Dies ist die Fortsetzung von Jemenkrieg-Mosaik 715, Teil 1 / This is the sequel of Yemen War Mosaic 715, part 1:
https://www.freitag.de/autoren/dklose/jemenkrieg-mosaik-715-yemen-war-mosaic-715
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
cp1b Am wichtigsten: Biden beendet US-Unterstützung im Jemenkrieg / Most important: Biden ending US support for Yemen War
cp1c Am wichtigsten: US nimmt Einstufung der Huthis als „Terroristen“ zurück / Most important: US revokes Houthi „terrorist“ designation
cp2 Allgemein / General
cp2a Allgemein: Saudische Blockade / General: Saudi blockade
cp3 Humanitäre Lage / Humanitarian situation
cp4 Flüchtlinge / Refugees
cp5 Nordjemen und Huthis / Northern Yemen and Houthis
cp6 Separatisten und Hadi-Regierung im Südjemen / Separatists and Hadi government in Southern Yemen
cp7 UNO und Friedensgespräche / UN and peace talks
cp8 Saudi-Arabien / Saudi Arabia
cp9 USA
cp9a USA-Iran Krise: Spannungen am Golf / US-Iran crisis: Tensions at the Gulf
cp10 Großbritannien / Great Britain
cp12 Andere Länder / Other countries
cp12b Sudan
cp13a Waffenhandel / Arms trade
cp13b Kulturerbe / Cultural heritage
cp13c Wirtschaft / Economy
cp14 Terrorismus / Terrorism
cp15 Propaganda
cp16 Saudische Luftangriffe / Saudi air raids
cp17 Kriegsereignisse / Theater of War
cp18 Kampf um Hodeidah / Hodeidah battle
cp19 Sonstiges / Other
Klassifizierung / Classification
***
**
*
(Kein Stern / No star)
? = Keine Einschatzung / No rating
A = Aktuell / Current news
B = Hintergrund / Background
C = Chronik / Chronicle
D = Details
E = Wirtschaft / Economy
H = Humanitäre Fragen / Humanitarian questions
K = Krieg / War
P = Politik / Politics
pH = Pro-Houthi
pS = Pro-Saudi
T = Terrorismus / Terrorism
cp5 Nordjemen und Huthis / Northern Yemen and Houthis
(A P)
Houthis praise shift in US policy
The Yemeni Houthi-run Parliament on Saturday welcomed the US decision to end support to the Saudi-led military operation in Yemen and halt arms sales to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
https://debriefer.net/en/news-22999.html
(A P)
18 deceived individuals return home
https://www.saba.ye/en/news3127510.htm
My remark: „Deceived” = Former anti-Houthi fighters who had defected.
(A P)
Houthi official calls UK to stop arms exports to Gulf
Member of the Houthi Supreme Political Council on Friday called on the United Kingdom to halt arms exports to members of the Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen.
Britain has announced funding contribution to Cofax Initiative that assigned 2.3 million anti-Covid-19 shots for Yemen.
"We tell them stop viruses of your weapons shipped to the Gulf in the aggression on Yemen," Mohamed Ali al-Houthi tweeted in response to London announcement, as these viruses "deadlier" than Corona.
https://debriefer.net/en/news-22979.html
(A P)
Houthis Resume Targeting Places of Worship in Yemen
Dozens of Yemen’s mosques have come under attack as Houthi militias continue transforming places of worship in the war-torn country into pulpits for their sectarian preachers, local sources reported.
Residents in Sanaa said that Houthi leaders, around ten days ago, supervised the demolition of a protective wall that surrounded Al-Firdaws mosque in the eastern Sawan area of the Houthi-run capital.
The space created by removing the barrier was used for the building of commercial stores that were later offered to Houthi loyalists for rent.
Houthis taking over the mosque’s property took place a few days after the group seizing nearby real-estate by force, said Sanaa locals.
Al-Firdaws is considered one of the largest mosques in Sanaa. Over the course of the past few years, it has been under constant threat of Houthi gunmen and leaders.
https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/2788341/houthis-resume-targeting-places-worship-yemen
My comment: As claimed by a Saudi news site, with an obvious bias.
(B P)
Film: Hundreds of #journalists are being held in #Houthi-run prisons, dozens of them have been sentenced to death by Houthi-controlled courts in the rebel-held capital, #Sanaa.
https://twitter.com/RepYemenEnglish/status/1358053834870956032
(A P)
Oil Company allow entrance any quantity of diesel does not exceed three barrels
The Executive Director of the Yemeni Oil Company, Eng. Ammar al-Adhra’i, instructed on Friday to allow the passage of any quantity of diesel that does not exceed three barrels, provided that it is not intended for trading on the black market.
The CEO of the company also directed to compensate a farmer who unloaded the diesel material loaded on his car on the ground, which is estimated at three barrels when he was caught at a security point.
https://www.saba.ye/en/news3127334.htm
(B H K P)
Film: Watch how #Houthis lured this kid into leaving school and joining battlegrounds
https://twitter.com/RepYemenEnglish/status/1357761911161376768
(B P)
Film: How the international community approach the #Houthi militias in #Yemen and why the approach of "minorities" is problematic.
https://twitter.com/Karmanysa/status/1358442892184944644
cp6 Südjemen und Hadi-Regierung / Southern Yemen and Hadi-government
(* A P)
STC closes judicial compound in Yemeni Aden
The Southern Transitional Council (STC) on Sunday compulsorily halted work at courts and prosecution offices in Aden, after its forces closed the judicial compound in the Yemeni interim capital.
The STC-affiliated Aden security forces prevented judges and other staff from getting into their offices inside the judicial compound, under senior instructions, court sources said.
A number of judges refused to take part in a strike called for by the "southern judges club" in protest of presidential decrees appointing a new public prosecutor, but the forces forced the judges out of, and closed the building, the sources added.
While Aden courts and prosecutor offices saw closure at different levels, security forces were deployed to tighten guard at their buildings.
https://debriefer.net/en/news-23012.html
and also https://hodhodyemennews.net/2021/02/07/uae-backed-mercenaries-shut-down-judicial-offices-in-aden/
(A P)
Mahrah protesters warn Saudi-led invaders against further aggression
A prominent leader in Mahrah province, eastern Yemen, has on Sunday warned Saudi Arabia and the UAE against “committing any stupidity to stir discord in the province.”
Head of the sit-in protest committee in the Shehn district of Mahrah province, Hameed Zaabnoot, said that the Saudi-Emirati movements in the province are “seeking to ignite the conflict and stir up sedition through armed militias.”
(A K P)
UAE-backed #STC continues undermine the authority of Yemeni govt. Today its elements stormed many govt buildings in the interim capital of #Aden.
https://twitter.com/Alsakaniali/status/1358488840810491911
referring to
(* A K P)
It stressed the need to implement the security aspect ... The government condemns armed groups storming its headquarters in the temporary capital
An official source in the government condemned the attacks by armed groups on the buildings of the Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Education, Justice and other government facilities, today, Sunday, in the temporary capital of Aden, southern Yemen.
The state-run Sabaa Agency quoted an official source as saying, "The buildings of the two ministries were raided by 12 sets equipped with various types of weapons led by people with names and unofficial qualities such as the leader of the resistance and others. State institutions and their constitutional contexts.
Earlier, security sources reported to the "Al-Masdar Online" correspondent, that the so-called "Abu Hammam Al-Yafi", leader of the so-called "Southern Resistance in Aden", stormed this morning, Sunday, the Ministry of Education building accompanied by a number of gunmen and crews, expressing his objection to the work of some employees Who he described as "northerners in ministries," and said that he "does not want a government in Aden."
The responsible government source explained, "These unacceptable actions confirm the efforts of some to thwart the existing consensus and the positive atmosphere that has been achieved since the formation of the government of political competencies."
The source pointed out that "what happened confirms the need to accelerate the reorganization of all security services under the umbrella of the Ministry of Interior as a top priority that does not accept delay in implementation of the Riyadh Agreement."
https://almasdaronline-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/almasdaronline.com/articles/215411/amp/
(A)
Armed Clashes Erupt Near Al-Maashiq Palace in Aden
Media sources close to the US-Saudi aggression said that clashes broke out between gunmen in the Shaab Al Aidarous area, adjacent to the Al-Maashiq area, where the presidential palace and the pro-aggression government headquarters are located.
The sources stated that a woman was injured during the clashes in which light and medium weapons were used, explaining that the clashes erupted after a dispute over a plot of land in the area near the palace.
https://english.almasirah.net/post/17653/Armed-Clashes-Erupt-Near-Al-Maashiq-Palace-in-Aden
(A P)
STC: Resolving the southern issue is the only way to peace
The Presidency of the Southern Transitional Council (STC) praised the outcomes of the visit made by the President of the STC, Aidroos Qassem al-Zubaidi to Moscow which concluded last Thursday.
During its regular meeting in Aden on Saturday, under the chairmanship of the assistant secretary general, Fadl al-Jaadi, the Presidency affirmed that such visit contributes to enhance the STC's relationship with the Russian Federation and major international decision-makers.
The meeting welcomed the President Joseph Biden's decision to appoint Timothy Lenderking as the US special envoy for Yemen, affirming the Council's readiness to cooperate with him to make his mission possible in the country and achieve peace in the region.
The STC Presidency stressed that resolving the southern issue is the only way to bring about comprehensive peace in the South and Yemen.
http://en.adenpress.news/news/32158
(A P)
Yemeni senior officer escapes assassination in Aden
Deputy commander of the Emirati-backed Security Belt forces in Yemen escaped an attempted assassination late on Friday in the southern port city of Aden.
https://debriefer.net/en/news-22980.html
(A P)
[Hadi gov.] Yemen’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations Abdullah al-Sa’di discussed Saturday with the UK Representative to the UN Barbara Woodward via a visual communication latest developments, humanitarian situations in Yemen and efforts of the government for regaining order and state institutions in the country.
http://en.26sepnews.net/2021/02/06/al-sadi-warns-of-safir-tankers-collapse/
(A P)
EU diplomatic delegation arrives in Aden
A high-level delegation of European Union (EU) ambassadors to Yemen along diplomatic officials in the southern port city of Aden on Saturday to discuss a number of issues with the newly formed government, including the situation in the government-controlled provinces and the progress of implementing the Riyadh deal.
The visit is the first by a European delegation since the return of the Yemeni government to Aden on Dec. 30 from Saudi Arabia.
The mission includes the ambassadors of France, the Netherlands, Belgium, Norway, Germany, Finland, Sweden and Ireland, according to a government source.
