... Kriegsverbrechen in der Provinz Marib – Die Wunden von Taiz – Wie die internationale Hilfe im Jemen scheitert – Waffenexporte nach Saudi-Arabien und den Emiraten – und mehr
Oct. 29, 2021: Documenting Saudi coalition war crimes – Attacks at schools prevent education – Houthi rule and religion – War crimes in Marib province – The wounds of Taiz – How international help is failing Yemen – Arms exports to Saudi Arabia and UAE – and more
Schwerpunkte / Key aspects
Kursiv: Siehe Teil 2 / In Italics: Look in part 2: https://www.freitag.de/autoren/dklose/jemenkrieg-mosaik-767b-yemen-war-mosaic-767b
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
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
cp11 Deutschland / Germany
cp12 Andere Länder / Other countries
cp12a Katar-Krise / Qatar crisis
cp12b Sudan
cp13a Waffenhandel / Arms trade
cp13b 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
Für wen das Thema ganz neu ist / Who is new to the subject
Ältere einführende Artikel u. Überblicke für alle, die mit den Ereignissen im Jemen noch nicht vertraut sind, hier:
Yemen War: Older introductory articles, overviews, for those who are still unfamiliar with the Yemen war here:
https://www.freitag.de/autoren/dklose/jemenkrieg-einfuehrende-artikel-u-ueberblicke
(* B H)
Film: 7 Things You Need to Know About Yemen's 7 Years of War
Protracted armed conflict, widespread economic collapse and the breakdown of national systems and services have left 70 percent of Yemen's population — including 11.3 million children — in need of humanitarian assistance. Since the conflict escalated in 2015, at least 10,000 children have been killed or maimed. An estimated 1.7 million children have been forced out their homes. Health care, nutrition, safe water and education are all in short supply, robbing children of both their childhoods and their future.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RoEiGdo7Lss
cp1 Am wichtigsten / Most important
(** B K pH)
Al-Manar, Al-Masirah TV Channels Launch Friday Immense Project Documenting Massacres of Saudi-led Aggression on Yemen: Video
The two TV Channels of Al-Manar and Al-Masirah are scheduled to launch an immense documentation project which records all the massacres committed by the Saudi-led forces and mercenaries in Yemen.
So, an interactive map will appear on the official websites of the two TV channels at 8 p.m. and show in an innovative war the massacres with all the available data about them.
The interactive map is aimed at preserving and immortalize the sacrifices of the Yemeni civilians in face of the Saudi-led aggression.
Al-Manar English Website will also post the interactive map. Click here.
https://english.almanar.com.lb/1461275
(** B H)
Yemen: 60% of children whose school came under attack have not returned to education
More than 60% of children surveyed in Yemen did not return to the classroom last year after their schools came under attack, according to a new Save the Children report.
One out of five children surveyed also reported facing a security incident on their way to school that put their life at risk and their education in jeopardy. These incidents include kidnappings or attempted kidnappings, escalating violence, and harassment by strangers.
The figures are disclosed in Save the Children’s new report ‘Will I see my children again?’ released during the 4th International Conference on the Safe Schools Declaration taking place from 25-27 October to protect education during armed conflict.
“When we are at school, we hear explosions. We run inside the school and when they finish, we go out again to play. One of my friends got injured in one of the explosions,” said Omar*, 8.
In the past five years, more than 460 schools have been attacked, including caught in crossfire. More than 2,500 schools have been damaged, used as collective shelters for displaced families, or occupied by armed groups, resulting in 400,000 children being forced out of school. [2]
Around 45% of children reported observing some form of military presence on their way to or from school. This is particularly worrying as nearly 90% of children surveyed said they walk to school every day.
Lamia, 30, is a teacher in Taiz, where escalating violence resulted in several school attacks in March.
“The situation here is quite worrying. The armed groups are walking around confidently 24/7, and the students see it every day. At any point, we expect shooting, and it often happens around the gate as the armed men made this school a military target. This puts children in grave danger. They have even stolen building materials; we are studying in fear.”
Save the Children’s Yemen Country Director, Xavier Joubert, said:
“The children we spoke to paint a very bleak picture. Schools should be safe havens and not zones of war. Roofs penetrated by artillery, half demolished walls and classes reduced to rubble is what school means for many students in Yemen.
“Often classes are taking place under the sounds of warplanes or the burning sun in a makeshift tent somewhere in a displacement camp. For some children, school is where they have lost their friends or got injured themselves, so many children don’t feel safe walking to school or continuing to study.
“The war has reversed decades of educational gains for Yemeni children. We cannot afford to allow children’s education to be further jeopardised. Children are the future of this country, and we need to make sure that their education is protected.”
Children who have fled their homes due to violence are less likely to return to school compared to other children. Nearly 75% of displaced children reported that schools in their hometowns came under attack, with more than 40% of the schools reportedly suspending classes for more than a year. Many of these children now live in displacement camps where they have no access to education. [2]
Even in areas where schools are undamaged, fear of attacks and the recruitment of children at school discourage parents from sending their children to classes.
Save the Children is urging all parties to the conflict to cease attacks against schools, de-militarise schools, protect children in times of armed conflict, and guarantee humanitarian access so children can access education safely.
The organisation is also calling for participants and international donors at the Safe Schools Conference to support emergency education interventions so Yemeni children can rebuild their future.
“You won’t be able to find a single person who lives here who has not been harmed,” said Salem, 50, a guidance counsellor in a school that was attacked in Sa’ada. “We are living in a constant state of fear and anxiety.”
Save the Children’s new report titled ‘Will I see my children again?’is informed by an assessment conducted in 2020 by Save the Children’s partner Mwatana for Human Rights. This is the first time the findings have been used. The research sample covered 400 students from 137 primary, preparatory and secondary schools in nine governorates: Taiz, Sanaa (the governorate), Hudeidah, Aden, Abyan, Dhale, Hajjah. Saada, and the capital, Sanaa. The study also covered three groups of interest, including 100 displaced students, 100 students who dropped out of school, and 100 teachers, all within the same geographic distribution. The sampling of the study does not provide data that is representative of the whole of Yemen.
The Safe Schools Declarationis an inter-governmental political commitment to protect students, teachers, schools, and universities from the worst effects of armed conflict. From 25-27 October, the 4th International Conference on the Safe Schools Declaration is taking place to increase support for the Declaration and review progress in achieving its commitments.
[1] UNICEF, “Education disrupted: Impact of conflict on children’s education in Yemen”, July 2021
[2] https://www.unicef.org/yemen/media/5546/file/EDUCATION%20DISRUPTED%20Report.pdf
Full report: https://resourcecentre.savethechildren.net/node/19634/pdf/aoe_19102021.pdf
Film: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GFAMG4zF5mI
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The Prophet’s birthday in Yemen.. Welcome to the Republic of the Big Brother
The hilarity of celebrating the Prophet’s birthday in Sana’a and the Houthi-controlled areas does not fit at all with the fact that Yemen is a country experiencing a famine, and any mention of this huge financial cost of an exaggerated prophetic celebration will receive a quick response, which is a religious response, so as to cut off any room for controversy and discussion, without forgetting the accusation. Hypocrisy questioner.
The issue is no longer confined to a prophetic birth that flooded Sanaa and others with paintings, lights and parties, but rather extends to countless religious and political occasions throughout the year. Al-Houthi justifies all this material foolishness in a hungry country with various rigid religious and patriotic justifications, condescending to the suffering of people, and easily suspicious of the intentions of others.
These celebrations and occasions seek a fundamental and important propaganda goal for the Houthis, who were shocked by the societal rejection of their ideas and beliefs, and prompted them to rush and operate their propaganda machine with full force to establish a community that resembles them.
This dropping of the era of the prophecy is not arbitrary, for the paintings in Sana’a and Al-Zawamil (popular songs) of the Houthi movement speak of the Yemenis as supporters of the Prophet, and the leader of the Houthis as an extension of the Prophet, as if we are at the beginning of the stage of calling, which necessarily means that society is an infidel, and they are currently being invited and guided to Islam, not Astonishingly, the opponents are described as hypocrites.
Some of them repeat their fears about the fact that Al-Houthi is restoring a miserable theocratic rule, which is the Imamate, and ignore the most important variable in this harsh reality, that Al-Houthi possesses capabilities that no imam or ruler in the Middle Ages dreamed of, or a prisoner of the Middle Ages for fear of opening up, as was the case of the Imamate
Thus, al-Houthi repeats his message to the public through the media, education and celebrations, to consolidate concepts such as jihad, the family of the house and the divine guardianship, in order to establish a new generation that believes in its ideas, a generation more important and easier than changing the convictions of the generation that lived through the pre-Houthi era. Not only that, the Houthi authorities are very active in spying on their citizens by various means, whether by monitoring phones, or assigning the 'Aqal al-Harat (people chosen by the neighborhood's residents) to provide them with information about every small and big thing in the neighborhood.
Pictures of Abdul-Malik al-Houthi spread in every corner of Sanaa, to remind every citizen of the older brother who teaches him the concepts of religion and patriotism, and reminds him of the duty of obedience and absolute loyalty. Rather, his image and his gunmen, who are scattered in all the streets, remind the Yemeni, at every moment, that he is being watched and wholly in control. Al-Houthi combines extremely backward and closed ideas with the most technical and advanced weapons and communication devices, and this is a frightening combination, as he does not have any project for Yemen except war.
This is how Yemenis have come to live in the Republic of the Big Brother, the authoritarian and observer brother, who changes the meaning of things.
Al-Houthi argues that the birth of a prophet and the bearer of a heavenly message is something worthy of celebration, but in fact, according to their actions and words, they celebrate the founder of the holy dynasty from which Abdul-Malik al-Houthi derives his legitimacy, not a prophet and messenger – by Maya din-Shuja
(** B H K)
Violations and Bloody Attacks by Warring Parties on Civilians and Medical Facilities in Ma’rib Governorate
Mwatana for Human Rights said in a statement on Wednesday, October 26, 2021, that the warring parties have committed grave violations of international humanitarian law (IHL) and international human rights law (IHRL) in the midst of a large-scale military escalation in Ma’rib Governorate, in the northeast of Yemen. The Ansar Allah (Houthi) armed group, which opposes the forces of the internationally-recognized government, bears responsibility for the largest number of violations that Mwatana has documented.
Mwatana calls upon the Ansar Allah (Houthi) armed group, the Saudi-UAE/led coalition, and the internationally-recognized government of Yemen’s forces to immediately cease indiscriminate and disproportionate attacks against civilians and civilian objects, including medical facilities.
Since early 2021, the armed conflict has intensified in Ma’rib Governorate, where Mwatana has documented ground and air attacks as well as the laying of mines by Ansar Allah, the coalition, the UAE, and the internationally-recognized government.
More specifically, Ansar Allah and the internationally-recognized government have been implicated in committing multiple types of violations on the ground, including practices of enforced disappearances and arbitrary detention of civilians, the recruitment of child soldiers, and targeting humanitarian organizations with restrictions and harassment that affected their operations and necessary interventions towards civilians stranded in the midst of the escalating fighting.
Since January 2021, Mwatana for Human Rights has documented at least eight ground attacks launched by Ansar Allah that hit civilian objects, in which at least 10 civilians, including six children, were killed, and 39 other civilians were injured, including 13 children and 10 women.
