arrive at Sana'a airport
https://debriefer.net/en/news-18708.html
(B H)
Film: The people of Aden Dima village in Sabr mountain in #Taiz governorate dig up a road using shovels after the neglect of the successive authorities. They are forced to carry a sick person on their back for hours to transport them to the hospital and many people die at home.
https://twitter.com/BelqeesRights/status/1286332932911706115
https://twitter.com/BelqeesTV/status/1284579946568937472
(* B H)
Field update: Responding to malnutrition in Sada’a
UNICEF with vital support from EU humanitarian aid cover the operation costs to ensure essential Health centres running all day, every day for families in need
The therapeutic feeding centre at the Al-Jamhori Hospital in Sada’a welcomes thousands of families seeking lifesaving care for their malnourished children. The area continues to see the impact of over five years of conflict which has less to mass displacement and a health system on the brink of collapse. Health workers are a lifeline for the acutely malnourished children who come through their doors.
Al-Jamhori Hospital has been receiving vital support from UNICEF’s partner EU humanitarian aid who cover the operation costs to ensure the centre keeps running all day, every day for families in need. Their vital support also covers incentives for health workers who, because of the humanitarian crisis have not received salaries in over three years.
Dr. Ali Mohammed is a doctor in the malnutrition department at Al-Jamhori Hospital. “”I have worked in this hospital for 10 years; we receive a lot of cases from different areas in Saada city and from other governorates like Amran and Al-Jawf and patients come to Al-Jamhori hospital to receive medical services," says Dr. Ali when asked about the services run here for the community. The centre is particularly important for cases of severe acute malnutrition with complications. Cases are referred from all nearby governorates and families can receive free medical care.
https://www.unicef.org/yemen/stories/field-update-responding-malnutrition-sadaa
(B H)
Jemen: Menschen sterben an Hunger
Bündnis "Aktion Deutschland Hilft" fürchtet einen kompletten Zusammenbruch der humanitären Lage
Über 80 Prozent der jemenitischen Bevölkerung sind auf Lebensmittelhilfe angewiesen. Akute Unter- und Mangelernährung und hieraus resultierende Erkrankungen steigen deutlich an. Hilfsorganisationen im Bündnis "Aktion Deutschland Hilft" weiten aufgrund der dramatischen Entwicklungen stetig ihre Hilfsaktivitäten aus. Das Bündnis für Not- und Katastrophenhilfe fordert mehr Engagement seitens der internationalen Gemeinschaft, um einen kompletten Zusammenbruch der humanitären Lage im Jemen zu verhindern.
https://www.presseportal.de/pm/50116/4659943
(A H)
Kuwait sponsors pediatric surgeries in Lahj
http://en.adenpress.news/news/23635
(B H)
Yemen: Organizations Monthly Presence (May 2020)
https://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/yemen-organizations-monthly-presence-may-2020
(* B H)
Yemeni children face deadly hunger and aid shortages as COVID-19 pandemic spreads - UNICEF
Millions of children in Yemen could be pushed to 'the brink of starvation' due to huge shortfalls in humanitarian aid funding amid the COVID-19 pandemic -- according to a new UNICEF report marking more than five years since conflict escalated in the country.
Yemen five years on: Children, conflict and COVID-19 warns that as Yemen's devastated health system and infrastructure struggle to cope with coronavirus, the already dire situation for children is likely to deteriorate considerably. The report shows that:
An additional 30,000 children could develop life-threatening severe acute malnutrition over the next six months, and the overall number of malnourished children under the age of five could increase to a total of 2.4 million --almost half of all under-fives in the country and a rise of around 20 per cent;
An additional 6,600 children under the age of five could die from preventable causes by the end of the year -- an increase of 28 per cent*;
The health system is teetering closer to collapse. After years of conflict, only half of health facilities are operational, with huge shortages in medicine, equipment and staff;
Poor access to water and sanitation is stoking the spread of COVID-19. Around 9.58 million children do not have sufficient access to safe water, sanitation, or hygiene.