The EU’s delegation was reportedly accompanied by armored vehicles and headed to the presidential compound where the new power-sharing government is based.
http://en.adenpress.news/news/32156
and also http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2021-02/06/c_139726302.htm
https://www.arabnews.com/node/1804861/middle-east
Photo: https://twitter.com/mohammedalqadhi/status/1358091574735953922
and
(A P)
Yemen: EU delegation visits Aden in support of unity government
The European visitors held meetings with the Yemen Prime Minister Maeen Abdulmalik and other ministers in the Yemen power-sharing government, according to reports.
“The visit of the European delegation comes as a part of the European Union support to the Riyadh Agreement and efforts being exerted by the power-sharing government to normalise the situation in Aden and the liberated provinces”, a government source told The National.
"The European delegation also discussed many other relevant issues including the Houthi delay to the UN salvage operation for the FSO Safer oil tanker, the Houthi terrorist attack which targeted the government at Aden airport on last December, as well as the UN sponsored peace process in Yemen", the source added.
According to the government source, the European delegation visiting Aden will hold meetings with the Southern Transitional Council and other officials.
The trip to Aden is the first for such a high-level delegation since Yemen's unity government returned to Aden in December.
and also http://en.adenpress.news/news/32162
http://en.adenpress.news/news/32173
Photos: https://twitter.com/pd_hof/status/1358405958318358530
https://twitter.com/EUinYemen/status/1358395386352852993
(A P)
Houthis fulfill Iran agenda, peace needs int'l pressure: Yemeni PM
Peace cannot be reached with the Houthis without pressures on Iran that uses the group to blackmail the international community, the Yemeni prime minister said Saturday at meeting with European envoys.
The Yemeni government's commitment to peace course depends on the availability of subjective conditions, under the three terms of reference, Maeen Abdulmalek added.
The Houthi group and its supporters in Tehran will not yield to peace without international real pressures, he told the EU diplomats.
https://debriefer.net/en/news-23009.html
(A P)
Yemeni gov't says Houthis try to foil prisoner swap talks
The Yemeni official government will go for nationwide conciliation, in political partnership with the international community, FM Ahmed Bin Mubarak said Saturday, to establish bases needed for real, sustainable and inclusive peace in the country.
Peace is the only and best way to solve Yemen's political crisis and cope with its humanitarian disastrous implications, the Yemeni top diplomat added at meeting with European diplomatic delegation in Aden.
https://debriefer.net/en/news-22987.html
My comment: Why this government claims that paece with Houthis is not possible. This is arguing like “We only make peace with enemies we like and appreciate, not with enemies hostile to us”. Lol.
(A P)
[Hadi gov.] Army chief: We are fore peace which restores legitimacy elected by people
The chief of staff of the Yemeni armed forces Lt. Gen. Saghir bin Aziz on Friday said restoring peace and stability in Yemen is the main goal of the legitimate government and a Saudi-led coalition supporting it.
https://debriefer.net/en/news-22972.html
My comment: The problem is that this “legitimacy” had not been “elected by the people”: President Hadi’s “legitimacy” finally expired in Feb. 2015. What stays is – illegitimacy.
(A P)
Hadhramout Valley and Desert Tribes Alliance called on the president to immediately declare the #Hadramout Region, which consists of Mahara ,Hadramout ,#Socotra and #Shabwah governorates southern #Yemen a few days ago. The country divided into 6 regions according to NDC outcomes.
https://twitter.com/Alsakaniali/status/1357826824852668420
(A P)
Yemen government welcomes US appointment of envoy to the country
https://www.alsahwa-yemen.net/en/p-44922
and also http://en.26sepnews.net/2021/02/06/yemen-welcomes-appointing-us-envoy/
(A P)
STC welcomes appointment of US special envoy for Yemen
http://en.adenpress.news/news/32150
(A P)
Association calls for release of abductee from jail of Guards of Republic
The Mothers of Abductees Association on Thursday called on the commander of the Guards of the Republic Brig. Gen. Tariq Saleh to release a young man abducted his forces.
Ashraf Mohammed Saad was abducted 13 months ag
https://debriefer.net/en/news-22947.html
cp7 UNO und Friedensgespräche / UN and peace talks
(A P)
Jemen-Beauftragter der UNO erstmals zu Vermittlungen im Iran
Nach Machtwechsel in Washington Hoffnung auf günstigeres Umfeld für Frieden
Der Jemen-Sonderbeauftragte der UNO, Martin Griffiths, ist zu seinem ersten öffentlich bekannten Besuch in den Iran gereist. Sonntag und Montag sollte er dort Außenminister Mohammad Javad Zarif und andere Regierungsvertreter treffen, teilte sein Büro mit. Dies sei Teil der Bemühungen, im Jemen-Krieg auf eine politische Lösung hinzuarbeiten. Oberste Priorität hätten Gespräche über eine landesweite Waffenruhe, Rückkehr zum politischen Prozess und dringende humanitäre Hilfe.
Der Iran bestreitet, die Rebellen mit Waffen oder finanziell zu unterstützen. Im Persischen Golf wurden aber Schiffe mit Gewehren, Raketenwerfern, Panzerabwehrsystemen und Munition gestoppt, die offenbar auf dem Weg vom Iran in den Jemen waren
https://www.derstandard.at/story/2000123937194/jemen-vermittler-der-uno-erstmals-im-iran?ref=rss
und auch https://snanews.de/20210207/hoffnung-jemen-un-vermittler-818825.html
(A P)
U.N. envoy Griffiths in Iran for first time to discuss Yemen crisis: TV
The United Nations special envoy on Yemen is visiting Iran for the first time to discuss Yemen’s crisis, Iranian state TV reported on Sunday, days after Washington announced an end to its support for Saudi-led military operations in Yemen.
Griffiths’ office said the visit was part of his diplomatic efforts to support a negotiated political solution to the conflict. His immediate priority was to support agreement between the warring parties on a ceasefire, urgent humanitarian measures and a resumption of the political process, it said in a press release.
Griffiths’ spokeswoman, Ismini Palla, said the visit had been planned for some time, adding it comes at a time when he is trying to bring together more diplomatic, regional and international support to his efforts to end the war.
“Griffiths will consult with Iranian officials on ways to alleviate sufferings of the Yemeni people,” Iranian state news agency IRNA reported.
UN announcement: https://twitter.com/Dr_E_Kendall/status/1358411011368361985
(A P)
and also https://en.mehrnews.com/news/169601/UN-envoy-arrives-in-Tehran-to-discuss-Yemen-crisis
Note to Correspondents in response to questions asked about Yemen
We welcome the decision of the United States to strengthen its diplomatic engagement in support of the UN-led efforts to find a negotiated, comprehensive political solution to end the conflict in Yemen.
This is a positive development that could create further momentum for dialogue. Special Envoy Griffiths looks forward to working constructively with all parties at this critical time for the Yemeni people.
We also welcome all decisions seeking to create further space for dialogue and to alleviate the suffering of the Yemeni people. In this connection, we continue to call for the reversal of the designation of the Houthis as a Foreign Terrorist Organization and Specially Designated Global Terrorist. This request is based purely on humanitarian grounds, amidst a growing risk of famine in Yemen.
and also https://news.un.org/en/story/2021/02/1084082
(B P)
THE VOICES OF SUSTAINING PEACE: INNOVATING CAPACITY BUILDING FOR PEACE IN THE FACE OF COVID-19
HISHAM AL-OMEISY - BUILDING CAPACITIES AND COALITIONS FOR PEACE IN YEMEN
"As a political activist and a proponent of human rights and active citizenship in Yemen, I have always realised the importance of the virtual space, honed my networking and Internet skills, and utilised both traditional and social media for my work on development, justice, and peace.
(A P)
[Sanaa gov.] Head of Prisoners Committee: US-Saudi Mercenaries Insist on Thwarting Negotiations in Jordan
Al-Murtada said in a tweet, "We have been trying hard for two weeks to make this round of negotiations succeed to alleviate the suffering of the prisoners, but the mercenaries are insisting on thwarting it."
and also https://debriefer.net/en/news-22978.html
(A P)
[Hadi] Yemeni gov't says Houthis try to foil prisoner swap talks
The Houthi group tries to abort the ongoing talks on prisoner swap with the Yemeni official government, Yemen's human rights deputy minister tweeted late on Friday, in response to similar charges from the group.
"We want to release all the prisoners and abductees," Majid Fadhaeil added, "under all-for-all principle. And we accepted phased release on this basis.
"For two months, we've kept calling for this round [of talks], but the Houthis continually rejected. The US [terror] designation had its impact and pressure on them to accept participation in these talks.
https://debriefer.net/en/news-22986.html
(A P)
Nine [Sanaa gov.] Yemeni soldiers freed in prisoner swap deal
The head of the [Sanaa gov.] National Committee for Prisoners’ Affairs, Abdul Qadir al-Murtadha, has revealed on Friday that nine Yemeni prisoners have been freed in a prisoner exchange won through local mediation in Ma’rib.
https://hodhodyemennews.net/2021/02/05/nine-yemeni-soldiers-freed-in-prisoner-swap-deal/
and also https://www.saba.ye/en/news3127395.htm
https://debriefer.net/en/news-22973.html
cp8 Saudi-Arabien / Saudi Arabia
(* A P)
Young Saudi Shi'ites have death penalties commuted to 10 years in jail
Saudi Arabia’s state-backed Human Rights Commission said on Sunday that three young Shi’ite Muslims sentenced to death when they were minors have had the penalty reduced to 10 years in prison.
Ali Al-Nimr, the nephew of prominent Shi’ite cleric Nimr al-Nimr whose 2016 execution sparked demonstrations in Saudi Arabia and Iran, was 17 when he was detained in February 2012 for participating in protests in the country’s Eastern Province.
Along with Dawood al-Marhoun and Abdullah al-Zaher, 17 and 15 when they were arrested, Nimr was sentenced to death by the Specialized Criminal Court and faced beheading.
Nimr has served more than nine years in jail since his arrest. His sentence was commuted on Sunday, while Marhoun’s and Zaher’s were commuted in November 2020, the HRC told Reuters.
Time served would apply in all three cases, the HRC said, and they would be released in 2022.
“Freedom soon, God willing,” Nimr’s mother said in a Facebook post celebrating the news.
cp9 USA
Siehe / Look at cp1, cp1b, cp1c, cp2, cp9a
(A P)
It was Obama who started the policy of supporting offensive operations in Yemen, and Trump did not change it. Where are the Washington Post's fact checkers when you need them? (image)
https://twitter.com/hahussain/status/1357405811639779328
(* A P)
US warns Yemen’s Houthi rebels after terrorism delisting
The Biden administration on Sunday warned Yemen’s Houthi rebels against ongoing attacks against civilians just 48 hours after moving to strike the group from a terrorism blacklist.
The State Department called on the Iran-backed rebel group to immediately stop attacks on civilians and new military operations in Yemen. The demand came only two days after the administration notified Congress that it would remove the Houthis from its list of “foreign terrorist organizations,” a designation that comes with severe U.S. sanctions. It also came just three days after President Joe Biden ordered an end to U.S. support for the Saudi-led offensive military operations against the rebels.