In the latest ground offensive, Ansar Allah launched an attack with three missiles on a civilian house in the middle of Al-Rawda residential neighborhood in the city of Ma’rib at approximately 3:40 p.m. on Sunday, October 3, 2021.
In this bloody attack, Mwatana verified that at least three children (all between the ages of 3 to 5) and a woman were killed, and at least 26 civilians were wounded, including seven children and eight women. Two shells hit the house directly, while the third shell fell on an area to the north of the house, about 800 meters away.
Eight civilian homes adjacent to the site of the attack were damaged, two of which were completely destroyed. The information documented by Mwatana confirms that the first and second shells fell successively, with a time difference of about 45 seconds, while the third shell fell after about three to four minutes.
In a field visit to the site of the ground attack, Mwatana inspected the extensive damage inflicted on the area. It also carried out field visits to Marib General Hospital and Kari Rural Hospital in Marib city in order to obtain information about the victims and survivors.
Al-Rawda neighborhood is located in the north of the city of Marib, which is under the control of the internationally-recognized government. The neighborhood is about two kilometers away from the governorate’s center. Al-Rawda neighborhood is considered one of the most densely populated neighborhoods in Ma’rib.
Mwatana also documented at least one ground attack launched by the internationally-recognized government forces on Alfa area in Al Rahba district, located in the south of Ma’rib Governorate on September 12, 2021, which killed two people, including a woman, and wounded one.
Earlier in the year, on July 16, 2021, Mwatana also documented a live ammunition incident perpetrated by the internationally-recognized government forces in the Khailat Al-Musherif area of Rahba District in Ma’rib Governorate, and verified that man and his 4-year-old daughter were killed and a woman was injured.
According to witness testimonies, the live ammunition fired at the family’s came from the government forces’ Dhraa Dahan site, which is located approximately 300 meters northeast of the house. There were no military sites affiliated with Ansar Allah near the house.
Ground attacks in violations of IHL and IHRL in the area are also attributable to Ansar Allah. On Wednesday, October 13, the Ansar Allah (Houthi) armed group fired three shells at a medical facility supported by Doctors Without Borders in the Abdiya district of Ma’rib Governorate. The shells landed to the east of the hospital.
A Mwatana researcher in Ma’rib stated that many of the patients were discharged from the hospital and returned to their homes, while the group transferred the wounded to areas under its control.
Separately, Mwatana also documented at least five incidents of explosions caused by landmines and other explosive objects that were planted by Ansar Allah in Ma’rib, which together resulted in the deaths of two children and injuries to five children and a woman in the districts of Rahba, Mahlia, Al-Abdiyyah, Serwah and Majzar between February and July 2021.
Additionally, Mwatana for Human Rights documented two air attacks launched by the Suadi-Emirati/led coalition in the Governorate, resulting in the deaths of five civilians, including at least three children, and the injury of five other civilians, including a child.
One of the airstrikes targeted Rahba District, south of the governorate, on April 2, 2021, as a result of which a civilian was killed and five others, including a 12-year-old child, were wounded while they were under one of the Arak trees in the Hada area.
These attacks have caused a particular added layer of harm for Ma’rib’s significant population of of internally displaced persons (IDPs) living in Ma’rib. Since the start of the armed conflict in Yemen in September 2014, there have been massive influxes of IDPs to the area, as it is a reception center for IDPs from various governorates around the country. No less than two million individuals have been internally displaced in Yemen since the start of the war, and many of them have fled to Ma’rib.
Following the escalating military operations in the governorate, the districts of Majzar and Madghal, both in the north of Ma’rib, as well as the Serwah camps (Dhanna camp, Al-Hayal camp, and Al-Sawabin camp), witnessed large waves of residents being displacement from mid-January 2020 until late August 2020. Many of these individuals—especially those living in the Serwah camps, had already been displaced before and were once again forced to flee in search of safety.
According to the International Organization for Migration’s Displacement Movement Matrix, which has access to seven out of 14 districts in Marib Governorate, nearly 10,000 people were displaced in September 2021 alone, which is the highest rate of displacement recorded in Ma’rib during this year.
In addition to their attacks on civilians, the Ansar Allah (Houthi) armed group has also imposed a complete siege on the Abdiya district from September 21 to October 15, 2021, causing further civilian harm.
https://mwatana.org/en/maribattacks/
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The Festering Wounds of Yemen’s Taiz
A return to Yemen’s third-largest city sheds light on a country still reeling from war and a people struggling to heal
Taiz, Yemen’s third-largest city, has been transformed from the country’s industrial hub into the hotspot of its ongoing war.
To the surprise of few Taizis, the city emerged as a revolutionary hotbed once again during the Arab Spring in 2011.
In the immediate aftermath of the takeover of Sanaa by the al-Houthi fighters in September 2014, Taiz managed to escape relatively unharmed. An agreement to keep the city out of the conflict was brokered; there were even some tentative plans for the city to host a round of political talks. The calm soon proved short-lived. The agreement was broken, the governor resigned and battles between the growing number of al-Houthi fighters and anti-Houthi resistance forces had begun. By the end of March 2015, the areas of the city not under control by the former were under siege.
In March, as I made my way to the city from the southern port of Aden, the manifestations of the siege were evident before my arrival: With the main route between the two cities cut off by the conflict, we were forced to take a far longer — and windier — route via the rugged district of Maqatara and the hills of Hujaria. It was remarkably scenic, but even more unpleasant. Much of the road, traditionally used locally, was unpaved; a whole section was in a sa’ila, or dry riverbed, that frequently floods during Yemen’s rainy season. Dry or not, the frequent passing of tractor-trailers transporting goods in either direction on the mountainous roads underlined our driver’s minimal margin for error.
The final hour of the journey set what would turn out to be an appropriately surreal tone. Under the shadow of bombed-out buildings, in farmland wrested from the al-Houthi fighters over the past few years, shepherdesses tended to their flocks under the unobstructed view of fighters who watched from the front lines on hilltops. It was a deceptively placid scene: a manifestation of the ever-present nature of the conflict and a sign of how life goes on despite it all.
The city swarmed with traffic. Initially, I assumed it was happening despite the siege but soon learned it was because of it: Blockages at key entries to the city had effectively prevented normal transport patterns, forcing buses, for example, to run in circular rather than linear patterns.
It was a rather mundane example of how the siege has come to reshape nearly every aspect of life in the city. Longer transport routes mean higher prices for food and other basic goods. Electricity and water infrastructure falling on the opposite side of conflict lines mean blackouts and shortages. Proximity to conflict lines and the threat of shelling mean mass displacement and even relocation of government institutions. The governorate’s headquarters has been forced to operate discordantly from the former office of the city’s branch of Yemen’s state-run oil company.
I’d come at a time of relative calm in the city: Those I spoke to frequently referenced the worst days of the war, a few years ago, when the siege was tighter, the front lines were closer, security was far more haphazard and even food was hard to find. Regardless, the fallout from the conflict was inescapable. People with obvious wounds from shelling were a common sight in the street; sitting with a group of journalists, I quickly learned that each of them had been injured while covering the war. The sight of wrecked buildings quickly became routine, even as they scarred the streetscapes that once filled my Taizi friends with pride; taking in the view from the city’s iconic Jabal Sabr transformed into an opportunity to get a sense of the front lines.
Even more lingered out of sight. Despite the calm, one local official told me, the humanitarian situation was in many ways worse than it was during the worst days of the war: As peoples’ savings have dried up, the informal social solidarity networks that kept many out of poverty have dried up with them.
Taiz has been largely ignored, even as the Yemen conflict has garnered increasing coverage and diplomatic focus. It’s symptomatic, perhaps, of the wider oversimplification and polarization of the Yemen conflict. Binary narratives of the war seem to fall apart here.
The city may be an inconvenient square to circle for some activists and advocacy groups aiming to draw attention to the fallout of the conflict, and an uncertain question in the wider level diplomacy. It has been largely sidelined in the formal peace process, which has focused on brokering an upper-level deal to solve the country’s increasingly regionalized conflict.
At the same time, one can scarcely blame people in the city for having little trust in peace efforts that, as of yet, have provided little tangible relief to their suffering. Absent some dramatic shift — whether internally or internationally — the status quo seems set to continue, dooming a city filled with potential to indefinite strangulation. At the risk of sounding clichéd, proponents of peace in Yemen and on the global stage may exercise more empathy and let Yemenis speak for themselves — though with Yemeni voices as divided by the conflict as the country itself, the conversation itself will doubtlessly be complex – by Adam Baron
https://newlinesmag.com/first-person/the-festering-wounds-of-yemens-taiz/
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When Aid Goes Awry: How the International Humanitarian Response is Failing Yemen
Executive Summary
Yemen is the world’s worst humanitarian disaster. The world’s biggest response. On the brink of famine for the past four years. It is neglected, grossly underfunded, and exceedingly dangerous. This is the narrative that is spun and reinforced by those who lead the international response in Yemen, both on the humanitarian and political levels, from posts in Yemen to the top humanitarian leadership in New York, Geneva and Rome. The picture painted for the public, amplified through the media and sold to donors is one of overwhelming urgent need. And with more than US$17 billion raised since 2015, it has been highly effective in terms of fundraising. It is also dangerously simplistic.
This portrayal of Yemen as a country where problems relate directly to the war and can be resolved with more money to provide more food baskets for ever more people in need is as seductively straightforward as it is inaccurate. This rarely challenged narrative persists in part because acknowledging its flaws would require admitting failure on a multi-billion-dollar scale. It would also obligate those in charge of the response to fundamentally change its entrenched internal systems, policies and attitudes, and make them accountable for effectively addressing Yemen’s true and significant needs, especially those of its most vulnerable people. As foundational errors and poor decisions have accumulated, the institutional investment of the humanitarian system as a whole in upholding simplistic narratives has deepened.
Along with the absence of motivation for change, a lack of transparency and the genuine challenges found in complex and protracted conflict settings enable these narratives to continue unchecked. Informed analysis has been hard to come by in the Yemen humanitarian response, which is marred by a willingness to tolerate partial data that is often biased, usually out of date and lacks nuance, all of which has made it easy to manipulate or ignore to suit priorities. An inflexible security framework, which prevents aid workers from engaging in the fieldwork needed to gain a true understanding of the operational environment, assess needs and determine what is required to resolve them, has allowed this flawed data to stand. Meanwhile, practices put in place to deal with operational challenges have ceded control of the response to those with vested interests in directing the aid, possibly prolonging the war as well as creating a deeply unprincipled response that has removed aid workers even farther from those they want to, and should, serve. A recent survey indicates that aid is not even reaching the most vulnerable.[1] Despite the dedication of almost unparalleled resources to Yemen, which is and has been the second best-funded response worldwide for the better part of a decade, an appropriate, sustainable or meaningful response is sorely lacking.
Well into the humanitarian response’s seventh year, the reports from Yemen are bleak: Diversion, corruption, restricted access and a lack of or diminishing operational space are all well documented. Challenges and obstacles to evaluating need and response delivery in Yemen are often blamed on the restrictive operating environment and the impediments created by authorities, mainly the armed Houthi movement, Ansar Allah, which controls the more populous north. Yet, the bulk of the most fundamental problems with the Yemen response are internal. Many humanitarians have gone into Yemen and come out frustrated and angry, citing an inflexible, inefficient and inappropriate system of aid delivery. The 73 humanitarian aid workers, analysts and experts, donors, civil society representatives and others interviewed as part of this research all questioned whether humanitarian aid alone, without peace and/or directly addressing root causes of Yemen’s situation, is an appropriate response for Yemen.
