Dies ist die Fortsetzung von Jemenkrieg-Mosaik 716, Teil 1 und 2 / This is the sequel of Yemen War Mosaic 716, part 1 and 2:
https://www.freitag.de/autoren/dklose/jemenkrieg-mosaik-716-yemen-war-mosaic-716
https://www.freitag.de/autoren/dklose/jemenkrieg-mosaik-716b-yemen-war-mosaic-716b
Schwerpunkte / Key aspects
Kursiv: Siehe Teil 1 und 2 / In Italics: Look in part 1 and 2
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: Neue Jemen-Politik der USA / Most important: New US Yemen policy
cp2 Allgemein / General
cp2a Allgemein: Saudische Blockade / General: Saudi blockade
cp3 Humanitäre Lage / Humanitarian situation
cp4 Flüchtlinge / Refugees
cp5 Nordjemen und Huthis / Northern Yemen and Houthis
cp6 Separatisten und Hadi-Regierung im Südjemen / Separatists and Hadi government in Southern Yemen
cp7 UNO und Friedensgespräche / UN and peace talks
cp8 Saudi-Arabien / Saudi Arabia
cp9 USA
cp9a USA-Iran Krise: Spannungen am Golf / US-Iran crisis: Tensions at the Gulf
cp10 Großbritannien / Great Britain
cp11 Deutschland / Germany
cp12 Andere Länder / Other countries
cp12b Sudan
cp13a Waffenhandel / Arms trade
cp13b Kulturerbe / Cultural heritage
cp14 Terrorismus / Terrorism
cp15 Propaganda
cp16 Saudische Luftangriffe / Saudi air raids
cp17 Kriegsereignisse / Theater of War
cp18 Kampf um Hodeidah / Hodeidah battle
cp19 Sonstiges / Other
Klassifizierung / Classification
***
**
*
(Kein Stern / No star)
? = Keine Einschatzung / No rating
A = Aktuell / Current news
B = Hintergrund / Background
C = Chronik / Chronicle
D = Details
E = Wirtschaft / Economy
H = Humanitäre Fragen / Humanitarian questions
K = Krieg / War
P = Politik / Politics
pH = Pro-Houthi
pS = Pro-Saudi
T = Terrorismus / Terrorism
cp10 Großbritannien / Great Britain
(A P)
British Ambassador to Yemen: We strongly condemn Houthis for targeting Marib and Al Jawf. They must stop their attacks immediately and prove their seriousness and willingness towards peace by supporting the efforts of UN Special Envoy to #Yemen Martin Griffiths
https://twitter.com/RepYemenEnglish/status/1358735821164208128
(* A K P)
Film: Perhaps for 1st time, #UK military presence in #Mahara, east #Yemen, is public, tho only the iceberg of #Britain's actual involvement in this dirty aggression. Along w/#Saudi, they occupy & ctrl air & sea ports amidst citizens rage & rejection, which will ultimately wash them out
https://twitter.com/mamashami/status/1358510813653442560
(* A K P)
UK authorised £1.4bn of arms sales to Saudi Arabia after exports resumed
Campaigners accuse ministers of ‘putting profit before Yemeni lives’ as figures revealed
British officials authorised the export of almost £1.4bn of weapons to Saudi Arabia in the quarter after the UK resumed sales of weapons that could be used in the war in Yemen.
Campaigners accused ministers of “putting profit before Yemeni lives” and said the figures highlighted the discrepancy between the UK and the US, which under President Joe Biden halted similar arms sales to Riyadh last week.
Britain had resumed unrestricted arms sales early in July, after concluding there were only “isolated incidents” of civilian casualties from bombing raids conducted by the Saudi-led coalition fighting Houthi rebels.
Official figures released on Tuesday showed that in the period following the restart – the quarter between July and September – the UK authorised £1.39bn worth of arms exports, of which £1.36bn were in the category that includes missiles and bombs.
Campaign Against Arms Trade said the deluge of exports demonstrated how far UK arms sales to Riyadh were dependent on the ongoing six-year conflict in which thousands of civilians have been killed
(* B K P)
Biden has withdrawn support for Saudi Arabia’s operations in Yemen – and exposed UK government’s hypocrisy
The UK finds itself alienated from the efforts of the international community to secure peace in Yemen, and the prime minister more isolated from a US administration he is desperate to build ties with
It leaves the UK government increasingly exposed, not just for failing to show similar moral leadership, but for its deeply hypocritical approach to Yemen.
The UK is the “penholder” on Yemen at the UN security council, which means it has the power to draft resolutions to support efforts to end the conflict. The UK therefore has a special responsibility to do all it can to advance the peace process. At the same time, the government has licensed the sale of at least £5.3bn worth of arms to Saudi Arabia since the war began in March 2015, as well as providing training and technical support. The UK government has been calling for an end to violence, while simultaneously supplying the weapons necessary to prolong the conflict.
President Biden’s decision casts an uncomfortable spotlight on the UK government. The shameful neglect of our leadership role at the UN and continued licensing of arms to facilitate Saudi-led offensives is unsustainable. It is a stance that leaves the UK increasingly isolated on the global stage
The UK government now faces a choice: to join Biden and live up to its obligations as UN penholder by ending the UK’s involvement in the Saudi campaign, or to continue to act as both peacekeeper and warmonger, undermining any moral leadership they might claim.
With each day that passes, the UK finds itself further alienated from the efforts of the international community to secure peace in Yemen, and the prime minister more isolated from a US administration he is desperate to build ties with. It is in Britain’s interests that he changes course – by Lisa Nandy, shadow foreign secretary and Labour MP
https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/yemen-saudi-arabia-arms-sales-biden-johnson-b1799190.html
and
(* B K P)
Biden's announcement on Yemen is a hopeful sign – now the UK must follow suit
Putting the arms industry before conscience has allowed a humanitarian disaster to continue, but change could be coming
Changes in US policy will have significant ramifications for the UK, not least in the area of arms sales, which is one of the main ways the UK is involved in the war. First, the UK risks being isolated diplomatically as US policy becomes more focused on preventing the Saudi-led coalition from violating international law and as EU states continue to operate more restrictive arms export policies, most recently in Italy.
For a country so invested in its reputation as a leader in the rule of law, this is dangerous territory. The UK can continue on the path of supplying weapons, be castigated as an outlier and risk even greater criticism for putting the arms industry and relationships with the Saudi royal family above human rights and humanitarian law; or change course, restrict or halt arms transfers, and face further censure about the integrity of its policy up to this point.
Second, the US decision indicates that the sale of precision-guided munitions will be halted, which will have implications for UK industry. The CEO of Raytheon, one of the world’s largest arms producers, has stated that the company has removed a $500m deal from its books – widely understood to refer to the planned sale of Paveway bombs. Paveway IV bombs are produced in the UK by the British subsidiary of Raytheon, so any cancellation of US deals would probably mean a halt to UK exports. Ministers are no doubt involved in frantic attempts to figure out the implications of this for the UK arms industry.
Third, the US developments may well affect the course of justice in the UK. The Campaign Against Arms Trade has launched a second judicial review of UK arms export policy, challenging the government’s position that violations of international humanitarian law in Yemen are only “isolated incidents” and do not constitute a pattern. Depending on the reasoning behind and scope of changes to US policy, the UK government’s position may become even harder to sustain.
For these reasons, I think there are grounds to be somewhat hopeful that something will have to change in UK arms export policy, to restrict, suspend or halt transfers – including actual deliveries, not just licences – to the Saudi-led coalition. However, there are no guarantees in terms of the details and practical implementation of Biden’s announcement, and there is room for manoeuvre afforded by the qualifiers around what constitutes “offensive” operations and what the “relevant” arms sales are that will be cancelled.
The UK has its own record of playing with words while Yemen burns: take the corrections to the parliamentary record to amend what the government says it knew about the Saudis’ conduct in the war; the narrowing down of all potential breaches of international law in Yemen to only a “small number” and the implausible claim that they are only “isolated incidents”; or the endless repetition of the mantra that the UK operates a “robust” control regime. What we can expect is the government to come out robustly in defence of its own actions.
This behaviour is part of what has allowed the war in Yemen to continue for so long and so horrifically. UK policy is to assess whether there is a clear risk that arms transfers might be used in violations of human rights and humanitarian law: risk assessment is supposed to prevent the use of UK-supplied weapons in such violations.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/feb/08/joe-biden-yemen-uk-arms-sales
and
(* B K P)
Alyn Smith: 'Global Britain' will not be a force for good while selling arms
The UK is supporting the coalition in every practical way short of engaging in combat. Saudi Arabia is the UK’s biggest arms customer. To be clear, I am not a pacifist. I see a case for arms sales, and carry no torch for the Houthis or Tehran, they are trying to depose the legitimate (by the standards of the region anyway) government, they should be stopped and it should be defended by its allies.
But as I said in the exchange at Westminster this week the UK cannot with any credibility claim to be an honest broker focussed on humanitarian aid and peace-building while simultaneously being the biggest arms dealer to the conflict. The UK is not impartial, it has taken a side. The humanitarian consequences of the war that the UK ministers are so proud of sending aid to alleviate are caused by our foreign policy – it is clear that without UK assistance Saudi would be unlikely to carry out the military actions in the way it has.
The scale of the weapons sales is huge.
But on top of all this, the UK is looking increasingly isolated from mainstream international opinion.
This is a real and significant test of Global Britain, and to my mind the UK is failing it. The coalition has failed, the situation on the ground is intolerable for some of the poorest people on Earth and no amount of humanitarian aid will make good the damage done by all the arms the UK continues to send.
Now is the time to suspend arms sales and get behind international efforts to build a just peace.
and
(* B K P)
UK Government urged to follow President Biden and end arms sales to Saudi Arabia
Politicians, human rights groups and charities have urged the UK Government to follow a shift in US foreign policy and stop selling arms, including smart bombs made in Scotland, to Saudi Arabia for use in war-torn Yemen.
However, critics say the refusal of UK Government to join the US in ending military support for the Saudis may prolong the conflict for Yemeni civilians suffering in the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.
Denisa Delic, head of UK influencing at Save the Children, said that as Britain is the current president of UN Security Council, it has the “opportunity and responsibility to prioritise peace in Yemen”.
“It is unacceptable that British-made bombs run the risk of breaching international humanitarian law in the world’s worst humanitarian crisis,” Delic added.
“The UK should end its military support for the Saudi and Emirati-led coalition, urgently push for a new ceasefire at the security council, and redouble efforts to bring the warring parties to the negotiating table. Children’s lives depend on it.”
Emma Cockburn, Scotland coordinator for Campaign Against Arms Trade, said Westminster has “prioritised profit over human lives” in a move she described as “disgraceful”.
https://theferret.scot/uk-gov-urged-to-follow-biden-and-end-arms-sales/
and
(* B K P)
UK declines to follow US in suspending Saudi arms sales over Yemen
Foreign minister says Britain will continue to assess issue according to ‘strict licensing criteria’
British ministers have refused to join the US in suspending arms sales to Saudi Arabia for offensive use in war-torn Yemen, saying the UK makes its own decisions about selling weapons.
On Monday, the UK Foreign Office minister, James Cleverly, said he had noted the US review, but said British arms sales licences were issued with great care to ensure they did not lead to any breach of humanitarian law.
He added: “The decisions the US takes on matters of arms sales are decisions for the US. The UK takes its own arms export responsibilities very seriously, and we continue to assess all arms export licences in accordance with strict licensing criteria.” Saudi Arabia represented 40% of the volume of UK arms exports between 2010 and 2019.
Speaking in the Commons, Tobias Ellwood, the Conservative chair of the defence committee, urged the UK “to align itself fully with its closest security ally and end similar arms exports connected to the war … The US reset is very much to be welcomed and poses our first big test as to what global Britain means in practice.”