“As the president is taking steps to end the war in Yemen and Saudi Arabia has endorsed a negotiated settlement, the United States is deeply troubled by continued Houthi attacks,” State Department spokesman Ned Price said in a statement. “We call on the Houthis to immediately cease attacks impacting civilian areas inside Saudi Arabia and to halt any new military offensives inside Yemen, which only bring more suffering to the Yemeni people.”
Full US statement: https://www.state.gov/houthi-attacks-impacting-civilians/
(A P)
US intervention in Yemen War 'terrible mistake' admits ex-UN ambassador
The USA's former Ambassador to the UN has confessed that support for Saudi Arabia in the Yemen War was a diplomatic error.
Samantha Power was US Ambassador to the United Nations under President Obama and has been nominated by Joe Biden to run the USA's international aid agency. She spoke to Ruth Davidson on topics ranging from President Biden's Irish roots to her time as UN Ambassador.
Former Ambassador Power added that "there were mistakes that we made along the way," and had one notable regret from the administration, which she felt "had real consequences."
I think support for the Yemen war for example – offering military support to the Saudis in that war was a terrible mistake," she insisted.
My comment: And, what now? What should happen to people who are responsible of thousands of killed and the destruction of a whole country? One-way ticket to The Hague.
(A P)
For the first time, US diplomat expresses support for involving Yemeni revolutionary government in peace negotiations
Former US Deputy Ambassador to Yemen Nabil Khoury has on Saturday said that the United States supports negotiations between what it sees as the three major Yemeni sides in the recent conflict, in negotiations that the international community is pushing for.
This comes just a day after the announcement of the new US administration’s foreign policy program, which has placed Yemen on the list of priorities of new President Joe Biden.
Khoury said in an interview with Al-Jazeera that his country will push for the participation of those he describes as the “Houthis” [a term used by certain countries to designate the National Salvation Government], the Hadi government and the UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council (STC) in the upcoming negotiations on a comprehensive solution.
This marks the first time that the United States has openly recognised the National Salvation Government in Sana’a as a party in negotiations for the future of Yemen.
(A P)
Photo: Special Envoy Tim Lenderking & members of the team met with @SecBlinken , Acting Deputy Secretary Smith, & Under Secretary Hale to discuss the way forward on Yemen. There is hard work ahead, but this team is ready for the challenge.
https://twitter.com/StateDept_NEA/status/1358105882031226882
(* B P)
Repealing the Muslim Ban Is Not Enough. We Need Accountability.
Countless people whose lives were altered by the ban are still waiting for closure.
Donald Trump became president on a platform charged with Islamophobia, demonization of immigrants, and white supremacy.
Now, President Joe Biden has begun to undo that. On his first day in office, Biden repealed the discriminatory Muslim ban, which has caused immense harm to Muslim communities in the U.S. and abroad.
Though its repeal is a step in the right direction, it is not nearly enough. We must acknowledge these harms and demand accountability for them. One powerful framework for demanding such accountability is people’s tribunals, which have proved effective in exposing human rights violations and pressuring state actors to take responsibility.
https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2021/02/muslim-ban-repeal-tribunals.html
(A P)
Außenminister der USA und Saudi-Arabiens telefonieren erstmal
Die beiden hätten die historischen und strategischen Beziehungen ihrer Länder diskutiert.
(A P)
U.S. Secretary of State Blinken, Saudi foreign minister discuss Yemen, human rights
(B P)
[THREAD] Yemen, Middle East Watchers, NatSec Pros: A few thoughts regarding Biden’s major news regarding the Yemen war in the past few days.
Biden halts offensive weapons sales to Saudi. This announcement represents the biggest policy shift. There is ambiguity, potentially, between offensive/defensive sales; but the intent is clear. American weapons will no longer assist the Saudis w/ military action in Yemen.
More on the FTO designation. There is a tremendous divide between Yemeni diaspora and citizens who favor the FTO designation and western NGOs that oppose. Biden policy has to acknowledge this gap and weave a satisfactory outcome.
Finally on the FTO designation, Pompeo and the Saudis grossly miscalculated the political environment. They wanted to box in Biden with the FTO designation, instead they propelled Yemen to the forefront of American foreign policy.
Overwhelmingly the American people don’t want to be involved in Yemen, they don’t want to support the war, they don’t want to sell weapons to the combatants, and they don’t want to be involved. Bottom line: Biden delivered on his campaign promises on Yemen.
Summary: Yemen’s overlapping civil war, Houthi dominating control in the north, the regionalization of the conflict, a broken economy, and Hadi government’s corruption and misgovernance are exceedingly complex issues.
The Biden administration, with support of Congress, wants the US out of the war effort in Yemen. There is no domestic support for military engagement in Yemen or support to the Saudi led coalition’s armed campaign. Biden delivered.
https://twitter.com/Dave_Harden/status/1357690674745868289
My remark: With anti-Houthi bias.
(* A P)
Biden administration expects Saudi Arabia to improve human rights - White House
The United States expects Saudi Arabia to improve its human rights record, including releasing women’s rights activists and other political prisoners, White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki said on Friday.
Pskai’s comments underscored U.S. President Joe Biden’s intention to make human right a key issue in U.S.-Saudi relations, which he pledged during the 2020 campaign to reassess.
Psaki side-stepped a question at a White House briefing on whether the administration would impose sanctions on Saudi Arabia for the 2018 murder of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi by Saudi operatives in the kingdom’s consulate in Istanbul.
Calling Khashoggi’s death a “horrific crime,” she reiterated the administration’s intention to declassify a U.S. intelligence report on the murder, which the CIA assessed was approved - and possibly ordered - by defacto Saudi ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
(* B K P)
In Yemen move, deeper Biden message: Strength through diplomacy
President Biden had telegraphed his moves on the Yemen war and his preference for diplomacy, but at the State Department he went further: For Americans, diplomacy is not altruistic, but “in our naked self-interest.”
“There were several themes running through Biden’s speech, the return to values-based foreign policy being front and center, but a more subtle idea was this significant focus on diplomacy as the mainstay of U.S. engagement abroad,” says Charles Kupchan, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations in Washington who served on President Barack Obama’s National Security Council.
“I took that as a signal of a recalibrating from the over-militarization of American foreign policy,” he adds. “You’re seeing a pivot to a brand of American engagement that is more about diplomacy than it is about military intervention.”
Mr. Biden is pledging to rebuild the diplomatic corps and retool it for a world where America relies less on its hard power. And in his speech he appeared to make the war in Yemen an example of a shift to using the “muscles” of soft power. Still, some foreign policy analysts say that while they heard hints of a good start in the president’s words, they expect Mr. Biden to go further if his intention really is to pivot away from a reliance on military intervention.
“The United States isn’t back [on the world stage]; it never left,” says Benjamin Friedman, policy director at Defense Priorities, a Washington organization that advocates a refocusing of security policy on core national defense needs.
Indeed, Mr. Biden’s repeated intention to follow a “foreign policy for the middle class” is acknowledgment that he must convince a wary public that a robust American role in the world is good for them, says Mr. Kupchan, who just published a new book, “Isolationism: A History of America’s Efforts to Shield Itself From the World.” “Knowing the country has to some extent turned inward, Biden set out to make the point that we’re going to rebuild the country at home and we’re going to strengthen and rebuild our ties abroad, and those two are really part of the same objective,” he says.
My comment: No real change of US policy. The claim to rule the world does not change. Interventions do not change. Just some methods and the propaganda will change.
(* B K P)
Arms Trade Reform Options for the New Administration and Congress
Security cooperation—and particularly foreign military sales (FMS)—has long been a central and sometimes controversial tool of U.S. foreign policy that serves multiple, potentially conflicting, ends.
In this context, yesterday’s suspension is a major break between the Trump and Biden administrations. However, we are still likely to see significant continuity over the next four years in security cooperation agreements between the United States and its democratic allies.
Q1: What arms trade controversies await the new administration?
A1: In recent years the biggest sales—and the most controversial—have been to countries in the Middle East. According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, 51 percent of U.S. arms deliveries between 2015-2019 went to the Middle East: half of these went to Saudi Arabia alone. The war in Yemen—where a Saudi-led coalition intervened in 2015 against a Houthi insurgency that had deposed the former president—is a locus of congressional attention. The conflict in Yemen is a humanitarian disaster and has left an estimated 110,000 dead and created widespread famine.
Q2: What are the foreign policy costs and benefits of U.S. arms exports?
A2: Under the Arms Export Control Act, arms sales are a foreign policy tool, and the decision to export must take into account U.S. interests, the broader needs of the buyer, and the risk of causing an arms race or regional conflict. As that short list implies, policymakers face multiple, sometimes conflicting, imperatives. Security cooperation can increase interoperability among allies. This makes it easier for militaries to work together, builds the capacity of U.S. partners to take on the burden of defending against common security threats, and rewards hosting bases, intelligence, and counterterrorism cooperation.
However, potential economic and security cooperation benefits must be weighed against the inherent risk that weapons may be used after delivery to facilitate human rights violations or to destabilize neighboring countries, causing direct harm as well as damage to the United States’ reputation. Because a wide range of interests are at stake, the arms sales approval process is led by the State Department, with advice and implementation typically supplemented by DoD. However, monitoring and enforcement by the State Department and DoD has been uneven.
Q3: Did the Trump administration’s effort to boost arms sales increase transfers?
A3: While President Trump may have “vastly inflated” the size of U.S. arms deals, his administration was successful in expanding sales of U.S. arms abroad
Under the Trump administration, the growth in sales and deliveries to countries that are not officially allied with the United States, as seen in the right-most two columns of the figure, became normalized. While this trend began during the second term of the Obama administration, Trevor Thrall and Jordan Cohen of the CATO Institute, found that “the Trump administration . . . sold more weapons to a riskier portfolio of clients than either the Bush or the Obama administrations did.”
Setting aside controversial arms sales, the use of security cooperation to bolster alliances may be a point of continuity between the Trump administration and the new Biden administration. The State Department hashighlighted these partnerships in outgoing messages, and, as the graph above shows, agreements have grown and deliveries within the alliance system have remained steady across U.S. administrations
Q4: In a more multipolar world, has the United States lost leverage over arms buyers?
A4: The suspension of some transfers to Saudi Arabia to pressure an end to the war in Yemen—as well as the threat of CAATSA standards against potential U.S. partners that buy Russian arms—are examples of conditionality in security cooperation. Even when the United States provides the financing for security assistance, the odds of U.S. pressure successfully changing recipient behavior rely on the specific context, careful application of tools, and the vulnerability of the seller relative to the buyer. Howe
Q5: What can the Biden administration do to manage risks and reinforce alliances?