Yemen has struggled for decades with chronic malnutrition, poor food security and significant challenges to service delivery. Prior to the current conflict, nearly 15 million people — about half of the population — were thought to be in need of humanitarian support. The reasons were rooted in longstanding state mismanagement of resources, poor service delivery, corruption, frequent periods of conflict and deep social and political divides. The country’s poor baseline meant it had been receiving development support from the international community for decades, and the 2014 outbreak of the current conflict only added economic collapse, displacement, destruction of farmland and infrastructure, and a further decline of service delivery to the woes and struggles of Yemen and its people. Yet, even though the root causes of need in Yemen far predate the current conflict, humanitarian aid — by its nature the short-term response to sudden-onset disasters — continues more than six years on to be considered the answer to Yemen’s problems.
While senior humanitarian leaders describe Yemen as the worst humanitarian crisis in the world, several experienced key informants cited the Yemen response as among the worst responses, if not the worst, in which they have ever worked. The majority of this criticism was levelled at the system itself, including the humanitarian leadership in-country and at headquarters. The aspects of the Yemen humanitarian response addressed in this series of reports are ones key informants have flagged as particularly problematic — those with wide-ranging consequences and that could be improved if there was a willingness to make a change – by Sarah Vuylsteke
https://sanaacenter.org/reports/humanitarian-aid
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Weapons trade with Saudis and Israel must be disrupted
The UK is one of the principal states fueling the war by providing arms to the Saudi-led coalition. The London government voted in favor of extending the mandate of the international experts investigating suspected war crimes in Yemen, some of it perpetrated with British-supplied arms.
Put simply, the UK supports examining grave human rights abuses in Yemen while it provides the weapons which it knows will be used to commit war crimes.
Britain certainly has not listened to the recommendations of the experts to stop fueling the conflict by halting arms transfers.
The UK is second only to the US in supplying arms to the Saudi-led coalition. Fragments of US-made weapons have been found in almost all airstrikes investigated by human rights activists.
In one report by the Yemeni human rights group Mwatana, it was stated that US-made weapons had been used in 25 out of 27 Saudi airstrikes identified. Every one of those airstrikes targeted civilians in Yemen.
The third main supplier of weapons to the coalition is France, which like the UK voted in favor of renewing the UN independent experts’ mandate.
Arms control measures be damned
The world’s top 11 arms exporters have all transferred weapons to parties to the Yemen war.
In addition to the US, UK and France, substantial suppliers include Russia, Germany, China, Spain, Italy and the Netherlands.
Israel and Ukraine have also provided arms supplies, though not during periods of full-blown war, according to a report by Sam Perlo-Freeman published by the World Peace Foundation covering 2009-2018.
That study analyzing arms exports around the globe finds that weapons transfers increase the likelihood of armed conflict and make conflicts longer and more deadly.
This contradicts a claim made privately to shareholders by the head of BAE Systems, the UK’s largest weapons maker, that advanced weapons nip war in the bud.
“Civilians are killed in war,” Roger Carr from BAE Systems said in 2019. “The solution is to stop wars at the earliest opportunity. And our belief is that if you supply first-class equipment, you are the encouragement, particularly when used in defense, for people to stop fighting.”
That has certainly not been the case in Yemen. Not only have these arms transfers fueled conflict, but they also violate the laws of many of the states exporting them.
The US, UK and France have arms export rules to prevent the transfer of arms “that might worsen conflict or be used for human rights or [international humanitarian law] violations,” as observed in the World Peace Foundation report.
Those rules have failed to prevent those states from exporting arms to parties that created the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.
As the World Peace Foundation report states, “there is frequently a gap between many states’ willingness to commit to strong arms export controls and their willingness to restrict their arms exports in practice.”
Instead, “states’ defense, foreign policy and military-industrial interests take center stage.”
That deference to national interests at the expense of justice is evident in the failure to censure or sanction Mohammed Bin Salman, the Saudi crown prince and minister of defense who bears principal responsibility for his country’s actions in Yemen.
Pledges to safeguard human rights by Western arms-exporting states ring hollow. Despite the hypocrisy of those in power, public outrage over the horror in Yemen and the murder of Khashoggi has pushed the needle closer to accountability.
“Germany, Italy and the US, among others” have “wholly or partly stopped arms sales to Saudi Arabia and the UAE,” as Perlo-Freeman observes.
But that does not mean that those countries are not materially invested in the Yemen war.
The Netherlands voted to ban arms exports to Saudi Arabia in 2016. But Dutch banks continued to invest in weapons-makers supplying the conflict and its major pension funds finance human rights violations in Yemen and beyond.
“Ending arms sales is the single most effective step the US and UK can take” towards ending the war, as Perlo-Freeman observed in the New Internationalist earlier this year.
Without the support of US and UK arms manufacturers, the Saudi air force would be grounded in a matter of days, as a former BAE Systems employee has said.
Yet world powers carry on with arms deals as usual while gesturing towards a “rules-based international order” to which they pay little more than lip service.
So why do these states even bother with international human rights bodies?
Making a pretense of caring about human rights is necessary to the functioning of a system actually intended to impose imperial will.
And so “Western democracies” vote in favor of toothless probes into rights violations in Yemen (and Gaza) while lavishing weapons on Saudi Arabia (and Israel) and providing support to maintain their advanced weapons systems – by Maureen Clare Murphy
https://electronicintifada.net/content/weapons-trade-saudis-and-israel-must-be-disrupted/34191
cp1a Am wichtigsten: Coronavirus und Seuchen / Most important: Coronavirus and epidemics
(* A H)
23 new cases of COVID-19 reported, 9,751 in total
The committee also reported in its statement the recovery of nine coronavirus patients, in addition to the death of ten others.
http://en.adenpress.news/news/33968
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17 new cases of COVID-19 reported, 9,728 in total
The committee also reported in its statement the recovery of 23 coronavirus patients, in addition to the death of ten others.
http://en.adenpress.news/news/33961
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17 new cases of COVID-19 reported, 9,711 in total
The committee also reported in its statement the recovery of 2 coronavirus patients, in addition to the death of 8 others.
http://en.adenpress.news/news/33952
cp2 Allgemein / General
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Interactive Map of Yemen War
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Yemen War Daily Map Updates
https://southfront.org/military-situation-in-yemen-on-october-28-2021-map-update/
https://southfront.org/military-situation-in-yemen-on-october-27-2021-map-update/
https://southfront.org/military-situation-in-yemen-on-october-26-2021-map-update/
https://southfront.org/military-situation-in-yemen-on-october-25-2021-map-update/
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#Yemeni #Zandani #IslahParty (Muslim Brotherhood) member Anees Mansour regrets supporting #Saudi #UAE war on his country & says he & other Zandanis received their orders from #Saudi officials.
https://twitter.com/AliAlAhmed_en/status/1453863099849658377
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Cartoon From the page of one of the most important Libyan newspapers.. Al-Wasat Gate
https://twitter.com/alasaadim/status/1453666274370801668
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Yemen: 44 journalists killed in the last ten years
Forty four journalists were killed in Yemen between 2011 and September 2021, many of whom lost their lives since the outbreak of the fighting between the Houthis, the Yemeni government forces supported by the Saudi led-coalition. According to the Yemeni Journalists Syndicate (YJS), none of the perpetrators has been brought to justice.
The bloody conflict, the political instability, the multiplicity of actors in the absence of state authority but also the growing hostility towards the press and journalists have contributed to enshrining the impunity of the perpetrators of these crimes.
Most of the warring factions in the ongoing war in Yemen, which started in 2015 bear responsibility for the attacks on journalists. The situation of impunity is fostered by the absence of an independent judiciary and inadequate security conditions.
In addition to the killings, Yemeni media workers suffer arbitrary detentions, injuries and threats on a daily basis. They often face media restrictions or closures and self-censorship out of fear of reprisals. They are regularly prevented from covering news and hundreds of journalists working for state media have not been paid since 2016. Yemeni media has become highly polarised along political and sectarian lines and media professionals are considered by most warring factions as the enemy.
While many journalists fled the country, some have stayed and continue to remind the world of the havok which the conflict continues to exact on the civilians. Sometimes, the price for informing the public about the current situation and the suffering of the people has been the loss of journalists' lives.
The most vulnerable group are local journalists who face the daily challenges of reporting a war.
2021: another difficult year for Yemeni journalists
The latest YJS' reports on the state of media freedom in the country lists 63 violations against journalists and media from January to the end of September 2021.
https://www.ifj.org/media-centre/news/detail/article/impunity-yemen.html
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Biden Presses Saudis To End Yemen War, But Kingdom Wants More US Weapons First
There’s currently a diplomatic push to get a ceasefire in place, and ultimately end the war. While this would get the Saudis out of the negative coverage of the war, the kingdom seems to be focused on what they can get out of the US for heading down this path.
Saudi officials are emphasizing the need for missiles, air defenses, and attack drones, and are keen to get those from the US. The Saudis are pushing this despite having been buying billions of dollars in weapons annually during the Yemen War.
Since the Biden Administration is known to be making ending the war a priority, it is entirely possible they’ll throw more weapons at the Saudis if they think it might facilitate that end.
As Reuters describes:
But Riyadh first wants US weapons to help the kingdom strengthen its defense systems following Houthi attackson its territory with military drones and ballistic missiles, the sources familiar with discussions told Reuters.
“Publicly and privately, we’ve been putting a lot of attention on the port and the airport issue… It’s the right thing for Saudi Arabia to do,” a senior U.S. government official said on condition of anonymity.
Whether that will actually help remains to be seen, as the Saudi interest in getting out of the war is less about the money they’ve wasted and the thousands they’ve killed, but about threatened international blacklists, more than a little focused on their chief import, weapons.
https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/biden-presses-saudis-end-yemen-war-kingdom-wants-more-us-weapons-first = https://redstatetalkradio.com/biden-presses-saudis-to-end-yemen-war-but-kingdom-wants-more-us-weapons-first/
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Being a Child in Yemen Is the Stuff of Nightmares
In August, UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta Fore told the UN General Assembly, ‘Being a child in Yemen is the stuff of nightmares.’ ‘In Yemen,’ Fore said, ‘one child dies every ten minutes from preventable causes, including malnutrition and vaccine-preventable diseases.’
This, friends, is the cost of war. War is an affliction, hideous in its outcomes. Rarely can one turn to history and point a finger at a war that was worth the price. Even if a list of such wars could be made, Yemen would not figure on it, nor would so many countries which have bled for other people’s failures of imagination.
