Dies ist die Fortsetzung von Jemenkrieg-Mosaik 718, Teil 1 / This is the sequel of Yemen War Mosaic 718, part 1:
https://www.freitag.de/autoren/dklose/jemenkrieg-mosaik-718-yemen-war-mosaic-718
Schwerpunkte / Key aspects
Kursiv: Siehe Teil 1 / In Italics: Look in part 1
Klassifizierung / Classification
Für wen das Thema ganz neu ist / Who is new to the subject
cp1 Am wichtigsten / Most important
cp1a Am wichtigsten: Coronavirus und Seuchen / Most important: Coronavirus and epidemics
cp2 Allgemein / General
cp2a Allgemein: Saudische Blockade / General: Saudi blockade
cp3 Humanitäre Lage / Humanitarian situation
cp4 Flüchtlinge / Refugees
cp5 Nordjemen und Huthis / Northern Yemen and Houthis
cp6 Separatisten und Hadi-Regierung im Südjemen / Separatists and Hadi government in Southern Yemen
cp7 UNO und Friedensgespräche / UN and peace talks
cp8 Saudi-Arabien / Saudi Arabia
cp8a Jamal Khashoggi
cp9 USA
cp9a USA-Iran Krise: Spannungen am Golf / US-Iran crisis: Tensions at the Gulf
cp10 Großbritannien / Great Britain
cp11 Deutschland / Germany
cp12 Andere Länder / Other countries
cp12a Katar-Krise / Qatar crisis
cp13a Waffenhandel / Arms trade
cp13b Kulturerbe / Cultural heritage
cp13c Wirtschaft / Economy
cp14 Terrorismus / Terrorism
cp15 Propaganda
cp16 Saudische Luftangriffe / Saudi air raids
cp17 Kriegsereignisse / Theater of War
cp18 Kampf um Hodeidah / Hodeidah battle
cp19 Sonstiges / Other
Klassifizierung / Classification
***
**
*
(Kein Stern / No star)
? = Keine Einschatzung / No rating
A = Aktuell / Current news
B = Hintergrund / Background
C = Chronik / Chronicle
D = Details
E = Wirtschaft / Economy
H = Humanitäre Fragen / Humanitarian questions
K = Krieg / War
P = Politik / Politics
pH = Pro-Houthi
pS = Pro-Saudi
T = Terrorismus / Terrorism
cp9 USA
Siehe / Look at cp2, cp9a
(* B P)
Through My Lens: Biden should step up efforts to end war in Yemen
President Biden earlier this month announced an end to U.S. support for an offensive in Yemen, but what does this mean? Does this stop Saudi Arabia from waging future wars in Yemen? Will the bombings stop? It is not clear to me from the president’s speech. This was an opportunity to stand up against Saudi Arabia, not stand with them.
I am a survivor of a civil war and famine in Somalia that killed my own sister. As I watch the news from Yemen today, memories of the anguished cry of my sister Sadia haunt me as she took her last breath.
President Biden should step up efforts to stop the war in Yemen by ending all arms sales to Saudi Arabia and condemning their attacks in that country. Unfortunately, the Biden administration seems willing to help Saudi Arabia boost its defenses against attacks on its territory. In this military campaign, the civilians are the collateral damage. The survivors of this war will someday tell stories of all the evils – war, famine, death – and our country will be associated with this. We will be part of their “axis of evil” along with Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Iran, which are currently bombing Yemen.
It is about time we become the helpers, not complicit in crimes. Let’s remember one important thing: If we think arming countries and sending our troops will help stop terrorism, I think history tells that it breeds terrorism. Every time you bomb a civilian place, you are giving our enemies the opportunity to recruit and register young men.
(* B K P)
Editorial: US keeps changing its mind
the US decision dropped and the charge of terrorism against Yemen was dropped by the US.
The United States of America changed its logic; however, it has not changed in its reality.
It is unusual that the US retreats back from the resolutions, but subsequently retreated due to the Yemeni achievements on the ground and the awareness and culture stemming from a Qur’anic culture established and dedicated by The Martyr Hussein Badr al-Din al-Houthi .
When he said that if Yemen had shouted in a week, America would have been nice to Yemen, America would have changed its logic and exempted Yemen from having terrorists that is what happened, the wisdom of the great popular rejection and widespread discontent that America fears forced it to review calculations.
But, before the US issued a resolution of designation of Ansarullah as a terrorism group, despite of its dangers and humanitarian and political dimensions, it is America that led the military aggression and imposes the blockade and runs the economic war.
This barbaric war caused a humanitarian disaster that threatened millions of Yemenis with hunger and death. Without the US support, Saudi Arabia and the rest of the aggression countries would not have dared to wage war on Yemen.
However, without the US continuation of this support from the dawn of 26 March 2015 to today, the war would not have continued, destroyed, killed, and created tragedies for Yemenis, who are threatened by hunger, disease and murder under the bombardment of American bombs and missiles.
The American decision to exempt Yemen from the charge of terrorism has nothing to do with its moral position, nor is it a real review of aggressive US policies, but rather an imposition of effective action by the Yemeni people and other factors related to the Qur’anic project.
The same goes for Joe Biden’s announcement to end US support for Saudi Arabia seen as a propaganda of Biden’s foreign policy
As a matter of improving the reputation that America relies on to root out its interventions and pass its agendas, it has been influenced by Trump’s behavior, which Biden wants to reform.
During the years of aggression against Yemen, the US secret participation and its main role in the aggression against Yemen were exposed; the contraband of concealment faded further in the era of Trump and America seemed to be the perpetrator, criminal, who besieges and kills the Yemeni people.
Despite of the successive calls from Biden administration, but it has practically failed to reflect positively on humanitarian aspects and prevent the imminent disaster.
What America has not done is the withdrawal from the aggression against Yemen and declare its final cessation, as well as lifting of the total embargo on Yemeni ports and airports.
Talking about humanitarian suffering, flow of humanitarian aid and political solution in Yemen, while continuing to do things that aggravate the situation and starve civilians are clear indications that the US is determined to continue its aggression and blockade against Yemen, and these talks are only propaganda under humanitarian headlines.
The actual aggressive behavior of the US, on the other hand, evidences are a lot known by the White House, Congress and the Pentagon.
What’s needed is an immediate cessation of aggression and an immediate lifting of the blockade. The cancellation of the terrorism charge and the termination of support with weapons is not enough.
https://hodhodyemennews.net/2021/02/16/editorial-us-keeps-changing-its-mind/
My remark: A pro-Houthi position.
(* A P)
US ‘energising’ talks to end Yemen war: Special envoy
The US pivots from Trump-era foreign policy as special envoy confirms talks with Houthi rebels to end Yemen civil war.
The United States special envoy to Yemen has said Washington is “aggressively” using back-channel discussions to speak to the leadership of the Houthi rebels in an effort to end the country’s long-running war.
“We’re working now to energise international diplomatic efforts with our Gulf partners, the United Nations and others to create the right conditions for a ceasefire to push the parties toward a negotiated settlement to end the war in Yemen,” Timothy Lenderking said at a State Department briefing on Tuesday.
“We do have ways of getting messages to the Houthis and we are using those channels very aggressively as we’re engaging … in person with the leadership of the key countries involved,” he continued.
The move is part of a broader reset on the US policy towards Yemen and the wider Middle East.
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/2/16/us-in-back-channel-talks-to-end-yemen-war-special-envoy
My comment: LOL. “Black channels” really will not do it.
and
(* A P)
Iran has role in resolving Yemen conflict, US special envoy says
Iran has an opportunity to help resolve the conflict in Yemen, said U.S. special envoy for Yemen Timothy Lenderking on Tuesday while calling for the Islamic Republic to “put its best foot forward” amid the Biden administration’s renewed push for diplomacy.
Lenderking, who was appointed by Biden as special envoy, put U.S. support behind the U.N.-led peace process for resolving the conflict in Yemen.
He said that in conversations in the region and inside Yemen “there is a profound desire” to end the conflict and called on key stakeholders such as Iran to work toward that end.
“This is an opportunity for Iran to rally behind this effort and support a peaceful resolution to the conflict in Yemen,” he added.
That would include ending support for lethal Houthi activity, he added, such as providing missiles and sophisticated drones to carry out attacks and mining the international waterways around Yemen and Oman.
“These are things that are really antithetical to the peace effort in Yemen,” he said.
He criticized Iran as having “played a very negative role in Yemen” by financing, training and supplying the Houthis in their attacks against civilian targets in Saudi Arabia and the Gulf but called on Tehran to “put its best foot forward in terms supporting the kind of international response that we’re trying to engineer to end this conflict.”
Lenderking said he would "leave it for others to discuss" whether the U.S. would speak with Iran about resolving the conflict in Yemen but added that he did speak with U.N. envoy for Yemen Martin Griffiths about his most recent visit in Tehran.
"I was able to speak to him about his meetings there," Lenderking said.
My comment: LOL. He laments “Iran’s very negative role in Yemen”, “by financing, training and supplying the Houthis”, as if the US role in the Yemen war (doing all this for the Saudi coalition in Yemen) simply would not exist.
(* A P)
Biden admin ends Trump-era Houthi ‘terrorist’ designation
The ‘foreign terrorist organization’ designation threatened to stifle aid and the economy in war-torn Yemen.
The administration of President Joe Biden has formally delisted Yemen’s Houthi movement as a “foreign terrorist organization” and “Specially Designated Global Terrorists”, undoing the last-minute move under former President Donald Trump that the United Nations and aid groups said threatened to further devastate the war-torn country.
Nabeel Khoury, the former deputy chief of mission at the US embassy in Sanaa under the administration of then-President George W Bush, told Al Jazeera the Houthis, while likely guilty of human rights violations, do not appear to fit the “foreign terrorist organization” designation compared with past groups given the label.
“The US has always maintained we do not speak to terrorists or negotiate with terrorists. So if you designate the Houthis, as such, you’re making it very difficult … for the Biden administration to be able to negotiate,” he said. “Which is probably what the Trump administration was trying to do.”
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/2/16/biden-admin-ends-trump-era-houthi-terrorist-designation
and Treasury Dep. statement:
(* A P)
Revocation of Counter Terrorism General Licenses; Counter Terrorism Designations Removal and Updates; Yemen-related Designations Updates
The Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) is revoking the following Counter Terrorism-related general licenses and removing them from its website: General License (GL) 9, “Official Business of the United States Government,” GL 10, “Official Activities of Certain International Organizations,” GL 11, “Certain Transactions in Support of Nongovernmental Organizations’ Activities in Yemen,” and GL 12, “Transactions Related to the Exportation or Reexportation of Agricultural Commodities, Medicine, Medical Devices, Replacement Parts and Components or Software Updates,” which were issued on January 19, 2021, and GL 13 “Authorizing Transactions Involving Ansarallah,” which was issued on January 25, 2021. OFAC is also removing Frequently Asked Questions 875, 876, and 877 from its website.