A5: In his Senate nomination hearing to be secretary of state, Antony Blinken argued that “across administrations of both parties, Congress’s voice in foreign policy has been diluted and diminished” and that this “makes our country weaker.” Comments from Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin in their respective hearings upheld the emphasis that Biden placed on international alliances during his presidential campaign. That said, Blinken indicated that this support is not unconditional, warning that Turkey is “not acting like an ally should.”
https://defense360.csis.org/arms-trade-reform-options-for-the-new-administration-and-congress/
My comment: This is US Orwellian speech – always take Yemen, Afghanistan as illustrations to all of this. The US spoils the world with its arms.
cp9a USA-Iran Krise: Spannungen am Golf / US-Iran crisis: Tensions at the Gulf
(* B P)
Biden’s Iran Policy Is Just Trump’s Iran Policy With A Rainbow Flag Emoji
Biden is in effect continuing Trump’s Iran policy. Trump began strangling Iran with crushing sanctions in an effort to force it to obey US dictates, and Biden is continuing that exact same strangulation while continuing to demand compliance with its dictates. The demands might be a little different, but the effect is identical since Tehran would never bow to either of them.
The Iranian government has repeatedly made it abundantly clear that it will not be rejoining the JCPOA until the United States comes back into compliance, since it was the US who first abandoned it.
And that’s just getting back to the negotiating table for re-entering the deal as it is written. Gareth Porter reported last month that the Biden administration may plan on using the sanctions regime it inherited from the previous presidency as a “Trump card” to try and coerce Tehran into agreeing to a modified version of the deal.
Neither of these things are going to happen. Iran will not modify the deal, and it will not come back into compliance before the government which first abandoned the deal comes back into compliance. And the Biden administration appears to be perfectly fine with this, reportedly toying with the idea of waiting all the way until after Iran’s presidential elections in June to even begin approaching the deal.
The end result being that we still have a US presidency waging economic warfare upon Iran in exactly the same way it was before the 20th of January - by Caitlin Johnstone
(* B P)
Biden admin’s coercive Iran policy threatens serious new regional crisis
The Biden administration is banking on a scenario in which Iran agrees to cease its enrichment to 20% and reverse other major concessions Iran made as part of the 2015 agreement.
The Biden team then states it would start a new set of negotiations with Iran, in which the United States would use its leverage to pressure Iran into extending the timeline of its major commitments under the deal. Further, Tehran will be required to accept a modification in its missile program, as European allies have urged.
The Biden team’s Iran strategy was not hastily cobbled together just before inauguration.
Sullivan made it clear the primary goal of his proposed strategy was to constrain Iran by imposing extended restraints on its nuclear program.
At the heart of Biden’s strategy is the demand for Iran to return immediately to full compliance with the nuclear agreement. Before Iran rejoins the pact, the new administration expects it to reverse the moves it made to increase the level and the speed of enrichment in response to Trump’s withdrawal.
The Biden administration’s demand ignores the fact Iran scrupulously observed all of the JCPOA’s provisions for two years after the Trump administration had withdrawn from the agreement. It was only after the Trump administration reintroduced old sanctions outlawed by the agreement and introduced crushing new sanctions aimed at preventing Iran from exporting oil that Iran began enriching uranium at higher levels.
By piling up onerous demands while offering few concessions of its own, the new administration conveys the clear message that it is in no hurry to return to the JCPOA. Secretary of State of Tony Blinken stated in his confirmation testimony that the Biden administration was “a long way” from returning to the deal and said nothing about reversing any of the sanctions that were introduced or reintroduced by the Trump administration after it quit the agreement.
Learning the wrong lesson from Obama’scoercive diplomacy
Biden’s foreign policy team is comprised largely of Obama administration officials who either initiated nuclear deal talks in 2012-2013 or who were involved in the later stages of the negotiations
So it should be no surprise that the Biden team is pursuing an Iran strategy similar to the one that the Obama administration followed in its negotiations with Iran on the JCPOA itself.
In its bid to coerce a state that is fighting for its most basic national rights into submission, the Biden administration has exhibited a stubborn refusal to acknowledge the limits of U.S. power. The Trump administration’s “maximum pressure” campaign has already prompted Iran to establish military capabilities that it previously lacked.
If the Biden administration refuses to relent on its coercive diplomacy and provokes a crisis, Iran can now inflict serious costs on the United States and its allies in the region. Yet Biden’s foreign policy team appears so far to be oblivious to the serious risks inherent in its current path - by Gareth Porter
https://thegrayzone.com/2021/01/25/biden-administrations-coercive-iran-regional-crisis/
(B P)
Film: On GPS: Iranian FM on the Abraham accords & Yemen
Fareed asks Javad Zarif for his reaction to the evolution of US Middle East policy during the four years of the Trump
https://edition.cnn.com/videos/tv/2021/02/07/exp-gps-0207-zarif-on-abraham-accords-and-yemen.cnn
(* B P)
Schrittweise Wiederannäherung an Teheran?
Und so darf man die Entscheidung Blinkens denn auch als einen Schritt begreifen, die Voraussetzungen für Gespräche mit Iran zu schaffen. Letztlich geht es um die Frage, ob und unter welchen Bedingungen ein Wiederbeitritt Washingtons zur internationalen Atomvereinbarung möglich ist. Eine erste Bestandsaufnahme hatte Blinken dazu am Freitagabend in einer Videokonferenz mit den Außenministern Deutschlands, Frankreichs und Großbritanniens vorgenommen.
Im Wahlkampf hatte Biden die Position bezogen, Teheran sei am Zug. Es müsse sich erst an alle vertraglichen Auflagen halten, bevor die Vereinigten Staaten unter seiner Führung dem Abkommen wieder beitreten könnten. Und: Die Rückkehr zum alten Abkommen solle die Plattform für einen umfassenderen Vertrag sein, der nicht nur sicherstellen müsse, dass Iran keine Nuklearwaffen herstellen könne. Auch die schädliche Rolle, die das Regime in der Region spiele, müsse in den Fokus genommen worden
Der iranische Außenminister Mohammad Javad Zarif hob in einem CNN-Interview am Sonntag hervor, dass sein Land nie das Abkommen verlassen habe, sondern lediglich seine „Verpflichtungen reduziert“ habe.
Er bekräftigte, Washington müsse die Wirtschaftssanktionen aufheben, und lehnte es ab, über weiter gehende Verpflichtungen, die über die Wiener Vereinbarung hinausgingen, zu reden: „Wir kaufen das Pferd nicht zweimal“, sagte er
Zwei Punkte deuteten an, dass Washington geneigt sein könnte, sich indirekt Iran zu nähern: Da ist zum einen die Korrektur der amerikanischen Jemen-Politik, die Iran als Zugeständnis betrachten kann. Zudem bietet womöglich die Pandemie die Gelegenheit einer schrittweisen Annäherung
(A K P)
US convoy carrying logistic supplies targeted in Iraq’s Babil
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2021/02/06/644709/Iraq-us-logistic-supplies-convoy-Babil-PMU
(A P)
Teheran fordert von USA erneut ersten Schritt
Das Regime in Teheran bekräftigt, dass die USA bei der Wiederbelebung des Atomabkommens den ersten Schritt machen müssten. Erst wenn die USA alle Sanktionen gegen den Iran aufgehoben hätten, werde sich Teheran seinerseits wieder an die Vereinbarung halten, sagte das geistliche und politische Oberhaupt des Iran, Ajatollah Ali Khamenei, am Sonntag. „Das ist die unwiderrufliche und endgültige Entscheidung.“
https://www.diepresse.com/5934109/teheran-fordert-von-usa-erneut-ersten-schritt
(A P)
Iran: US must lift sanctions before it lives up to nuke deal
Iran’s supreme leader on Sunday urged the United States to lift all sanctions if it wants Iran to live up to commitments under its nuclear deal with world powers, state TV reported, his first comments on the matter since U.S. President Joe Biden took office.
“If (the U.S.) wants Iran to return to its commitments, it must lift all sanctions in practice, then we will do verification … then we will return to our commitments,” state TV quoted Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as saying.
https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-middle-east-iran-ali-khamenei-bf04c8662763c2e94aafadf74faa1b82
(A K P)
Iran inaugurates shoulder-fired missiles production line, solid fuel plants
Iran has inaugurated the mass production line of advanced shoulder-fired missiles and opened composite solid fuel plants capable of supplying fuel to all ground combat missiles, taking another step in line with boosting the country’s military and defense might.
(A P)
FM Zarif warns US over 'dangerous' delay in undoing wrongs
Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has criticized President Joe Biden's administration for not moving fast to rectify wrong steps taken under former president Donald Trump.
Despite Biden's pledge to return to the path of diplomacy, Iran is losing patience with his administration's recent signals to retain illegal sanctions on the Islamic Republic as a bargaining chip
“The more they hesitate, the more the US will lose,” Mohammad Javad Zarif said in an interview with the Iranian daily Hamshahri published on Saturday.
(* B K P)
Biden Cuts Support for Saudi War in Yemen, But It Should Only Be the First Step
What should come next for the U.S.-Saudi Arabia relationship
How the announcement will impact the bilateral U.S.-Saudi relationship as a whole is yet to be determined. As Biden reiterated, Washington will continue to assist the kingdom on defensive security measures, which suggests that the basic tenets of the 76-year-old arrangement will survive to some extent. Biden's change in Yemen policy, however, is an opportunity for the administration to conduct a comprehensive review of U.S.-Saudi relations. While it would be a mistake for the U.S. to arbitrarily throw its entire relationship with the Saudis overboard, there is no question the old oil-for-security transactionalism that was first cemented between President Franklin Delano Roosevelt and King Abdul Aziz Ibn Saud near the end of the Second World War is past its sell-by date. As geopolitics change, America's security partnerships must change along with it.
The Biden administration should rest its review of U.S. policy on Saudi Arabia upon three pillars.
First, Washington needs to place relations with Riyadh on an accurate baseline. As much as Saudi officials may wish otherwise, the monarchy is not a formal treaty ally of the United States and is thus not entitled to unconditional U.S. security privileges whenever it finds itself in trouble. Regrettably, if the monarchy believes it holds special status with the U.S., it's because Washington has done little to disabuse Riyadh of this assumption.
The Biden administration's contention that the U.S. will cooperate with Riyadh when U.S. and Saudi interests coincide and "not shy away from defending U.S. interests and values where they do not" is an encouraging evolution in Washington's approach that must be operationalized if it's to have any meaning.
Second, the U.S. should stop approaching the Middle East through a black-and-white frame. The common perception in the Beltway is that in the broader regional power struggle between Saudi Arabia and Iran, the former is irreplaceably good while the latter is indisputably bad. The real answer, however, is that Saudi Arabia and Iran have both done their fair share to destabilize the Middle East.
