Jemenkrieg-Mosaik 680b- Yemen War Mosaic 680b

Yemen Press Reader 680b: 18. September 2020: Fortsetzung von Jemenkrieg-Mosaik 680, cp7 - cp19 / September 18, 2020: Sequel to Yemen War Mosaic 680, cp7 - cp19

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Dies ist die Fortsetzung von Jemenkrieg-Mosaik 680, Teil 1 / This is the sequel of Yemen War Mosaic 680, part 1:

https://www.freitag.de/autoren/dklose/jemenkrieg-mosaik-680-yemen-war-mosaic-680

Schwerpunkte / Key aspects

Kursiv: Siehe Teil 1 / In Italics: Look in part 1

Klassifizierung / Classification

Für wen das Thema ganz neu ist / Who is new to the subject

cp1 Am wichtigsten / Most important

cp1a Am wichtigsten: Coronavirus und Seuchen / Most important: Coronavirus and epidemics

cp2 Allgemein / General

cp2a Allgemein: Saudische Blockade / General: Saudi blockade

cp3 Humanitäre Lage / Humanitarian situation

cp4 Flüchtlinge / Refugees

cp5 Nordjemen und Huthis / Northern Yemen and Houthis

cp6 Separatisten und Hadi-Regierung im Südjemen / Separatists and Hadi government in Southern Yemen

cp7 UNO und Friedensgespräche / UN and peace talks

cp8 Saudi-Arabien / Saudi Arabia

cp9 USA

cp9a USA-Iran Krise: Spannungen am Golf / US-Iran crisis: Tensions at the Gulf

cp10 Großbritannien / Great Britain

cp11 Deutschland / Germany

cp12 Andere Länder / Other countries

cp12b Sudan

cp13a Waffenhandel / Arms Trade

cp13b Mercenaries / Söldner

cp13c Kulturerbe / Cultural heritage

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

cp7 UNO und Friedensgespräche / UN and peace talks

Siehe / Look at cp1

(* A B P)

No peace deal in Yemen in sight despite prisoner swap talks

For the first time since February, the Yemeni government and Houthi representatives will be meeting in Geneva on Friday or Saturday to discuss final touches to the prisoner swap deal.

The direct talks revived hopes that the trust-building discussions would not only see hundreds of prisoners released, but pave the way for a new round of peace talks between the warring sides that could end the war.

Majed Fadhail, deputy minister of human rights and a member of the government delegation, told Arab News that the discussions would be built on previous talks in Amman in February when both sides agreed to swap hundreds of prisoners.

“The first stage will see 1,420 prisoners released,” he said, adding that all prisoners, including senior government military and civilian figures and other detainees in Houthi prisoners, would be released in later stages.

If the talks succeed in freeing the prisoners it could smooth the way for more trust-building steps brokered by the UN Yemen Envoy Martin Griffiths, Yemen experts say. Griffiths has said many times that his priority is convincing the warring sides in Yemen to accept his proposal for a cease-fire deal that would stop hostilities on battlefields and open humanitarian corridors across the country.

However, some Yemeni experts are pessimistic about peace prospects in Yemen given the continued intensive military

https://www.arabnews.com/node/1736151/middle-east

My comment: By a Saudi-linked news site. The rest mostly is an anti-Houthi blame game.

(A P)

Responded to Joint Communiqué, Mohammad Al-Houthi Affirms Supporting Balanced Solution in Yemen

Member of the Supreme Political Council, Mohammad Ali Al-Houthi, responded to the joint Communiqué issued by the Foreign Ministers of Germany, Kuwait, Sweden and Britain and the representatives of the US, China, France, Russia and the European Union, Thursday, by affirming support for "a balanced solution in Yemen, not an imposed solution."

Mohammad Al-Houthi wrote on “Twitter” that: “The solution in Yemen must be a balanced solution and not the solution that the aggression is trying to impose.” Summarizing the meaning of the “balanced solution,” he said: “The return of Yemen to the normal situation before the aggression, it is the vital matter for Yemenis, with the return of salaries, the exit of the occupiers, the return of prisoners, the reconstruction and letting the people control their country without any interference from the Saudi-Emirati coalition and the ambassadors of the ten countries."

https://english.almasirah.net/details.php?es_id=14996

(A P)

Acht Länder bekräftigen bei virtuellem Treffen Lösung für Jemen

Bei einem hochrangigen virtuellen Jemen-Treffen trafen sich unter anderem Bundesaussenminister Heiko Maas und UN-Chef António Guterres. Insgesamt haben acht Länder die Notwendigkeit einer politischen Lösung für das Bürgerkriegsland bekräftigt.

Die UN-Vetomächte sowie Deutschland, Kuwait und Schweden forderte in einer Erklärung zudem eine militärische Deeskalation und eine landesweite Waffenruhe.

UN-Generalsekretär Guterres hob zudem laut Redetext die Herausforderungen durch die Corona-Pandemie hervor.

https://www.nau.ch/politik/international/acht-lander-bekraftigen-bei-virtuellem-treffen-losung-fur-jemen-65783881

Mein Kommentar: heuchlerisches Gelaber der großen Kriegstreiber, und ein paar andere.

(A P)

Yemen: Joint Communiqué by Germany, Kuwait, Sweden, the United Kingdom, the United States, China, France, Russia and the European Union on the conflict in Yemen

The Foreign Ministers of Germany, Kuwait, Sweden, and the United Kingdom co-hosted a meeting on Thursday 17 September 2020, in connection with the 75th United Nations General Assembly, with Ministers and representatives of the United States, China, France, Russia, and the High Representative of the European Union, to discuss the urgent need for political progress in Yemen.

Following briefings by the UN Secretary-General and his Special Envoy for Yemen, the Group discussed the urgent need for military de-escalation and political progress in Yemen, underlining their full support for the Special Envoy, Mr Martin Griffiths, including his efforts to facilitate agreement between the Yemeni parties on the Joint Declaration comprised of a nationwide ceasefire, humanitarian and economic measures and the resumption of a comprehensive, inclusive political process. The Group reaffirmed the international community’s firm commitment to uphold Yemen’s sovereignty, unity, independence, and territorial integrity. They reiterated that only an inclusive political solution can end the conflict in Yemen.

The Group stressed the need for the parties, through the political process, to swiftly conclude a comprehensive transitional agreement in order to end the conflict

https://eeas.europa.eu/headquarters/headquarters-homepage/85320/yemen-joint-communiqu%C3%A9-germany-kuwait-sweden-united-kingdom-united-states-china-france-russia_en = https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/joint-communique-on-the-conflict-in-yemen

My comment: Bla bla by many of the greatest warmongerers in Yemen and some others. Just keep off.

and a media report: https://news.sky.com/story/yemen-famine-has-never-looked-more-likely-with-hundreds-of-thousands-at-risk-of-starvation-uk-government-says-12074444

and

(A P)

THE SECRETARY-GENERAL -- REMARKS AT THE HIGH-LEVEL MINISTERIAL MEETING ON YEMEN

I wish to start by reiterating my personal attachment to Yemen, which dates back to my time as High Commissioner for Refugees and I will never forget the generosity of the Yemeni people in hosting refugees.

Since assuming the position of Secretary-General, I have constantly sought to do whatever I can to help find a peaceful resolution to the conflict.

In recent weeks, conflict has unfortunately escalated.

Since 2018, Yemeni parties have reached a series of agreements, namely the UN-brokered Stockholm Agreement and the Saudi-facilitated Riyadh Agreement, which, if implemented, would lay the groundwork for sustainable peace.

We must build on these important milestones.

I urge all parties to cease hostilities. The United Nations will continue to support them in implementing these agreements.

I am also deeply concerned about the SAFER oil tanker, moored off the western coast of Yemen.

https://osesgy.unmissions.org/secretary-general-remarks-high-level-ministerial-meeting-yemen

and also https://www.un.org/press/en/2020/sgsm20259.doc.htm

My comment: A sign of helplessness, at the best.

(A P)

Yemen prisoner swap talks postponed to Friday

https://english.alaraby.co.uk/english/news/2020/9/17/yemen-prisoner-swap-talks-postponed-to-friday

(* A H P)

Joint Statement by the Coalition of Yemeni Civil Society Organizations to the United Nations General Assembly, September 2020

As the international community meets at the UN General Assembly, we – the undersigned national civil society organisations – encourage Member States meeting to discuss Yemen to consider the unthinkable impacts that ongoing fighting is having in Yemen, combined with the additional burden of the global pandemic. We call for:

The international community and donors to exert more pressure on conflicting parties and their backers to:

Immediately halt military operations across the country, and ensure that all efforts are focused towards fighting the spread of COVID-19 and returning to peace negotiations which include meaningful participation of women and civil society.

Ensure the inclusion of Civil Society Organizations in high-level events, so that the voices of Yemenis are heard and are central to finding a solution to the conflict.

Put an end to obstruction of or delays to the passage of critical supplies – including food, fuel and medicine – into the country’s ports and through entry points between governorates.

Avoid harming civilians and ensure their protection against all direct and indirect impacts of the conflict, in particular vulnerable groups such as women and children. This should include insisting upon the critical importance of moving all military camps and facilities outside of cities and populated neighbourhoods, given the potential risk these pose to the safety of civilians.

Ensure freedom of movement and unimpeded access for all humanitarian I/NGOs to deliver lifesaving aid and medical treatment to affected communities across Yemen.

Immediately reopen key airports including Sana’a International airport and make efforts to ensure that the other two operational airports (Aden and Seyun) remain unaffected by escalations in the conflict.

Immediately open main roads and access points between main Yemeni cities in order to ensure the security and safety of civilian movements on these routes, in addition to improving the performance of key sea and land ports and protecting them from threats.

Fulfil their commitments towards state employees through regular payment of salaries, for all public sector employees.

Ensure adequate funding for COVID-19 and other life-saving responses in Yemen.

Immediately provide emergency funds to bridge the critical funding gap of the Humanitarian Response, to prevent further deterioration of the humanitarian situation and to ensure a strong response which includes an enhanced role for national civil society organizations.

In parallel to relief assistance, ensure an increased focus on projects related to early recovery and development based on the conditions of each governorate, in order to ensure the sustainability of humanitarian interventions.

https://www.care.org/news-and-stories/press-releases/joint-ingo-statement-on-yemen-75th-session-of-the-un-general-assembly/ = https://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/joint-statement-coalition-yemeni-civil-society-organizations-united-nations-general

and in short: https://www.care.org/news-and-stories/press-releases/care-calls-on-security-council-members-to-prioritize-peace-for-yemen/

(* B H K P)

Famine threat returns to Yemen, amid upsurge in fighting

The spectre of famine has returned to Yemen as donor countries fail to make good on their 2020 pledges, amidst an upsurge in fighting, fresh hurdles for aid deliveries, and ongoing efforts to nail down a nationwide ceasefire, the Security Council heard on Tuesday.

Increased funding was the main reason that famine was prevented two years ago, but this year only 30 per cent of promised donations have come through, said Mark Lowcock, the UN’s top humanitarian official.

Choosing not to help

“Unfortunately, those who are in a position to help – and who have a particular responsibility to do so – are mostly choosing not to,” he said, emphasizing that more than 9 million people have been affected by deep cuts to aid programmes.

Several donors – including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait, who have a particular responsibility – have, unlike recent years, given nothing so far to the $2.41 billion United Nations humanitarian response plan.

Those three countries are members of the Western and Saudi-backed coalition that is supporting the Government of Yemen, led by Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, against the partially Iranian-backed group Ansar Allah, as the Houthis are formally known.

The UN ranks Yemen as the world’s most serious humanitarian crisis, the result of five years of conflict, disease, economic collapse and a breakdown of public institutions and services - leaving a staggering 80 per cent of its population of 30.5 million, dependent on aid.

Death sentence for families

“Continuing to hold back money from the humanitarian response now will be a death sentence for many families,” relief chief Lowcock said, calling on all donors to pay their pledges and increase their funding.

Painting a grim picture, he said that the Houthis’ closure of the Sana’a international airport to UN and other humanitarian flights – blamed on fuel shortages – are having “severe humanitarian consequences”.

Some 100 metric tonnes of humanitarian cargo were due to fly into Sana’a in the coming weeks, including essential vaccines and medical supplies, he said, adding that a rapid solution is essential to keep aid efforts up to scale.

Slipping off the road to peace: Griffiths

Martin Griffiths, the UN’s Special Envoy for Yemen, updating the Council on political developments, said that increased fighting – particularly around the northern city of Ma’rib – alongside greater humanitarian needs and the COVID-19 pandemic, mean that Yemen is slipping away from the road to peace.

