Jemenkrieg-Mosaik 754b- Yemen War Mosaic 754b

Yemen Press Reader 754b: 8. Aug. 2021: Fortsetzung von Jemenkrieg-Mosaik 754, cp8 - cp19 / Aug. 8, 2021: Sequel to Yemen War Mosaic 754, cp8 - cp19

Bei diesem Beitrag handelt es sich um ein Blog aus der Freitag-Community.
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Eingebetteter Medieninhalt

Eingebetteter Medieninhalt

Dies ist die Fortsetzung von Jemenkrieg-Mosaik 754, Teil 1 / This is the sequel of Yemen War Mosaic 754, part 1:

https://www.freitag.de/autoren/dklose/jemenkrieg-mosaik-754-yemen-war-mosaic-754

Schwerpunkte / Key aspects

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

Klassifizierung / Classification

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

cp1 Am wichtigsten / Most important

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

cp2 Allgemein / General

cp2a Allgemein: Saudische Blockade / General: Saudi blockade

cp3 Humanitäre Lage / Humanitarian situation

cp4 Flüchtlinge / Refugees

cp5 Nordjemen und Huthis / Northern Yemen and Houthis

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

cp7 UNO und Friedensgespräche / UN and peace talks

cp8 Saudi-Arabien / Saudi Arabia

cp9 USA

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

cp10 Großbritannien / Great Britain

cp11 Deutschland / Germany

cp12 Andere Länder / Other countries

cp12a Katar-Krise / Qatar crisis

cp12b Sudan

cp13a Waffenhandel / Arms trade

cp13b Söldner / Mercenaries

cp13c Kulturerbe / Cultural heritage

cp13d Wirtschaft / Economy

cp14 Terrorismus / Terrorism

cp15 Propaganda

cp16 Saudische Luftangriffe / Saudi air raids

cp17 Kriegsereignisse / Theater of War

cp18 Kampf um Hodeidah / Hodeidah battle

cp19 Sonstiges / Other

Klassifizierung / Classification

***

**

*

(Kein Stern / No star)

? = Keine Einschatzung / No rating

A = Aktuell / Current news

B = Hintergrund / Background

C = Chronik / Chronicle

D = Details

E = Wirtschaft / Economy

H = Humanitäre Fragen / Humanitarian questions

K = Krieg / War

P = Politik / Politics

pH = Pro-Houthi

pS = Pro-Saudi

T = Terrorismus / Terrorism

cp8 Saudi-Arabien / Saudi Arabia

(A P)

Saudi Arabia opens Umrah pilgrimage to vaccinated worshipers from abroad - SPA

Saudi Arabia will gradually begin receiving Umrah pilgrimage requests from abroad for vaccinated pilgrims starting Aug. 9 after about a year and a half of not receiving overseas worshippers due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the state news agency (SPA) reported early on Sunday.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-saudi-umrah/saudi-arabia-opens-umrah-pilgrimage-to-vaccinated-worshipers-from-abroad-spa-idUSKBN2F80OR

(* B P)

Yemenis in Saudi Arabia face humiliation, arbitrary measures and forced expulsion

In southern Saudi Arabia, which is historically part of Yemen, the Yemenis who provide quality services to the local people in the higher education and health sectors are now under threat. Without warning, more than 100 university and medical staff have had their contracts terminated with immediate effect at Najran University and its hospitals. This measure by the Saudi Arabian authorities is expected to spread to the other universities and hospitals in the southern regions of the Kingdom.

Hundreds of Yemeni medical staff, business owners, employees and workers await their fate, knowing that such a measure amounts to forced expulsion. Many already live in difficult conditions and are not prepared to face the negative consequences of unemployment and its impact on their lives.

Over the past 15 years, dozens of university lecturers left Yemeni universities thanks to the growing demand for their skills in Saudi universities, in the south in particular. The Kingdom appeared to have a problem in recruiting experienced personnel. This also applied to medical staff, with hundreds flocking to Saudi hospitals over the same period.

These respected academic and medical staff now face an uncertain future after years of service in Saudi Arabia. They have been given just one option: leave the Kingdom. It is not only undignified, but also threatening, as they risk being regarded as potentially hostile aliens. This is consistent with the general sense of superiority common to Saudi Arabia and its citizens which has been seen throughout the years of the oil boom.

Yemeni businessmen have operated despite the demeaning residency rules which require them to put their savings, estimated at a combined total of billions of riyals, at the mercy of Saudi sponsors. They too face a humiliating exit.

However, these measures against Yemenis in the south reflect those taken by the authorities against Yemenis across Saudi Arabia. Tens of thousands of Yemeni families have left already in search of a more comfortable and safer living environment. A large number have returned to Yemen despite the ongoing war involving Saudi Arabia and hostile local forces wanting to destroy the state as it stands.

I have always objected to describing Saudi Arabia's war in Yemen as aggression, as the rhetoric of the Iran-backed Houthi militia claims. Nevertheless, the authorities' actions against Yemenis in the Kingdom are nothing less than an extension of the war against the Yemeni people, which has moved into Saudi territory. The authorities in Riyadh should reconsider these measures, because they represent a real danger to Saudi Arabia itself. It is not in its interest to convey the impression to Yemenis that the Kingdom is their only real enemy.

https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20210805-yemenis-in-saudi-arabia-face-humiliation-arbitrary-measures-and-forced-expulsion/

(A P)

Saudi Arabia to deport 800,000 Yemen workers, say sources

Leaks about the Saudi authorities' request from local employers in the kingdom's southern governorates to dispense with their Yemeni workers have raised fears of the imminent deportation of hundreds of thousands of Yemenis residing in these areas.

A leaked "Classified" document was reported by local sources to have comprised a request by the local authorities to business owner in the governorates of Jazan, Aseer, Al-Baha and Najran, to "transfer their existing Yemeni workers to other branches outside these provinces, or employ them in other companies."

Those companies could fire these workers, cancel their residencies, and deport them within a four-month period, provided that Saudi employees or those of other nationalities assume their duties.

The sources added that the document had included an order of "not only terminating their [Yemenis] work contracts, but also preventing them renewing their housing contracts in these areas."

Activists warned that some 800,000 Yemenis in the southern Saudi governorates face a "threat of deportation, despite the ongoing war."

https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20210805-saudi-arabia-to-deport-800000-yemen-workers-say-sources/

(A P)

Saudi case against Twitter user may have its roots in US

A Saudi humanitarian aid worker’s anonymous Twitter account used for satire about Saudi Arabia’s economy landed him in prison in the kingdom over three years ago.

But the story may have roots in an elaborate ploy that began in Silicon Valley and sparked a federal case against two Twitter employees accused of spying for the kingdom.

The case, spanning from San Francisco to Riyadh, reveals Saudi Arabia’s continued efforts at suppressing criticism of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and shines a spotlight on the lengths to which the kingdom has gone to target perceived critics.

https://apnews.com/article/technology-joe-biden-middle-east-business-jamal-khashoggi-6d2ee8dcffd7140928948886d8df33d1

(A P)

Film: Seconds before his arrest by #Saudi Clan Regime @pss_ar, Abdullah AlMobaraki videoed the team that arrested him over his tweets

Extremely interesting that @Twitter would allow the leading jailer & torturer of people for using #Twitter to have #Twitter accounts & verify them too.

https://twitter.com/AliAlAhmed_en/status/1422968029936238603

(A P)

Mother of teen boy, AKA @Neom child sacrifice, urges the world to safe her baby boy from death at the hand of #Saudi #MBS. Who is going to do it?

https://twitter.com/AliAlAhmed_en/status/1422677189288468484

(B P)

80 year old trible poet Ayed al-Wardeh is still in #Saudi Clan prison since October 2019 for a single poem critical of #MBS entertainment authority.

https://twitter.com/AliAlAhmed_en/status/1422735230360854528

(A P)

#Saudi Clan Regime execute another protester Ahmed AlJanabi from #Qatif. Everytime, the Clan feels pressure it targets #Shia #Arabs to get foreign support.

https://twitter.com/AliAlAhmed_en/status/1422538135343452161

Ahmed AlJanabi was severely tortured by Saudi Clan security apparatus @pss_ar whose officers were trained in #US

https://twitter.com/AliAlAhmed_en/status/1422538135343452161

(A P)

#Saudi Clan regime today executed protester Ahmed AlJanabi after torturing him for years. The [ruling Saudi] Clan killed his cousin Mustapha in May 2015 by sending a suicide bomber in a #Qatif mosque.

https://twitter.com/AliAlAhmed_en/status/1422545725678833667

(B P)

Amnesty: Wieder mehr Hinrichtungen in Saudi-Arabien

Anfang Dezember hatte das Land den G20-Vorsitz abgegeben. Seitdem würden deutlich mehr Todesurteile vollstreckt, berichtet die Menschenrechtsorganisation Amnesty International.

In Saudi-Arabien ist die Zahl der Todesstrafen nach Angaben von Amnesty International wieder gestiegen. Zwischen Januar und Juli dieses Jahres wurden 40 Menschen in dem Königreich hingerichtet, wie aus einem am Dienstag veröffentlichten Bericht der Organisation hervorgeht. Das sind mehr als im gesamten Jahr zuvor. Im Jahr 2020 - während der Zeit der saudischen G20-Präsidentschaft - waren insgesamt 27 Menschen hingerichtet worden. Allein im Dezember wurde bei neun Menschen die Todesstrafe vollstreckt - am 1. Dezember hatte Saudi-Arabien den Vorsitz wieder abgegeben.

"Sobald das Rampenlicht der G20 auf Saudi-Arabien verblasst ist, haben die Behörden ihre rücksichtslose Verfolgung von Menschen wieder aufgenommen", sagte die stellvertretende Direktorin für den Nahen Osten und Nordafrika der Organisation, Lynn Maaluf. Mehrere Menschen seien auf "Grundlage eines grob unfairen Verfahrens" zu Haftstrafen und mitunter auch zum Tode verurteilt worden.

https://www.sueddeutsche.de/politik/saudi-arabien-todesstrafe-hinrichtungen-folter-amnesty-international-1.5371421

(B P)

Arabia increases executions in 2021 after 2020 fall - rights group

Saudi Arabia ramped up executions in the first half of 2021 following a drop during its term as G20 president in 2020, Amnesty International said on Tuesday.

According to the rights group, the kingdom executed at least 40 people between January and July 2021 - more than during the whole of last year.

Although Saudi Arabia executed a record 185 people in 2019, the state-backed Human Rights Commission said in January that the kingdom had reduced the number of executions by 85% in 2020 compared with the previous year, putting the number for 2020 at 27.

Amnesty said executions had resumed immediately after Saudi Arabia handed over the presidency of the Group of 20 rich nations to Italy, with nine people executed in December 2020 alone.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-saudi-rights/s-arabia-increases-executions-in-2021-after-2020-fall-rights-group-idUSKBN2F413T = https://www.userwalls.com/n/arabia-increases-executions-2021-2020-fall-rights-group-2226830/

(A P)

#HumanRights org @ESOHumanRights highlights #Saudi Clan Regime arrest of Khaled AlOdah for tweeting a prayer for his jailed brother & religious leader Salman AlOdah. Both have suffered torture causing them permanent damage incl loss of sight, hearing & heart damage.

https://twitter.com/AliAlAhmed_en/status/1422359909077819393

(* B P)

“A GOVERNMENT THAT HAS KILLED PEOPLE FOR LESS”: PRO-SAUDI SOCIAL MEDIA SWARMS LEAVE CRITICS IN FEAR

Before he was murdered by Saudi Arabia, Jamal Khashoggi faced online harassment from influencers and bots. Their new targets are worried.

In the hands of an authoritarian state, social media can indeed be deadly. No more harrowing example of this was seen in the campaign of Saudi state-directed online attacks that preceded the assassination of Jamal Khashoggi. In the months before he was killed inside Istanbul’s Saudi consulate, Khashoggi was the subject of an intense campaign of online harassment orchestrated by a Saudi government-backed network of political influencers and bots.

Referred to inside the kingdom as “the flies,” the network swarmed Khashoggi with threats and defamation, an effort that was documented in the 2020 documentary “The Dissident.” They painted him on social media as a treasonous enemy of the Saudi state — no small matter in a country where public discourse is tightly controlled and Twitter is the primary outlet for political conversation. Al-Ghawi himself has been accused of helping instigate the online campaign that marked Khashoggi as an enemy of the state.

Online harassment and disinformation have become political issues in the U.S., but in authoritarian countries the threat can be more immediately grave. Under the control of ruling regimes, the public sphere, including social media, can be completely weaponized. Saudi Arabia, ruled by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, has in particular demonstrated a willingness to go the distance and back up its online threats and intimidation by actually abducting and killing its perceived critics, even those living abroad.

In many cases, such attacks start with al-Ghawi, one of a number of major pro-government Saudi influencers whose messages are amplified and shared by a network of pro-Saudi nationalists, bots, and other inauthentic accounts online.

AL-GHAWI’S VIDEO denouncing the likes of Golberg, Whitson, and others is part of a regular series posted on Twitter and YouTube called “Jamra,” or “the hot coal.” The short-form show, narrated as a monologue, is focused entirely on naming lists of enemies of the Saudi regime around the world.

https://theintercept.com/2021/08/01/saudi-arabia-twitter-harassment-jamal-khashoggi/

and

(* B P)

'I will not be silenced': Women targeted in hack-and-leak attacks speak out about spyware

Female journalists and activists say they had their private photos shared on social media by governments seeking to intimidate and silence them.

Oueiss is one of several high-profile female journalists and activists who have allegedly been targeted and harassed by authoritarian regimes in the Middle East through hack-and-leak attacks using the Pegasus spyware, created by Israeli surveillance technology company NSO Group. The spyware transforms a phone into a surveillance device.

For Oueiss and several other women whose phones were allegedly targeted, a key part of the harassment and intimidation is the use of private photos. While these photos may seem tame by Western standards, they are considered scandalous in conservative societies like Saudi Arabia and were seemingly used to publicly shame these women and smear their reputations.

https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/social-media/i-will-not-be-silenced-women-targeted-hack-leak-attacks-n1275540

(* B P)

Tourism as a geopolitical weapon: case from Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia is a key player in the Middle Eastern politics. The control over the holy sites of Mecca and Medina has historically given the possibility to the ruling family of Al Saud to exert its soft power on the Islamic world. This has happened, for example, by allowing ahigher or lower number of pilgrim visas for any given country.

However, in last years, the Saudi ruling house has aimed to expand its political influence by opening the country also to non-religious tourism. This opening, apparently contradictingthe particularly conservative image of the country, is part of a process of modernization that mainly involves the demarcation from oil promoted by the country’s de facto leader, Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman. In September 2019 the country’s borders were offcially opened to international tourism, thus allowing the issuance of tourist visas to citizens of 49 different countries. It is the first time in Saudi history that non-religious tourists are permittedto step on Saudi soil.