Millions of people have lost their lives while tens of millions have seen their lives destroyed. The blank stare of the person who has seen constant death and misery is what remains when the bombs stop falling alongside the blank stare of the hungry person whose country struggles to deal with the other quiet yet deadly wars of economic sanctions and trade disputes. Little good comes of this belligerence for the people who are its victims. Powerful countries might move the chess pieces to favour themselves and arms dealers might open new bank accounts to preserve their money – and so it goes.
https://dissidentvoice.org/2021/10/being-a-child-in-yemen-is-the-stuff-of-nightmares/ = https://thetricontinental.org/newsletterissue/yemen/
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Experts of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women Ask Yemen about Discrimination against Women and the Lack of Representation of Women in the Political Sphere
Committee Experts asked the delegation to provide the Committee with information on the measures taken by the authorities to urgently address discrimination against women and girls, as well as information on accountability for human rights violations against them. Did the Government foresee a full revision of all discriminatory laws once the new Constitution was adopted? What measures was Yemen taking to address the lack of representation of women in the government, in the parliament and in the judiciary, especially at decision-making levels. Was there any intention to introduce a minimum quota of 30 per cent women in the public and political sphere?
https://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?LangID=E&NewsID=27722
My comment: Hadi government putting blame on Houthis – anything new?
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Under pressure over Yemen blockade, Riyadh seeks US help with defences
Saudi Arabia is seeking Washington's help in bolstering its defences as it comes under intense U.S. pressure to end a blockade of Yemeni ports that its Houthi enemies say is an obstacle to ceasefire talks, two sources with knowledge of efforts to end the Yemen war and a U.S. official said.
A breakthrough would be a success for U.S. President Joe Biden, who has made ending the war a foreign policy priority, and ease tensions between Saudi Arabia and Iran -- the conflict is widely seen a proxy war between the two regional powers.
But Riyadh first wants U.S. weapons to help the kingdom strengthen its defence systems following Houthi attacks on its territory with military drones and ballistic missiles, the sources familiar with discussions told Reuters.
"Publicly and privately, we've been putting a lot of attention on the port and the airport issue... It's the right thing for Saudi Arabia to do," a senior U.S. government official said on condition of anonymity.
The official said the defence of Saudi Arabia is a vital U.S. commitment and "something that the Saudis are specifically looking for".
"I think what that boils down to is that there is a conversation between the U.S. and Saudi Arabia about how best to deliver on the president's commitment to defend the kingdom, but not to provide offensive weapons for the Yemen conflict," the official said.
Washington and Saudi Arabia, the world's top oil exporter, are traditional allies, but ties have been strained since Biden became president.
Washington has intensified scrutiny of Riyadh's human rights record, withdrawn support for coalition offensive operations in Yemen and released a U.S. intelligence report implicating Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in the 2018 killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Prince Mohammed denies the charges.
Worried about its security, Riyadh wants any lifting of the blockades in Yemen to be simultaneous with a ceasefire starting. The Houthis, who say they are fighting a corrupt system in Yemen, say the blockades must be lifted first.
The coalition sea blockades are enforced by warships that filter commercial ships already cleared by a U.N. mechanism to head to Houthi-held ports, including Hodeidah on the Red Sea, and Saudi Arabia controls Yemen's airspace.
The blockades impede humanitarian relief efforts but the Saudi-led alliance says they are needed to prevent Houthi arms smuggling and accuses the group of using port revenues to finance its war effort, charges the Houthis deny.
Houthi chief negotiator Mohammed Abdulsalam told Reuters the group is ready to work with the Djibouti-based U.N. inspection mechanism UNVIM if the blockade is lifted.
A meeting this month between Sullivan and Prince Mohammed was described by one of the sources and an additional source in Riyadh as being "very difficult".
The two sources with knowledge of the talks said U.N. officials had presented a new proposal, backed by Washington, that would -- if agreed by the warring sides -- resolve the question of Yemeni port revenues.
Under the proposal, management of the ports would be handed to the United Nations which would ensure revenues are used to pay public-sector wages in Yemen, they said.
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Calls grow for ending Yemen war as UN records 10,000 children casualties
Despite the already staggering estimates, Abdulghani Al-Iryani, who previously worked with the UN in the Office of the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Yemen and the UN Development Programme mission in Hodeidah in Yemen, said the numbers in regard to the victims of conflict are "under-reported".
The situation keeps deteriorating, Al-Iryani said, especially in the Marib region, where tens of thousands of civilians are caught in cross-fire.
"In democratic states, it is useful to carry out public awareness campaigns, so that public pressure on these governments may lead to a change in policies," Al-Iryani, who is also a senior researcher at the Yemen-based Sanaa Center for Strategic Studies, told China Daily.
"The UK and the US are active participants in this conflict. Thousands of UK and US personnel serve in the Saudi Air Force. As parties to the conflict, they have a duty of care of the civilian population that they have bombed and laid siege on," he added.
When we speak of Yemen, we also talk about the role of the international community and their apparent inaction in regard to dealing with the actors there, Mehmet Rakipoglu, a research assistant at Sakarya University Middle East Institute in Turkey, told China Daily.
Rakipoglu, who is also a non-resident fellow at Center for Middle Eastern Studies, said some of the countries which have been criticizing the role of the UN in relation to the Yemen situation, as well as other countries like Syria and Libya, can help raise awareness about the conflict through the UN Security Council, with "big powers" like China or Russia also actively engaged.
"When we speak about international community, we directly speak about the people. The people who live in these countries are members of the United Nations," said Rakipoglu, suggesting that they could play facilitator roles in terms of awakening the international community through strong rhetoric.
Rasha Al Joundy, a senior researcher at Dubai Public Policy Research Centre, said the Yemen war "should have ended years ago". The number of child casualties, the senior researcher said, is proof that civilians, and especially children, are always the segment that suffers in civil wars.
Al Joundy said the Yemen conflict is facing an impasse due to the unwillingness of the Houthis to abide by a ceasefire proposal presented by Riyadh in March.
"The Houthis think they can control all the Yemenis and the entire national Yemen territory with Iran, IRGC, and Hezbollah's help. This illusion pushed them to start the war by occupying Sanaa and declaring military action against the internationally recognized government. The Houthis fired the first bullet, and they are refusing to fire the last," Al Joundy told China Daily.
"No matter how many Yemeni children suffer, (the Houthis) will not sit on the negotiating table with good intentions and a will to reach a peace deal with other Yemeni brothers and sisters," Al Joundy added.
Rakipoglu, from the Center for Middle Eastern Studies, said there should be an understanding among all parties involved in the Yemen conflict, which he said, have been "directly and indirectly responsible for the humanitarian crisis."
Al Joundy said the international community should stop its blame game.
"This war should end, and the Yemenis deserve better and (have) suffered enough," she said.
http://global.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202110/26/WS6177faa3a310cdd39bc716a0.html
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Audio: 7 Jahre Bürgerkrieg im Jemen
Ein Gespräch mit Mareike Transfeld vom Yemen Policy Center
In dieser Folge steht der Jemen im Fokus, ein Land auf der arabischen Halbinsel, in dem seit knapp 7 Jahren Bürgerkrieg herrscht. Nach Einschätzungen der Vereinten Nationen die schlimmste humanitäre Krise der Welt.
Um besser zu verstehen, wie dieser Konflikt entstanden ist und wieso Friedensverhandlungen immer wieder scheitern, habe ich mir heute eine Expertin eingeladen, die das Yemen Policy Center mitbegründet hat und schon viele Jahre im Jemen gelebt hat.
Wie die Vereinten Nationen bei ihren Friedensverhandlungen die Gruppe der Huthis unterschätzen und was für eine Bedeutung Waffenlieferungen für den bewaffneten Konflikt haben, erfahrt ihr in dieser Folge.
https://www.podcast.de/episode/587321263/7-jahre-buergerkrieg-im-jemen
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«Das Rote Meer bräuchte über 30 Jahre, um sich von den Folgen der Ölpest zu erholen»
Vor der Küste des Jemen drohen mehr als eine Million Barrel Öl auszulaufen. Nun soll die UNO einschreiten.
Der UNO-Sicherheitsrat soll über die wachsende Bedrohung durch einen rostenden Öltanker vor der jemenitischen Küste im Roten Meer beraten. Wie die BBC berichtet, liegt die 45 Jahre alte FSO Safer etwa 60 km nördlich des von den Huthi-Rebellen gehaltenen Hafens von Hudaydah vor Anker. Der Tanker soll mit mehr als einer Million Barrel Öl beladen sein – die vierfache Menge an Rohöl, die bei der Havarie der «Exxon Valdez» 1989 vor Alaska ausgelaufen ist.
Experten warnen daher vor einer verheerenden Umweltkatastrophe, sollte das Schiff auseinanderbrechen. «Die Ökologie des Roten Meeres bräuchte über 30 Jahre, um sich von den schlimmen Folgen der Ölpest zu erholen», wird die Umweltorganisation Holm Akhdar zitiert.
Seit Beginn des Bürgerkriegs im Jemen vor mehr als fünf Jahren wurde das Schiff nicht mehr gewartet. Das Risiko, dass der Tanker auseinanderbricht, Feuer fängt oder explodiert, steigt täglich. Der «New Yorker» schreibt von einer «tickenden Zeitbombe».
Falls das Schiff sinkt, haben Experten zwei Szenarien ausgemacht. Entweder würde sich die FSO Safer Tanker von ihrer Verankerung lösen und gegen Felsen prallen oder der verrostete Rumpf des Frachters würde auseinanderbrechen. In beiden Fällen würde das Rohöl ins Meer auslaufen.
Dies hätte verheerende Folgen: Wie «The Guardian» berichtet, würde eine Ölpest den jemenitischen Fischbestand im Roten Meer innerhalb von drei Wochen zerstören. Dadurch würde nicht nur die Lebensgrundlage vieler Menschen in der Region zerstört, die von der Fischerei leben.
Einer Studie des Magazins «Nature Sustainability» zufolge müssten bereits zwei Wochen nach dem Auslaufen des Öls die Häfen von Hudaydah und Salif geschlossen werden. Über die beiden Häfen wird 38 Prozent des jemenitischen Treibstoffbedarfs geliefert. Experten befürchten, dass bei einem Ausfall der Lieferungen die Preise für Treibstoff im Jemen um 80 Prozent steigen würden. «Durch das Fehlen des Kraftstoffs für Wasserpumpen und die Verschmutzung von Entsalzungsanlagen würden rund zehn Millionen Menschen den Zugang zu fliessendem Wasser verlieren.»