“That doesn’t mean that together we cannot turn the corner and move back towards finding a solution to this conflict, but it requires the parties to choose”, said Mr. Griffiths, who last week sent the two sides a fresh draft of a joint declaration that would call for a nationwide ceasefire, economic and humanitarian confidence-building measures, and the resumption of peace talks.

Both briefers also discussed the saga of the oil storage tanker FSO Safer, the subject of a special Council meeting in July, which is threatening to spill more than 1 million barrels of light crude into the Red Sea, triggering a massive environmental disaster.

The Houthis have agreed in principle to UN technical experts to board the delipidated former supertanker, take stock of its condition and make essential repairs, but they have yet to issue the required permits.

Mr. Lowcock reported that the UN team has submitted a revised proposal for the Safer, moored off the Houthi-controlled port of Ras Issa, and held several rounds of constructive technical discussions with the de facto authorities.

“Frustrating as the endless delays have been, we are not giving up and we hope the new proposal will be quickly approved so work can start,” he said.

https://news.un.org/en/story/2020/09/1072422

and also https://www.un.org/press/en/2020/sc14301.doc.htm

Griffiths in full: https://osesgy.unmissions.org/briefing-united-nations-security-council-special-envoy-yemen-%E2%80%93-mr-martin-griffiths

Lowcock in full: https://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/under-secretary-general-humanitarian-affairs-and-emergency-relief-coordinator-mark-31

and shorter media reports. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/wires/afp/article-8735987/UN-laments-Yemen-fighting-calls-Arab-donors-pay-up.html

https://apnews.com/c70709124a313f15f46c954664a28309

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/09/warns-yemen-famine-aid-saudis-uae-kuwait-200915182103529.html

Film: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rj9i-ltkHA4

and another opportunity for Lowcock to speak on Yemen:

(* B H K)

Film: Mark Lowcock speaks on Yemen at Connect the World, 14 September 2020

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=brwQS2FhKy8

and statements by the Western forces which keep the war going on, demonstrating Western hypocrisy once again:

(A P)

US Ambassador Cherith Norman Chalet: Remarks at a UN Security Council Briefing on the Situation in Yemen

https://usun.usmission.gov/remarks-at-a-un-security-council-briefing-on-the-situation-in-yemen-11/

Moving toward a ceasefire in Yemen

Statement by Ambassador Jonathan Allen, UK Chargé d’Affaires to the UN, at the Security Council briefing on Yemen

https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/moving-toward-a-ceasefire-in-yemen

and by the Hadi government always the same:

(A P)

[Hadi] Yemeni government renews commitment to lasting peace, slams Houthis for undermining process

The Yemeni government renewed its commitment to establish lasting peace in the war-torn country, blaming the Houthi militia for undermining efforts to resume the political process.

This came in a statement delivered by Yemen’s permanent representative to the United Nations, Ambassador Abdullah Al-Saadi, at the open session of the UN Security Council on the situation in the Middle East on Tuesday.

https://www.arabnews.com/node/1735321/middle-east

My comment: This is no news.

and

(A P)

Yemen’s ambassador to the UNESCO said the UN peace mediator Griffiths in his latest briefing to the UN Security Council “sought to avoid his duty of condemning the Houthi relentless offensive” on the government-held city of Marib. Mohammed Jumayh remarked on Griffiths’ words that “The (Yemeni) parties can choose either to continue this trajectory of escalating violence, or to make the compromises necessary to revive the political process.” Jumayh said, “By this, Griffiths sought to avoid his duty of condemning the Houthi relentless offensive on Marib. Because he could not demand the defendants in Marib to stop.” Source: Multiple media outlets quoting Jumayh’s tweet.

https://www.alsahwa-yemen.net/en/p-42044

(A P)

U.N. sent draft ceasefire deal to Yemen's warring parties last week

U.N. Yemen envoy Martin Griffiths told the U.N. Security Council on Tuesday that he sent an “advanced draft” of a ceasefire deal to Yemen’s warring parties last week and “now is the time for the parties to swiftly conclude the negotiations.”

He also said the political importance of Marib should not be underestimated and that “military shifts and consequences and events in Marib have ripple effects on dynamics of the conflict across Yemen.”

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-yemen-security-un/u-n-sent-draft-ceasefire-deal-to-yemens-warring-parties-last-week-idUSKBN2662FA

(A P)

Saudi Intensifies Diplomatic Efforts to Back Efforts of UN Envoy to Yemen

Saudi Arabia has intensified its diplomatic efforts with other Arab states to push for a solution that ends the suffering inflicted by Iran-backed Houthis on the Yemeni people. The scale up follows United Nations envoy to Yemen Martin Griffiths concluding his visit to Riyadh.

Griffiths was in the Saudi capital to meet with officials from Yemen’s legitimate government to receive their approval on his final draft to the “joint declaration.”

The envoy said he held constructive meetings with Yemeni Foreign Minister Mohammed al-Hadhrami and parliament Speaker Sultan al-Burkani. The officials discussed the latest updates to the draft joint declaration.

Discussions also focused on the dire humanitarian consequences of the military escalation in and around Marib, which Griffiths said continues to be safe haven for hundreds of thousands of internally displaced Yemenis.

The envoy also renewed his emphasis that the attack on Marib must immediately cease

https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/2508591/saudi-intensifies-diplomatic-efforts-back-efforts-un-envoy-yemen

My comment: The Saudi claim is a propaganda joke.

(A P)

Yemen: UN warns fighting in Marib must stop or peace efforts will fail

Martin Griffiths said warring parties set to meet in Geneva to discuss prisoner release

The Houthi rebels escalation in the Yemeni province of Marib is “concerning” as it undermines peace prospects aimed at ending the war, the UN envoy to the country said on Tuesday.

The Iran-backed rebels have been pushing on several fronts towards the last government-controlled major city in the north that hosts millions of displaced people. Heavy fighting is taking place along its frontlines, including its borders with Al Jawf, Sanaa and Bayda governorates.

“The political importance of Marib must also not be underestimated. Military shifts in Marib will have ripple effects on conflict dynamics,” Martin Griffiths said during a Security Council briefing.

“If Marib falls, this would undermine prospects of convening an inclusive political process that brings about a transition based on partnership and plurality,” Mr Griffiths said.

https://www.thenational.ae/world/mena/yemen-un-warns-fighting-in-marib-must-stop-or-peace-efforts-will-fail-1.1078239

(* A P)

Houthi negotiators fly to Geneva for talks with government

A Houthi delegation of negotiators has headed to Geneva for UN-sponsored talks with the internationally recognised government of Yemen.

Chairman of the Houthi prisoners' committee, Abdulqadir Al-Mortadha, wrote on Twitter late on Tuesday night that the negotiators were departing from Sanaa international airport for talks on prisoners.

"We hope that this round of talks succeeds and a breakthrough on this file happens," he said.

A UN plane transported the delegation that is expected to meet representatives of the government on Thursday, Debriefer learned.

A UN official revealed that the week-long talks would put final touches to a deal for exchanging prisoners that the two sides have been discussing for long.

https://debriefer.net/en/news-19891.html

and

(* A P)

Yemen warring parties to travel to Switzerland to discuss prisoner releases

Delegations from Yemen’s warring parties are due to meet in Switzerland this week for talks on a U.N.-backed prisoner exchange deal, which U.N. Yemen envoy Martin Griffiths said on Tuesday he hopes will result in the release of some detainees.

Griffiths told the U.N. Security Council that “logistical arrangements permitting” the talks would resume in Switzerland this week between the two delegations. A U.N. source said the talks were due to start on Thursday.

“The parties committed to release conflict-related prisoners and detainees back in 2018 in Stockholm, and furthered their discussions to fulfill that commitment in Amman earlier this year,” Griffiths told the council. “What I hope is that this meeting will actually result in the release of some prisoners.”

Mohammed Abdulsalam, chief negotiator of the Houthi movement, told Reuters his group’s committee is set to leave Sanaa on a U.N. plane.

https://www.reuters.com/article/yemen-security-int/yemen-warring-parties-to-travel-to-switzerland-to-discuss-prisoner-releases-idUSKBN266282

and also https://debriefer.net/en/news-19874.html

(* B P)

Amid Increased Fighting, Threat of Famine in Yemen, Warring Parties Must Work towards Nationwide Ceasefire Declaration, Top Officials Tell Security Council

https://www.un.org/press/en/2020/sc14301.doc.htm

cp8 Saudi-Arabien / Saudi Arabia

(* B E P)

Revealed: Saudi Arabia may have enough uranium ore to produce nuclear fuel

Confidential Chinese report seen by the Guardian intensifies concerns about possible weapons programme

Saudi Arabia likely has enough mineable uranium ore reserves to pave the way for the domestic production of nuclear fuel, according to confidential documents seen by the Guardian.

Details of the stocks are contained in reports prepared for the kingdom by Chinese geologists, who have been scrambling to help Riyadh map its uranium reserves at breakneck speed as part of their nuclear energy cooperation agreement.

The disclosure will intensify concerns about Riyadh’s interest in an atomic weapons programme.

The survey report describes how geologists worked all year round despite blistering summer heat to identify reserves that could produce over 90,000 tonnes of uranium from three major deposits in the centre and northwest of the country.

These are “inferred deposits”, estimated from initial surveys. Further exploration would be needed to confirm uranium reserves and calculate the cost of extraction.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/sep/17/revealed-saudi-arabia-may-have-enough-uranium-ore-to-produce-nuclear-fuel

(* B P)

Saudi Arabia is the world's most dangerous cyber bully

With disinformation, intimidation of critics, and an array of fake accounts, Saudi Arabia has successfully turned Twitter into a weapon of authoritarian rule.

When it comes to disinformation and fake news, the world's media tends to focus on Russia, Iran and China. There is good reason for this – they do produce a lot of disinformation. However, the western-centric bias tends to neglect the fact that it is Saudi Arabia that should be considered one of the most dangerous global actors in digital repression.

Saudi Arabia's digital authoritarianism, that is, their use of digital tools including social media to censor, intimidate and surveil both domestic and international populations, is egregious in its audacity.

Over the past few years, Saudi-connected entities have successfully utilised and penetrated Twitter to the extent that Twitter itself has become a weapon of authoritarian rule.

Under the Saudi Crown Prince, Mohammed bin Salman, the regime have simultaneously tried to resolve a paradox – to generate an image of a new progressive Saudi while at the same time stymying any potential criticism.

This is no mean feat. Saudi Arabia has the most Twitter users in the Arabic-speaking world, and the most verified Twitter accounts. So how do you stop people using that vast social media space for criticism?

Rule one, use intimidation, harassment and murder. The Saudi regime have ensured that critics face consequences for their action. Journalist Jamal Khashoggi, a vocal critic of MBS's 'reforms', was brutally murdered in the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul in 2018. Before Khashoggi was murdered, he faced relentless attacks and a 'daily torrent of hateful comments' on Twitter and social media. So much so, he reportedly wept every day.

Khashoggi attributed this hate campaign to Saud al-Qahtani, a former adviser to the Royal Court, widely seen as the architect of Saudi Arabia's reputation management in the digital sphere.

Yet while Khashoggi was a Saudi citizen, even Americans are not safe. Former FBI agent Ali Soufan, who rose to prominence for his role in investigation the 9/11 attacks, was recently warned by the CIA that there may be a Saudi-backed attempt on his life. Like Khashoggi, Soufan faced a similar Twitter harassment campaign from Saudi accounts two weeks after the CIA's warning.

Critics of Saudi Arabia are frequently 'doxed' and harassed on Twitter, with little or no consequence. This summer, Al Jazeera journalists Ghada Oueiss and Ola Al Fares were subject to a barrage of tens of thousands of misogynistic tweets from high profile verified Twitter accounts. They had even hacked Ouess's phone and posted a picture they took out of context and claimed she was nude.

But Saudi Arabia has reportedly accomplished what no state appears to have done so far: infiltrate Twitter HQ. This year the FBI filed a legal case against three men accused of spying on behalf of Saudi Arabia.

Once you silence your critics, you can drown out any remaining counter narratives by making sure only approved news gets heard. Saudi Arabia features heavily in Twitter's take-downs of known influence operations. In fact, behind China, Saudi Arabia has the highest number of accounts removed by Twitter for information operations. Higher than Russia or Iran – by Marc Owen Jones

https://english.alaraby.co.uk/english/amp/comment/2020/9/15/saudi-arabia-is-the-worlds-most-dangerous-cyber-bully

(* B P)

Saudi Arabia Buys Western Silence on Its Crimes, Human Rights Violations

A former senior in the French Ministry of Defense, Yere Kunis, unveiled the conclusions of a confidential report he prepared about the Saudi lobby in France, in which he stated that Riyadh relies on three files to buy Western silence about its crimes and human rights violations.

