Dies ist die Fortsetzung von Jemenkrieg-Mosaik 724, Teil 1 / This is the sequel of Yemen War Mosaic 724, part 1:
https://www.freitag.de/autoren/dklose/jemenkrieg-mosaik-724-yemen-war-mosaic-724
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
cp12b Sudan
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 cp9a
(* B P)
What’s Missing in the Recalibration of the U.S.-Saudi Relationship? People.
Although it would act as a powerful deterrent, directly sanctioning MBS would not be enough to repair the “systemic issues” in the relationship or make the relationship reflect “U.S. values.” What may help achieve these objectives is changing the distorted relationship both governments have with each other’s people. Currently, both sides’ government-to-people relationships are neither healthy, normal, nor reflective of democratic and liberal values.
There has been little concerted U.S. effort to engage with Saudi media or society to avoid angering Saudi partners and avoid clashes with a supposedly anti-American Saudi society. The result is the flourishing of anti-American conspiracy theories in print, online, and broadcast media. In just the past few years, Al Arabiya news network has amplified both lurid claims about the so-called radical left in the United States and personal attacks against U.S. officials such as Representative Ilhan Omar. Columnists compared the Democratic Party to the Nazis, and Saudi newspapers dredged up former secretary of state Hillary Clinton’s e-mails as proof of a pro-Islamist and pro-Qatar conspiracy.
These narratives—in a Saudi media market under tight government control—bleed over into the more fiercely nationalist (and often wildly conspiratorial) world of Saudi Twitter. Claims that Saudi Arabia is in an “existential war” with the West or that the ODNI report into Khashoggi’s murder “transfers internal American conflicts” to the U.S.-Saudi relationship come part and parcel with a broad online mobilization campaign to discredit the report and boost support for Saudi leadership—with some patriotic bot networks piling on for good measure. Khalid al-Malik, chairman of the Saudi Journalists Association, went so far as to state that “this is not the United States that we know.” The United States should therefore ask itself: What is the America that Saudis know?
America’s destructive legacy in the Middle East does indeed challenge the President Joe Biden administration’s narrative about U.S. policy.
If the Biden administration really wants to reset its relationship with Saudi Arabia, it should reach out to the Saudi people, not only to explain current U.S. policy toward Saudi Arabia but also to assume responsibility for all other policies that contradict it. It is probably impossible for the Saudi government to accept an office of the National Democratic Institute or an International Republican Institute on its soil. But the U.S. embassy in Riyadh should at least start with modest outreach programs to explain American policies, values, and the U.S. political system to the wider Saudi public.
My comment: A somewhat strange article. US propaganda in Saudi Arabia as a new phase of relations?
(* B K P)
Film: Most Americans don’t realize *just* how embedded the U.S. has become in the Mideast rivalry against Iran, regional expert @vali_nasr tells @mehdirhasan: “We don't see ourselves as being a party to this, but we are. We are the army of Saudi Arabia.”
https://twitter.com/MehdiHasanShow/status/1367636324644184064
(* B P)
US Policy Changes Toward Civil War in Yemen Leave Experts Cautiously Optimistic
Raiman Al-Hamdani, a visiting fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations and the former Yemeni representative at the UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations, is optimistic about the change in U.S. policy, because it makes it easier for much-needed aid to get to suffering civilians in the country.
“This policy will have a change on Saudi Arabian and Iranian politics. Biden has clearly and verbally demonstrated that he wants to end the war in Yemen due to humanitarian reasons, and I have every reason to believe that he will,” he said.
Professor Hamid Alawadhi, an adjunct professor at Point Park University, and former ambassador and permanent representative of Yemen to UNESCO from 2003 to 2008, also views the administration’s change positively. He welcomes the decision “as positively affecting the dire humanitarian situation of the Yemeni people, helping to normalize their lives as they live under a quasi-siege. … Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries in the region cannot deal with issues in their own countries – look at their human rights records – and then want to deal with Yemen. This has led directly to why roughly 24 million people in Yemen do not know where to find food, or what to eat.”
Jalal Mawri, 23, a Yemeni-American student at the University of Michigan who emigrated to the U.S. from Sanaa in 2013, is cautiously optimistic at this change.
“I am positive to a certain extent, as we are yet to see what will happen,” Mawri told The Media Line. “We remember when President Obama famously declared his goals of spreading peace and democracy in the Arab world during his 2008 speech in Cairo, only to see the violence that shortly thereafter turned the Arab world upside down. We will wait and see how President Biden’s promise to ‘end all support for Saudi offensive operations in Yemen’ coexists with his promise to ‘help Saudi Arabia defend its sovereignty and people.’”
(* B P)
It’s Time for a New Direction with Saudi Arabia
For decades now, America has helped its Arab allies crush their people’s aspirations for freedom and greater participation in political and economic power. The red scare was used until the Soviet Union collapsed, only to be replaced by another scare, this time Islamic extremism and terrorism.
Even before I was born, the United States helped dictators block the natural evolution of history where the people’s share of power becomes greater. That was clear in the American and British-backed coup that toppled Iran’s Mohammad Mosaddegh.
What would the world look like if Mosaddegh was never overthrown? What shape would the global landscape take if the U.S. never helped any of its favorite dictators oppress their people?
My story is not unique to other countries in the Arab and Muslim world. The one-sided U.S. policy toward Arab countries has not changed much in the past 60 years. It should change and it will not be the end of the world.
In my home country of Saudi Arabia, America focused on a sole player, the Saudi ruling family, and not only ignored the rest of society but also aided the monarchy’s efforts to crush and silence opposition, including the secular and forward-looking. No matter what type of opposition it was, the Americans found a good reason to dismiss it.
For decades, the U.S. enjoyed unfettered access to the Saudi kingdom’s power centers, and never thought to use it to empower Saudis. The U.S. did not use its vast influence over Saudi leaders to advance human rights or end wealth inequity. Now that the Biden administration is rethinking its Saudi policy, it is finding that Saudi strongman Mohammed bin Salman has all but eliminated American access to the Saudi state except through him. MbS has grabbed all centers of power in his hands. This is a direct result of empowering a dictator who then usurps all the power for himself. Dictators are jealous creatures, and they do not like to share, not even with those who brought them to power.
It is time that the U.S. normalizes its policy with Saudi Arabia.
MbS is not the only choice for Saudi Arabia. Neither is the Saudi ruling clan. Even if the House of Saud were to disappear tomorrow, that land of Arabia and its people would go on, and they might be better off without those U.S.-made handcuffs that have shackled them for decades. And then, America would also be no longer guilty of supporting oppressors.
https://intpolicydigest.org/it-s-time-for-a-new-direction-with-saudi-arabia/ = https://www.ibtimes.com/us-middle-east-relations-its-time-joe-biden-forge-new-direction-3157960
(* B P)
Biden signals support to replace war power authority
President Joe Biden on Friday signaled support to replace decades-old authorizations for the use of military force in the Middle East, a little more than a week after he relied on the authorizations to carry out a retaliatory airstrike against Iranian-backed militia in eastern Syria.
The Biden administration announced its position after a bipartisan bill was introduced earlier this week that would repeal the 1991 and 2002 authorizations for the wars in Iraq that presidents from both parties have relied on for legal justification to carry out strikes in the region.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Biden was committed to working with Congress to “ensure that the authorizations for the use of military force currently on the books are replaced with a narrow and specific framework that will ensure we can protect Americans from terrorist threats while ending the forever wars.”
and also https://www.vox.com/2021/3/5/22315258/white-house-biden-authorization-military-force-forever-wars
and
(A P)
Statement: Repeal, Don’t Replace, the AUMFs
Win Without War Executive Director Stephen Miles released the following statement regarding President Biden’s reported intent to work with Congress to repeal the 2001 and 2002 Authorizations for Use of Military Force (AUMFs):
“It is long past time to repeal the blank checks for endless war that are the 2001 and 2002 AUMFs. We’re grateful to President Biden for taking this step to bring U.S. policy in line with the demands of the pro-peace majority.
“Now, we need to make sure it’s done right. That means swiftly repealing both AUMFs, and thoroughly, openly, and democratically debating whether or not more war will make the United States or the world more secure.
https://winwithoutwar.org/statement-repeal-dont-replace-the-aumfs/
and
(B P)
Biden and Congress must repeal law authorizing endless wars
(* B K P)
Biden orders temporary limits on drone strikes outside war zones
The Biden administration has imposed temporary limits on drone strikes targeting suspected terrorists outside the battlefields of Afghanistan, Syria and Iraq, tightening a Trump-era policy while officials review how much leeway to give the military and the CIA in counterterrorism operations.
The restriction was quietly imposed on Jan. 20 — the day of President Biden’s inauguration — by national security adviser Jake Sullivan, according to administration officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe internal deliberations.
Under the temporary guidelines, the military and the CIA must seek White House sign-off before attempting a kill-or-capture mission against suspects in places where the U.S. military has few troops, such as Somalia, Yemen and Libya. In the Trump administration, they did not need such approval but still needed the go-ahead from the U.S. ambassador overseeing the country where the operation was to take place.
The shift was first reported by the New York Times.
“At the beginning of the administration, President Biden established new interim guidance concerning the United States’ use of military force and related national security operations,” National Security Council spokeswoman Emily Horne said.
The purpose, she said, was to ensure that the president has “full visibility” on proposed significant operations while the NSC staff leads a review of the legal and policy frameworks governing drone strikes. The review also will seek to ensure appropriate transparency measures, she said.
Reps. Mike D. Rogers (R-Ala.) and Michael McCaul (R-Tex.) criticized the move as “yet another bureaucratic impediment that will give our enemies an advantage.” Rogers, the ranking Republican on the armed services panel and McCaul, his counterpart on foreign affairs, said in a statement: “While our operators wait for approval from Washington, terrorists will escape to plot and fight against the United States and our allies for another day.”
(A P)
Yemen Embassy to US: The U.S. Embassy to Yemen is delighted to announce that two Yemeni participants were selected for the Department of State’s Humbert H. Humphrey Fellowship, a year-long program for young and mid-career professionals. Congratulations to our two Yemeni fellows! (photo)
https://twitter.com/USEmbassyYemen/status/1367477873242693633
My comment: A program to create pro-US influencers in the futire world elites.
(A K P)
Royal Saudi Air Force, USAF Conclude Joint Maneuvers
Royal Saudi Air Forces (RSAF) and US Air Forces (USAF) today concluded a joint exercise which witnessed many joint combat "scenarios" such as day and night sorties to address threats.
These exercises aim to refine expertise, raise the level of joint combat readiness and deepen the bonds of cooperation between the Saudi forces and the US forces to reach the deterrence force required for any possible attack threatening the security and safety of the region.
https://www.spa.gov.sa/viewfullstory.php?lang=en&newsid=2197152
My comment: The US uniting with Yemen slaughterers. Any real change with Biden? No, just empty words.
(B P)
The Missing Realism of Biden’s Pro-LGBTQ Foreign Policy
The new administration has committed to far-reaching human rights goals that could easily backfire.
Delivering consistent and effective defenses of global LGBTQ rights is going to be tough—and, in some cases, impossible.
In countries like Yemen, which in 2019 received nearly $700 million in U.S. foreign assistance, the United States possesses powerful leverage. In theory, tying some of that aid to LGBTQ decriminalization could cause meaningful change.
But it’s not that simple. Take the Yemen example: The country has been mired in a devastating conflict since 2015, with 24 million Yemenis in need of humanitarian assistance. In the hierarchy of priorities, ending the conflict is the easiest path to saving the greatest number of lives and thus will always be the priority for most citizens and their government. Even if the United States could quickly resolve the humanitarian crisis (a difficult ask), Yemeni society is staunchly anti-LGBTQ—trying do more than just incrementally liberalize Yemen in the midst of famine and conflict will be a Sisyphean task. Many devout Muslim leaders insist their faith is incompatible with LGBTQ rights. While some Islamic groups based in the West have started to adopt a softer tone, globally many have not. The Saudi state security agency has denounced homosexuality as extremism (along with feminism), and the supreme leader of Iran recently stated his belief that “there is no worst form of moral degeneration than [homosexuality].”
https://foreignpolicy.com/2021/03/04/the-missing-realism-of-bidens-pro-lgbtq-foreign-policy/
(A P)
U.S. envoy for Yemen in Saudi Arabia for further consultations
http://en.adenpress.news/news/32388
(* B K P)
'Counter-Terrorism'?: Two Decades After 9/11, New Interactive Map Details Footprint of US War Machine in 85 Countries
"The map raises a number of questions. Why is the United States militarily active in so many countries? Are these operations meeting the stated U.S. goals of reducing violence against Americans?"