Eine Ölpest würde auch die Lieferungen von Hilfsgütern beeinträchtigen. Über die Häfen von Hudaydah und Salif laufen rund 68 Prozent der humanitären Hilfe. Sollten die Häfen am Roten Meer aufgrund der Umweltkatastrophe schliessen müssen, würde der Studie zufolge die Nahrungsmittelhilfe für bis zu 8,1 Millionen Menschen beeinträchtigt werden.
https://www.derbund.ch/das-rote-meer-braeuchte-ueber-30-jahre-um-sich-von-den-folgen-der-oelpest-zu-erholen-961509556997 = https://www.tagesanzeiger.ch/das-rote-meer-braeuchte-ueber-30-jahre-um-sich-von-den-folgen-der-oelpest-zu-erholen-961509556997 = https://twnews.ch/ch-news/geistertanker-gefahrdet-millionen-das-rote-meer-brauchte-uber-30-jahre-um-sich-von-den-folgen-der-olpest-zu-erholen = https://www.bernerzeitung.ch/das-rote-meer-braeuchte-ueber-30-jahre-um-sich-von-den-folgen-der-oelpest-zu-erholen-961509556997
und auch https://www.n-tv.de/panorama/Die-schwimmende-Zeitbombe-im-Roten-Meer-article22887829.html
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Audio: Saudi & UAE war crimes in Yemen: Aerial bombardment, US mercenaries & assassinations (Guernica 37 co-founder Toby Cadman) E1067
On this episode, we speak to Guernica 37 co-founder Toby Cadman. He discusses war crimes committed by Saudi Arabia and the UAE in Yemen, the location of the world’s worst humanitarian crisis, which have included aerial bombardment of civilian areas, indiscriminate shelling, and assassinations. He also discusses UK and Western arms sales to the Gulf states involved in the war on Yemen. Finally, we speak to Andrew Lownie, author of ‘Traitor King: The Scandalous Exile of the Duke and Duchess of Windsor’. He details the hidden history of fascism in the royal family and the scandalous Nazi sympathies of Edward VIII and his wife Wallis Simpson, as well as their lavish lifestyles and tax evasion as Britons suffered the hardship of life under Nazi bombardment and wartime rationing.
https://www.rt.com/shows/going-underground/538291-saudi-uae-war-crimes-yemen/
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Yemen at the Crossroads: Updates On the Humanitarian Crisis and What Congress Can Do About It
Despite growing pressure from lawmakers, civil society, and Yemeni-American activists against the Saudi blockade of Yemen, during the month of September only 9.5% of Yemen’s fuel needs were allowed to enter the country’s Red Sea ports. While the Biden Administration has promised to end U.S. support for the Saudi-led coalition’s war, and has publicly acknowledged opposition to the blockade, there has been no confirmation that the U.S. has meaningfully pressured Saudi Arabia to lift the blockade nor has the US fully ended support for the Saudi-led coalition. Meanwhile, the world’s worst humanitarian crisis continues in Yemen.
For this event, panelists will: offer updates on the blockade, ongoing humanitarian crisis, and the U.S.’s role; highlight stories from the ground in Yemen; offer perspectives on what role Congress can play in ending U.S. involvement in the war and blockade, including analysis of provisions in the NDAA.
Full event: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B3SQ7vNshzc
cp3 Humanitäre Lage / Humanitarian situation
Siehe / Look at cp1
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Despite the situation, the world is still fine - Afaf “27”, Success Story – Deem for Development Organization - 2021
Afaf Amin Qassem is a 27-year-old woman from Malaouha sub-district, Shar'ab ArRawnah district, Taiz Gov. She is pregnant in the third month. Afaf was suffering from moderate vaginal bleeding. Afaf and her mother arrived at Al-Hriah Rural Hospital. Her yellow pale face was telling the details of her bad condition. Fear was filling her eyes, fearing for her fetus life
(B H)
Giving birth in the health facility – Aisha “25”, Success Story – Deem for Development Organization - 2021
Aisha Mohammed is a 25-year-old Yemeni woman who lives in Al Dhra’ Mikhlaf village, Al Ta’iziyah district, Taiz Governorate. Aisha and her family live a simple life, as they have no basic life-saving services, and because of the current conditions that the country is going through, their village lacks the most basic health services and there is no health facility in the village. Aisha said, “my family and I live in a simple house, and my husband works with the daily wage”, Aisha continued to say, “the symptoms of labor came to me and according to the customs and traditions of childbirth, the birth must take place at home, but the labor was complicated and the midwife of the village was unable to help
(B H)
A mother of twin - Dora “33”, Success Story – Deem for Development Organization - 2021
Dora Abdullah Salem is one of the thousands of Yemeni women who give birth at home. Dora Abdullah, a 33-year-old woman, an inhabitant of Al-Khokha district, AlHudaydah Gov. Dora is a mother of eight boys-children and she was in her ninth pregnancy, and she does not follow-up her pregnancy as usual as in previous pregnancies, due to the difficult financial conditions that she faces with her family. One morning, Dora’s labor pains started, so her family recalled the midwife of their village in Al-Khokha district, Al-Hudaydah governorate, to help her giving a birth. When the midwife came, she noticed that Dora's abdomen was enlarged
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Desert Locust upsurge may be declining but remaining swarms require vigilance in East Africa and Yemen
$11.2 million donation from Mastercard Foundation to aid control and recovery efforts
While the Desert Locust upsurge that swept through the Horn of Africa and Yemen may be declining, it is critical to continue implementing control efforts against any new swarms and monitoring subsequent breeding in the region until at least the end of the year, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).
A new $11.2 million partnership with the Mastercard Foundation means that locust surveillance and control efforts are now fully supported to the end of the year.
"Depending on weather conditions and our ability to reach breeding and migration areas, the upsurge could be over by the end of 2021 or in early 2022,” said Rein Paulsen, the Director of FAO’s Office of Emergencies and Resilience.
“Until then, we must not drop our guard. Thanks to the generous contributions of various partners, national teams guided by FAO experts are continuing to undertake the necessary survey and control operations in the affected countries.”
The campaign against Desert Locusts in the Greater Horn of Africa and Yemen has been underway since January 2020. FAO and the affected countries have gained major successes in containing the worst recorded locust upsurge in Ethiopia and Somalia in 25 years and the worst infestations seen in Kenya in70 years.
With the support of 29 partners and FAO’s own resources, more than $230 million was mobilized for the locust campaign.
(A H)
UNICEF cargo plane arrives in Sana'a
https://www.saba.ye/en/news3161996.htm
and also https://en.ypagency.net/242165/
(B H)
Neonatal sepsis in Sana’a city, Yemen: a predominance of Burkholderia cepacia
Neonatal sepsis is a global concern with increasing morbidity and mortality. The burden of neonatal sepsis is highest in developing countries, especially in those lacking proper surveillance systems. The causative pathogens and their drug-resistance levels vary between countries with emergence of multidrug resistance organisms. Thus, accurate records on the recent trends of organisms causing neonatal sepsis will provide vital information for appropriate intervention. We aimed to investigate neonatal sepsis, identify its associated factors and causative pathogens and to assess the antibiotic susceptibility patterns in Sana’a city, Yemen.
The study findings show a high proportion of neonatal sepsis among neonates admitted to hospitals in Sana’a city with antibiotic-resistant B. cepacia being the single most common pathogen causing EOS and LOS. Findings also emphasize the emerging threat of multidrug-resistant bacteria in neonatal units and will help develop evidence-based management of neonatal sepsis in Yemen.
https://bmcinfectdis.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12879-021-06808-y
(A H)
Children Parliament elections in Yemen centred on renewable energy, education campaigns
Children campaigning for their seat in Yemen’s children parliament prioritised improving education and renewable energy, Save the Children and the Democracy School said today.
In the 9th round of election since its inception in the year 2000, around 240.000 children have participated in the children’s parliament in voting, campaigning or supporting the campaigns of other children in an inclusive process that saw participation from children from different governorates, diverse backgrounds and vulnerabilities.
In 2021, more than 193 children from 9 regions took part in the latest round of elections and a total of 38 children have been elected. Among them 18 girls will represent Yemeni children in their parliament.
Its role is to create awareness among children about their rights and enable them to use their own voices in order to bring meaningful change and contribute to the peacebuilding process.
My comment: This sounds like Western propaganda BS: Improving “renewable engery” a main priority of Yemeni children??? Not peace, food???????
(A H)
US$9 Million Committed by the Netherlands to Support UNDP’s Efforts to Promote Safety and Justice in Yemen
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) welcomes the generous US$9 million contribution of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands to promote safety and justice in Yemen.
The funding will help establish a new three-year project, Promoting Inclusive Access to Justice in Yemen (PIAJ), that aims to strengthen the resilience of institutions and communities, and to maintain a foundation for recovery and reconstruction. It will be Implemented in the four governorates of Aden, Hadramout, Hodeidah and Sana’a and has four key focus areas:
(B H)
Yemen: Humanitarian Response Snapshot (August 2021)
In 2021, the situation, which is primarily driven by conflict and an economic collapse, has been exacerbated by COVID-19, heavy rains and flooding, and escalating hostilities. In parallel, the 2021 Yemen Humanitarian Response Plan (YHRP) remains largely underfunded – as of August 2021 only US$2.51 billion of the $3.85 billion needed had been received. In addition, a fuel crisis has increased needs and restricted response activities, and ongoing access issues hinder the aid operation. An alarming increase in levels of food insecurity and acute malnutrition is forecasted by the year’s end. In the first seven months of 2021, 176 humanitarian organizations continued to deliver aid to an average of 10.9 million people per month.
While the number of people reached with assistance remained low across many cluster areas, partners continued to provide support to millions of people – an average of 10.5 million were reached each month with food assistance, over 3.4 million were reached with water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) services, 528,235 were supported by Health Cluster partners and 771,307 received nutrition treatment.
https://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/yemen-humanitarian-response-snapshot-august-2021
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Civil society representatives brief Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women on situation in Egypt, Yemen, Indonesia and Ecuador
Civil society representatives this afternoon briefed the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women on the situation of women in Egypt, Yemen, Indonesia and Ecuador, whose reports will be reviewed by the Committee this week.
Speaking on Yemen were the following non-governmental organizations: Peace Track Initiative, Musawah, Wogood for Human Security Foundation, Civil Alliance for Rights and Feminism, Sisters’ Arab Forum for Human Rights/NGOs CEDAW Coalition, and Maat for Peace, Development and Human Rights Association.
Discussion on Situation of Women in Yemen
One speaker said that grave violations and abuses against women and girls had reached an unprecedented level in Yemen. Discriminatory legal provisions coupled with the collapse of the legal system had contributed to the deterioration of the protection of women and enhanced impunity. There were no support structures for victims. The use of gender-based violence by parties to the conflict, including rape and other forms of sexual violence, had been reported. The Government was not prioritising gender justice and continued to violate women’s rights. Another speaker said there was no functioning legal system through which family laws could operate. The Committee must highlight the injustices against Yemeni women caused by the discriminatory legal framework, which had been exacerbated for years by the conflict. One speaker welcomed the positive steps taken by the Yemeni Government to amend the nationality law to expand the right of Yemeni women to confer nationality on their children. However, this right for women, which included a retroactive application of only three years, had not been widely implemented due to the conflict.
One speaker said there were still women in Yemen being deprived of their right to access justice and a fair trial. Hundreds women were placed under arbitrary detention because of their political stances and their social and humanitarian activities, and so they were deprived of their rights to a fair trial due to the lack of legal aid or recourse, the slow pace of the litigation procedures by the judges, as well as the high financial cost for litigation and the suspension of judicial work due to the judicial strike, which had resulted in an increase of violence against women and exposed them to exploitation. Another speaker said women were ruled out of any decision-making process and there was no female Minister. Women were totally excluded from public life. This situation could be seen in all sectors. One speaker said there
https://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=27704&LangID=E
(* B H)
Between those who fell dead, those who hanged themselves or turned into beggars, are Spun by the War
The Fates of Hajjah Teachers
Nearly three-quarters of public school teachers in 11 governorates have not received their salaries over more than four years. Male and female teachers have been standing proudly in front of their students, while barely able to provide a decent life for themselves and their families. They were devastated by the war. Depriving them of their meager salaries, the war has left them either as beggars, driven to commit suicide, or dead from disability.
As everywhere in Yemen, there are silent victims in Hajjah province who no one knows about, and no one investigates their stories, cases and causes of death. Some of their deep pain is depicted in these lines.