Today, on February 16, 2021, the U.S. Department of State has revoked the Ansarallah designations which has resulted in Ansarallah no longer being blocked pursuant to the Global Terrorism Sanctions Regulations, 31 C.F.R. part 594, the Foreign Terrorist Organizations Sanctions Regulations, 31 C.F.R. part 597, or Executive Order 13224, as amended. U.S. persons do not require authorization from OFAC to engage in transactions or activities with Ansarallah, provided such activities do not involve blocked persons or otherwise prohibited activities.
https://home.treasury.gov/policy-issues/financial-sanctions/recent-actions/20210216
(* A P)
State Dep., NED PRICE, DEPARTMENT SPOKESPERSON
The United States urges the Houthis to halt their advance on Marib and cease all military operations and turn to negotiations. The Houthis’ assault on Marib is the action of a group not committed to peace or to ending the war afflicting the people of Yemen. UNOCHA estimates about one million Yemenis have sought refuge in Marib since the beginning of the war to escape Houthi violence. Marib is controlled by the legitimate government of Yemen. This assault will only increase the number of internally displaced persons and exacerbate the humanitarian crisis in Yemen, already home to the world’s worst humanitarian catastrophe.
If the Houthis are serious about a negotiated political solution, they must cease all military advances and refrain from other destabilizing and potentially lethal actions, including cross-border attacks on Saudi Arabia. They must commit to constructively participate in the UN-led political process and engage seriously in the diplomatic effort led by U.S. Special Envoy for Yemen Tim Lenderking. The time to end this conflict is now. There is no military solution.
https://www.state.gov/the-houthis-must-cease-the-assault-on-marib/
media reports: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-yemen-security-usa/u-s-urges-yemens-houthis-to-stop-military-operations-idUSKBN2AG1WX
https://apnews.com/article/yemen-sanaa-7584b58e064ea7d7db051257dc950f90
My comment: Did they urge the saudis the same way? When will Lenderking come to Sanaa, or how the Houthis should “engage seriously” with him??
(A P)
Biden plans to 'recalibrate' Saudi relations, will call Netanyahu soon: White House
U.S. President Joe Biden plans to recalibrate U.S. relations with Saudi Arabia and will communicate through Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz rather than Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki said on Tuesday.
(* B P)
'I think there is a guilt': Biden wants to (finally) end the war in Yemen
But there’s another, more personal dynamic driving Yemen to the forefront of the Biden administration’s agenda.
“One of the reasons there's moral urgency in the Biden administration to end this war is, I think there is a guilt,” said Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., who has led efforts in Congress to halt U.S. support for the Saudi coalition’s bombing campaign.
Khanna noted that many of Biden’s top national security advisers also worked in the Obama administration, and they were involved in greenlighting the Saudi-led coalition's plan to intervene in Yemen.
“I think they feel a personal stake in righting this wrong,” Khanna said.
Rob Malley, a national security adviser to former President Barack Obama who just joined the Biden administration, recently laid bare that sense of complicity.
Yemen experts and humanitarian advocates have applauded Biden’s early emphasis on Yemen, particularly Lenderking’s appointment. At the same time, they warn that bringing the conflict to an end will take a sustained commitment from the White House.
“There's this idea amongst some people that the U.S. can kind of ride on this white horse, snap its fingers, and the war's over,” said Elana DeLozier, a Yemen expert with The Washington Institute for Near East Policy.
“It’s going to be a hard slog,” she said.
"We should not let the Houthis believe they have been given a free pass for their violent actions,” Sen. Jim Risch and Rep. Michael McCaul, the top Republicans on the House and Senate foreign relations committee, said in a joint statement.
Meanwhile, Khanna and others are warning the Biden administration not to go easy on the Saudis.
DeLozier said the Saudis want to end the war – in part because of the damage it has caused to U.S.-Saudi relations. But she said as long as the Houthis continue to launch missiles into Saudi territory, the kingdom is stuck.
"They have the political will, they just can't figure out exactly how to get out," she said.
It's important that Lenderking is entering as one of the U.S. government's top Yemen experts.
"He has a very in-depth knowledge of Yemen," including all the players in the region, said DeLozier. "Tim will go in with a lot of goodwill ... How much he does with that in the first few months is, I think, really critical."
Allies say he is determined, unflappable and willing to take on the ugliest of diplomatic assignments.
Sen. Christopher Murphy, D-Conn., who had led efforts in the Senate to end the war, said the U.S. needs to reposition itself "as an honest broker," and Lenderking's appointment is a pivotal step in that direction.
https://eu.cincinnati.com/story/news/politics/2021/02/16/yemen-why-biden-focusing-years-long-war-humanitarian-crisis/6705275002/ = https://eu.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2021/02/16/yemen-why-biden-focusing-years-long-war-humanitarian-crisis/6705275002/
(* B K P)
What will a new US policy on Yemen mean for Saudi relations?
America’s recent freeze on the sale of approved munitions to Saudi Arabia, along with a new policy curtailing U.S. involvement in the conflict in Yemen, is setting up an early test of the relationship between Riyadh and President Joe Biden.
While the broader arms sales review continues, two specific cases tied to Saudi operations in Yemen are frozen, according to two sources familiar with the matter.
The first is a Foreign Military Sales case for 3,000 Boeing-made GBU-39 small diameter bombs, approved in late December, with an estimated price tag of $290 million. The second is a Direct Commercial Sale case for Raytheon Technologies munitions, likely the reported $478 million sale of 7,000 Paveway IV smart bombs.
While more Saudi weapons sales may be paused or canceled in the future, even targeting the two munitions packages is a sharp reversal from the Trump administration, which had a publicly positive relationship with Riyadh on arms sales.
Under Biden, arms sales to Saudi Arabia will return to the traditional arms sale oversight process, a White House spokesperson said.
“All arms sales to Saudi Arabia will return to standard procedures and orders including with appropriate legal reviews at the State Department,” the spokesperson said. “We have reestablished an interagency process for working through the details of individual cases, led by the White House and with all relevant agencies at the table, bringing expertise, discipline, and inclusivity back to our policymaking on these issues.”
The head of U.S. Central Command, Gen. Kenneth McKenzie, downplayed any damage to the “long-term relationship” with Riyadh.
“Nothing that we did, nothing that has been said or done means we’re not going to continue to engage Saudi and our other coalition partners. Our focus there is going to be to do things that will help them defend themselves more effectively and efficiently,” McKenzie said Feb. 8.
The military officer cited Iran as a “common threat” to both the U.S. and the kingdom, highlighting a 2019 drone attack on a Saudi oil field, which the U.S. attributed to Iran, as proof that the Iranian “threat is very real, and anything we can do to assist the Saudis in getting better and more effective at defending against that attack is good for them and good for us as well.”
CENTCOM will “move out smartly to comply” with the Biden administration’s new direction, but the Yemen guidance allows for the U.S. to continue to support Saudi territorial defense, even if it curtails support for offensive operations, McKenzie emphasized.
An exemption for defensive capabilities likely includes the Raytheon-made Patriot missile batteries at Prince Sultan Air Base, southeast of Riyadh, as well as the Lockheed Martin- and Raytheon-made Terminal High Altitude Area Defense, or THAAD, systems, said former U.S. Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Joseph Westphal, who served under President Barack Obama.
“Halting offensive weapons to the fighting in Yemen was predictable in the sense that Obama did it at the end of his administration,” Westphal said. “If anything, [Riyadh] may have been taken by surprise at [Biden’s] strong support for defending the sovereignty and the waters of Saudi Arabia.”
Westphal noted that the Obama administration brokered the deal to sell Saudi Arabia THAAD batteries, adding: “The ballistic missile threat from Iran is big and real, and that’s a system that I think we all felt was appropriate for them to have.”
Strategic partners with benefits
The joint focus on Iran is one of several reasons why a real decoupling between the U.S. and Saudi Arabia is unlikely, said Becca Wasser, a regional expert with the Center for a New American Security. But that doesn’t mean Riyadh will quietly accept the White House’s policy.
“There’s going to be an uproar in Riyadh, and to folks in Saudi Arabia this is going to seem as though it’s a huge affront — but also an indicator that Washington cannot be trusted to fulfill its promises,” she predicted. “It’s going to be viewed as a degradation of the U.S.-Saudi relationship, but also the U.S. commitment to Saudi Arabian security. And that is probably going to have knock-on effects for a variety of different priorities for the Biden administration” in the region, particularly as it considers reviving the Iran nuclear deal.
Despite the likelihood of public posturing from both sides to come, Wasser called the actual impact of the Yemen policy a “symbolic move,” given that U.S. assistance for the Yemen campaign has been largely restricted to intelligence sharing. However, it could drive Saudi Arabia to look to the U.S. less for munitions and more for defensive capabilities, such as increased missile defense assets, she said.
During previous periods of tension, Saudi Arabia restricted access to its bases or airspace, something vital to American operations in the region, Wasser noted. The kingdom could also respond to America’s cold shoulder by making public overtures toward China and Russia.
Not everyone agrees that Saudi leaders will react negatively. Westphal said that because Saudi Arabia values its energy sector and economic ties with the U.S., it likely won’t turn to Russia and China for support in the Yemen war, instead accepting Biden’s entreaties to end it diplomatically.
“I don’t think it makes sense for them to buy all sorts of weapons to continue a war that’s going to further damage the relationship with us, and Europe. So I think their focus will be on finding a way out of this,” Westphal said. “In my conversations with [Saudi Crown Prince] Mohammed bin Salman, he always said we’ve got to end this war: It’s not only costing us a lot financially, but it’s costing us in public relations. Those are his words, not mine.”
Likewise, Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., a longtime critic of the U.S. and Saudi roles in the Yemen civil war, said at a Jan. 2 event that the U.S. should “de-securitize” its partnerships in the Mideast — and press Riyadh to both make peace in Yemen and improve human rights for Saudis. If Middle Eastern partners suggest they will buy arms elsewhere, “we should sort of call their bluff,” Murphy said.
Wasser agreed that the industrial arguments should be taken with a “grain of salt,” given how important the Saudis see the security relationship with the U.S. And ultimately, she said, both sides will likely get back to something resembling business as it was before the Trump era.
“There are longstanding operational benefits to maintaining a fairly robust security cooperation relationship with Saudi Arabia,” Wasser said, “and I think those operational needs will win out in the long run.” – by Ahron Mehta and Joe Gould
My comment: This looks like whether – apart from nice rhetorics – nothing at all will change.
(A P)
How Abraham Lincoln Can Inspire Peace for Yemen
The Lincoln Train was part of a series of Friendship Trains in response to the hunger crisis in Europe. Food for the hungry was essential to win the peace after World War II.
The Marshall Plan of 1948 ultimately rebuilt Europe. This plan would not have succeeded without the generosity of the American people and the Friendship Trains. The American people fighting hunger certainly influenced Congress to pass the Marshall Plan and supply food aid in legislation.
Now today Yemen is desperate for food. The fighting between the Saudi Arabia led coalition against the Houthi rebels has led to severe food shortages for millions. As President Biden says the Yemeni people are suffering "unendurable devastation. This war has to end."
Biden has already taken step one by cutting off military aid and arms sales to the Saudi coalition in Yemen.