The US suspension of arms sales was designed to create the conditions for peace talks, Ellwood said.
The shadow foreign secretary, Lisa Nandy, told MPs “the UK arms trading and technical support sustains the war in Yemen … The US decision on arms sales leaves the UK dangerously out of step with our allies and increasingly isolated.”
Highlighting the UK’s role as the UN’s pen holder on Yemen, ie the council member that leads negotiations and drafts legislation, she said: “The UK cannot be both peacemaker and arms dealer in this conflict.”
Nandy said the Foreign Office had promised that human rights were its key goal, and yet ministers had failed at this first test.
If the UK position on arms sales holds, it represents the first break with the Biden administration and points to a comparative UK reluctance to open a breach with its Gulf State allies.
and
(* B K P)
Yemen: UK should follow Biden's lead and end support for Saudi war
We should pause and take this in. Washington’s reversal on Yemen could prove to be one of the most important events in global politics for years, offering a way out of the world’s worst humanitarian crisis. It certainly represents a major humiliation for both the Saudi royals and their other key arms supplier, the United Kingdom.
This violence is our violence too. The Saudi war has overwhelmingly been an aerial one, waged by military jets that are operationally dependent on British and American support.
The about-face from Washington leaves the UK - Riyadh’s other leading accomplice - out on a limb. London has never shown any inclination to end its involvement in the war, but its hand has now effectively been forced.
While Biden on the presidential campaign trail was castigating Saudi Arabia as a “pariah”, accusing the regime of “going in and murdering children” in Yemen and vowing to “make them pay the price”, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s government was dismissing Saudi atrocities as “isolated incidents” and ploughing ahead with arms sales in defiance of a court ruling that they were unlawful.
British-built jets play such an important role for the Royal Saudi Air Force that a withdrawal of UK support, either by a change in policy or by a change of government in 2017 or 2019, would have seriously impeded the Saudi war effort. It would undoubtedly have saved many lives.
Now, history will record that Britain continued perpetuating the carnage to the bitter end, only to be shown up by its closest ally. At the time of writing, four days on from Biden's announcement, the UK foreign office has issued no statement in response.
The sheepish silence speaks volumes.
We in the UK can play a supportive role by helping to alleviate the humanitarian crisis that our actions have helped to create - not through “aid”, but through a comprehensive package of reparations. This should come alongside a serious, humble effort to reflect on what has become without doubt the most shameful, destructive chapter in our nation's recent history since the 2003 invasion of Iraq.
https://www.middleeasteye.net/opinion/yemen-war-uk-support-end-biden-follow
and
(A H K P)
Oxfam: Big increase in UK Government arms export licences to Saudi Arabia “immoral”
Figures released today, Tuesday 9 February, show a big increase in licences issued for arms exports to Saudi Arabia, many of which will be used in the war in Yemen. Since the conflict started, nearly six years ago, over 4 million people have been forced from their homes with over 18,500 civilian casualties.
Martin Butcher, Oxfam’s conflict adviser said: “The UK government’s decision to issue licences allowing £1.36 billion of new bombs missiles and rockets to be exported to Saudi Arabia is immoral. Once again UK politicians have put profit before Yemeni lives. Both the US and Italy have stopped arms sales supporting Saudi and UAE offensive operations in Yemen in the past week and President Biden has said the war in Yemen has to end. The UK government should now follow their lead and end all support for offensive arms in Yemen as well as immediately stopping arms sales that risk being used in serious violations of International Humanitarian law.
The fact that the UK government has reinstated licencing and granted so many licences after the Court of Appeal ordered a review of the licensing process is shocking. Any rational examination of the evidence of regular attacks on civilians, their homes and vital civilian infrastructure for water and health would demonstrate a clear risk of violations of International Humanitarian Law. Arms exports to Saudi Arabia should stop immediately.”
and
(* B K P)
UK urged to follow Biden’s lead and end Yemen war support
In the wake of President Biden’s statement, Labour has asserted its support of the US’s suspension of arms exports to use in the war in Yemen and is demanding the government takes a similar position.
Campaign Against Arms Trade (CAAT) is putting similar demands on the government. In October 2020, CAAT filed a new judicial review application against the decision to renew arms sales to Saudi Arabia.
The SNP is making similar appeals, urging the UK government to end its support of the atrocities taking place in Yemen.
In a statement that referred to the UK as being “shamefully isolated on the world stage”, Alyn Smith, the SNP’s Shadow Foreign Affairs spokesperson, said: “The Foreign Secretary must now follow the lead of the Biden administration and end its support for offensive operations in Yemen, as well as its backing of the Saudi regime through arms sales and military assistance, and instead play a meaningful role in bringing this conflict to an end.
“Yemen has been pushed to the brink, with millions displaced and in poverty, and its health system decimated – all in the middle of a pandemic. The UK must step up and strengthen its diplomatic and aid efforts urgently,” Smith continued.
https://leftfootforward.org/2021/02/uk-urged-to-follow-bidens-lead-and-end-yemen-war-support/
(A P)
End Support for the Saudi War on Yemen #YemenCantWait
It is therefore a matter of urgency that we ask your to write to your local MP to sign EDM 1399 and pressure the Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab and Secretary of State for International Trade Liz Truss, to end all arms sales and military support for the Saudi-led coalition immediately.
https://actionnetwork.org/letters/end-support-for-the-saudi-war-on-yemen-yemencantwait
(* B K P)
MAKING A MOCKERY: I Witnessed First-Hand Boris Johnson’sCasual Attitude to Yemeni Lives
One of Boris Johnson’s former legal advisors recalls his inability to grasp the gravity of the humanitarian crisis in Yemen
We focused a great deal on the lucrative arrangements for providing war planes and bombs to Saudi Arabia, for use in Yemen – an attitude matched by our counterparts in Donald Trump’s White House, with the US, the UK and Saudi Arabia very much as one on the subject.
Johnson, like Trump, was concerned to ensure that the flow of arms to Saudi Arabia was maintained and I spent time discussing this with him in his private office.
There was official concern about the numbers of Yemeni civilians being killed and a meeting was scheduled with Johnson to discuss the implications of their deaths on the legality of continued arms sales.
The Ministry of Defence had compiled a list of hundreds of potential international humanitarian law violations in Yemen, but could not identify a legitimate military target for any of of the offences it suspected had been carried out by the Saudi-led coalition. Given the oft-referenced close friendship between the UK and the Saudis, it is curious that we weren’t privy to such important information.
But Johnson wasn’t quite ready to talk about that when we arrived. He had just finished a call with a foreign minister of another country and wanted to do impressions of their accent instead. He relayed much of the conversation to us – irrelevant to what we had come to discuss and our areas of expertise – but he held forth all the same, until a senior diplomat deftly steered him back on track.
Another day, the conflict had escalated – as had the civilian death toll – and officials went to see him again. He wasn’t quite ready to talk about Yemen then either – he wanted first to joke about Hillary Clinton falling out of her car on the way to a 9/11 memorial service.
Johnson’s cavalier attitude to even the gravest of decisions was (is) dangerous – dangerous for civilians in Yemen and dangerous for British citizens whose safety overseas relies on him being on top of his brief.
https://bylinetimes.com/2021/02/08/boris-johnsons-disregard-yemen-saudi-arabia/
cp11 Deutschland / Germany
(A P)
Beschlussempfehlung zum Antrag der Fraktion BÜNDNIS 90/DIE GRÜNEN
Friedensbemühungen im Jemen intensivieren – Humanitäre Lage verbessern
Keinesfalls dürfen die am Krieg direkt und indirekt beteiligten Staaten, besonders Saudi Arabien, die VAE und Ägypten, weiterhin Waffen aus Deutschland geliefert bekommen. Der Rüstungsexportstopp an diese Länder der neuen Biden-Regierung in den USA setzt ein wichtiges Zeichen in diese Richtung. Hier darf Deutschland nicht nachstehen. Eine mögliche Verständigung der USA mit dem Iran über ein neues Atomabkommen könnte auch positive Auswirkungen auf den Jemen haben.
https://www.gruene-bundestag.de/parlament/sitzungswoche/friedensbemuehungen-im-jemen
(A P)
Film: Lars Patrick Berg (AfD): Rede über die politische und humanitäre Katastrophe im Jemen
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UvcY5XwjKSI
cp12 Andere Länder / Other countries
Siehe / Look at cp13a
(A P)
UN expert calls on UAE to free jailed rights defenders
UN special rapporteur fears 3 human rights defenders jailed for 10 years in UAE face conditions amounting to torture
"Issuing long-term prison sentences to human rights defenders, in connection to their human rights work, is a practice that cannot continue, and is an issue I will be prioritizing during my mandate," said Mary Lawlor, UN special rapporteur on human rights defenders.
"Not only have Mohammed Al-Roken, Ahmed Mansoor, and Nasser Bin Ghaith been criminalized and imprisoned for their non-violent and legitimate calls for respect for human rights in the UAE, they have been subjected to ill-treatment in prison," Lawlor said.
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/middle-east/un-expert-calls-on-uae-to-free-jailed-rights-defenders/2140409
and also https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/un-expert-calls-uae-release-several-jailed-human-right-defenders
(A P)
HRW: Joint Letter to the European Union Ahead of Meeting With Bahraini Delegation
EU-Bahrain Cooperation Agreement Must Depend on Human Rights Improvements
https://www.hrw.org/news/2021/02/07/joint-letter-european-union-ahead-meeting-bahraini-de
(A P)
Bahrain: 13 year old #Arab kids are heading to #Khalifa Monarchy court for trial over protesting. Great job there @US5thFleet for supporting the monarchy.
https://twitter.com/AliAlAhmed_en/status/1358755501102751744
referring to
https://twitter.com/ealsaegh/status/1358699869276364800
(A P)
Iran FM: Saudi Crown Prince Made Mistake When Thinking He Would Defeat Yemenis Within Three Weeks
Iranian Foreign Minister Muhammad Javad Zarif said that Iran's initiative to stop the aggression against Yemen is still available, and that the visit of the UN envoy to Yemen to Tehran has no relation with the recent US position on the aggression on Yemen.
He added in an interview with Iranian Channel 2, Sunday, about his country's position on the situation in Yemen, that "Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman made a mistake when he thought that he would defeat the Yemenis within three weeks, as 6 years have passed since his illusions to defeat Yemen."
(A P)
Saudi Arabia – Yemen – Missile launches against Saudi territory (7-8 February 2021)
France strongly condemns the attempted airstrikes targeted against Saudi Arabia on February 7 and 8. The proliferation and use of drones undermine the region’s stability. We reaffirm our strong attachment to the security of Saudi territory.
France is also very concerned about the ongoing offensive in Marib Governorate in Yemen
https://www.diplomatie.gouv.fr/en/country-files/saudi-arabia/news/article/saudi-arabia-yemen-missile-launches-against-saudi-territory-7-8-feb-2021?xtor=RSS-1 0 https://uk.ambafrance.org/Current-escalations-in-Yemen-and-against-Saudi-Arabia-must-stop-immediately
(* A P)
Yemen: Speech by High Representative/Vice-President Josep Borrell at the EP debate on the humanitarian and political situation
Yes, the humanitarian and political situation in Yemen deserves more attention. Much more than the one we pay to it. The war has been raging for almost 6 years, with a devastating impact: 24 million people – which means 80% of the Yemeni population – are in need of humanitarian assistance and more than 4 million are displaced.
Beyond this terrible humanitarian crisis, the war in Yemen has become a source of instability in the whole region. We need to take decisive action to avert a mass famine.
Since the start of the conflict six years ago, the European Union has not only made diplomatic efforts but also provided nearly €1 billion to Yemen in response to the crisis, through humanitarian and development assistance.
You can be sure that we will keep working to support the only way out of this crisis, which is a political settlement for peace and stability. To this end, we fully back the efforts of the United Nations Special Envoy, Martin Griffiths, in support of a ceasefire and a political solution.