In fact, until this moment, pilgrims going to the holy places of Islam were the only category of foreign non-working people allowed to enter in Saudi Arabia. It is worth noting that pilgrimage has been an essential source of income for the country. In the last decade, the av-erage number of pilgrims has fluctuated between 2 and 3 million per year. If we include alsopilgrims who perform the umrah – the pilgrimage to the holy places outside the hajj month –the number of visitors grows to an average of 8 million pilgrims per year, with a cash flow for the country of 12 billion dollars a year which represents almost 3% of the country’s non-oil GDP.

https://www.academia.edu/49445419/Tourism_as_a_geopolitical_weapon_case_from_Saudi_Arabia

cp9 USA

Siehe / Look at cp1, cp9a

(A K P)

VIDEO: Royal #Saudi Air Force & #US Air Force taking part in a joint integration mission to counter UAS [Unmanned Aircraft System]

https://twitter.com/MbKS15/status/1422992463220858888

(B P)

Trump backer Elliot Broidy accused of orchestrating covert campaign against Qatar

A top GOP donor and Donald Trump ally was paid millions of dollars by the United Arab Emirates to engineer a smear campaign against rival Persian Gulf state Qatar, according to an explosive lawsuit.

Elliott Broidy — a former finance chairman of the Republican National Committee who pleaded guilty last year to charges that he illegally lobbied the US on behalf of a Malaysian businessman and pushed the Trump administration to extradite a Chinese dissident — now stands accused of illegally lobbying federal officials to take “anti-Qatari” positions and of “orchestrating a disinformation campaign” against the country, according to the suit filed by a Qatari luxury travel company.

https://nypost.com/2021/08/05/elliot-broidy-accused-of-orchestrating-campaign-against-qatar/

(A P)

Memorial for Yemen School Bus Bombing: Bay Area, CA

CODEPINK Bay Area has gathered 40 pairs of shoes and roses to be places with the 40 backpacks representing the children killed in the Yemen school bus bombing 3 years ago. The event will begin @1PM PDT, but please join us to place the shoes and roses at @12:45PM PDT.

The 500 pound bomb that hit the school bus was made in the U.S. by Lockheed Martin, and supplied to the Saudi-led alliance to bomb Yemen.

We especially want to show our sympathy, and our determination to stop weapons contracts to Lockheed Martin and U.S. weapons sales to Saudi Arabia

https://www.codepink.org/08082021

and also https://twitter.com/Jehan_Hakim/status/1423812813877694464

(A P)

Die Angehörigen der 9/11-Opfer wollen US-Präsident Biden nicht bei den Gedenkfeiern sehen

aktuellen Artikel von NBC, den ich übersetzt habe.

Beginn der Übersetzung:

9/11-Familien an Präsident Biden: Kommen Sie nicht zu unseren Gedenkfeiern

Fast 1.800 Angehörige der Opfer, Ersthelfer und Überlebende fordern Biden wegen seiner Weigerung, Dokumente zum 11. September freizugeben, auf, nicht an Gedenkveranstaltungen teilzunehmen.

Fast 1.800 Amerikaner, die direkt von den Terroranschlägen vom 11. September 2001 betroffen waren, lehnen die Teilnahme von Präsident Joe Biden an Gedenkveranstaltungen in diesem Jahr ab, wenn er nicht sein Versprechen einhält, die Beweise der US-Regierung freizugeben, die ihrer Meinung nach eine Verbindung zwischen saudi-arabischen Führern und den Anschlägen belegen könnten.

Die Familienangehörigen der Opfer, Ersthelfer und Überlebenden werden am Freitag eine Erklärung veröffentlichen, in der sie Biden auffordern, den Veranstaltungen zum 20. Jahrestag der Anschläge in New York und Shanksville, Pennsylvania, sowie im Pentagon fernzubleiben, wenn er die Dokumente nicht freigibt, die ihrer Meinung nach die Verbindung saudischer Offizieller in die Unterstützung der Terrorakte implizieren. Die Gruppe sagt, dass Biden als Kandidat versprochen hat, transparenter zu sein und so viele Informationen wie möglich herauszugeben, aber dass seine Regierung seither ihre Briefe und Anfragen ignoriert hat.

https://www.anti-spiegel.ru/2021/die-angehoerigen-der-9-11-opfer-wollen-us-praesident-biden-nicht-bei-den-gedenkfeiern-sehen/

(A P)

9/11 families tell Biden to skip memorial if he does not declassify files

Family members of victims of the Sept. 11 attacks are opposing U.S. President Joe Biden’s participation in memorial events unless he declassifies government documents that they contend will show Saudi Arabian leaders supported the attacks.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-sept11-families/9-11-families-tell-biden-to-skip-memorial-if-he-does-not-declassify-files-idUSKBN2F722L

and also https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-58121267

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/9-11-families-president-biden-don-t-come-our-memorial-n1276138

(A P)

AUMF repeal a potential reality after Senate vote today

The next step — passing the full Congress — seems closer than ever, which would end a 20-year-run for this much abused authority.

Advocates for repealing the outdated, overused, and abused Authorization for the Use of Military Force in Iraq cleared another hurdle today as a bipartisan bill passed through the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Senators and aides speaking to the press this week seemed confident that a repeal may go all the way — either as part of the annual defense policy bill or as a combined stand-alone bill with the legislation already passed in the House. But it needs to get through the full Senate either way.

The measure also repeals the 1991 AUMF, which authorized the 1991 Persian Gulf War.

According to Andrew Desiderio at Politico, the bipartisan effort — the bill is co-sponsored by Sens. Tim Kaine (D) and Todd Young (R) — is nearing the 60 Senate votes it would need to achieve that, mostly because Republican holdouts are beginning to come on board.

https://responsiblestatecraft.org/2021/08/04/aumf-repeal-a-potential-reality-after-senate-vote-today/

(* B K P)

Biden plans shift in arms export coverage to favor human rights -sources

U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration is preparing an overhaul of arms export policy to increase the emphasis on human rights, a departure from former President Donald Trump’s prioritization of economic benefits to U.S. defense contractors, four people familiar with the initiative said.

Defense companies and activists scrutinize such policies for insight into the administration’s posture as it balances the commercial interests of exporters like Lockheed Martin Co and Raytheon Technologies against the country’s stated commitment to human rights.

Two State Department deputy assistant secretaries will brief congressional staff on Biden’s draft Conventional Arms Transfer (CAT) Policy on Friday, said two of the people familiar with the situation, with a formal unveiling expected as soon as September.

The administration briefed a smaller group of congressional aides about two weeks ago, outlining a State Department desire for a “more robust” review of weapons sales with more input from the department’s human rights bureau, an administration source and a congressional aide who participated said.

Details of the proposed shift have yet to be finalized and are being circulated to other, more export-friendly agencies like the Department of Defense, the people said. The Pentagon has traditionally advocated for putting weapons in the hands of allies so U.S. forces can rely on them more heavily in overseas conflicts.

One congressional aide involved in briefings on the matter said he expected any policy change would have the most impact on sales of smaller weapons such as assault rifles and surveillance equipment, which can be used by police or paramilitary forces against domestic populations.

A senior administration official confirmed that the new CAT policy was being worked on and “will help us build and maintain strategic partnerships that best reflect the values and interests of the United States.”

The new policy would also “more robustly discuss” connections between arms transfers and human rights, the official said.

Advocates of a stronger emphasis on human rights said the shift could affect sales to countries like Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, especially given pressure from the progressive wing of Biden’s Democratic Party over the toll on civilians of their raids in the civil war in Yemen.

“A new U.S. approach to arms sales is sorely needed. We must move beyond approaching arms sales as purely a transaction,” said Rachel Stohl, vice president at the Stimson Center in Washington.

“Overall, the Biden people seem to be in the same mode as the Trump people in promoting arms exports,” the congressional aide said, noting that the tempo of weapons sales under the Biden administration is about the same as under Trump.

The United States is easily the world’s biggest arms merchant, selling over $100 billion in weapons, services and training a year.

https://www.reuters.com/world/us/exclusive-biden-plans-shift-arms-export-policy-favor-human-rights-sources-2021-08-04/ = https://www.srnnews.com/exclusive-biden-plans-shift-in-arms-export-policy-to-favor-human-rights-sources-2/

Film: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cy_Mxsv687w

(* B P)

Congress Needs to Force Biden to End the Yemen War

Activists say it's not enough to trust Biden's promises to end U.S. support for the war: Congress must compel him.

"It's imperative that a War Powers Resolution is introduced and passed under a Biden administration," says Abdullah. ​"So many lives are at stake here."

Organizers are up against an administration that has not been forthcoming about what it's doing on the ground. The Biden administration's February announcement was met with much fanfare. But public details on what constituted ​"offensive operations," and what exactly an end to the U.S. role would look like, were vague from the outset. The Biden administration has since avoided providing details about what American withdrawal looks like.

There are signs that the United States remains enmeshed in that war.

But activists say they don't want members of Congress to merely ask: They want them to legislate, like they did under President Trump. During Trump's tenure, members of Congress led multiple efforts to invoke the 1973 War Powers Act—passed in the aftermath of the Vietnam war—to force an end to the U.S. role in the Yemen war. The Act says that Congress can compel a president to withdraw from a conflict if Congress has not formally declared or authorized the war (which the United States did not in Yemen's case).

"U.S. involvement in this war was illegal when it began under the Obama administration, illegal when it continued through Trump's presidency, and illegal now during Biden's presidency," Shireen Al-Adeimi, a Yemeni-American organizer and a board member of advocacy organization Just Foreign Policy, tells In These Times. Democrats should not rely on ​"Biden's promises to end this illegal and inhumane war," she argues. (Disclosure: Al-Adeimi is a contributor to In These Times.)

The leaders of the Trump-era War Powers Resolution—Sen. Bernie Sanders, Sen. Chris Murphy and Rep. Ro Khanna—have so far declined to take similar action under Biden. But there are indicators the leadership could come from elsewhere.

On a July 27 call with the anti-war organization CODEPINK, Rep. ​​Pramila Jayapal (D‑Wash.) mentioned a possible threat of a Yemen War Powers Resolution in the context of a previous Congressional Progressive Caucus fight to structure the rules at the beginning of the new Congress.

Activists, some of whom are watching their family and loved ones back in Yemen suffer under harrowing conditions, want lawmakers to take action soon—and aggressively. This means mustering the political will to confront a Democratic administration. Abdullah argues that the suffering of Yemenis should not only be invoked when it's politically expedient: ​"We can't just be tokenized depending on the political weather at the moment."

Some are eyeing other legislative avenues, including an amendment to the Appropriations Act, introduced by Rep. Debbie Dingell (D‑Mich.), that would prohibit U.S. support for the Saudi-led blockade of Yemen, and an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act, cutting off supplies to the Saudi-led coalition.

Hassan El-Tayyab, lead lobbyist on Middle East policy for the Friends Committee on National Legislation, told In These Times that any measure to curb U.S. involvement in the Yemen War is a step forward.

https://www.commondreams.org/views/2021/07/29/congress-needs-force-biden-end-yemen-war

(A P)

Film: From yesterday's @SFRCdems AUMF hearing, Sen. @ChrisMurphyCT hits the nail on the head: "…despite the fact that think tanks in Washington think it’s a good idea for us to make war overseas, the American public don’t."

https://twitter.com/LukasWGrund/status/1422994145879199750

(B P)

The United States Must Stop Arming Human Rights Abusers

Whether it be the ethnic cleansing of the Kurds in Northern Syria by Turkey, the devastation inflicted upon the people of Yemen by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, or Pakistan’s enabling of regional extremists and abysmal human rights record at home—U.S. arms and aid have perpetuated tragedy at a global scale.

Following news of the U.S. Department of State’s involvement in training four of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi’s Saudi murderers, Americans have been left wondering why the United States funds, arms, and trains the militaries of repressive governments.

Providing military aid to human rights abusers not only contributes to their repressive behavior but also undermines the Biden administration’s stated objective to establish human rights as a core tenet of U.S. foreign policy.

https://nationalinterest.org/blog/buzz/united-states-must-stop-arming-human-rights-abusers-191096

(A P)

U.S. foreign policy is an elite club, and there's no better indication of who's in and who's out than the Aspen Strategy Group, which hosts a virtual forum this week.

Nicholas Burns, Biden's likely ambassador to China, is chairing

You won't find many progressive analysts or advocates of military restraint at the Aspen Security Forum. You will find staunch hawks: forever warrior David Petraeus, Bush adviser Meghan O'Sullivan, and neocon Niall Ferguson. The result is a very limited set of conversations.

When trade is discussed, panelists never mention their own corporate interests.

At Aspen, there are more speakers who work for corporations as boutique consultants than progressive voices. There are more speakers from Flournoy and Blinken's WestExec Advisors than there are champions of Bernie Sanders's worldview.

In case you're wondering how the American national-security elite sees itself and the world: Speaking about the post-9/11 wars, Nicholas Burns just said, without irony, that "mistakes were made."

At the Aspen Security Forum, Republican lawmakers are welcomed, but you won't find any members of the Squad. The implication is that the Washington foreign-policy club is more comfortable chatting with Liz Cheney than Ilhan Omar.

The background of the organizers explains why Aspen prioritizes corporate interests over big ideas and questions. Take Anja Manuel, who calls herself a diplomat on the basis of two years at the State Dept. For most of the past two decades, though, she's worked for corporations.

Now: "The View From Riyadh" Will the Saudi foreign minister be asked about the dismemberment of Jamal Khashoggi, the use of NSO Group's cyber weapons against dissidents, and the brutal war in Yemen?