So as President Biden pushes forward with his plan to get a ceasefire in Yemen, we can help by sending food to the hungry. The World Food Program (WFP) and other relief agencies operating in Yemen need more donations. WFP has already reduced rations because of low funding.
You can write letters to Congress urging them to fund hunger relief for Yemen. The Congress, in the upcoming Coronavirus relief bill, should include funding for WFP so they can feed the hungry in Yemen and other countries in need.
President Biden and his new special envoy to Yemen will work to end the civil war. The actions we take can help the peace process and save millions of Yemenis from starvation.
http://historynewsnetwork.org/article/179166
My comment: Written by someone who does not want to look behind the curtain.
(A P)
REP. RO KHANNA AGREES TO PUBLIC CONVERSATION WITH UAE AMBASSADOR IF DETAINED JOURNALIST IS RELEASED
Yousef Al Otaiba invited the congressman to a tête-à-tête on his embassy’s podcast, following Khanna’s remarks on The Intercept’s Deconstructed.
IN A BID for reconciliation, United Arab Emirates Ambassador Yousef Al Otaiba has invited Rep. Ro Khanna, the leading House opponent of the war in Yemen, onto the ambassador’s official podcast. The invitation follows a public dispute over whether Otaiba raised his voice at Khanna during a meeting over Khanna’s opposition to the conflict.
Khanna responded to Otaiba’s public invitation with a precondition, suggesting that if the ambassador would use his influence to free a prominent Yemeni journalist held by forces aligned with the UAE, the California representative would appear on his show.
https://theintercept.com/2021/02/16/ro-khanna-uae-yousef-al-otaiba/
(A P)
Ro Khanna’s letter to the UAE ambassador
cp9a USA-Iran Krise: Spannungen am Golf / US-Iran crisis: Tensions at the Gulf
(A P)
Iran and Russia begin joint naval drill
Iranian and Russian militaries have kicked off a joint naval drill in the Indian Ocean aimed at boosting security of maritime trade in the region, Iran’s state TV reported on Tuesday.
(A P)
Iran will restore JCPOA commitments, if US lifts all ‘illegal’ sanctions: President Rouhani
President Hassan Rouhani says the country will return to full implementation of its commitments under a 2015 nuclear deal with world powers if the United States removes all “illegal” sanctions it has unilaterally re-imposed on Tehran after quitting the accord.
(A K P)
Angriff auf US-Stützpunkt
Im Nordirak ist bei einem Raketenangriff auf einen Stützpunkt des US-Militärs ein ziviler Mitarbeiter getötet worden. Unter den neun Verletzten sei ein US-Soldat, die anderen seien Zivilbeschäftigt
(A K P)
Rockets strike near US base in Iraq, killing 1, wounding 8
Rockets struck outside an airport near where U.S. forces are based in northern Iraq late Monday, killing one U.S.-led coalition contractor and wounding at least eight other people, Iraqi security and coalition officials said, sparking fears of new hostilities.
https://apnews.com/article/middle-east-iraq-f3c981ad42d138a2df9a21b8ae7c39c8
US-led coalition: No Americans killed in Iraq rocket attack
https://apnews.com/article/baghdad-iraq-7d1f7d000eedebb29bedc05e604877ee
(A P)
Tehran to halt Additional Protocol unless other parties return to full JCPOA compliance
Tehran says it will end its voluntary implementation of the Additional Protocol to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) Safeguards Agreement should the other parties to the 2015 Iran nuclear agreement fail to honor their commitments by the deadline of February 21.
(A P)
Extra-regional forces not needed to maintain navigation security: Iranian admiral
There is no need for the presence of extra-regional forces to maintain navigation security in free waters as regional countries are capable enough to do so, says an Iranian admiral.
Flotilla Admiral Aria Shafaqat Roudsari, the head of an Iranian delegation to Aman-2021 multinational naval exercise hosted by Pakistan, made the remarks in an interview with IRNA on Sunday.
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2021/02/14/645249/Iran-extra-regional-forces-navigation-security
(A E K P)
Ölpreis geht steil: Unruhe in Arabien und Kälte in Amerik
Zum Wochenauftakt dominieren zwei kurzfristige Faktoren das Geschehen an den Ölbörsen. Saudi-Arabien meldet einen Drohnenangriff im Süden des Landes und macht vom Iran unterstützte Huthi-Rebellen aus dem Jemen dafür verantwortlich.
(A E K P)
Oil rises on fears of heightened tensions in Middle East
Oil prices rose to their highest in more than a year on Monday, after a Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen said it intercepted an explosive-laden drone fired by the Iran-aligned Houthi group, raising fears of fresh Middle East tensions.
Hopes for more U.S. stimulus and an easing of coronavirus lockdowns helped support the rally, after prices gained around 5% last week.
(A K P)
Iran’s army test fires short-range ‘smart’ missile
https://apnews.com/article/tehran-iran-ad9f0bbe47a54853188c2252b54c199b
cp10 Großbritannien / Great Britain
(A H)
Frenford & MSA Women FC to walk 200km for Refuge and UNICEF Yemen
https://www.ilfordrecorder.co.uk/news/frenford-ladies-to-walk-200km-for-refuge-unicef-7327022
(B K P)
UK resists international restrictions on arms sales to Saudi Arabia for now, says GlobalData
The UK’s Foreign Minister declining to restrict export licenses of arms to Saudi Arabia last week follows growing pressure as other Western states act in line with rising condemnation of Saudi Arabia and its conduct in the civil war in Yemen
This resistance highlights the importance of the arms relationship with Saudi Arabia for the UK. However, the relationship is lopsided. The imposition of restrictions on sales to Saudi Arabia would have a greater effect on UK firms that it would on Saudi customers, for whom the loss of US partnerships represents a much greater blow, says GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company.
According to the company report, Saudi Arabian Defense Market – Attractiveness, Competitive Landscape and Forecasts to 2025, US primes were most successful in Saudi Arabia between 2015 and 2019. In this period, defense imports from the US accounted for 73.5% of Saudi Arabia’s total defense imports, while the UK only accounted for 12.65%. However, during this same period, Saudi Arabia accounted for 46% of UK defense exports. This was followed by Oman at 16%, meaning that Middle Eastern states hold over half of the market share.
Harry Boneham, Associate Analyst at GlobalData, commented: “Given the importance of the Saudi Arabian defense market to the UK defence industry, resistance to the imposition of restrictions does not come as great surprise.
(* B K P)
Why Britain assists the crimes of Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia continues to wage a brutal, yet profitable war in Yemen. Nick Clark explains the role of western imperialism
Even the US has said it will stop arming Saudi Arabia’s war on Yemen. But Britain insists it will keep the bombs coming.
US president Joe Biden announced earlier this month that the US no longer supported the war, and would end “relevant” arms sales.
This has little to do with concern for ordinary people. Biden is trying to cut a deal with Iran, whose allies Saudi Arabia are fighting in Yemen.
There are huge sums of money involved. Saudi Arabia is by far the biggest customer of Britain’s weapons industry.
Britain has sold at least £16 billion worth of arms to Saudi Arabia since the war began in 2015.
But there’s more to Britain’s murky relationship with Saudi Arabia than weapons deals.
Whenever politicians are made to defend them, they usually talk about the importance of Britain’s relationship with Saudi Arabia.
But sometimes they hint at the real point.
In a debate in parliament in 2019, two Tory MPs argued that if Britain cut off arms sales to Saudi Arabia, then Russia or China would take its place.
It would “anchor that country in the orbit of Russia or China, as the Iranian regime already is,” said MP Julian Lewis.
For western politicians, selling weapons to Saudi Arabia is about much more than the profits of the arms dealers.
It’s also about shoring up a relationship that keeps Saudi Arabia on its side.
British politicians are desperate to make sure they’re the ones that do it.
Saudi Arabia was always important to Britain.
The British Empire backed the regime’s founders as part of the carve-up of the Middle East after the First World War.
The state developed with close political and economic ties to Britain.
Gulf oil profits flowed through the City of London, even as the US replaced Britain as the dominant power in the Middle East.
Even as Saudi Arabia looks for ways to break away from the oil industry, Britain wants to make sure it’s involved.
The shadow Gulf Strategy Fund is a £20 million a year pot of money that Britain sets aside solely for spending on Saudi Arabia and its neighbours.
Some of this is invested in new infrastructure and industry as the Saudi regime is trying to develop.
Military ties are part of this too.
The Tories won’t reveal much of what it’s spent on as at least some of it involves the security services.
But £2.4 million of the fund has gone on Saudi Arabia’s army.
Arms deals, trade and politics go hand in hand.
https://socialistworker.co.uk/art/51312/Why+Britain+assists+the+crimes+of+Saudi+Arabia
(* A P)
Cleverly to Asharq Al-Awsat: UK Urged Houthis to Renounce Violence in Direct Conversations
UK Minister for Middle East and North Africa James Cleverly has urged the Houthis to renounce conflict and violence and engage in meaningful negotiations for a political solution to end the war in Yemen.
In an exclusive interview with Asharq Al-Awsat, Cleverly confirmed that the UK has held direct conversations with the Houthis, and has stressed the importance of a number of issues, including renouncing violence, engaging with the political peace process, ensuring that there is access to the Safer oil tanker, and the release of a British national who is being held in Yemen.
He also welcomed the US administration decision to lift the designation of Houthis as a terrorist organization, starting this Tuesday, for humanitarian reasons.
The Minister reiterated that his country’s message to the Houthis “is very clear, and it is that they need to step away from violence. They need to engage with a political process, and they need to work with (UN envoy) Martin Griffiths and the United Nations to find a sustainable peaceful solution, and they have to step away from conflict and violence”.
Referring to the UK’s efforts to reach a political solution in Yemen, Cleverly said: “We engage with all parties with interest in Yemen, including Saudi Arabia of course, the government of Yemen, and indeed with the Houthis directly. And we always made it clear that a political negotiated solution is the right way forward
Cleverly also mentioned that he had “direct conversations with representatives of the Houthis.
The Minister highlighted that “we speak frankly and honestly with them. And we made it clear that the UK expects that they engage with the political process and renounce violence, because there cannot be a military solution to this conflict which has dragged on for years and years”.
On the issue of Iran’s nuclear program, Cleverly welcomed US President Joe Biden's “desire and attempts to re-engage with an updated version of the JCPOA”.
He said that the UK “has made it clear to Iran that we want to see it re-enter the international fold. And the UK's position has been clear and consistent for a long time, that Iran must come back to compliance with regards to nuclear enrichment”.
My comment: When any British government representatives speak on Yemen, it’s hypocrisy and double standard – Britsin is warring party in Yemen and no supporter of peace and humanity as it claims.
cp11 Deutschland / Germany
(* B H P)
Film: Von Sanaa über Ost-Berlin nach Bayern – Nabil Al Amry
Im Jemen wurde er geboren und wuchs in Ost-Berlin auf. Heute versteht sich Nabil Al Amry sich als Brückenbauer zwischen Menschen aus verschiedenen Kulturen.