Current prospects for a rapid breakthrough in Yemen are certainly and unhappily slim
The latest announcements from the Biden Administration – ending support for Saudi-led offensive operations and the appointment of a special Yemen Envoy – show a genuine interest from our partners to address the crisis. We also welcome the announced revocation of the designation of Ansar Allah as a Foreign Terrorist Organisation. This designation could have catastrophic consequences in the context of Yemen, We strongly condemned the 30 December attack on the new government. The unprecedented mission of eight European Ambassadors to Aden demonstrates our strong diplomatic support.
We are ready to push for a concerted action to unlock the stalled process and nudge the parties to implement a permanent ceasefire and begin political talks.
My comment: Just omitting the horrible role of the “West” in this war.
(A P)
Yemen: Statement by the Spokesperson on latest attacks by Ansar Allah
The EU is concerned about reports of renewed attacks carried out by Ansar Allah in the Marib and Al-Jawf Governorates, as well as repeated attempts of cross-border attacks on the territory of Saudi Arabia.
Renewed military action and offensives in Ma’arib governorate at this particular time seriously undermine ongoing efforts by UN Special Envoy, Martin Griffiths, as well as the overall efforts of the international community to bring the war in Yemen to an end.
The EU actively supports these efforts and reiterates the urgency of reaching an inclusive political settlement for the whole of Yemen.
(A P)
EU-Parlament: Entschließungsanträge
https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/B-9-2021-0118_DE.html
https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/RC-9-2021-0119_DE.html
(A P)
EU parliament: Motion
https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/B-9-2021-0119_EN.html
cp12b Sudan
(* B P)
Ethnic clashes in Darfur could reignite Sudan’s old conflict
The Arab militias known as janjaweed became notorious in 2003 and 2004 for their terror campaigns, killing and raping civilians, when the Khartoum government unleashed them to put down an insurgency by Darfur’s non-Arab residents. Some 300,000 people were killed and 2.7 million were displaced, before the violence gradually declined.
Sudan is on a fragile path to democracy after a popular uprising led the military to overthrow longtime autocratic President Omar al-Bashir in April 2019. A transitional military-civilian government is now in power, trying to end decades-long rebellions in various parts of the country.
The latest burst of violence came just two weeks after the joint U.N.-African Union peacekeeping force that had been in Darfur for a decade ended its mandate, at the request of the transitional government. It was replaced with a much smaller, political mission.
“Anyone could have predicted that as soon as the U.N. troops departed, some of these militias would begin attacking,” said John Prendergast, co-founder of The Sentry, an organization that tracks corruption and human rights violations in Africa.
The bloodshed followed a familiar scenario: a dispute between two people or a minor crime turning into all-out ethnic clashes. It first grew out of a fistfight on Jan. 15 between two men in a camp for displaced people in Genena
The fighting in the two provinces killed around 470 people, including Baraka and three aid workers, according to the United Nations and local officials. More than 120,000 people, mostly women and children, fled their homes, including at least 4,300 who crossed into neighboring Chad, the U.N. said. The transitional government deployed additional troops to West Darfur and South Darfur to try to contain the situation.
Mohammed Osman, a Sudan researcher at Human Rights Watch, said witnesses said the government forces’ response was too little, too late. “The government repeated promises of protecting civilians and holding perpetrators accountable,” he said.
https://apnews.com/article/sudan-united-nations-f2dcb89e0ef281c90505fdf87f956c36
(A P)
Sudan’s new Cabinet sworn in amid protests over dire economy
Sudan on Wednesday swore in a new Cabinet that includes rebel ministers as part of a power-sharing deal that transitional authorities struck last year with a rebel alliance.
The swearing-in ceremony took place amid violent protests in several Sudanese cities over dire economic conditions, forcing authorities to impose a curfew and close schools temporarily.
(A P)
Kabinettsumbildung im Sudan - Rebellen in Regierungsposten
Sudans Regierungschef Abdullah Hamduk hat sein Kabinett umgebildet und mehrere Posten an Rebellen gegeben. Hamduk gab das neue Kabinett am Montag bekannt. Unter anderen wurde Dschibril Ibrahim als Finanzminister ernannt, der Anführer der Rebellengruppe Bewegung für Gerechtigkeit und Gleichheit (JEM), die am Darfur-Konflikt beteiligt war (kostenpflichtig)
(A P)
Sudan’s PM reshuffles Cabinet to add rebel ministers
Sudan’s Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok on Monday announced a Cabinet reshuffle to add rebel ministers as part of a peace deal that transitional authorities struck with a rebel alliance last year.
Hamdok announced his new Cabinet, which includes ministers from the Sudan Revolutionary Front, an alliance of armed groups, in a televised news conference in the capital, Khartoum.
https://apnews.com/article/sudan-cabinets-2de07f4dee9d0d4e6d26582831e05b8a
cp13a Waffenhandel / Arms trade
Siehe / Look at cp1b, cp10
(* A K P)
Australia will not ban arms sales to countries involved in Yemeni civil war
Defence department says it will weigh risks of sales to Saudi Arabia and the UAE, despite calls from human rights groups to follow Joe Biden’s lead
Australia is not planning a blanket ban on military equipment sales to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates – but says it will weigh up “emerging risks” when considering export applications.
Civil society groups have urged Australia to follow the lead of the new US president, Joe Biden, who announced last week he was ending “all American support for offensive operations in the war in Yemen”.
When asked on Wednesday if Australia was planning to review its approach to sales of military equipment to Saudi Arabia and the UAE, the defence department did not outline any policy changes, but defended the existing approvals system.
“As each case is assessed on its merits, Australian defence export controls readily accommodate consideration of changing geostrategic circumstances and emerging risks,” a defence department spokesperson said.
Australia has issued five permanent permits for export of military goods to Saudi Arabia between August 2019 and October 2020, and nine such permits
(B K P)
NGO präsentiert Beweise für Einsatz belgischer Waffen im Jemen-Konflikt
Eine Untersuchung der flämischen NGO VredesActie liefert neue Beweise für den Einsatz von wallonischen Waffen und Munition im Zentrum des Konflikts im Jemen. Das berichtet die Zeitung „Le Soir“ am Mittwoch.
Vredesactie-Forscher Hans Lammerant und die Experten, die ihn unterstützten, haben Satellitenbilder, Videos und Fotos seziert und geografisch verortet, die eine Schlacht dokumentieren, die zwischen August und September 2019 im Norden des Landes, unweit der saudischen Grenze, zwischen jemenitischen Truppen und Houthi-Rebellen stattfand.
Die Analyse des von Vreedesactie untersuchten Videomaterials zeigt nicht nur die Beteiligung der saudischen Nationalgarde an der Schlacht im Jabara-Tal, sondern auch ihren Besitz von Ausrüstung der Firma FN Herstal (die zur Herstal-Gruppe gehört, deren alleiniger Aktieninhaber die Wallonische Region ist).
„Diese Untersuchung zeigt, dass die saudische Nationalgarde entgegen den Behauptungen der wallonischen Regierung in der Vergangenheit militärisch im Jemen operiert und dabei belgische Waffen und Munition verwendet“
(B K P)
Wallonia faces new challenge to arms sales used by Saudi Arabia in Yemen
The government of the Walloon region appears ready to sell new arms to Saudi Arabia, despite new proof that the arms are being used in the kingdom’s illegal war in Yemen, an NGO has alleged.
For that reason, the Council of State in 2019 annulled three export licences issued by the Walloon regional government of Elio Di Rupo. The government argued in court that the weapons were only intended for units of the Royal Guard and National Guard, which are only active within the kingdom itself.
That argument was countered by an investigation by Knack, Le Soir and the VRT, which showed that arms from Belgium’s biggest arms factory, FN Herstal, had been used in Yemen.
Now a new investigation by the NGO Vredesactie claims to be able to prove without a doubt that FN weapons have been used in Yemen.
Specifically, in the Wadi Aal Abo Jubarah, known in English as the Jabara valley, where Houthi rebels clashed with Saudi troops in August and September 2019.
Based on hours of video posted online by the rebels and studied by Vredesactie, the NGO has accumulated massive evidence of the use in Yemen of FN weapons, including many captured and displayed by the rebels themselves.
“The Walloon government wants to continue to pursue an illegal weapons policy at all costs,” said Hans Lammerant, researcher at Vredesactie.
The NGO has announced it will again challenge the new export licenses before the Council of State.
and also https://www.aa.com.tr/en/middle-east/belgian-ngo-proves-saudi-involvement-in-yemen-conflict/2140934
(* B K P)
Ein Etappensieg gegen Rheinmetall?
Italien stoppt Rüstungsexporte an Saudi-Arabien und die VAE
Es gibt Grund zum Feiern für die Aktivist*innen zahlreicher Gruppen und Organisationen – besonders auf Sardinien1: Nach jahrelanger Kampagnenarbeit, zahlreichen Petitionen, Demonstrationen, Blockadeaktionen und Gerichtsverfahren hat die italienische Regierung beschlossen, die bereits in den letzten Jahren erteilten Genehmigungen von Waffenexporten nach Saudi-Arabien und die Vereinigten Arabische Emirate nicht nur auszusetzen, sondern ganz zu widerrufen. Zudem werden weiterhin keine neuen Lizenzen für diese Staaten von der italienischen Regierung erteilt….
RWM Italia S.p.A. klagt gegen Widerruf
RWM Italia S.p.A. ist weniger erfreut, betrifft diese Entscheidung laut des Geschäftsführers Fabio Sgarzi doch vor allem die Tochtergesellschaft des Rüstungsriesens. Für die Rechtfertigung ihrer Klage gegen den Widerruf der Exportgenehmigungen führt Sgarzi die rund zweihundert Arbeiter*innen der Bombenfabrik auf Sardinien an: „Diejenigen, die jetzt die Folgen all dessen tragen müssen, sind neben dem Unternehmen die Hunderte von Arbeitern in der Region und ihre Familien…
https://www.imi-online.de/2021/02/08/ein-etappensieg-gegen-rheinmetall/ m
Anmerkung Marco Wenzel: Rheinmetall Defence: RWM Italia hat seinen Hauptsitz in Ghedi in Norditalien und verfügt über eine Produktionsstätte auf Sardinien in Domusnovas.
Für Exportgenehmigungen für Waffen ist der Bundessicherheitsrat zuständig. Der entscheidet in geheimer Sitzung nach dem Kriegswaffengesetz. Wenn exportierte Rüstungsgüter zu friedensstörenden Aktionen oder zu Angriffskriegen verwendet werden könnten, ist ihre Ausfuhr verboten. Lieferungen von Kriegswaffen in Länder, die in bewaffnete Auseinandersetzungen verwickelt sind oder wo eine solche droht, dürfen nicht genehmigt werden.
Um die Bestimmungen zu umgehen, verlagert Rheinmetall die Produktion in Länder mit weniger strengen Regeln um die tödlichen Produkte trotzdem weltweit verkaufen zu können.
Rheinmetall baute zu diesem Zweck die Bombenfabrik auf Sardinien. RWM (Rheinmetall Waffe Munition) Italia ist ein 100% Tochterunternehmen von Rheinmetall: eine deutsche Fabrik für den Waffenexport auf italienischem Boden.
Das Schema: Die Fabrik steht in einer armen Region mit hoher Arbeitslosigkeit. Die Politik freut sich über die Investitionen aus Deutschland und mit Geld und Arbeitsplätzen wird die Kritik an den hergestellten Bomben zum Verstummen gebracht. Keiner fragt, was mit den Bomben passiert, die dort hergestellt werden. Man stellt sie dort ja nur her, was andere dann damit machen ist nicht ihre Sache.