In a confidential report written in favor of prominent French companies, Kunis said that Saudi policymakers consider politicians, businessmen, and Muslim elites in the West to be the most prominent influencers whose positions must be “bought” to ensure “not to talk” about violations of the Saudi ruling regime, according to Lebanese newspaper “Al-Akhbar.

The best way to buy this silence is to sign “letters of intent” for potential contracts during Western politicians and businessmen’s visit to Saudi Arabia. The report indicated that the former French Prime Minister, Manuel Valls, visited Saudi Arabia in 2015 and received a promise to negotiate contracts worth 10 billion euros.

Moreover, Kunis said, “In fact, we are nothing but promises to negotiate. We cannot claim that there are actual contracts that have not been implemented since that date. However, this is sufficient for Western officials to announce their success when they return home.

In this way, their silence is bought, and they do not utter a word as long as negotiations over these hypothetical contracts did not take place.

The same thing is being repeated with Western businessmen, especially those invited by the Saudi Crown Prince, Mohammed bin Salman, to the “Davos in the Desert” conference to see the vast “NEOM” project future city whose construction costs rise to $500 billion.

Based on that, many Western businessmen are traveling to Saudi Arabia after one year has passed since most of them boycotted it due to the killing of journalist “Jamal Khashoggi” inside the Kingdom’s consulate in Istanbul.

As for the Muslim elites in the West, the report indicates that Riyadh aims to buy its silence to ensure that it maintains its religious standing around the world, noting that the French Islamic Council, for example, did not issue any statement regarding the Yemen war.

Kunis cited Mrs. Elizabeth Badinter, a well-known feminist thinker, as an example of the Saudi lobby’s influence in his country, as she defends women’s rights across the globe, except Saudi Arabia because it owns 35% of the shares of “Publicis”, which is one of 5 telecommunications companies that have signed contracts to carry out public relations tasks for Riyadh.

http://shiitenews.org/shiitenews/saudia-arab-news/item/119789-saudi-arabia-buys-western-silence-on-its-crimes-human-rights-violations/ = https://english.almasirah.net/details.php?es_id=14945

(* B P)

After UAE and Bahrain deals, is Saudi Arabia softening its stance on Israel?

When one of Saudi Arabia’s leading clerics called this month for Muslims to avoid “passionate emotions and fiery enthusiasm” towards Jews, it was a marked change in tone for someone who has shed tears preaching about Palestine in the past.

While Saudi Arabia is not expected to follow the example of its Gulf allies any time soon, Sudais’ remarks could be a clue to how the kingdom approaches the sensitive subject of warming to Israel - a once inconceivable prospect. Appointed by the king, he is one of the country’s most influential figures, reflecting the views of its conservative religious establishment as well as the Royal Court.

The dramatic agreements with the UAE and Bahrain were a coup for Israel and U.S. President Donald Trump who is portraying himself as a peacemaker ahead of November elections.

But the big diplomatic prize for an Israel deal would be Saudi Arabia, whose king is the Custodian of Islam’s holiest sites, and rules the world’s largest oil exporter.

Marc Owen Jones, an academic from the Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies at the University of Exeter, said the UAE and Bahrain’s normalization has allowed Saudi Arabia to test public opinion, but a formal deal with Israel would be a “large task” for the kingdom.

“Giving the Saudis a ‘nudge’ via an influential imam is obviously one step in trying to test the public reaction and to encourage the notion of normalisation,” Jones added.

In Washington, a State Department official said the United States was encouraged by warming ties between Israel and Gulf Arab countries, viewed this trend as a positive development and “we are engaging to build on it.”

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-israel-gulf-usa-saudi-analysis/after-uae-and-bahrain-deals-is-saudi-arabia-softening-its-stance-on-israel-idUSKBN266191

(* A P)

West urges Saudi Arabia to release women activists, prosecute Khashoggi killers

Germany, speaking on behalf of the European Union at the United Nations Human Rights Council, decried Saudi Arabia’s “prolonged detentions of women rights defenders”, including Loujain al-Hathloul.

Several of the arrested women say they have suffered torture and sexual assault in detention, accusations which Saudi officials reject.

“We stress the need for full accountability and transparent prosecution of those involved in the killing of Jamal Khashoggi,” added Germany’s ambassador, Michael Freiherr von Ungern-Sternberg.

Denmark’s ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva, Morten Jespersen, read out a joint statement on behalf of 29 countries -- including Australia, Britain and Canada -- urging the kingdom to “release all political detainees” and voicing concern at the detention of “at least five women activists”.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-saudi-rights-un/west-urges-saudi-arabia-to-release-women-activists-prosecute-khashoggi-killers-idUSKBN2661GT

(B P)

Saudi Arabia hired Israeli firm Cellebrite to hack phones

An Israeli firm was providing Saudi Arabia with technological services to hack mobile phones around the same time as Saudi critic Jamal Khashoggi's killing in the kingdom's consulate in Istanbul.

A representative of the Israeli-based company Cellebrite arrived in Riyadh from London on a commercial flight in November 2019 "to hack into a phone in the possession of the Saudi Justice Ministry," the TheMarker, a sister publication of Haaretz, said on Wednesday.

The report said Cellebrite was not the only Israeli company to provide hacking or other cybersecurity services to Saudi Arabia, but it is apparently the only firm to work without Israeli Defence Ministry oversight.

It noted that Cellebrite was also working in Saudi Arabia at the time of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi’s killing on October 2, 2018 in Istanbul.

https://www.trtworld.com/middle-east/saudi-arabia-hired-israeli-firm-cellebrite-to-hack-phones-39832

cp9 USA

Siehe / Look at cp9a

(A P)

State Department offers murky analysis of job performance survey to justify inspector general’s firing

Senior State Department officials told lawmakers Wednesday that President Trump fired inspector general Steve Linick over poor performance and declining employee satisfaction, and not in an act of political retaliation, as Democrats have charged.

But the data the officials appear to have used to support their claim shows that key federal measures of employee satisfaction at the Office of the Inspector General were higher than in most other divisions of the State Department, including Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s office.

The House Foreign Affairs Committee’s hearing was part of a broader investigation into the circumstances surrounding Linick’s ouster in the spring. Panel Democrats have said Linick was fired because he was reviewing Pompeo’s 2019 emergency declaration to approve $8 billion in arms sales to Persian Gulf countries while sidestepping Congress, and allegations that Pompeo used government aides to perform personal tasks. Pompeo has denied the allegations.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/state-department-officials-to-appear-before-house-panel-on-inspector-generals-ouster/2020/09/16/764a6374-f823-11ea-be57-d00bb9bc632d_story.html

and also https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/saudi-arms-sales-state-department-defends-firing-of-watchdog

(A P)

Twitter Pressured to Give Information on Alleged Saudi Spies

Republicans on the House Committee on Oversight and Reform are pressuring Twitter Inc. to disclose information about a 2015 data breach at the company involving former employees who allegedly worked as spies for the government of Saudi Arabia.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-09-17/twitter-pressured-to-give-information-on-alleged-saudi-spies = https://www.bloombergquint.com/business/twitter-pressured-to-give-information-on-alleged-saudi-spies

(A P)

'My UAE-based company director has asked if we can remove your article from the report, as he is concerned on the implications for him vis a vis the UAE authorities. This is not something I can refuse, so your article will not be appearing.'

https://twitter.com/Dr_Ulrichsen/status/1306583783827791872

(A P)

Yemeni community in US to stage protest in New York

Protest set to end at UN headquarters

https://uprising.today/yemeni-community-in-us-to-stage-protest-in-new-york/

and also https://english.almasirah.net/details.php?es_id=14987

(* B K P)

THE US NEEDS TO GET OUT OF YEMEN

Bumbling around in other peoples’ wars isn’t in our best interest.

In the words of the UN experts, “[T[hird States, including Canada, France, the Islamic Republic of Iran, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and the United States of America, continued their support of parties to the conflict including through arms transfers, thereby helping to perpetuate the conflict.”

Why Washington would choose to pick winners and losers in a marginal civil war has never been sufficiently explained to an American public increasingly interested in using diplomacy as the tool of first resort in US foreign policy.

Washington’s policy in Yemen has been a failure across two separate presidencies.

It is difficult to envision what benefit the United States might get out of touching this brutal, local conflict. Yemen is a violent, marginal backwater in the region with little strategic value to the US. The nation has proven itself impervious to the dictates of foreign powers, whether it is the Egyptians in the 1960s or the Saudis today. The one national security interest the US does have in Yemen — ensuring al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula is not planning attacks against Americans — has actually been complicated by a multidimensional war involving an alphabet soup of extremists and factions of conflicting loyalties. While the Houthis are undoubtedly bad actors with their fair share of abusive practices, the group’s concerns are inherently localized and don’t pose a direct threat to US interests in the region.

Taking a step back, US actions in Yemen are an apt representation of US policy in the Middle East writ-large, where an urge “to do something,” the inability to distinguish which countries are US allies and which are occasional partners, and an elementary division of the Middle East into good vs. evil have all combined to produce one of the most pointless foreign policy endeavors this decade.

US foreign policy as a whole continues to suffer from a systemic error of prioritization. Washington remains unwilling to separate what is truly vital to protecting the nation from, at best, peripheral disputes better left for countries of the region to resolve. The civil war in Yemen is clearly on the latter side of the leger.

If Washington has any responsibility here, it is to remove itself from this conflict and begin a more comprehensive, honest and overdue reevaluation of how the US chooses to operate in the Middle East. This means being far more judicious with how US military force is used, thinking clearly about the costs and consequences of plunging into somebody else’s war, and remembering that the US is not obligated to come to the rescue of non-allies whenever they bumble into bad decisions – by Daniel R. DePetris

https://inkstickmedia.com/the-us-needs-to-get-out-of-yemen/

My comment: The US just should behave like a normal nation. US security interests extend from Hawaii to Key West. That’s it.

(A H P)

FCNL Welcomes Calls to Restore Humanitarian Aid to Yemen

The Friends Committee on National Legislation (FCNL) today applauded a pair of letters from Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (NY) and Congressman Ted Deutch (FL-22) to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Acting USAID Administrator John Barsa seeking to restore $73 million in suspended humanitarian aid to northern Yemen, where 80% of its people live

https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200917005715/en

(A P)

Film by Rep. Ilhan Omar: Saudi Arabia and the UAE have repeatedly and intentionally killed civilians in Yemen. This is a war crime. And yet we continue to sell them weapons. Today, I asked the State Department why.

https://twitter.com/Ilhan/status/1306386277588176896

(* B P)

Congress Pressures Trump Administration to Restore Aid to Yemen

Lawmakers warn the administration’s aid cuts will exacerbate the world’s worst humanitarian crisis, even as State Department officials worry about being on the hook for war crimes.

U.S. Congress is urging the State Department to reconsider U.S. assistance to Yemen suspended by President Donald Trump’s administration earlier this year after a plea from humanitarian groups last month appeared to fall on deaf ears, redoubling attention on years of U.S. policy missteps in the war-torn country.

In a letter to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo provided to us, a group of more than 50 Democratic lawmakers led by Rep. Ted Deutch of Florida, who chairs the Middle East subcommittee of the House’s powerful foreign-affairs panel, called on the agency to restore $73 million in aid halted in March over U.S. fears that Iran-backed Houthi rebels were seizing control of the aid and stopping distribution.

Lawmakers said that the move has only worsened the humanitarian disaster in Yemen, where the majority of citizens face deepening food insecurity and which is struggling to stop the spread of the coronavirus. In a plea to U.S. Agency for International Development acting head John Barsa last month, aid organizations said that as fighting intensified over the summer, they were unable to provide lifesaving aid—in part because of a U.S.-imposed aid suspension to northern Yemen, which is controlled by Iran-backed Houthi rebels.

Lawmakers cited worries that airstrikes by the Saudi-led coalition fighting the Houthis have destroyed many of Yemen’s medical facilities and that escalating fighting in the Marib region has caused additional displacement of civilians, problems that threaten to get worse as United Nations-led peace talks have stalled.

https://foreignpolicy.com/2020/09/16/congress-pressures-trump-aid-yemen-pompeo/

and also https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/us-lawmakers-call-trump-administration-restore-aid-yemen

(* B P)

Restore Aid To Yemen And End U.S. Support For The Saudis’ War

It is unfortunate that no Republicans will join this appeal, since it should be very easy to support providing humanitarian aid to people in a conflict that our government has made so much worse. It may seem like a waste of time to appeal to Pompeo to do the right thing, but it is important for members of Congress to call attention to this latest shameful chapter of our government’s worst, most inexcusable policy.

In one sense, U.S. humanitarian aid has been a band-aid that our government has applied to a problem that it is actively making worse by backing the Saudi coalition. While U.S. aid funding is critically important and needs to be restored, there would not be such a great need for humanitarian aid if our government weren’t enabling the war that has caused and deepened the humanitarian crisis to begin with. The U.S. ought to restore the aid, but an even better thing that our government could do is to pull the plug on all U.S. military assistance to the Saudis and their allies. The Trump administration has made clear many times that it has no intention of doing the latter, but that is what needs to be done to help alleviate the humanitarian crisis over the longer term.