(B H)
„Ich habe dich gesehen, du bist mir wichtig“ Christopher Hoffmann trifft Star-Geigerin Anne- Sophie Mutter
Empathie empfindet Anne-Sophie Mutter, wenn sie die Bilder von Kindern im Jemen sieht, die vom Krieg vertrieben wurden und denen der Hungertod droht. Die Hilfsorganisation „Save the Children“ ist seit 1963 im Jemen vor Ort und hilft. In ihrer Karriere hat Anne-Sophie Mutter viele Benefizkonzerte für „Save the Children“ gespielt, zuletzt 2019 mit den Wiener und Berliner Philharmonikern in der Elbphilharmonie. Sie schildert, woran es im Jemen nach inzwischen fast sechs Jahren Krieg nun besonders mangelt:
Mutter: Alles ist zusammengebrochen im Jemen: das Gesundheitssystem, die Kindersterblichkeit ist enorm hoch, von Durchfall über Lungenentzündung bis natürlich zu Corona. Wasser und Hygiene ist ein Problem. Jede zehn Minuten stirbt ein Kind. Die Kinder werden vertrieben, es sind ja fast 5 Millionen Menschen, die aus den Häusern vertrieben wurden, rund die Hälfte davon sind Kinder.
Spenden können hier konkret helfen, dafür wirbt sie. Aber auch politisch muss sich etwas ändern. Zentral ist dabei für die Musikerin auch die weltweite Rüstungspolitik:
Es ist einfach das falsche Signal, wenn in großem Umfang Rüstungsexporte genehmigt werden, denn es führt nur zu unendlichem Leid. Und deshalb ist es mir besonders wichtig darauf hinzuweisen, dass diese Schlupflöcher für Lieferungen geschlossen werden.
https://www.kirche-im-swr.de/?page=beitraege&id=32620
cp12 Andere Länder / Other countries
(A P)
Princess Latifa: 'Hostage' ordeal of Dubai ruler's daughter revealed
The daughter of Dubai's ruler who tried to flee the country in 2018 later sent secret video messages to friends accusing her father of holding her "hostage" as she feared for her life.
In footage shared with BBC Panorama, Princess Latifa Al Maktoum says commandos drugged her as she fled by boat and flew her back to detention.
The secret messages have stopped - and friends are urging the UN to step in.
Dubai and the UAE have previously said she is safe in the care of family.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-56075528
and
(A P)
Missing Dubai princess re-emerges in videos at ‘jail villa’
A daughter of Dubai’s powerful ruler who tried to flee the country in 2018 only to be detained by commandos in a boat off India has re-emerged in new videos published Tuesday, saying she doesn’t know if she’s “going to survive this situation.”
The videos released by the BBC show Sheikha Latifa bint Mohammed Al Maktoum at a “jail villa,” apparently located in the skyscraper-studded city-state in the United Arab Emirates. Her father, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, also serves as the prime minister and vice president in the hereditarily ruled UAE.
(A P)
Bahrain: 13yo Husain Ayoob & Mohammed Rashid have been released despite a #Bahrain judge ordering 7 days further detention yesterday. Their cases were raised in the UK Parliament International pressure works. Let's keep it up to free the 5 remaining detained children
https://twitter.com/SAlwadaei/status/1361374792272797699
(B P)
Dubai airport sees passenger traffic drop 70% amid pandemic
(A P)
Israel decides not to participate in Emirati arms fair
Israel has decided not to send a delegation of defense companies to a prestigious arms fair in the United Arab Emirates next week due to coronavirus restrictions that have forced the closure of Israel’s international airport, the Defense Ministry announced Monday.
(A P)
European Parliament Adopts Resolution on Yemen, Calls on EU and Member States to Address Accountability Gap
The Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies (CIHRS) and Mwatana for Human Rights call on the European Union (EU) and its Member States to immediately act on the explicit and direct calls made by the European Parliament in the 2021 and 2018 resolutions on Yemen to ensure accountability for perpetrators and to halt all arms exports to, and military cooperation with, all parties to the conflict, restating the calls made by the UN Group of Eminent Experts on Yemen (GEE) in their September 2020 report to the Human Rights Council.
CIHRS and Mwatana reiterate their call to states to immediately pursue concrete steps to advance a holistic and credible accountability strategy for Yemen, including pursuing criminal justice for international crimes and reparations for victims. “After six years of war and an array of serious violations, some amounting to international crimes, there has been no credible efforts towards accountability or reparations by any warring party. These are integral to any sustainable political solution in Yemen and must be treated as such by the international community and warring parties,” said Radhya al-Mutawakel, Mwatana for Human Rights chairperson.
Sarah Al-Areqi, Mashriq sub-region Researcher on Iraq and Yemen at CIHRS, recalls “states that supply arms to parties to the conflict, including to Saudi Arabia and the UAE, may be violating their obligations under the Arms Trade Treaty and international law, which may amount to aiding and assisting internationally wrongful acts committed in Yemen”. As such, “European countries must promptly implement arms bans and quickly revoke all export licenses permanently. This is imperative to support a genuine ceasefire and an end to attacks in Yemen” added Al-Areqi.
https://mwatana.org/en/resolution-on-yemen-2/
cp12a Katar-Krise / Qatar crisis
(* B P)
[from 2017] The Enemy of My Enemy: Security Dilemma Dynamics Between Saudi Arabia, Iran and Qatar in the Gulf Region
This analysis shall begin by employing the ‘Security Dilemma’ concept in order to categorise the deep-seated animosity and geopolitical machinations at play between Saudi Arabia and Iran. Having established the presence of a tense regional security paradox and provided a brief historical overview of the main sources of instability and conflict in the region, this analysis shall explore the dynamics of Doha’s attempt to capitalise upon the power vacuum created by the revolutions and counter-revolutions of the Arab Spring (2011-2012) that threw the existing security architecture in the region into disarray, toppling two of the three main centres of power in the region (Iraq, Egypt) and continue to devastate the third (Syria). Within this rapidly fluctuating regional security environment which has seen the emergence of a number of non-state and trans-state actors pursuing contradictory agendas, the emboldened regional activism emanating from Doha is placing tremendous strain upon the pre-existing Security Dilemma dynamics at play, stoking misperception and instability and accentuating the pre-existing geopolitical rivalry between Saudi Arabia and Iran. Additionally, the widespread anger generated by some of Doha’s Arab Spring policies across the Middle East and North Africa have also had the unintended consequences of alienating the countries traditional Arab allies and leaving the tiny state increasingly isolated in a volatile region.
cp13a Waffenhandel / Arms trade
(B K P)
MFAT approved exports for military equipment to Saudi Arabia's forces
New Zealand's Foreign Affairs Ministry granted export permits for military equipment that was sent to Saudi Arabia's forces in 2016 and 2018, raising concerns the government may have breached its human rights obligations.
Documents obtained by RNZ under the Official Information Act detail transactions that experts say raise human rights concerns due to Saudi Arabia's military intervention in Yemen's civil war. Since 2015, at least 100,000 people have died in the war, which has also displaced millions and pushed Yemen to the brink of famine.
The documents showed that in May 2016, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT) approved a permit for military simulation training equipment to be sent to Saudi ground forces. In December that year, sign-off was also given for hand-held computers, radios and range-finding binoculars bound for the Saudi Navy.
The exporter, whose identity has been kept secret by MFAT, applied for an extension to its December permit after that shipment was delayed, the documents showed. This was granted in May 2018. The quantity and value of the equipment exported was also withheld.
While there are no specific international prohibitions on exporting weapons to Saudi Arabia, when MFAT considers an export permit it must assess whether there are any serious violations of humanitarian law. Waikato University international law professor Al Gillespie said officials may have breached this obligation.
cp13b Kulturerbe / Cultural heritage
(A P)
Hadramout condemns crime of targeting historical place
[Sanaa gov.] Hadramout [Lackland] governor Luqman Baras condemned on Monday the aggression crime of targeting Zawiyat al-Sabir historic place in the suburbs of Tarim in Hadramout province.
The governor explained the Salafi terrorist attack that affected the most prominent Sufi corners of the shrine of Imam al-Haddad in Tarim came within the framework of the Saudi-Wahhabi project that aims to stir up discord among the community in Hadramout.
He indicated the aim of the Saudi Wahhabi project comes also to spread chaos and destruction that deliberately target and destroy the archaeological and historical Sufi monuments in the province.
https://www.saba.ye/en/news3128656.htm
(* A P)
[Hadi] Yemeni government calls for international support to protect heritage sites from Houthis
The Yemeni government called on international organizations to protect archaeological sites from the Houthi militia, state news agency Saba reported on Saturday.
The Ministry of Information, Culture and Tourism strongly condemned the demolishing of the historic Al-Nahrain Mosque, which is more than 1,300-years-old, by the Houthi militia in Sanaa.
The ministry said in a statement that it considered the demolition a “crime” and a “blatant assault” on the Yemeni civilization and its Islamic heritage.
The Al-Nahrain Mosque is considered a national historical asset as it was built in the first century of the Islamic calendar and is one of the archaeological landmarks that needed to be preserved and protected, the statement said.
The ministry called on international organizations, including UNESCO, to monitor all archaeological sites and areas under the Houthi militia’s control, and work to protect them from any distortion to protect Yemen’s cultural heritage.
https://www.arabnews.com/node/1809036/middle-east
cp13c Wirtschaft / Economy
(A E K)
Yemen currency loses value with Houthi fueled war in Marib
Yemen’s Riyal dropped from 855 versus one US dollar last week to 875 versus one dollar today, Tuesday.
The Riyal has resumed deteriorating in the temporary capital Aden amidst escalating violence in Marib as the UN-backed Houthi militia renewed its incessant invasion attempts of the government held province in the country’s east.
https://www.alsahwa-yemen.net/en/p-45150
(* B E P)
I didn’t comment on the controversy caused by the financial section of the #UN Panel of Experts (PoE) report on #Yemen published on 29 Jan until I get a chance to go through it in detail.
Now that I have done so, I am very disappointed and equally concerned that such poor quality is passed by a UN panel without regard to the consequences and repercussions of such report.
I am referring specifically to the accusations of corruption, money-laundering, and elite capture levelled in the report against the Central Bank of Yemen (CBY), Yemeni Government (GoY), and food importers in Yemen with regards to the Saudi deposit.
In the following threads, I'll highlight the main arguments made by the PoE, & the significant methodological flaws, wrong data, and incoherent logic leading to sweeping and blanket statements with severe repercussions on food security and the humanitarian situation in #Yemen
The report section on the Saudi deposit makes 3 main arguments: 1- that CBY/GoY “illegally” sold foreign currency to food importers below market rate in violation of the law, that these preferred rates were not reflected in food prices and market exchange rates (report concludes this = corruption and money-laundering), and 3- that HSA group was the main beneficiary (48%) of the Saudi deposit (report concludes this = elite capture).