This conversation is on Saudi's terms. Of Khashoggi's killing: "We were disgusted by it as well," says the Saudi foreign minister, adding that there has been accountability for the assassins. Yemen is a problem in their "backyard," not a conflict that Saudi has exacerbated.

https://twitter.com/mideastXmidwest/status/1422562052569280520

referring to https://www.aspensecurityforum.org/2021-virtual-asf

https://prospect.org/power/most-admired-diplomat-gone-corporate-nicholas-burns-china-ambassador/

(A P)

Film: Over time, presidents have amassed control over national security decisions. So @SenMikeLee, @BernieSanders, and @ChrisMurphyCT have introduced bipartisan legislation to reclaim Congress's power.

https://twitter.com/attn/status/1422618164504895488

(A P)

Film: At today's #SFRC hearing @DeptofDefense General Counsel Caroline Krass sidesteps @SenMarkey's question on how Biden admin distinguishes btwn offensive & defensive operations re: US support for Saudi's war on Yemen, given that the US still helps maintain the Saudi Royal Air Force.

https://twitter.com/demandprogress/status/1422657940272685063

(B P)

No Matter What Biden Calls U.S. Troops in Iraq, Iran Is Gunning for Them

Relabeling U.S. soldiers as “noncombat” won’t spare them from militia attacks (limited access)

https://foreignpolicy.com/2021/08/02/biden-iraq-us-troops-military-iran-militias-kadhimi-attacks-noncombat/

(B P)

Yemeni Americans in Dearborn struggle to be included in city government

https://eu.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/wayne/2021/08/02/yemeni-americans-dearborn-politics/8074806002/

(A P)

3rd annual Yemeni American Day Parade held in Van Nest (with film)

https://bronx.news12.com/3rd-annual-yemeni-american-day-parade-held-in-van-nest

Films, Photos: https://twitter.com/BashaReport/status/1421946869786234888

https://twitter.com/rabyaahahmed/status/1421907927020052482

https://twitter.com/rabyaahahmed/status/1421901075171454980

https://twitter.com/rabyaahahmed/status/1421942549799911428

https://twitter.com/rabyaahahmed/status/1421939991958151169

(* B K P)

ADULTS IN A ROOM

At July's roundtable, the experts discussed US foreign policy in the Middle East.

What are the experts talking about this July? The announcement by the Biden administration that it would be ending combat operations in Iraq, in addition to the full withdrawal from Afghanistan, signals a new era for US foreign policy in the Greater Middle East. But what are the core US interests in the region? Is the Biden administration focusing on addressing the right issues there and does the United States have the capability to address them?

The Atlantic Council’s New American Engagement Initiative (NAEI) brought together a number of experts to discuss current US policy toward the Middle East and how it could be improved. The discussion was wide-ranging, covering military threats, the interests of other powers in the region, and how diplomacy could replace the dependence on the US military for exerting influence in the region. There was general agreement that no significant threats to US security exist in the region, so a large-scale military presence is no longer necessary. But there were various ideas about how the United States could best leverage its power and relationships to advance its interests. Four of the participants expanded on their thoughts about US Middle East policy below:

Annelle Sheline, Middle East Research Fellow, Quincy Institute

President Biden’s decision to withdraw from Afghanistan constitutes part of a broader effort to expend less blood and treasure on the Middle East. Interestingly, this shift has provoked little public outcry: 3 out of 5 Americans want less military engagement abroad, including an end to troop deployments in Afghanistan and Iraq. Instead the pushback comes primarily from the stakeholders that have benefitted from decades of US involvement in the Middle East, including the Pentagon, defense contractors, and regional governments that rely on the US to help keep them in power. These stakeholders’ interest in US military involvement in the region is interdependent: The US arms industry profits from sales of advanced weapons to the Saudis, Emiratis, and other regional autocrats, who use their bloated security sectors to repress their own population while brutalizing others. The inherent instability of a region awash in weapons justifies the ongoing presence of the US military, and the sale of additional military hardware to local partners.

The extent to which the US military’s perpetuation of foreign wars is insulated from public pushback and instead sustained by special interests is inconsistent with democracy. US foreign policy should — and must — reflect the will of the American people.

https://inkstickmedia.com/adults-in-a-room-2/

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

Siehe / Look at cp9

(A P)

Iran rejects G-7 accusations over fatal attack on oil tanker

Iran on Saturday denounced accusations by leading industrial nations that Tehran was behind last week’s deadly attack on an oil tanker in the Arabian Sea, the official IRNA news agency reported.

The report quoted Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh as saying Iran “strongly condemns” Friday’s statement by foreign ministers of the Group of Seven. The group is made up of representatives of Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the U.S.

Khatibzadeh said the statement made baseless accusations against Iran. He called the accusation a “scenario” created by Israel and said Israel has had a long history designing similar “plots.”

The vessel Mercer Street is managed by a firm owned by an Israeli billionaire, and Israel — along with the U.S. and Britain — had previously pointed the finger at Tehran.

Khatibzadeh said Iran as been committed to providing security in the Persian Gulf and Strait of Hormuz and said Iran was ready to work with nations to form a collective security system while defending its sovereignty.

https://apnews.com/article/middle-east-business-iran-9276a422204a14a3fcb913551de52bf0

(A P)

Wow. This is @giladerdan1, #Israel's ambassador to both the US and UN EXPLICITLY stating that Israel's goal is a coup and regime change in #Iran and they want the UN Security Council to aid and abet this goal. That'd be saying the quiet part out loud for those in the back.

https://twitter.com/MJPlitnick/status/1423356440090136576

referring to https://twitter.com/GLZRadio/status/1423183854521700354

(* A P)

US and G7 blame Iran for deadly attack on tanker off Oman

The U.S. military and the Group of Seven leading industrialized nations on Friday accused Iran of being behind last week’s deadly attack on an oil tanker in the Arabian Sea.

The U.S. Central Command said it had collected and analyzed substantial evidence that the July 29 attack on the HV Mercer Street in international waters in the Arabian Sea off the coast of Oman that killed two people was carried out by an Iranian drone loaded with a military-grade explosive.

“U.S. experts concluded based on the evidence that this UAV was produced in Iran,” it said, using the military term for an “unmanned aerial vehicle.”

Britain’s U.N. Ambassador Barbara Woodward identified the drone as a Shahed-136 UAV, telling reporters after the U.N. Security Council discussed the tanker attack behind closed doors that “these are manufactured only in Iran.”

Meanwhile, the foreign ministers of Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States said the attack was “a clear violation of international law.” They added that “all available evidence clearly points to Iran.” Iran has denied being involved.

Iran’s deputy ambassador at the United Nations, Zahra Ershadi, told reporters her government “categorically” rejects the accusation, first made by Israel.

https://apnews.com/article/europe-middle-east-business-iran-persian-gulf-tensions-c1f24a3744785bc0514697edf8f0887f

and

(A K P)

@CENTCOM on drone attack on the Mercer U.S. experts concluded based on the evidence that this UAV was produced in Iran. (text in images)

https://twitter.com/haltman/status/1423672893574205440

(A K P)

Israel ‘prepared to attack’ Iran nuclear plants

Israel is drawing up plans to attack Iran’s nuclear facilities and is prepared to launch a strike without backing from the US, it has been reported.

Officials in the Israeli Defence Ministry told the Jerusalem Post that while they prefer to act in consultation with the US, they were preparing plans that would allow them to act in isolation.

“It is always better to coordinate,” a senior Defence Ministry official told the newspaper. “But we are also preparing options that do not include coordination.”

However defence officials played down the reports today, telling The Times that an attack by Israeli forces alone would probably fail to take out all of Iran’s nuclear facilities, which experts say are scattered across several sites, some deep underground.

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/israel-prepared-to-attack-iran-nuclear-plants-653lhljmrdj

Film: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cUDX1OABMqU

(A K P)

Iran’s attacks are finally shining a spotlight on its deadly drones

The Iranian attack on a ship off the coast of Oman has had the effect of highlighting Iran’s use of deadly kamikaze drones.

The Iranian attack on a ship off the coast of Oman shone a spotlight on Iran’s use of suicide drones and the Islamic Republic's UAV program has been singled out by Israel and the US in statements this week.

This is more important than it may appear, because Iran has quietly built up a drone army over the last few years and has been sending drones and drone technology to Yemen, Iraq, Syria and Lebanon. Iranian drone parts have also been flooding the region for years and are now used in attacks by Hamas against Israel, the Houthis against Saudi Arabia, Kataib Hezbollah against US forces in Iraq, in Syria against ISIS, in Iraq against Kurds, and in Syria against Israel.

Iran is a regional drone power but this often goes under reported because Iran uses them sparingly and is mostly in the business of bragging about its drone abilities and it "outsources" attacks to proxies and partners.

https://www.jpost.com/middle-east/irans-attacks-are-finally-bringing-a-spotlight-on-its-deadly-drones-675919

My remark: As claimed by an Israel hawk.

(A P)

Israeli defense minister threatens Iran with military action

Israel’s defense minister warned Thursday that his country is prepared to strike Iran, issuing the threat against the Islamic Republic after a fatal drone strike on a oil tanker at sea that his nation blamed on Tehran.

The comments by Benny Gantz come as Israel lobbies countries for action at the United Nations over last week’s attack on the oil tanker Mercer Street that killed two people. The tanker, struck off Oman in the Arabian Sea, is managed by a firm owned by an Israeli billionaire.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lBh5T-y9gUw

(A P)

#Iran|ian state affiliated news outlet says according to a source in Majlis (parliament) a delegation from #SaudiArabia will be traveling to Iran to attend Ibrahim Raisi’s inauguration ceremony.

https://twitter.com/TehranDC/status/1422643053085569024

(A P)

British navy group: Hijackers have left vessel off UAE coast

The hijackers who captured a vessel off the United Arab Emirates in the Gulf of Oman left the ship Wednesday, the British navy reported, as radio traffic appeared to reveal a crew member onboard saying Iranian gunmen had stormed the asphalt tanker.

The incident — described by the British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations the night before as a “potential hijack” — revived fears of an escalation in Mideast waters and ended with as much mystery as it began.

https://apnews.com/article/europe-middle-east-70fc4b24d0071820562033a07bb9060f

(A P)

British navy group: ‘Potential hijack’ of ship off UAE coast

The British navy warned of a “potential hijack” of a ship off the coast of the United Arab Emirates in the Gulf of Oman on Tuesday, though the circumstances remained unclear.

The incident comes amid heightened tensions between Iran and the West over Tehran’s tattered nuclear deal with world powers and as commercial shipping in the region has found itself caught in the crosshairs. Most recently, the U.S., the U.K. and Israel have blamed Iran for a drone attack on an oil tanker off the coast of Oman that killed two people. Iran has denied involvement.

The British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations initially warned ships Tuesday that “an incident is currently underway” off the coast of Fujairah. Hours later, the authorities said the incident was a “potential hijack,” but provided no further details.

Shipping authority Lloyd’s List and maritime intelligence firm Dryad Global both identified the vessel involved in the incident as Panama-flagged asphalt tanker Asphalt Princess. The vessel’s owner, listed as Emirati free zone-based Glory International, could not immediately be reached for comment late Tuesday.

Satellite-tracking data for the vessel showed it slowly heading toward Iranian waters off the port of Jask early Wednesday, according to MarineTraffic.com.

https://apnews.com/article/europe-middle-east-business-persian-gulf-tensions-gulf-of-oman-08e86af0cd35761ef8c25686a7ac6282

(A P)

Saudi Arabia says sees an emboldened Iran around Middle East

Saudi Arabia's foreign minister said on Tuesday he sees an emboldened Iran acting in a negative manner around the Middle East, endangering shipping, arming Yemen's Houthis and contributing to political deadlock in Lebanon.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-iran-nuclear-saudi/saudi-arabia-says-sees-an-emboldened-iran-around-middle-east-idUSKBN2F428B

My comment: What a joke!

(B P)

"Schattenkrieg" zwischen Israel und Iran

Zwei Menschen starben bei einer Attacke auf ein Schiff im Indischen Ozean. Was steckt hinter dem neuesten Zwischenfall?

Der ehemalige Chef des israelischen Militärgeheimdienstes, Amos Yadlin, sagt: "Es ist kein Geheimnis (. . .), dass es zwischen Israel und dem Iran einen verborgenen Schattenkampf gibt." Dies sei kein ausgewachsener Krieg, aber ein "Schattenkrieg" an allen Fronten, auf dem Wasser, in der Luft, im Internet und manchmal auf dem Boden. "Beide Seiten greifen sich gegenseitig an, meistens ohne die Verantwortung dafür zu übernehmen, weil dies ein Teil des Spiels ist." Wer keine Verantwortung übernehme, zwinge die andere Seite nicht zu einer Reaktion.

Der Iran baue Truppen im ganzen Nahen Osten auf, im Irak, in Syrien, im Libanon und im Jemen, sagt Yadlin - irantreue Kräfte, die wiederum Israel angreifen sollen.

Israel werden dafür immer wieder Angriffe auf iranische Atomanlagen zugeschrieben. Der jüdische Staat sieht sich durch das Atom- und Raketenprogramm seines Erzfeindes in der Existenz bedroht. Außerdem bombardiert Israels Armee regelmäßig Ziele in Syrien, um zu verhindern, dass der Iran seinen Einfluss in dem Bürgerkriegsland ausbaut.

Auch nach dem neuesten Zwischenfall am Dienstag - einer möglichen Schiffsentführung im Golf von Oman - übt sich Teheran in Unschuldsbeteuerungen. Das Außenministerium bezeichnete den Vorfall als "verdächtig" und warnte vor erneut grundlosen Unterstellungen gegen den Iran.

https://www.wienerzeitung.at/nachrichten/politik/welt/2115287-Schattenkrieg-zwischen-Israel-und-Iran.html

und

(A P)

Nach dem tödlichen Angriff auf einen israelischen Öltanker meldet sich nun Verteidigungsminister Gantz zu Wort

Der israelische Verteidigungsminister Benny Gantz warf dem Iran vor, Feindseligkeiten zu eskalieren. Die Islamische Republik habe die internationale Schifffahrt im vergangenen Jahr mindestens fünfmal attackiert. »Das ist genau der Grund, weshalb wir jetzt gegen den Iran vorgehen müssen«, sagte er.

Der Iran strebe nicht nur nach Atomwaffen, sondern fache das Wettrüsten an und wolle den ganzen Nahen Osten mit Hilfe von Drohnen und Terrormilizen in Irak, Jemen und anderen Staaten destabilisieren. »Das ist keine künftige Bedrohung, sondern eine greifbare und unmittelbare Gefahr«, sagte Gantz.

https://www.juedische-allgemeine.de/israel/das-ist-genau-der-grund-weshalb-wir-gegen-iran-vorgehen-muessen/

und

(* A P)

Israel und Iran streiten über Angriff auf Tanker

Ein mutmaßlicher Drohnenangriff auf den Tanker eines israelischen Unternehmers entfacht einen Streit zwischen Israel und dem Iran. Nicht nur Premier Bennett, auch die USA und Großbritannien beschuldigen Teheran, hinter der Attacke zu stecken - und fordern Konsequenzen.

Der mutmaßliche Drohnenangriff auf einen Öl-Tanker im Indischen Ozean hat den Konflikt zwischen den Erzfeinden Israel und Iran erneut befeuert. Die Regierung in Teheran wies den Vorwurf Israels zurück, die Verantwortung für die tödliche Attacke zu tragen. Das britische Außenministerium sowie die USA vermuteten ebenfalls Teheran hinter dem Angriff.