A new report published Thursday details United States so-called "counterterrorism" operations by the U.S. military in 85 nations since 2018 as part of its "Global War on Terror," the open-ended post-9/11 campaign that has seen over half a dozen countries attacked or invaded, hundreds of overseas military bases built, hundreds of thousands of lives lost, and trillions of dollars spent—with no end in sight.
The report—published by the Costs of War Project at Brown University's Watson Institute and USA Today—features an interactive map showing U.S. military operations on every inhabited continent on Earth, including combat, training, exercises, and bases.
"Despite the Pentagon's assertion that the U.S. is shifting its strategic emphasis away from counterterrorism and towards great power competition with Russia and China, examining U.S. military activity on a country-by-country basis shows that there is yet to be a corresponding drawdown of the counterterror apparatus," the report states. "If anything, the map demonstrates that counterterrorism operations have become more widespread in recent years."
cp9a USA-Iran Krise: Spannungen am Golf / US-Iran crisis: Tensions at the Gulf
Siehe / Look at cp9
(* B P)
Missile attack escalation highlights need for Iran nuclear deal revival
Recent comments from CENTCOM Commander General Frank McKenzie about Iran’s 2020 strike on an American base in Iraq, if proven true, highlight once more the imperative need for President Biden to quickly kickstart the Iran nuclear deal’s revival.
That the two countries could so rapidly climb the rungs of the escalation ladder and then teeter perilously on the brink of all-out war should serve as another reminder to the Biden administration of the imperative need to resuscitate the JCPOA by lifting sanctions on Iran. Doing so can play a key role in preventing the fertile breeding-ground for military escalation to spawn.
But so long as the Biden administration chooses to leave Trump’s sanctions intact, the possibility of further military conflict between the U.S. and Iran lives on. And as the harrowing accounts of what unfolded at Ain al-Asad illustrate, in the case of a new military conflict, the Iranians will be both willing and able to deliver lethal strikes, a prospect that benefits neither Iran nor the US.
Moreover, since the strike on the Ain al-Asad base, Iran has unveiled further enhancements and expansions to its ballistic missile program, which enjoys widespread support from the Iranian public.
Biden can drastically reduce the probability of Iran’s growing missile capability being used on U.S. forces by reviving the JCPOA and ensuring its survival in the years to come. As shown by the most recent rocket attack on Ain al-Asad, which followed the U.S. bombing of Iran-aligned militia just days earlier, the JCPOA’s revival cannot come too soon.
(A P)
Iran warns of consequences of Israel’s mistaken measure
Iran's Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the United Nations Majid Takht Ravanchi rejected the allegation made by the Israeli representative at the international body about the attack on the Israeli ship in the Sea of Oman and warned against “all consequences as a result of any possible miscalculation”.
https://en.irna.ir/news/84253337/Iran-warns-of-consequences-of-Israel-s-mistaken-measure
(A P)
It's particularly troubling that the Biden administration, in its interim national security guidance, defines "deter[ring] Iranian aggression" as a vital U.S. interest — and this in a paragraph denying that the United States will engage in forever wars (text)
https://twitter.com/stephenwertheim/status/1367583736427139073
(A P)
Israel updating plans to strike Iranian nuclear sites, Israeli defense minister tells Fox News
The Israeli military is updating plans to strike Iranian nuclear sites and is prepared to act independently, Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz told Fox News.
Israel has identified numerous targets inside Iran that would hurt its ability to develop a nuclear bomb.
"If the world stops them before, it's very much good. But if not, we must stand independently and we must defend ourselves by ourselves," Gantz said in his first sit-down interview with an American outlet.
https://www.foxnews.com/world/israel-strike-plan-iranian-nuclear-sites-defense-minister-interview
(A P)
Iran’s Zarif slams US persistence of failed ‘maximum pressure’ policy even amid COVID-19
Iran has censured the new US administration for still pursuing the failed ‘maximum pressure’ campaign launched by former president Donald Trump even during the deadly coronavirus pandemic.
In a post on his Twitter account on Friday, Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif published the image of a 6.5-year-old Iranian girl who was affected by the US sanctions, and a letter written by her and addressed to the US.
Zarif said the little girl has “paid the price for cruel and inhumane choices of politicians far away.”
(A P)
Iraqi Resistance Groups Announce Confrontation with US Occupiers until Liberation
Iraqi resistance groups have announced a new phase of resistance against US forces in the country, vowing “confrontation with occupiers until the liberation of Iraq.”
“The resistance sees confrontation as the only option that guarantees the freedom, dignity of this country after exhausting all the means that others have bet on with the occupation,” the coordinating body for the Iraqi resistance factions said in a statement on Thursday, according to the Iraqi media.
(B P)
IAEA and Iran: Chronology of Key Events
https://www.iaea.org/newscenter/focus/iran/chronology-of-key-events
(A P)
Iran to meet with UN technical experts over uranium find
Iran has agreed to sit down with international technical experts investigating the discovery of uranium particles at three former undeclared sites in the country, the head of the U.N. atomic watchdog said Thursday, after months of frustration at Tehran’s lack of a credible explanation.
The agreement came as three of the remaining signatories to the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran — France, Germany and Britain — backed off the idea of a resolution criticizing Iran for its decision to start limiting access by International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors to current facilities.
https://apnews.com/article/tehran-iran-iran-nuclear-united-nations-b1343c00cfd759cde8640ec65652ac3a
(A P)
Tehran says anti-Iran resolution dropped at IAEA, urges nuclear deal parties to ensure JCPOA full implementation
Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman says the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has dropped its previous decision to adopt an anti-Iran resolution over the country’s reduction of commitments under a landmark nuclear deal with world powers after the United States unilaterally withdrew from the accord and re-imposed the “toughest ever” sanctions on Tehran.
“The draft resolution was dropped due to extensive diplomatic efforts in Tehran, Vienna and the capitals of all members of the [IAEA] Board of Governors, particularly the three European countries, and through the cooperation of China and Russia,” Saeed Khatibzadeh said on Thursday.
Khatibzadeh expressed hope that the development would keep open the path of diplomacy initiated by Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency and prepare the ground for the full implementation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) – the Iran nuclear agreement – by all parties to the deal.
(A P)
Letter by Win Without War
Dear President Biden, We write to strongly encourage you to follow through quickly on your commitment to rejoin the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the Iran nuclear agreement. This was one of your most important and unequivocal promises during the campaign, one shared with every other major Democratic primary candidate, and one that was an important sign that you were prepared to move U.S. foreign policy away from the reckless, belligerent unilateralism of Donald Trump
https://winwithoutwar.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Urgent-Need-for-JCPOA-Reentry-.pdf
and media report: https://responsiblestatecraft.org/2021/03/03/pressure-building-on-biden-to-rejoin-iran-nuke-deal/
(* B P)
What is a US ‘ally’ in the Middle East?
The United States never has had any alliance commitments in the Middle East — either multilateral alliances such as NATO and the ANZUS treaty or bilateral security pacts such as those with Japan and South Korea.
Despite the absence of U.S. alliance commitments, discourse about U.S. policy in the Middle East routinely refers to “allies” (and sometimes the slightly milder term “partners”). The terms are used not just as sloppy description but as strategic prescription, with the assumption that the United States should give special deference or consideration to “allies” in the region.
Admittedly, there is some possible basis for speaking of an ally even in the absence of a mutual security treaty. But legitimate use of the term still should reflect several conditions. One is mutuality of interest that goes markedly beyond the norm. Another is reciprocity, in which the United States gets as much from the alliance partner as it gives in return. Yet another is that what the partner gives in recognition of its special relationship with the United States is above and beyond what it would be doing anyway in the absence of that relationship.
Most references to “allies” or “partners” in American discourse about the Middle East do not reflect these conditions. Many such references merely reflect the affinity of whoever is speaking or writing for the country or regime labeled as an “ally.” Many other references reflect inertia — they are the legacy of past circumstances that once caused a country to be considered an ally, notwithstanding how much circumstances have changed in the interim.
Saudi Arabia demonstrates the legacy effect.
But even the Biden administration’s policy toward the Riyadh regime, though markedly different from Trump’s, still exhibits old habits. The administration is not penalizing the crown prince directly despite his probable ordering of the murder because, according to the New York Times account of administration thinking, the cost of a “breach, in Saudi cooperation on counterterrorism and in confronting Iran, was simply too high.” If even a grisly act of international terrorism such as the slaughter of Khashoggi is partially tolerated in this way, then it is hard to see what has been gained for counterterrorism.
And if “confronting Iran” was part of the calculation, this confuses means with ends and conflates U.S. interests with regional state ambitions. Ask how Iran threatens U.S. interests — a question asked all too infrequently — and the answer is likely to focus on damage done to an “ally” like Saudi Arabia or to U.S. overseas deployments in support of “partners” or “allies,” rather than any Iranian threat to core U.S. interests. The “allies,” in short, are at least as much a cause of Iran being a policy problem as they are a solution to the problem. Nobody needs to motivate the Saudi regime to be confrontational toward Iran.
Israel’s status as a supposed “ally” is sustained not only by habit but by well-known domestic politics in the United States. The notion of such an alliance most often is just assumed and invoked without justification.
None of the criteria loosely cited to identify allies and distinguish them from adversaries justifies the customary line-up of Middle Eastern “allies.” The criterion of democracy and political rights doesn’t.
Neither does a criterion of who is, or is not, destabilizing the region. Not with a Saudi Arabia whose aerial assault turned Yemen into a humanitarian disaster and that tried to foment a governmental crisis in Lebanon by holding that country’s prime minister hostage until he announced his resignation. Not with an Israel that has initiated offensive military operations against at least four other countries in the region – by Paul R. Pillar
https://responsiblestatecraft.org/2021/03/02/what-is-a-us-ally-in-the-middle-east/
(A P)
Russia warns UN nuclear agency against adopting ‘stupid’ resolution against Iran
Russia’s Permanent Representative to the International Organizations in Vienna Mikhail Ulyanov has warned the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) against adopting a resolution against Iran at a session of its Board of Governors.
Ulyanov, in a series of posts published on his Twitter page on Wednesday, stated that the UN nuclear agency’s board faces a “great challenge” at the upcoming session on the Iranian nuclear program, during which an anti-Iran resolution is set to be put to vote.
The Russian diplomat warned that any hostile move by the IAEA’s Board of Governors against Iran would undermine prospects for the restoration of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), as the 2015 Iran nuclear deal is formally named.
(* A P)
Any IAEA resolution to impact cooperation with UN nuclear agency: Senior Iranian official
A senior Iranian official has warned about the ramifications of a possible resolution by the UN nuclear watchdog’s board against the country, saying the adoption of the draft text will adversely affect Tehran’s cooperation with the agency.
“The resolution, which they say has undergone certain revisions over the past few days, shows, in our view, an unconstructive stance and has a negative effect on negotiations about the JCPOA (the 2015 Iran nuclear deal) and Iran's view of and cooperation with the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency),” the Iranian president's chief of staff, Mahmoud Vaezi, told reporters on the sidelines of a weekly cabinet meeting on Wednesday.
“This is not a friendly approach and needs to be rectified before it is too late,” he added.
(* A P)
Biden State Department nominee suggests some sanctions against Iran will remain
Deputy Secretary of State nominee says she agrees that US should keep some sanctions on Iran, regardless of nuclear deal talks
Wendy Sherman, US President Joe Biden's nominee for Deputy Secretary of State, has suggested that Washington should keep some sanctions on Iran - even if the United States returns to the multilateral nuclear deal.
During a Senate confirmation hearing on Wednesday, Sherman - a veteran diplomat who helped negotiate the 2015 nuclear pact - agreed with senior Democratic Senator Bob Menendez that some sanctions must remain in place against Iran.
"It is a fair statement that we have to keep sanctions on [Iran] that deal with human rights abuses, state sponsorship of terrorism, arms sales, et cetera, what we've done in terms of Hezbollah and Hamas. So yes, I think there are many things that need to stay in place," she said.
During the hearing, Menendez, an Iran hawk who now chairs the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, pushed Sherman on the kinds of sanctions relief that reviving the Iran deal may grant Tehran, arguing that non-nuclear-related sanctions should not be lifted.
Sherman agreed with the chairman's take and promised the Biden administration sought "true consultation [with], not just notification" of Congress.
My comment: ???? If the US should return to the Nuclear Deal, most or all sanctions must be lifted, if Iran mets the Deal’s obligations, the US already tells now it will breach the Nuclear Deal from day 1 after it had returned to it. Keep the cake and eat it at the same time – this seems to be US policy. – And, this is rather odd: “human rights abuses, state sponsorship of terrorism, arms sales” as reasons for further sanctions against Iran. Why no sanctions for “human rights abuses, state sponsorship of terrorism” against Saudia Arabia – and the US itself??? What does Sherman actually tell us: Hey world, US policy means double standards, from A to Z.
and
(* A P)
Senate progressives push Biden nominees on Iran diplomacy
Democratic senators pushed the Biden administration to commit to diplomacy with Iran — and warned of the consequences of failure — during a Wednesday confirmation hearing for two high-level State Department nominees.