Teacher (Hamed), (pseudonym – 39 years), is from Hajjah city. His family consists of his wife and four children. Even after the salaries of staff and teachers were cut off in the fall of 2016, teacher Hamed continued to go to his distant school on foot, so as not to deprive his students of education.
Financial burdens had their toll on the teacher. His children demanded their school needs from him. He in turn promised them that he would provide them, but the money was never available. He searched for additional work, but could not find any. Even the people he used to borrow from refused to lend him anymore because he was heavily in debt.
Teacher Hamed started to go to work before his children wake up, in order to avoid hearing their demands. On September 8, 2019, his children woke up before he leave the house, and started to scream and cry of hunger. His young son said to him: “Please, dad, bring us some dry loaf of bread, or rooti [bakery bread], so that we may have breakfast, for we are dying of hunger, and we spent two days without food.”
He promised them that he would go immediately to fetch food for them to eat, but he went out and did not return. He fell on the ground while he was on his way to the old market and died from what was said to be a stroke.
Endless stories, we conclude in this blog with another teacher (39 years old) who told us with bitterness about his suffering with the interruption of salaries: “My child, who was always used to stand in front of the door of the house every morning before she goes to her school, waiting for me to give her one hundred riyals for school expenses, then we separate so she goes to her school and I go to my school where I teach.” He continues, with his eyes full of tears, “I told her, ‘my daughter, today, by God, I don’t have any money’. Then I kissed her on the forehead. She told me, ‘It’s okay, Dad, it’s not necessary,’ but she was talking with tears in her eyes. I couldn’t stand this situation.”
All of that is just part of a painful reality caused by the interruption of government sector salaries in Yemen. Stories, most of which take place behind closed doors, but stifle their victims silently, and do not find their way into the world.
https://mwatana.org/en/hajjah-teachers/
(* B H)
Yemen Socio-Economic Update, Issue 61 - June 2021 [EN/AR]
The chronic water crisis in Yemen remains a challenge for development and can only be addressed through a consolidated strategy, with water is placed on top of the state’s public policy priorities, given its importance and relative scarcity. Only such a strategy can ensure water resources be enhanced, water shortage be properly addressed and demand for it be leveraged, including through minimizing random drilling of wells, rebuilding and maintaining the water infrastructure damaged by the war and conflict, and allocating the necessary material and financial resources to keep the service going during the current conditions. In addition to doubling efforts to reduce the supply-demand gap, whether for domestic use or in farming agricultural and industrial sectors given the limited resources we have, taking into account the need to sustain water resources for future generations.
Despite the efforts that are being made by humanitarian and development partners to this end, yet the challenges and risks associated with water stress, as well as the impact of war and conflict on the Yemeni water sector, have exacerbated the water crisis including at the social and economic spheres. The most vulnerable groups in particular and the entire Yemeni society were affected at all levels, making it a major driver of the ongoing humanitarian crisis in the country.
Therefore, this issue of the YSEU bulletin highlights Yemen’s water crisis and its implications across all aspects, in order to come up with a set of urgent and priority interventions required, as well as medium and long term policies and programs to address this crisis and limit its impacts
https://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/yemen-socio-economic-update-issue-61-june-2021-enar
(B H)
WFP Yemen Food Security Update, October 2021
https://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/wfp-yemen-food-security-update-october-2021
(A H P)
[Sanaa gov.] Human Rights Ministry denounces presence of relief materials in aggression mercenaries' barracks in Marib
The Ministry of Human Rights in Sanaa on Monday expressed its dissatisfaction and denunciation of the relief materials that were found in the barracks of Saudi-led aggression coalition mercenaries in Al-Abdiyah front in Marib province.
The ministry stated, in a statement, that this food aid, provided by an organization affiliated with the United Nations, was supposed to be within the reach of citizens and not in the military barracks.
https://www.saba.ye/en/news3161611.htm
(* A H)
UN appeals for fresh injection of funds for famine-threatened Yemen
Funds needed to feed millions of people in war-ravaged Yemen could run out in a matter of weeks, a senior United Nations official warned, calling on donors to inject more cash to avert a large-scale famine.
World Food Programme (WFP) Executive Director David Beasley told Reuters the first half of 2022 would be "brutal" for Yemen, which has teetered on the brink of starvation after nearly seven years of war between a Saudi-led coalition and the Houthi group.
"We run out (of money) in a few weeks," Beasley said in Dubai. "I don't see how we don't avoid, at this stage, a famine of biblical proportions...without a massive injection of additional dollars."
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-yemen-security-un/u-n-appeals-for-fresh-injection-of-funds-for-famine-threatened-yemen-idUSKBN2HF12G = https://www.jpost.com/breaking-news/un-appeals-for-fresh-injection-of-funds-for-famine-threatened-yemen-683038
cp4 Flüchtlinge / Refugees
(* B H)
UNHCR Yemen Country Factsheet - October 2021
1,000,000+ IDPs and refugee reached with cash assistance so far in 2021
65,500+ IDP and refugee families have received shelter and NFI kits in 2021 Regular updates on our response can be found on UNHCR’s Yemen Global Focus and Operational Portal
25,000+ IDPs and refugees supported with legal assistance in 2021
28,500+ IDPs and refugees have received psychosocial first aid so far in 2021
Operational context
Yemen remains among the world’s largest humanitarian crises. After more than six years of devastating and unrelenting conflict, some 20 million Yemenis (66 per cent of the total population) depend urgently on humanitarian assistance to survive, including four million internally displaced persons (IDPs) and 141,606 refugees and asylumseekers, mainly from Somalia and Ethiopia. The country currently has the fourth largest IDP population worldwide due to conflict. Raging clashes continue to deteriorate the protection space for civilians and force thousands of families to seek refuge elsewhere. There are more than 50 active frontlines across the country which have forced more than 67,000 individuals to be forcibly displaced this year, particularly in Marib governorate. Countrywide, the economy has collapsed and the Yemeni Riyal continues to devaluate, negatively impacting purchasing power. It is estimated that 80 per cent of the total population lives below the poverty line, and food security data has further revealed that five million Yemenis were on the brink of famine earlier this year, most of whom are displaced individuals who are four times more at risk of falling into hunger than other Yemenis. The peace process has yet to make any significant progress.
https://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/unhcr-yemen-country-factsheet-october-2021
(* B H)
UN: 2.6 million displaced Yemenis face food shortages
Some 2.6 million displaced people in Yemen are facing shortages in food supplies, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) announced yesterday.
"Our cash assistance helps families meet their food needs," UNHCR said on Twitter.
The UN organisation pointed out that it was able to help feed more than 300,000 Yemenis through the Qatari "Al-Thani Humanitarian Fund."
The Thani Bin Abdullah Bin Thani Al-Thani Humanitarian Fund was established in April 2019. It has disbursed more than $35 million in support of Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh and displaced Yemenis in the form of Zakat through UNHCR.
https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20211027-un-2-6-million-displaced-yemenis-face-food-shortages/
(B H)
Impact of COVID-19 Movement Restrictions on Migrants along the Eastern Corridor, Report 19 | as of 30 September 2021
The COVID-19 outbreak has restricted global mobility, whilst heightening the risk of exploitation of vulnerable populations.
This report provides a snapshot of the COVID-19 epidemiological situation and mobility restrictions, and of the current migration trends along the Eastern Corridor migration route, in addition to an analysis of the impact that movement restrictions have had in Djibouti, Ethiopia, Somalia, and Yemen.
(B H)
IOM Yemen: Rapid Displacement Tracking - Yemen IDP Dashboard Reporting Period: 17 - 23 October 2021
During the reporting period, between 17 and 23 October 2021, IOM Yemen DTM tracked 759 households (4,554 individuals) displaced at least once. Conflict was the main reason for displacement, accounting for 97 per cent (734 HH) of the total, followed by economic reasons, accounting for three per cent (25 HH).
From 01 January 2021 to 23 October 2021, IOM Yemen DTM estimates that 14,195 households (HH) (85,170 Individuals) have experienced displacement at least once.
cp5 Nordjemen und Huthis / Northern Yemen and Houthis
Siehe / Look at cp1
(A P)
Houthis impose taxes ranging between YR50 and YR 120 thousand on traders in Bayhan of Shabwa/Al-Rashad Press website
https://www.alsahwa-yemen.net/en/p-51841
(A P)
Houthi warlords confiscates 40 historical buildings in Old Sana'a/Al-Rashad Press
https://www.alsahwa-yemen.net/en/p-51825
(A P)
Syrian intelligence officers arrive in Sana'a to provide Houthis with the Bashar Al-Assad regime's expertise/Voice of Yemen
https://www.alsahwa-yemen.net/en/p-51825
(A P)
A Houthi school headmaster in Ibb sacks a number of students who did not attend the 'Prophet's Birthday' labeling them as 'infidels'.
https://www.alsahwa-yemen.net/en/p-51825
(A P)
Prophet's birth anniversary... Declaration of loyalty, renewal of affiliation
Yemenis celebrate this occasion every year out of their association with the Messenger of the Nation, as they were the first to believe in Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him).
The capital Sana'a and other provinces are lit up in green at night, as the Yemeni people celebrate Mawlid An-Nabawi, the birthday of the Islamic prophet Muhammad.
During the night, all state facilities and buildings are illuminated with a green light. The atmosphere gives the walkers spirituality and tranquility.
Yemenis raise the banner of love, joy and loyalty in the celebration of the birthday of the Prophet, because of their strong relationship with him.
Yemenis also express their love for the Prophet by spreading all aspects of joy by decorating streets and buildings with lights, banners, and pictures. In addition to organizing various activities, including awareness lectures and seminars in mosques and schools.
https://www.saba.ye/en/news3161656.htm
(A P)
Verdict in controversial trial of Yemeni model expected within weeks: Report
A verdict in the controversial Houthi trial of a Yemeni model may be delivered within two weeks, Al Arabiya reported.
Entisar al-Hammadi, 20, is accused of inciting girls to engage in prostitution in a trial that has been marred with irregularities, according to human rights groups. She denies the charges.
Her defense lawyer claims she was physically and verbally abused by interrogators, subjected to racist insults, forced to sign a document while blindfolded, and threatened with a ‘virginity test’ by prosecutors, the BBC reported.
Defending al-Hammadi, lawyers argued that charges should be dropped as there is no evidence to back them up.
Human Rights Watch said in an earlier report that the Iran-backed Houthis are trying al-Hammadi unfairly.
Al-Hammadi and three companions were detained on their way to a photo session on February 20.
In May, human rights organization Amnesty International stated that she was forced to confess to several crimes, including drug possession and prostitution.
https://english.alarabiya.net/News/gulf/2021/10/25/Verdict-in-controversial-trial-of-Yemeni-model-expected-within-weeks-Report = http://en.adenpress.news/news/33950
cp6 Südjemen und Hadi-Regierung / Southern Yemen and Hadi-government
(A P)
STC militia kidnap gas company’s director in Aden
http://en.ypagency.net/242004/
(A P)
Two killed, four wounded in infighting between STC’s militia over piece of land in Aden
http://en.ypagency.net/241979/
(A P)
Saudi-backed forces move bank finances away from Ma'rib as Yemeni forces inch closer to liberating city
The Islah Party, the Yemeni branch of the Muslim Brotherhood and ally of the Saudi-led invaders, has begun moving the coffers of the Central Bank from Ma’rib city to the occupied Hadhramaut province in eastern Yemen.