The U.S., therefore, should stay out of the Middle East's internal squabbles as a general principle, avoid picking winners in those fights, and begin the process of diversifying its diplomatic relationships with other states so the Saudis don't have an undue influence over U.S. policy.
Third, the Biden administration should support critical voices in the region who are seeking a new security architecture for the Middle East—one that relies less on the force of arms and more on direct diplomacy and confidence-building measures. On January 31, Saudi researcher Abdulaziz Sager and former Iranian diplomat Hossein Mousavian put forth an approach calling for exactly that.
The Biden administration's decision to pull the United States out of Yemen's six-year-long civil war was a highly prudent act. But it's merely a first step. Washington's Middle East policy must be anchored in restraint and humbleness. This simply won't happen until U.S. policy makers realign the U.S.-Saudi Arabia relationship with the realities of the world today—not on how the world looked during the Cold War.
cp10 Großbritannien / Great Britain
(A P)
Repealing the Muslim Ban Is Not Enough. We Need Accountability.
Countless people whose lives were altered by the ban are still waiting for closure.
Donald Trump became president on a platform charged with Islamophobia, demonization of immigrants, and white supremacy.
Now, President Joe Biden has begun to undo that. On his first day in office, Biden repealed the discriminatory Muslim ban, which has caused immense harm to Muslim communities in the U.S. and abroad.
Though its repeal is a step in the right direction, it is not nearly enough. We must acknowledge these harms and demand accountability for them. One powerful framework for demanding such accountability is people’s tribunals, which have proved effective in exposing human rights violations and pressuring state actors to take responsibility.
https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2021/02/muslim-ban-repeal-tribunals.html
(* A K P)
UK urged to follow US in ending support for Saudi-led bombing of Yemen
Activists and MPs call upon government to end backing that has 'armed, supported and enabled the brutal bombardment'
The UK government is coming under increasing pressure to end its support for the Saudi-led coalition's war in Yemen, after US President Joe Biden said Washington would no longer back the conflict.
In a statement released on Friday, Sarah Waldron of the group Campaign Against Arms Trade (CAAT) said: "The US Government is the biggest arms dealer in the world, so this could be an important step towards ending this terrible war.
"It also puts the spotlight firmly on to the UK government and companies that have armed, supported and enabled the brutal bombardment."
CAAT said there was a wealth of evidence to show that civilians are suffering disproportionately as a consequence of air strikes by the Saudi-led coalition.
The UK’s biggest arms company, BAE Systems, has made £15bn ($20.5bn) in revenue from services and sales to Saudi Arabia since 2015, CAAT said.
There were calls on Friday from both opposition and government members for the UK to end its support of the conflict.
In a statement, Labour’s shadow foreign secretary Lisa Nandy said: "The government's support for the Saudi campaign in Yemen is not only morally wrong but increasingly leaves Britain isolated on the world stage.
“President Biden’s decision to end US support for operations in Yemen shows just how far global opinion has shifted and leaves the UK worryingly out of step with our allies.
“Ministers must now take long overdue action to stop arms sales to Saudi Arabia and end the UK’s role in a conflict which has caused the world’s worst humanitarian crisis."
Conservative MP and Defence Select Committee Chair Tobias Ellwood called on the UK to show leadership by committing troops to a peacekeeping mission in Yemen and ending support to the Saudi-led coalition.
“A fresh strategy to resolve the seven year civil war is well overdue,” he wrote on Twitter.
https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/yemen-saudi-arabia-war-uk-support-urged-end
and CAAT full statement: https://caat.org.uk/news/caat-calls-for-uk-to-follow-us-in-ending-support-for-saudi-led-bombing-of-yemen/
and
(* A K P)
UK urged to follow US in restricting arms sales to Saudi Arabia
Tory former defence minister, Labour and charities call for rethink over Yemen conflict
Emily Thornberry, the shadow international trade secretary, said Biden’s first major foreign policy speech on Thursday should prompt a rethink among British ministers.
“For five years Labour has demanded the suspension of arms sales for use in Yemen and urged action to impose a ceasefire, open up humanitarian corridors and resume proper peace talks. For five years the Tories have refused. Now surely they must listen,” the MP said.
However, government officials said Biden’s announcement was “a matter for the US government”. A spokesperson said the UK “takes its export responsibilities seriously and will continue to assess all export licences in accordance with strict licensing criteria”.
One analyst said it was too early to determine whether Biden’s move would have any practical effect, but on a political level the UK was at risk of becoming increasingly isolated on arms sales to Saudi.
and Statement by Labour Party, E. Thornberry: https://labour.org.uk/press/truss-urged-to-follow-bidens-lead-on-yemen-arms-exports/
cp12 Andere Länder / Other countries
(* B P)
UAE Planning To Impose Dahlan As Abbas Successor
Identical sources revealed to the Emirates Leaks website about an early plot by the UAE to impose Mohammed Dahlan, advisor to Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed, as a successor to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
Dahlan is a former leader in the Fatah movement, but he has a suspicious background, whom Fatah dismissed and accused of theft and involvement in a murder.
Since his expulsion from the West Bank in 2011, Dahlan resides in the UAE and works as a consultant for suspicious services to Bin Zayed.
The UAE launched pro-government media outlets to promote Dahlan to enhance his chances in the recently announced Palestinian elections.
According to the Emirates Leaks, the Emirati Al-Arab newspaper published from London published a report claiming to warn that the Palestinian legislative and presidential elections would lead to the reproduction of the “legitimacy” of the current fait accompli.
The newspaper claimed that President Mahmoud Abbas and Hamas’s continued duality in controlling official Palestinian institutions would mean the continuation of the separation between Gaza and the West Bank.
It added that a wide circle of Palestinians is betting on the rise of Dahlan’s “reformist movement” to break this duality.
https://english.almasirah.net/post/17648/UAE-Planning-To-Impose-Dahlan-As-Abbas-Successor
(* B P)
NY Times: UAE Hired US Intelligence Hackers to Spy on 'Enemies'
A group of hackers, who once worked for US intelligence agencies, helped the United Arab Emirates (UAE) spy on its neighbor Qatar and other countries, the New York Times reports.
David Evenden, a former National Security Agency (NSA) analyst, and other US operatives were lured to Abu Dhabi by a boutique Beltway contractor with offers to double, even quadruple, their salaries and promises of a tax-free lifestyle.
The former US intelligence officials were initially requested to spy on dissidents and political opponents of the UAE monarchy, according to the Times.
Soon, though, they were assigned to a new project and asked to find out whether there were any connections between the Qatari government and the Muslim Brotherhood, and whether Qatar was funding the movement.
Evenden told his bosses that the only way to know would be to hack Qatar and launch spying operations on the tiny energy-rich nation. “Go for it,” they told him.
According to Evenden, his team at the contractor, CyberPoint, hacked UAE enemies all over the world, including officials at world's soccer governing body FIFA, the monarchy’s Twitter critics, and especially Qatari royals.
UAE authorities reportedly wanted to know where they were flying, who they were meeting and what they were saying, the report said.
Back in April 2019, Reuters news agency reported that a number of American hackers who once worked for US intelligence agencies helped the UAE spy on a BBC host, the chairman of Al Jazeera television news network and other prominent Arab media figures during a 2017 diplomatic row between UAE and its allies against Qatar.
The American operatives reportedly worked for Project Raven, a secret Emirati intelligence program, and included at least nine former employees of the US National Security Agency and the US military.
https://parstoday.com/en/news/west_asia-i133926-uae_hired_us_intelligence_hackers_to_spy_on_'enemies'_ny_times = https://english.almasirah.net/post/17651/NY-Times-UAE-Hired-US-Intelligence-Hackers-to-Spy-on-Enemies-
and as a reminder from Jan. 2019: https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/usa-spying-raven/
(A P)
Iran urges warmongering countries to end Yemen siege
The spokesman of Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Saturday evening that the belligerent countries should realize their six-year-long mistake and put an end to the war and siege of Yemen and take up a peaceful solution.
Ending the support for the Saudi coalition and stopping the sale of arms to them could be a step toward correcting past mistakes, Saeed Khatibzadeh said answering a question about US officials' recent remarks about Yemen.
https://en.irna.ir/news/84214580/Iran-urges-warmongering-countries-to-end-Yemen-siege
and also https://en.mehrnews.com/news/169595/Stopping-arms-sales-to-Riyadh-could-be-a-step-forward
(A P)
UAE drastically cut funding for Palestinian refugees in 2020
https://apnews.com/article/middle-east-israel-united-arab-emirates-f25e0734de67b23129da9a8bd656ce47
cp12b Sudan
(A P)
ICC officials in Sudan seek cooperation for Darfur justice
Sudan’s justice minister met with officials from the International Criminal Court in the capital of Khartoum on Sunday to discuss cooperation with the tribunal in the trials related to the Darfur conflict, his office said.
Justice Minister Nasredeen Abdulbari said Sudanese authorities are conducting “internal deliberations” over “the best ways of cooperation” with the ICC. He did not elaborate.
https://apnews.com/article/world-news-sudan-khartoum-africa-courts-63a33cbce153210760ebe16550228adf
(A P)
Filling of Ethiopia's Renaissance Dam in July Called Threat to Sudan's Security
Any unilateral step by Ethiopia to further fill its hydropower project, called the Renaissance Dam, in July would directly threaten Sudan's national security, Sudanese Irrigation and Water Resources Minister Yasser Abbas said Saturday.
Sudan is also proposing a mediation role for the United States, European Union, United Nations and African Union as a way of breaking the deadlock in talks about the dam between Sudan, Egypt and Ethiopia, Abbas told Reuters in an interview.
His comments come at a time of increased tension between Sudan and Ethiopia over disputed farmland near their shared border.
and also https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/2/6/filling-ethiopias-dam-threatens-sudans-security-minister
cp13a Waffenhandel / Arms trade
Siehe / Look at cp10
(* B K P)
Saudische Soldaten trainierten an Ruag-Simulator
SonntagsBlick-Recherchen zeigen: Bei Schulungen lernten saudische Offiziere an einem Simulator des Schweizer Rüstungskonzerns Ruag den Umgang mit einem Artillerie-System. Wenig später wurde es im Jemen-Krieg eingesetzt.
Wer verstehen will, wie Riad von Schweizer Know-how profitiert, muss nach Frankreich blicken. 2017 – vermutlich auch in den darauffolgenden Jahren – organisierte das staatliche französische Unternehmen DCI dort umfassende Trainings für mehrere Dutzend Kader der saudischen Nationalgarde (Sang).
An Simulatoren übten die Offiziere Kampfeinsätze mit selbstfahrenden Haubitzen des Typs Caesar, eines Artilleriesystems von tödlicher Effizienz, das auch im Jemen-Krieg zum Einsatz kommt. Die Geschütze können von einem Geländelastwagen sechs Projektile pro Minute abfeuern. Ihre Reichweite: 42 Kilometer. Die Sprengkraft: verheerend.