I will address each argument separately in this thread.
https://twitter.com/ymnraf/status/1361327791057362946 = https://rattibha.com/thread/1361327791057362946?lang=en
cp14 Terrorismus / Terrorism
(A T)
#AlQaeda #Yemen is churning out media: Over the weekend it launched 2 new lecture series & nashid. Old footage but keeps #AQAP brand alive New video tonight too: "Appeals of #Houthi Prisoners". Billed as no.2 but it's the 9th since 2015. We saw several of same guys in NOV2020
https://twitter.com/Dr_E_Kendall/status/1361036338015961094
cp15 Propaganda
(A P)
Image: Some observers speculate that #Marib will fall today. It will not. It's the last corner of the Yemeni Republic, the safer home to more than 2 million #IDPs & many who fled the brutality of the Hoots, and the last hope for a just peace in #Yemen. Should it fall? Ask yourselves
https://twitter.com/Ibrahim4Yemen/status/1361658707516473345
(A P)
Biden’s Yemen policy needs urgent rethink
The series of events that took place during the third full week of the life of the Biden administration last week was very unfortunate. It began with the US government’s announcement that it would remove the Houthis from its list of terrorist organizations and was followed by the subsequent attack by that group on Saudi Arabia’s Abha International Airport, as well as speculation over what the pro-Iran political adviser Robert Malley will do to harmonize American-Iranian relations.
These wrong steps are dangerous elements in what appears to be a very troublesome approach by the White House toward Iran and Yemen. At the outset, it is very important for President Joe Biden and his Middle East team to recognize the limits of their reconciliatory attitude toward the Houthis and Iran. Neither of them wants American concessions — they desire an American defeat.
What Biden does not understand about the Houthis is their organizational abilities, which are characteristic of their terror practices, and their ability to trigger an instant crisis if they see a retreat from America on how to confront them. Worse, the language used in the announcement of the removal of the group from the official US terror list was nothing but illusionary.
Here lies the gravest mistake of the Biden administration in regard to Yemen. The statement ignored who is actually causing the humanitarian disaster in Yemen. The Houthis are the main culprits in bringing Yemen to this nadir of human living conditions
Meanwhile, Malley’s role could turn the whole Iran file into a suspicious doctrine of anti-Gulf Arab references, written with naivety to appease Tehran and its system of organized terror.
It could be a ruinous situation for world peace and regional stability when a new US administration mortgages its future in the Middle East on placating a terror group.
https://www.arabnews.com/node/1810611 = https://www.eurasiareview.com/17022021-bidens-yemen-policy-needs-urgent-rethink-oped/
(A P)
Lords of War
The Houthis have benefited from the U.S. policy changes in three ways. First, these represent a victory for the Houthis by undermining the interests of its leading adversaries. The Saudi-led coalition entered the war in 2015 with ten countries. Today, Saudi Arabia finds itself alone. Second, the Houthis will benefit from the accompanying diplomacy of the United States. This coincides with the reversal of the U.S. designation of the Houthis as a foreign terrorist organization, as this would have impeded the mission of the U.S. special envoy.
And third, the Houthis will likely accelerate the pace of the war to take advantage of the fact that the Saudis will probably decrease their military operations because of the suspension of U.S. air support.
There are several major challenges for reaching a peace agreement. First, the Houthis have no motivation to join a political process and share power with other Yemeni parties, given that today they control most areas in northern Yemen. Based on their vision of a solution, the Houthis are trying to position themselves as the country’s sole representatives. They do not want to engage in a process that would deny them a dominant role in internal Yemeni affairs.
This trend has been reinforced by the dynamics that have taken place in the past few years, which have favored the Houthis.
There is also a structural problem in the Houthi movement. It views itself as a military entity rather than a political movement. The Houthis seem to be convinced that arms bring greater gains than negotiations.
https://republicanyemen.net/archives/27182
(A P)
Revoking the designation of #Houthis as a Foreign Terrorist Organization #Cartoon
https://twitter.com/RepYemenEnglish/status/1361619958275391488
(A P)
Houthis Compensate for Losses in Yemen’s Marib by Attacking IDP Camps
(A P)
Yemen: Rules Of Disengagement
Three days ago, the U.S. cancelled its designation of the Iran-backed Shia rebels as international terrorists, cancelled some smart bomb shipments to Saudi Arabia and paused the sale of F-35 stealth fighters to the UAE. This was meant to encourage the Saudis to negotiate an end to the Yemen civil war. Iran and the Shia rebels interpreted this as a victory because the Americans were making it easier for Iran to continue making attacks on Saudi Arabia via the Shia rebels who control portions of the Saudi-Yemen border. The Shia rebels want autonomy, or independence, for their traditional territories in northern Yemen. The Shia tribes up there have been seeking that for half a century and the majority of Yemenis would not agree to another partition of Yemen. A decade ago, Iran quietly increased financial, political and logistical support to the Shia tribes of northwest Yemen as part of the Iranian effort to replace Saudi Arabia as the protector of the most sacred Moslem shrines at Mecca, and displace the Saudis as the nominal leader of the Islamic world.
Iran knew how to play the Western media and portrayed the Arab coalition as deliberately targeting civilians. Iran is accused of doing this in Syria even when the targets are not acting as human shields. In the West many politicians support negotiating with Iran and its proxies (governments and rebel groups that survive only with Iranian aid). Iran says it is willing to negotiate but inside Iran insists that this will not halt to their efforts to become the dominant power in the Middle East. A growing number of Western politicians are abandoning efforts to negotiate with Iran, which has a growing track record of agreements made and promptly violated. The neighbors of Iran have long accepted the fact that the Iranian religious dictatorship maintains power via a state of perpetual war against Israel (which must be destroyed) and Arab states (which must acknowledge Iranian domination).
https://www.strategypage.com/qnd/yemen/20210215.aspx
(A P)
Der Iran und der hässliche Krieg im Jemen
Viele haben nachvollziehbare moralische Bedenken (und praktische Fragen) zur Kriegsführung im Jemen geäussert. In der Tat sollte die Koalition, die den Houthi-Aufstand bekämpft, mehr auf den Verlust unschuldigen Lebens achten. Aber den Stellvertretern des Iran zu erlauben, den Krieg im Jemen zu gewinnen, hätte gefährliche politische und weitreichende strategische Konsequenzen für Israel, die Region und die Interessen der USA.
Vielleicht kann Israel, direkt oder durch die Vermittlung seines neuen Platzes als Teil des CENTCOM-Verantwortungsbereichs, einige Ratschläge erteilen. Es wird allgemein angenommen, dass die Golfstaaten in gewisser Hinsicht, was die Verteidigung gegen die Raketenangriffe der Houthi angeht, bereits auf ein gewisses Mass an israelischer Unterstützung angewiesen sind.
«Progressive» amerikanische NGOs sowie mehrere Kongressmitglieder haben ihre Stimme gegen den Krieg und seinen immensen menschlichen Tribut erhoben.
Es liegt im Interesse Israels (und der gesamten Region) aber auch im Interesse der USA, sicherzustellen, dass die legitimen moralischen Bedenken, die mit dem Krieg im Jemen verbunden sind, nicht zu einem Sieg des Irans und seiner Stellvertreter führen, der zu einer Konsolidierung ihrer Kontrolle über den gesamten oder den grössten Teil des Jemens führt. Ein iranischer Sieg hätte gefährliche strategische Implikationen.
Die Biden-Administration kann vernünftigerweise von den Saudis und den VAE erwarten, dass sie sich auf eine Diskussion über die Art und Weise der Kriegsführung einlassen. (In einer solchen Diskussion könnte Israel einige seiner eigenen Erfahrungen im Umgang mit der Verbindung von Echtzeit-Geheimdienstinformationen, präzisionsgelenkter Munition und humanitärem Völkerrecht einbringen). Eine solche Diskussion muss jedoch im Kontext der gemeinsamen Entschlossenheit geführt werden, den Krieg zu gewinnen; oder zumindest – sollte er jemals zu einem diplomatischen Abschluss gebracht werden -, um sicherzustellen, dass das Ergebnis nicht als iranischer Triumph interpretiert werden kann.
Angesichts der Bedeutung der iranischen nuklearen Herausforderung ist es wichtig, frühzeitig zu signalisieren (wie es Frankreich anscheinend bereits erkannt hat), dass die Unterstützung der USA für traditionelle Verbündete und die Entschlossenheit, die iranische Aggression einzudämmen, Teil der regionalen Gleichung sein werden
https://www.audiatur-online.ch/2021/02/15/der-iran-und-der-haessliche-krieg-im-jemen/
Mein Kommentar: Aus Israel. Ganz unverblümt wird hier gesagt, dass die Interessen der USA und Israels (die , 1500 bzw. 7000 Meilen vom jeweiligen Land entfernt, ohnehin äußerst fragwürdig sind) für die Entwicklung im Jemen bestimmend sein müssen und damit Interventionen von außen rechtfertigen. Und: Ausgerechnet mit Israel als Vorbild für die Kriegsführung? LOL.
(A P)
The global conspiracy against Yemen is real
Everything proves the global conspiracy against Yemen is real.
I often say there are myriad aspects of the conspiracy and one of them is the massive distortion of facts in what serves Houthis, Yemen’s wreckers.
The truths relating to the Yemeni conflict have been misrepresented not only in news platforms but on online debate forums and main online global references
What is in Yemen established as an indisputable fact – that Houthis are responsible for the plight of Yemeni children in part because Houthis have an army of radicalized children –has been distorted 180 degrees from the truth on the worldwide web: In the UN reports, news sources and even global reference works.
https://www.alsahwa-yemen.net/en/p-45125
(A P)
Al-Malki: Houthis Part of Iran’s Political Game
Saudi-led Arab coalition spokesman Colonel Turki al-Malki said the Houthi militias in Yemen do not have the power to make independent decisions as they are being controlled by Iran.
In remarks to Al Arabiya, he said the Houthis are part of Iran’s political games and their actions demonstrate that they are waging its proxy war.
He added that the Houthis’ claiming of the February 10 attack against Saudi Arabia’s Abha international airport proves their “lack of political or legal understanding” of the consequences of their actions.
“We do not retaliate by attacking civilians because of our legal and moral commitments,” he stressed. He added that the response to the attacks will take place on the battlefield.
http://en.adenpress.news/news/32244
(A P)
Arab Spring: Obama Dropped the Ball - Now, All Eyes are on Biden
The Arab Spring’s failure connects back to Barack Obama’s lack of action ten years ago.
The tenth anniversary of the Arab Spring has been an opportunity for some to declare the protests a failure – not least in the face of ongoing conflict in Syria, Libya, and Yemen. Looking back on those turbulent events, it’s become fairly common for analysts to blame shortcomings in American foreign policy for this failure and the unrest still seething in many parts of the Arab world.
It would be wrong to hold America responsible for all of this. Yet we also cannot ignore the consequences of decades of US involvement in the Middle East. Nor can we overlook the way the US has effectively pulled back over the past decade in particular – refusing to get fully involved in a political crisis that it helped start.
The Arab Spring’s failure connects back to Barack Obama’s lack of action ten years ago. After the former president’s famous Cairo speech in 2009, in which he talked about a “new beginning” for US foreign policy in the region, many expected that he would help install democracy once the protests started. But this was not the case.