Und jetzt, wo sich der Widerstand regt, kommt wieder das Totschlagargument der Arbeitsplätze ins Spiel. Entweder Mordwaffen herstellen oder Arbeitslosigkeit: was ist euch lieber?
https://www.nachdenkseiten.de/?p=69684#h13
(A K P)
Air NZ's involvement with Saudi military 'doesn’t pass NZ’s sniff test' - Ardern
The Prime Minister says it was not appropriate for Air New Zealand to be supporting the Saudi Navy while it fueled a humanitarian crisis in Yemen.
"It just doesn’t pass New Zealand’s sniff test and I think (Air New Zealand) acknowledge that too," Jacinda Ardern said this morning after its involvement was revealed by 1 NEWS last night.
Air New Zealand's business unit, Gas Turbines, which specialises in servicing military marine engines and turbines, had been carrying out work on two engines and one power turbine through a third party contract.
"I don’t think it was appropriate they had the contract in the first place," Ardern said.
"This is something that has ramifications for New Zealand, its reputation and that’s why we’re making sure we’re across how it happened."
Ardern only became aware of Air New Zealand's involvement last night, as a result of 1 NEWS' inquiries.
"Very disappointing it’s so late in the piece we’ve become aware of it, but even more so, disappointing the leadership of Air NZ were in the dark as well."
Ardern's comments come as Air NZ chief executive Greg Foran was asked on Breakfast this morning if the unfinished work would be completed.
and
(A P)
Air NZ CEO Greg Foran says Saudi Arabian military work was 'poor judgement'
Air New Zealand chief executive Greg Foran says its involvement in helping the Saudi Arabian military was a case of "poor judgement".
Foran defended the airline on Newstalk ZB's Mike Hosking show this morning after revelations the national carrier's business unit, Gas Turbines, which specialises in servicing military marine engines and turbines, has been supporting the Saudi Navy.
The Green Party has criticised Air New Zealand following revelations it has been helping the Saudi Arabian military - despite the Middle Eastern nation's role in the humanitarian crisis in Yemen.
Foran said he found out about the third-party contract 10 days ago and took immediate action.
"There has been some suggestion that this is some type of secret deal or conspiracy - I can really assure you this isn't the case. What it is a case of, however, is a case of poor judgement.
Air New Zealand has also been accused of running from the story and taking weeks to respond to requests for comment from 1 News.
"They reached out to us and said they had some information around Saudi Arabia, they didn't provide any more details. We realised this was a piece of business done through a third-party and teams within Air NZ wanted to protect the identity of those we were doing third-party work with. That once again was a poor judgement. As soon as that information became available to me which was 10 days ago we took immediate action.
and
(A K P)
Scrupulous scrutiny of contracts vita
Questions that naturally arise include why was there a lack of oversight? Was it because, in the midst of a global pandemic, cuts to the unit’s head count had been necessary, so oversight capacity was lacking? Cuts had been made to parent company Air NZ’s head count amid the operational nightmare of 2020.
Cool heads and deliberate, sober judgment are required now in a potentially emotive situation. The commitment from Air NZ that no such future work will be undertaken is a good base to proceed from. That, and a directive to all government-aligned businesses to be scrupulous in their scrutiny of any future contracts.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/opinion/124186046/scrupulous-scrutiny-of-contracts-vital
and
(A K P)
Questions raised over Air NZ's work with other militaries involved in Yemen war
Days after 1 NEWS revealed Air New Zealand's been secretly helping the Saudi military, questions remain unanswered over its work for another nation, also involved in the war in Yemen.
There's also growing concern that the airline is being allowed to investigate itself.
Air New Zealand has now launched an internal investigation into why it was helping the Saudi military, but some say that's not good enough.
"Given the gravity of the situation and the seriousness of potential human rights risks, we think it was important that a review is independent to ensure that they're properly understanding what happened," Amnesty International's Lisa Woods told 1 NEWS today.
Alexander Gillespie, an international law expert, agrees.
"No one should be able to investigate themselves and then report on it," he says.
But that's exactly what is happening. Finance Minister Grant Robertson says Air New Zealand has an "obligation here to New Zealanders to get to the bottom of what happened".
cp13b Kulturerbe / Cultural heritage
(B H P)
Young Yemeni Fisherman Employed in Heritage Rehabilitation
Sami is one of the hundreds of young Yemenis employed in cash-based urban rehabilitation programme, implemented by UNESCO and the Social Fund for Development, with the generous funding of the European Union (10 M EUR). The project aims at employing 4,000 young men and women in safeguarding cultural heritage in four different historic urban centers. Sami works for the stabilization of the Sultan Palace National Museum in Aden. The museum overlooks the central fish market where Sami used to sell his catch when he is lucky enough and the weather allows for fishing. Currently, Sami receives stable weekly wages. His life has been greatly impacted by the project.
https://en.unesco.org/news/young-yemeni-fisherman-employed-heritage-rehabilitation
Film: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2YhX4Dd-phE
cp14 Terrorismus / Terrorism
(* A T)
Al-Kaida-Chef im Jemen offenbar weiterhin in Freiheit
Entgegen UN-Angaben zu seiner angeblichen Festnahme ist der Anführer der Al-Kaida-Unterorganisation im Jemen offenbar weiterhin auf freiem Fuss.
Der Anführer der Al-Kaida im Jemen ist offenbar weiterhin auf freiem Fuss. Wie das auf die Auswertung islamistischer Websites spezialisierte US-Institut Site am Donnerstag mitteilte, taucht Chalid Batarfi in einem von dem Dschihadistennetzwerk Al-Kaida auf der Arabischen Halbinsel (Aqap) veröffentlichten Video auf. Darin spricht Batarfi über die Besetzung des US-Kapitols vor einem Monat.
Die UNO hatte dagegen vor wenigen Tagen erklärt, der Extremistenführer sei bereits im Oktober in Al-Ghaida im Jemen festgenommen worden und befinde sich in Haft. Im Widerspruch dazu steht das Video, in dem Batarfi direkt auf den Sturm auf das Kapitol am 6. Januar Bezug nimmt.
In dem 20-minütigen Film mit dem Titel «Amerika und die schmerzvolle Besetzung» sagt der Dschihadistenführer, die Erstürmung des Kongresses sei «mit Gottes Willen nur die Spitze des Eisbergs dessen, was auf sie zukommt».
Zwei örtliche Stammesführer im Jemen sagten der Nachrichtenagentur AFP, bei dem im Oktober festgenommenen Mann handele es höchtwahrscheinlich um ein anderes hochrangiges Aqap-Mitglied und nicht um Batarfi.
https://www.nau.ch/news/ausland/al-kaida-chef-im-jemen-offenbar-weiterhin-in-freiheit-65869127 = https://de.nachrichten.yahoo.com/al-kaida-chef-jemen-entgegen-062043966.html
(* A T)
Al-Qaeda's Yemen leader appears in video despite UN report of arrest
The leader of Al-Qaeda's branch in Yemen appears to be still at large despite a United Nations report which claimed he had been under arrest for months, the SITE Intelligence Group and two local tribal leaders said Thursday after he was seen in a video released by the jihadist group.
Khalid Batarfi, who has been the leader of Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) for about a year, talks about the storming of the US Congress last month in the video, which came out Wednesday.
The video, which opens with footage of the January 6 assault by Donald Trump supporters, belies reports that Batarfi was under arrest, said SITE, which monitors extremist organisations.
In the 20-minute video titled "America and the Painful Seizure", Batarfi says "storming the Congress is only the tip of the iceberg of what will come to them, God willing".
https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20210211-al-qaeda-s-yemen-leader-appears-in-video-despite-un-report-of-arrest = https://www.rfi.fr/en/al-qaeda-s-yemen-leader-appears-in-video-despite-un-report-of-arrest
and
(A T)
Startling video just released by #AlQaeda #Yemen includes leader #Batarfi (supposedly captured in Oct) & looks genuinely new.
In new #AQAP #Yemen video, #Batarfi mentions (at 7.55 minutes) that the USA has suffered over 400,000 deaths from #Covid19. This dates the recording to AFTER 15 January 2021 (so well after Batarfi's supposed capture in October 2020)
https://twitter.com/Dr_E_Kendall/status/1359586905562746884
(A T)
#AlQaeda #Yemen keeps up its new trend of wheeling out dead leaders' old monologues. Now it's Khamis al-Marwani's turn. He headed #AQAP in Jawf, so is well-qualified to give us 31 minutes on "Working with Tribes" which he calls "an art" (image)
https://twitter.com/Dr_E_Kendall/status/1359205210892210183
(A T)
Interesting piece in @Akhbar. Refutes #alQaeda fans' doubts at #Batarfi's capture & cites my analysis
https://twitter.com/Dr_E_Kendall/status/1359092217915277314
cp15 Propaganda
(A P)
Sorry to remind everyone but no one seems to be listening to genuine Yemeni voices In Stockholm we warned from the approach of the UN envoy and the pressure exercised to hault the military operation to take back Hodaidah
The UN envoy is stuck but worse than that the people of Hodaidah are stuck between Houthis landmines and snipers. The Stockholm agreement did not and will never materialise, the appeasement approach was a mistake
The Houthis promises are shallow, anyone who have followed their offenses since July 2014 (Amran province) will lose count on how many deals they violated. This group launched an insurrection no different than the proud boys in the capitol Appeasement does not always work
Today the same voices who failed to recognise the danger of the Houthis insurgence on the safety, stability and national unity of #Yemen are now calling to change the 2216 Security Council resolution...have the last six years taught you nothing
The 2216 is the resolution that defines the Houthis grab of power as a coup and consider their action illegitimate. The Houthis will take any concessions towards them as a sign of weakness not a sign of a good well.
https://twitter.com/BShtwtr/status/1359715011199967232
My comment: Still promoting biased UNSC 2216 means promoting endless war.
(A P)
International media helped Houthi terrorists a lot: What is next?
The tireless work by international media platforms and pundits as a propaganda machine for the Houthis over the past six years has achieved a lot for Houthis: Whitewashed their guilt in triggering the Yemeni war; shifted international focus away from their maximalist theocratic and bloody nature; campaigned against the Arab Coalition using the Houthi prism, instead of criticizing the operations’ ambiguity and ineffectuality; and lobbied for eradicating the terror designation of the movement under humanitarian pretexts despite the militia’s responsibility for the humanitarian tragedy of Yemen.
Having achieved all that for Houthis. What is the next step these propaganda arms and ideologues will take?
https://www.alsahwa-yemen.net/en/p-45030
(A P)
International pampering of Houthis hardens their militancy, rejectionism
https://www.alsahwa-yemen.net/en/p-45029
(A P)
Saudi says Houthis jeopardize Yemeni security, stability
The Houthi group poses threat to Yemen's security and stability, the Saudi cabinet said late on Tuesday, hailing the US constant support for efforts to reach a political solution for the neighboring war-torn country.
In a statement after virtual meeting, the Saudi cabinet expressed rejection of Houthi hostile acts in the form of repeated missile and drone attacks at populated areas, airports and other civilian facilities in the Kingdom.
https://debriefer.net/en/news-23074.html
My comment: Vaticane, Oman, Uruguay could tell this. By Saudi Arabia, it’s ridiculous.
(A P)
Yemen: Magician Biden's misdirection with the Houthi rebels
When president lifted the terror designation, it was not for the benefit of Yemen, but for Iran
So, the Houthis are acknowledged to behave like a terror organization, and their “reprehensible conduct” includes the use of child soldiers, but the Biden administration plans to ignore that. Why?
Look left.
The goal is not the Houthis. If the administration believes sanctions relief for Iran will be stymied by Congress, one way to show the Tehran that President Biden is serious about negotiations is to lift a set of sanctions on an Iranian ally that provides an important and coveted base for Iran in the Red Sea.
Iran is at war not only with Israel and the United States, but with Sunni Islam.