Der von der Firma eines israelischen Unternehmers betriebene Öltanker "MT Mercer Street" war am Donnerstag vor der Küste des Oman angegriffen worden. Ein rumänisches und ein britisches Besatzungsmitglied wurden dabei getötet. Die US-Armee erklärte, es gebe "klare" Hinweise darauf, dass die Attacke mit Drohnen ausgeführt worden sei.

Der israelische Ministerpräsident Naftali Bennett erklärte, es lägen "nachrichtendienstliche Beweise" für die Schuld des Iran vor. "Wir erwarten, dass die internationale Gemeinschaft dem iranischen Regime klar macht, dass es einen schweren Fehler begangen hat." Bennett drohte Teheran zudem Vergeltung an: "Auf jeden Fall wissen wir, wie wir dem Iran auf unsere Weise eine Botschaft übermitteln können."

Die iranische Regierung bestritt die von Israel erhobenen Vorwürfe. Das "zionistische Regime" müsse seine Anschuldigungen gegenüber Teheran einstellen, sagte Außenamtssprecher Said Chatibsadeh.

https://amp.n-tv.de/politik/Israel-und-Iran-streiten-ueber-Angriff-auf-Tanker-article22717281.html

(B P)

Commercial ships no longer safe after Oman attack - analysis

Defending commercial ships from threats such as Iran’s brash drone attack this week is a problem for ship owners and managers and for states in the region, and does not have an easy solution

The drone attack on the ship Mercer Street off the coast of Oman is an important game changer in our understanding of threats to commercial ships by both states and non-state actors, such as terror groups backed by Iran.

The full details of how the drones were guided to the ship or where they flew from, or even what precise type they were and what warhead they used, is still being determined.

What we do know is that the US, UK and Israel have blamed Iran. Drones were used in the attack. This presents a whole new level of threat to ships.

https://www.jpost.com/middle-east/iran-news/commercial-ships-no-longer-safe-after-oman-attack-analysis-675721

My remark: As claimed by the Jerusalem Post.

(A P)

NATO, EU join criticism of Iran over merchant ship attack

The NATO military alliance and the European Union on Tuesday joined a growing chorus of international condemnation of Iran’s alleged attack on a merchant ship in the Arabian Sea last week and urged Tehran to respect its international obligations.

https://apnews.com/article/europe-middle-east-iran-9826623e2fadc27508d5b956f56157ae

(* B P)

How Iran and Saudi Arabia Can—Together—Bring Peace to the Middle East

The Promise of Diplomacy as the United States Withdraws

The most destabilizing and dangerous rivalry in the region—the one between Iran and Saudi Arabia—has played out from the Levant to the Persian Gulf, polarizing the region along Shiite-Sunni and Arab-Persian fault lines.

The Persian Gulf rivals have some distance to go to mend fences, but their nascent rapprochement offers the best chance in years for a return to regional stability in the Middle East. The United States stands to benefit immensely from ongoing diplomacy that moves the two sides in the right direction. And although Washington is not at the table, it can offer critical support to the process by providing Saudi Arabia with the right mix of encouragement and reassurance—with the ultimate aim of ensuring that a reduced U.S. presence in the Middle East does not bring catastrophe.

There is cause to question whether Saudi Arabia is genuinely committed to talks with Iran. Riyadh could be using the dialogue to placate Washington by presenting itself as a constructive regional player or to buy time to shore up its position and come up with ways to counter Iranian drones. Yet Riyadh does have good reason to bury the hatchet with Tehran. Most immediate, Saudi leaders want to end their costly war in Yemen.

Riyadh is playing a weak hand and knows it. The country is stuck in a quagmire in Yemen and is vulnerable to Iran’s drone warfare. It backed away from Lebanon, lost in the Syrian civil war, and has been on its heels in Iraq since 2003.

But successful talks are in Iran’s interest, too. Tehran’s bluster masks worries over the cost of its unchecked regional rivalry with Riyadh, and the Iranian government’s desire for a reduced U.S. presence could be thwarted by ongoing regional tensions.

Washington can help bolster Saudi confidence, and thus encourage real progress in the talks, by providing Riyadh with a clear guarantee that it will defend the kingdom in the face of a direct Iranian attack.

https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/iran/2021-08-03/how-iran-and-saudi-arabia-can-together-bring-peace-middle-east

(A P)

US, UK and Israel blame Iran for ship attack; Tehran denies

The United States and the United Kingdom joined Israel on Sunday in alleging Iran carried out a fatal drone strike on an oil tanker off the coast of Oman in the Arabian Sea, putting further pressure on Tehran as it denied being involved in the assault.

Calling it a “unlawful and callous attack,” British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said his country and its allies planned a coordinated response over the strike Thursday night on the oil tanker Mercer Street. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken soon followed, saying there was “no justification for this attack, which follows a pattern of attacks and other belligerent behavior.”

The strike on the Mercer Street marked the first-known fatal attack after years of assaults on commercial shipping in the region linked to tensions with Iran over its tattered nuclear deal.

https://apnews.com/article/middle-east-business-iran-persian-gulf-tensions-419efc522acbd213a79696c9876af6dc

US statement: https://www.state.gov/attack-on-mercer-street-vessel/

UK statement: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/uk-condemns-deliberate-attack-on-oil-tanker-by-iran

(A P)

Israeli premier blames Iran for tanker attack; Tehran denies

Israel’s prime minister Sunday directly blamed Iran for a drone attack on an oil tanker off the coast of Oman that killed two people, making a veiled threat to retaliate as Tehran denied being involved in the assault.

The comments by Premier Naftali Bennett and Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh come after the strike Thursday night on the oil tanker Mercer Street. The attack marked the first-known fatal attack after years of assaults on commercial shipping in the region linked to tensions with Iran over its tattered nuclear deal.

While no one has claimed responsibility for the attack, Iran and its militia allies have used so-called “suicide” drones in attacks previously.

“The Iranians who attacked with unmanned aircraft the Mercer Street intended to harm an Israeli target,” Bennett said at the start of Israel’s weekly Cabinet meeting. “Instead, their piratical act caused the deaths of a British citizen and a Romanian citizen.”

He warned: “We know, at any rate, know how to convey the message to Iran in our own way.”

On Sunday, Khatibzadeh described the allegation Iran carried out the attack as “baseless” during his last news conference as the Foreign Ministry’s spokesman.

https://apnews.com/article/middle-east-business-iran-persian-gulf-tensions-419efc522acbd213a79696c9876af6dc

(* B P)

Normalisierung am Persischen Golf? Iran und Saudi-Arabien nähern sich an

Regionale Konflikte wie der Syrien-Krieg und der Krieg im Jemen haben die Beziehungen zwischen den beiden Rivalen Iran und Saudi-Arabien so stark belastet, dass sie vor einigen Jahren ihre diplomatischen Beziehungen abgebrochen hatten. Doch in den letzten Monaten kam es zu einer Détente.

Die regionalen Rivalen Iran und Saudi-Arabien sind dabei, ihre Beziehungen wieder zu stabilisieren. Das berichtete die iranische Nachrichtenagentur IRNA unter Berufung auf Regierungsvertreter in Teheran. Neben offiziellen Erklärungen der iranischen Seite nannte die Agentur auch bilaterale Verhandlungen zwischen beiden Staaten als Zeichen, dass es zu einer Verbesserung im Verhältnis kommt.

Medienberichten zufolge soll die nächste Verhandlungsrunde zwischen Teheran und Riad in Oman stattfinden. Der Golfstaat unterhält traditionell sowohl zu Iran als auch zu Saudi-Arabien gute Beziehungen. Iranische Analysten seien vorsichtig optimistisch, dass die Annäherung trotz des Regierungswechsels in Iran Bestand haben wird, schrieb IRNA.

Der gewählte Präsident Ebrahim Raissi erklärte im Juni öffentlich, dass er bereit sei, die diplomatischen Beziehungen wieder zu normalisieren. Es gebe keine Hindernisse für einen Dialog mit dem Nachbarstaat. Sein Team lud Saudi-Arabien zu der Amtseinführung, die voraussichtlich am 5. August stattfinden wird, ein.

Zu der Annäherung zwischen Teheran und Riad trugen die Vermittlungsversuche einiger anderer regionaler Akteure wie Pakistan, Irak, Katar und Oman bei, berichtete IRNA. Insbesondere Pakistan spielte eine große Rolle.

https://de.rt.com/der-nahe-osten/121563-normalisierung-am-persischen-golf-iran/

cp10 Großbritannien / Great Britain

(* B P)

Charles of Arabia: How Britain’s next king bolsters autocratic Gulf regimes

The heir to the British throne, Prince Charles, has held 95 meetings with eight repressive monarchies in the Middle East since the ‘Arab Spring’ protests of 2011 threatened their power. Charles has played a key role in promoting £14.5-billion worth of UK arms exports to these regimes in the last decade.

Charles’ visits tend to whitewash the Middle Eastern monarchies’ human rights abuses, often coinciding with repression of opposition activists or the media.

He plays a key role in cementing UK relations with key allies, acting as a de facto high-level salesman for British arms exports and promoting military cooperation.

While the palace emphasises his cultural visits, Charles’ meetings are often with senior military, intelligence and internal security officials.

Charles is also the patron of the UK intelligence agencies.

Research by Declassified has found that Prince Charles held 95 meetings with ruling families in the Middle Eastern monarchies since pro-democracy protests threatened their power in the uprisings of a decade ago.

Charles’ diplomacy in the region, which comes at the request of the Foreign Office, has helped to cement controversial UK alliances with undemocratic regimes and promoted £14.5-billion worth of arms exports to them in the last decade.

During 2011, the year of the Arab Spring, Charles met six of the Middle East’s eight monarchs, from Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Morocco, Qatar and Saudi Arabia. He subsequently held numerous meetings with dynasties from Oman and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Many of these visits took place just before or during specific acts of repression by these regimes – especially of opposition activists, the media or religious minorities – acts which have been regularly condemned by human rights groups.

All of the region’s royal families heavily repress opposition groups, but Qatar and Saudi Arabia have also supported and armed extremist groups in Syria and Libya, while the UAE has played a leading role with the Saudis in the devastating war in Yemen.

https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2021-02-24-charles-of-arabia-how-britains-next-king-bolsters-autocratic-gulf-regimes/

(A P)

New British Ambassador to Yemen presents his credentials to Minister of Foreign Affairs

Richard Oppenheim presented Thursday his credentials as British Ambassador to Yemen to Minister of Foreign and Expatriates Affairs in the internationally recognized government of Yemen.

Mr. Oppenheim said he looks forward to “supporting the Yemeni people” in reaching a lasting political resolution that ends the six-year war as well as helping to rebuild the war-torn country.

The new British Ambassador to Yemen has previously served as Deputy Ambassador to Saudi Arabia and Commonwealth Envoy to Japan, Iraq, and Oman.

https://republicanyemen.net/archives/28661

and also https://twitter.com/RepYemenEnglish/status/1423346598906564617

Film: https://twitter.com/RJOppenheim/status/1423317504223551490

(* B K P)

Die britische Investigativplattform Declassified UK legte im Juli unter Berufung auf Quellen vor Ort offen, dass neben einer ungenannten Zahl US-amerikanischer Truppen seit Jahresbeginn auch rund 30 britische Soldaten im Flughafen von Ghaida im Südosten des Jemen stationiert seien, um dort saudische Truppen auszubilden. Das britische Verteidigungsministerium bestätigte die Mission indirekt, ebenso Riads Botschafter im Jemen. Der ehemalige Vizegouverneur von Al-Mahra, Scheich Ali Salem Al-Huraisi, bezeichnet die westliche Truppenpräsenz als »Besatzung«. Laut einem Bericht von »Human Rights Watch« vom März 2020 kam es im besagten Flughafen zu Fällen von Folter, »Verschwindenlassen« und Verschleppungen Gefangener ins Ausland.

https://www.jungewelt.de/artikel/407665.krieg-im-jemen-r%C3%BCckschlag-f%C3%BCr-rebellen.html

cp11 Deutschland / Germany

(A H)

Reine Nervensache: Yahya Al Thawr hat in Falkensee eine Praxis für Neurochirurgie eröffnet!

https://falkenseeaktuell.de/2021/08/03/reine-nervensache-yahya-al-thawr-hat-in-falkensee-eine-praxis-fuer-neurochirurgie-eroeffnet/

cp12 Andere Länder / Other countries

Emirtaes: Siehe / Look at cp1

(A P)

Iranian President: Yemen Source of Pride for Islamic, Arab World

Iran's new President Ebrahim Rayeesi said that the power and resistance shown by the Yemeni nation during the Saudi-led war has turned Yemen into a source of pride for the Islamic and Arab world.

“No one can make decisions for Yemen from outside the country,” Rayeesi said in Tehran on Wednesday in a meeting with Mohammed Abdul-Salam, the Yemeni popular Ansarullah movement’s spokesman, who is due to participate in the inaugural ceremony of Iran's new President Ebrahim Rayeesi.

He also hailed the resistance and steadfastness that the Yemeni people and fighters have been staging in the face of the oppressors.

https://www.farsnews.ir/en/news/14000514000232/Iranian-Presiden-Yemen-Srce-f-Pride-fr-Islamic-Arab-Wrld

(A B K P)

Spanien bildet saudische Soldaten für den Krieg im Jemen aus

Laut der Zeitung ElDiario.es(1) haben zwei spanische Privatunternehmen (Everis und NTG) in den Jahren 2018 und 2019 saudi-arabische Soldaten in einem Ausbildungslager der spanischen Armee in Saragossa ausgebildet. Nach einer Schulung zum Einsatz der Waffen, die diese Unternehmen an das saudi-arabische Innenministerium verkauft haben, wurden die Soldaten, Angehörige des Grenzschutzes Saudi-Arabiens, an die jemenitische Grenze geschickt, um in einem Krieg zu kämpfen, der nach Angaben der Vereinten Nationen bereits mehr als 233 000 Todesopfer und massive schwere Verstöße gegen internationale Menschenrechtsnormen und das humanitäre Völkerrecht zur Folge hatte, von denen viele möglicherweise Kriegsverbrechen sind(2).