SonntagsBlick liegen Videoaufnahmen von einem der Trainings im Jahr 2017 vor, über die auch das niederländische Recherchebüro Lighthouse Reports berichtet hat. Die Aufnahmen entstanden in der französischen Militärschule in Draguignan und sind Teil eines Image-Films von DCI.
Um den Schülern aus Saudi-Arabien ein möglichst realistisches Kampferlebnis zu garantieren, benutzten die Organisatoren von DCI das hoch spezialisierte Simulationssystem Sota, hergestellt von Ruag, einer Tochterfirma des bundeseigenen Schweizer Rüstungskonzerns. Die Ruag räumt ein, dass man 2014 ein solches System an DCI geliefert habe
Die unabhängige jemenitische NGO Mwatana for Human Rights stellte kürzlich fest, dass nahe der Grenze zu Saudi-Arabien – also dort, wo die Caesar-Geschütze stehen – in den Jahren 2018 bis 2020 zahlreiche Zivilisten durch Artilleriefeuer getötet wurden. Zeitpunkt und Art des Beschusses sowie festgestellte Schäden deuten nach Angaben der NGO auf eine Beteiligung von Caesar-Haubitzen hin.
Zu der Vermutung, dass saudische Soldaten bei ihren Angriffen im Jemen auf Ruag-Know-how zurückgreifen, will sich Clemens Gähwiler, der Sprecher des Konzerns, nicht äussern.
Film: https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=755015235123749
(B K P)
Air NZ has been secretly helping Saudi Arabian military despite its role in Yemen humanitarian crisis
A 1 NEWS investigation has revealed that Air New Zealand's business unit, Gas Turbines, which specialises in servicing military marine engines and turbines, has been supporting the Saudi Navy.
The Saudi Navy has been blockading Yemen - stopping food and medicine getting through to the country.
But it appears Air New Zealand has put an immediate stop to the work and is promising it won't happen again.
For nearly eight weeks Air New Zealand refused to answer 1 NEWS' questions about its activities in Saudi Arabia.
Last week it finally issued a short statement saying Air New Zealand Gas Turbines had been carrying out work for the Saudi Navy through a third party contract.
But Amnesty International is questioning whether Air New Zealand did its homework before supporting the Saudi Arabian military.
"I would have expected Air New Zealand to have carried out due diligence about the human rights risks and in doing so look in the actuality of what impact their services would have," its campaign director Lisa Woods told 1 NEWS.
"We would be appalled if there was any company here (in New Zealand) that through their activities were contributing to human rights violations and having an adverse impact on human rights."
Air New Zealand's shareholding minister Grant Robertson was not aware that Air New Zealand had been supporting the Saudi military until contacted by 1 NEWS.
and
(A K P)
Air NZ’s Possible Assistance To Saudi Military Ships Committing Atrocities In Yemen Appalling
The Green Party strongly condemns the revelation that Air New Zealand may have provided assistance and maintenance to Saudi Arabian vessels involved in committing atrocities in Yemen.
cp13b Kulturerbe / Cultural heritage
(A)
Antiquities Authority: Dhofar Museum exposed to steal two pieces
Last Monday, the Dhofar Museum in Ibb province was robbed, resulting in the theft of two antique pieces, one of which is a Sabaean Hamiri seal and the second is a Brunei piece with an inscription within 13 lines.
https://www.saba.ye/en/news3127374.htm
and what Hado government propaganda makes of it: http://en.26sepnews.net/2021/02/06/information-minister-condemns-houthi-looting-of-museum/
https://www.spa.gov.sa/viewfullstory.php?lang=en&newsid=2187129
cp13c Wirtschaft / Economy
(B E P)
Film: Fishermen return and improve their standard of living | Fisheries Associations in Hadramout
SMEPS believes in the importance of the resilience and continuity of the private sector and providing them with the necessary support and a response from the Islamic Development Bank Group to face the emergency situation that Yemen is going through in general and the enterprise sector in particular, and after the success achieved by the first phase of the BRAVE project, the agency announces The development of small and smaller enterprises for the launch of the second phase of the project to target the leading authorities in a number of vital sectors such as: - the health sector / the agricultural sector / the fish sector / the food industry sector / the clothing industry sector.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iq6IYGJ7Vu8
(A E P)
[Hadi] Yemen government appoints Ernst & Young to audit central bank - statement
Yemen’s government has appointed Ernst & Young to audit its central bank accounts, a statement from the prime minister’s office said on Sunday, in response to accusations by United Nations officials that it laundered Saudi money.
The audit will include internal supervision and control, as well as a review of Saudi deposits’ spending, the statement from the office of Maeen Abdulmalik added.
Last month, independent U.N. sanctions monitors accused the Saudi-backed government of money-laundering and corruption “that adversely affected access to adequate food supplies”.
The monitors said in a report that Saudi Arabia deposited $2 billion with Central Bank of Yemen in January 2018 under a development and reconstruction program. The money was intended to fund credit to buy commodities - such as rice, sugar, milk and flour - to strengthen food security and stabilize domestic prices.
The bank broke its foreign exchange rules, manipulated the foreign exchange market and “laundered a substantial part of the Saudi deposit in a sophisticated money-laundering scheme” that saw traders receive a $423 million windfall.
Yemen’s government statement said Abdulmalik ordered a thorough and urgent investigation on how the Saudi deposit was spent.
and also https://debriefer.net/en/news-23011.html
cp14 Terrorismus / Terrorism
(* B T)
Al-Qaeda’s top man in Yemen captured last year, UN reveals
Khalid Batarfi was reportedly handed over to Saudi authorities in the latest hammer blow to the leadership of Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.
The head of al-Qaeda’s branch in Yemen, Khalid Batarfi, was captured in the country’s eastern Mahra governorate in October, according to a new United Nations report.
The operation was reported to have taken place in the town of al-Ghayda and led to the death of the local franchise’s second-in-command, Saad Atef al-Awlaqi.
The report did not say who conducted the operation. A spokesperson for US Central Command credited Yemen’s armed forces with capturing Batarfi, one of the highest-ranking al-Qaeda officials ever taken alive. He was later turned over to Saudi Arabia, according to the UN report.
The jihadi leader’s detention follows a series of heavy blows to al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula in recent years. The group has suffered significant defections and dissension and has largely been driven out of al-Bayda governorate.
In October, SITE Intelligence Group, which uses open-source materials to monitor terrorism, cited unconfirmed reports of Batarfi’s capture by Yemeni security services. Last week, an obviously prerecorded video of Batarfi was released. His capture is a likely intelligence windfall for the United States and its regional partners.
Batarfi, of Yemeni descent but born in Riyadh, was appointed to lead the terrorist group's Yemen branch in February 2020 after its prior leader Qassim al-Raimi was killed in a US airstrike. Raimi was reportedly the target of the failed 2017 Navy SEAL raid launched just days after Trump took office.
Kendall told Al-Monitor by phone Friday, “AQAP has been very weak for well over a year now. They can’t trust each other. All they’re doing now is bringing out secondhand footage from ages ago.”
The group’s remnants appear to have gone even further underground after a US drone strike in May killed an al-Qaeda figure believed to have been the intermediary for the Pensacola Naval Air Station shooter, Kendall said. Raimi had claimed credit for directing a Saudi military student’s shooting spree that killed three US military personnel in December 2019 at the Florida base.
Little if anything has been publicly heard or seen from Raimi's successor, Batarfi, since last spring. In October, reports circulated of a firefight between security forces and al-Qaeda in al-Mahra, Yemen’s easternmost province.
Saudi forces work with local security in al-Mahra and maintain a base in the city of al-Ghayda.
Batarfi, who is believed to have trained in Afghanistan in 1999, led the group’s takeover of Yemen’s southern Abyan governorate in 2010 before being captured shortly thereafter. He and other senior al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula leaders escaped the Central Prison in al-Mukallah in 2015.
He was designated a terrorist by the State Department in 2018. Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula has yet to comment on the report of his latest capture.
https://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2021/02/qaeda-yemen-capture-leader-un.html
(A T)
#AQAP is clearly scraping around for footage. It has just released another "new" video, no.18 in "Concepts" series. Raymi again, but same 'studio' set-up as the latest #Batarfi series. So it's likely both date back to OCT2016. This is B-list material from the cutting room floor (photos)
https://twitter.com/Dr_E_Kendall/status/1357763299278868480
cp15 Propaganda
(A P)
Biden has given away valuable leverage in Yemen
While Mr Trump left Mr Biden few plans on how to deal with major domestic crises, he did leave behind a smart blueprint for America’s relations in the Arabian Peninsula. Embedded within it was a useful tool for helping to resolve the seemingly intractable conflict in Yemen, which has plagued Yemen and the region for nearly six years.
As a parting shot for the administration, Mike Pompeo, Mr Trump’s secretary of state, announced in January that the Houthi rebel group controlling most of Yemen would be formally designated a terrorist organisation by the US. The designation, according to Mr Pompeo, was “intended to hold them accountable for terrorist acts, including cross-border attacks threatening civilian populations”. But it was also, he noted, “intended to advance efforts to achieve a peaceful, sovereign and united Yemen that is both free from Iranian interference and at peace with its neighbours”.
Designating the Houthis terrorists seemed, at the very least, an exercise in stating the obvious. But it also provided the Biden administration with leverage to use in the much-needed peace negotiations that will prove the only way to solve Yemen’s crisis. Last week, however, Mr Biden reversed Mr Pompeo’s move, under pressure from critics in Washington who feared that the designation, which sanctioned entities that deal with the Houthis, would obstruct the flow of aid to the Yemeni people. This is despite the fact that the work of relief agencies have been affected by the actions of the Houthis, who have taxed aid and extorted aid workers, in addition to occasionally blocking their activities altogether.
My remark: By an UAE news site.
(A P)
Yemen: satire and anger as US bends over backwards towards Houthis
The US quick turn to appease Houthis by stopping arms sales and announcing the intent to remove them from the terror list even though they were put on the list only in the last day of Trump has engendered biting satire and fury on a large scale in Yemen.
The indirect criticism came from Prime Minister Abdulmalik who told an EU delegation:
Yemeni MP Abdurahman Muazi’b said in a satirical Facebook Post. “Without a real pressure on the main sponsor of these militias [Iran], there will be no peace and the targeted attacks on Yemenis, the country’s regions and the international shipping lanes will remain.”
“The US is expected to withdraw 5000 soldiers from Nehm front, 10,000 from the Western Coast front, and a similar number from the front of Saadah and Taiz. Withdraw your damned support. This is our battle and the battle of the Arabs against the Persians.”