With schools closed, 7.8 million children are not able to access education.
Widespread absence from class and a worsening economy could put children at greater risk of child labour, recruitment into armed groups and child marriage. The United Nations has recorded 3,467 children, some as young as ten years old, recruited and used by armed forces and groups over the last five years.
full report:
(* B H)
Yemen: World’s worst hunger hotspot risks further decline, say UN agencies
WFP urgently needs US$737 million to continue to deliver food assistance until the end of the year
Conflict, a currency in freefall and coronavirus are threatening to push more people in Yemen — already in the throes of the world’s worst hunger crisis — into acute hunger, according to the latest figures from UN agencies and their partners.
The World Food Programme (WFP) already provides food assistance to nearly 13 million people in the country, nearly half the population.
The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) analysis for 7.9 million people in 133 districts in Yemen, released Wednesday, forecasts that the number of acutely hungry people is set to increase by 1.2 million people in the next six months.
WFP Executive Director David Beasley said the food security analysis — produced in collaboration with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN, UNICEF and other partners — paints a “heartbreaking” picture.
and
(* B H)
Yemen: IPC Acute Food Insecurity Analysis - July – December 2020 (Issued July 2020)
High levels of food insecurity persist, amidst deterioration of the economy, conflict and impact of the COVID-19 pandemic
Key highlights
How Severe, How Many and When: Out of the total population of 7.9 million people in the 133 analysed districts, two million were estimated to be highly food insecure (IPC Phase 3 and above) in the period from February to April 2020, representing 25 percent of the population analysed.
The IPC analysis estimates that in the period from July to December 2020, the population facing high levels of acute food insecurity (IPC Phase 3 and above) increases to 3.2 million people (40 percent of the analysed population) if humanitarian food assistance is kept at the current levels.
Although compared to the 2018/19 IPC results, this analysis (July – December 2020) shows an improvement with more than half a million people having transitioned to below IPC Phase 3, this was driven primarily by scale-up of humanitarian food assistance which increased by 47 percent in the same period. Given the fragility of Yemen, these gains could be reversed quickly if the level and scale of humanitarian assistance reduces or other significant shocks occur.
Where and Who: Food insecurity is high in areas characterised by active fighting, which leads to access restrictions that affect coverage of humanitarian food assistance, access to markets, and constant population displacements. The analysis shows that out of the 133 districts analysed, 16 are in Emergency (IPC Phase 4), 103 are in Crisis (IPC Phase 3) while the remainder are in Stressed (IPC Phase 2). In terms of severity, the 16 worst affected districts, classified in Emergency (IPC Phase 4), are located in eight governorates: Al Dhale’e (3), Marib (3), Al Bayda (2), Shabwah (2), Abyan (2), Taizz (2), Al Jawf (1) and Hadramaut (1). In terms of magnitude, the governorates with the highest numbers of people in Crisis or worse (IPC Phase 3+) are Taizz (590,000), Lahj (487,500) and Hadramaut (465,500). Between the two periods of analysis, February to April and July to December, the increase in people in IPC Phase 3 (Crisis) and above is concentrated in the six governorates, representing 83 percent of the increase, that is, Abyan, Aden, Al Dhale’e, Hadramaut, Lahj and Taizz.
Why: The current economic crisis, crippled by nearly six years of conflict, coupled with the increasing impact of COVID-19 on livelihoods and economic activities as well as natural hazards affecting the already low levels of local production, have significantly eroded the ability of households to cope with new and intensifying shocks. COVID-19 has dealt a further blow to household incomes by significantly reducing remittances from the Gulf states, an important lifeline for most Yemenis. With reduced incomes and deteriorating purchasing power while food prices increase, most households are increasingly relying on humanitarian food assistance and other unsustainable coping strategies to meet their daily food needs.