Das [EU-]Parlament hat wiederholt festgestellt, dass Waffenausfuhren zumindest gegen die Kriterien 2, 4 und 8 des rechtsverbindlichen Gemeinsamen Standpunkts 2008/944/GASP des Rates betreffend gemeinsame Regeln für die Kontrolle der Ausfuhr von Militärtechnologie und Militärgütern verstoßen. Darüber hinaus hat es die Mitgliedstaaten wiederholt nachdrücklich aufgefordert, ein Embargo gegen Saudi-Arabien zu verhängen, und den Vizepräsidenten der Kommission und Hohen Vertreter der Union für Außen- und Sicherheitspolitik (HR/VP) gedrängt, einen entsprechenden Prozess auf EU-Ebene einzuleiten. Mehrere Mitgliedstaaten haben bereits nationale Embargos verhängt. Ungeachtet dessen verkauft Spanien Waffen und militärische Ausrüstung an Saudi-Arabien und bietet dem Land eine militärische Ausbildung an.

Was wird der HR/VP angesichts der Tatsache unternehmen, dass sich Spanien nicht an den Gemeinsamen Standpunkt 2008/944/GASP des Rates hält?

https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/E-9-2021-003546_DE.html

(A B K P)

Spain is training Saudi soldiers to participate in the Yemen war

According to the newspaper elDiario.es(1), two Spanish private companies (Everis and NTGS) trained Saudi Arabian soldiers in a Spanish Army training camp in Zaragoza in 2018 and 2019. Once trained in the use of the weapons that these companies sold to the Ministry of Interior of Saudi Arabia, the soldiers, members of the Saudi Border Guard, were sent to the Yemen border to participate in a war that has already led to more than 233 000 deaths and ‘rampant levels of serious violations of international human rights law and international humanitarian law, many of which may amount to war crimes’, according to the UN(2).

[EU] Parliament has repeatedly stated that arms exports violate at least criterion 2, 4 and 8 of the legally binding Council Common Position 2008/944/CFSP defining common rules governing control of exports of military technology and equipment. Furthermore, it has repeatedly urged the Member States to impose an embargo against Saudi Arabia and the Vice‑President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy (VP/HR) to launch a process in that respect at EU level. Several Member States have already imposed national embargos. Despite this, Spain has been selling arms and military equipment and offering military training to Saudi Arabia.

What will the VP/HR do regarding Spain’s non‑compliance with Council Common Position 2008/944/CFSP?

https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/E-9-2021-003546_EN.html v

(A P)

Princess Latifa campaigner had ‘phone compromised by Pegasus spyware’

Human rights activist David Haigh targeted in attack suspected to have been ordered by Dubai

A British human rights campaigner and lawyer who was fighting to free Dubai’s Princess Latifa had his mobile phone compromised by Pegasus spyware on 3 and 4 August 2020, according to a forensic analysis carried out by Amnesty International.

David Haigh is the first confirmed British victim of infiltration by Pegasus software

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/aug/02/princess-latifa-campaigner-david-haigh-phone-compromised-pegasus-spyware

(B P)

UAE was behind Tunisian power grab, claims Speaker

The ousted Speaker of Tunisia’s parliament has accused the United Arab Emirates of supporting a power grab by President Saied, who has suspended parliament and yesterday tightened his grip on the country still further.

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/uae-was-behind-tunisian-power-grab-claims-speaker-cf2xzbbjp

cp12a Katar-Krise / Qatar crisis

(A P)

This thread is about some attempts to manipulate the Arabic hashtag "boycott elections". The trend refers to upcoming Shura council elections in Qatar. It's currently the number one trend in Qatar. There is clear manipulation + outside influence.

https://twitter.com/marcowenjones/status/1422482997111033859

cp12b Sudan

(A P)

US official lands in Sudan to support democratic transition

The U.S. official who wrote a Pulitzer Prize-winning book on genocide landed Saturday in Sudan, aiming to support the country’s fragile transition to democracy before travelling to Ethiopia to press the government there to allow humanitarian aid to the war-torn Tigray region.

Samantha Power, administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development, is set to meet in Khartoum with top Sudanese officials including Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan, head of the ruling sovereign council, and Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok, the civilian face of Sudan’s transitional government.

She travelled Saturday to the western region of Darfur where she said she investigated atrocities in the civil war in the 2000s, according to Sudan’s state-run SUNA news agency.

https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-middle-east-africa-sudan-cab65a1ee0375e9f2451711b22aa88fc

and as a reminder: https://ethio12.com/2021/08/03/how-dare-samantha-power-scrub-the-yemen-war-from-her-memoir/

cp13a Waffenhandel / Arms trade

(* B K P)

Fluchtbewegung durch Waffen aus Europa

Der Waffenhandel ist weltweit ein lukratives Geschäft, auch europäische Länder sind vorne mit dabei. Nun stellte eine niederländische Denkfabrik eine direkte Verbindung zwischen europäischen Waffengeschäften und der Vertreibung von über einer Million Menschen her.
Der Bericht des Transnational Institute (TNI), der am Mittwoch veröffentlicht wurde, zeichnet ein düsteres Bild vom Teufelskreis aus Gewalt und Flucht: Waffen aus Europa seien trotz des UNO-Waffenhandelsvertrags und der EU-Regeln zu Waffenausfuhren für die Vertreibung von 1,1 Millionen Menschen in Kriegsgebieten verantwortlich.
„Europäische Waffen wurden in Militäroperationen genutzt, die zur Destabilisierung führten und in Zwangsvertreibungen und Migration resultierten. Die Destabilisierung, die durch die von Europa gelieferten Waffen erleichtert wurde, trug dann dazu bei, dass Europa seinen Grenzsicherheitsapparat massiv ausbaute, um auf die offensichtliche Bedrohung durch Flüchtlinge zu reagieren, die versuchen, Asyl zu suchen“, so das TNI…
Forderung nach schärferer Krontrolle
Mit einem methodischen Mix aus Untersuchungen von Open-Source-Daten, Berechnungen und der Analyse dokumentarischer Quellen und Interviews habe man einen Kausalzusammenhang mit der Flucht von mindestens 1,1 Millionen Menschen festgestellt, so das Institut. „Es ist möglich, Waffen, militärische Ausrüstung und Technik vom Herkunfts- und Exportort bis zum Einsatzort methodisch zu verfolgen und ihre verheerenden Auswirkungen auf die lokale Bevölkerung zu dokumentieren“, heißt es im Bericht…
Nach den USA und Russland sind zwei europäische Länder unter den Topwaffenexporteuren der Welt: Deutschland und Frankreich. Beide Nationen verzeichneten in den vergangenen Jahren große Zuwächse bei ihren Waffenexporten.
SIPRI analysierte auch, wo die meisten Lieferungen insgesamt hingingen: zu einem großen Teil in den Nahen Osten. In den Jahren 2015 bis 2020 nahmen die Importe in Katar um 361 Prozent, in Ägypten um 136 Prozent und in Saudi-Arabien um 61 Prozent zu. Trotz der Pandemie verharren die internationalen Rüstungslieferungen auf dem höchsten Stand seit Ende des Kalten Krieges.
Europäische Länder sind aber den Regeln von UNO und EU unterworfen. Sie besagen, dass Waffenlieferung in Kriegsländer verboten sind. Ein Land dürfe keine Transfers genehmigen, wenn es Kenntnis davon hat, dass diese bei der Begehung von Völkermord, Verbrechen gegen die Menschlichkeit, schweren Verstößen gegen die Genfer Konventionen oder gegen Zivilisten eingesetzt werden könnten. Waffenausfuhren dürfen keinen bewaffneten Konflikt provozieren oder verlängern…

https://orf.at/stories/3222743/

cp13b Mercenaries / Söldner

(A K)

Saudi, Sudanese military chiefs discuss ongoing operations in Yemen

http://en.adenpress.news/news/33454

(* B K)

From Haiti to Yemen: Why Colombian mercenaries are fighting foreign wars

In recent years the Middle East has become a popular destination for Colombian mercenaries, with military veterans from the South American country's civil conflict involved in wars across the region.

Colombian soldiers have considerable clout in the mercenary field and are highly sought after. The country’s long history of internal conflict has bred a vast supply of experienced, tactical, and well-trained soldiers.

“They are ex-special forces Colombians who are often trained by the US. They have field experience fighting [Colombian guerrilla group] the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (aka FARC) and narcos. They're also good warriors, they respect the chain of command, they’re tactically proficient and they cost about half to a quarter of the price,” McFate explains.

Many Colombian military veterans find themselves confronting an early retirement and a meagre pension and are therefore lured into the world of private security due to its considerable financial benefits.

Soldiers of fortune in the Middle East

In recent years the Middle East has become a popular destination for Colombian mercenaries, with soldiers involved in missions and conflicts across Yemen, Iraq, Libya, Afghanistan, and the UAE - as well as many other countries around the globe.

“The Middle East is a hotspot for all mercenaries because it's what we call a ‘conflict market’, there are lots of conflicts in the Middle East and that attracts mercenaries. There's a tradition of this in the Middle East, hiring foreign fighters to wage a war is not profoundly taboo,” says McFate.

“Additionally, you have wealthy people and wealthy governments who are willing to pay a lot of money. Ultimately, if you want to wage war but not bleed yourself, then you turn to mercenaries, so mercenaries are going because they can double or even quadruple their salary.”

In 2015, the New York Times revealed that 450 Latin American troops, including hundreds of Colombian mercenaries, had been contracted by the UAE to fight Houthi rebels in Yemen. The recruits were paid between $2,000 to $3,000 a month, with $1,000 a week bonuses for those deployed directly to Yemen for the toughest missions.

Additionally, the mercenaries were lured by additional benefits. Those that survived would receive immediate Emirati citizenship - a privilege that extended to their immediate families - as well as a pension, access to UAE health benefits, and a guarantee of education for their children.

A month later, 10 Colombian mercenaries were killed in action in the Yemeni city of Taiz.

https://english.alaraby.co.uk/analysis/why-colombian-mercenaries-are-fighting-middle-east

cp13c Kulturerbe / Cultural heritage

(A P)

Leaked document shows Saudi involvement in massive smuggling operation of Yemeni antiquities

A leaked document from the Saudi Anti-Corruption Authority on Sunday revealed the involvement of Hadi’s Minister of Information, Culture and Tourism, Muammar Mutaher Al-Eryani, in the smuggling of rare Yemeni antiquities to European countries.

According to the document seen by Hodhod Yemen News Agency, British police arrested Saudi smugglers in London, who turned out to be members of an international smuggling network run by Muammar al-Aryani.

The document explained that al-Aryani’s network has been smuggling antiquities from Yemen through Saudi Arabia and selling them on black markets in Central Europe for years.

According to the document, a large number of these antiquities were seized inside an abandoned building near the Saudi capital of Riyadh.

It noted that investigations are still underway, and it is expected that senior figures in the Hadi puppet government and even princes of the Saudi royal family are involved in the smuggling ring.

https://hodhodyemennews.net/2021/08/01/leaked-document-shows-saudi-involvement-in-massive-smuggling-operation-of-yemeni-antiquities/

and also https://www.farsnews.ir/en/news/14000512000251/Dcmen-Reveals-Pr-Hadi-Yemeni-Miniser-Invlved-in-Smggling-Aniiies

cp13d Wirtschaft / Economy

(* B E)

A snapshot of coffee farming conditions in Yemen

We made a survey with 437 coffee farmers. We hoped we could visit more than this number, because the farmers in these areas are very hard workers. They want to make Yemeni coffee more suitable for the local and the international markets.

It was so hard to reach certain areas because they are in mountainous places. You cannot reach them by public transportation. Our team worked so hard and faced a lot of obstacles to achieve the survey.

For the last five years, all the farmers have been affected due to the conflict.

For example, we face issues with granting permissions to export or to import anything. After discussions with allies and local authorities, they grant some permissions for farmers and for companies to get things to and from Yemen. But the charging cost for this process has increased due to what we can only say is the “separating of Yemen”.

Over the past five years, some coffee farms have changed to khat farms. As you know, the money from coffee is not something big and so farmers are getting money from khat as well.

Farmers have moved to khat farming because the khat tree can be harvested more than three times per year. But coffee just has special seasons. Some farmers harvest every six months and some farmers have just one harvesting per year.

https://medium.com/@carlcervone/a-snapshot-of-farming-conditions-in-yemen-3f38069f0bfa

(A E P)

Yemen official explains the way to stop the national currency's devaluation

Yemeni Deputy Minister of Information Mohammed Qayzan has called the Yemeni government to make a full and "permanent comeback to the country and to assert its control over the country's oil and gas facilities" as the first steps to stop the continuous depreciation of the riyal.

https://www.alsahwa-yemen.net/en/p-48221

(A E P)

National Salvation Government of Yemen announces reduction in Hodeidah customs fees, challenging Saudi-occupied port of Aden

Member of the Supreme Political Council, Mohammed Ali Al-Houthi has announced a reduction of customs fees at the port of Hodeidah.

Al-Houthi revealed on Friday the issuing of directives from the President of the revolutionary government of Yemen, Mahdi al-Mashat, to fix the price of the customs dollar at 250 riyals at the port of Hodeidah.

“The directives include suspending 49% of customs for every container loaded with merchant goods entering from the port of Hodeidah, regardless of whether it is going to Aden, Ma’rib, Sana’a, or any other area in Yemen,” al-Houthi added, calling on the private sector to use the port of Hodeidah as a primary import hub.

This move represents a strong blow to the Hadi government’s measures, which recently raised the price of the customs dollar in the ports they occupy from 250 riyals to 500 riyals. If successful, the latest move by the National Salvation Government is likely to direct ships and goods to Hodeidah instead, in order for them to take advantage of the announced reduction in customs fees.

https://hodhodyemennews.net/2021/08/07/national-salvation-government-of-yemen-announces-reduction-in-hodeidah-customs-fees-challenging-saudi-occupied-port-of-aden/

(A E)

the internationally recognised can't stop depreciation of the national currency amid growing tensions between it and the STC. Today Rial is trading at 1.050 per US dollar in the interim capital Aden, down from 1.000 this past weeks and 250 before the war started in 2014.

https://twitter.com/FuadRajeh/status/1423900427582644224

(* A E)

Depreciation of rial deepens in government-controlled Yemen

The Yemeni rial on Thursday continued to fall against the US dollar as the Central Bank of Yemen announced new measures to regulate exchange operations.

It traded at 1.020 per US dollar in the southwestern province of Taiz, down from 1.015 last week, local exchangers said.

Exchange companies are now refusing to trade in foreign currencies, but people are accusing them of monopolising currencies, exchangers said.

Meanwhile, the Yemeni Exchangers Association has started a strike in protest against economic deterioration and currency depreciation.