Blindsided and unprepared for the uprisings – and also fearful of getting bogged down in the Middle East the way the previous administration had after the War on Terror and the 2003 invasion of Iraq – Obama was cautious of anything that looked like a US project to promote democracy. Perhaps overly so. He thought he could simply let autocratic rulers – such as Bashar al-Assad in Syria – fall, and democracy would take care of itself.
In Yemen, US action was less overt. While Yemen’s president, Ali Abdullah Saleh, was forced to resign in response to the uprising, Obama allowed both Saleh and forces loyal to him to continue to exert influence in the country, further fuelling the civil unpheaval. Saudi Arabia then intervened in 2015 to protect its interests against the rebellion and its Iranian backers.
Donald Trump proved no better.
My comment: It’s a propaganda narrative that the US did not “engage” enough in the Middle East; that the US promotes “democracy” in the Middle East (and elsewhere); that it should do so.
(A P)
Yemen, the Decision-Maker and the Proxy
Khaddam delved into the discussion about the decision-maker and the agent. He pointed out that the latter loses the last say, whether in determining his country’s fate or in making decisions of war and peace.
The story of the decision-maker and the proxy reminds us of several examples in our region. But the first thing that comes to mind is the developments in Yemen.
Despite the Joe Biden administration’s clear interest in stopping the war in Yemen, and taking some steps that it deems useful in this direction, the current round of escalation launched by the Houthis raises the abovementioned issue.
Calls are mounting for a peaceful solution to end the war in Yemen, based on a settlement that suits all parties. The concerned countries, led by Saudi Arabia, are showing a desire to support an adequate solution. However, the Houthis’ response does not change, which is an attempt to use the arsenal placed at their disposal to target civilian facilities in Saudi Arabia, such as Abha International Airport. It is as if the Houthis are reminding us that their role is limited to escalation, and that the parties seeking a solution must resort to another address, meaning Tehran.
More than ever, the situation in Yemen is crystallizing. The behavior of the Houthi leadership and the use of missiles and car bombs, explain in part why the Yemen war initially broke out. It erupted because a minority carried out a coup that overthrew the legitimacy, with the aim of turning Yemen into a focal point for Iran’s project aimed at surrounding the influential countries in the region, especially Saudi Arabia.
The infiltration that took place in Yemen appeared to be an Iranian attempt to compensate for the failure of its attempt to surround Saudi Arabia through Bahrain. Observers of the course of military and political developments over the past six years realize that the Houthi proxy is pushing Yemen into a project that is beyond its ability to bear. The picture is really bleak.
https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/2806646/ghassan-charbel/yemen-decision-maker-and-proxy
(A P)
Houthis Step Up Attacks after Removal from Terror List
Since the Houthis learned they are being taken off the US terrorist list, they appear to have increased their attacks. It is not clear if this is to goad the US or Saudi Arabia into an increased military campaign or is a kind of celebration.
https://www.meforum.org/62020/houthis-step-up-attacks-after-removal-from-terror-list
(A P)
#Yemen is a classic example of how the UN & western diplomacy caused so much harm in the name of “peace” & “averting humanitarian disasters” From GCCI in 2011 to PAPA in 2014 to the disastrous Stockholm agreement in 2018. They all achieved the opposite of what they meant to.
We Yemenis warned against the Stockholm agreement but were dismissed & relegated to “war mongers by its champions. For once try to listen to Yemenis. If you Force another deal down our throat, you will push Yemen off the cliff & only us (not you) will suffer the consequences.
https://twitter.com/Ndawsari/status/1361280706861752326
(A P)
Biden Takes 'Death to America' Terrorists Off Terror List, Replaces Them With Republicans
Democrats say Muslim terrorists aren’t terrorists, but their political opponents are
The Biden administration responded to protests against its stolen election by embedding a domestic extremism office into the National Security Council.
Even while the Biden administration is preparing to double down on Obama’s abuse of the national security state to target his political opponents, it’s also giving real terrorists a pass.
Joe Biden, whose biggest bundlers included the Iran Lobby, announced he was ending support for American allies fighting the Houthis, and then went even further by preparing to remove the terrorist organization whose motto is, “Death to America”, which took American hostages and tried to kill American sailors, from the list of designated foreign terrorist organizations.
The motto of Iran’s Houthi Jihadis is, "Allahu Akbar, Death to America, Death to Israel, Curse the Jews, Victory to Islam." The Houthis took over parts of Yemen as a result of the chaos unleashed by Obama’s pro-Islamist Arab Spring. Since then they’ve been engaged in a protracted war while causing a local famine by confiscating food from the local population.
(A P)
Marib faces terrorist war with UN backup: TV report
https://www.alsahwa-yemen.net/en/p-45108
(A P)
As Houthis are happy, Griffiths and western media are happy too
As the US retreated from the terror designation of Houthis upon the UN and humanitarian agencies’ argument that the designation will exacerbate the humanitarian crises, the US backdown decision is already being proven wron
The UN and western media which use the crises and violence as a pretext to base their permanent defense of the beloved militia on are indifferent now. To them, the headache (the Houthi terror designation) is gone. And that is what matters.
They are keeping quiet now and are willing to keep watching silently for months or years while Houthis repeat their bloody massive campaigns to overrun government cities. On the hope that Houthis will bring them the good news: victory.
I swear that Griffiths is waiting silently and, perhaps, praying for the Houthi victory materialize. So that he can smile like a Cheshire cat.
https://www.alsahwa-yemen.net/en/p-45109
(A P)
Yemeni Minister: Restore the Houthi Terrorist Designation
The American decision sent the wrong signals to the Houthi militia and its Iranian patrons, encouraging the continuation of their escalation, their ongoing crimes and violations against civilians, the policies of spreading chaos and terrorism in the region, and the challenging of the will of the international community to end the war and bring about a just and comprehensive peace. The Houthis considered it a green light to escalate their military operations and terrorist attacks on the liberated areas and Saudi Arabia, while Tehran considered it clear permission to exert more influence and domination over the countries and peoples of the region.
It is regrettable that such moves are being talked about while the images of Houthi missiles targeting the Yemeni government upon their arrival at Aden International Airport are fresh, rockets and missiles fall on civilians, and Houthi snipers claim the lives of women and children in Maʼrib and Taizz on a daily basis. This, while hundreds of politicians and journalists languish behind bars at Houthi detention centers, and its drones attack Saudi Arabia.
Since its coup, the Houthi militia has taken advantage of the world’s determination to solve the crisis in a peaceful way, and has used the dialogue rounds as opportunities to reorganize, redeploy and escalate military operations and terrorist activities.
We all remember how international parties and organizations pressured the government to halt military operations aimed at liberating the city of Al Hudaydah using the pretext of the deteriorating humanitarian situation. In confirmation of its desire for peace, the government accepted the Stockholm agreement that provided for the departure of Houthi gunmen from Al Hudaydah Governorate even as government troops were at the gates of the city. Al Hudaydah was handed over to the local authority, prisoners and abductees were exchanged and the siege on Taizz Governorate was lifted.
Two years into this agreement, the Houthi militia has not fulfilled any of its obligations.
https://themedialine.org/news/opinion/restore-the-houthi-terrorist-designation/
(A P)
Study: Terrorist Militias Surged After Iran Nuclear Deal
The Tony Blair Institute for Global Change, an organization founded by the former prime minister of the United Kingdom, published a report on Thursday that found terrorist militias aligned with Iran surged in numbers and influence across the Middle East after the 2015 nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
Blair himself said these Shiite militia groups are “directly part of the Iranian network of destabilization, seeking to undermine governments and prevent countries from exercising true sovereignty.”
“This campaign is in furtherance of the Islamist ideology of the clerical regime in Iran, and unfortunately it is clear that it surged rather than abated in the years following the JCPOA in 2015,” Blair said.
The Blair Institute report went out of its way to argue that more sanctions against Iran would not restrain these militia groups. It also said the elimination of Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Quds Force commander Gen. Qassem Soleimani in January 2020 “has not resulted in a scaling back of Iranian-sponsored militancy.”
referring to
(A P)
The View From Tehran: Iran's Militia Doctrine
Executive Summary
On 10 October 2020, days before a 13-year United Nations (UN) arms embargo on Iran was due to be lifted, a senior commander in Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) boasted of the country’s network of loyalist militias. Mohammad Reza Naghdi declared that “the force we have organised and the people [we have recruited worldwide] are much more dangerous than having an alliance with any army as . . . these people are scattered and unrecognisable”. He added that when this unrecognisable force strikes, “the enemy will not know who has hit it”.
Naghdi’s words underscored the Islamic Republic’s greatest asset against nations in the region and the West as well as the root of the problem of so-called Iranian-backed proxies: plausible deniability.
Naghdi was championing Iran’s network of trained fighters whom the IRGC – the clerical regime’s ideological army – has used for over four decades to advance the Islamic Republic’s strategic and ideological objectives. Those objectives have remained centred on three pillars: exporting the Islamic Revolution, supporting Muslim and anti-US movements and eradicating the state of Israel. In pursuit of these goals, the IRGC’s role in nurturing militancy has ranged from manufacturing its own ideologically compliant militias – such as Hizbullah in Lebanon – to supporting grassroots groups with shared or tactical interests, from Hamas to the Taliban.
Yet, despite the rising threat posed by Iran’s support for militant groups, governments and policymakers have been unable to determine exactly how aligned these nonstate actors are with Tehran and the extent of the IRGC’s control over their actions. This knowledge gap has produced significant policy consequences, enabling Iran’s leaders to use such militias to target governments in the region and attack Western positions – and with enough plausible deniability to prevent an international response.
The known unknowns when it comes to the extent of Iran’s extraterritorial reach complicate any risk calculus attached to conflict with the regime. Estimates of the extent of Iran’s so-called proxies range dramatically and, in all cases, are either exaggerated or too conservative.
When the West and its regional allies have sought to contain Iranian-backed militias, they have done so primarily through economic sanctions on Tehran, on the premise that the Islamic Republic’s lack of funds will eventually curb its support of militant groups. But while economic sanctions have significantly weakened Iran’s already ailing economy, they have not altered the regime’s priorities. The number of Iranian-backed militias has increased, and their attacks on US military bases have continued.
Crucially, the one-size-fits-all sanctions approach overlooks the fact that while the relationships between Iran’s regime and some of the groups it works with are based on material benefit and convergences of interests, other groups have much deeper connections with the Islamic Republic, rooted in a shared ideology, culture and worldview. Groups in the latter category have not only been manufactured by the Guard but have also embraced Tehran’s narrow interpretation of the Shia Islamist concept of velayat-e faqih, the principle that gives Iran’s supreme leader authority over Shia Muslims. To varying degrees, these groups accept ideological subordination to the supreme leader and the IRGC.