Sens. Chris Murphy (D–Ct.) and Ed Markey (D–Mass.) asked whether it is still the Biden administration’s goal to return to the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran, while Tim Kaine (D–Va.) and Chris Van Hollen (D–Md.) claimed that an escalation with Iran could pose grave risks to U.S. forces in Iraq and Syria.
Ambassador Wendy Sherman, the Biden administration’s nominee for deputy secretary of state, confirmed that U.S. policy is still to return to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action before opening talks on other issues.
Sherman, who had helped negotiate the original 2015 deal, raised eyebrows during Wednesday’s confirmation hearing with statements that suggested President Joe Biden had dropped his commitment to a “compliance-for-compliance” deal around the JCPOA.
“2021 is not 2015 when the deal was agreed, nor 2016 when implemented,” she stated in her opening remarks. “The facts on the ground have changed, the geopolitics of the region have changed, and the way forward must similarly change.”
Sherman told Sen. Mitt Romney (R–Utah) that Biden’s goal is “a deal that is longer and stronger.”
Murphy, a staunch supporter of diplomacy with Iran, called it a “fantasy” that Iran “would come to the table on everything all at once” and asked Sherman to clarify Biden’s policy.
“It makes me a little nervous when we hear terms like ‘longer and stronger.’ Again, I think many of us supported the [JCPOA] on its terms,” Murphy said. “By expanding out the number of things we want to talk about at this negotiating table, I worry that we may be setting ourselves up for failure.”
Sherman confirmed that the Biden administration“hopes to get Iran in full compliance with the deal. Then we would be in full compliance with the deal. Then we would build from that to get a longer and stronger agreement.”
Comment: ??????? Before the US can ask Iran to fulfill its commitments from the deal the US must rejoin the deal first. – The idea of a “new agreement” is rather odd. For any such talks, Iran should insist on including: Israel’s nukes; US military presence in the Middle East; US arms sales to Gulf states; Israel’s and US trangressions of international law in Syria.
and
(A P)
Top US Senate Republicans warn Biden against reviving Iran deal
Leading Republicans on national security-related committees urge White House to engage Congress, Israel and Gulf partners on Iran
Top US Senate Republicans have warned President Joe Biden against returning to the Iran nuclear deal, urging the administration to consult with Congress, Israel and Gulf partners before entering into a new agreement with the Islamic Republic.
In a letter signed by ranking members of national security-related committees in the Senate, the Republicans said Iran poses a "serious threat" to US national security. They called for a hawkish bipartisan approach to Tehran that addresses the Islamic Republic's regional activity as well as its nuclear programme.
"Your administration's Iran policy must encompass more than a nuclear negotiation. We need consensus on the strategic aims of US-Iran policy and should allocate resources accordingly," the lawmakers wrote.
"Specifically, we believe that our strategic aim is to halt the Iranian regime’s nuclear ambitions and end its destabilizing activities in the region and beyond."
https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/top-us-senate-republicans-warn-biden-against-reviving-iran-deal
My comment: A middle-class country 7,000 miles away from US territory never is a “"serious threat" to US national security”.
Comments: Hard to listen to SFRC ranking Republican Jim Risch's "Heart of Darkness" arguments against the Iran deal. "Iranians are not to be trusted", the problem is with "the Iranian mindset" and we can't deal with "these people".
https://twitter.com/jabdi/status/1367135974900252674
-US quit deal, #Iran is still in -US violated commitments, Iran abided for full yr after -US imposed starvation sanctions in pandemic -US committed illegal assassination -Biden promised return to deal, but has kept Trump's policy in place Risch: "Iranians are not to be trusted"
https://twitter.com/AssalRad/status/1367221500751745031
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Israel suspects Iran connection to Mediterranean oil spill
Israeli authorities said Wednesday that a Libyan-owned tanker suspected of smuggling oil from Iran to Syria was responsible for spilling tons of crude into the eastern Mediterranean last month, causing one of Israel’s worst environmental disasters.
My comment: Israel tries to press harder on Iran (or on the Biden administration to block the Nuclear Deal).
and
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Israeli minister sticks to Iran ‘environmental terror’ claim
Israel’s environmental protection minister on Thursday stood by her allegation that a crude oil spill in the eastern Mediterranean last month was an intentional attack by Iran but provided no evidence for her claim.
cp10 Großbritannien / Great Britain
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Britain must act now to cut arms sales to Saudi Arabia following Khashoggi report
Britain must act now to end arms sales to Saudi Arabia for use in the war in Yemen, amid new evidence published by the US CIA report on Jamal Khashoggi. Fresh calls have been made by human rights groups and activists, in light of the Khashoggi report, detailing that Crown Prince Mohamed Bin Salman had indeed ordered the murder of Jamal Khashoggi.
However, Britain continues to be the second-largest exporter of arms sales, estimated to have £11 billion worth of orders – £1.4 billion of which were sent to Saudi Arabia after unrestricted arms sales resumed on 7 July, 2020. It is therefore ironic that Britain has cut vital aid to Yemen in a move that politicians have strongly condemned, and instead chooses to continue arming Saudi Arabia. Britain slashed up to 50 per cent of essential assistance to Yemen this year, but can continue to fund arms sales to Saudi that have caused its very destruction and turmoil.
The government is pushing forward with the arms sales, despite knowing that there is a risk of Saudi Arabia using these arms in the war in Yemen. They are continuing, despite our own foreign secretary's recent appeal for "international help to escape the tragedy". This is the brutal irony.
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UK government accused of ‘grotesque betrayal’ as full foreign aid cuts revealed
Leaks reveal plans to slash aid to world’s poorest countries. Bob Geldof brands move ‘shameful’ while Tory MPs call for Commons vote
The British government has plans to slash hundreds of millions of pounds in foreign aid to countries in conflict zones around the world, openDemocracy can reveal today.
In recent weeks, senior British civil servants have discussed cutting aid to Syria by two-thirds, from £137m pledged last year to just over £45m this year, despite this week’s pledge by Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab to provide humanitarian assistance to the war-torn Middle Eastern state.
The figures seen by openDemocracy reveal for the first time the scale of British aid cuts.
UK aid to Libya could fall by 63% in 2021-22. Assistance to Somalia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo could fall by roughly 60%. In South Sudan, where millions face catastrophic famine, the UK's aid spend is set to drop from £110m to just £45m.
These figures – which were discussed by senior officials at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) last month according to email correspondence seen by openDemocracy – included cutting British aid to Nigeria for the next financial year by 58%, and reducing assistance to the Western Balkans by 50%.
British spending in the Sahel region of Africa could also drop by more than 90%, from £340m to £23m. Aid to Lebanon could fall by 88%, although some of this shortfall will be covered by a rise in assistance from other government budgets.
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UK foreign aid: Yemen cut condemned by charities
More than 100 UK charities have condemned the government's decision to cut aid to Yemen, following cross-party criticism.
At least £87 million has been pledged in aid to the Middle Eastern country, down from £164m in 2019-2020.
A Foreign Office spokesman said the government remained "steadfast" in its support to the Yemeni people.
Yemen is among several Middle Eastern and African countries whose UK aid is at risk, a leaked email suggests.
In a letter to Boris Johnson, charities say the government has made a "misjudgement" by thinking the public is happy to turn away from countries affected by poverty, war and disease.
"History will not judge this nation kindly if the government chooses to step away from the people in Yemen and thus destroy the UK's global reputation as a country that steps up to help those most in need," the letter says.
Oxfam, Christian Aid, Save the Children and Care International are among the 101 signatories.
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-56301743
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/uk-yemen-aid-cut-boris-johnson-b1813153.html
and
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Film: More than 100 UK charities condemn aid cuts to Yemen
More than a hundred charities have written a joint letter to the Government condemning the decision to slash humanitarian aid to Yemen
They said it was a "misjudgement" to think the public was in favour of stepping away from helping those most in need. A leaked Foreign Office document seen by this programme suggests officials are considering sweeping cuts to a range of countries - a prospect that's been criticised by MPs from all sides.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bNFEvv6bHdI = https://www.facebook.com/Channel4News/posts/10158623204691939
(* A P)
Should Britain be Cutting Aid to Yemen?
The UN describes the situation as the worst ‘man-made’ humanitarian crisis the world faces.
That phrase ‘man-made’ is crucial. It lies in the fact that the crisis is due not just to the fact of the civil war but that the war has been turned into a bigger power game by the involvement of outside forces taking different sides.
It is in this context that critics say the cut in Britain’s aid to Yemen should be seen. During the course of the civil war Britain, along with other countries including the United States under Donald Trump, has been selling billions of pounds worth of arms to Saudi Arabia. Andrew Mitchell says this makes Britain ‘complicit’ in causing a catastrophe in which millions are suffering in a country to which we are now halving our humanitarian aid.
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Leader comment: Yemen: a moral test for the UK
It is, perhaps, unfair to look for signs of shame in the UK Government, which announced on Monday that it would be cutting its aid to Yemen this year by 50 per cent. Even at the new figure of £87 million, the UK is donating more than many other countries. Yet what factors should be considered when deciding to halve a particular aid budget?
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Yemen: UK Government’s aid reduction
The UK's pledge for 2021/22 represents around 54 percent of the £160 million announced for 2020/21.
The UK Government has announced a significant cut in aid to Yemen—home to the world’s largest humanitarian crisis and aid operation. The UN warns that Yemen is on the brink of famine.
The situation arises from a decade of political conflict and civil war between the Hadi Government, backed by a Saudi-led coalition, and Houthi rebels. The conflict has raised questions over whether the UK should be selling arms to Saudi Arabia, which Oxfam and Save the Children argue intensify the conflict.
The UK has recently secured a resolution on the conflict in the UN Security Council. The Government says the UK will remain “one of the largest donors,” to Yemen.
This Insight outlines reactions to the cut, the Government’s position and international efforts.
Critics say the cut reflects the UK Government’s announcement in the November 2020 Spending Review to reduce Official Development Assistance (ODA) from 0.7 per cent to 0.5 per cent of Gross National Income (GNI).
Five former Prime Ministers opposed the reduction—a position reiterated by David Cameron in an appearance before the Joint Committee on National Security Strategy on 1 March 2021. On 3 March, Prime Minister Johnson said “current straitened circumstances […] mean that we must temporarily reduce aid spending.”
Much reaction has been critical, though some MPs have stressed that a resolution to the conflict ultimately requires international co-operation. UN officials state an early end to the conflict and the humanitarian crisis are not in sight.
The Chair of the International Development Committee, Sarah Champion MP, said the decision “is completely at odds with the Government’s assertions that the UK should be a global leader, especially in the year with the G7 and COP presidencies.” The Chairs of the Foreign Affairs and Defence Committees have called on the Government to revisit the pledged amount.
Former Secretary of State for International Development, Andrew Mitchell, and former FCDO Minister, Baroness Sugg, have also criticised the pledge.
In an Urgent Question on 2 March 2021, Andrew Mitchell argued that the decision was “a harbinger of terrible cuts to come” in the UK’s aid budget. He also emphasised that any decision to move away from the 0.7 per cent aid target should only follow a vote in the Commons.
https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/yemen-uk-governments-aid-reduction/
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Sarah Leah Whitson: Wow @foreignoffice @DominicRaab first you supply the#Saudi bombs, trigger hunger, then you even abandon your “aid” to #Yemen. This war and all its harms is on the British government too. You owe reparations, not just aid.
https://twitter.com/sarahleah1/status/1367808102867828738
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CoH: My Lords, in response to the global pandemic, every other G7 member has increased aid. The UK is alone in choosing to cut it. What impact will this cut have on the UN’s ability to prevent famine in Yemen? I hope that the Minister and his Government will rethink this move and the plan to abandon the 0.7% target.
PoT: My Lords, there has been a 49% reduction in our contribution of support to the world’s poorest country, which has been afflicted with the worst cholera outbreak in global history. Will the Government now rethink the unlawful cut from 0.7% to 0.5%? If the Government were correct, and the focus of overseas aid was to be on the world’s poorest, there must have been a humanitarian impact assessment for this cut. Was one carried out? Will the Government publish it if it was?
https://www.theyworkforyou.com/lords/?id=2021-03-03a.1151.6&p=12847
(A P)
Film by Jeremy Corbyn: The war on Yemen must end. All arms sales to Saudi Arabia must end.
https://twitter.com/jeremycorbyn/status/1366764394160545797
(* A P)
Why the government must reverse the drastic cuts in aid to Yemen
The disastrous move is as close to snatching food from the mouths of babes as politics ever gets.