The Red Sea is the only Israeli outlet to the Gulf of Aden and then the Arabian Sea, the route of its trade with India and China. It is Jordan’s only sea outlet and only direct outlet, and the Eilat-Aqaba Free Trade Zone is a major source of trade revenue for America’s ally, King Abdullah II. For Egypt, it is the route to and from the Suez Canal.
Therefore, Iran has been stoking the Houthi insurrection in Yemen, providing, among other things, long-range missiles that have been fired into Riyadh.
If security and freedom of navigation for these allies are not sufficient reasons for the United States to be concerned with Iran at the chokepoint of the Bab el Mandeb Strait, consider this: Camp Lemonier, the U.S. naval expeditionary base, sits directly opposite Yemen off Djibouti. Camp Lemonier is home to the Combined Joint Task Force and is the only permanent U.S. military base in Africa. Why is it there?
A map is helpful here. The coastal countries north of the Mediterranean Sea are all NATO members. Facing them, along the North African coast, are Sunni Muslim countries, all of which except Libya are partners in NATO’s Mediterranean Dialogue. The arrangement helps keep the Mediterranean stable and free for shipping.
One way to make North Africa less stable is to make the row of countries underneath it less stable. Chad, Mali, Somalia, Eritrea, Sudan and Niger all are targets of instability-seekers, including Iran.
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2021/feb/10/yemen-magician-bidens-misdirection-with-the-houthi/
(A P)
Only terrorists target a civilian airport
The cowardly terrorist attack on Abha International Airport in Saudi Arabia’s southern region comes as no surprise to those who are familiar with the violent nature of the Houthis. Anyone who has followed the war in Yemen needs no reminder of their savagely barbaric behavior.
Like all wars, the one in Yemen is both ugly and complicated. Let us not, however, forget how and why it began. These Houthi terrorists who have attacked civilian targets overthrew the legitimate UN-backed and internationally recognized government of Yemen. At that point, Yemen sought aid and assistance from Saudi Arabia and its Arab neighbors.
Critics will be quick to point out that the Arab coalition has also caused civilian casualties in Yemen. Yes, that is true but there is one big difference: Coalition actions were errors which were investigated and apologized for. The Houthis, on the other hand, brag about attacking Saudi cities and they regularly threaten to kill civilians. Just as they did today by claiming that they fired four armed drones at Abha airport.
https://www.arabnews.com/node/1807076
My comment: LOL, LOL, LOL. This is by a Saudi news site. How often the Saudis had targeted Sanaa airport???? hey, saudi Arabia, welcome to the terrorists’ club.
(A P)
Revoking Al Houthi terror label sends a wrong message to Iran
For Yemeni people and peace in the region, the US should rethink its decision
The United States needs to rethink its decision to remove the Iran-backed Al Houthi militias from the list of terror group, a designation rightly slapped by the previous US administration. The Biden administration is not doing Yemen any favours by appeasing the group and its masters in Tehran.
Facing criticism for its hasty decision, the US said it will keep the pressure on the group.
All key players in the Yemen conflict, mainly the Saudi-led Arab coalition and Yemen’s internationally recognised government, are keen to end the war. Riyadh has been calling for a negotiated political settlement that would restore security and stability.
The only player that continues to sabotage all political efforts, spearheaded by the United Nations’ special envoy Martin Griffith, is Al Houthi militia, most probably under orders from its Iranian backers.
The experience of the past five years proves that Al Houthis are not interested in peace and cannot be trusted to keep a promise.
(A P)
Cross-party agreement to halt weapons sales to KSA should be a no brainer: Why? 1. UK process for evaluating legality of partners’ use not fit for purpose: ref continued sales despite comprehensive evidence (@MwatanaEn @bellingcat) of repeated civilian harm
Whether we want to acknowledge it or not, military assistance to partners is foreign policy. It directly affects people abroad& states, &our relation with them. Our values are most directly communicated (&understood) intly through our actions -not rhetoric.
Unconditional assistance is not effective foreign policy. Why?It gives partners all the power. Clear conditions-eg on #civiliancasualties&targeting- &offering support to ensure compliance opportunity to influence, improve partner use& actively promote rules-based intl system
Btw, the rules-based intl system underpins UK security and (economic) prosperity, as set out in numerous policies over the past decades. As such, value-led FP (&conditionality!) increases our ability to positively influence partners AND makes us safer & the world better
https://twitter.com/CZMolyneux/status/1359061649836154883
(A P)
Revoking the Houthis’ terrorist designation gives Iran leverage
Tehran will use President Biden’s desire to end the war in Yemen to convince the U.S. to lift sanctions and return to the 2015 nuclear deal.
There is considerable concern in Jerusalem, the Saudi royal household and the official Yemeni government over the Biden administration overturning the previous administration’s designation of Yemen’s Houthi rebels as a terrorist organization.
President Biden’s announcement of an end to support for the Saudi-led military coalition for the war in Yemen is being interpreted in the Arab world as an American admission of the war’s failure. A supply of U.S. weapons did not translate to a Saudi victory. The Arab world’s assessment is that Iran will tie the cessation of war in Yemen to the lifting of sanctions and a return to the original 2015 nuclear deal. Iran controls the Houthi rebels without constraints and now has more leverage over the Biden administration.
Another reason is Biden’s concern that failure to revoke the terrorist designation would sabotage his efforts to warm relations with Iran and sign an enhanced nuclear deal with it. The Houthis in Yemen are Iran’s protégés and are equipped with advanced Iranian weapons systems, including ballistic missiles and precision-guided drones.
Designating the Houthis as a terrorist organization and imposing sanctions announced by the Trump administration’s Treasury Department were acts based on reports from the intelligence community. The Biden administration will have to explain to the House of Representatives and the Senate its decision to revoke the classification.
Saudi Arabia is the country most affected by the Houthis.
President Biden’s announcement of an end to support for the Saudi-led military coalition for the war in Yemen is being interpreted in the Arab world as an American admission of the war’s failure. A supply of U.S. weapons did not translate to a Saudi victory. The Arab world’s assessment is that Iran will tie the cessation of war in Yemen to the lifting of sanctions and a return to the original 2015 nuclear deal. Iran controls the Houthi rebels without constraints and now has more leverage over the Biden administration.
https://www.jns.org/opinion/revoking-the-houthis-terrorist-designation-gives-iran-leverage/
(A P)
Biden’s Commitment to Yemen
Eight years ago, he stood with us. Times are harder, and we still need the U.S.
Vice President Joe Biden welcomed the newly elected president of Yemen to the White House in 2012 as the U.S. hailed my homeland for its “historic and peaceful transfer of power.” Yemenis endorsed a roadmap toward inclusive, accountable democracy.
It was ambitious, but we were determined, and we knew we had a partner in the U.S. President Abdrabuh Mansour Hadi led a national dialogue that included political parties, tribal envoys, regional representatives, labor leaders, women and youth. We drafted a constitution and planned for new elections.
We Yemenis have learned the hard way the price of a collapsed democratic transition. In 2014 Houthi armed factions, backed by Iran, seized power and plunged Yemen into civil war. The Houthis have attacked civilian targets, including schools, mosques, airports and parades. They have launched drones and ballistic missiles at neighboring countries, and have coordinated with U.S.-designated terrorist groups such as the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and Hezbollah. Last week we learned they are still obstructing international efforts to salvage the FSO Safer oil tanker and avert an environmental catastrophe.
Unfortunately, much of Congress’s attention—notably among Democrats—has focused not on the Houthis but on the Arab countries striving to restore Yemen’s legitimate government in line with multiple U.N. resolutions – By Ahmed Awad BinMubarak (paywalled)
https://www.wsj.com/articles/bidens-commitment-to-yemen-11612912789
My remark: By the Hadi government Foreign Minister.
and
(A P)
US president warned against hasty peace deal in Yemen
Yemen’s government and experts have warned the US administration against supporting a hasty peace settlement that does not include disarming the Houthi group.
Yemen’s Foreign Minister Ahmed Awadh bin Mubarak reminded US President Joe Biden of his previous commitments in 2012 when he was a vice president to support the Yemeni government during the early days of the transitional period. The foreign minister, in an op-ed article in the Wall Street Journal on Wednesday, said that the Iran-backed Houthis were responsible for the humanitarian crisis and the protracted war after their coup disrupted the country’s roadmap for peace and democracy in 2014.
“No one prays and struggles for an end to this war more than we do. But that doesn’t mean we will submit to fanatics who send Yemeni children to “indoctrination camps” and whose motto proclaims “Death to America” and “Curse on the Jews,” the foreign minister said, expressing the government’s concerns about the Biden’s reversal of terrorism charges against the Houthis.
“We seek a role in governance for all Yemenis. But getting there will require sustained US pressure on the Houthis and their enablers. We worry about that commitment given the administration’s decision to revoke its designation of the Houthis as a foreign terrorist organization,”
https://www.arabnews.com/node/1807176/middle-east
My comment: Peace is not “dismarming” the enemy. The Hadi government what to be reassured that the war and US support continue unchanged. Otherwise, the Houthis must be accepted as they are.
(A P)
How new US envoy to Yemen can end the stalemate
Lenderking is an excellent choice for the job.
Firstly, a cease-fire is essential. Last year, the government of Yemen and the Arab coalition accepted UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’ call for a global cease-fire. The Houthis did not, and have instead continued their attempts at a military solution, making significant territorial gains. Recent Houthi escalations on several fronts, including increased attacks on Saudi Arabia, are probably intended to bolster the group’s position in the negotiations. However, this reckless behavior should not be rewarded by, for example, removing the US’ Foreign Terrorist Organization designation prematurely. As Yemen’s cease-fires tend to be ephemeral at times, securing them should not be allowed to hold up the other elements of the solution.
Secondly, the Yemen conflict must be de-linked from the US-Iran standoff as much as possible, avoiding entangling the country in an uncertain process that could be lengthy. If allowed, Tehran will try to use its involvement in Yemen as a bargaining chip so as to protect its other more valuable assets in Iraq, Syria and Lebanon, or its nuclear program, but accepting such horse-trading will only prolong Yemen’s misery. Yemen’s precarious humanitarian situation ought to preclude such linkages.
Third is that international shipping through the Bab Al-Mandab Strait and Red Sea should be protected and not used as a hostage during the conflict. A more robust security presence is needed to secure maritime lanes and enforce the arms embargo, as stipulated in UN Security Council Resolution 2216, among others.
https://www.arabnews.com/node/1806601
My comment: By a Saudi news site, spoiled with anti-Houthi, pro-Saudi propaganda – showing quite wekll how the Saudis try to present themselves after Biden took office
(A P)
Bidening the crisis
Ahmed Mostafa assesses the possible future of the Yemeni crisis under Biden
The Biden administration’s policy might even add to that complication if its anticipated deal with Iran is not comprehensive.
From the start of the war in Yemen, the coalition knew there would be no military solution. At the end of the day, local Yemeni parties would settle the conflict politically. But the Saudis are wary of the Iranian presence on their southern borders via their proxy, the Houthi militia.
Saudi commentator Abdul-Aziz Alkhames told Al Ahram Weekly, “It was the initial goal of the coalition to support the legitimate government. [There was] no military solution in Yemen and the crisis would be settled politically. The military campaign was mainly in opposition to Iranian interference through the Houthi militia”. But Alkhames sees the new American position as an opportunity is a different way. “Washington’s disengagement makes room for other powers to play an active role in the region. France is a good example, and President Macron is working closely with allies like Saudi Arabia, Egypt and UAE to sort out many regional issues. The Biden administration’s restrictions on arms sales to Saudi Arabia give us to diversify our sources.”
http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/50/1203/402739/AlAhram-Weekly/World/Bidening-the-crisis.aspx
(A P)
John Bolton: Biden's bad move in Yemen
He's following Obama's erroneous notion that appeasing Iran will induce it to engage in more civilized behavior on nuclear and other issues.