Understanding the roots of the relationships between Iran and its network of militias, and the nature of those relationships today, can highlight the limitations of an approach that relies on economic sanctions alone. The West and its regional partners will need greater and more concerted efforts to try to unravel or disrupt the links between Iran and those local militias that go beyond material self-interest.
https://institute.global/policy/view-tehran-irans-militia-doctrine
(A P)
More Saudi coalition „We are benefactors“ propaganda
https://www.spa.gov.sa/viewfullstory.php?lang=en&newsid=2192051
https://www.spa.gov.sa/viewfullstory.php?lang=en&newsid=2191697
https://www.spa.gov.sa/viewfullstory.php?lang=en&newsid=2191411
cp16 Saudische Luftangriffe / Saudi air raids
(A K pS)
Coalition bombs Houthi militia in Marib and Al-Jawf
http://en.26sepnews.net/2021/02/16/coalition-bombs-houthi-militia-in-marib-and-al-jawf/
(A K pS)
Houthi reinforcements destroyed in Yemeni Marib
The Saudi-led coalition warplanes on Sunday targeted Houthi military reinforcements heading for the Yemeni northeastern governorate of Marib.
The Arab coalition airstrikes destroyed vehicles and pickups transporting reinforcements to Houthis fighters in Sirwah and al-Makhdarah, the Yemeni armed forces' media center said, leaving all the troops onboard killed or injured and the ordnance destroyed.
https://debriefer.net/en/news-23175.html
Photo: https://twitter.com/Alsakaniali/status/1361647743589056518
(A K pH)
More Saudi coalition air raids
https://english.almasirah.net/post/17814/US-Saudi-Aggression-Launched-Raids-on-Marib%2C-Al-Jawf%2C-Sa-adah%2C-Hajjah / https://english.almasirah.net/post/17816/US-Saudi-Aggression-s-Daily-Update-for-%C2%A0Tuesday%2C-Feb.-16%2C-2021 Several prov.
https://english.almasirah.net/post/17798/US-Saudi-Aggression-s-Daily-Update-for-%C2%A0Monday%2C-Feb.-15%2C-2021 Marib p., Saada p.
https://www.saba.ye/en/news3128733.htm Marib p.
https://www.saba.ye/en/news3128652.htm Saada p.
https://www.saba.ye/en/news3128651.htm Marib p.
cp17 Kriegsereignisse / Theater of War
Siehe / Look at cp1, cp4, 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)
Coalition to Restore Legitimacy in Yemen: Interception, Destruction of Bomb-Laden UAV Launched by Terrorist, Iran-Backed Houthi Militia Toward Khamis Mushait City
https://www.spa.gov.sa/viewfullstory.php?lang=en&newsid=2192160
My comment: At Khamis Mushait is Saudi Arabia’s main air base from where the fighter jets start to bomb Yemen – it’s no civilian target at all.
(A K pS)
Reports: 260 human rights violations in Taiz in January
The Human Rights Information and Training Center, an NGO, has recorded 260 violations and abuses in Yemen’s central Taiz province.
In its monthly report, the HRITC said their teams have documented the “death of 34 civilians and injury of 44 others including women and children.”
The report said the Houthi militia killed 25 civilians including three children and two women and injured 38 other civilians including nine children and 12 women.
Six civilian deaths in individually motivated crimes and two civilians were killed by a government soldier.
https://www.alsahwa-yemen.net/en/p-45149
and
(* B H K)
Film: "I was scared for my sister..I grabbed her.. and the sniper was shooting at me" - 10 year old Amri who saved his sister Ruwayda from a Houthi sniper. Our story on childhood on the frontlines in #Taiz
https://twitter.com/OrlaGuerin/status/1361639904250388487
and more photos of children sniped by Houthis at Taiz: https://twitter.com/OrlaGuerin/status/1361613510065668097
https://twitter.com/OrlaGuerin/status/1361686230145064962
https://twitter.com/OrlaGuerin/status/1361649409868656645
(A K)
Saudi-led coalition: Houthi drone interception leaves shrapnel near Abha airport
The Saudi-led coalition fighting Yemen’s Houthi group said it had intercepted a drone on Tuesday fired by the Iran-aligned group towards the kingdom but that it had left shrapnel in the vicinity of Saudi’s Abha airport, state media reported.
The incident caused no casualties, the coalition statement carried by Ekhbariya TV said.
(* A K P)
Regierungstruppen im Jemen drängen Huthi-Rebellen zurück
Regierungstreue Kämpfer haben im Jemen nach eigenen Angaben Angriffe der Huthi-Rebellen auf die strategisch wichtige Stadt Marib abgewehrt. Die Rebellen rückten von Norden, Süden und Westen auf die letzte Hochburg von Jemens international anerkannter Regierung im Norden des Landes vor, wie Militärvertreter heute der Nachrichtenagentur AFP sagten. „Die Regierungstruppen konnten sie zurückdrängen“, fügte einer von ihnen hinzu. Stellungen der Huthis seien dabei auch von Saudi-Arabien, ein Verbündeter des Jemen, aus der Luft angegriffen worden.
https://orf.at/stories/3201602/
und
(A K P)
UNO besorgt über Angriffe von Huthi-Rebellen auf Marib
Die militärische Eskalation bringe zwei Millionen Zivilisten in Gefahr, sagte der UNO-Nothilfekoordinator Lowcock.
(* B K pH)
Sanaa officially launches the battle: the liberation of Marib is a matter of time
Officially, the Sana'a government announced that its forces are at the eastern and western gates of the city of Ma'rib, stressing that retaking the city has become "a matter of time." This comes as the army and the "Popular Committees" continue to advance on the outskirts of the governorate center, despite the corresponding desperation to repel their attack without results, in parallel with the continued air strikes on southern Saudi Arabia. Developments whose indications are reinforced by the data coming from the Ministry of Defense in the "Salvation", which stresses that the battle is at its end, and there is no room for retreat from it
The Salvation Government in Sana'a ended all arrangements to administer the Ma'rib Governorate, in terms of security, economics, and administration. It assured the residents of the city of Ma'rib that the operations of its forces, whose vanguards reached the western and eastern gates of the city during the past two days, will not target civilians, and will be limited to those involved militarily with the coalition of aggression. She emphasized that the liberation of Marib had become "only a matter of time", promising its loyalists among the forces of the outgoing president, Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi, that their suffering would soon end. In conjunction with the forces of Sana’a seizing the city from more than one direction, and the army and “popular committees” advancing in a number of locations west and north of the governorate center, the Ministry of Defense in the Salvation Government announced, for the first time since the start of the second phase of Operation Al-Bunyan Al-Marsous two weeks ago, The advance of its forces in the borders of the city of Ma'rib, and their arrival at the eastern and western gates of the city.During an extraordinary meeting held last Saturday, the Ministry discussed the mechanism for resolving the battle using all legitimate means, and approved the formation of a committee to communicate with what it called "the deceived" among the Hadi forces, after it received more than 250 requests from elements and officers of those forces in Marib to return to Sana'a. Last Thursday, they were reassured about the "safe return".
https://al-akhbar.com/Yemen/300209
Maps: https://twitter.com/Naseh_Shaker/status/1361376958899236871
https://twitter.com/Naseh_Shaker/status/1361919107122266112
and
(* B K P)
Heavy clashes in central Yemen cast doubt on future of negotiated process
The Iran-backed Houthis seek to wrestle control of Marib, closing off Saudi-Arabia’s southern border and taking control of oil fields in the province that would give them leverage in possible peace negotiations.
The Iran-backed rebels earlier this month renewed their attack on the oil-rich province, an anti-Houthi stronghold held by the internationally recognised government. But they faced stiff resistance and have not made progress amid heavy causalities mostly from the Houthis, military officials from both sides said.
Alarmed by the Houthis’ renewed push, the Saudi-led coalition bombed their advancing convoys in the sprawling desert around Marib. It also brought in ground enforcements from the government-held provinces of Taiz and Shabwa, the officials said.
The Houthis’ media office reported Tuesday at least 10 airstrikes by the Saudi-led coalition in Marib, and two more airstrikes on the neighbouring province of Jaw, which the rebels used as a base to launch their latest attack in Marib.
More than 48 fighters were killed and over 120 were wounded in the past two days, mostly Houthis, the officials said. Over two dozen others were reported killed at the start of the attack, which has mostly centred in the districts of Sorouh and Makhdara, they added.
https://thearabweekly.com/heavy-clashes-central-yemen-cast-doubt-future-negotiated-process
Film: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ugTENZndC4I = https://www.france24.com/en/video/20210215-heavy-clashes-rage-in-central-yemen-dozens-killed
and
(* A K pS)
Yesterday, the 10th day of Houthi full-scale offensive agnst #Marib, was a totally different day as Houthis attacks wr massive & intense ,prtclrly western & northwest fronts. Using human wave tactics, they wr able to make some ground gain in the western front of Serwah, but failed in other fronts. I think Houthis ystrdy wanted 2 make a major breakthru at any cost, especially in Serwah as it's the nearest front to the city -around 35 km-, but govt forces & tribes did well & could stop them, where snipers & ambushes played a vital role.
A military official said Houthis, in their attack western front, used over 15 human waves, &each one consisted of 30 fighters. "We weren't used 2,but now they're pushing fighters like sheep, not human", he said. Both sustained huge losses, particularly #Houthis.
https://twitter.com/Alsakaniali/status/1361495691189698560
and
(* A K pS)
Houthi unrelenting war on Marib in its 10th day, gov’t deplores UN silence
The Houthi militia’s war against the government-held province of Marib entered its 10th day on Tuesday amidst UN silence and government’s condemnation of the silence.
The militia has been flooding the army’s defense lines with hundreds after hundreds of militants, but military sources say it is repelling the attacks. The spokesman of the Arab Coalition said on Monday the Yemeni army’s and Coalition’s counterattacks killed 700 Houthi attackers in four days.
https://www.alsahwa-yemen.net/en/p-45147
and also https://www.alsahwa-yemen.net/en/p-45148
and
(A K pH)
Al-Jazeera maps steady advance of Yemeni forces towards Ma’rib
Al-Jazeera’s correspondent in Yemen, Ahmed Al-Shalfi, on Tuesday published a map of the clashes raging at the entrances to Ma’rib city, revealing how far away the Yemeni army and popular committees are from the city.
The clashes are taking place 20 km from Ma’rib airport in the center of the city, he said.
The fighting is only 24 km(24 miles) from camp Kawfal, which has been controlled by the army and committees on the Western Front and the government compound in the centre of the city.