http://www.ipcinfo.org/ipc-country-analysis/details-map/en/c/1152730/?iso3=YEM
(B H)
Yemen Emergency Food Assistance (YEFAIII) Dec 2018 – April 2020: Project review report, Al Dhale’e | June 2020
Under the Food for Peace (FFP) consortium project “Emergency Food Security Programme in Yemen (YEFA III)” consisting of ACTED, Mercy Corps, and CARE, ACTED distributed 10 rounds of food vouchers to 1,182 households in Ash Shuy’ab and 1,283 in Al Hussein districts in Al Dhale’e Governorate, Yemen between July 2019 and April 2020. This provided emergency assistance to 18,418 individuals.
full report: https://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/Emergency%20food%20AME%20review%20report.pdf
(B H)
Yemen: Western Abyan Needs Assessment Report, June 2020
According to the 2019 HNO, less than five assessments were completed in Abyan across key humanitarian sectors other than livelihoods and WASH. This limits understanding on the situation and restricts aid delivery.
In response to knowledge gaps and rising needs, ACTED collected basic primary information about Abyan (Lawdar, Khanfir, Zingibar, Mudiayh, and Ahwar districts) in July 2019 to get a preliminary overview. Due to insufficient capacity at the time to deploy field teams for extensive data collection, interviews were conducted over the phone. General information indicated a plethora of needs across multiple sectors and few humanitarian actors
https://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/yemen-western-abyan-needs-assessment-report-june-2020
full report: https://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/West%20Abyan%20needs%20assessment%20report.pdf
(B H)
Yemeni Development Network for NGOs (YDN) Monthly Bulletin, May & June 2020
YDN has participated in the MFB technical working group second meeting and discussed with FSAC partners on the proposed revisions to FSAC Minimum Food Basket. The meeting focused on the following points:
full report: https://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/Monthly%20Bulletin%20May%26Jun%2C%202020.pdf
(A H)
Omani medical aid arrives in Yemen's Sanaa
https://debriefer.net/en/news-18695.html
cp4 Flüchtlinge / Refugees
(* B H)
Film: Ali, father of eight children, was forced to move from his home in the Taiz governorate in #Yemen: "We are more afraid of food prices than our fear of # Coffid_19." A survey conducted by the Norwegian Refugee Council showed that one in every four families interviewed had lost all their income since the epidemic struck the country last April.
https://twitter.com/NRC_Arabic/status/1287048707406520325
(* A H)
I can't imagine how bad the situation is for many IDPs who fled from their own houses due to conflict in their villages looking for safe places to live in Now they have become homeless once because the conflict & now due to floods in northern #Yemen It is a catastrophic situation (photos)
https://twitter.com/Fatikr/status/1287890321968443392
and
(A H)
Torrential rains kill at least four refugees in Hajjah province
Floods washed away camps for internally displaced people
At least four internally displaced people were killed due to torrential rains that hit the Bani Qais district of Hajjah province, and over 50 homes were washed away.
A local source told the Yemeni news agency Saba that the floods have caused the death of a displaced family consisting of a father, a mother and a child, as well as another child in the al-Lawhah area of the directorate.
The floods also washed away over 50 huts built for displaced families, and caused material damage to property, the source said, adding that these families have become homeless.
https://uprising.today/torrential-rains-kill-at-least-four-refugees-in-hajjah-province/
and
(A H)
3 people died and 5.400 IDPs have been affected in flash floods that hit Yemen's #Marib province in the past two days.
https://twitter.com/FuadRajeh/status/1286282918994878464
and also https://www.saba.ye/en/news3103828.htm
(B H)
IOM Yemen | Rapid Displacement Tracking (RDT) - Reporting Period: 19 - 25 Jul 2020
(* B H)
Film: “We’re thirsty”: Children in Yemen starve amid rising fears of famine
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F51cFRTkIDY
(B H)
NRC Yemen: Implementation of 750 improved shelter in Abbs District – Hajjah Governorate
The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) is an International NGO with regional competence and expertise in working with displaced populations. The Regional Office is based in Nairobi, Kenya with Offices and operations in Somalia and Yemen.
NRC invites potential suppliers/contractors to apply to the following tender: Implementation of 750 improved shelter in Abbs District – Hajjah Governorate (YE/NRC/ NRC/HAJ/20/YEFM2004/8601894).