Our government’s assistance seems to have done nothing to mitigate the harm that the bombing campaign has done. That has always been the convenient lie that top officials have used to defend an indefensible policy of supporting this war. Saudi coalition airstrikes have consistently been hitting civilian targets at least one-third of the time throughout the war, and the Saudis and their allies have repeatedly ignored U.S. recommendations on what they shouldn’t attack. Yemen’s infrastructure has been devastated by the bombing, and there has been a deliberate campaign to target the country’s food production and distribution. By continuing to back the war and provide the coalition governments with weapons, the U.S. has ensured that the coalition will keep the war going, and it is the continuation of the conflict that is driving the humanitarian crisis.

There is no dilemma for the U.S. here. Our government can continue to aid and abet war crimes, or it can withdraw its support from the coalition and make it much more difficult for them to commit those crimes. Pretending that the U.S. is somehow stuck with the Saudi coalition and can’t cut them off is just another weak excuse to maintain a monstrous policy – by Daniel Larison

https://www.theamericanconservative.com/state-of-the-union/restore-aid-to-yemen-and-end-u-s-support-for-the-saudis-war/

(B K P)

Audio: Open Hearing: Assessing the U.S. - Saudi Security and Intelligence Relationship

On Friday, September 11, 2020 at 12:00 PM ET, the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (HPSCI) will convene a virtual hearing assessing the U.S.-Saudi security and intelligence relationship. This is the fourth virtual hearing that the Committee will hold. Noted individuals with deep expertise on matters central to the U.S.-Saudi intelligence relationship will testify before the Committee. Witness List: Dr. Agnes Callamard: Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial, Summary or Arbitrary Executions, The United Nations; Mr. Bruce Riedel: Senior Fellow and Director of the Intelligence Project, The Brookings Institution; Mr. Ali Soufan: Founder, The Soufan Center

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LpRiMeDpdbw

and

(* B K P)

How the United States Could End the War in Yemen

Last Friday, former U.S. official Bruce Riedel told the House Intelligence Committee that the United States could take immediate action to end Saudi Arabia’s brutal war in Yemen, where an estimated 100,000 people have died since the war began in 2015.

Riedel, a senior fellow and director at the Brookings Institution, formerly spent thirty years working for the Central Intelligence Agency. He has served as a senior adviser to the last four U.S. Presidents.

In his September 11, 2020, appearance before Congress, Riedel said that “only the United States of America and to a lesser extent the United Kingdom continue to provide the kind of support that allows this war to go on.”

He identified several immediate steps that the United States could take to end the war, which include: withdrawing U.S. troops from Saudi Arabia, reducing U.S. training of Saudi military forces, ending new U.S. arms sales to Saudi Arabia, and suspending logistics support to the Royal Saudi Air Force.

“The United States provides about two-thirds of the aircraft in the Royal Saudi Air Force,” Riedel explained. “The United Kingdom provides the other third.” If the United States and United Kingdom cut off logistics support, he said, the Royal Saudi Air Force would be grounded and unable to operate.

“That’s how much influence we have over them,” Riedel said. “That’s how much responsibility we have.”

According to Riedel, U.S. involvement puts the United States “in a position where we are seen as an ally of Saudi Arabia in a murderous campaign against the poorest country in the Arab world.”

During the September 11 hearing, U.S. Representative Peter Welch, Democrat from Vermont, asked Riedel what would happen if the United States ended military support to Saudi Arabia. Riedel responded by saying that ending U.S. military support would lead to a Houthi victory but also "end Saudi involvement in the war."

“Because of their siege, humanitarian assistance, food, [and] medicine has not been able to get to the Yemeni people,” Riedel explained, warning that the country remains at risk of mass famine.

“We could end the Saudi support for the blockade,” Riedel insisted. “We could end Saudi bombing raids.”

Riedel dismissed concerns that ending U.S. support for Saudi Arabia would push the Saudi government into a relationship with China or Russia, saying that the Saudis remain largely dependent on the United States.

“At the end of the day,” he said, “we are, with our British allies, the only real game in town.”

https://progressive.org/dispatches/united-states-could-end-war-in-yemen-hunt-200915/

(* B K P)

US-BEAMTE BEFÜRCHTEN FESTNAHME IM AUSLAND WEGEN SAUDISCHER KRIEGSVERBRECHEN IM JEMEN

Ein Bericht der New York Times enthüllte, dass einige US-Beamte besorgt sind, dass ihre Rolle bei der Erleichterung von Waffenverkäufen an Saudi-Arabien und die Vereinigten Arabischen Emirate – bei gleichzeitiger Ignorierung des Schadens, den jedes Land der Zivilbevölkerung im Jemen zugefügt hat – zu ihrer Verhaftung im Ausland wegen Kriegsverbrechen führen könnte. Eine Kongressanhörung über diese Waffenverkäufe soll am Mittwoch stattfinden.

Dem Bericht zufolge haben Beamte sowohl der Obama-Regierung als auch der Trump-Regierung erwogen, Anwälte zu beauftragen, um die Möglichkeit einer Verhaftung während eines Urlaubs im Ausland zu erörtern.

Im Bericht der Times heißt es: „Keine Episode in der jüngeren amerikanischen Geschichte lässt sich mit dem Jemen vergleichen, sagen Rechtsgelehrte, wo die Vereinigten Staaten über fünf Jahre hinweg materielle Unterstützung für Aktionen bereitgestellt haben, die die kontinuierliche Tötung von Zivilisten verursacht haben.

In der Times heißt es, es gebe Beweise, die zeigen, dass Beamte des Außenministeriums die rechtlichen Auswirkungen auf zivile Opfer im Jemen unterdrückt hätten. So stellte beispielsweise im Jahr 2016 ein Anwalt des Außenministeriums fest, dass einige Beamte möglicherweise wegen Kriegsverbrechen angeklagt werden könnten, und die Anwälte des Ministeriums beschlossen, die Informationen nicht an den Außenminister weiterzugeben.

Die derzeitige Regierung unterdrückte in diesem Jahr während einer internen Untersuchung eines Waffenverkaufs weitere Beweise, und die Verwaltung beeilte sich, ohne die Genehmigung des Kongresses zu erhalten, unter Berufung auf einen „Notfall“.

Auf Geheiß von Außenminister Mike Pompeo entließ Präsident Trump den ursprünglich für die jüngste interne Untersuchung zuständigen Generalinspekteur. Pompeo hat in der Vergangenheit saudische Kriegsverbrechen im Jemen gedeckt.

https://news.antiwar.com/2020/09/14/us-officials-fear-arrest-over-saudi-war-crimes-in-yemen/

(* B K P)

Die Fluchtverursacher

Die überwiegende Mehrheit der Flüchtlinge in Griechenland, darunter diejenigen auf den Ägäisinseln, sind von Kriegsschauplätzen westlicher Mächte geflohen, werden aber von Deutschland und der EU ausgesperrt. Mehr als drei Fünftel aller Flüchtlinge, die im vergangenen Jahr in Griechenland registriert wurden, stammen aus vier Ländern, in denen die Bundeswehr operiert (Afghanistan, Irak, Syrien) oder die Vereinigten Staaten Drohnenangriffe durchführen (Pakistan). Auf Lesbos sind insbesondere Flüchtlinge vom Hindukusch präsent. Dies entspricht den Resultaten einer aktuellen, an einer US-Elitehochschule (Brown University) erstellten Studie, der zufolge die Kriege der USA und ihrer Verbündeten, darunter Deutschland, in den vergangenen zwei Jahrzehnten mindestens 37 Millionen Menschen auf die Flucht getrieben haben. Nur der Zweite Weltkrieg hat mehr Flüchtlinge produziert als sie. Berlin und Brüssel stellen hohe Summen zur Verfügung, um die Grenzen gegen unerwünscht Einreisende abzuschotten. Das Zugeständnis, zu dem sich Berlin nach dem Brand im Lager Moria bereit findet: die Aufnahme von nicht mehr als 1.700 Menschen.

https://www.german-foreign-policy.com/news/detail/8382/

My remark: Article in English: https://watson.brown.edu/costsofwar/files/cow/imce/papers/2020/Displacement_Vine%20et%20al_Costs%20of%20War%202020%2009%2008.pdf

cp9a USA-Iran Krise: Spannungen am Golf / US-Iran crisis: Tensions at the Gulf

(A P)

Iran president accuses UAE, Bahrain of seeking to grant Israel bases in Gulf

Iranian President, Hassan Rouhani, on Tuesday accused the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain of seeking to grant Israel bases in the Gulf region, warning that they should bear the consequences of their actions.

https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20200917-iran-president-accuses-uae-bahrain-of-seeking-to-grant-israel-bases-in-gulf/

(A P)

After failure at UN, US says will work to hinder arms trades with Iran with its own action

Following a humiliating failure at the UN Security Council to secure an extension of the arms embargo against Iran, the United States has threatened to use its “secondary” sanctions to block any arms trades with Tehran after the expiry of the UN ban next month.

US Special Representative for Venezuela and Iran Elliott Abrams claimed on Wednesday that Washington could deny access to the US market to anyone who trades in weapons with Tehran.

Sanctions “will have a very significant impact” on arms manufacturers and traders that seek to do business with Tehran, he told reporters.

Asked if Washington is “making concrete plans now for secondary sanctions” to enforce the arms ban, Abrams replied, “We are, in many ways, and we will have some announcements over the weekend and more announcements on Monday and then subsequent days next week.”

The US uses what it calls “secondary sanctions” to pressure third parties into stopping their activities with the sanctioned country.

https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2020/09/17/634281/US-Elliott-Abrams-Iran-arms-sanctions

(A P)

Pompeo’s ‘psychopathic’ comments aimed at saving Trump regime face: Iran

Iran says US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s recent tweets were “psychopathic reactions” to his country’s back-to-back defeats and a futile move to restore the Trump regime’s lost reputation.

According to Press TV, in a series of tweets on Wednesday, Pompeo commented about the execution of a man convicted of murder in Iran, and described it as a “despicable” move made by Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad “Zarif’s government”. He also called for consequences for what he called the Iranian government's "barbarity."

Later in the day, Iran’s Foreign Ministry Spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh censured the tweets as “psychotic reactions” to the Trump administration’s “successive defeats”.

https://parstoday.com/en/news/iran-i126810-pompeo%E2%80%99s_psychopathic%E2%80%99_comments_aimed_at_saving_trump_regime_face_iran

(A K P)

Iraqi army: Rocket hits Baghdad’s Green Zone; no casualties

A Katyusha rocket landed inside the heavily fortified Green Zone in Baghdad on Wednesday, the Iraqi military said, a day after a British Embassy convoy was targeted on a key highway in the city.

There were no casualties and no one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack — the latest in near-daily rocket assaults targeting the Green Zone and Iraqi army bases hosting U.S. troops. The attacks have raised security concerns about armed groups outside of the state’s control.

https://apnews.com/0e0bf759547b7bd900d4e1e19de06a98

(A P)

Iran complains to UN over Trump’s military threat, stresses right to self-defense

Iran’s ambassador to the United Nations has complained to the world body over US President Donald Trump’s threat to use force against the country, warning that the Islamic Republic will not hesitate to exercise its right to self-defense in the face of any American military adventurism.

In letters addressed to UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres and President of the Security Council Abdou Abarry, Majid Takht-Ravanchi said Trump had threatened Iran with an attack and made “a baseless allegation” against the country over an alleged assassination plot.

“Such a provocative statement constitutes a gross violation of the very fundamental principles enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, particularly its Article 2(4) that clearly prohibits the threat or use of force,” he wrote.

https://parstoday.com/en/news/iran-i126780-iran_complains_to_un_over_trump%E2%80%99s_military_threat_stresses_right_to_self_defense

(* B P)

Trump cites false media report on ‘assassination plan’ to threaten Iran with attack

US President Donald Trump has threatened to launch an attack “1,000 times greater in magnitude” against Iran following claims in US media that Tehran was planning to kill an American diplomat in retaliation for Washington’s assassination of top Iranian anti-terror commander Lieutenant General Qassem Soleimani.

In a tweet on Monday, Trump referred to “press reports” that Iran “may be planning an assassination, or other attack, against the United States” to avenge the assassination of General Soleimani in Iraq in January.

Trump further said, “Any attack by Iran, in any form, against the United States will be met with an attack on Iran that will be 1,000 times greater in magnitude!”

Politico news magazine first made the allegations citing unnamed US officials. It claimed Iran was weighing to assassinate US Ambassador to South Africa Lana Marks before the American presidential election in November.