In the same context, two senior commanders loyla to the Saudi-led coalition forces were killed on Sunday in the battles breaking out in the northern and western fronts of the city of Ma’rib.
referring to https://twitter.com/alshalfia/status/1361416501316608000 (maps)
and
(A K pS)
30 Houthi militants killed, weapons depot destroyed west of Marib
http://en.26sepnews.net/2021/02/16/30-houthi-militants-killed-weapons-depot-destroyed-west-of-marib/
and
(A K)
[Hadi gov.] Yemeni army captures Houthi senior commander in Marib
https://debriefer.net/en/news-23193.html
and
Residents in Marib city, which lies to the east of the Houthi-controlled capital Sanaa, told Reuters on Tuesday they have heard the sound of explosions this week, more strongly at night, and that planes belonging to the Saudi-led coalition are a constant sight overhead.
and
(A K P)
UAE urges international community to heed UN warning of Houthi advance on Ma’rib
In a statement on Tuesday, the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation called attention to remarks by UN Under Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Mark Lowcock concerning the Houthi rebels’ military assault on Ma’rib and underscored the threat such an assault poses to regional security and stability.
http://wam.ae/en/details/1395302910678
and
(A K pS)
23 Houthi militants killed, dozens injured northwest of Marib
http://en.26sepnews.net/2021/02/15/23-houthi-militants-killed-dozens-injured-northwest-of-marib/
and
(A K pS)
Houthi terrorist militia shells camps for IDPs western Marib
The Houthi terrorist militia on Monday bombed camps for displaced people (IDPs) in the western province of Marib.
According to the sources, Houthi militias launched artillery and rocket attacks on camps for displaced people in the western province.
Moreover, a landmine left by the Houthi terrorist militia killed a woman named Baghdad Ali Hassan in Majzer district northwest of the province.
http://en.26sepnews.net/2021/02/15/houthi-terrorist-militia-shells-camps-for-idps-western-marib/
and
(* A K pS)
Al-Houthi is approaching the city of Ma'rib
The Houthi militia fighters advance towards the city of Ma'rib, after taking control of the strategic camp of Coufal
The most important defensive camp for the city and the surrounding sites fell in the absence of the leader of the Serwah front, who left a month ago for Cairo to recuperate
Former leaders in Sirwah worked to dismantle the front, by practicing corruption, the absence of organization and their lack of knowledge of the management of combat operations
Many military commanders fear a repetition of the scenario of the fall of the Nehm Front in Sirwah, due to the corruption of "Islah" and its leaders
The commander of the third military region, Mansour Thawaba, is busy with deductions from fighters' dues and has not visited the Serwah front since his "assignment
[Hadi] government forces have been fighting on the western fronts of the Marib governorate, the fiercest battles with the Houthi militia, the coup, for more than a week, after the Houthi militia stepped up its combat operations towards the last stronghold of the legitimate government in the northern regions, with the aim of besieging and overthrowing the city of Marib.
Yesterday, Sunday, government forces intensified their military attacks in the Sarwah district, in order to restore the sites that had fallen at the hands of the
https://alsharaeanews.com/2021/02/15/51797/
and
(A H K)
Mark Lowcock, UN: An assault on the city would put two million civilians at risk, with hundreds of thousands potentially forced to flee - with unimaginable humanitarian consequences. Now is the time to de-escalate, not to add even more to the misery of the Yemeni people.
https://twitter.com/UNReliefChief/status/1361408692244070401
Adam Baron: The fall of Marib would almost inevitably fuel a displacement crisis with massive humanitarian consequences. Key stakeholders need to prioritize preventing this looming tragedy before its too late.
https://twitter.com/adammbaron/status/1361408920930107394
(A K pS)
KSrelief's Masam Project Dismantles more than 1,400 Mines in Yemen During 2nd Week of February
King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center (KSrelief)'s Masam Project for Clearing Mines in Yemen demined 1,432 mines during the second week of February 2021, including 8 anti-personnel mines, 407 anti-tank mines, 1,013 unexploded ordnance and four explosive devices.
https://www.spa.gov.sa/viewfullstory.php?lang=en&newsid=2191707
(A K pH)
Yemen's drones hit international airports in Jeddah, Abha
Yemen's Air Force carried out on Monday an attack on Saudi Jeddah and Abha international airports, spokesman for the armed forces Brig. Gen. Yahya Sarei said.
Sarie added the Air Force hit with 2 Sammad-3 and Qasef-2K drones the two international airports in the two Saudi cities, pointing out that the planes targeted the two airports accurately.
The attack caused the suspension of the two airports for two consecutive hours.
https://www.saba.ye/en/news3128669.htm
(A K pS)
A woman named Baghdad Hassan Ali was killed today morning in a #landmine explosion laid by #Houthis west of #Marib province where heavy clashes take place between Houthi rebels and government forces
https://twitter.com/RepYemenEnglish/status/1361389236356870149
(A K pS)
The 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=2191491
(A K pH)
Army drones target Saudi Abha airport for 4th day in row
The army's air force targeted Saudi Abha International Airport on Sunday for the fourth consecutive day by two drones of Samad 3 and Qasef 2K types, the armed forces spokesman, Brigadier General Yahya Sarie, told Saba.
https://www.saba.ye/en/news3128489.htm
(A K pS)
Coalition to Restore Legitimacy in Yemen: Interception, Destruction of (2) Bomb-Laden UAVs Launched by Terrorist, Iran-Backed Houthi Militia Toward Civilians and Civilian Objects in Khamis Mushait
https://www.spa.gov.sa/viewfullstory.php?lang=en&newsid=2191382
My comment: Civilian objects?? LOL. Khamis Mushait has one of Saudi Arabia’s main air force base, the fighter jets bombing Yemen are starting from there.
(* A K)
Nächste Tragödie im Jemen
Kämpfe fordern Dutzende Tote.
Der Krieg im Jemen geht mit unverminderter Härte weiter. Wie Vertreter der von Teilen der »internationalen Gemeinschaft« anerkannten, demokratisch aber schon seit sechs Jahren nicht mehr legitimierten Regierung von Präsident Abed Rabbo Mansur Hadi am Sonntag der Nachrichtenagentur AFP sagten, seien bei heftigen Gefechten mit den Ansarollah (»Huthi«) in der Stadt Marib binnen 24 Stunden 16 Regierungssoldaten und »Dutzende« Ansarollah-Kämpfer getötet worden.
Die Ansarollah führen derzeit eine Offensive auf die Stadt Marib durch, die letzte verbleibende Hochburg der Hadi-Regierung im Norden des Landes. Im Jemen herrscht seit sechs Jahren Krieg zwischen den von Saudi-Arabien und anderen arabischen Staaten unterstützten Truppen von Präsident Hadi und den Ansarollah. Die Intensität der Kämpfe nahm zuletzt wieder zu.
https://www.jungewelt.de/artikel/396438.sechs-jahre-krieg-n%C3%A4chste-trag%C3%B6die-im-jemen.html
(A K)
[Hadi] Yemeni govt forces repel rebel attacks on key town
Yemeni forces on Monday repelled attacks by the Iran-backed Huthi rebels on multiple fronts, military officials said, as the insurgents intensified efforts to seize the government's last northern stronghold.
https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20210215-yemeni-govt-forces-repel-rebel-attacks-on-key-town
(* A K)
Dozens killed as Houthi rebels target last government stronghold in Yemen
Dozens were killed in overnight clashes in Yemen as Iran-backed Houthi rebels intensified attacks to seize the government's last northern stronghold, officials said Sunday.
Earlier this month, the Houthis resumed an offensive to seize oil-rich Marib, some 120 kilometres (75 miles) east of the capital Sanaa.
The city's loss would be disastrous for Yemen's beleaguered leadership.
Two government military officials said at least 16 pro-government forces were killed and 21 wounded in the past 24 hours, adding that "dozens were killed" among Houthi ranks.
The Houthis have cut off supply lines to a district about 50 kilometres south of the city, with "the goal to lay siege to Marib", one of the sources said.
Film: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mge5T4HDGjU
and
(A K pS)
[Hadi gov.] Yemeni army, tribesmen launch counterattacks on Houthis in Marib province
https://www.arabnews.com/node/1809191/middle-east
and
(A K pS)
Yemeni gov't says its troops captured 20 Houthis in Marib fighting
https://debriefer.net/en/news-23153.html
and
(A K pS)
[Hadi gov.] Military Commander: Marib warfronts turn into mass grave for Houthi militia’s crowds
and
(A K pS)
[Hadi gov.] Army’s artillery destroy militia combat equipment northwest of Marib
and
(A K pS)
Houthis shoot fire on own fighters in battlefield, incurring casualties
Houthis reportedly opened fire on their own fighters in Sorwah front in Marib governorate after they wanted to hospitalize one of their comrades who had been wounded in clashes with the government forces, media sources said.
In a video released by the army, wounded Houthi fighters (of the marginalized Akhdam or Afro-Yemeni class) said their Houthi “supervisors” disallowed them from hospitalizing a colleague despite his “critical wounds.” They (the supervisors) opened fire on them killing one and injuring the rest very seriously until the army arrested them and hospitalized them.
https://www.alsahwa-yemen.net/en/p-45107
(A K pS)
[Hadi gov.] Yemen army intercepts Houthi drone in Saada
There was no comment from Houthi rebels on the claim
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/middle-east/yemen-army-intercepts-houthi-drone-in-saada/2144348
and also https://debriefer.net/en/news-23156.html
cp18 Kampf um Hodeidah / Hodeidah battle
Seit dem Abkommen von Stockholm vom 13. Dezember 2018 gibt es einen Waffenstillstand für Hodeidah. Zwar bleiben größere Offensiven aus, kleinere Gefechte gibt es aber laufend, und beide Seiten werfen sich ständig Verstöße gegen den Waffenstillstand vor.
Since the Stockholm Agreement of December 13, 2018, a ceasefire has been in place for Hodeidah. There are no major offensives, but smaller battles are going on and both sides constantly are accusing each other of violating the ceasefire.
(A K pS)
Four houses destroyed by Houthi shelling in Hodeidah
http://en.adenpress.news/news/32231
Films: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1KGkK9D6WaY
https://twitter.com/RepYemenEnglish/status/1361038043818430472
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CfKQUrI2fYI
(A K pS)
Yemeni gov't says UNMHA hostage with Houthis
The UN Mission to Support the Hodeida Agreement (UNMHA) is hostage with the Houthi group, the Yemeni UN-recognized government said Saturday in a statement by its foreign ministry.
The statement reiterated its call on the UN to reconsider the situation of its UNMHA, as the Houthis "hindered the application of Resolution 2452."
The foreign ministry called on the UN Security Council to bear its responsibility, apply its resolutions and punish the Houthi group whose daily practices portend a comprehensive escalation undermining the peace efforts and serving Iran's destructive agenda in the region.
https://debriefer.net/en/news-23154.html
and
(A K pS)
[Hadi] Gov’t calls on UN to reconsider its Hodeida mission
The spokesman of the Yemeni government has called upon the UN to “reconsider” its ceasefire monitoring mission in the Red Sea port of Hodeidah saying the mission is “beholden to Houthis.”
Rajejh Badi said in a press statement, “The status of the UN mission in Hodeidah is too bad. We have not been able to make any breakthrough [in the stalemate], because the mission has become beholden to the Houthis. It follows their orders and does not want to do anything that offends them.”
https://www.alsahwa-yemen.net/en/p-45124
and also https://debriefer.net/en/news-23194.html
(A K pH)
Daily violations, as claimed by the Houthi side
Vorige / Previous:
https://www.freitag.de/autoren/dklose/jemenkrieg-mosaik-717-yemen-war-mosaic-717
Jemenkrieg-Mosaik 1-717 / Yemen War Mosaic 1-717:
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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