But trade in foreign currencies is active on the black market.

https://debriefer.net/en/news-26392.html

(* A E P)

[Aden] CBY orders all banks to move their HQ to Aden

The Central Bank of Yemen has warned commercial and Islamic banks of failing to submit their financial statements or move headquarters from Houthi militants-controlled Sana'a to the interim capital Aden.
According to the state news agency, Saba, the warning came in a meeting chaired by the CBY's deputy governor Shakib Alhobeishi in the temporary capital Aden on Thursday.
The CBY warned the mentioned banks they would bear consequences for putting them on the non-compliant banks list that will be circulated to all local and international financial institutions and organizations of concern.
The CBY demanded the banks to submit their financial statements within 15 days.
It ordered all commercial and Islamic banks to promptly move head offices to Aden where the CBY operates to allow for an easy verification and auditing of their dealings.
The CBY called on all commercial companies and vendors to carry out no financial or banking transactions including opening letters of credit or money transfers with the banks prone to be listed as non-compliant. The CBY said it won't bear any responsibilities for any damages resulting from dealing with non-compliant banks.
It affirmed that it would cash the foreign bank accounts of only the compliant banks to cover their letters of credits and import finance remittances.

http://en.adenpress.news/news/33475

My comment: A new stage of economic civil war.

(A E P)

Yemeni exchanger union in Aden starts inclusive strike

The Yemeni exchanger union on Tuesday announced an inclusive strike as off 4 August in protest of the deteriorating economy and the depreciation of national currency.
In a statement, the union called on all the local exchange and remittance services to "start an inclusive strike as off Wednesday."
This step comes after using all the ways and repeatedly calling on the government to stop economic deterioration, it said, but "no response".
The statement highlighted the need for a collective act as part of "duties and responsibilities for the people and their living that reached its bottom."

https://debriefer.net/en/news-26380.html

(A E P)

Brokers buy newly printed YR 1000 riyal notes: Citizen Journalism Corner

While Aljazeera Money Exchange Co. in Taiz is handing over transferred salaries to employees in Taiz in new reprints of the old big size YR 1000 bills, some brokers are hanging around and buying each new YR 1000 note for old YR 1300 grubby notes./Facebook post by Ahmed Albasha

Houthis have deployed brokers in Aden, Taiz and all cities to buy the new reprints with the aim of withdrawing the money from the market. The STC militia and other foreign-backed lobbies are helping them. /Facebook post by Basel Ahmed

Houthis want the currency split they imposed to stay it is: They possess the big-size 1000 riyals and the areas outside their control stay left with the depreciating smaller notes.

https://www.alsahwa-yemen.net/en/p-48160

(A E P)

[Aden] Central bank approves new regulations money exchange business

http://en.adenpress.news/news/33460

(A E P)

Brokers are reportedly buying the newly released 1000 riyal banknotes inside the central bank in Aden. The bank had printed and announced the beginning of the circulation of the big-size bills to resolve the national currency split created by the Houthi militia/Multiple websites.

Economic analyst Majed Alda'iri said open sale of the newly released big-size 1000 riyal banknotes to brokers inside the central bank of Aden at the same exchange rate in Houthi-controlled areas similar is disgraceful to the bank's leadership and reveals that the bank's move to end the currency split is illusory. /Aden Alghad

Houthi militiamen on trucks and with protection from the STC militiamen are buying the newly printed big size 1000 riyal banknotes for only 1200 riyals from the smaller notes. The move is meant to withdraw the government-printed bills that would have ended the country's currency split. Civilians have reported the Houthi-STC misdeeds to the police station, but the police did not respond./Yemen Direct

https://www.alsahwa-yemen.net/en/p-48146

(B E)

Fruitful trees to remove in Ibb governorate for Khat cultivation

The Khat tree spreads in the most fertile agricultural lands in Ibb governorate, central Yemen, known as the “Green Brigade”, over the grain, fruits, vegetables, and coffee plants. The plant’s cultivation has spread in the mountains and different agricultural valleys, for many reasons, including the profit that crosses thousands of dollars, and the harvest of the Khat tree, which occurs about eight times per year, in addition to being a stimulant substance that the majority of Yemenis use, this pushed the farmers to uproot the fruit trees from their fields and replace them with khat. Khat cultivation in Yemen has recently grown fast and doubled to more than twenty times, whereas economists anticipate it to double again recently, due to the country’s reliance on this plant, which is their only and main source of income for many people.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vws8zREl7yA

(* A E P)

Yemen central bank injects old riyal bills worth billions into market to challenge Houthi ban

The Central Bank of Yemen in Aden has injected billions of riyals in old large-sized 1,000 banknotes into the market to address a chronic shortage of cash.

The bank also implemented several other economic measures to control the chaotic exchange market and put an end to the fall in the Yemeni riyal.

Since late 2019, the Iran-backed Houthis have banned the use of banknotes printed by the Yemeni government in Aden, creating a severe cash crunch in areas under their control which has led to local exchange firms and banks stopping paying salaries and raising remittance charges.

The Houthi ban has forced travelers to Sanaa and other areas controlled by the militant group into buying old banknotes from the black market at a higher rate and carrying Saudi riyals or US dollars.

In a challenge to the Houthis, the central bank has put billions of riyals in old banknotes into the market and started withdrawing the newly printed 1,000 banknote. Yemenis can get old banknotes from local banks and exchange firms.

However, the Houthis warned people against using the large banknotes and published copies and serial numbers of the newly circulated cash.

In a bid to regulate the exchange market and curb the plunging value of the riyal, the central bank has tightened regulations for opening new exchange shops or firms, demanding that applicants produce a three-year feasibility study prepared by a certified accountant showing estimated budgets.

Existing exchange companies must now send their annual financial statements to the bank, use an approved software for their financial activities, apply international financial reporting standards, and audit their accounts by accountants certified by the central bank.

Some Yemeni economists, however, have cast doubt over the central bank’s ability to enact the regulations after the Yemeni riyal on Wednesday broke another historic record low against the dollar.

https://yemenonline.info/economy/5702

(A E P)

[Sanaa] Parliament Speaker sends letter to IMF Executive Director

The Speaker of the Yemeni Parliament, Yahya Ali Al-Ra’i, sent on Sunday a letter to the Executive Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Kristalina Georgieva, regarding the Special Drawing Rights of the Republic of Yemen.

Al-Ra’i affirmed that the Parliament of the Republic of Yemen has repeatedly addressed the IMF and the World Bank about the unconstitutionality and illegality of transferring the functions of the Central Bank from the capital, Sanaa, to the city of Aden.

In the letter, the Speaker of the Parliament clarified that the transfer process is a clear and explicit violation of the Yemeni constitution and law, and that it was a political decision aimed at acquiring the powers related to printing currency and using it outside the framework of the Central Bank policy to achieve other political and military goals.

“The transfer of the bank's activity aimed to facilitate the appropriation of state revenues and the value of sales of Yemeni oil and gas exports and to use them away from the legislative oversight of Parliament and other supervisory bodies located in the capital, Sanaa”, the letter added.

https://www.saba.ye/en/news3149962.htm

(A E P)

The central bank in Aden decides to pump large size YR 1000 bills to tackle the currency split in the country/Multiple websites

https://www.alsahwa-yemen.net/en/p-48082

(A E P)

The central bank's new measures to end the riyal currency split has sent the Houthis mad prompting the militia to call the move "a new disaster."/Yemen Voice website

https://www.alsahwa-yemen.net/en/p-48082

cp14 Terrorismus / Terrorism

(A T)

Large number of explosives found in residence of al-Qaeda member

[Sanaa gov.] Yemeni security services in Bayda province announced on Thursday that they had found a warehouse containing a number of explosive devices in Al-Burman area in Al-Zaher district.

https://hodhodyemennews.net/2021/08/06/large-number-of-explosives-found-in-residence-of-al-qaeda-member/

(A T)

#Yemen's #AQAP congratulates #Syria's Hurras al-Din for 4Aug bus bombing in Damascus. Call it "a masterful security breach” Clumsier style than usual. Ends with #poetry. Can be traced to Andalusian poet Ibn Sahl. Poor choice. He was a converted Jew famed for love poems & boozing (image)

https://twitter.com/Dr_E_Kendall/status/1423642919928479746

(A T)

#AlQaeda in #Yemen issues the 1st operational claim (on its formal wire) since June: razing a Houthi site in Shawkan & seized the arms pictured If this is the sum total of core #AQAP activity in the past 5 weeks, it suggests weakness, co-option, or focus on something upcoming (image)

https://twitter.com/Dr_E_Kendall/status/1422951583025934337

(B T)

Who is #AQAP’s Sheikh Hamad bin Hamud al-Tamimi? 1/ He has written at least 11 books justifying #jihad, plugging Paradise & promoting martyrdom. 3 appeared in the past month. One urges revenge on #America #Denmark #Norway #Sweden #France for insulting the Prophet

#AQAP #Yemen chose this shadowy legal scholar to announce Raymi's death & Batarfi's succession in 2020. With so many leading clerics out of the frame (Abu al-Bara' droned 2020; Abu Bishr captured 2021; Islahis assassinated), he's one to watch...

He popped up in #AQAP before 2020 - in al-Masra newspaper in 2016 & in an audio message attacking #America for backing #Israel in 2015. He peppers his work with #poetry & is praised for his poetic skills (but it's actually nearly all lifted from others). Anyone seen his face? (images)

https://twitter.com/Dr_E_Kendall/status/1422620805620506636

cp15 Propaganda

(A P)

Yemen: Useful Things

Iran is running the Shia rebel operations. Iran is their main source of outside support and the Iranian ambassador, one of the few in the rebel-occupied capital, is a former Quds Force general who is in Yemen more as a Quds Force commander than a diplomat. This ambassador doesn’t make many requests, but he does issue a lot of orders. The IRGC (Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps) is the separate military force formed in the 1980s to protect the religious dictatorship that has ruled Iran since the 1980s. The Quds Force is a component of the IRGC that starts, supervises and sustains foreign rebellions and terror campaigns to expand Iranian power and keep potential enemies on the defensive. The IRGC is also the main component of the radical faction in the Iranian government.

The most powerful weapon Iran and Yemen’s Shia rebels have is the disunity of the rest of Yemen.

https://military.einnews.com/article/548115644?lcf=K1DZXaDb8K1pboqgqhC1nw%3D%3D

(A P)

Banning the government's presence in the country & brainwashing the public to believe it is 'failed'

Yemeni political analyst Naser Habtoor said from the beginning of the ongoing conflict, the legitimate Yemeni government faced a multifaceted war.

In a statement, Shabwa-based analyst said the following systematic and carefully planned policy was followed in the war against the legitimate government: The government was banned from presence and practice of authority in the country on the one hand, and was subjected to a "systematic campaign to persuade public to believe that it is a failed government on the other."

He said the most dangerous part of the malicious strategy was the tireless brainwashing of the public into believing that the idea of a legitimate government is a bad one and making people associate the word "legitimacy and legitimate" with failure and corruption.

He warned that the "foreign financed militias" behind this war on the government aim to undermine the government and divide the country which threatens to keep Yemen in statelessness and lawlessness for long years.

https://www.alsahwa-yemen.net/en/p-48222

(A P)

Cartoon: Tehran welcomes the Houthi delegation.

https://twitter.com/RepYemenEnglish/status/1424045406879723526

(A P)

Iran’s threat in Gulf is to be unpredictable - analysis

Iran’s goal is to keep these groups armed and ready to support its activities, such that they can be operationalized or used as leverage and tools for Tehran’s regional project.

Iran’s latest move, days after it used drones to attack a ship off the coast of Oman, was apparently an attempt to send men to board and hijack a ship.

This isn’t the first time: Iranian agents were also responsible for doing something similar in July 2020 when the Gulf Sky disappeared off the coast of Oman and ended up off the coast of Iran in mysterious circumstances.

Yesterday it was the Asphalt Princess that appeared to be targeted for piracy by Iran. Reports early on Wednesday implied the ship had been released; the full details are not clear.

What is clear is that Iran’s goal is to spread chaos using unpredictable behavior. This policy applies not just in the areas around the Gulf, but throughout the Middle East.

https://www.jpost.com/middle-east/iran-news/irans-threat-in-gulf-is-to-be-unpredictable-analysis-675827

(A P)

Iran Inaugurates a President Tied to a Massacre

Ebrahim Raisi’s election reflects the takeover of hard-line zealots who face converging crises—and may complicate U.S. diplomatic efforts to contain Tehran’s nuclear program.

https://www.newyorker.com/news/daily-comment/iran-inaugurates-a-president-tied-to-a-massacre

Comments: "Raisi is taking over the highest elected office in a country that is now the hegemon in the Middle East" Except here's Iran's military budget, compared to other regional powers, as well as the US Who's the real hegemon? (image)

https://twitter.com/AnnelleSheline/status/1423365810463154176

Whoa, Raisi is in charge of the U.S. government? Big if true, as they say

https://twitter.com/DanielLarison/status/1423375547032289280

Truly embarrassing stuff from @wrightr. Iran is not "the hegemon in the Middle East." I wrote a piece in 2015 describing why Iran was not, and could not become, a regional hegemon. https://washingtonexaminer.com/inflating-the-iran-threat

https://twitter.com/JustinTLogan/status/1423367634872045570

(A P)

Cartoon: TICKING BOMB!

https://twitter.com/RepYemenEnglish/status/1423331601015099397

(A P)

Yemen condemns Saudi propaganda against Yemen in TV series

Spokesman of the National Salvation Government and Minister of Information Daifullah Al-Shami has denounced the low level reached by Saudi propaganda, which was expressed by a series.

According to Al-Shami, the Saudi series Rashash series has abused Yemeni women who preserve their faith identity and the authentic customs and traditions of Yemeni society.

The government spokesman said in a statement on Wednesday that the series, which was broadcast by the Saudi MBC channel, included insulting Yemenis and provoking their feelings, expressing the state of the moral and ethical fall and the cultural and religious bankruptcy of the Saudi regime, which allows the production and broadcast of such low and abusive acts.

He pointed out that this series comes within the framework of a comprehensive war of the US-Saudi aggression against the Yemeni people, targeting their faith identity and their long history.

https://hodhodyemennews.net/2021/08/05/yemen-condemns-saudi-propaganda-against-yemen-in-tv-series/

(A P)

The chairman of the Yemeni governmental Foundation on Prisoners and Hostages Hadi Hayj has said in a released memo, "The UN silence has emboldened Houthis to commit more abuses against prisoners and hostages."

https://www.alsahwa-yemen.net/en/p-48159

(A P)

Saudi FM: Houthis Prefer Military Solution in Spite of our Peace Offer in Yemen

https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/3114156/saudi-fm-houthis-prefer-military-solution-spite-our-peace-offer-yemen

(A P)

The speaker of the [pro-Hadi] Yemeni parliament warned on Monday the war in the country will remain because the Houthi guerilla opts for violence and the language of death only.