Iran, however, dismissed the allegations as lies, with its Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeid Khatibzadeh advising American officials to “stop resorting to hackneyed and outworn methods to create Iranophobic atmosphere on the international arena.”

https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2020/09/15/634125/Trump-vows-to-launch-1,000-times-greater-attack-against-any-Iran-retaliatory-plan

cp10 Großbritannien / Great Britain

(A P)

Film by Jeremy Corbin: It is beyond belief that the Tories have decided to resume arms sales to Saudi Arabia - arms that will be used to fuel the war on Yemen.

https://twitter.com/jeremycorbyn/status/1306277280478527488

(* B K P)

UK condemned for Saudi arms deals as more than 2,000 children killed in Yemen

The UK Government has been accused of having “immoral” trade deals with Saudi Arabia after a new report accused the oil-rich state of systematic violations of international law in Yemen and said that more than 2000 children have been killed.

Despite this, weapons continue to flow into the conflict, and the UN said it was concerned over the continued role of the UK, US and France who arm and support the coalition.

The UN called on the UK and other states to “take all reasonable measures to ensure respect for international humanitarian law, “in particular, by refraining from providing arms and military support to the parties.”

The Ferret reported in July that UK arms sales to Saudi Arabia resumed despite concerns over the potential for further atrocities in Yemen.

CAAT condemned that decision then as “disgraceful and morally bankrupt”. Commenting on the new UN report, the group’s Emma Cockburn said: “This report is damning for the UK and other arms dealing governments, who have been complicit in the bombardment. Yemen is facing the worst humanitarian crisis in the world, and it has only been intensified by the Saudi-led airstrikes.

“It is simply not credible for the UK Government to claim that these attacks were ‘isolated incidents’ when this report and other have pointed to widespread and seemingly-targeted attacks on civilian infrastructure.

She added: “Boris Johnson and his colleagues could make a big difference by halting the flow of arms and support to the Saudi regime. These airstrikes have killed thousands of people. They have only been made possible by the vast and immoral multi-billion pound deals between Downing Street and the Saudi military. How many more people will be killed by UK-made fighter jets and UK-made bombs before there is an end to these toxic trade deals?”

https://theferret.scot/uk-arms-saudis-slammed-yemen-war-crimes/

and also https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/uk-saudi-arabia-war-crimes-yemen-arms-exports-ban-un-b453921.html

(* B P)

How a British policeman helped normalise torture in a Gulf monarchy

As two political prisoners face execution in Bahrain, the country’s repressive justice system remains rooted in the career of Ian Henderson – one of the most notorious police officers the British empire ever produced, who caused suffering to scores of Bahrainis including members of my family.

https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2020-09-14-how-a-british-policeman-helped-normalise-torture-in-a-gulf-monarchy/

cp11 Deutschland / Germany

(* B P)

Hinter der Thüringer Waffenschmiede Haenel steht ein arabischer Staatskonzern

Die thüringische Waffenschmiede Haenel soll das neue Sturmgewehr für die Bundeswehr liefern. Der bisherige Lieferant Heckler&Koch hat das Nachsehen. Die Aktie bricht ein. Hinter Haenel steht ein arabischer Staatskonzern.

Nach dem Zusammenbruch der DDR nahm das Unternehmen erst 2008 wieder sein Geschäft auf, ausgestattet mit Marken – und Lizenzrechten der historischen Gesellschaft und unter neuen Eigentümern: Caracal International hatte Haenel neu etabliert. Caracal gehört eben zu jenem arabischen Staatskonzern Tawazun. Hamad Khalifa Al Neyadi, Geschäftsführer von Caracal, sagte damals: „Der erfolgreiche Deal wird unserem Unternehmen bald eine bedeutende Präsenz auf den globalen Märkten verleihen.” Er sollte recht behalten. Die Entscheidung in Berlin katapultiert die Araber nun in die erste Liga der deutschen Rüstungslieferanten.

Das Geschäft ist nicht unumstritten. Das hat einen politischen und einen wirtschaftlichen Hintergrund. Der politische Hintergrund sieht so aus: Die gleiche Koalition, die sich nun über den beabsichtigten Kauf informiert hat, hat in ihrem gemeinsamen Vertrag zu Beginn der Legislaturperiode festgeschrieben, dass sie mit kriegsführenden Parteien keine Waffendeals machen wolle. Insbesondere wolle man sich auf keine Geschäfte mit den Kriegsparteien im Jemen einlassen – aus gutem Grund.

An den Fall, dass ein arabisch beherrschtes Unternehmen nun die Kernausrüstung der Bundeswehr liefert, haben die Politiker damals noch nicht gedacht.

https://www.theeuropean.de/oliver-stock/gewehre-aus-der-wueste/

und

(* B K P)

Das deutsch-emiratische Sturmgewehr

Das neue Sturmgewehr der Bundeswehr wird von einer Firma im Besitz eines Rüstungskonglomerats aus den Vereinigten Arabischen Emiraten gebaut. Den Auftrag, 120.000 Stück der künftigen Standardwaffe der Bundeswehr zu liefern, hat C. G. Haenel aus dem thüringischen Suhl erhalten, einem Traditionsstandort deutscher Schusswaffenhersteller. Haenel gehört dem emiratischen Unternehmen Caracal International, das seinerseits Teil des noch jungen Rüstungskonglomerats EDGE Group aus Abu Dhabi ist; die Suhler Waffenschmiede, die schon ein Scharfschützengewehr für Spezialkräfte der Bundeswehr baut, firmiert dort als “Caracal Germany”. Enge deutsch-emiratische Kooperationen in der Rüstungsindustrie gibt es schon seit Jahren; so hat sich der emiratische Staatsfonds Aabar am Bau deutscher Militärfahrzeuge in Algerien beteiligt, während die Privinvest Group mit Sitz in Abu Dhabi die Marinewerft German Naval Yards Kiel betreibt. German Naval Yards Kiel baut zur Zeit Korvetten für Israel und soll am Bau des Mehrzweckkampfschiffs MKS 180 beteiligt werden.

https://www.german-foreign-policy.com/news/detail/8381/

(A H)

Auf einmal ist ein Passagier mehr an Bord: Flugzeug legt nach Geburt Zwischenlandung ein

Eine 18-jährige Frau aus dem Jemen hat am Dienstag an Bord einer ägyptischen Passagiermaschine ein Baby zur Welt gebracht und den Piloten zu einer außerplanmäßigen Landung in München veranlasst.

https://www.stern.de/panorama/weltgeschehen/nachrichten-aus-deutschland--flugzeug-legt-nach-geburt-an-bord-zwischenlandung-ein-9414026.html

cp12 Andere Länder / Other countries

Canada: Siehe / Look at cp13a

(A P)

Bahrain's Repressed Opposition Moved by Israel Normalization Deal

Solidarity with Palestinians has long united Bahrainis, but controversial agreement has especially angered the Shi'ite majority

https://www.haaretz.com/middle-east-news/bahrain-s-repressed-opposition-moved-by-israel-normalization-deal-1.9165835

and

(A P)

Bahrain witnesses 6th straight night of protest at normalization with Israel

https://parstoday.com/en/news/west_asia-i126861-bahrain_witnesses_6th_straight_night_of_protest_at_normalization_with_israel

and also https://iranpress.com/content/26572

(* B K P)

The Iran Variable in the UAE’s Yemen Policy

Media commentary often attributes the UAE’s expansionist foreign policy in large part to its fear of Iran. Its rapprochement with Israel, in particular, has frequently been linked to its desire to build a common regional front against the Islamic Republic. There is truth to this: the UAE views Iran’s ambitions in the region with much concern, and it broadly supports American efforts to contain and roll back Tehran’s influence.

That said, it is easy to exaggerate the importance of the Iran variable in the UAE’s calculus in Yemen. Anxiety about Iran’s growing support for the Houthis has certainly been one driver of the Emirates’ policies there, but it has only been one among others – and mostly a secondary one. As I argue in a recent article, the UAE’s main objectives in Yemen are rather to manage its two most important bilateral relationships, with Saudi Arabia and the United States, and to oppose Islah, the Muslim Brotherhood-linked group in the country. Counter-terrorism – to weaken Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula and to position itself as the indispensable regional partner in this matter for the U.S. – and opposing prospects of regional democratic revolutions are also goals. This short article explains how, beyond these objectives, the Iran variable fits into the UAE’s calculus in Yemen.

Countering Iran’s influence thus forms part of the Emirati calculus in Yemen, but it is a secondary, not a primary goal. The UAE and Saudi Arabia grew increasingly alarmed in 2014-15 as Houthi power expanded out of their core area in the northwest toward the south and east. Like Saudi Arabia, the UAE views the Houthis as close partners of Iran, but it is more hard-nosed in its assessment of the nature and extent of Iran’s role. That is, whereas Saudi Arabia inflates Iranian influence over the Houthis, the UAE has a more realistic view that the Houthis are not Iranian puppets, and that ultimately Iran has invested only modest resources in the country; the UAE understands that Yemen remains a relatively low foreign policy priority for Tehran – by Thomas Juneau

https://sanaacenter.org/publications/analysis/11578

(A P)

Top Russian, Saudi diplomats discuss Yemeni conflict

Sergey Lavrov, Faisal bin Farhan agree to support UN efforts to end conflict in Yemen, take urgent humanitarian measures

https://www.aa.com.tr/en/europe/top-russian-saudi-diplomats-discuss-yemeni-conflict/1975432

cp12b Sudan

(* A K P)

Sudan: Gvt. begins proceedings to prosecute UAE Black Shield accused of forcing Sudanese to fight in Yemen and Libya, following workers'mobilisation

Sudanese lawyers announced on Monday that legal measures had been taken against travel agencies that have contributed to deceiving Sudanese youth by offering them work contracts with the Emirati Black Shield Security Services then transferring them to Libya instead.

The accusations, which have gone viral on Sudanese social media, have highlighted the controversial role of Sudanese militiamen in Yemen and Libya.

Recently, the UAE Black Shield Company said, in a statement of which the Anadolu Agency obtained a copy, that it is a private security services company, and denied all allegations of deceiving its workers regarding the nature of the work, its system, its location or its employees.

In July 2020, "hundreds" of Sudanese people gathered outside the UAE embassy in Khartoum to demand an apology and compensation for their recruitment to Black Shields.

https://www.business-humanrights.org/en/latest-news/sudan-gvt-begins-proceedings-to-prosecute-uae-black-shield-accused-of-forcing-sudanese-to-fight-in-yemen-and-libya-following-workersmobilisation/

cp13a Waffenhandel / Arms trade

(* B K P)

Unmasking Canada’s role in the drone wars

Ontario-based L3Harris Wescam exporting drone technology used in wars overseas

Private U.S. companies are part of drone strike “kill chains” in East Africa, revealed an investigation published last month by the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project, a global collaborative network of investigative journalists. Their report described how civilian contractors are operating armed drones, and in some cases intelligence collected by private firms form the basis of American drone strikes in Somalia. The investigation highlighted L3Harris Technologies, a top contractor to the U.S. Army and Air Force with a “revolving door” of associates moving between the U.S. military and the company — and a Canadian connection.

Canadian links to war on Yemen

In Yemen, millions of people have been displaced since the Saudi-led air offensive began in 2015, and humanitarian situation reports now indicate that more than 80 per cent of the population is in need. There are over 40 active front lines in the conflict, and more than 3.2 million people face the most acute food insecurity.

This is all on top of the ravages of the COVID-19 pandemic, which is devastating a country that has seen its health and sanitation infrastructure destroyed by years of war and is also dealing with a major cholera outbreak. Civilian casualties in the Saudi-led coalition’s air war in Yemen passed 18,500 in July, a month that saw 215 documented air attacks according to the non-profit Yemen Data Project.

Researchers studying Canadian links to the disastrous war in Yemen have also speculated that drones operated by the Saudis and shot down over Yemen may have contained L3Harris Wescam MX-Series technology. Helicopter drones used in Yemen have been found to contain this Canadian-made aerial surveillance equipment. This is an addition to previous reporting by the National Observer that Wescam provided the Saudi dictatorship with Canadian aerial surveillance technology for use in Blackhawk helicopters that have since been shot down in Yemen.

Much of the Canadian criticism of the war in Yemen has centred around the Saudi role in the conflict, as well as the United States’ role in assisting the Saudis’ devastation of the country. Meanwhile, the involvement of Canada’s partner, the United Arab Emirates, has received less attention.