Yemen's long, bloody "civil war" — which has essentially become a proxy war between Iran and Gulf Arabs — is correctly seen as a humanitarian tragedy. Too many, however, including President Joe Biden, mistakenly think that solving the tragedy requires blaming the wrong side, effectively exonerating the real culprits and their surrogates.
Biden had already "paused" several pending weapons sales to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, although these arms were always intended for general military purposes, not specifically for use in Yemen. Moreover, perhaps unwittingly, Biden's ambiguous phrasing calls into question the separate U.S. campaign against al-Qaida on the Arabian Peninsula, which
The Houthi, a Shia opposition sect, have long received considerable Iranian financial and military support, including in recent times cruise missiles and drones.
These weapons have been used against civilian targets in Saudi Arabia and the UAE, including airports and oil infrastructure. Along with weapons supplied by Iran to Shia militia groups in Iraq, they constitute real threats to the oil-producing Gulf monarchies.
In effect, Iran is trying to encircle its Arab enemies, chief among them Saudi Arabia, by installing a friendly regime in their backyard.
Biden is making unforced concessions to Iran, laying the basis for resurrecting President Barack Obama's failed 2015 nuclear deal with Tehran. The symbolic rhetorical gesture of "ending" U.S. support for Saudi war efforts is really a slap at Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman, since 2015, Riyadh's most forceful advocate for decisive action in Yemen.
Despite Biden's implicit effort to characterize this as a brutal Saudi assault on an impoverished country, the central problem is Iran and its proxy, the Houthis.
https://www.startribune.com/john-bolton-bidens-bad-move-in-yemen/600020964/
My remark: Who still does not know who John Bolton is: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Bolton .
(A P)
Biden and the Houthis
The main defense of the Trump administration decision to call the Houthis terrorists is that they repeatedly commit acts of terrorism. QED. And the main critique of the Biden administration’s revocation of that decision is equally simple: the Houthis have long committed, and continue to commit, acts of terror. They should be designated an FTO because they are an FTO.
The motivation for the Biden decision is clear: the FTO designation may have a negative humanitarian impact in Yemen because some suppliers of food and other goods may back away for fear of prosecution. It may also be that the administration concluded the terrorism designation would make negotiating with the Houthis more complex, thereby hindering efforts to end the war.
But if one’s central goal is to end the war, what is the impact of this FTO reversal regarding the Houthis? Is it clear that they will react by changing their behavior and stopping acts of terror? That theory may have already been proved false. Is it clear that with renewed good will toward the United States Government because the FTO designation was reversed, they will now negotiate in good faith with our new Yemen envoy, the excellent Foreign Service Officer Tim Lenderking? There is no evidence for this theory.
https://www.cfr.org/blog/biden-and-houthis
My comment: Please, declare “terrorist” all those who commit acts of terrorism: the US, Israel, saudi-Arabia, UAE, and the Houthis, ok.
(A P)
Biden’s First Middle East Moves
Yemen is a strategic country. It can project force into Saudi Arabia and Oman, or allow more powerful allies to do so. More important, from Yemen’s location a hypothetical, stronger power could close the Bab el Mandeb strait, and in doing so close the Red Sea.
Iran is not in Yemen for its health. In the short term (which is maybe the only term there will be), Yemen is a base from which Iran can put pressure on Saudi Arabia, which it sees as its major rival, and also on the UAE, the major native Persian Gulf model.
The Trump administration’s position was to treat nuclear weapons in Iran as simply part of a broader threat. In other words, with or without nuclear weapons, Iranian covert operations and subversion could give it a dominant position in the area. Sanctions were designed to cripple Iran internally, while the Abraham Accords were an attempt to create a powerful coalition, not dependent on U.S. direct intervention, to block Iranian adventures.
The decisions to remove the Houthis from the terrorist list and to review the Saudis’ human rights record are not in themselves significant. But the Biden administration appears to be either gesturing toward a new policy or planning one. It has promised to revive the nuclear treaty with Iran. But that was signed in a different Middle East. In today’s Middle East, the solution to the Iranian problem has become indigenous: a massive alliance from the Mediterranean to the Persian Gulf, including a significant nuclear power, Israel, and other powers prepared to challenge Iran, nuclear or not.
The administration is signaling a move toward a hostile relationship with the Saudis over Yemen and human rights. If it follows through on the former, it will also be moving against the UAE, where the U.S. has bases. And it will be moving against Israel, which sees the Saudis as a critical foundation of the alliance.
It is difficult to imagine that the Biden administration wants to be forced to deal with an Iran-dominated Yemen or an unstable Saudi Arabia. Therefore, it is difficult to imagine that the two recent gestures by the administration are more than just gestures.
https://geopoliticalfutures.com/bidens-first-middle-east-moves/
My comment: A neocon article taking for granted that the US should rule the Middle East.
(A P)
State Department defends removing Houthis from terror list despite ensuing civilian attacks
Riyadh’s responsibility for civilian casualties in the conflict has eroded U.S. support for the Arab coalition, despite the U.S. consensus that Iran poses a threat in the region.
“Biden/Blinken de-listing the Houthis is a gift to Iran, doesn’t help solve Yemen & offers a path for other Iran-backed terror groups,” FDD’s Jonathan Schanzer wrote Saturday. “Make enough of a humanitarian nightmare in the territory Iran is helping you conquer, and the U.S. will prioritize the humanitarian nightmare over the terrorist activity that helped create it.”
Schanzer’s comments reflect part of the dilemma inside Yemen from an American perspective. Analysts disagree, or acknowledge their own uncertainty, about whether designating the militants as a terrorist group would help counter an Iranian proxy or allow the ayatollahs to tighten their control over the Houthis by depriving the Yemeni group of any support from sources other than Tehran.
“Does the de-listing actually [work] against U.S. interests by limiting our leverage? I am actually torn on that front,” Koduvayur said. “I don't think we'll have a clear answer on that until we see what the Houthis' next moves are going to be.”
In any case, the fact that U.S. officials have to think through such a conundrum suggests that Iran already has achieved a victory in Yemen.
“If you talk about an organization that is aligned with Iran but not really requiring a lot of assistance from Iran ... that’s a win from the Iranian perspective,” the Senate Republican aide said
referring to https://twitter.com/JSchanzer/status/1358060305440534534
Film: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tkSVWbS2w5Y = https://www.newsy.com/stories/state-dept-defends-decision-to-delist-yemen-s-houthis/
(A P)
Biden’s Yemen Gamble
The Houthis respond to a U.S. concession by escalating against Saudi Arabia (paywalled)
https://www.wsj.com/articles/bidens-yemen-gamble-11612827688
(A P)
UN envoy to #Yemen visits #Iran #Cartoon
https://twitter.com/RepYemenEnglish/status/1358729973469753344
(A P)
US-Saudi Aggression has failed, Yemen Is Near from Victory
It is a mistake to think that human feelings are what motivated US President Biden to stop the aggression on Yemen, as the US policy does not move in the light of human feelings or moral principles. If this were the case, these feelings would have broken out for Syria, Iraq, Libya and Afghanistan, whose peoples suffer because of crimes committed by the US forces, killing their sons, plundering their wealth, splitting their people and dividing their land.
The only difference in the Yemeni case is that the Yemeni people were able, with their legendary steadfastness and brave resistance, not only to push the aggression, but also to target the Saudi depth and threaten the main Saudi economy, which is the oil industry, while the US was unable to protect its ally, despite selling hundreds of billions of arms to Saudi Arabia.
It is not the dangers that threaten Saudi Arabia that prompted Biden to bring down the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed from the top of the tree, but rather the involvement of the Israeli entity in this aggression, which provoked the Yemeni armed forces, that threatened to strike at the "Israeli" depth, in the event that the Israeli entity persists in its aggression against the Yemeni people. This was another incentive for Biden to think about putting an end to the aggression, and finding a way out that saved his face and his tools such as Bin Salman, Bin Zayed and Netanyahu.
My remark: A Houthi viewpoint.
(A P)
The Peace Process in Yemen is Broken
If the Biden Administration wishes to broker peace in Yemen it needs to reconcile its contradictory policies towards the country and recognise that offensive military action is a necessary component to meaningful negotiation.
The disparity in treatment of the sides arises from the fact that the international community has no leverage over the Houthis, and so long as the international community safeguards them from any practical military setbacks they will continue to negotiate in bad faith. The Houthis show up at talks but so far, they have made no meaningful concessions. The war may be detrimental to the Yemeni people, but it is not hurting the Houthis; indeed, it sustains them. There is no purely military solution to the war in Yemen, but until diplomats appreciate that force is a critical source of leverage, there will not be a diplomatic solution either.
Much of the public discussion of the war in Yemen has centred on the ineptitude of Saudi targeting and the civilians killed in its air campaign. The argument is made that withdrawing support for the Royal Saudi Air Force will reduce civilian suffering. This is doubtful. Saudi Arabia has been fighting with the Houthis from the mid-2000s. Since the Houthis seized the Yemeni capital of Sana’a in 2014 they have also occupied Saudi territory and have subsequently conducted extensive ballistic and cruise missile attacks.
Beyond slogans and political point scoring, if the US, the UK and European allies are serious about bringing peace to Yemen then there needs to be a coherent strategy. There must be an attempt to align the objectives being pursued by different departments and combatant commands. There must be a more nuanced appreciation of the military instrument as a necessary component in threatening Houthi interests sufficiently to bring about meaningful negotiation. Failure to achieve this coherence is a concession that, for many international actors, Yemenis are a regrettable but nevertheless bearable casualty of their disinterest.
https://www.rusi.org/commentary/peace-process-yemen-broken
My remark: By RUSI think tank: “The Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) is the world’s oldest and the UK’s leading defence and security think tank. Its mission is to inform, influence and enhance public debate on a safer and more stable world. RUSI is a research-led institute, producing independent, practical and innovative analysis to address today’s complex challenges” (https://www.rusi.org/about-rusi).
(A P)
Houthis Scale up Assaults despite Washington’s Decision to Revoke Their Terrorist Designation
The Biden administration’s decision to revoke the terrorist designation of Iran-backed Houthi militias was met by the latter stepping up assaults against Yemen’s Marib, al-Jawf and Taiz governorates.
The criticism leveled by the internationally recognized Yemeni government against Washington’s decision included warning.
My comment: A connection claimed by anti-Houthi PR.
(A P)
More Saudi coalition „We are benefactors“ propaganda
https://www.spa.gov.sa/viewfullstory.php?lang=en&newsid=2188474
https://www.spa.gov.sa/viewfullstory.php?lang=en&newsid=2188465
https://www.spa.gov.sa/viewfullstory.php?lang=en&newsid=2188115
https://www.spa.gov.sa/viewfullstory.php?lang=en&newsid=2188014
https://www.spa.gov.sa/viewfullstory.php?lang=en&newsid=2187679
https://www.spa.gov.sa/viewfullstory.php?lang=en&newsid=2187677
cp16 Saudische Luftangriffe / Saudi air raids
(* A K pH)
Saudi coalition air raids and shelling day by day
Feb. 7: https://www.facebook.com/lcrdye/photos/a.551858951631141/1933077030175986/
Feb. 6: https://www.facebook.com/lcrdye/photos/a.551858951631141/1932252536925102/
Feb. 5: https://www.facebook.com/lcrdye/photos/a.551858951631141/1932250963591926/
(* A K pH)
Saudi coalition massacres its own mercenaries in series of airstrikes on Ma’rib
Dozens of recruits loyal to the Saudi-led coalition were killed and wounded in a friendly fire incident by Saudi coalition airstrikes in Ma’rib province on Wednesday.
According to informed sources, the recruits were targeted by the coalition fighter jets while trying to flee from battle, after losing combat against the Yemeni Armed Forces and Popular Committees.