He said the Houthi militia have failed the international, Saudi and Omani peace proposals consecutively. "We had counted on the Omani mediation given that some Houthi representatives hosted in Oman. We expected them (Houthis) to return the favor and accept the Omani mediation … and we ask them (the Omanis) to exert more efforts are the likeliest to bear fruits. Without that, we have no choice left. We are waiting for a new UN envoy and he will come in need of time. We've had a first, second and third envoys and now we have a fourth. He will need more time to prepare himself as a fresh envoy and all that time passes at the expense of the Yemeni blood that runs everyday."

https://www.alsahwa-yemen.net/en/p-48147

(A P)

Dank der Entwicklungs- und Nothilfe der VAE in Höhe von 110 Mio. USD konnte Sokotra Herausforderungen und schwierige Bedingungen überwinden

Die Entwicklungs- und Nothilfe, die die VAE dem Gouvernement Sokotra seit 2015 zur Verfügung gestellt haben, ermöglichte es der Inselgruppe, ihre zahlreichen Herausforderungen und die katastrophale humanitäre Lage zu überwinden, und half den lokalen Behörden, das Leben und die Lebensbedingungen der Bevölkerung von Sokotra zu verbessern.

Offiziellen Berichten zufolge beliefen sich die Hilfsleistungen für die Insel von 2015 bis 2021 auf 110 Millionen US-Dollar. Zu den Geberorganisationen gehören der Emirates Red Crescent (ERC), die Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan Foundation, die Sheikh Sultan bin Khalifa Al Nahyan Humanitarian and Scientific Foundation, der Abu Dhabi Fund for Development (ADFD) und das Abu Dhabi Waste Management Centre.

Diese Hilfe, mit der die meisten lebenswichtigen Sektoren im Gouvernement unterstützt wurden, erstreckt sich auf die Bereiche Sozial- und Gesundheitsdienste, Grundversorgung, Transport und Lagerung, Bildung, Fischerei, Bauwesen, öffentliche Bildung, Energie, Wasser und öffentliche Gesundheit, Unterstützung der Regierung und der Zivilgesellschaft.

http://www.wam.ae/de/details/1395302956572

(A P)

UAE’s US$110 mn development, relief aid enabled Socotra to overcome challenges, dire conditions

The development and relief aid provided by the UAE to Socotra Governorate since 2015 enabled the Archipelago to overcome its many challenges and dire humanitarian conditions and helped local authorities to improve life and livelihood of the Soqotri people.

The aid provided to the island from 2015 to 2021 amounted to US$110 million, according to official reports, with donor organisations including the Emirates Red Crescent (ERC), the Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan Foundation, the Sheikh Sultan bin Khalifa Al Nahyan Humanitarian and Scientific Foundation, the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development (ADFD) and the Abu Dhabi Waste Management Centre.

This aid, which has supported most vital sectors in the governorate, covers the areas of social and health services, basic supplies, transport and storage, education, fishing, construction, public education, energy, water and public health, government support and civil society.

http://www.wam.ae/en/details/1395302956528

Film: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QPrKFZkiSu0

(A P)

More Saudi coalition „We are benefactors“ propaganda

https://ajel.sa/english/ksrelief-who-join-hands-to-help-yemens-government-combat-malaria/

http://en.adenpress.news/news/33486

https://www.spa.gov.sa/viewfullstory.php?lang=en&newsid=2270013

https://www.spa.gov.sa/viewfullstory.php?lang=en&newsid=2270004

https://www.spa.gov.sa/viewfullstory.php?lang=en&newsid=2270003

https://www.saba.ye/en/news3150514.htm

https://www.spa.gov.sa/viewfullstory.php?lang=en&newsid=2269506

https://www.spa.gov.sa/viewfullstory.php?lang=en&newsid=2269504

https://www.spa.gov.sa/viewfullstory.php?lang=en&newsid=2269439

https://www.spa.gov.sa/viewfullstory.php?lang=en&newsid=2269215

https://www.spa.gov.sa/viewfullstory.php?lang=en&newsid=2269199

https://www.spa.gov.sa/viewfullstory.php?lang=en&newsid=2269197

https://www.spa.gov.sa/viewfullstory.php?lang=en&newsid=2267963

http://en.adenpress.news/news/33444

https://www.spa.gov.sa/viewfullstory.php?lang=en&newsid=2267871

https://www.spa.gov.sa/viewfullstory.php?lang=en&newsid=2267592

https://www.spa.gov.sa/viewfullstory.php?lang=en&newsid=2267539

https://www.spa.gov.sa/viewfullstory.php?lang=en&newsid=2267528

https://www.spa.gov.sa/viewfullstory.php?lang=en&newsid=2267375

cp16 Saudische Luftangriffe / Saudi air raids

(* A K pH)

Saudi coalition air raids and shelling day by day

Aug. 6: https://www.facebook.com/lcrdye/photos/a.551858951631141/2091344291015925/

Aug. 5: https://www.facebook.com/lcrdye/photos/a.551858951631141/2091343981015956/

Aug. 4: https://www.facebook.com/lcrdye/photos/a.551858951631141/2091343204349367/

Aug. 3: https://www.facebook.com/lcrdye/photos/a.551858951631141/2091342611016093/

Aug. 2: https://www.facebook.com/lcrdye/photos/a.551858951631141/2091341917682829/

Aug. 1: https://www.facebook.com/lcrdye/photos/a.551858951631141/2091341271016227/

July 31: https://www.facebook.com/lcrdye/photos/a.551858951631141/2090970511053303/

July 30: https://www.facebook.com/lcrdye/photos/a.551858951631141/2090970104386677/

July 29: https://www.facebook.com/lcrdye/photos/a.551858951631141/2090969721053382/

July 28: https://www.facebook.com/lcrdye/photos/a.551858951631141/2090969307720090/

July 27: https://www.facebook.com/lcrdye/photos/a.551858951631141/2090968774386810/

July 26: https://www.facebook.com/lcrdye/photos/a.551858951631141/2090967971053557/

July 25: https://www.facebook.com/lcrdye/photos/a.551858951631141/2090967461053608/

July 24: https://www.facebook.com/lcrdye/photos/a.551858951631141/2090966927720328/

July 23: https://www.facebook.com/lcrdye/photos/a.551858951631141/2090965921053762/

July 22: https://www.facebook.com/lcrdye/photos/a.551858951631141/2090965174387170/

July 21: https://www.facebook.com/lcrdye/photos/a.551858951631141/2084956461654708/

July 20: https://www.facebook.com/lcrdye/photos/a.551858951631141/2084956091654745/

July 19: https://www.facebook.com/lcrdye/photos/a.551858951631141/2084940764989611/

July 18: https://www.facebook.com/lcrdye/photos/a.551858951631141/2084940398322981/

July 17: https://www.facebook.com/lcrdye/photos/a.551858951631141/2084939721656382/

July 16: https://www.facebook.com/lcrdye/photos/a.551858951631141/2084939328323088/

July 15: https://www.facebook.com/lcrdye/photos/a.551858951631141/2084938504989837/

July 14: https://www.facebook.com/lcrdye/photos/a.551858951631141/2084938031656551/

July 13: https://www.facebook.com/lcrdye/photos/a.551858951631141/2084937634989924/

July 12: https://www.facebook.com/lcrdye/photos/a.551858951631141/2084937068323314/

(A K)

45 Houthi rebels killed in airstrikes, clashes in Yemen's Marib: military sources

At least 45 Houthi rebels were killed in multiple airstrikes by the Saudi-led coalition and in ground clashes with the Yemeni government army in Yemen's central province of Marib in the last 24 hours, two military sources said on Saturday.

"In the western district of Sirwah, the airstrikes targeted a rebel makeshift operational room, killing at least 12," one of the sources in Marib told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

"In the adjacent district of Rahabah, to the south of Sirwah, the airstrikes destroyed several pick-up vehicles carrying rebel combatants on the southwestern Rahabah, killing more than 20," he added.

http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2021-08/07/c_1310114248.htm

(A K pS)

Coalition airstrikes target Houthi reinforcements in Sirwah

The Arab Coalition Fighter jets launched on Thursday, a series of air strikes targeting military reinforcements and supply lines of the Iran-backed Houthi coupist militia in the western part of Sirwah district of Yemen's Marib governorate.
Military reports said that the Coalition's air raids resulted in destroying 13 military vehicles, including troop carriers and trucks loaded with various types of ammunition and weapons.

http://en.adenpress.news/news/33476

(A K pH)

More Saudi coalition air raids

https://www.saba.ye/en/news3150712.htm Marib p.

https://www.saba.ye/en/news3150623.htm Marib p.

https://www.saba.ye/en/news3150274.htm Marib p.

https://www.saba.ye/en/news3150161.htm Marib p.

https://www.saba.ye/en/news3150025.htm Marib p.

https://www.saba.ye/en/news3149907.htm Marib p.

cp17 Kriegsereignisse / Theater of War

Siehe / Look at cp18

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

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

(A K)

Clashes continue in the cities [provinces!!] of Jawf, Taiz and Marib

https://cohenadam74.medium.com/clashes-continue-in-the-cities-of-jawf-taiz-and-marib-cf18d46032f6

(A K pS)

Lebanese fighters killed in Marib recent battles: Governor Arada

Lebanese fighters have been killed as fighting with Houthi forces in Marib, governor of the Yemeni northeastern city said Friday.
Lebanese, Syrian, Iranian and Iraqi experts and personnel participate in combats, either at direct confrontations or by logistic support, Sultan al-Arada added in a television interview.
Asked how these military men entered Yemen where the Arab coalition has control over land crossings, seaports and airports, Governor Arada denied knowledge and said "this question should be asked to coalition officials."
The Houthi "gathered energies and resources throughout last year to take control of Marib, but these attempts gravely failed and Houthi and Iranian ambitions were broken by Marib rock and its men's steadfastness.

https://debriefer.net/en/news-26404.html

(A K pH)

Aggression coalition continues violations in Hodeida, injuring 6 citizens in artillery shelling on Sa'ada

In Sa'ada province, the official confirmed that 6 citizens were injured as a result of rocket and artillery shelling on various areas of the Razeh and Shada border districts.

https://www.saba.ye/en/news3150627.htm

and also https://www.saba.ye/en/news3150627.htm

(A K pS)

Three people have been killed and eight others were wounded in the explosion of a Houthi-laid landmine in Aljawf province, in northeast Yemen, in the past hours/Khabar for News website

https://www.alsahwa-yemen.net/en/p-48191

(A K P)

Jemens Außenminister [Sanaa-Regierung]: Marib-Kampf führt zum Frieden

Laut Jemens Außenminister Hisham Sharaf haben Saudi-Arabien und seine Verbündeten Maribs Öl- und Gaseinnahmen an ihre Söldner weitergeleitet, um den Krieg zu finanzieren. Er bezeichnete den Sieg im Kampf um die strategische Provinz Marib als Auftakt zum Frieden für das ganze Land.

Sharaf machte diese Bemerkungen am Mittwoch in einem Interview mit Press TV. Er sagte, die Verteidigungskräfte des Jemen seien berechtigt, die Schlacht von Marib auszutragen, um sich gegen Saudi-Arabien und seine Söldner zu wehren.

„Wenn wir über das Thema Marib sprechen, haben wir vor langer Zeit gesagt, dass Marib zum Jemen gehört, und wir können uns überall innerhalb unseres Territoriums bewegen. Wir greifen nicht Saudi-Arabien an“, bemerkte er.

„Marib sollte als internes Problem betrachtet werden. Etwas, in das die Saudis und Emiratis keinen Grund haben, sich einzumischen“, fügte er hinzu.

https://parstoday.com/de/news/middle_east-i60668-jemens_au%C3%9Fenminister_marib_kampf_f%C3%BChrt_zum_frieden

(A K P)

M’arib battle prelude to peace: Yemen FM tells Press TV

Yemeni Foreign Minister Hisham Sharaf says Saudi Arabia and its allies have been funneling Ma’rib’s oil and gas revenues to their mercenaries in order to help finance the war, describing victory in the battle for the strategic province as a prelude to peace for the entire country.

Sharaf made the remarks in an interview with Press TV on Wednesday. He said Yemen’s defense forces are completely entitled to staging the battle of Ma’rib to fight back against Saudi Arabia and its mercenaries.

“When we speak about the issue of Ma’rib…we said a long time ago [that] Ma’rib is part of Yemen. And really, we are free to move anywhere within our territory. We are not attacking Saudi Arabia,” he noted.

“Ma’rib should be looked at as an internal issue [like] something that the Saudis and Emiratis have no reason to interfere in,” he added.

https://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2021/08/04/663728/yemen-M

(A K)

5 Sudanese soldiers killed in blast in northwestern Yemen

Five Sudanese soldiers of the Saudi-led coalition were killed Wednesday when a blast struck their military vehicle in Yemen's northwestern province of Hajjah, a government official told Xinhua.

The explosion killed at least five Sudanese soldiers at the scene and seriously wounded three others, the official said on condition of anonymity.

http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2021-08/05/c_1310108096.htm

(A K pS)

Saudi air defenses intercept Houthi drone launched from Yemen

targeting the southern city of Khamis Mushait.

https://www.arabnews.com/node/1905686/saudi-arabia

(A K pH)

Aggression kills 1, injures 2 in Sa'ada

A military official said a man was killed and 2 others injured by rocket and artillery shellings carried out on Tuesday by the Saudi border guards in the border area of al-Raqw in Shada distrdis in Sa'ada province.

https://www.saba.ye/en/news3150284.htm

and also https://en.abna24.com/news//yemeni-citizen-killed-by-saudi-border-guards-fire-in-saada_1166309.html

(A K)

[Hadi] Government forces in Marib retake strategic mountain on border with Bayda

https://debriefer.net/en/news-26364.html

(B K pS)

Yemeni Landmine Records: During April, May, and June, Houthi-laid mines killed 18 civilians, 15 of whom were women and children, and wounded 32 others, including 7 children and 2 women.

https://twitter.com/RepYemenEnglish/status/1422603239682347013

(A K)

Rückschlag für Rebellen

Jemen: Verluste von Ansarollah in ölreichem Marib-Gouvernement.