Yemen’s ambassador to the UNESCO Mohammed Juemeih said in a tweet: “Houthis are a terrorist organization whether Washington designates them as so or doesn’t… Confronting this scheme (the Houthis) remains the responsibility of the Yemenis, not the others.”
https://www.alsahwa-yemen.net/en/p-44955
(A P)
A Yemeni journalist scores a point against western journalists
One Yemeni journalist is accusing the western journalists of being constantly biased in favor of the Houthis, the Shiit version of Daesh, in Yemen.
That journalist is me. I challenges all of you western journalists to prove me wrong.
My argument is that you - over the past years - have focused your reports so much to present the Houthi views to the world and hide the facts.
I think I am - - perhaps in the whole of Yemen- the only one highly conscious of your adamant bias in favor of Houthis.
And I have taken it upon myself to spread the awareness about it.
I have written a number of articles and provided the evidence exposing what you do.
Now I am exposing a new feature of your biased work: The images that accompanied your texts.
I challenge you to prove me wrong over it!
In your vehement effort to depict the Yemeni war and its concomitant misery from a Houthi standpoint, you have been geographically biased to the Houthi side. More to the point, you use - in the absolute majority of your articles - an image of a damaged building in Sana’a or a malnourished or sick child/person in Sana’a. As though the war and the misery befell only Sana’a. You are doing this because Houthis control Sana’a and you want to portray the war through the Houthi victimhood prism. You cover up on the fact that Sana’a survived the war with the least damage compared to other cities that were too unfortunate by the invasion of the Shiit Daesh you support. Taiz, Aden and Hodeidah cities are examples.
https://www.alsahwa-yemen.net/en/p-44956
(A P)
Any US pursuit to annual Houthis’ terror designation is meant for vandalism: Gov’t official
A Yemeni government official has said that “any US pursuit to annul the Houthi terror designation decision is meant for vandalism to chaos in Yemen.”
Deputy Information Minister Najib Ghallab said in a tweet, “If the new US administration vacates this decision, it means it is seeking to make Yemen a region of sustainable chaos for Yemenis and to destabilize the security of the neighboring countries.”
https://www.alsahwa-yemen.net/en/p-44957
(A P)
Khamenei: Biden’s Preferred Dictator?
Within less than a month of his inauguration, the new American president Joe Biden has taken several actions with one theme in common____ they all, directly or indirectly, serve the interests of the Iranian regime.
First, it was the appointment of Robert Malley, the new envoy on Iran, who is seen as controversial by many observers for his past friendly rapprochement with the Mullahs’ regime in Iran and their allies in the region.
What President Biden’s policy advisors fail to grasp is that the initial nuclear deal with Iran didn’t fail just because the ex-president Trump withdrew from it, but because the Mullahs want more from the deal than just lifting the sanctions; they want full normalisation with the Western world, a deal that increases their value and prestige among youth across the whole region, and they want to continue to erode the pillars of many regional states like Lebanon and Yemen.
The hasty decision to revoke the Houthis’ designation as a foreign terrorist group and the lack of any deterrence of Iran’s proxy Hezbollah are problematic. The Biden administration has already offered the Mullahs unwarranted gifts in the hope they will reciprocate and negotiate in good faith. This hope, however, is nothing but a charade.
https://nervana1.org/2021/02/06/khamenei-bidens-preferred-dictator/
(A P)
‘Delving into Details’ Characterizes New Washington Policy on Yemen
With Washington appointing a special envoy to Yemen and President Joe Biden expressing his desire for conflict to end in the war-torn Arab country, it seems that US policy on Yemen is being steered in a new direction.
Unlike its predecessors, the Biden administration is showing great interest in getting involved in the particularities of the conflict.
The Trump and Obama administrations, from 2014 until 2020, maintained consistent policies on Yemen that limited US involvement to confronting terrorism, supporting UN efforts to promote a political solution, and providing relief aid to alleviate the humanitarian crisis.
US political sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that the Trump administration has made few high-level diplomatic attempts to directly mediate internal conflicts in Yemen and contribute to reaching a settlement.
Biden has long slammed US policy on Yemen as ineffective and urged Washington to engage in the details of the conflict.
“The Biden administration is aware that Iran's support for the Houthis is exacerbating the conflict in Yemen, especially after the US Department of Defense discovering caches of potentially Iran-made advanced weapons destined for Houthis,” sources told Asharq Al-Awsat.
They added that many members of congress now share Biden’s vision on increasing direct US involvement for settling the Yemeni conflict.
My comment: By a Saudi news site. This article claims Obama and Trump administrations had “limited US involvement to confronting terrorism, supporting UN efforts to promote a political solution, and providing relief aid to alleviate the humanitarian crisis”???? LOL.
(A P)
Saudi Press: Saudi Arabia Welcomes What Was Stated in Speech of US President on Washington’s Commitment to Cooperate with Saudi Arabia to Defend Its Sovereignty and Counter Threats Against It
Saudi newspapers highlighted in their editorials today a number of issues at local, regional and international arenas.
Al-Yaum and Al-Bilad newspapers reported in their editorials that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has supported and enhanced the peace and stability efforts regionally and internationally since its inception until this prosperous era, led by the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz, and His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, Crown Prince, Deputy Prime Minister, and Minister of Defense.
For many decades, Saudi-US relations has witnessed unprecedented development at all political, economic and security levels, as their strategic cooperation has remained a basic pillar for energy security and regional and global stability, in addition to confronting threats and risks of extremism and terrorism the papers added.
In the context of these strategic relations, Saudi Arabia welcomed what was stated in the speech of US President Joe Biden regarding Washington’s commitment to cooperating with Saudi Arabia to defend its sovereignty and counter the threats against it, as Riyadh affirmed its firm stance towards the current issues, including the Yemeni crisis, as well as the unilateral ceasefire announced by the coalition in response to US Secretary-General's call, the papers further added .
Saudi Arabia has reiterated its continued support for efforts to reach a comprehensive political solution based on three references, represented by the Security Council Resolution (2216), the GCC initiative and its executive mechanism and the outcomes of the Yemeni national dialogue, as it continues its pioneering humanitarian role and its remarkable efforts to alleviate the suffering of Yemeni people and strengthens cooperation and coordination with the United States to deal with challenges in the region, including pushing the peace process forward in the Middle East and putting an end to conflicts in many countries, in addition to enhancing security and stability in the region and the world, the papers concluded.
https://www.spa.gov.sa/viewfullstory.php?lang=en&newsid=2187011
(A P)
Biden’s policy shift adopts western media’s view
For the past years the war has been perpetuated by the incessant Houthi attempts to press forward on government-held territories not by the airstrikes. The airstrikes were for some reasons more engendering media backlash than rolling back Houthi expansion.
To this moment, Houthi offensives are still what constitute most of the ongoing hostilities.
The army which – by the virtue of an international conspiracy – has been denied weapons and even salaries, kept retreating or, at best, held grounds.
This is not an opinion. These are facts.
The international media outlets dedicated themselves to hiding these facts. The western media led and the rest followed.
Yemen’s war story has been distorted in what serves the Iranian and Houthi agenda. The international conspiracy has been so consistent and firm to the side of Iran, against the Yemeni nation.
https://www.alsahwa-yemen.net/en/p-44923
(A P)
Yemen says UN, int’l community adopt ‘appeasement policy’ toward Houthis
In a tweet, Muammar al-Eryani said, “The UN and international community’s adoption of appeasement policy has contributed to the Houthi intransigence and wasting of time.”
https://www.alsahwa-yemen.net/en/p-44921
(A P)
Biden’s Yemen withdrawal will only embolden the terrorists
This most recent Houthi attack on Saudi Arabia was a test of the new administration’s resolve, and Thursday’s announcement shows it is sorely lacking. The Houthi and the IRGC, both designated Foreign Terrorist Organizations by the Trump administration, will now be emboldened to attempt more sophisticated and far-reaching attacks against our friends and allies across the region, including Israel.
Biden’s withdrawal from Yemen may have been intended as an olive branch to Tehran in anticipation of renewed diplomatic engagement, but it is unlikely the Iranian regime will respond reasonably to any such outreach when it senses weakness from the United States.
The Yemen mission has never been popular for the simple reason that the Houthi, bolstered by the formidable Iranian propaganda machine, have successfully cast themselves in the court of public opinion as brave rebels battling Saudi imperialism. Those who unquestioningly accept this narrative fail to recognize the grim threat the Houthi pose to the stability of the entire Arabian peninsula, as well as to the vital shipping lane into the Red Sea through the Bab al-Mandeb strait.
US support for the Yemen campaign — initiated, notably, by the Obama administration in 2015 — is limited to training to reduce civilian casualties and counter-terrorism missions, but it is an important symbol of American commitment to our alliance with the kingdom. This shift in policy sends a dangerous signal to the region that the United States is weak and conflicted, and that our support for our allies is wavering.
https://nypost.com/2021/02/05/bidens-yemen-withdrawal-will-only-embolden-the-terrorists/
(A P)
More Saudi coalition „We are benefactors“ propaganda
https://www.spa.gov.sa/viewfullstory.php?lang=en&newsid=2187097
https://www.spa.gov.sa/viewfullstory.php?lang=en&newsid=2187093
https://www.spa.gov.sa/viewfullstory.php?lang=en&newsid=2187080
https://www.spa.gov.sa/viewfullstory.php?lang=en&newsid=2187056
https://www.spa.gov.sa/viewfullstory.php?lang=en&newsid=2187043
cp16 Saudische Luftangriffe / Saudi air raids
(* A K pH)
Saudi coalition air raids and shelling day by day
Feb. 4: https://www.facebook.com/lcrdye/photos/a.551858951631141/1930451427105213/
Feb. 3: https://www.facebook.com/lcrdye/photos/a.551858951631141/1930450940438595/
Feb. 2: https://www.facebook.com/lcrdye/photos/a.551858951631141/1930450377105318/
(A K pH)
Three Children Injured by US-Saudi Remnant Cluster Bomb in Sa’adah Governorate
and also https://www.saba.ye/en/news3127391.htm
(A K)
Apaches introduced to battles in Yemeni Sa'ada
Arab coalition aircraft on Friday carried out violent bombing on different sites in the Yemeni northern governorate of Sa'ada, al-Masyra reported.
Saudi-led coalition apaches bombed sites in Kitaf district in Sa'ada, the Houthi-run TV added.
This is the first time apaches are used in Yemen's war pitting the Arab coalition-backed government against the Iranian-backed Houthi group.
https://debriefer.net/en/news-22959.html
(* B H K)
My Village’s School
A Societal Struggle turned over to Rubble by the War
Despite the modesty and low quality of education, this school was the only good opportunity that I encountered for the first time in my arid rural life. The same was true for the majority of Yemenis who were not among the few groups that are relatively liberated from this reality, particularly in relation to opportunities, including quality education.