The conditions are in place in Yemen for a huge and avoidable tragedy, and we are walking away.
This is appalling because, as Andrew Mitchell, the former international development secretary, candidly put it, we are “complicit” in the region.
Yet even more than that, the decision to curtail British help is egregious because children will die as a direct result. Amartya Sen’s pioneering work on famines has shown beyond doubt that they are not caused by an absence of food. They are caused by an absence of entitlements to food.
Money confers an entitlement to food and we have decided to withdraw that money. This is as close to snatching food from the mouths of babes as politics ever gets.
There are two impulses behind this decision, which has its roots in Rishi Sunak’s terrible choice to cut Britain’s aid commitment from 0.7 to 0.5 per cent of GDP. The first is pure populism. No doubt it tests well in the focus groups if you mouth some homily or other about charity beginning at home while cutting vital aid to people suffering the slow torture of starvation. I’m sure Sunak will be feted on the Tory chicken-dinner circuit, when it resumes, for his marvellous patriotism.
The second reason for the cut is a fault line between the Chancellor and the Prime Minister that is bound to crack and open up over time. Sunak wants to cut spending but Boris Johnson dare not do so. That fundamental disagreement, to which we will have to return, leads to bad decisions, such as taking a pittance from people in a far-flung part of the world who have so little
https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/uk/2021/03/why-government-must-reverse-drastic-cuts-aid-yemen
more: https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/boris-s-aid-cuts-problem-isn-t-going-away
(A P)
Government puts arms before aid in Yemen, says Carmichael
https://www.shetlandtimes.co.uk/2021/03/04/government-puts-arms-before-aid-in-yemen-says-carmichael
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Bond statement in response to PMQs and Yemen aid cuts
“It is alarming to hear the PM suggest that cutting aid by 60% to one of the world’s worst humanitarian crisis in Yemen shouldn’t be the focus of any questions during PMQs. The UK should not be balancing its books on the shoulders of families starving to death. This will damage Britain's standing in the world in a year when the UK is hosting G7 and COP26. The cuts must urgently be reversed before more lives are lost.”
https://www.bond.org.uk/press-releases/2021/03/bond-statement-in-response-to-pmqs-and-yemen-aid-cuts
(A P)
A report revealed Meghan Markle wore a pair of earrings gifted to her by the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia Mohammed bin Salman, who was linked to the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi @Piersmorgan asks how that sits with her values?
https://twitter.com/GMB/status/1367002236862271491
cp11 Deutschland / Germany
(B H P)
Ich kam mit einer Tasche voller Hoffnung
Die jemenitische Journalistin Tarfah Al-Fadhli freute sich auf eine bessere Zukunft in Deutschland. Nun wundert sie sich über dieses Land.
Ich fand auch weitere Tatsachen, die meine rosigen Erwartungen zunichte machten, vor allem was die Diskriminierung geflüchteter Frauen bei der Jobsuche betrifft. Das macht mich glauben, dass Frauen in jeder Ecke dieser Erde immer leiden, und ganz unten steht die Flüchtlingsfrau.
Für mich persönlich war eine der seltsamsten Situationen folgende: Als ich mit einem deutschen Mann verlobt war, nach zwei Jahren unserer Beziehung, gingen wir zum Standesamt, um die Hochzeit vorzubereiten. Eines der erforderlichen Dokumente war die Zustimmung meines Vormunds! Die Worte der Mitarbeiterin trafen mich wie ein Blitz. Ich sagte zu ihr: Meine Eltern sind tot, und ich bin nach Deutschland geflohen, aus meiner Gemeinde und weg von meinen Brüdern! Vom wem soll ich eine Genehmigung erhalten? Sie antwortete mir: „Sie sind Jemenitin und wir unterliegen dem Recht des Landes, aus dem der Einzelne stammt. Dies sind die Gesetze!“
Ich habe mich gefragt, warum stimmt Deutschland solchen ungerechten Gesetzen unserer Herkunftsgesellschaften zu und wendet sie hier bei uns Flüchtlingen an? Eine Juraprofessorin sagte mir Monate später: Wenn die Ehegesetze des Heimatlands den Werten der Gleichberechtigung klar widersprechen, sind unter Umständen Ausnahmen möglich. Ich hoffe es!
Berichte über sie von 2016: https://gegenwind.info/337/interview_mit_tarfah_al-fadhli.html
https://www.zeit.de/politik/ausland/2016-01/jemen-krieg-revolution-protokolle/komplettansicht
cp12 Andere Länder / Other countries
Emirates: Look at / Siehe cp1
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Arms in Arabia: “Bombs on civilians. And Italy knew "
In the three-year Matteo Renzi government, the authorizations for the export of arms to Saudi Arabia have more than tripled, going from 126.5 million in 2013 to 427.5 million in 2016, when Italy gave the green light to maxi order of 20 thousand bombs by the Rwm (411 million euros), the largest for heavy ammunition since the war
The decision of the Roman prosecutors conducting the investigation is linked to that of the judge for preliminary investigations, Roberta Conforti, who on February 22 did not accept the request for filing because, according to the papers, "the situation of the conflict in Yemen and the potential risk that the arms exported could be used in violation of international humanitarian law ”. To link the killing of the al-Ahdal family to the bombs exported from Italy to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates was the discovery, among the rubble of their house razed to the ground by coalition fighters, of the suspension ring of the bomb produced by the Rwm and that, as reported by the prosecutors themselves, "it was shipped to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates between 9 April and 15 November 2015",that is when the military operations and air raids conducted on Yemeni territory by the Saudi-led coalition were already known. In short, for the investigating judge when the bombs are sold, the conflict situation in Yemen was clear.
(A P)
Lawrow plant Golfstaaten-Besuch
Das russische Außenmisterum kündigte am Donnerstag an, dass Lawrow zwischen dem 8. und 12. März die arabischen Staaten Saudi-Arabien, Katar und die Emirate in der Golfregion besuchen wolle.
"Sie würden einen umfassenden Meinungsaustausch über aktuelle Fragen der Nahost-Agenda führen, wobei der Schwerpunkt auf der Notwendigkeit liegt, die anhaltenden Konflikte in der Region am Verhandlungstisch zu lösen, und die rechtmäßigen Interessen und Anliegen aller Beteiligten berücksichtigt werden. Die Aussichten für eine langfristige Beilegung der Krisen in Syrien, Libyen, dem Jemen, dem Golfgebiet und den arabisch-israelischen Beziehungen werden in diesem Zusammenhang ermittelt."
https://de.rt.com/der-nahe-osten/114008-lawrow-plant-golfstaaten-besuch-ansarullah/
(A P)
Princess Latifa: UN 'yet to see proof of life' from UAE
The UN says it has not yet seen evidence that the daughter of Dubai's ruler is alive, two weeks after seeking proof from the United Arab Emirates.
Princess Latifa Al Maktoum tried to flee the country in 2018. In footage shared with BBC Panorama, she claims commandos drugged her as she fled by boat and flew her back to detention.
Contact from her has since stopped.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-56293911
(A P)
I released Princess Latifa’s ‘prison’ video. I pray it doesn’t backfire
The woman who tried to help Sheikh Mohammed’s daughter escape her oppressive family agonised over what to do with the footage (paywalled)
(A K P)
New Zealand: KiwiSaver fund reconsidering investment in company with Yemen war link
Amnesty NZ says a company Kiwi Wealth invests in was the manufacturer of a laser-guided bomb used in June 2019 in a Saudi and Emirati-led air strike on a home in Yemen, killing six civilians including three children.
and
(A K P)
ANZ sells shareholdings in Yemen war-linked companies, puts them on KiwiSaver exclusion list
(* B P)
Yemen war: How Oman and the US are finding common ground
As the Biden administration seeks an end to the conflict and Muscat continues its mediating role, there is a golden opportunity to resolve the six-year crisis
“Oman keeps the same distance from all Yemeni parties,” an Omani diplomat in Washington told Middle East Eye. “Therefore, it calls upon all the parties to rally around the table of constructive dialogue in order to reach a peaceful and consensual solution to the ongoing conflict.”
Differing perspectives on the Houthis and the overall situation in war-torn Yemen have fuelled tensions between Oman on one side, and Saudi Arabia and the UAE on the other. By participating in joint military drills with the British in 2018, Oman signalled its opposition to Emirati military actions in eastern Yemen and the UAE’s Yemen policy at large, according to the Sanaa-based Abaad research centre.
Despite such dynamics adding friction to Oman’s relations with its two immediate GCC neighbours, Muscat’s engagement with the Houthis has led to a gradual buildup of mutual trust. Just two months after Saudi Arabia launched offensive operations in Yemen in March 2015, Oman hosted peace talks in Muscat, which included Houthi representatives and US diplomats.
Oman takes its diplomatic role in Yemen seriously, especially as the continuation of the war and all its humanitarian crises represent the gravest direct security threat to Oman, which shares a 187-mile border with Yemen. Within this context, helping the parties involved to resolve the crisis is a high regional policy priority for Muscat.
Since the outset of the Saudi-led military intervention in Yemen in 2015, the Omanis have seen the conflict worsen, and sought to assist in all efforts to push for a diplomatic settlement based on compromises. Officials in Muscat have always believed that it was not feasible for the Arab coalition to achieve its goals in Yemen through military means; now, the White House has new occupants who share this understanding.
Biden’s administration will probably place much more value on Oman’s diplomatic role in Yemen than the Trump administration did, as with a 24 February conversation between US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Omani Foreign Minister Sayyid Badr al-Busaidi.
As the Houthis’ state sponsor and arms provider, Iran will need to be engaged in Yemen’s peace talks. Just as Oman served as a diplomatic bridge between Washington and Tehran on the nuclear dossier, Muscat can also facilitate dialogue between the US and Iran on the Yemen crisis. This conflict is an opportunity for the Biden administration and Tehran to develop some degree of trust that could translate into progress on nuclear talks.
Just as the government of Oman worked closely with the Obama administration in 2012 and 2013 in facilitating the US-Iran dialogue that laid the groundwork for the nuclear deal, officials in Muscat will again be working with many of these same figures, now back at the helm of US foreign policy in the Biden administration as they seek to intensify diplomatic efforts to end the war in Yemen.
https://www.middleeasteye.net/opinion/yemen-war-how-us-and-oman-are-finding-common-ground
(A H P)
Oman Reiterates Commitment to Provide Aid For Yemen
(A P)
Negotiation best way to solve Yemen crisis, Qatar
Qatar on Tuesday said the best way to solve the crisis in Yemen is the negotiation between the Yemenis in accordance with the outcomes of the national dialog conference, the Gulf Initiative and the UN resolutions, especially the resolution 2216.
The statement was made by the Qatari Minister of Foreign Affairs
https://debriefer.net/en/news-23521.html
My comment: By quoting the Hadi government’s “Three references” Qatar returns to the Saudi orbit.
(A P)
Iran: USA müssen für ihre Verbrechen im Jemen zur Rechenschaft gezogen werden
Der Sprecher des Außenministeriums der Islamischen Republik betonte, dass die USA nicht nur für ihre eigenen Verbrechen, die sie sechs Jahre lang im Jemen begangen haben, zur Rechenschaft gezogen werden müssen, sondern auch keine falschen Anschuldigungen gegen andere Länder erheben dürfen.
„Die Aggressoren und Feinde des jemenitischen Volkes, die in den letzten 6 Jahren Tausende von unschuldigen Menschen getötet, die Ressourcen und die Infrastruktur dieses Landes zerstört, vom Verkauf von Waffen an die saudische Koalition profitiert haben und mit dem Blut ihrer Leben gehandelt haben, versuchen sie jetzt, sich ihrer Verantwortung für diese Verbrechen zu entziehen und die öffentliche Aufmerksamkeit durch falsche Anschuldigungen abzulenken, da sie erkannt haben, dass ihre militärische und unmenschliche Strategie gegen die widerstandsfähige jemenitische Nation gescheitert ist“, erklärte Saeed Khatibzadeh.
(A P)
Aggressors, enemies of Yemeni people cannot make baseless accusations against others: Khatibzadeh
Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh stressed on Wednesday that Americans should be held accountable for six years of crimes in Yemen. They cannot act as a claimant and make baseless accusations against others.
Khatibzadeh made the remarks in reaction to US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken statement accusing Iran of escalating tensions in Yemen.
“Knowing that their inhumane approach against the resistant Yemeni nation has failed, aggressors and enemies of Yemeni people – who have killed innocent Yemeni nation during the past six years and destroyed resources and infrastructure of this great country and earned profits from trading of lives and selling arms to the Saudi coalition – are seeking to divert the public’s attention and deny their crimes through projections, while the historic memory of the Yemeni nation and the world will never forget their crimes and they will remain infamous in history,” he said.