The coalition warplanes also, possibly my mistake, hit several groups of recruits who had been sent as military reinforcements to their forces on the Red Hilltop and Jabal al-Balaq fronts, after these areas had been encircled completely by the Yemeni army, the sources added.
(A K pH)
Aggression kills, injures 4 civilians within 24 hours
A child was killed on Sunday in a bomb explosion left by the US-Saudi aggression in Maswara area in Nehm district in Sana'a province, a military official said on Saturday.
The official added two civilians were injured in the bomb explosion in the same area in Sana'a.
https://www.saba.ye/en/news3127643.htm
(A K pH)
More Saudi coalition air raids
https://english.almasirah.net/post/17709/US-Saudi-Aggression-Launches-Series-of-Raids%2C-Marib%2C-Saadah%2C-Hajjah Several prov.
https://hodhodyemennews.net/2021/02/10/saudis-carry-out-24-airstrikes-across-yemen/ 24 air raids
https://www.saba.ye/en/news3127946.htm Saada p.
https://www.saba.ye/en/news3127793.htm Marib p.
https://english.almasirah.net/post/17668/US-Saudi-Aggression-s-Daily-Update-for-Monday%2C-Feb-8%2C-2021 Marib p., Hajjah p.
https://www.saba.ye/en/news3127644.htm Marib p., Jawf p.
cp17 Kriegsereignisse / Theater of War
Siehe / Look at cp18
Im Jemen herrscht ein militärisches Patt. Eine größere Offensive mit größeren Erfolgen und Geländegewinnen für eine Seite bleiben seit der Offensive der saudischen Koalition gegen Hodeidah im Jahr 2018 aus. Kleinere Offensiven, ständige gegenseitige Angriffe und Gefechte mit Toten auf beiden Seiten und Opfern unter der Zivilbevölkerung gibt es aber ständig. Besonders betroffen sind die Provinzen Hodeidah, Taiz, Al Bayda, Al Dhalea, der Bezirk Nehm in der Provinz Sanaa, die Provinzen Al Jawf, Marib, Hajjah und Saada.
There is a military stalemate in Yemen. A larger offensive with greater successes and territorial gains for one side has been absent since the Saudi coalition's offensive against Hodeidah in 2018. Smaller offensives, constant mutual attacks and skirmishes killing fighters of both sides and causing victims among the civilian population are constant. The provinces of Hodeidah, Taiz, Al Bayda, Al Dhalea, the district of Nehm in the province of Sanaa, the provinces of Al Jawf, Marib, Hajjah and Saada are particularly affected.
(A K pS)
Joint Forces Command of the Coalition to Restore Legitimacy in Yemen: Interception, Destruction of Bomb-Laden UAV Launched Toward the Kingdom
“Joint Coalition Forces have intercepted and destroyed this morning (Thursday) a bomb-laden UAV launched systematically and deliberately by the terrorist Houthi militia to target civilians and civilian objects in (Khamis Mushait).”
https://www.spa.gov.sa/viewfullstory.php?lang=en&newsid=2188551
My comment: Keep calm. At Khamis Mushait, there is Saudi Arabia’s main air force base, from whre fighter jets bombing Yemen are operating. This rather is no “civilian” target.
(A K pH)
Saudi artillery kills man in Sa'ada
https://www.saba.ye/en/news3128068.htm
(* A K)
Huthi-Rebellen greifen Flughafen in Saudi-Arabien an
Die vom Iran unterstützen Huthi-Rebellen haben den Flughafen Abha mit Drohnen attackiert. Das saudische Staatsfernsehen sprach von einem "feigen Terroranschlag".
Bei einem Angriff jemenitischer Huthi-Rebellen auf den internationalen Flughafen Abha in Saudi-Arabien ist ein Passagierflugzeug in Brand geraten. Auf dem Flughafen im Süden des Landes habe es "einen feigen kriminellen Terroranschlag der Huthi-Miliz" gegeben, berichtete der Staatssender Echbarija unter Berufung auf die von Saudi-Arabien geführte Militärkoalition im Jemen. Der Brand sei inzwischen unter Kontrolle. Opfer wurden zunächst nicht gemeldet.
Die vom Iran unterstützten Huthi-Rebellen bekannten sich zu dem Anschlag. Der Sprecher des bewaffneten Huthi-Flügels, Jahja Sarie, schrieb auf Twitter, Kämpfer hätten den Flughafen Abha mit vier Drohnen angegriffen. Saudi-Arabien nutze den Flughafen zu militärischen Zwecken, "um das jemenitische Volk anzugreifen".
und auch https://www.tagesschau.de/ausland/asien/angriff-von-huthi-rebellen-auf-flughafen-101.html
(* A K)
Saudi TV: Yemen rebel attack on airport sets plane on fire
Yemen’s Houthi rebels on Wednesday targeted an airport in southwestern Saudi Arabia with bomb-laden drones, causing a civilian plane on the tarmac to catch fire, the kingdom’s state television reported, an attack that threatened to escalate Yemen’s grinding war.
No one was hurt in the assault, but the damaged passenger plane at Abha airport served as a powerful reminder of the danger that Houthi rebels pose to Saudi Arabia, which nearly six years ago launched a bombing campaign that has devastated the Arab world’s poorest country.
The Iran-aligned Houthis soon claimed responsibility for the assault, with military spokesman Yehia Sarea stressing that the Houthis consider Abha airport to be a military, not civilian, target.
“This targeting comes in response to the continued aerial bombardment and the brutal siege of our country,” Sarea said, adding the group attacked with four bomb-laden drones.
Photographs later aired by Saudi state television showed the aircraft, a 3-year-old Airbus A320 flown by low-cost carrier FlyADeal. It appeared the drone had punched a hole through its fuselage, with scorch marks on the metal. An anchor on state television said there were no injuries on the ground from the fire (photo)
and
(* A K)
Yemen's Houthis say they carried out drone attack on Saudi airport
Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi group said it carried out a drone attack on Saudi Arabia’s Abha airport on Wednesday which the Saudi-led coalition fighting Houthi forces in Yemen said caused a fire in a civilian aircraft.
Houthi military spokesman Yahya Sarea said four Houthi drones were used in an attack that he said struck Abha airport, in southern Saudi Arabia, on Wednesday afternoon.
“The attempt to target Abha airport is a war crime and put civilian travellers’ lives in danger,” the coalition statement said, adding thatthe aircraft was on the ground at the time and that the fire was brought under control.
Sarea said the attack was in response to air strikes and other actions in Yemen by the coalition.
https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/yemen-houthis-saudi-arabia-abha-airport-attack
and
(A K pH)
Army air force targets Saudi Abha Airport
The army's air force targeted at noon on Wednesday warplanes hangars at Saudi Abha International Airport.
Spokesman of the army, Brigadier General Yahya Sarei, announced in a military statement that the operation was carried out by four drones of Samad-3 type and Qasef-2K type.
The operation comes in response to the continued aerial bombardment and the continuing brutal blockade on Yemen, he added.
https://www.saba.ye/en/news3127976.htm
and
(A K pS)
Saudi Arabia says Houthi drone used in Abha airport attack a replica of Iranian UAV
Saudi Arabia said on Wednesday the drone used in the Abha airport attack claimed by Yemen's Houthis was a replica of the Iranian Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), "Ababil T".
"Remnants of the wreckage show that the explosive drone is of the Qasef type, which is a replica of the Iranian UAV, Ababil T," the Saudi embassy in the US said.
Iran has long exported its drone technology to its regional Shia ally, the Houthis. Tehran denies having any role in the Yemeni conflict.
The "Qasef" drone is a combative Houthi drone which the UK-based Conflict Armament Research (CAR) organization has documented contained components manufactured exclusively by Iran.
Photos, with reminder in comments: https://twitter.com/SaudiEmbassyUSA/status/1359550540506673156
and
(A K P)
Yemeni Government Strongly Condemns Cowardly Attack on Abha International Airport
In a statement issued, the Yemeni Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriate Affairs affirmed Yemen's standing with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and supporting all measures it takes to protect its territories and preserve the safety of its citizens.
The statement carried out by the Yemeni News Agency (Saba) indicated that the terrorist Houthi militia is continuing its flagrant violation of international law and UN charters in targeting civilians and civilian objects and threaten the region's security and stability.
https://www.spa.gov.sa/viewfullstory.php?lang=en&newsid=2188553
and vice-president: https://www.spa.gov.sa/viewfullstory.php?lang=en&newsid=2189566
My comment: This is rather ridiculous as they stayed silent when Saudi Arabia bombed Yemen into ruins.
and
(A K P)
UAE Strongly Condemns Targeting of Abha International Airport
https://www.spa.gov.sa/viewfullstory.php?lang=en&newsid=2189565#2189565
and
(A K P)
[Lebanon’s] Hariri Urges Int'l Action after Huthi Attack on Saudi Airport
Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri on Wednesday strongly condemned an attack by Yemen’s Huthi rebels on a Saudi airport.
“The attack on the Abha airport in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia by the Huthi militias is a war crime by all standards,” Hariri said in a tweet.
and
(A K pH)
Abdulsalam Commenting on Targeting Saudi Air Force in Abha: Yemen Legitimate Self-defense Will Continue
In a tweet, Abdulsalam said, "Our legitimate self defense will continue with all of what we can, until the US-Saudi aggression and siege stop completely." He added that "the US-Saudi crimes against the Yemeni People are unprecedented, vicious and terrorizing."
and
(A K pH)
Bukhaiti: Yemen [Sanaa gov.] Warns Airlines to Avoid Saudi Airports Amid Strikes on Yemen
Saudi Arabia uses its airports across the kingdom to launch deadly aerial attacks on Yemen, making them "legitimate targets" of Yemen's retaliation strikes, Supreme Political Council member Mohammed Al-Bukhaiti said.
“We advise airlines not to use Saudi airports because they are used for military purposes in the aggression and blockade on Yemen,” Al-Bukhaiti tweeted on Wednesday.
He said Yemen seeks to stop the war, but the war cannot end when the other side continues the aggression.
“Just as we are advocates of peace, we are men of war,” he added.
(* B K pS)
Yemen: Houthi snipers gunned down 366 children in Taiz in 5 years
Houthi snipers gunned down 366 children in five years time in Yemen’s central governorate of Taiz, an NGO said.
The Association of the Families of Sniping and Landmine Victims said in a report released on Monday that Salah district in the city’s downtown saw 26 martyrs followed by 43 wounded.
https://www.alsahwa-yemen.net/en/p-44997
(A K pS)
Houthi attacks on population centers exacerbate humanitarian situations: [Hadi] Gov’t official
The Houthi constant attacks on population centers in Marib, Aljawf and elsewhere is exacerbating the humanitarian situation in the country, a Yemeni government official has said.
https://www.alsahwa-yemen.net/en/p-45006
(A K pS)
Yemeni activists call for simultaneous reinvigoration of anti-Houthi fronts
Yemen’s activists have called for a simultaneous reinvigoration of the different warfronts including the Hodeidah front in the country’s west to alleviate the Houthi military pressure on Marib in the east.
https://www.alsahwa-yemen.net/en/p-44998
(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=2188250
(A K pH)
Citizen Killed, 5 Wounded in Sa’adah By Saudi Bombing
Saudi-led aggression continues its shelling on the border province of Sa’adah, killing a citizen and wounding five others .