The move comes as the result of the rapid advance of the Yemeni army and Popular Committees loyal to the National Salvation Government in Sana’a, which are inching closer to liberating the key city of Ma’rib.
and also https://en.ypagency.net/242093/
(A P)
Two journalists imprisoned in southern Yemen
Reporters Without Borders (RSF) is concerned about the persecution of media personnel in the Aden region, in southern Yemen, where two journalists have been detained for the past several weeks with no reason being given and their families not knowing where they are held. They must be released at once, RSF says.
Ammar Makhshef, a freelance sports journalist was arrested when members of the security forces went to his home in Aden on 7 October and took him away without giving any explanation. His family has had no news of him since then.
Raafat Rashad, a journalist who runs two local radio stations, Bandar Aden and Adania, was arrested a week before that.
https://rsf.org/en/news/two-journalists-imprisoned-southern-yemen
(* A P)
STC demands withdrawal of government forces from southern Yemen
The Southern Transitional Council demanded government forces withdraw from the southern and eastern parts of the country as a precondition to restart the Riyadh Agreement
The head of the UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council has demanded the withdrawal of Yemeni government forces in southern Yemen, as a precondition to restart a Saudi-backed unity agreement.
Aidarous Al-Zubaidi demanded on Wednesday that forces allied with Yemen's government led by Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi to leave the southern and eastern governorates, as a condition for the STC to return to the Riyadh Agreement, a unity agreement between the government and secessionists.
Al-Zubaidi made his remarks during a meeting with a number of European Union ambassadors who arrived in Aden, Yemen's interim capital city, on Tuesday.
He added that the STC leadership is ready to return to the negotiating table, as long as the pro-Hadi forces, whom he claims to be Muslim Brotherhood members, withdraw from the provinces of Abyan and Shabwa.
https://english.alaraby.co.uk/news/stc-demands-withdrawal-government-forces-south-yemen
and also https://debriefer.net/en/news-27525.html
My comment: This is odd. They should leave most of the territory they still held?
(A P)
Yemen [Hadi gov.] Files Complaint to Lebanese Foreign Ministry over Minister’s Remarks on War
Yemen’s Foreign Minister Ahmed bin Awad bin Mubarak said on Tuesday his country’s ambassador to Beirut had filed a complaint to Lebanese Foreign Ministry in wake of Information Minister George Kordahi’s remarks about the Yemen war.
Kordahi’s statements contradict the clear Lebanese official stance towards Yemen and its condemnation of the coup by the Iran-backed Houthi militias and support to all relevant Arab and United Nations resolutions.
My remark: More at cp12.
(A K P)
At least two killed during mercenary infighting in Aden
At least two people were killed and four others were wounded in clashes between factions in the UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council (STC) in the Yemen’s southern port city of Aden.
(A T)
The Yemeni army's commander of Al-Aqroodh warfront in Taiz Mohammed Al-Ayd survived an assassination attempt by an explosive planted in his car. One of his escorts was killed and others were wounded. This is the second crime of kind after the assassination of Islah party senior member and prisoner exchange negotiator with Houthis Dhiya Al-Haq last week/Multiple websites
https://www.alsahwa-yemen.net/en/p-51810
and also http://en.ypagency.net/241970/
(A P)
STC militias kidnap local official in Aden
http://en.ypagency.net/241932/
(A E P)
Stifling fuel crisis hits Aden
The most public and private fuel stations in the port city of Aden, southern Yemen, suddenly closed their doors to citizens on Tuesday.
Local sources in the city stated that the motorists were surprised by the closure of most of the stations selling oil derivatives, under the pretext that the quantity had run out.
The black market rebounded after the closure of stations in various areas of the city, the sources added.
This comes after a rise in fuel prices last September, while the city is experiencing a stifling electricity crisis.
According to the sources, the price of a benzene gallon with a capacity of 20 liters exceeded 18,000 riyals, and almost non-existent in all stations of the city, controlled by the Saudi-led coalition since mid of the year 2015.
http://en.ypagency.net/241925/
(* A P)
Emirati forces withdraw from Yemeni Shabwa-based Alam camp
The Emirati troops on Tuesday withdrew from al-Alam camp based in the Yemeni southeastern governorate of Shabwa, local military sources said.
In the dawn, the forces headed to the Yemeni-Saudi crossing al-Wadea'a, while Yemeni government troops were deployed in the nearby to secure the camp during the handover process in coordination with Saudis, the sources added.
The national army will take charge of the strategic camp after the Emirati withdrawal, but Yemeni soldiers affiliated to the Arab coalition were asked to remain inside the site until it is handed over to the army, they said.
Yemeni army troops and security special forces are now in the vicinity of the camp whose protection is now the duty of the coalition troops (Yemeni nationals) until it is officially handed to the legitimate authorities, according to the sources.
The Emirati withdrawal came as part of Yemeni-Saudi-Emirati understandings that paved the way for ultimate pullout from Shabwa, the sources said.
"In the upcoming weeks, the Emirati forces will pull out from Balhaf gas facility."
The Emirati withdrawal was preceded by serious tensions between the Yemeni UN-recognized government and the Emirati troops that trained militias led mutiny against the government in Aden and other southern provinces.
https://debriefer.net/en/news-27503.html
and also https://english.alaraby.co.uk/news/emirati-forces-withdraw-yemens-al-alam-base
and
(A K P)
Islah militants storm Al-Alam camp in Shabwa
Saudi-backed Islah Party’s 21st Brigade forces stormed on Wednesday Al-Alam camp in Shabwa after a suffocating siege on “Shabwani Elite backed the UAE in the province.
According to sources, the Islah party pushed armed groups towards Al-Alam camp in Jardan district, after Shabwani Elite forces withdrew from the camp, where the UAE forces have been controlled since 2017.
http://en.ypagency.net/242023/
(A P)
Pro-government officer freed from a STC prison
A senior pro-government army officer was freed from a prison run by forces loyal to the UAE-backed southern transitional council in Yemen's interim capital Aden.
https://debriefer.net/en/news-27488.html
(A E P)
Yemen..Abdul-Malik requests urgent European support to save the currency
Maeen Abdul-Malik, head of the internationally recognized Yemeni government, asked the European Union countries for urgent support for his government, and to help achieve stability in the exchange rate of the collapsed national currency.
During his meeting with the head of the European Union mission, the ambassadors of France, the Netherlands, Germany and the Swedish envoy to Yemen, in the southern city of Aden, Abdul-Malik added the visit of this mission “carries important connotations in providing support to the Yemeni government and people in these complex circumstances.”
He briefed the ambassadors on the government’s intention to start implementing a general plan for economic stability and preventing a complete collaps
https://middleeast.in-24.com/world/350702.html
(A P)
STC Presidency warns of new settlers in Abyan
The Presidency of the Southern Transitional Council (STC) warned of a systematic demographic change in the population structure in Abyan's districts.
In its meeting today under the chairmanship of President Maj. Gen Aidroos Qassem Al-Zubaidi, the STC urged the local authorities in the delta regions of Abyan to halt the process of selling lands and buildings to internally displaced persons.
The STC noted that the attempt to populate the province with new settlers will have dire consequence for the population structure.
http://en.adenpress.news/news/33948
My remark: The STC agitating against people from northern Yemen.
(A P)
Hundreds of protesters rally against invaders in Hadhramaut
Hundreds of inhabitants of Hadhramaut province renewed protests condemning the starvation policy of the Saudi-led coalition against the southern provinces.
The participants demanded, in an angry demonstration that roamed the streets of the city of Mukalla, an end to the rise in food prices and the lack of fuel, stressing the return of their popular escalation due to the continuous deterioration of the Yemeni riyal against foreign currencies.
The demonstrators called on traders and employees to implement a campaign of comprehensive civil disobedience
and also http://en.ypagency.net/241891/
(A P)
Film: Taiz Residents In Yemen Demonstrate To Demand Basic Services
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FwcC0FGER7c
(A P)
Islah militants arrest activist in Taiz
http://en.ypagency.net/241852/
cp7 UNO und Friedensgespräche / UN and peace talks
(A P)
UN Special Envoy for Yemen concludes visit to the United Arab Emirates
The UN Special Envoy for Yemen, Hans Grundberg, concluded today his first visit to the United Arab Emirates where he held meetings with senior Emirati officials and Yemenis from various political components and the private sector.
https://osesgy.unmissions.org/un-special-envoy-yemen-concludes-visit-united-arab-emirates
(A P)
Gargash meets with Special Envoy of UN Secretary-General for Yemen
Dr. Anwar Gargash, Diplomatic Adviser to the UAE President, has discussed with Hans Grundberg, Special Envoy of the United Nations (UN) Secretary-General for Yemen, the UN efforts to reach a political solution to end the Yemeni crisis.
https://www.wam.ae/en/details/1395302985769
(A P)
Cartoon: UN ignoring Saudi-led crimes in Yemen
https://en.mehrnews.com/photo/180057/UN-ignoring-Saudi-led-crimes-in-Yemen
(A H K)
300 civilians were killed and injured and 10.000 families displaced by Houthi attacks on Al-Jubah district in #Marib, [Hadi gov.] human rights ministry said, according to Saba agency.
https://twitter.com/FuadRajeh/status/1453578586062036995
(A P)
UN Official Visits Southern Marib to Inspect Damages Caused by Houthi Military Escalation
For the first time since Houthis waged a military escalation targeting civilians and uprooting hundreds of families, the UN’s Deputy Humanitarian Coordinator, Diego Zorilla, visited al-Juba district south of the Yemeni governorate of Marib.
Zorilla listened to escapees who described the horrors committed by militias against al-Juba residents and complained about the inaction of international organizations.
(A P)
UN sorgt für politische Vertuschung der Verbrechen saudischer Koalition im Jemen
Ein hochrangiger jemenitischer Amtsträger hat die Vereinten Nationen wegen einer politischen Vertuschung der abscheulichen Verbrechen, die Saudi-Arabien und seine regionalen Verbündeten im arabischen Land begangen haben, kritisiert und erklärt, dass die Fortsetzung einer solchen falschen Politik ein grundlegendes Abweichen von der Charta des internationalen Gremiums darstellt.
Mahdi al-Mashat, Vorsitzender des Obersten Politischen Rates des Jemen, beklagte die „negative Haltung“ der Vereinten Nationen gegenüber der grausamen Militärkampagne der von Saudi-Arabien geführten Koalition und der brutalen Blockade des jemenitischen Volkes.
Er kritisierte auch die jüngste pro-Riad-Erklärung des UN-Sicherheitsrates, in der ein dringender Waffenstillstand im Jemen und ein Ende des Vorrückens der jemenitischen Streitkräfte auf die letzte Hochburg der von Saudi-Arabien unterstützten Söldner in der strategischen Provinz Marib gefordert wurde.
Mashat betonte, dass das Fortbestehen einer solch falschen Politik der Vereinten Nationen die Verbitterung und das Leiden des jemenitischen Volkes weiter verstärken
(A P)
[Sanaa gov.] Top Official: UN Provides Political Cover-Up for Saudi-Led Coalition’s Crimes in Yemen
A senior Yemeni official lambasted the United Nations for what he termed as a political cover-up for heinous crimes being perpetrated by Saudi Arabia and its regional allies in the Arab country, stating that the continuation of such an incorrect policy would amount to a fundamental departure from the international body’s charter.