(* B K P)
Italian judge extends inquiry into Yemen deaths
Fragments of bomb that killed family of six in air raid in 2016 were traced back to RWM Italia
A judge in Rome has ordered a six-month extension of an investigation into the alleged involvement of Italian-made weapons in a bombardment that killed a family of six in Yemen.
The Ahdal family were killed on 6 October 2016 when their home in Deir al-Jari, a village in north-west Yemen, was destroyed during an overnight bombing campaign led by Saudi Arabia.
Fragments of the bomb that killed the family were traced back to RWM Italia, a unit of the German arms manufacturer Rheinmetall AG. RWM Italia is headquartered in northern Italy, with production facilities on the island of Sardinia. The Italian export authority, UAMA, is also under investigation.
The six-month extension of the case, which prosecutors had previously said should be dismissed, comes as it was reported by La Stampa newspaper this week that the export of Italian weapons to Saudi Arabia increased significantly when Matteo Renzi was prime minister between early 2014 and late 2016.
Renzi, a senator who leads the small Italia Viva party, was fiercely condemned in January after attending an investment forum in Riyadh. During the Future Investment Initiative (FII) event he interviewed Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and heaped praise on him, while citing Saudi Arabia as “a place for a new renaissance for the future”.
Renzi has faced increasing pressure in recent days to clarify his relations with the country.
The investigation into RWM Italia and UAMA began after legal action by a group of human rights organisations from Italy, Germany and Yemen in 2018 asking prosecutors to look into whether there had been a violation of Italian and international law in the sale of arms to Saudi Arabia.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/mar/03/italian-judge-extends-inquiry-into-yemen-deaths
cp12b Sudan
(A P)
Egypt president el-Sissi visits Sudan amid rapprochement
Egypt’s president arrived in Sudan on Saturday, his first visit to the country since a popular uprising led to the military’s overthrow of longtime autocrat Omar al-Bashir in 2019.
https://apnews.com/article/ethiopia-egypt-cairo-khartoum-sudan-3fdf4880dddecbe1afe59acabdd3f8bb
cp14 Terrorismus / Terrorism
(A T)
The Yemeni Press Network # Yazan is uniquely publishing details of a lightning operation by the US Marines that succeeded in arresting a leader in al-Qaeda, described as the organization’s black box, in the Hadramawt governorate, eastern Yemen, as well as the process of transferring him to one of the US military bases in the region.
https://twitter.com/YazaanNet/status/1368158232611594243
referring to https://yazaan.net/news522.html
(A T)
#AlQaeda-linked media releases its #jihad stats for February. Likely exaggerated but confirms most active theatres as #Afghanistan (219 ops, 932 killed) & East #Africa (168 ops, 225 killed) Claims 5 #Yemen ops, whereas formal #AQAP wire claimed only 1. May suggest fragmentation
https://twitter.com/Dr_E_Kendall/status/1367844556050337794
(B T)
SIA reveals information about al-Qaeda in Marib
The [Sanaa gov.] Security and Intelligence Agency (SIA) on Friday issued for the first time an intelligence report contains information about Al-Qaida and its activities in Marib province.
The report revealed the organizational structure of Al-Qaida in the so-called "the state of Marib" and the houses, farms and hotels al-Qaeda leaders and members use as shelters.
It also uncovered the types of weapons they have obtained and places to hide them, their training camps, the secret routes through which they smuggle the weapons, their relationship with the mercenaries and their presence on the battlefronts.
The reason behind publishing such information, as the agency said, is to show the public how huge is the conspiracy against the Yemeni people, as well as how much support and facilitation Al-qaida elements receive from the countries of aggression, particularly the USA, which claims to fight terrorism.
The agency promised to publish a detailed report with maps and coordinates confirming these information to all local and foreign media outlets.
https://www.saba.ye/en/news3131229.htm
cp15 Propaganda
(A P)
Iranian terrorist militias claim to have active cells in Washington
Iranian militia groups claim to have active cells of operatives stationed in Washington, D.C., and other U.S. cities, according to chatter in online forums used by these groups.
Kawtheryoon Electronic Team, a Telegram network used by Iranian militia groups and supporters, claimed in a recent posting that Iranian "resistance cells are rooted even in America and its capital," according to a copy of the English-language posting captured by the Middle East Media Research Institute, which tracks radical groups.
The group additionally claimed that terror factions associated with Iran are growing stronger and attracting more support than ever before. The group demanded the United States withdraw all of its troops from Iraq and the Middle East. The post included a picture of caskets containing U.S. soldiers.
http://en.adenpress.news/news/32408
(A P)
[Hadi gov.] Yemeni FM urges Houthis to prioritize national interest over Iran agenda
The Yemeni foreign minister on Friday called on the Houthi group to listen to reason and prioritize the Yemenis' interest over Iran's devastating agenda in the region.
https://debriefer.net/en/news-23593.html
LOl. This is told by a Saudi agenda hitman.
(A P)
Yemen MP: Houthis will yield to peace in this case only
Yemeni parliamentarian Shawqi Alqadhi said the Houthi theocratic militia fighting a six-year war against the government and its supporting population will only yield to peace only if they are defeated militarily and arms are withdrawn from their hands
https://www.alsahwa-yemen.net/en/p-45512
(A P)
Watch: Yemeni fighters sing war song against Houthis while fighting near Marib
A video circulating on social media shows Yemeni fighters singing a war song against the Iran-backed Houthi militia while fighting on the Kssara front, west of the city of Marib.
The Arabic song lyrics translate to: “By God, death on the fronts is glory. Better than a death on a bed.”
(A P)
Is Biden Content For Iran To Conquer Yemen? – OpEd
It is generally accepted that one key factor, among others, uniting Israel and the Arab signatories to the Abraham Accords is to frustrate Iran’s aspiration to dominate the Middle East. The Iranian regime pursues this ambition unremittingly across the region, both directly by way of its own Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in Syria and Iraq, and through a variety of proxies like Hezbollah in Lebanon, Hamas in Gaza, extremist groups in Iraq and the Gulf, and in Yemen by way of the Houthis.
The Biden administration’s reaction to the Iranian threat, and in particular to Iran’s increasingly powerful position in Yemen via its Houthi proxy, has been less than comforting to the Sunni Arab world and to Israel.
The Biden White House is downgrading the effort led by Saudi Arabia to deny Iran a major role in Yemen’s future. Instead it is giving first priority to relieving the humanitarian disaster facing the country.
It can only be hoped that the full shape of Biden’s reconceived policy in Yemen and beyond has not yet been revealed. As it stands, the US appears to be reverting to the failed assumptions of the Obama administration ‒ namely that appeasing the Iranian regime will somehow result in it complying with the norms of international conduct. That approach certainly did not work over the eight years of the Obama administration, and it will not again.
What the world’s political leaders cannot, or will not, believe is that Iran has its own agenda. It is pursuing domination of the Middle East and supports a widespread Shi’ite terrorist network to achieve it.
https://www.eurasiareview.com/05032021-is-biden-content-for-iran-to-conquer-yemen-oped/
(A P)
The hatred and hostility underpinning Yemeni Houthis’ political ideology
As far back as March 8, 2002, Hussein Badreddin gave a sermon in Yemen’s northern Saada province calling for acts of terrorism against non-Muslims. In a pamphlet, titled “Terrorism and Peace,” he falsely claimed: “Muslims, this is what the Holy Quran states. Believers, you must do everything you can to terrorize the enemies of God.
“This is legitimate terrorism. But instead of talking about legitimate terrorism, we are the ones listening to the media and leaders, and allowing the word (terrorism) to echo in its American meaning and not in its Quranic meaning.”
In the same inflammatory sermon, Hussein Badreddin identified non-Muslims as the root of all evil and America as a terrorist entity.
“We must always talk about the Jews and the Christians just as God spoke about them in the Holy Quran, that they are the sources of evil, and those who have them are the sources of corruption, and that they are the ones who seek corruption on Earth,” he falsely claimed, arguing it is necessary “to firmly establish in the minds of Muslims that the US is a terrorist, that the US is evil, that Jews and Christians are evil so that they will not precede us.”
Hussein Badreddin also voiced virulently anti-Semitic views about Israel and displayed a puritanical attitude toward women’s education, viewing the latter as a Zionist conspiracy against Muslims.
In another of his sermons, published in a December 2001 pamphlet titled “Who are we and who are they,” he sounded the false warning that educated women “will eventually learn how to become a woman that is far from giving birth to a true Muslim Arab, far from giving birth to and raising Muslim heroes. She will rather raise Zionist soldiers and give birth to a society and generations who will become their servants.”
In a December 2001 sermon, titled “Loyalty and hostility,” Hussein Badreddin made the baseless claim that confrontation with the West was a religious duty, because Jewish and Christian culture corrupted young Muslims: “When a person becomes corrupt, lets their children become corrupt, or corrupts others, they are considered recruiters for the service of the US and Israel, and the service of Jews and Christians. This proves their keenness to get what they want, and for their corruption to reach every house and every person, just as the devil wants. This is the devil’s plan.”
In many of his sermons and writings, Hussein Badreddin spoke highly of Iran’s Shiite theocracy and the Lebanese Hezbollah, which he once called “the most important masters of jihad in this world.”
Abdul-Malik, the current leader, is cut from the same cloth.
https://www.arabnews.com/node/1820456/middle-east
(A P)
International lenience towards Houthis emboldens them to go too far in bloodshed: PM
Yemen’s [Hadi gov.] Prime Minister Maeen Abdulmalik said the international lenience with the Houthi militia “emboldens them to defying peae efforts and to go too far in bloodshed.
https://www.alsahwa-yemen.net/en/p-45493
My comment: there had been a 6 years “lenice” towards saudi/UAE slaughter in Yemen (UNSCR 2216).
(A P)
Yemen’s Joint Declaration: A bigger repeat of the stalled Hodeida Agreement?
Since the global outbreak of COVID-19 a year ago, the U.N. special envoy has sought to use the urgency engendered by the pandemic to broker a nationwide cease-fire alongside a set of confidence-building measures — branded as the JD — between the Houthi rebels and the Republic of Yemen Government (ROYG). But the content of the proposal is not new, nor is it a recipe for effective de-escalation and sustainable conflict resolution. Rather, in many respects, it is a further normalization of the status quo. It involves a series of concessions favorable to the Houthis before unconditionally reviving comprehensive peace talks under the guise of “temporary and special mechanisms” to address “dire humanitarian and economic needs” — a scenario akin to what happened in Hodeida with the December 2018 Stockholm Agreement.
The leaked version of the JD, the content of which had barely changed as of January 2021, addressed several humanitarian, political, economic, environmental, health, and security issues in one basket, under three sub-proposals.
The JD’s diversity of topics and vague provisions are reminiscent of the Stockholm Agreement. To grasp how problematic that was, as well as its ramifications, one need only revisit one of its key elements, the Hodeida Agreement, and its failure to be implemented. For example, the Houthis neither withdrew nor redeployed their militias, nor did they keep revenues from the port of Hodeida in a joint account at the Central Bank of Yemen (CBY) branch in the city for the payment of salaries, as had been agreed. The JD’s adoption of strategic ambiguity akin to Stockholm necessitates lengthy post-agreement negotiations, hindering tangible progress and protracting the conflict, while granting actors other than the ROYG time and space to strategize and consolidate their gains.
Against this backdrop, a diverse group of more than 40 Yemeni civil society activists expressed serious concerns about the draft JD.
In mid-2020, the Yemeni government rejected the JD’s content, deeming it pro-Houthi and in contradiction to internal and external peace references. Rasha Jarhum, the co-founder of Peace Track, a Yemeni female-led peacebuilding initiative, echoed the government’s concerns, pointing out that the JD proposal “jumps over the three peace references: the 2011 GCC initiative, the Outcomes of the National Dialogue Conference (2014), and international resolutions,” and is largely pro-Houthi.
The JD normalizes the role of the Houthi insurgency by legitimizing their involvement in sovereign issues, such as the generation and distribution of revenues and resources, without their having to make concessions and prior to the resumption of comprehensive peace talks. This, in turn, reduces their incentive to engage in the process in good faith, raises the ceiling for their demands, and secures them more free wins.
https://www.mei.edu/publications/yemens-joint-declaration-bigger-repeat-stalled-hodeida-agreement
My comment: Published by a Saudi/UAE-financed think tank. The text reflects the unwillingness to accept that peace only is possible based on the status quo. Instead, the authors insist on a kind of the idea that “peace” should fix the superiority of the Hadi government combined with a submission of the Houthis (the Sanaa government). The authors neglect the reality that Yemen has two governments and that to keep Yemen unity a new government would be necessary – which could not be the Hadi government (and the Sanaa government as well). Objecting that the UN would be biased in favour of the Houthis is ridiculous; up to now, the UN (bound by UNSCR 2216) was biased in favour of the Hadi government. If the new JD now tries to be more neutral, pro-Hadi government thinkers already start crying for pro-Houthi bias.