Almasirah Net correspondent reported that residential areas in the border district of Shada were subjected to Saudi missile and artillery shelling on Tuesday, which led to the death of a citizen and wounding 5 others.
https://www.saba.ye/en/news3127922.htm
(A K pS)
Woman injured in Houthi mortar attack in Tor al-Baha
http://en.adenpress.news/news/32181
(A K pS)
Signs Yemen violence acts will surge after US begins revoking Houthi terror designation
Houthis have started clashes with the tribe of Bani Dhabyan in the borders of Sana’a with Marib governorate in east of Yemen, local sources said. The militants want “to make a breakthrough to Marib but are meeting resistance from the tribes,” said the sources, adding that the Bani Dhabyan had just finalized an agreement with Marib tribe to block Houthi advance attempts.
https://www.alsahwa-yemen.net/en/p-44979
(A K pS)
Woman injured by Houthi sniper in al-Dhale
http://en.adenpress.news/news/32174
(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=2187611
(A K pH)
Citizen Injured by US-Saudi Aggression in Sa'adah Governorate
and also https://www.saba.ye/en/news3127643.htm
(A K)
Film: #Houthis publicly announced the battle to liberate #Marib. "We gathered u to inform u that the battle for Marib’s liberation has jst begun. Yemenis r fighting a decisive battle these days which will lead 2 a victory of the Islamic nation"; Houthi senior leader Mo Bukhaiti ystrdy.
https://twitter.com/Alsakaniali/status/1359269251715125249
(* A K)
Yemen's Houthis renew offensive to capture government stronghold Marib
The push comes as UN special envoy to Yemen is in Iran to discuss the crisis in a sign of renewed diplomatic efforts with new US administration
Houthi fighters have renewed their push to seize the oil-rich province of Marib, the government’s last stronghold in northern Yemen, a government source said on Monday, reporting dozens of casualties in both camps.
Following weeks of relative calm in the strategic region, new clashes between the Houthis and Saudi-backed pro-government forces broke out on Sunday.
The source told AFP that the Houthis had brought in reinforcements during that time.
"Fighting took place about 10 kilometres west of Marib," he said on condition of anonymity.
"At least 20 government fighters were killed and 28 others wounded," he said, adding that Houthi fighters also suffered many casualties but an accurate account was not immediately available.
In the past 24 hours, government forces pushed back five attacks, the source said, a day after three pro-government fighters were killed and four wounded in a missile attack on their camp in Marib.
The United States and Britain condemned the offensive
https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/yemen-houthis-offensive-marib-stronghold
and also https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20210210-yemen-houthis-renew-operations-in-marib-province/
Map: https://twitter.com/tonytohcy/status/1359123865457160192
and
(B K pS)
Yemen, surprisingly, has become a top foreign policy priority for the Biden administration in its first weeks. Marib governorate in central Yemen is under the control of the internationally recognized government of Yemen.
Fighting is taking place about 10 kilometres west of Marib from Al Jawaf towards Raghwan district and Alrowaik area. This recent battle may cut-off the main Marib – Seiyon road near Safer petroleum facility and consequently encircle Marib city.
Hostilities including missile attacks on targets in the city will cause a major displacement from Marib to southern governorates including Shabwah and Hadramot.
If the Houthis seize Marib, they will have control over most of Yemen’s population, an important natural resource base, and will be less likely to negotiate a peace settlement with the government and other Yemeni factions.
Before the escalation of hostilities in 2020, Marib governorate already hosted the largest IDP population and the largest IDP camp in Yemen. IOM’s DTM Area Assessment from 2018 puts the number of IDPs in the governorate at 800,000 people.
https://twitter.com/Dave_Harden/status/1359574888890138624
(A K pS)
Houthi missiles keep raining down on Marib
Houthi missiles including ballistic ones are continuing to rain down on Marib city since the weekend after the theocratic Shia terrorists heard the news that the US has removed them from its terror list.
A missile hit the city this Wednesday morning and eight confirmed ballistic missiles in the past two days. A missile on Sunday killed and injured six civilians.
https://www.alsahwa-yemen.net/en/p-45031
and also https://twitter.com/AlqadhiYasmin/status/1359647633334292481
and
(* A K)
Heavy fighting in central Yemen leaves at least 29 dead
Heavy fighting between government forces and Houthi rebels has killed more than two dozen people in the past three days in the central Marib province, Yemeni officials and tribal leaders said Tuesday.
The officials said at least 29 people were killed and dozens were wounded from both sides in the most recent fighting for Marib. The rebels have sought to take control of the oil-rich province from the internationally recognized government.
Tribal leaders said the Houthis have deployed reinforcements to break government defenses in Marib, an anti-Houthi stronghold, but they have made no progress.
https://apnews.com/article/yemen-iran-sanaa-c131b4f4e83959f12385ca67f9bfdb7d
and by anti-Houthi Islah Party news site: https://www.alsahwa-yemen.net/en/p-44999
and
(A K pS)
Battles continue amid massive losses among Houthi militia’s ranks western Marib
and
(A K pS)
Breaking news: Houthi ballistic missiles hit Marib now
Two Houthi ballistic missiles landed on two neighborhoods in Marib’s city center, local sources said
https://www.alsahwa-yemen.net/en/p-45010
and
(A K pS)
#Houthis fired two ballistic missiles on #Marib city this evening. The other missile landed nearby an IDPs camp, according to local sources.
https://twitter.com/Alsakaniali/status/1359200042993778688
and
(A K pH)
Saudi forces reported retreating from Ma’rib as [Sanaa gov.] Yemeni forces keep advancing
Saudi Arabia has on Monday stopped participation in defending a Hadi government compound in Ma’rib city, the most important stronghold of the Islah Party militias in the city that is on the brink of being retaken by the Yemeni army and Popular Committees.
According to well-informed sources, Saudi Arabia directed its officers in the operations room in Ma’rib to leave the city.
The sources pointed out that a convoy of three armoured vehicles and four military police vehicles has left Ma’rib and headed towards the port of Al-Wadea in Hadhramaut.
and
(A K pH)
Over 15 Saudi-led military units missing amidst rapid [Sanaa gov. forces] Yemeni advance in Ma’rib
More than 15 military brigades belonging to Hadi’s forces have lost contact with their headquarters in the past two days in Ma’rib province, Yemeni News Portal reported, citing military sources in Marib on Tuesday.
The development comes as fighting between coalition forces and the Yemeni army intensifies near the government compound in Ma’rib city, amid remarkable progress for the forces of the National Salvation Government of Yemen.
The sources said that Saudi-led mercenary brigades were deployed to prevent the Yemeni army from advancing through Jabal Murad to Camp Al-Khanjar in Jawf province.
The sources speculated that the forces have fallen into the hands of the Yemeni army forces and have been destroyed or surrendered.
and
(A K pS)
Overlooking Houthi crimes prolongs war: [Hadi] Yemeni gov't
War crimes committed by the Houthi group should not be overlooked and wrongdoers should be punished, the Yemeni UN-recognized government said on Tuesday, as Houthi persistent behavior will prolong war and exacerbate its humanitarian disastrous complications.
In a statement, the Yemeni foreign ministry deplored the "Houthi savage aggression on Marib governorate," where millions of civilians displaced by the group from their communities.
The Houthis targeted Marib city with 8 missiles in 48 hours, killing 4 civilians and injuring 12 others, the statement said.
https://debriefer.net/en/news-23077.html
and
(A K pS)
[Hadi] Army forces advance on Jabal Murad front
Army forces backed by popular resistance on Sunday have made significant progress on the ground in southern Marib province.
http://en.26sepnews.net/2021/02/09/army-forces-advance-on-jabal-murad-front/
and
(A K)
20 Houthis killed in Marib ambush, [Hadi] government forces say
https://debriefer.net/en/news-23026.html
and
(A K pS)
In the first day of their renewed wide-scale military offensive against #Marib, over 50 Houthis wr killed ,dozens injured and 7 captured ,while pro Yemeni govt forces lost around 19, incl 9 from Marib, said 2 tribal & military sources. Bloody fighting still going on.
https://twitter.com/Alsakaniali/status/1358548704005935108
A new katyusha rocket struck #Marib city this morning
https://twitter.com/Alsakaniali/status/1358744502664634368
and
(A K pS)
The [Hadi gov.] Yemeni army said it downed a Houthi-launched drone in Marib province where fierce battles take place after the Houthi militia launched a -full-scale offensive in an attempt to take over the oil-rich province.
https://twitter.com/RepYemenEnglish/status/1358841308681494530
and how the Houthis justify their offensive:
(A K P)
Houthi senior leader Mo Bukaiti: Yemeni ppl (#Houthis) r fighting a decisive battle that will decide the fate of the nation, where Marib is the decisive front that wud determine the fate of this battle. This is a divine direction to us to liberate #Marib from alien rulers.
https://twitter.com/Alsakaniali/status/1358644390147850241
referring to
The Yemeni people are fighting a decisive battle that will entail the fate of the nation, and the Marib front is the separating front that will determine the fate of this battle because the village in which the Almighty said (If the kings enter a village, they spoil it and make its dear people humiliated) is Ma'rib, and this is a divine directive for us to liberate Marib from the kings Intruders upon them
https://twitter.com/M_N_Albukhaiti/status/1358630064582242304
cp18 Kampf um Hodeidah / Hodeidah battle
Seit dem Abkommen von Stockholm vom 13. Dezember 2018 gibt es einen Waffenstillstand für Hodeidah. Zwar bleiben größere Offensiven aus, kleinere Gefechte gibt es aber laufend, und beide Seiten werfen sich ständig Verstöße gegen den Waffenstillstand vor.
Since the Stockholm Agreement of December 13, 2018, a ceasefire has been in place for Hodeidah. There are no major offensives, but smaller battles are going on and both sides constantly are accusing each other of violating the ceasefire.
(A K pH)
US-Saudi Aggression Violates Stockholm Agreement, Launches Raid on Hodeidah
Almasirah Net correspondent stated that the aggression’s warplanes launched a raid on a village at Ad-Durayhimi district.
No civilian casualties were reported.
(A K pH)
Daily violations, as claimed by the Houthi side
cp19 Sonstiges / Other
(A P)
#Marib is gearing up for its first Book Fair despite Houthis continued attacks against the city. (photos)
https://twitter.com/sadeqalwesabi/status/1358868390409027589
referring to http://marib-gov.com/news_details.php?&sid=2911
and also https://twitter.com/Alsakaniali/status/1359171192775663618 (photos)
https://twitter.com/Alsakaniali/status/1359521577822523392 (photos)
https://yazaan.net/news329.html
(B H)
Desert Locust situation update 9 February 2021
In Yemen, scattered adults are maturing along the Red Sea coastal plains where small scale breeding could occur in the few areas that remain favourable. Current infestations are not high enough to warrant control operations. No surveys were conducted recently along the Gulf of Aden plains.
In Saudi Arabia, immature adult groups from local breeding along the Red Sea coast moved through the Asir Mountains to the interior near Riyadh and Gassim. Breeding continues along the coast on both sides of the Sudan / Eritrea border. Control operations continue in all three countries.
http://www.fao.org/ag/locusts/en/info/info/index.html
(B H)
Desert Locust situation update 8 February 2021
Control operations continue in winter breeding areas along the Red Sea, mainly against hopper groups and bands that formed along the coast of Saudi Arabia and to a lesser extent against hopper bands on both sides of the Eritrea/Sudan border. Any infestations that escape control in Saudi Arabia could form adult groups and swarms that would most likely move inland to the spring breeding areas of the interior. In Yemen, scattered adults persist mainly along the Red Sea coast and to a lesser extent on the Gulf of Aden coast in the south. There remains a risk that a few swarms may be present in inaccessible areas of the north, which could move to adjacent areas of southwest Saudi Arabia.
http://www.fao.org/ag/locusts/en/info/info/index.html
(-)
Photos: #Yemen holds our heart
https://www.facebook.com/LivingInYemenOnTheEdge/posts/3773786676007668
Vorige / Previous:
https://www.freitag.de/autoren/dklose/jemenkrieg-mosaik-715-yemen-war-mosaic-715
Jemenkrieg-Mosaik 1-715 / Yemen War Mosaic 1-715:
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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