The UAE is a longstanding customer of Wecam’s Canadian technology. Its military is known to use the company’s MX-10 technology in its Camcopter S-100 rotary wing drone fleet, and there have also been reports of S-100s belonging to the UAE being shot down while operating in Yemen. The company also has a UAE service centre, located in Abu Dhabi and operated with a subsidiary of the Emirates Defence Industries Company, that supports its MX-10 and MX-15 imaging and targeting systems for the Emiratis.

https://ricochet.media/en/3282/unmasking-canadas-role-in-the-drone-wars

and

(A K P)

Trudeau urged to end arms exports to Saudi Arabia after Canada cited for fueling Yemen war

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is facing fresh calls to end arms exports to Saudi Arabia after a United Nations panel named Canada for the first time as one of the countries helping fuel the war in Yemen.

A coalition of 39 human-rights, arms-control and labour groups, including the Public Service Alliance of Canada, which is the largest union in the federal government, have signed a letter urging Mr. Trudeau to stop arms sales to the desert kingdom.

Combat vehicles of the kind that Canada sells to Saudi Arabia – in a deal brokered and approved for export by the federal government – have been spotted in the Yemeni conflict, in which Riyadh is leading a fight against Houthi rebels believed to be supported by Iran.

The letter is dated Sept. 17, and the coalition of signatories said this is the first anniversary of Canada’s accession to the global Arms Trade Treaty, an accord intended to bring uniform standards to the international sale of conventional weapons.

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/politics/article-trudeau-urged-to-end-arms-exports-to-saudi-arabia-after-canada-cited/

and also https://www.rt.com/news/501000-trudeau-arms-sales-saudi-arabia/

(* B E K)

Exclusive: Suspected arms dealers moved millions in Somali money transfers, report says

Somali money transfer companies moved more than $3.7 million in cash between suspected weapons traffickers in recent years, including to a Yemeni under U.S. sanctions for alleged militant links, according to a report seen by Reuters.

The findings by a Geneva-based research group, the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime, could further complicate attempts by Somali transfer companies to retain access to international banking services.

The report identified 176 transactions from the last six years that it said appeared to be linked to suspected weapons dealers in Somalia and Yemen. Nearly two-thirds were over the $10,000 threshold that should trigger an automatic report to regulatory authorities.

They include two transfers totalling nearly $40,000 to numbers linked to Sayf Abdulrab Salem al-Hayashi after the U.S. Treasury sanctioned him in 2017 for allegedly providing weapons and financial support to al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula and Islamic State in Yemen, the report said.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-somalia-weapons-exclusive/exclusive-suspected-arms-dealers-moved-millions-in-somali-money-transfers-report-says-idUSKBN2681A3

My comment: Keep in mind that there are so many arms in Yemen that arms are sold / smuggled from Yemen to Somalia.

(* A K P)

EU-Parlament fordert Waffenembargo gegen Saudi-Arabien

Das Parlament der Europäischen Union hat seine Mitgliedsstaaten aufgefordert, ein Waffenembargo gegen Saudi-Arabien wegen seiner Rolle bei der Ermordung vom saudischen Journalisten Jamal Khashoggi sowie wegen der Kriegstreiberei im Jemen aufzuerlegen.

In dem am Donnerstag veröffentlichten EU-Bericht über Waffenexport fordern die EU-Gesetzgeber alle Mitglieder des Blocks auf, "dem Beispiel Deutschlands, Finnlands und Dänemarks zu folgen, die nach der Ermordung des Journalisten Jamal Khashoggi Beschränkungen für ihre Waffenexporte nach Saudi-Arabien erlassen haben".

https://parstoday.com/de/news/world-i53680-eu_parlament_fordert_waffenembargo_gegen_saudi_arabien

und auch https://deutsch.rt.com/der-nahe-osten/106852-eu-parlament-fordert-waffenembargo-gegen/

Mein Kommentar: Von einer deutschsprachigen Seite aus dem Iran und nach 2 Tagen dann auch noch RT. Deutsche, österreichische, Schweizer Medien berichten offenbar nichts.

(* A K P)

To prevent their use in Yemen ... a resolution calling on the European Union countries not to sell weapons to Saudi Arabia and the UAE

The European Parliament adopted a resolution calling on the European Union to refrain from selling arms and military equipment to Saudi Arabia and the UAE. Stressing that the weapons supplied to Riyadh were used in the Yemen war.

The European Parliament called on all EU member states to refrain from selling arms and military equipment to Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and any other member of the two-state-led coalition in Yemen, as well as to the Yemeni government and other parties to the conflict.

In a unified policy for arms exports that was voted on in a plenary session in Brussels on Wednesday, the European Parliament welcomed the decision of 9 member states to impose restrictions on their arms exports to members of the Riyadh-led coalition, which international organizations accuse of killing thousands of civilians in Yemen.

The European representatives also urged the 27 member states of the Union to follow the example of Germany, Finland and Denmark, which imposed restrictions on their arms exports to Riyadh after the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi by a Saudi security team on October 2, 2018 in the consulate in Istanbul, Turkey.

The European Parliament said that the weapons - which were supplied to Saudi Arabia - were used in Yemen, where the Saudi-led coalition has launched military operations since 2015.

This decision considered that these arms exports to Saudi Arabia blatantly violate the common European position on arms sales.

https://www.tellerreport.com/news/2020-09-16-to-prevent-their-use-in-yemen-----a-resolution-calling-on-the-european-union-countries-not-to-sell-weapons-to-saudi-arabia-and-the-uae.r1NeH85jJSv.html

(* B K P)

Peace through weapons sales to the UAE

Shortly after the UAE-Israel normalization deal was announced one of the U.S.’s primary motivations came into focus: tens of billions of dollars in UAE weapons sales.

Next week, on September 15, Donald Trump will host Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and UAE Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed al-Nahyan for a ceremonial signing of the Israel-United Arab Emirates deal to normalize relations between the two countries.

Less than a week after Trump announced the Abraham Accord on August 13, the story broke that Trump’s senior advisor and son-in-law Jared Kushner and National Security Council senior director for the Middle East Miguel Correa had been secretly pushing for the U.S. to sell F-35 stealth fighters, weaponized drones, and other advanced military equipment to the Emiratis. Anwar Gargash, the UAE’s minister of foreign affairs, said that his country had placed their request for the F-35 jets six years prior. He denied that the normalization deal was connected to his country finally being granted their request, but Trump administration officials later admitted that the deal had paved the way. On August 18, leading Israeli newspaper YNet News reported that the Abraham Accord included a “secret clause” wherein the UAE would get to buy billions of dollars in advanced U.S. military hardware.

Netanyahu, ever the prince of political drama, feigned outrage that the UAE might get to purchase F-35 stealth fighters from the U.S., thereby threatening Israel’s position as the most mighty armed air force in the Middle East.

Anyone who follows Middle East news knows what a shrewd politician Netanyahu is. So it should be of no surprise that Netanyahu has parlayed the very deal he agreed to, then lambasted and denied knowledge of, to his own country’s military advantage (as well as to the further advantage of U.S. weapons companies).

On September 7, Trump spoke out against the revolving door of U.S. weapons sales and endless wars. Pushing back against a report in the Atlantic that he had disparaged fallen U.S. soldiers as “suckers” and “losers,” he accused Pentagon leaders of wanting “to do nothing but fight wars so that all of those wonderful companies that make the bombs and make the planes and make everything else stay happy.” But Donald Trump himself is making these “wonderful companies” happy by cutting a deal for them to sell tens of billions in weapons to the Emirates.

https://mondoweiss.net/2020/09/peace-through-weapons-sales-to-the-uae/

and

(* B K P)

Analysis | The mirage of Trump’s ‘peace’ deals

On Tuesday, he’s scheduled to host Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and officers from the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain for a signing ceremony as the 2 Arab monarchies normalize ties with Israel.

The 2 massive offers trumpeted by the White Home this month should not the victories for “peace” that Trump claims they’re. Begin with the primary occasion this week: Each the UAE and Bahrain already talk and have interaction with Israel, and the three international locations weren’t locked in something near battle. “The UAE-Israel strategic relationship was fueled by mutual fears of Iran and formalized by the USA,” Karim Sadjadpour, a Center East analyst on the Carnegie Endowment for Worldwide Peace, instructed my colleagues. “It’s an instance of Trump slapping his title on a resort that was primarily already constructed.”

“It’s arduous to determine a single level of progress regarding Israeli-Palestinian peace that’s the results of U.S. intervention,” famous Grace Wermenbol of the Center East Institute. “Trump’s preternatural, pro-Israel coverage has alienated the Palestinian Authority and challenged the U.S.’ capacity to behave as an neutral mediator. Past a transparent diplomatic re-evaluation of the Palestinian trigger, the UAE’s normalization of ties with Israel is unlikely to supply rather more.”

Different specialists additionally lament that the Trump administration shouldn’t be utilizing its leverage with the UAE for precise peace — that’s, making use of strain to compel the Emiratis and Saudis to attract down their U.S.-backed warfare effort in Yemen.

“So long as the USA is promoting subtle weapons to the UAE, it mustn’t hesitate to use most strain on the UAE to curtail its human rights abuses, to push for an finish to the Yemen battle, to again off of its arm-twisting of Qatar, and to press the Saudis to start a dialogue with Iran that might, in time, assist ease the Saudi-Iran confrontation that undermines regional stability and safety,” wrote former U.S. diplomats Aaron David Miller and Richard Sokolsky.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2020/09/15/trump-deals-bahrain-uae-kosovo-serbia/ = https://www.universalpersonality.com/analysis-the-mirage-of-trumps-peace-deals/

cp13b Mercenaries / Söldner

Siehe / Look at cp1

cp13c Kulturerbe / Cultural heritage

(* C)

Leiden Yemeni manuscripts available digitally

Leiden University Libraries (UBL) has digitized approximately 150 manuscripts from Yemen and made them available online for education and research. The manuscripts, dating from the seventeenth to the twentieth century, have been digitized as part of the Zaydi Manuscript Tradition project. Yemen has been marked by conflict in recent years. This digitization project means that manuscripts are freely available, especially now that much of this heritage in Yemen itself is under great pressure.

The extraordinarily rich and extraordinary literary tradition of the Zaydi Shia Muslims, which has flourished in Yemen for over 700 years, has been under great pressure for years. Extremist groups and indiscriminate bombing destroyed many of the unique collections of manuscripts, collected over more than 700 years through intensive cultural exchange in the Arabian Peninsula and far beyond. Many of these manuscripts from Yemen have spread over several continents over the centuries. For example, the Special Collections of the UBL contains approximately 150 of these manuscripts. In 2017, Professor Sabine Schmidtke of the Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton, was awarded a grant to make these manuscripts and many others from Western and Arabic collections digitally available in theZaydi Manuscript Tradition project . The Leiden Yemeni manuscripts will soon be available via the project platform, but can alreadybe viewedvia the Digital Collections of the UBL.

The Zaydi Manuscript Tradition project was not only an opportunity for the UBL to make an important part of the Middle Eastern manuscript collection digitally available for research, education and the general public, but also to preserve the pieces. Karin Scheper, conservator at the UBL, subjected every piece to be digitized to a detailed examination. She described her findings on one of the digitized manuscripts in the Leiden Special Collections blog .

Pieces from this collection date from 1632 to 1941 and cover a wide range of subjects from language,literature and history to religion and Islamic law

https://www.bibliotheek.universiteitleiden.nl/nieuws/2020/09/leidse-jemenitische-handschriften-digitaal-beschikbaar

(B K)

Film: Yemen –Stone house (Dar Alhajar) is Empty Due to Yemeni Prolonged War

The war scourge in Yemen that lasted 6 years didn’t only cause deaths and ruins, the effect even reached the archaeological and patrimonial sites, such as the Stone house (Dar Alhajar) located in Wadi Dhar in Sana‘a governorate. Before the war, tourists from different places have always enjoyed visiting it

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NxlkwDrp0D8

cp14 Terrorismus / Terrorism

(A T)

Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula’s (AQAP) audio production unit released a chant on September 8 praising al Qaeda’s Malian affiliate Jama’at Nusrat al Islam wa al Muslimeen. AQAP published a report assessing the effects 9/11 had on the US in its weekly magazine “Inspire” on September 13.[i]

https://www.criticalthreats.org/briefs/gulf-of-aden-security-review/gulf-of-aden-security-review-september-16-2020

cp15 Propaganda

(A P)

Facebook post by Abdullah Maresh: “Many western media outlets continue to report on Yemen without addressing the Houthi coup as the initial cause of the conflict and humanitarian crisis. And worse than that is reflecting Houthi-sided points of view. A recent report by the CNN which goes under the title 'The hardest part is when we lose a child' is a typical example. The report, mostly prepared in Houthi-held north and under the influence of Houthis, portrays death in Yemen as mostly the result of Arab Coalition airstrikes in disregard of the fact that ground fighting which is caused by Houthi offensive attacks against the defensive weak army consumes and causes most casualties.