Bei Kämpfen im Rahabah-Distrikt im Jemen sind 40 Kämpfer der Ansarollah (»Huthis«) getötet worden. Dies erklärte Jahja Al-Hatemi, Oberst der Armee des im saudischen Exil befindlichen RegierungschefsAbed Rabbo Mansur Hadi, gegenüber den saudischen Arab News am Sonntag. Die Rebellen seien von Hadis Bodentruppen und den Kampfjets der von Saudi-Arabien geführten Kriegskoalition aus der strategisch wichtigen Region um den Berg Al-Absakh südlich der Stadt Marib vertrieben worden.

https://www.jungewelt.de/artikel/407665.krieg-im-jemen-r%C3%BCckschlag-f%C3%BCr-rebellen.html

(A K pS)

[Hadi gov.] Army liberates new positions southern Marib

http://en.26sepnews.net/2021/08/03/army-liberates-new-positions-southern-marib/

and also https://www.arabnews.com/node/1905021/middle-east

(A K pS)

Displaced civilian killed by Houthi landmine in north Yemen

http://en.adenpress.news/news/33446

and also http://en.26sepnews.net/2021/08/03/citizen-killed-in-landmine-planted-by-houthi-militia-in-hajjah/

(A K pH)

Saudi Arabia admits major defeat near Ma’rib

Saudi media admitted on Monday the Saudi-led coalition forces’ defeat of the battle in Ma’rib province at the hands of the Yemeni army forces and the Popular Committees on the fronts north, west and south of Ma’rib city.

Al Arabiya TV, which is funded by Saudi Arabia, quoted a military official in the coalition forces as saying: “The reason for the retreat of the coalition forces on the Ma’rib fronts is due to partisan quarrels and the calculations of some political parties that work for their personal interest and not for the sake of the legitimate government.”

The official explained that some of military leaders think only of their interests and reject the orders of the Saudi-led Hadi puppet government, which Saudi Arabia refers to as “the legitimate government”, and the high command of the invading coalition.

https://hodhodyemennews.net/2021/08/02/saudi-arabia-admits-major-defeat-near-marib/

(A K)

Yemeni troops Houthis engage in fierce fighting in Jawf

https://debriefer.net/en/news-26337.html

(A K pS)

KSrelief Masam Project Dismantles more than 1,200 Mines in Yemen During One Week

King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center's (KSrelief) project for clearing mines in Yemen (Masam) demined 1,240 mines during the fourth week of July 2021, including seven antipersonnel mines, 894 anti-tank mines, 336 unexploded ordnance and three explosive devices.
Since the beginning of the project, as many as 265,037 mines, planted by the Houthi militias, have been dismantled.

https://www.spa.gov.sa/viewfullstory.php?lang=en&newsid=2267832

(A K pS)

At least 40 Houthi fighters killed in fierce Marib fighting

https://www.arabnews.com/node/1903761/middle-east

(A K pS)

18 Houthi militants killed, dozens injured southern Marib

http://en.26sepnews.net/2021/08/01/18-houthi-militants-killed-dozens-injured-southern-marib/

(A K pS)

Coalition intercepts Houthi drone targeting Saudi Arabia

The Saudi-led Coalition in Yemen said on Saturday it shot down an explosive aerial drone, launched by Houthi militia, which was deliberately targeting a residential area in Saudi Arabia's Southern Region.

http://en.adenpress.news/news/33440

(A K pS)

A whole battalion of Houthi child soldiers has been arrested by the heroes of the army [outside Marib]/Facebook post by Mohammed Jureid

https://www.alsahwa-yemen.net/en/p-48082

(A K pS)

Yemen violence increases as Houthis reject truce calls

Dozens of combatants, including a government commander, were killed in the past 48 hours in fighting between troops and the Houthis in the provinces of Marib, Lahj, Shabwa and Al-Bayda with the Houthis scaling up their attacks on government-controlled areas.

The heaviest fighting was reported in Marib, where forces foiled the militia’s attacks in areas outside the city of Marib and claimed limited gains in Al-Rahabah district.

https://www.arabnews.com/node/1903326/middle-east

(A K pH)

Major [Sanaa gov.] Yemeni victory over Saudi-backed terrorists liberates 500 square kilometers

The spokesman of the Yemeni Armed Forces, Brigadier General Yahya Sare’e, has on Saturday revealed details of the second phase of a military operation Dubbed Al-Nasr Al-Mubin, which was carried out by the Yemeni army and the Popular Committees in Bayda province.

In a press statement, Brigadier General Yahya Sare’e said that that the second phase of the operation, which began on July 20 and lasted for several days with he participation of various units of the Armed Forces, achieved all its objectives.

Yahya Sare’e indicated that the districts of Al-Sawma’ah, Al-Zahir, Na’man and Nata’a were liberated

https://hodhodyemennews.net/2021/07/31/major-yemeni-victory-over-saudi-backed-terrorists-liberates-500-square-kilometers/

and also https://www.farsnews.ir/en/news/14000510000212/Yemen%E2%80%99s-Army-Deails-Recen-Ani-Terrr-Operain-in-Bayda

https://www.farsnews.ir/en/news/14000513000126/%E2%80%98Yemeni-Frces-Advance-n-New-Frns-in-Bayda-Liberae-Al-Qanza-Hillp%E2%80%99

(A K)

Shelling by Saudi army on Yemeni border

A civilian was killed when the Saudi army shelled the border area of Al-Raqw in the district of Monabbih in Yemen's Saada province on Saturday, the Houthi Almasirah TV said.

https://debriefer.net/en/news-26310.html

(A K P)

Yemeni gov't, Houthis exchange prisoners in Jawf

https://debriefer.net/en/news-26303.html

cp18 Kampf um Hodeidah / Hodeidah battle

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

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

(A K pS)

Four Houthis killed by their own explosives in Hodeidah

http://en.adenpress.news/news/33459

(A K pS)

One civilian killed, two other wounded in a Houthi mine explosion south Hodeidah

According to Yemeni Landmine Records (YLR) ___ an observatory for documenting mines and unexploded ordnance victims in Yemen ___ an anti-vehicle went off when a car carrying civilians ran over it in Hays district, killing 55-year Omar Mugails, and leaving another two critically injured.

https://republicanyemen.net/archives/28655

and also https://twitter.com/RepYemenEnglish/status/1422285647788843026

(A K pS)

According to Yemeni Landmine Records, two civilians died of their wounds yesterday in the explosion of a Houthi mine that took place last Thursday in Al Duraihimi district, south of the port city of Hodeidah.

https://twitter.com/RepYemenEnglish/status/1422291779664203783

referring to https://twitter.com/RepYemenEnglish/status/1420827764282773509

(A K P)

UN official inspects damage citizens' houses in Hodeida

Deputy Head of the United Nations Mission to Support the Hodeida Agreement "UNMHA" Daniela Kroslak was briefed on Monday on the damage caused to the citizens' houses by the shelling of the aggression's mercenaries on al-Hawk district of Hodeida city.

https://www.saba.ye/en/news3150161.htm

(B K pH)

S Arabia still violating ceasefire in Yemen’s Al Hudaydah

Saudi aggressor coalition still continues to violate the ceasefire in Yemen’s Al Hudaydah province, Al-Masirah reported.

According to the report, Saudi Arabia and its coalition in Yemen continue to violate ceasefire in Al Hudaydah province and have not so far adhered to the ceasefire at all.

Not only Saudi Arabia is targeting Al Hudaydah province in Yemen with the widespread airstrikes, but also its spy planes are constantly flying over the province, the report added.

https://en.mehrnews.com/news/176788/S-Arabia-still-violating-ceasefire-in-Yemen-s-Al-Hudaydah

cp19 Sonstiges / Other

(A P)

Yemeni media pundits and other activists call the [Hadi] government's failure to restore the country's telecommunication system from Houthis a shame and a great treason./Almashehad Alyemeni

https://www.alsahwa-yemen.net/en/p-48118

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YEMEN: WAR ON ANIMALS AMID THE CIVIL WAR

The crime of poaching endangered animals has increased in Yemen during the past few years where wildlife has become a daily, undeclared victim, and witnessed ongoing genocide. The current war in the northern and southern parts of the country has resulted in the absence of control and law regulations and curtailed the role of the environmental authorities.

Consequently, poaching, indiscriminate and iniquitous hunting has flourished, causing some rare species to disappear, and contracting others to the point of extinction.

This special investigation, from Holm Akhdar, reveals that 34 documented murders of rare animals occurred during the year 2020. The investigation also records the number of Arabian leopards poached over the past years, and shows the status of animals in zoos in Yemen.

The National Strategy of Biodiversity indicates that seven rare mammal species existent in Yemen are currently at risk of complete extinction. They are exposed to poaching, constant killing, and they are being trafficked, with the disregard of the authorities concerned of wildlife protection.

However, despite the prohibition of hunting endangered animals stated in the Yemeni constitution, laws and legislation, a number of official documents and notes in this regard – Holm Akhdar received copies of them – reveal the exacerbation of poaching crimes in the governorates of Al-Dhalea, Lahj, Ibb, and Shabwah.

The Director General of Biodiversity and Natural Reserves at the EPA, in Sana’a, Engineer Abdullah Abu Al-Fotouh, says in a private interview with Holm Akhdar: “The Arabian Leopard in Yemen is constantly subjected to genocide crimes in certain areas, namely in 3 governorates: Al-Dhalea, Lahj and Al-Bayda, which overlook “the Dabyaniyah Valley”, located between these three governorates.

As for the number of the Arabian leopard killed in Yemen during the past few years, Abul-Fotouh affirmed: “We have monitored and documented 18 killings that the Arabian leopard was clearly subjected to in the areas of Al-Shuaib and Al-Dabyaniya, and the village of “Juban” and “Sadah” in Al-Dhalea”.

Despite frequent endeavors by the local authorities in Shabwah to preserve wildlife, local residents in the mountains and plains were not fully and positively responsive. Since mid-April until today, there have been crimes of hunting and killing for about 34 rare animals of the endangered species in different areas in Shabwah, in nonstop killing acts whose purpose was more damaging than trafficking (photos)

https://holmakhdar.org/news/investigations/3508/

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Film: Badihi - The beauty of a Country at War

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LtFSVE4KXQg&t=1s

(A P)

Two-Day Intellectuals Conference kicks off in Mukalla

The Sana’a Center launched today its two-day Intellectuals Conference in the city of Mukalla in the Hadramout governorate with the participation of a number of intellectuals, political activists, and journalists with the aim to create a safe space for these groups to discuss the way forward towards peace.

Representatives from the UN Office of the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General to Yemen along with high level diplomats from the European Delegation in Yemen and representatives from the German and Canadian foreign ministries will participate virtually in the conference sessions.

The conference is scheduled to discuss the UN ceasefire plan, the future of the Yemeni state and “the southern issue,” as well as the role of non-state armed actors in the current war among other topics.

Sana’a Center Executive Director Majed Al-Madhaji said that the conference restores confidence to Yemeni politics, debate and culture as crucial factors that will shape the country’s future. The event will also provide a platform for all participants who hail from various cultural and political circles and whose voices have been diminished since the outbreak of the war.

Al-Madhaji noted that the conference is a first step towards restoring the presence of Yemeni intellectuals at the expense of the armed parties that have since monopolized the scene in Yemen, adding that he hopes the event will pave the way for future meetings among Yemeni intellectuals.

https://sanaacenter.org/publications/news/14768

and

Intellectuals Conference in Mukalla Concludes

The conference covered a number of topics, such as the role of intellectuals in Yemen’s future, the future of the state in Yemen, the role of non-state armed groups, and the southern issue. An interactive session was also held during which representatives from the United Nations’ Office of the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Yemen shared the ideas on how to move forward towards a ceasefire in the country.

The conference included many prominent Yemeni figures, including former journalists, authors, novelists, artists, publishers and leading figures in the 2011 Yemen Uprising.

https://sanaacenter.org/publications/news/14785

and

Yemen Peace Forum Mukalla Workshops Conclude

https://sanaacenter.org/publications/news/14751

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Jemen-Fotos Wüste / Yemen Desert Photos

https://www.shutterstock.com/de/search/desert+yemen

(B D)

Blockade hinders reproduction of rare leopards in Yemen's Sanaa Zoo

Fouad al-Hersh, the manager of the Sanaa Zoo, told Xinhua on Thursday that two male Arabian leopards in the zoo have been living without female companions for a long time. The lineage of the big cats will stop if the zoo could not find females for them soon.

"We hope the authority can find a solution and manage to import some females," said al-Hersh.

http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2021-08/06/c_1310110471.htm

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Film: Hawf Nature Reserve, one of the most beautiful nature reserves in #Yemen.

https://twitter.com/RepYemenEnglish/status/1423348532694683650

(* B P)

POMEPS Studies 43: Digital Activism and Authoritarian Adaptation in the Middle East

The Project on Middle East Political Science partnered with Stanford University’s Center for Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law and its Global Digital Policy Incubator for an innovative two week online seminar to explore the issues surrounding digital activism and authoritarianism. This workshop was built upon more than a decade of our collaboration on issues related to the internet and politics in the Middle East, beginning in 2011 with a series of workshops in the “Blogs and Bullets” project supported by the United States Institute for Peace and the PeaceTech Lab. This new collaboration brought together more than a dozen scholars and practitioners with deep experience in digital policy and activism, some focused on the Middle East and others offering a global and comparative perspective. POMEPS STUDIES 43 collects essays from that workshop, shaped by two weeks of public and private discussion.

https://pomeps.org/pomeps-studies-43-digital-activism-and-authoritarian-adaptation-in-the-middle-east

(A H P)

Yemen declares end of evacuation ops. of citizens trapped in India

http://en.adenpress.news/news/33483

(A)

Khums Festival The Tamouri harvest festival has been held annually in Wadi Al-Nakhil in Al-Durayhimi district for decades, and after stopping for more than four years following the Houthi coup, it returned with various activities such as Tuhami folk dances and camel jumping to celebrate the harvest. Khums is a designation referring to Thursday, the day of the event (photos)

https://twitter.com/baseem_aljenani/status/1423628615686758402

https://twitter.com/baseem_aljenani/status/1423629338902138882

(A P)

Yemeni activists campaign for restoring national telecommunications from Houthi control

Yemeni activists launched on Saturday evening a campaign to demand the government's restoration of the national telecommunication and internet services from the hands of the Houthi terrorist militia in Sana'a.

https://www.alsahwa-yemen.net/en/p-48220

Vorige / Previous:

https://www.freitag.de/autoren/dklose/jemenkrieg-mosaik-753-yemen-war-mosaic-753

Jemenkrieg-Mosaik 1-753 / Yemen War Mosaic 1-753:

https://www.freitag.de/autoren/dklose oder / or http://poorworld.net/YemenWar.htm

Der saudische Luftkrieg im Bild / Saudi aerial war images:

(18 +, Nichts für Sensible!) / (18 +; Graphic!)

http://poorworld.net/YemenWar.htm

http://yemenwarcrimes.blogspot.de/

http://www.yemenwar.info/

Liste aller Luftangriffe / and list of all air raids:

http://yemendataproject.org/data/

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

https://yemen.bellingcat.com/

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

https://yemeniarchive.org/en

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

Dietrich Klose

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

Dietrich Klose

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