(A P)
Biden Can’t Bring Peace to Yemen While Iran Keeps Sending Weapons
The latest round of U.S. diplomacy will fail without additional leverage
By ending support for the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen, U.S. President Joe Biden has sought to put pressure on Riyadh. But pressuring only one side in a conflict—while failing to apply real pressure on the other—simply leaves the latter emboldened.
That is exactly what we have seen in recent weeks. The Houthis have launched a massive offensive against Yemeni government forces supported by Saudi Arabia, seeking to break a multi-year stalemate in fighting on the ground. The Houthis control most of northwestern Yemen and have consolidated their rule from Yemen’s capital, Sana’a.
Why should we expect anything else from the Houthis? They see tremendous pressure on Riyadh while Washington recently removed the terror group’s designation as a foreign terrorist organization. Meanwhile, they continue to enjoy a reliable supply of weapons from Tehran. That allows the Houthis to continue fighting while refusing to negotiate in good faith.
Pressuring Riyadh while essentially giving the Houthis a free pass has created an asymmetry that no amount of shrewd shuttle diplomacy can overcome. Any successful effort to end the conflict—and thereby address the humanitarian crisis—must create new pressure on all parties. In particular, a more serious effort to interdict Tehran’s arms shipments would put greater pressure on the Houthis.
To accomplish this, the U.S. Defense Department should position sufficient military resources in the region and provide commanders with clear instructions to prioritize the interdiction effort. The U.S. Congress should press the Biden administration on what it is currently doing to interdict Iranian weapons shipments—and ask what more can be done.
The newly confirmed U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, should actively press the U.N. Security Council to do more to enforce its resolutions and raise the costs Tehran bears for its arms shipments to Yemen. If Beijing and Moscow obstruct, Washington should not mince words about what their obstruction will do to the Yemeni people.
Such an approach would serve regional security interests and create the best opportunity for ending a conflict that has created one of, if not the world’s worst, humanitarian crisis. That is a policy around which both hawks and humanitarians should be able to unite.
https://foreignpolicy.com/2021/03/04/biden-yemen-peace-saudi-arabia-houthis-iran-weapons/
My comment: This really is strange propaganda. Just one point: Why Iranian arms supply to the Houthis should block peace efforts while US arms sales to Saudis and UAE should not? According to Bruce Riedel, Iranian arms supplies might count “tens of millions” a year, while US supplies obviously count tens of billions a year. That’s a relationship of 1:1000; which really is an obstacle to peace? This really would be a serious article 8and spin), headed: ! Biden Can’t Bring Peace to Yemen While the US Keeps Sending Weapons”.
(A P)
Only a strong White House can end Yemen's civil war
If US President Joe Biden is really serious about bringing Yemen’s appalling civil war to an end, then his administration needs to act more robustly than the measures it has taken so far in terms of curbing the malign involvement of Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in the conflict.
Having initiated the fighting back in 2014, when Houthi rebels overthrew the internationally recognised government of Abdrabbu Mansour Hadi, the Houthis and their Iranian backers have been primarily responsible for prolonging the conflict by consistently frustrating UN-sponsored efforts to negotiate a lasting ceasefire. The Houthis also bear much of the responsibility for the dreadful humanitarian crisis the country now faces because the Houthis control most of the main aid supplies into the country, and have, in effect, been able to hold Yemen’s starving civilian population to ransom over aid distribution.
Another area where the Houthis have contributed significantly to prolonging the conflict is by extending the fighting beyond Yemen’s borders, with Houthi forces regularly using Iranian-made weapons to attack civilian targets in neighbouring Saudi Arabia.
(A P)
Iran Allies Escalate Attacks Despite Joe Biden Diplomacy, Sanctions
My comment: Overview article, the headline already shows the spin.
(A P)
UN helped create Battle of Stalingrad in Yemen. It can’t cover it up
The UN has done no bigger harm to Yemen recently than getting the Houthis, a Shiit ISIS-like militia, removed from the US terror list.
Soon after the US indicated its will to unlist Houthis in response to the UN’s appeals, the militia launched a renewed offensive on Marib in an unprecedentedly long and ferocious way that it qualifies to be called the Battle of Stalingrad.
https://www.alsahwa-yemen.net/en/p-45469
(A P)
#Saudi Minister of #Islamic Affairs “ History & the world has never seen anything like the crimes of #MuslimBrotherhood
https://twitter.com/AliAlAhmed_en/status/1367149340050001925
referring to
(A P)
Minister of Islamic Affairs: There has never been an example in history and the world of Muslim Brotherhood crimes
The Minister of Islamic Affairs, Advocacy and Guidance, Sheikh Dr. Abdul Latif bin Abdulaziz Al Al-Sheikh, The danger of the Muslim Brotherhood has now become a tangible reality that all the people of the world are witnessing because of the terrorist acts they carry out in their homelands. The world has this brutal characteristic that we see now in many Arab and Islamic countries. Indeed, their evil has transcended and their conspiracy transcended to other countries in which we have seen what we have seen of some of the crimes committed by some members of this misguided group or at their direction or intellectual support. This came in a hadeeth. On the occasion of launching the advocacy and indicative initiative to emphasize the contents of the statement of the Council of Senior Scholars, with the participation of the Ministry of Education and the Presidency of State Security.
He added: My message to all the people of the Islamic world is to be bitten by the destruction, displacement, and bloodshed that happened in the neighboring countries, the violation of symptoms, the robbery of money, and the destruction of homelands, and there is no doubt that this is a practical message that embodies the danger of this lost group, for all peoples of the world, not peoples. The Arab and Islamic worlds, cooperate in order to end the evil of this misguided, oppressive group, and not cooperate with it and be lenient with them, because they are dangerous cancer foci that develop, recite and multiply in the homelands in which they work.
https://www.alriyadh.com/1872893
(A P)
More Saudi coalition „We are benefactors“ propaganda
https://www.spa.gov.sa/viewfullstory.php?lang=en&newsid=2197546
https://www.spa.gov.sa/viewfullstory.php?lang=en&newsid=2197541
https://www.spa.gov.sa/viewfullstory.php?lang=en&newsid=2197503
https://www.spa.gov.sa/viewfullstory.php?lang=en&newsid=2197383
https://www.spa.gov.sa/viewfullstory.php?lang=en&newsid=2197368
https://www.spa.gov.sa/viewfullstory.php?lang=en&newsid=2197332
https://www.spa.gov.sa/viewfullstory.php?lang=en&newsid=2197154
https://www.spa.gov.sa/viewfullstory.php?lang=en&newsid=2197153
cp16 Saudische Luftangriffe / Saudi air raids
(* A K pH)
Saudi coalition air raids and shelling day by day
March 4: https://www.facebook.com/lcrdye/photos/a.551858951631141/1954379498045739/
March 3: https://www.facebook.com/lcrdye/photos/a.551858951631141/1954378591379163/
March 2: https://www.facebook.com/lcrdye/photos/a.551858951631141/1954377741379248/
(A K)
Three Yemeni gov't troops reportedly killed by coalition airstrike
Three of the Yemeni official government troops were killed and others wounded on Friday in an airstrike by the Saudi-led coalition in the northeastern governorate of Marib, said a Yemeni reporter working for Al-Jazeera.
"A military source told me that a confusion occurred between coordinates sent to aircraft and army's restoration" of the targeted sites, Ahmed al-Shalafi added on Facebook.
According to official sources, the government troops' sites in al-Kasarah front in Marib were shelled by the Houthis, but not by the coalition aircraft.
https://debriefer.net/en/news-23585.html
(A K pS)
IN VIDEO: SAUDI FIGHTER JETS DESTROY HOUTHI DRONE ON THE GROUND, FEW MINUTES BEFORE LAUNCH
The Saudi-led coalition announced on March 5 that it had thwarted an attempt by the Houthis (Ansar Allah) to launch a drone attack on Saudi Arabia.
In a statement, the coalition said that its warplanes had struck a unit of the Houthis that was about to launch a Qasef-type suicide drone at the Kingdom. The coalition shared footage of the successful aerial operation.
Film: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iKihu7lDivw
(A K pS)
Film: Moment when Saudi-led Coalition airstrike hit a Houthi armored vehicle near Mass camp in Madghal district northwest #Marib today.
https://twitter.com/Alsakaniali/status/1368247619554803715
and
(A K P)
Saudi-backed puppet government of Yemen “concerned” about friendly fire bombings by Saudis
An official memorandum revealed that the Saudi-led Hadi puppet government’s Ministry of Defence is “very concerned” about the news of friendly fire airstrikes launched by Saudi-led coalition aircraft on its forces.
Activists on social media circulated a memorandum issued by the office of Defence Minister Mohammed al-Maqdashi, demanding that the Department of Moral Guidance refrain from dealing with the news of Saudi air raids on Hadi loyalist forces (document)
(A K pH)
US-Saudi Raids Injures Child, Sana'a
A child was injured, Wednesday, while sheep herding in Sana'a governorate with 2 US-Saudi airstrikes.
Almasirah net correspondent stated that US-Saudi aggression launched 2 raids on Khawlan Al-Tyal district which resulted the injuring of the child and killing number of livestock.
https://english.almasirah.net/post/18084/US-Saudi-Raids-Injures-Child%2C-Sana-a
(A K pH)
More Saudi coalition air raids
https://english.almasirah.net/post/18119/US-Saudi-Aggression-Launches-31-Raids-on-Marib Marib p.
https://english.almasirah.net/post/18128/US-Saudi-Aggrition-s-Daily-Update-for-Friday%2C-Mar.5.2021 / https://hodhodyemennews.net/2021/03/06/saudi-forces-carry-out-33-airstrikes/ Marib p., Jawf p., Najran
cp17 Kriegsereignisse / Theater of War
Siehe / Look at cp18
Im Jemen herrscht ein militärisches Patt. Eine größere Offensive mit größeren Erfolgen und Geländegewinnen für eine Seite bleiben seit der Offensive der saudischen Koalition gegen Hodeidah im Jahr 2018 aus. Kleinere Offensiven, ständige gegenseitige Angriffe und Gefechte mit Toten auf beiden Seiten und Opfern unter der Zivilbevölkerung gibt es aber ständig. Besonders betroffen sind die Provinzen Hodeidah, Taiz, Al Bayda, Al Dhalea, der Bezirk Nehm in der Provinz Sanaa, die Provinzen Al Jawf, Marib, Hajjah und Saada.
There is a military stalemate in Yemen. A larger offensive with greater successes and territorial gains for one side has been absent since the Saudi coalition's offensive against Hodeidah in 2018. Smaller offensives, constant mutual attacks and skirmishes killing fighters of both sides and causing victims among the civilian population are constant. The provinces of Hodeidah, Taiz, Al Bayda, Al Dhalea, the district of Nehm in the province of Sanaa, the provinces of Al Jawf, Marib, Hajjah and Saada are particularly affected.
(A K pS)
After shelling a hospital, Houthi militia targets a school, in Taiz
Photos: https://twitter.com/RepublicanYemen/status/1368191087928565766
https://twitter.com/Yemen24/status/1368288724195438592
(A K)
Yemen: 13 Soldiers Killed and Wounded in a Drone Attack in Taiz
A soldier was killed and 12 others wounded in a bomb-laden blast targeting a military training camp in the countryside of Taiz governorate. In a statement , the military police division of the government military forces said that their forces shot down the bomb drone for the Shiite Houthi rebels which was flying over a military training camp in Al-Shamayteen district.
https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/yemen-13-soldiers-killed-and-wounded-in-a-drone-attack-in-taiz-1.1573198
Photo: https://twitter.com/Alsakaniali/status/1368342689780006918
(A K pH)
[Sanaa gov.] Army hits King Khalid base, Abha International Airport
The air forces hit on Friday Khamis Mushait and Abha cities of Saudi Arabia, the army's spokesman said.
The air force launched on Friday dawn 3 unmanned aircrafts of Sammad 3 and Qasef-2K on vital targets at King Khalid base in Khamis Mushait and Abha International Airport, Brig. Gen. Yahya Sare'i said.
Sare'i confirmed that the strikes were accurate, adding that the strikes came in response to the escalation of the aggression and the continued siege against the Yemeni people.