Another whopper the report presented to bolster the Houthi narrative is: “A Saudi-led coalition, in which the UAE is a key partner, has waged a campaign against the Houthis for the past five years, destroying much of the Houthi-controlled areas with the US' backing.” What a big lie! Sana’a, Amran, Ibb and other Houthi-held cities are the only safe places left intact by the devastating war. The Arab warplanes hit only military sites in barracks and unpopulated mountains

https://www.alsahwa-yemen.net/en/p-42061

(A P)

Yemen has “never looked more likely to slide into famine”, [British] Foreign Secretary warns

New funding announced today takes the UK’s contribution to the crisis to over £1 billion.

The humanitarian situation in Yemen is rapidly deteriorating and the war-torn country has never been more at risk of mass starvation, Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said today, 17 September, whilst on an official visit to the United States.

Speaking at a special meeting convened by the UK, Germany, Kuwait and Sweden ahead of this month’s UN General Assembly, the Foreign Secretary warned that humanitarian funding for non-government organisations and United Nations (UN) agencies is now catastrophically low. This year, the UN has only received just over 30% of what it needs to help those who depend on aid for their survival.

In addition to ensuring immediate humanitarian needs are met, the UK remains at the forefront of international efforts to reach a political solution to the conflict, using its role as the lead on Yemen at the UN Security Council to drive political progress to end the conflict. At today’s meeting, the Foreign Secretary stressed the need for the parties to cooperate constructively

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/yemen-has-never-looked-more-likely-to-slide-into-famine-foreign-secretary-warns

My comment: LOL. What a crazy hypocrisy.

(A P)

Yemen: Enough of war

Today, the Security Council has an urgent call to action from all Yemenis living in total despair. It’s time to step up for war-torn Yemen by pushing for a resolution to the conflict. There is still a window of opportunity through the Joint Declaration, which the Council should seize by demanding in the strongest terms that the parties must compromise and work for peace. This will lead to the cessation of hostilities and send the right signal to the international community to be more generous with its pledges to Yemen, which, in turn, will save millions from the brink of famine. Once the government of Yemen and the Houthis move one step towards peace, worldwide donors will see the light at the end of the tunnel and will come to help.

Yemenis also urge the Gulf Cooperation Countries (GCC), our allies in the struggle for a more peaceful Yemen, to continue their generous contribution to the UN Humanitarian Appeal as they did during 2018-2019.

Finally, the Yemeni people will always remember the tireless efforts of the United Kingdom to pursue peace in Yemen – by Khaled Hussein Alyemany, the former [Hadi gov.] foreign minister of Yemen

https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/menasource/yemen-enough-of-war/

My comment: Where to place this article? Drag it up to cp7? I let it stay here – the last two sentences quoted here are too absurd at all.

(A P)

Corona und Folter: Die Dualität des Todes ist in den Houthi-Gefängnissen allgegenwertig

Abdullah Al-Aghbry, ein neues Opfer von Folter in den Houthi-Gefängnissen. Dieser Vorfall bringt weitere Forderungen zur Untersuchung der Bedingungen, unter denen die Entführungsopfer in den Haftanstalten leben, besonders angesichts der hohen Mordraten während der Verhörsitzungen, wie der Menschenrechtsaktivist Amer Al-Damiri bestätigte. Er verwies auch darauf, dass die im Jemen aktive „Menschenrechtsorganisationen die Ermordung von mindestens 200 jemenitischen Häftlingen und Entführungsopfern in den Milizgefängnissen bis Anfang 2020 dokumentierten“.

In den sozialen Netzwerken wurde über den Mord an dem 19-jährigen Al-Aghbry berichtet, nachdem er einer 6-stündigen Foltersitzung unterzogen wurde, die mit seinem Tod endete. Dieser Vorfall wurde als eine Warnung gesehen, die die Zustände in den Houthi-Gefängnissen beleuchtet, denen die jemenitischen Häftlinge ausgesetzt sind.

https://mena-studies.org/de/corona-und-folter-die-dualitaet-des-todes-ist-in-den-houthi-gefaengnissen-allgegenwertig/

Meine Bemerkung: Von einer anti-iranischen Propagandawebseite.

(A P)

Cartoon: The United Nations in Yemen

https://www.alsahwa-yemen.net/en/p-42045

(A P)

Yemeni Vice President Praises Arab Coalition Role in Facing Iran's Sabotage Project in Yemen

https://www.spa.gov.sa/viewfullstory.php?lang=en&newsid=2134521

(A P)

The Southern Issue in Yemen: Hopes and Challenges

Now, entering into September, the agreement’s time limit has ended without any progress on the military and security fronts nor on Socotra Island. This complicates the situation and poses new challenges for both Saudi and Yemeni leadership. They must succeed in carrying out the Riyadh Agreement, forming a government and returning it to Aden, or else they will face a crisis that encompasses all of Yemen, due to the deterioration of Yemen’s economy as well as public health, education, and other service sectors. On top of this is the proliferation of armed, extrajudicial entities which threaten the country’s stability and security. All these factors create an environment in which violent groups and terrorism can operate in the absence of state institutions.

https://www.washingtoninstitute.org/fikraforum/view/southern-issue-yemen-hopes-challenges

My remark: A 100 % Hadi government position, not really explaining anything.

(A P)

Realpolitik schlägt Religion

Teheran führt einen grausamen Krieg im Jemen, der nur ein Projekt seiner imperialen Politik ist

https://www.zeit.de/politik/ausland/2020-09/iran-ali-chamenei-israel-emirate-donald-trump

Mein Kommentar: Der Autor lebt offensichtlich in einem Paralleluniversum.

(A P)

Islah… Three decades of countering terrorism

Since its birth in 1990 following the establishment of Yemen’s unity, the Islah Party has been dealing with terrorism as a global issue before classifying it as a local or a religious problem.

The party has been defending the true Islam against extremist ideologies and acts of violence exercised by some individuals or groups who claim affiliation to Muslims.

The party had a clear vision on this aspect which has been reflected on its ideological and political literature and embodied in its unchanging stances through official statements or statements by its high, middle and junior leaders.

https://www.alsahwa-yemen.net/en/p-42024

(A P)

Emirates says Houthis complicate UN efforts to end Yemeni crisis

The United Arab Emirates on Monday accused the Iranian-backed Houthis of complicating the efforts exerted by the UN and international community to end the Yemeni crisis, hoping that the Riyadh Agreement application will be accelerated.

The Houthis persistently firing of ballistic missiles and drones towards civil objects and civilians in Saudi Arabia and Yemen indicates how dangerous this group is for the region, the UAE foreign ministry said in a statement.

https://debriefer.net/en/news-19877.html

My comment: The logics behind this: The Houthis should surrender, than they would no more “complicate” the crisis.

(A P)

More Saudi coalition „We are benefactors“ propaganda

https://www.spa.gov.sa/viewfullstory.php?lang=en&newsid=2134939

https://www.spa.gov.sa/viewfullstory.php?lang=en&newsid=2134798

http://en.adenpress.news/news/26110

https://www.spa.gov.sa/viewfullstory.php?lang=en&newsid=2134798 and http://en.adenpress.news/news/26109

http://en.adenpress.news/news/26108

http://en.adenpress.news/news/26106

http://wam.ae/en/details/1395302870570

http://en.adenpress.news/news/26104

https://www.arabnews.com/node/1735686/saudi-arabia

https://www.arabnews.com/node/1735686/saudi-arabia

https://www.spa.gov.sa/viewfullstory.php?lang=en&newsid=2134335

https://www.spa.gov.sa/viewfullstory.php?lang=en&newsid=2134326

https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/1-5-millionen-nutzniesser-des-saudi-arabischen-wasserprojekts-in-aden-jemen-825443954.html = https://www.presseportal.de/pm/132628/4707397 (Deutsch) / https://www.eqmagpro.com/1-5-million-beneficiaries-of-saudi-water-project-in-aden-yemen/ (English)

cp16 Saudische Luftangriffe / Saudi air raids

(* A K pH)

Saudi coalition air raids and shelling day by day

(A K pH)

[Films: Saudi coalition air strikes against Marib province, ca. Sep. 16]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W4x7eZJjRik

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IxXlK-QiFPY

(A K)

On this day, September 15, 2015, the dirty Saudi Entity plane targeted the monsters of our house in Jabal Faj Attan, and my husband's sister was badly injured in the arm while his brother was moderately injured, in addition to the severe material damage that the strike caused to the house, which forced us to leave it to this day! (photos)

https://twitter.com/Hananalwadee/status/1305811266351566848

(A K pH)

US-Saudi Aggression launches Series of Raids on Sana’a

The US-Saudi aggression, on Monday, [Sep. 14] launched more than 49 raids on the capital, Sana'a, and several provinces.

In Sana'a, the US-Saudi aggression launched a raid on Sana'a International Airport and two raids on the Sanitation Management building in the Attan area. The aggression also launched 5 raids on Raymat Homid area in Sanhan district, and two strikes on Arhab district

https://english.almasirah.net/details.php?es_id=14940

and

(A K)

60% of the readiness of the cleaning equipment maintenance workshop in Amanat Al-Asimah has left due to the barbaric airstrikes that targeted two airstrikes, including the Cleaning Fund facility in Attan at dawn today. (photos)

https://www.facebook.com/235255003188197/posts/3402831069763892/

(* A K pH)

Four civilians killed in Saudi strikes in Ma’rib

At least four Yemeni civilians were killed on Sunday and two others injured in a Saudi-led coalition air strike on Ma’rib province, a security source said.

The source explained that coalition warplanes waged several raids on a truck that was parked on the highway, after the aggressors had destroyed bridges on Rahbah road of Mahliyah district.

He added that the air raids also targeted a fuel station and shops in the district.

The source pointed out that coalition aircrafts have launched 19 strikes on the Rahbah, Madghal and Sirwah districts in Ma’rib province (photos)

https://uprising.today/four-civilians-killed-in-saudi-strikes-in-marib/

Photos also here: From the crime of the aggression's aviation against citizens and travelers in the Mahlia Governorate The strike targeted a truck, a petrol station, and shops on the highway

https://twitter.com/yahiasham/status/1305387871847804937

My remark: Earlier reporting in Yemen War Mosaic 679, cp16.

(A K pH)

More Saudi coalition air raids

https://english.almasirah.net/details.php?es_id=14989 Saada p., several p.

https://debriefer.net/en/news-19919.html / https://www.saba.ye/en/news3109368.htm 4 prov.

https://www.saba.ye/en/news3109370.htm Hajjah p.

https://www.saba.ye/en/news3109364.htm Marib p., Jawf p.

https://www.saba.ye/en/news3109240.htm Marib p.

https://www.saba.ye/en/news3109115.htm / https://www.saba.ye/en/news3109112.htm / https://english.almasirah.net/details.php?es_id=14940 Various prov.

cp17 Kriegsereignisse / Theater of War

Siehe / Look at cp18

Im Jemen herrscht ein militärisches Patt. Eine größere offensive mit größeren Erfolgen und Geländegewinnen für eine Seite bleiben seit der Offensive der saudischen Koalition gegen Hodeidah im Jahr 2018 aus. Kleinere Offensiven, ständige gegenseitige Angriffe und Gefechte mit Toten auf beiden Seiten und Opfern unter der Zivilbevölkerung gibt es aber ständig. Besonders betroffen sind die Provinzen Hodeidah, Taiz, Al Bayda, Al Dhalea, der Bezirk Nehm in der Provinz Sanaa, die Provinzen Al Jawf, Marib, Hajjah und Saada.

There is a military stalemate in Yemen. A larger offensive with greater successes and territorial gains for one side has been absent since the Saudi coalition's offensive against Hodeidah in 2018. Smaller offensives, constant mutual attacks and skirmishes killing fighters of both sides and causing victims among the civilian population are constant. The provinces of Hodeidah, Taiz, Al Bayda, Al Dhalea, the district of Nehm in the province of Sanaa, the provinces of Al Jawf, Marib, Hajjah and Saada are particularly affected.

(* B K pS)

[Hadi gov.] Yemeni Minister to Asharq Al-Awsat: Houthi Escalation in Marib Killed over 250 Civilians

Minister of Human Rights Mohammed Askar warned against the military escalation mounted by Houthi militias in several governorates, noting that it severely impacts the humanitarian situation.

Askar cited statistics documenting the death and injury of 700 civilians and the uprooting of over 11,000 families in the last 60 days alone following attacks in Marib, Al Jawf and Ad Dali.

In Marib, Houthi coup militias fired 244 ballistic missiles against civilian residences that led to the killing and injury of over 689 Yemenis that included women and children, Askar told Asharq Al-Awsat.