(* B H)
From Yemen to Wales: 'I thought I would die under that lorry'
Sixteen-year-old Mujahed Aqlan had never been so scared. Not even when a group of gunmen had showed up at his home and threatened to kill his entire family.
Speaking to the BBC, 'Muj', now 23, relived his perilous journey from Yemen to Cardiff, where he has been granted asylum and played football for Wales in last year's Homeless World Cup.
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-wales-53403592
(* B H)
Yemen: UNHCR Operational Update, 23 July 2020
During the first six months of 2020, UNHCR and 18 partners have assessed some 51,000 IDP families and reached 80,700 families (565,000 individuals). Ongoing clashes across new and existing frontlines and flash floods continue to drive displacement and increase needs among internally displaced and local host community members. Some 68,000 IDP families and impoverished host communities received cash, and 27,000 families received an emergency distribution of shelter and basic household items. Some 11,600 individuals benefitted from legal assistance, including support in issuing 3,100 birth certificate and 2,500 national IDs. The widest outreach was achieved in Hudaydah and Hajjah governorates, followed by Sana’a, Dhamar and Taizz.
Seasonal storms and floods continue to ravage various parts of the country. So far this year, some 12,410 IDP families in the south have been affected by continuing heavy rains
Refugee Response
So far in 2020, UNHCR and 12 partners have reached 19,700 refugee and asylumseeking families (98,600 individuals) with assistance
https://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/yemen-unhcr-operational-update-23-july-2020
cp5 Nordjemen und Huthis / Northern Yemen and Houthis
Siehe / Look at cp2a, cp7
(A P)
A Houthi gunman executed a man before his children in Sana'a
https://www.alsahwa-yemen.net/en/p-41040
(A K P)
Newly recruited child solider killed in Al-Dhala’
Abdulaziz Al-Dharhani, a 15-year old child was killed in Al-Dhala’ following his recruitment by the Houthis.
Local sources said that the Houthis persuaded the child during qat gathering sessions and took him to the fighting front in Al-Dhala’.
The family to the child searched everywhere upon his disappearance and publicized his personal photo believing he was abducted.
The family went to the Houthis officials and they denied having any information about him, the sources said.
Yet, they were shocked by phone calls from the Houthis leaders offering consolation on the child's death.
https://www.alsahwa-yemen.net/en/p-41039
and
https://twitter.com/RepYemenEnglish/status/1287440401830486018
(A P)
President al-Mashat directs Gov't to pay half of salary to all employees
https://www.saba.ye/en/news3103876.htm
and also https://english.almasirah.net/details.php?es_id=14161
(B P)
The American Center for Justice: #Houthi group refuses to release Usif Al-Raimi, 73 years old, who was abducted and has been held for three years in prisons in Sana'a.
https://twitter.com/BelqeesRights/status/1287093265292984320
(A P)
Female relatives renew call for release of detainees
The Female Relatives to illegal detainees, known as the Abductees’ Mothers Association, demanded on Thursday release of all abductees, enforced disappeared people, and arbitrary detainees with no condition.
The association members voiced their demands during a sit-in they held on the same day before the UN Human Rights Commission Representative’s Office in Sana’a.
They said that international conventions on abductees, forcibly disappeared people and illegal detainees have not been implemented amid intentional extension of illegal detention for no valid reason.
Female participants of the sit-in demanded release of all arbitrary detainees who were caught because of their belief, opinion or political belongings.
https://www.alsahwa-yemen.net/en/p-40968
and also https://republicanyemen.net/archives/24984
Fortsetzung / Sequel: cp6 – cp19
https://www.freitag.de/autoren/dklose/jemenkrieg-mosaik-669b-yemen-war-mosaic-669b
Vorige / Previous:
https://www.freitag.de/autoren/dklose/jemenkrieg-mosaik-668-yemen-war-mosaic-668
Jemenkrieg-Mosaik 1-668 / Yemen War Mosaic 1-668:
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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