The air forces struck the hangars of the enemy warplanes at Abha International Airport with a Qasef-2K drone on Tuesday evening, while another drone of the same type hit on Thursday an important site at King Khalid base in Khamis Mushait.
https://www.saba.ye/en/news3131195.htm
and also https://english.almasirah.net/post/18114/Yemeni-Drones-Target-King-Khalid-Air-Base-in-Saudi-Depth
https://hodhodyemennews.net/2021/03/05/yemeni-airstrikes-hit-khamis-mushait-airbase-again/
https://www.saba.ye/en/news3131265.htm
(A K pS)
Coalition to Restore Legitimacy in Yemen: Intercepting and Destroying Two Booby-Trapped Drones Launched Towards Khamis Mushait and Jazan
These are the 7th and 8th bomb-laden UAVs that have been intercepted and destroyed during the past 24 hours.
https://www.spa.gov.sa/viewfullstory.php?lang=en&newsid=2197416
(A K pS)
Official Spokesman of Coalition to Restore Legitimacy in Yemen: Royal Saudi Air Defense Intercepts, Destroys (6) Bomb-Laden UAVs Launched by Terrorist, Iran-backed Houthi Militia
“The Royal Saudi Air Defense (RSAD) has intercepted and destroyed today (Friday), (6) bomb-laden UAVs launched by the terrorist, Iran-backed Houthi militia in a deliberate, systematic manner to target civilians and civilian objects in Khamis Mushait.
The targeting operations to neutralize, dismantle and destroy the bomb-laden UAV and ballistic missile storage sites and mobile launch vehicles used to target civilians and civilian objects are conducted under accurate, real-time Intelligence and Surveillance monitoring operations, and through accurate, direct targeting of legitimate military targets.
https://www.spa.gov.sa/viewfullstory.php?lang=en&newsid=2197381
and
(A K pS)
Civil Defense in Asir Region: Child, Civilian Injured as Result of Falling and Dispersing Shrapnel of Intercepted Houthi Militia's Bomb-Laden UAVs, in Khamis Mushait and Ahad Rafidah
Media Spokesman of the Civil Defense Directorate in Asir Region Captain Mohammed bin Abdu Al-Sayeed said that on Friday 21/7/1442 AH corresponding to March 5, 2021, the Civil Defense received several reports on falling and dispersing shrapnel in various residential areas in Khamis Mushait and Ahad Rafidah Governorates, as a result of interception operations of bomb-laden UAVs launched by the Iran-backed terrorist Houthi militia toward the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
As a result, a 10-Year old boy was injured and was treated by the Saudi Red Crescent team, in addition to another civilian (a citizen) who was injured while he was driving his vehicle, and was transported to the hospital to receive the necessary treatment and his condition is stable, he added.
Some houses have also been inflicted with material damages, following the flying shrapnel, however these damages have not resulted in any injuries or deaths, he stated. (photos)
https://www.spa.gov.sa/viewfullstory.php?lang=en&newsid=2197385
(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=2197292
My comment: Khamis Mushait hosts one of Saudi Arabia’s main air force bases, this is no “civilian” target.
(A K pS)
[Hadi] Government forces say a large number of #Houthis rock-like improvised explosive devices have been defused east of #Taiz.
https://twitter.com/RepYemenEnglish/status/1367563138602795020
(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=2197218
My comment: Khamis Mushait hosts one of Saudi Arabia’s main air force bases; this is no civilian target as Saudis claim.
(* A K pH)
US-Saudi Mercenaries Target Civilians, Taiz
2 civilians were killed and 10 others were injured, on Thursday, with US-Saudi mercenaries' artillery shells, in Taiz. Almasirah net correspondent stated that US-Saudi mercenaries targeted a neighborhood in Salah district, injuring a number of civilians. Of the victims 2 were killed and 10 others injured, while they were playing.
https://english.almasirah.net/post/18109/US-Saudi-Mercenaries-Target-Civilians%2C-Taiz%C2%A0
and also https://english.almasirah.net/post/18104/Local-Organizations-Condemn-US-Saudi-Crime%2C-Taiz
https://www.saba.ye/en/news3131251.htm
and reporting 3 killed:
(* A K pH)
Three civilians murdered by Saudi artillery shelling in Taiz
At least three civilians were killed and ten others were injured on Thursday in Saudi mercenary artillery shelling in Taiz province, southwestern Yemen. Al-Masirah news network reported the event, citing a local source.
According to the source, the US-Saudi mercenaries bombed a neighbourhood in Salah district, killing three civilians and wounding ten others (with photos)
https://hodhodyemennews.net/2021/03/05/three-civilians-murdered-by-saudi-artillery-shelling-in-taiz/
(A K pS)
Houthis blow up six homes in Taiz
The Iran-aligned Houthi insurgents blew up six homes on Thursday, east of Taiz, local sources said
According the sources, the militia blew up six homes located around the Houthi-controlled Security Forces Camp, following government forces advance toward the camp.
A military official in the government forces of Taiz told Republican Yemen, on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to brief the media, that the Houthi militia destroyed the homes out of fear that they would be used by the government forces to seize the camp.
This comes amid heavy fighting between Houthis and government forces west of Taiz
https://republicanyemen.net/archives/27412
Photos: https://twitter.com/Alsakaniali/status/1367595685009379337
and also https://www.alsahwa-yemen.net/en/p-45494
(A K pH)
Citizens injured by Saudi Missiles in Sa'adah Governorate
Three citizens were injured, Thursday, by Saudi missiles and artillery shells at Shida border district, on Sa'adah Governorate.
https://english.almasirah.net/post/18097/Citizens-injured-by-Saudi-Missiles-in-Sa-adah-Governorate
(A K pS)
Coalition to Restore Legitimacy in Yemen: Royal Saudi Air Force Intercepts, Destroys Ballistic Missile Launched by Terrorist, Iran-Backed Houthi Militia Toward the Kingdom
in Jazan
https://www.spa.gov.sa/viewfullstory.php?lang=en&newsid=2197164
(A K)
Huthi-Rebellen: Haben Ölanlage in Saudi-Arabien getroffen
Die Huthi-Rebellen im Jemen haben nach eigenen Angaben erneut eine Ölanlage in Saudi-Arabien angegriffen. Ein Marschflugkörper habe eine Anlage des staatlichen Ölkonzerns Saudi Aramco <SA14TG012N13> in der Küstenstadt Dschidda "präzise getroffen", teilte der Huthi-Militärsprecher Jahja Sari am Donnerstag mit. Von Saudi-Arabien gab es dafür zunächst allerdings keine Bestätigung.
https://de.nachrichten.yahoo.com/huthi-rebellen-haben-%C3%B6lanlage-saudi-090400285.html = https://www.onvista.de/news/huthi-rebellen-haben-oelanlage-in-saudi-arabien-getroffen-438700235
(A K pH)
[Sanaa gov.] Army targets Saudi Aramco in Jeddah
The missile force of the army and popular committees targeted on Thursday Saudi Aramco in the Saudi city of Jeddah, a spokesman for the armed forces, Brig. Gen. Yahya Sare'i said.
Sare'i added the missile force targeted Aramco in Jeddah with a winged missile- Quds-2.
He stressed the winged missile- Quds-2 hit its target accurately.
https://www.saba.ye/en/news3131052.htm
and
(A K pS)
Coalition to Restore Legitimacy in Yemen: Interception, Destruction of Ballistic Missile Launched by Terrorist, Iran-Backed Houthi Militia Toward the Kingdom
in Jazan.
https://www.spa.gov.sa/viewfullstory.php?lang=en&newsid=2196882
and
(A K)
Yemen rebels claim Saudi oil facility hit; no damage seen
The Jiddah plant serves as a temporary storage facility for gasoline, diesel and other petrochemicals before distribution. The facility sits just southeast of the city’s King Abdulaziz International Airport, a major airfield that handles Muslim pilgrims heading to Mecca.
Flights coming into the airport diverted or otherwise flew in circles early Thursday morning without explanation, according to tracking data from website FlightRadar24.com.
An Associated Press journalist at the scene did not see any smoke immediately rising from the installation Thursday morning. On Friday, the AP analyzed satellite photos of the area taken by Planet Labs Inc. The images Thursday showed char marks on a tank struck in the November attack that had been present in previous days’ images, but no other signs of a disruption or damage at the facility.
Saudi Aramco, the kingdom’s oil giant that now has a sliver of its worth traded publicly on the stock market, did not respond to a request for comment.
(A K pH)
[Sanaa gov.] Army hits King Khalid base in Khamis Mushait
The air force drones hit on Thursday King Khalid base in Khamis Mushait region in the depth of Saudi Arabia, a spokesman for the armed forces Brig. Gen. Yahya Sare'i said.
Sare'i added the air force launched a Qasef-2K aircraft on an important target at King Khalid base in Khamis Mushait.
He emphasized the Qasef-2K aircraft hit its target accurately.
https://www.saba.ye/en/news3131047.htm
and
(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
“Joint Coalition Forces have intercepted and destroyed this morning (Thursday) a bomb-laden UAV launched systematically and deliberately by the terrorist Houthi militia to target civilians and civilian objects in ( Khamis Mushait ).
https://www.spa.gov.sa/viewfullstory.php?lang=en&newsid=2196833
My comment: Khamis Mushait hosts Saudi Arabia’s main air force base (from there, a great part of fighter jets bombing Yemen go to start) and no civilian target at all.
(A K pS)
[Hadi gov.] Yemen Military Spokesman to Asharq Al-Awsat: Marib is Secure, Houthis are Surrounded
The Yemeni army said that the central Marib province was completely “secured and stable” despite the intense offensive launched by the Iran-backed Houthi militias for over two weeks.
Military spokesman Abdo Majali told Asharq Al-Awsat that tribal members have joined the frontlines to fend off the offensive, leaving the Houthis surrounded.
“Marib will not yield to the terrorist Houthi coup militias and the situation there is a 100 percent reassuring,” he stressed.
“Men from various tribes and provinces are defending Marib, the revolution and republic, with air cover from the Arab coalition,” he went on to say.
and also https://www.alsahwa-yemen.net/en/p-45511
and
(A K pS)
[Hadi gov.] Yemen’s army launches offensive in Taiz to relieve pressure on Marib
https://www.arabnews.com/node/1819311/middle-east
(* A K P)
[Sanaa] Foreign Ministry clarifies truth about situation on Marib front
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Sana'a on Saturday reviewed the nature and contents of the UN and international statements and other political and media positions regarding the Marib front.
In a statement, which Saba received a copy of, the Ministry clarified that these positions generally lack a minimum of logic and are tainted by a lot of insistence on questioning Sana'a's eagerness for peace and diminishing its natural and legitimate right to self-defense.
"Until today, all that the UN and international situation has shown is the clear and exclusive focus on the Marib front, noting that it completely ignores the rest of the burning fronts of war," the ministry said.
The Ministry expressed deep regret and resentment over this selective approach with the issue of peace in Yemen, as it does not express a real and clear trend to support a complete end to the war in Yemen.
In this regard, the statement stressed the importance of realizing that the Marib front is an old, burning and continuous front for six years, indicating that "the Saudi-led aggression coalition is the one who opened this front, not Sana'a."
"Marib front is one of the major fronts in the aggressive war on Yemen, and it has remained over the past years and is still the scene of the occupying foreign forces," the statement added.
The Ministry also confirmed that the Marib front is a starting point for most terrorist operations targeting the Marib community and the Yemeni society as a whole.
In its statement, the Foreign Ministry called for an end to ignoring the suffering of the Yemeni people, which is exacerbated and multiplied daily by the closure of Sana'a airport and the arbitrary detention of UN-licensed fuel ships.
The Ministry stressed the need to find a real and practical shift in the way and methods of dealing with the issue of peace in Yemen.
It reiterated the keenness of the leadership and all partners of the anti-aggression national stance to work together to achieve comprehensive and sustainable peace.
https://www.saba.ye/en/news3131349.htm
and
(* A K)
120 Tote bei schweren Gefechten im Jemen
Bei schweren Gefechten um die strategisch wichtige Stadt Marib sind innerhalb von 24 Stunden mindestens 120 Kämpfer der pro-iranischen Huthis getötet worden.
Jemenitischen Armeekreisen zufolge brachen zuletzt an sechs Fronten rund um Marib Kämpfe aus, auf welche die von Saudi-Arabien angeführte Militärkoalition mit Luftangriffen reagierte. Den Huthi-Rebellen sei es lediglich gelungen, von Seiten der Kassara-Front nordwestlich der Stadt Marib weiter vorzurücken, heißt es.
Die schiitischen Huthis haben in der östlich der Hauptstadt Sanaa gelegenen Provinz bereits zahlreiche Gebiete eingenommen und diese auch bei Gegenangriffen der Regierung gehalten.