Also, 251 civilians were killed while 438 were injured, he clarified. Among the 438 Yemenis injured were 47 minors and eight women and elderly.

https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/2514761/yemeni-minister-asharq-al-awsat-houthi-escalation-marib-killed-over-250

and also https://debriefer.net/en/news-19936.html

My comment: As everybody knows, the Saudi coalition and the hadi government militia are better: They are bombing with candies.

(A K pS)

A Taizi 23 year old girl was shot injured by a Houthi sniper in Taiz city on Thursday morning. Source: Crater Sky news website

https://www.alsahwa-yemen.net/en/p-42061

(A K pH)

[Sanaa gov.] Air Forces Hit Abha Int. Airport Again

Yemeni Armed Forces Spokesman, Yahya Sare'e, stated that Air Forces carried out a broad attack with drones, accurately hitting sensitive military targets in Abha Airport.

In a statement, Sare'e added that the operation hit military sites, accurately, in Abha airport with a drone, Sammad 3.

This attack comes in response to US-Saudi escalation and continuous siege

https://english.almasirah.net/details.php?es_id=14988

and also https://en.farsnews.ir/newstext.aspx?nn=13990628000077

(A K pS)

Joint Forces Command of the Coalition to Restore Legitimacy in Yemen: Interception, Destruction of Bomb-Laden UAV Launched Toward the Kingdom

https://www.spa.gov.sa/viewfullstory.php?lang=en&newsid=2134755

and by Reuters: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-saudi-security-yemen/saudi-led-coalition-says-intercepts-drone-houthis-say-abha-airport-hit-idUSKBN2682FU

(* B K)

Yemen Conflict Update: June 16-September 16

Between June 16-September 16, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) reported 17 Houthi missile attacks on its territory and within Yemen. CSIS data now includes 177 publicly reported intercepts. Below is a summary of recent missile and drone activity.

https://missilethreat.csis.org/yemen-conflict-update-june-16-september-16/

(* B K)

Wikipedia: Ma'rib Campaign

The Ma'rib campaign is a campaign for control of the Ma'rib Governorate of Yemen, between the Houthi fighters and Yemeni Army units loyal to Supreme Political Council on one side, and pro-Hadi militiamen and Yemeni Army units loyal to Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi on the other side.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ma%27rib_Campaign

(A K pS)

Saba Abdu Saleh, 23 years old from Wadi Salah Zone in #Taiz, sustained serious injuries earlier today after being shot by a #Houthi sniper positioned in Al-Sallal's hill. Saleh was fetching water for her family.

https://twitter.com/Yemen24/status/1306557214296072198

(A K pH)

[Sanaa gov.] Yemeni forces liberate more of Ma’rib province

The Yemeni army forces on Thursday managed to advance towards the center of al-Jubah district in Ma’rib province, liberating several areas, a military source said.

The source affirmed that the army forces fought fierce battles against the Saudi-led coalition forces on the western side of the district

https://uprising.today/yemeni-forces-liberate-more-of-marib-province/

(A K pS)

Dozens of Houthis killed in ambush by [Hadi gov.] army southern Marib

http://en.26sepnews.net/2020/09/17/dozens-of-houthis-killed-in-ambush-by-army-southern-marib/

(A K pS)

[Hadi gov. Army] Maj. Gen. Al-Okimi: Army forthcoming Al-Hazm city & militia coming to an end

Maj. Gen. Amin al-Okimi, confirmed that the Yemen’s armed forces and popular resistance have become on the outskirts of al-Hazm city [capital of Jawf province], the capital of Al-Jawf, after the army’s major victories in the past days in more than one front.

Maj. Gen. Al-Okimi told September Net that the army’s main goal is not only to liberate Al-Hazm city, but to liberate and restore the entire territory of Yemen from the grip of the Houthi rebel militia.

Al-Jawf governor noted that Houthi militia has suffered heavy losses in both lives and combat equipment, and major defeats are received by the militia on various battle fronts in Al-Jawf and other provinces.

http://en.26sepnews.net/2020/09/16/maj-gen-al-okimi-army-forthcoming-al-hazm-city-militia-coming-to-an-end/

(A K pS)

Marib police have arrested a cell of female Houthi militants preparing to smuggle arms to the Houthi theocratic militia in Sana’a. Source: Maribpress website.

https://www.alsahwa-yemen.net/en/p-42044

(A K pS)

2-year-old Sirhan Naji Shabwan shot by a Houthi sniper yesterday while he was with his family in a car in Madghel district, northwest #Marib. The bullet missed his heart by inches, according to a medical source at Marib General Hospital (photos)

https://twitter.com/Alsakaniali/status/1306421290857791490

(A K pS)

Taiz: Houthi sniper guns down three civilians including child

Snipers of the Iran-backed Houthi militia gunned down a 10-year old boy, a lady and a man on Wednesday in Yemen’s besieged city of Taiz, local sources said.

The rebel snipers targeted group of civilians working in a farm in the area of Alshoqp east of the city, the sourced added.”They sustained life threatening injuries.’

http://en.26sepnews.net/2020/09/16/taiz-houthi-sniper-guns-down-three-civilians-including-child/

(* B K pS)

SAM Organization : Houthi militias continue committing war crimes against civilians of Al-Zouab village in Al-Byada

In a statement Tuesday, the Organization revealed that the Houthi militia keep lunching indiscriminate shelling on the populated areas, using heavy weapons, mortar Katyusha rockets, and tanks.

The militia’s shelling resulted in Killing and injuring many civilians, including children and women, and forcing others to leave their homes.

The organization documented hundreds of massive violations committed by Houthi militia’s against civilians in the village of Al-Zouab, in Qaifah district during the past years, varied between killings, arbitrary detention, abductions, bombing and targeting homes, burning and destroying drinking water wells, health and educational facilities, a fuel station, targeting places of worship, and damaging and looting private and public objects, displacement of hundreds of families and complete disruption of life.

The organization documented, also the killing of more than (40) civilians, including women and children, and the wounding of at least (60), including women and children, some of whom are still suffering from injury due to the lack of health care, and the detention of more than (150) civilians, including (48) African migrant workers working on Qat farms, in the village.

Houthi militia’s also, blew up (8) houses completely (2) of them during its recent military campaign, and burned (22) houses, while the shells that it fired caused partial destruction of (200) houses and caused damages on other houses.

http://en.26sepnews.net/2020/09/15/sam-organization-houthi-militias-continue-committing-war-crimes-against-civilians-of-al-zouab-village-in-%e2%80%8b%e2%80%8bal-byada/

(A K pH)

Civilian killed in Saada in Saudi shelling

A civilian has been killed by a Saudi missile and artillery shelling on border district of Shida in Saada province

https://www.saba.ye/en/news3109238.htm

and also https://english.almasirah.net/details.php?es_id=14954

(A K pH)

Two civilians killed in Saudi shelling on Shida border in Saada

https://www.saba.ye/en/news3109115.htm

and also https://english.almasirah.net/details.php?es_id=14942

cp18 Kampf um Hodeidah / Hodeidah battle

Seit dem Abkommen von Stockholm vom 13. Dezember 2018 gibt es einen Waffenstillstand für Hodeidah. Zwar bleiben größere Offensiven aus, kleinere Gefechte gibt es aber laufend, und beide Seiten werfen sich ständig Verstöße gegen den Waffenstillstand vor.

Since the Stockholm Agreement of December 13, 2018, a ceasefire has been in place for Hodeidah. There are no major offensives, but smaller battles are going on and both sides constantly are accusing each other of violating the ceasefire.

(A K pH)

Woman injured in aggression shelling in Hodeidah

https://www.saba.ye/en/news3109368.htm

(A P)

Houthis threaten Saudis, Emiratis with harsh response if Marib assaulted

The Houthi group is adhering to the Stockholm Agreement signed with the Yemeni official government in December 2018 in Sweden, the Houthi deputy premier for defense and security said Wednesday.
The international community and UN are required to pressure the "other party" into applying the pact and honoring their commitments in this regard, Jalal al-Rwaishan added in remarks to the media.
The Saudi-Emirati "aggression members have not been sincere in applying Sweden pact, they rather saw it as a tactical step to overthrow Hodeida governorate.

https://debriefer.net/en/news-19909.html

(A K pH)

Daily violations

Sep. 17: https://english.almasirah.net/details.php?es_id=14991

Sep. 15: https://english.almasirah.net/details.php?es_id=14942

(B K pS)

Yemen JF say captured IRG-affiliated arms smuggling cell

Yemen's joint forces (JF) have detected an Iranian Republican Guard-affiliated cell smuggling arms to Houthis and captured its chief in Yemen and three of its elements, JF media center said Tuesday, as part of a "qualitative" intelligence operation.

The inspection and pursuit operation started early after the national resistance's intelligence division found intelligence on the cell members' activity, the center added.

Later, "the division obtained accurate intelligence on the Houthi cell, its members and its activity within a broader smuggling network affiliated to the IRG," it said.

Based on the intelligence, the cell's members were captured by the Yemeni coastguards in the Red Sea on 7 May 2020, the center quoted an official source as saying.

https://debriefer.net/en/news-19878.html

cp19 Sonstiges / Other

(A P)

‘Save Nimisha’: Group helping Indian nurse on death row in Yemen writes to Kerala CM

The international action council initiated by members of NRI group Loka Kerala Sabha and 'Kerala Pravasi Sangam' has written a letter to Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan. The letter seeks his assistance in Indian nurse Nimisha Priya’s case. The council was set up to help Nimisha, who is sentenced for death in Yemen.

https://www.thenewsminute.com/article/save-nimisha-group-helping-indian-nurse-death-row-yemen-writes-kerala-cm-133207

(-)

Photo: Shabwa, Yemen

https://twitter.com/its_yemen/status/1306310494853238784

(A P)

Urgent Action Outcome: 10-month sentence for Yemeni LGBTI rights defender

Yemeni LGBTI rights defender Mohamed al-Bokari who has been detained in Malaz Prison in Saudi Arabia’s capital Riyadh since 8 April 2020, attended his first trial session on 20 July. Al-Bokari was charged with violating public morality, promoting homosexuality online and imitating women. He was sentenced to 10 months in prison after which he is to be deported back to his home country, Yemen, where his life is at risk by armed groups. He has had no legal representation throughout his detention and trial.

https://www.amnesty.org.uk/resources/urgent-action-outcome-10-month-sentence-yemeni-lgbti-rights-defender

(* B C)

Geschichte des Judentums im Jemen

Die Juden im Jemen haben eine jahrtausendealte Geschichte, die im Alten Orient um etwa 1500 v. Chr. ihren Ursprung findet und über die Ansiedlung der Israeliten in Kanaan in den jüdischen Krieg (66–70 n. Chr.) mit Rom mündet, bevor im Jahr 70, nach der Zerstörung des Jerusalemer Tempels, viele Juden begannen, in Nachbarstaaten des zum Römischen Reich gehörenden Palästina auszuwandern.[1] Bis zum Auftreten des Islam gehörten die Juden regelmäßig zur Oberschicht des Landes. Sie waren Kaufleute, im Dienste des Militärs oder als Minister tätig und vermittelten beachtliche Einflüsse auf die Kultur und Identität des Landes Jemen.[2] Ihr Anteil an der Bevölkerung war erheblich

https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geschichte_des_Judentums_im_Jemen

(* B C)

Yemenite Jews

Yemenite Jews or Yemeni Jews or Teimanim are those Jews who live, or once lived, in Yemen. The term may also refer to the descendants of the Yemenite Jewish community. Between June 1949 and September 1950, the overwhelming majority of Yemen's Jewish population was transported to Israel in Operation Magic Carpet. After several waves of persecution throughout Yemen, the vast majority of Yemenite Jews now live in Israel, while smaller communities live in the United States and elsewhere. Only a handful remain in Yemen. The few remaining Jews experience intense, and at times violent, anti-Semitism on a daily basis.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yemenite_Jews

Vorige / Previous:

https://www.freitag.de/autoren/dklose/jemenkrieg-mosaik-679-yemen-war-mosaic-679

Jemenkrieg-Mosaik 1-679 / Yemen War Mosaic 1-679:

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/

http://www.yemenwar.info/

Liste aller Luftangriffe / and list of all air raids:

http://yemendataproject.org/data/

Untersuchung ausgewählter Luftangriffe durch Bellingcat / Bellingcat investigations of selected air raids:

https://yemen.bellingcat.com/

Untersuchungen von Angriffen, hunderte von Filmen / Investigations of attacks, hundreds of films:

https://yemeniarchive.org/en

Dieser Beitrag gibt die Meinung des Autors wieder, nicht notwendigerweise die der Redaktion des Freitag.
Geschrieben von

Dietrich Klose

Vielfältig interessiert am aktuellen Geschehen, zur Zeit besonders: Ukraine, Russland, Jemen, Rolle der USA, Neoliberalismus, Ausbeutung der 3. Welt

Dietrich Klose

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