Despite the relevance of every discussion on the issue of public education, its level of quality and the quality of its outputs, and with all of the comments and drawbacks, education exported to the country thousands of qualified people in various fields, from residents of the cities and the countryside.
Since I left the village with my family and moved to the city of Taiz in the late nineties, in search of a better life, and new opportunities in education, services and work, I visited many villages, regions, cities and countries, and with every bliss or misery I encounter in my way, my village grows to my mind with its villagers and children with their shabby clothes. So, I ask myself; When will they have the ideal opportunity to live a decent life, or even a minimal one? When will time come when the residents of my village and the rest of the Yemeni villages have good education, health, services, and a road network?
In Mwatana for Human Rights, we are trying today to put education issues as a priority, whether by shedding light on the damage inflicted on this important sector during the last years of the war, or by participating in elaborating the necessary solutions that will improve and upgrade services in this aspect.
When I received a report from the Mwatana field team that the parties to the conflict destroyed a school within my village’s district, I opened the document and discovered that it was my small school. Yes, we are witnessing a conflict, with claims and speeches of patriotism, warplanes and armed groups, and yet the victim is a school.
However, what the world may see as just a small, dilapidated building, which was subsequently turned into rubble and a pile of stones, is much bigger than that for a distant, remote and forgotten village. It is the first thread of hope for a better future, and a small defense against backwardness and ignorance.
The eyewitnesses did not detect a military presence inside the school, before the bombing, but there was a military checkpoint belonging to the Ansar Allah armed group (Houthis), about 800 meters away, with about six armed individuals and a military vehicle. There are also reports that the school had been used by Ansar Allah armed group (Houthis) for military purposes as a detention facility prior to the attack.
Despite four years passing after the attack, the school is still completely destroyed from the western, northern and eastern directions, and the view of the rubble is more apparent from its yard.
Although the school building has almost completely collapsed, students flock to study daily, some in torn, shabby clothes, walking – even though years have passed since their dream was shattered – among the rubble, not caring about the debris.
Every morning, the schoolyard is filled with students and teachers, then some of them go to the remaining semi-destroyed classes, without doing the morning queue exercises, and others remain in the yard and at the windows and doors of the classrooms.
There are no longer chairs to sit on, or tables to write on, although among these students are children between the ages of 5 to 12 years, and they are the most affected group by this devastation, with the overwhelming noise, as there are no doors or windows, only dust, debris and burning sunlight in a barren village.
Although many of the school’s students have dropped out, or are now living in the diaspora, there are those who still travel long distances to the heart of the destruction, accustomed to the fact that this remote part of the land contained a small window to the world, contained a school. (photos)
https://mwatana.org/en/my-villages-school/
(A K pH)
More Saudi coalition air raids
https://english.almasirah.net/post/17654/US-Saudi-Aggression-s-Daily-Update-for-%C2%A0Sunday%2C-Feb7%2C-2021 Marib p., Hajjap., Saada p.
https://english.almasirah.net/post/17637/US-Saudi-Aggression-s-Daily-Update-for-Saturday%2C-Feb-6%2C-2021 / https://www.saba.ye/en/news3127519.htm Marib p.
https://www.saba.ye/en/news3127358.htm Jawf p.
cp17 Kriegsereignisse / Theater of War
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.
Siehe / Look at cp18
(* A K pS)
In blatant defiance of the intl community’s calls for a political & peaceful end to the war in #Yemen, today #Houthi #terrorist militias launched a large-scale attacks on governorates of #Marib & #AlJawf, targeting residential areas with ballistic missiles & drone bombs.
This #Houthi terrorist attack, killing 3 civilians and wounding dozens more, is a clear military escalation, and confirms once again the Govt of #Yemen’s repeated warnings that Houthis do not believe in peace.
Furthermore, the #Houthis also are still exacerbating the #humanitarian crisis through their continued use of violence and targeting of innocent civilians, including the hundreds of thousands of #IDPs, who escaped the Houthis’ many brutalities.
https://twitter.com/yemen_mofa/status/1358481408264605696
and
(* A K)
20 killed as Yemen's Houthis step up military operations against oil-rich Marib
Yemen's Houthi forces intensified military operations against the government-controlled oil-rich province of Marib on Sunday, leaving at least 20 people killed.
An official of Marib's local authority told Xinhua on condition of anonymity that "the Houthis stepped up their military operations against military sites manned by the government forces in different areas of northeastern Marib province."
He said that the Houthi fighters simultaneously launched on-ground military operations and missile attacks against the strategic Yemeni province.
"The rebels advanced militarily following intense armed confrontations with the pro-government forces in Marib's southern parts," the source said.
Seven Houthi fighters were captured by the pro-government forces during the battles that are still taking place sporadically in Marib, according to the official.
Medical sources at Marib's public hospital confirmed to Xinhua that "today's battles resulted in the killing of nearly 17 government soldiers and injuring many others."
Earlier in the day, a Houthi-fired ballistic missile struck the headquarters of the 3rd Regional Military Command in the densely populated province of Marib, leaving three people killed and several others wounded.
On the other side, the Houthi-affiliated Masirah TV reported that the Saudi Arabia-led coalition carried out four airstrikes against Marib's district of Serwah.
http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2021-02/08/c_139728560.htm
and
(A K pS)
Houthis renew attacks on Marib
Houthis have renewed their fierce attacks on the government-held city of Marib drunk with US good gestures towards them,
The UN-backed Shiit militants launched a ballistic missile, drone attacks and intensive ground advance attempts on the city early Sunday, days after the US suspended arms sales and revealed its intent to end a terror designation against them from December.
https://www.alsahwa-yemen.net/en/p-44958
and
(A K pS)
Three civilians were killed and others injured after the #Houthi group fired missiles targeting #Marib governorate.
https://twitter.com/BelqeesRights/status/1358462457841336327
and
(A K)
[Hadi gov.] Yemeni troops down drone in Marib amid Houthi massive attack
https://debriefer.net/en/news-23006.html
(A K pS)
Film: Yemen – Artillery shelling targets the passports and traffic buildings in Taiz Artillery shelling by the Houthi militia on several residential areas in Taiz left 3 people injured.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GD32psT0CGI
Photos: https://twitter.com/RiyadhAldubai/status/1358444348849938435
(A K pS)
Photos: #Houthi militia targeted today Al Moroor neighborhood in the besieged city of #Taiz with artillery shells. No casualties have been reported so far.
https://twitter.com/RepYemenEnglish/status/1358429056983683082
(A K pS)
A middle-aged woman was shot today by a Houthi sniper in Sallah district, east of Taiz. (Injured; photo)
https://twitter.com/RepYemenEnglish/status/1358394535542456321
(A K pS)
Joint Forces Command of the Coalition to Restore Legitimacy in Yemen: Interception, Destruction of (2) Bomb-Laden UAVs Launched by Terrorist, Iran-Backed Houthi Militia Toward the Kingdom
https://www.spa.gov.sa/viewfullstory.php?lang=en&newsid=2187412
(A K pS)
Joint Forces Command of the Coalition to Restore Legitimacy in Yemen: Interception, Destruction of Bomb-Laden UAV Launched by Terrorist, Iran-Backed Houthi Militia Toward the Kingdom
https://www.spa.gov.sa/viewfullstory.php?lang=en&newsid=2187400
(A K pS)
KSrelief's Masam Project Dismantles more than 1,500 Mines in Yemen During 1st Week of February
King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center (KSrelief)'s Masam Project for Clearing Mines in Yemen demined 1,524 mines during the first week of February 2021, including eleven anti-personnel mines, 404 anti-tank mines, 1,106 unexploded ordnance and three explosive devices.
Since the beginning of the project, as many as 215,961 mines planted by the Houthi militia have been dismantled.
https://www.spa.gov.sa/viewfullstory.php?lang=en&newsid=2187382
(A K)
Yemen: 3 Saudi officers killed in Marib
Three Saudi officers were killed on Saturday due to a missile shelling targeted Tadawin camp in north of Marib city, reported local sources.
The sources affirmed that three Saudi officers and four officers of the Yemeni mercenaries were killed in missile bombardment targeted coalition’s troops camp.
Tadawin camp were bombarded by unknown three rockets.
https://en.abna24.com/news//yemen-3-saudi-officers-killed-in-marib_1112918.html
and also https://en.mehrnews.com/news/169631/4-Saudis-killed-in-missile-attack-on-Al-Tadavin-base-in-Yemen repporting 4 Saudis killed
(A K pS)
Joint Forces Command of the Coalition to Restore Legitimacy in Yemen: Interception, Destruction of Bomb-Laden UAV Launched by Terrorist, Iran-Backed Houthi Militia Toward the Kingdom
https://www.spa.gov.sa/viewfullstory.php?lang=en&newsid=2187143
(A K pS)
[Hadi gov.] Army retakes control of key positions in Sa’daa
http://en.26sepnews.net/2021/02/06/army-takes-control-of-key-positions-in-sadaa/
(A K)
[Hadi gov.] Yemeni troops attack Houthi sites in Dhalea
https://debriefer.net/en/news-22946.html
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 pS)
1413 mines and explosive devices detonated in Bab Al Mandab
As many as 1413 Houthi-laid mines and explosive devices were destroyed today in Bab Al Mandab, the Saudi Project for Mine Clearance in Yemen, Masam, said.
“Team 30 has carried out an operation to destroy 1013 mines and unexploded ordnance in Bab Al Mandab,” the project said on its official website.
According to Masam, this was the 99th mine-destroying operation to take place in Yemen
https://republicanyemen.net/archives/27066
(A K)
Battles renew in west Yemen Hodeidah
https://debriefer.net/en/news-22948.html
(A K pH)
Daily violations (as claimed by Houthis)
cp19 Sonstiges / Other
(A H P)
Siamesische Zwillinge aus dem Jemen werden in Jordanien operiert
(A H P)
Siamese twins leave Sana'a Airport on UN medical evacuation plane
https://www.saba.ye/en/news3127449.htm
and also http://en.adenpress.news/news/32157
Vorige / Previous:
https://www.freitag.de/autoren/dklose/jemenkrieg-mosaik-714-yemen-war-mosaic-714
Jemenkrieg-Mosaik 1-714 / Yemen War Mosaic 1-714:
https://www.freitag.de/autoren/dklose oder / or http://poorworld.net/YemenWar.htm
Der saudische Luftkrieg im Bild / Saudi aerial war images:
(18 +, Nichts für Sensible!) / (18 +; Graphic!)
http://poorworld.net/YemenWar.htm
http://yemenwarcrimes.blogspot.de/
Liste aller Luftangriffe / and list of all air raids:
http://yemendataproject.org/data/
Untersuchung ausgewählter Luftangriffe durch Bellingcat / Bellingcat investigations of selected air raids:
Untersuchungen von Angriffen, hunderte von Filmen / Investigations of attacks, hundreds of films:
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