Eine Niederlage der jemenitischen Regierungstruppen im Kampf um Marib würde einen schweren Rückschlag für die Regierung von Präsident Abd Rabbo Mansur Hadi bedeuten. Sollten die Rebellen die Stadt einnehmen, hätten sie die Kontrolle über einen Großteil der Öl- und Gasproduktion des verarmten Landes.
Auch die verzweifelte humanitäre Lage im Jemen könnte sich nochmals verschärfen. In der Marib umgebenden Wüste leben bereits hunderttausende Binnenvertriebene unter katastrophalen Bedingungen.
und auch https://www.zeit.de/politik/ausland/2021-03/jemen-huthi-rebellen-iran-saudi-arabien-krieg-hungersnot (auch mal die Kommentare lesen)
und
(* A K)
Mindestens 90 Tote binnen eines Tages bei Kämpfen im Jemen
Bei Kämpfen zwischen regierungsnahen Truppen und den pro-iranischen Huthi-Rebellen im Jemen sind binnen 24 Stunden mindestens 90 Kämpfer getötet worden. Aus jemenitischen Armeekreisen hieß es am Samstag, unter den Toten in der Provinz Marib seien 32 Soldaten der Regierungsarmee und mit ihr verbündete Kämpfer sowie 58 Rebellen. Dutzende weitere Menschen seien verletzt worden. Die Huthi-Rebellen bestätigten die Verluste in ihren Reihen nicht.
(* A K)
Fighting in Yemen's Marib Kills 90 in 24 hours, Government Military Sources Say
Fierce fighting between Yemeni pro-government forces and Iran-backed Houthi rebels has killed at least 90 combatants on both sides in the past 24 hours, government military sources said Saturday.
The clashes in the oil-rich province left 32 dead among government forces and loyalist tribes, while 58 Houthi rebels were killed in coalition airstrikes, the sources told AFP.
They said heavy battles broke out on six fronts as government forces were able to counter attacks by the Houthis, who managed to advance only on the Kassara front northwest of Marib city.
The fighting also left dozens of people wounded, the sources added.
and
(A K pS)
23 Houthi militiamen killed during battles north-west Marib
http://en.26sepnews.net/2021/03/07/23-houthi-militiamen-killed-during-battles-north-west-marib/
and
(A K)
Scores killed in Yemen's Marib over 24 hours
The UN warned of a humanitarian crisis as thousands are displaced by Houthi offensive
https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/90-killed-yemens-marib-over-24-hours
and
(A K pS)
Dozens of Houthi militiamen killed west of Marib
http://en.26sepnews.net/2021/03/06/dozens-of-houthi-militiamen-killed-west-of-marib/
Over 25 Houthi militants killed, others injured in Murad front southern Marib
and
(A K pS)
Another food convoy from southern Abyan local authority arrived Marib today in support of the govt forces. Meanwhile, new military troops from southern #Lahj province are en route to join the govt forces in #Marib, according to the army's website.
https://twitter.com/Alsakaniali/status/1367939185982734339
and
(A K pH)
6 captives of [Sanaa gov.] army, popular committees liberated in Marib
in an exchange deal with the Saudi-led mercenaries in Marib through a local mediator.
https://www.saba.ye/en/news3131247.htm
and also https://hodhodyemennews.net/2021/03/05/six-yemeni-soldiers-freed-in-prisoner-swap-deal/
https://debriefer.net/en/news-23594.html
and
(A K pS)
Film: Yesterday was another bloody day in #Marib where Houthis used human waves tactics in Kasarah northwest front along with attacks in all other fronts. Yet they have made no progress & sustained heavy losses in a 15-hour attack, frm 1am to 3pm, accor 2 tribal & mil. sources.
https://twitter.com/Alsakaniali/status/1367972463687110659
(A K pS)
30 Houthis killed in Al-Mashjah front west of Marib
http://en.26sepnews.net/2021/03/04/30-houthis-killed-in-al-mashjah-front-west-of-marib/
[Hadi gov.] Army in Taiz, Al-Jawf and Marib made progress on the ground & militia suffered heavy losses: Army spokesman
43 Houthi militants killed, destroyed weapons’ depot west of Marib
http://en.26sepnews.net/2021/03/04/43-houthi-militants-killed-destroyed-weapons-depot-west-of-marib/
and
(A K pS)
Photos. [Hadi] Govt forces shot down another Houthi drone in Serwah western #Marib today amid ongoing fighting in al-Mashjah and al-Jaadan northwest fronts where over 60 Houthis have been killed since yesterday, according to a military source.
https://twitter.com/Alsakaniali/status/1367502491517149187
(* A K)
Houthis say they've seized majority control of key city in Yemen
Yemen's Houthi rebels have taken control of 10 out of 14 districts of the strategic northern city of Marib, the Houthi deputy foreign minister, Hussein al-Ezzi, told CNN Wednesday.
Despite this, Marib's key city center district still remains under the control of the Saudi-backed government.
"Most of Marib is now in the hands of the [Houthis], there are 14 districts that make up Marib, only two are controlled by the [internationally recognized government] including the city center, two others are battlefields and the rest of the districts are under Houthi control," Al-Ezzi said.
The battle for Marib, the last major northern stronghold for the internationally recognized government, is pivotal for the warring sides of the Yemen conflict.
https://edition.cnn.com/2021/03/03/middleeast/houthis-marib-yemen-intl/index.html
My comment: 14 districts of the proviince, not of Marib city. Marib city still is in th ehands of anti-Houthi forces.
but
(A K pS)
#Houthi rebels have taken control of 10 out of 14 districts of the strategic northern city of #Marib, the Houthi deputy foreign minister, Hussein al-Ezzi, told CNN Wednesday." This is untrue. Only 5 districts, 2 of which under their control since 2015
https://twitter.com/Alsakaniali/status/1367219389276295171
and
(A K pS)
#Houthis targeted today Al Shamasi and Al-Zahra residential neighborhoods east of the five-year besieged city of #Taiz with artillery shells, residents said (photo)
https://twitter.com/RepYemenEnglish/status/1367132657327476742
(A K pS)
Three children have been killed by Houthi bomb in Ibb/Al-Rashad Press.
https://www.alsahwa-yemen.net/en/p-45468
cp18 Kampf um Hodeidah / Hodeidah battle
Seit dem Abkommen von Stockholm vom 13. Dezember 2018 gibt es einen Waffenstillstand für Hodeidah. Zwar bleiben größere Offensiven aus, kleinere Gefechte gibt es aber laufend, und beide Seiten werfen sich ständig Verstöße gegen den Waffenstillstand vor.
Since the Stockholm Agreement of December 13, 2018, a ceasefire has been in place for Hodeidah. There are no major offensives, but smaller battles are going on and both sides constantly are accusing each other of violating the ceasefire.
(A K pH)
Daily violations, as claimed by Houthis
March 5: https://english.almasirah.net/post/18128/US-Saudi-Aggrition-s-Daily-Update-for-Friday%2C-Mar.5.2021
cp19 Sonstiges / Other
(* B H)
The Effect of the War on Yemeni Artists: The Story of Osamah Adnan
A whole generation of Yemeni youths are living lives today that leave them imprisoned by the limited, and in many cases, inexistant choices available to them. In the past few years, the parties to the conflict in Yemen have stolen the dreams and aspirations of many of Yemen’s youth, forcing many of them to give up their dreams because these dreams have become, due to the political and economic reality in the country, a luxury that they will never be able to reach in most cases.
Osamah Adnan is a Yemeni singer in what should be the prime of his career. From a very young age, he seemed like he would make a great career in music, but Osamah never expected that the burden of making a living and the destruction of any space for art all over the country would end that dream. In this short video, editor Shadi Al Areeqi and director Dhiyaa Al Adimi accompany a young Yemeni man who is desperately trying to hold on to the last vestiges of a dream that is only kept alive through his voice and his taxi.
https://almadaniyamag.com/2021/03/02/effect-war-yemeni-artists/
Film (in Arabic): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_I9rK75pQTw
(* B D)
What the internet looks like: Underwater cables in the Middle East
Modern communications rely on submarine fibre-optic cables which carry more than 95 percent of all voice and data transmissions. The Middle East and North Africa region is central to this network
The Middle East and North Africa region has been a hub for shipping and commerce routes between Europe, Asia and Africa for centuries. Now it is data and communications that flows through its busy waters.
SeaMe We-3, the world’s longest cable at 39,000km, links north-western Europe with Australia and South Korea via the Middle East and South Asia. It became fully operational in September 1999 and is owned by an international alliance of more than 50 telecom companies
Egypt is central to global internet connectivity with many cables connecting Europe to Asia, the Middle East and the east coast of Africa crossing the country from the Mediterranean and then running south down the Red Sea. It has 10 coastal cable landing stations with 15 cables crossing its land
The cables from Egypt then run south down the Red Sea, with landing points in Sudan, Saudi Arabia and Yemen among others (note how Eritrea has no landing points). The cables then bottleneck between Djibouti and Yemen, which each have landing points before heading due east towards Asia and, after the Horn of Africa, southern Africa (maps)
https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/underwater-cables-internet-middle-east
and
(* B D)
Red Sea cables: How UK and US spy agencies listen to the Middle East
An expanding network of undersea fibre optic cables from the Mediterranean to the Gulf has made surveillance of regional communications easier than ever
“There is no question that, in the broadest sense, from Port Said [in Egypt] to Oman is one of the greatest areas for telecommunications traffic and therefore surveillance. Everything about the Middle East goes through that region except for the odd link through Turkey,” said Duncan Campbell, an investigative journalist specialising in surveillance since 1975.
The Five Eyes, a signals intelligence (SIGINT) alliance of the US, the UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, has been snooping on the Middle East since the network was formed during the Second World War.
The key players are the US’s National Security Agency (NSA), and the UK’s Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ), utilising both known and secret facilities in the region to collect data.
The Middle East is a hotbed of surveillance for obvious reasons: its strategic political-economic importance, the Arab-Israeli conflict, and political divisions between the allies of the Five Eyes and their adversaries, from militant groups to countries such as Iran and Syria.
While all conventional forms of surveillance are carried out, from airspace surveillance to tapping phone lines, the region is a strategic asset for mass surveillance due to the current routes of fibre optic cables.
“The importance of cables is still largely unknown by the average person. They think smartphones are wireless and it goes through the air but they don’t realise it is through cables,” said Alan Mauldin, research director at telecommunications research firm TeleGeography in Washington.
Spy agencies have tapped into fibre optic cables to intercept vast volumes of data, from phone calls to the content of emails, to web browsing history and metadata. Financial, military and government data also passes through cables.
Such intercepted data is sifted by analysts, while filters extract material based on the NSA and GCHQ’s 40,000 search terms – subjects, phone numbers and email addresses - for closer inspection.
“This physical system of fibre optic cables joins the major countries of the world and carries over 95 percent of international voice and data traffic. Given the importance of undersea cables, they are poorly protected by international law," said Athina Karatzogianni, an academic researching the importance and regulation of undersea cables.
"They represent perhaps the most extreme example of states privatising critical infrastructure but failing to extend protection."
Between the Red Sea and Iran there are no terrestrial fibre optic cables crossing the Arabian peninsula. All internet traffic going from Europe to Asia either passes through the Caucuses and Iran, using the Europe Persia Express Gateway (EPEG), or via the far more congested Egyptian and Red Sea routes.
Egypt is a major chokepoint, handling traffic from Europe to the Middle East, Asia and Africa, and vice versa. The 15 cables that cross Egypt between the Mediterranean and Red seas handle between 17 percent to 30 percent of the world population’s internet traffic, or the data of 1.3 billion to 2.3 billion people.
Geography and politics has led to this particular set-up. “You cannot build a link through Syria or Iran due to the conflict and the political situation, and the war in Yemen takes out another terrestrial option, so [cables] take another path,” said Guy Zibi, founder of South African market research firm Xalam Analytics.
“There are only a few areas globally that are so highly strategic; the Red Sea is one of them, and in the African context, Djibouti.”
https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/red-sea-cables-how-us-uk-spy-agencies-listen-middle-east
and also https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2021/03/05/646605/US-UK-Spy-Agencies-Snooping-Red-Sea
(B D)
Yemen: Two all-Arab teams the start of a home grown future
Cricket in Yemen remains the undiscovered indigenous oasis in the game's Middle East development
https://www.espncricinfo.com/story/yemen-two-all-arab-teams-the-start-of-a-home-grown-future-93893
(-)
Photo: This reflection The historical city of Shipam, Hadramout.
https://twitter.com/HanaShowafi/status/1367545228513718275
Vorige / Previous:
https://www.freitag.de/autoren/dklose/jemenkrieg-mosaik-723-yemen-war-mosaic-723
Jemenkrieg-Mosaik 1-723 / Yemen War Mosaic 1-723:
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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