Mahdi Al-Mashat, who heads Yemen’s Supreme Political Council, lamented the “negative approach” of the UN vis-à-vis the Saudi-led coalition’s atrocious military campaign and brutal siege against Yemeni people, presstv reported.
He also criticized the latest UN Security Council’s latest pro-Riyadh statement, which called for an urgent ceasefire across Yemen and an end to the Yemeni armed forces’ advances toward the last stronghold of Saudi-backed mercenaries in the strategic province of Ma’rib, stating that the “biased” statement was accompanied by Saudi-led airstrikes on ordinary people and civilian infrastructure.
Mashat emphasized that the persistence of such a wrong policy by the United Nations will further increase the resentment and sufferings of the Yemeni people
https://www.farsnews.ir/en/news/14000803000482/Tp-Official-UN-Prvides-Pliical-Cver-Up-fr-Sadi-Led-Caliin%E2%80%99s-Crimes-in = https://en.abna24.com/news/un-provides-political-cover-up-for-saudi-led-coalition%E2%80%99s-crimes-in-yemen-top-official_1191998.html
and also https://debriefer.net/en/news-27487.html
and
(A P)
[Sanaa] President Mahdi al-Mashat sends official message to UN on United Nations Day
“We have been also surprised by the position of the Security Council and the Secretary-General of the United Nations, which uses double standards and absolves the perpetrator of any responsibility for crimes,” al-Mashat added. “The recent statement of the Security Council, which was accompanied by coalition airstrikes targeting citizens and civilian objects, is clear evidence of this bias.”
The President explained that “the persistence of the UN in adopting this incorrect policy increases the people’s resentment and suffering day after day, until the moment when the UN’s role will become without value to the peoples of the world as a natural result of its departure from their aspirations and from the hopes of the UN Charter and principles.”
cp8 Saudi-Arabien / Saudi Arabia
(A P)
#SaudiArabia used changing of sentences in the case of al-Nimr and his companions to promote moratorium of the execution of minors, but in reality it still threatens 5 minors' lives. There may be more minors unknown threatned.
https://twitter.com/ESOHumanRightsE/status/1453442574321176577
(* A E P)
Saudi crown prince’s investment forum draws back Westerners
Saudi Arabia’s annual cornerstone investment forum has drawn over 1,000 participants, with big-name U.S. financiers and business leaders back on the stage three years after many stayed away following the international outcry over the killing of a government critic.
The three-day Foreign Investment Initiative, also known as “Davos in the Desert,” wrapped up Thursday with appearances by finance titans such as Larry Fink, chairman and CEO of the world’s biggest asset manager, BlackRock, who joined a panel that featured Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon and South African mining billionaire Patrice Motsepe.
It was a stark turnaround from 2018, when most high-profile guests backed out after it was revealed that aides who worked for Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman had killed Washington Post columnist and Saudi critic Jamal Khashoggi in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, Turkey.
Most of the women at the conference, held at the exclusive Ritz Carlton Hotel, wore long-flowing robes, or abayas, over business suits, in line with local customs. But abayas are no longer required and several women opted to forgo them. Others wore colorful abayas, but no head scarves. Such a sight would have been unimaginable only a few years ago when nearly all women wore black abayas and headscarves in public, and often a face covering.
On the opening night, guests attended a gala dinner with live music - also a product of recent reforms - in King Abdullah Economic City. The crown prince hopes to lure firms to open their regional offices there and attract much of the capital now concentrated in the neighboring United Arab Emirates, home to Dubai and Abu Dhabi.
Saudi Arabia has told companies they have until the end of 2023 to establish regional offices in the kingdom or lose access to government contracts. The goal is to attract these companies and their employees, as well as their families, to live, spend and invest in Saudi Arabia, replacing the short fly-in trips from cities like Dubai that many consultants and others currently prefer over life in Riyadh, where Islamic law bans the sale of alcohol.
At the forum, it was announced that 44 multinational firms would be setting up new regional headquarters in Saudi Arabia. The government hopes the strategy will add $18 billion to the local economy and create 30,000 new jobs by 2030, part of a wider economic diversification plan to rely less on oil as the main source of government revenue. Some of the companies moving their regional offices to Riyadh are PepsiCo, Siemens, Unilever, Deloitte, Halliburton, and Baker Hughes, according to a government press release. It’s unclear whether such companies will scale down their operations in the UAE and elsewhere, or add staff in new offices in Riyadh.
The forum is Prince Mohammed’s signature event for trying to bring badly needed investments to the kingdom, but other than the word on plans to open regional offices, there were few major announcements around new investments.
The event is powered by The Public Investment Fund, the kingdom’s sovereign wealth fund
(A P)
#Saudi campaign against #Lebanse info minister brought on lots of #AntiShia hatred. A #Lebanese journalist based #DC is promoting a hatful depiction of #Christian info minister as a #Shia cleric. #AntiShiism killed over 100 Shia in 2 weeks
https://twitter.com/AliAlAhmed_en/status/1453437579697733632
referring to https://twitter.com/hayvibouzo/status/1453436517238595587?s=20
(A P)
Saudi Arabia classifies Lebanese association as terrorist entity for Hezbollah links
Saudi Arabia classified the Lebanon-based Al-Qard Al-Hassan association as a terrorist entity, citing links to activities supporting Lebanon's Shi'ite group Hezbollah, state media reported on Wednesday.
and by SPA: https://www.spa.gov.sa/viewfullstory.php?lang=en&newsid=2299306
(A P)
Young Saudi man released from prison after nearly a decade
A young Saudi man was released from prison on Wednesday after spending nearly a decade behind bars in a case that drew international scrutiny because until recently he’d been facing a possible death sentence for protest-related crimes committed as a minor.
Ali al-Nimr’s case also drew attention because his uncle was influential Saudi Shiite cleric Nimr al-Nimr, who was executed in January 2016 in a mass execution of 47 people in the kingdom. He was an outspoken government critic and a key leader of Shiite protests in eastern Saudi Arabia in 2011 demanding greater rights in the majority Sunni nation and fair treatment
Ali al-Nimr appears to have been spared a similar fate after his death sentence was commuted in February following a royal decree issued last year that ordered an end to the death penalty for crimes committed by minors.
Breaking: 1st photo of freed #AliAlNimer who faced a death sentence by the #Saudi Clansmen regime for 10 years for protesting. He was freed after his sentence was commuted to 10 years.
https://twitter.com/AliAlAhmed_en/status/1453367531545272330
Film: https://twitter.com/AliAlAhmed_en/status/1453385823995506691
(A E P)
Saudi Arabia licenses 44 companies to open regional headquarters in Riyadh
Saudi Arabia said on Wednesday it had licensed 44 international companies to set up regional headquarters in the capital Riyadh under the kingdom's push to become a regional commercial hub https://www.reuters.com/article/saudi-economy-companies-int/saudi-arabia-licenses-44-companies-to-open-regional-headquarters-in-riyadh-idUSKBN2HH0VF
(A E P)
Saudi Seeks 50 Million Tourist Visits in 2022 in Covid Recovery
Saudi Arabia is expecting 50 million tourist visits in 2022 as it seeks to rejuvenate a nascent effort to promote domestic and international vacations stymied by the pandemic.
“We have already started the recovery journey, and it will continue to 2023, 2024,” Tourism Minister Ahmed Al Khateeb told Bloomberg TV at the Saudi Green Initiative Forum. He also unveiled a new center focused on sustainable tourism as part of efforts, announced by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman over the weekend, to bring planet-warming emissions in the world’s biggest exporter of oil to net zero by 2060.
(A P)
#Saudi #KSA @OKAZ_online newspaper highlighting @STCSouthArabia President Aidarous al-Zubaidi - Three full pages - what's the message?
https://twitter.com/BashaReport/status/1452733372288184323
cp9 USA
Siehe / Look at cp1
(B P)
Letter: It's time for Sanders to stand up for Yemen
In past years our Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) has led War Powers Resolutions to challenge the Trump administration’s continued unconstitutional participation in the war. Now that Biden is president, despite Bernie’s September announcement in Brattleboro of his intent to reintroduce this resolution, Bernie has not yet introduced this. Since Biden took office, the humanitarian crisis in Yemen has only gotten worse. As a supporter of the humanitarian advocacy group Action Corps Vermont, I say it’s time for Bernie, as an Independent, to stand up as he has so many times before, and introduce a Yemen War Powers Resolution to call the question once and for all on U.S. participation in the devastating war and blockade of the Middle East’s poorest country.
(* B K P)
How Biden is trying to rebrand the drone war
The White House is touting an ‘over-the-horizon’ capability as the new face of US counterterrorism, but it’s actually just repackaged (bad) policy.
For months, the White House and Pentagon have been touting the efficacy of “over the horizon” warfare — purportedly an accurate and effective targeting of terrorists in nations where the United States has few or no boots on the ground. “Terrorism has metastasized around the world,” said President Joe Biden in August. “We have over-the-horizon capability to keep them from going after us.”
While peddled as innovative, experts say that over-the-horizon warfare is effectively a rebranding of the drone campaign that has been employed for almost 20 years in places like Libya, Somalia, and Yemen. It is also, they told Responsible Statecraft, likely to fail.
“This idea that over-the-horizon strikes are going to solve all the problems is absolute horseshit,” said Marc Garlasco, who served for seven years at the Pentagon, including as chief of high value targeting during the Iraq War in 2003.
Luke Hartig, who worked on drone strike policy for the Obama administration as a senior director for counterterrorism at the National Security Council, was less colorful but similarly dubious. “I’ve been skeptical of ‘over the horizon’ as the means to conduct counterterrorism strikes since it first started being discussed,” he said. “I’m highly skeptical that maintaining a steady pace of counterterrorism operations — meaning mostly drone strikes — against al Qaeda and ISIS-K is absolutely necessary to keep our country safe.”
The debate regarding over-the-horizon warfare is occurring as the White House attempts to complete its new rules for overseas counterterrorism operations and the Pentagon is doing the same in terms of civilian casualties. All of it comes in the wake of the Taliban victory in Afghanistan and a parting drone strike there that calls the efficacy of remote warfare into question.
https://responsiblestatecraft.org/2021/10/25/how-biden-is-trying-to-rebrand-the-drone-war/
(* B P)
Will Biden draw down the US military presence in the Middle East?
A posture review is forthcoming, and pressure is building for withdrawal.
While top U.S. officials over the past month have appeared eager to reassure traditional Arab partners in the Persian Gulf about Washington’s continued commitment to their security after the withdrawal from Afghanistan, the debate over future policy — whether Washington should begin to disengage militarily from the region — remains unresolved. Until the Biden administration releases its Force Posture Review, America’s intentions remain opaque.
With speculation over the future of U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East, a larger debate has emerged in Washington, inciting a call for the continuation of American military supremacy in the world. “The starting point for a new internationalism should be a clear recognition that although foreign policy begins at home, it cannot end there,” said Richard Haass, former American diplomat, and president of the Council of Foreign Relations. “In the absence of a new American internationalism, the likely outcome will be a world that is less free, more violent, and less willing or able to tackle common challenges.”
Speaking on the future of a U.S. military presence in the region during a recent event on maritime security in the Gulf, Gulf expert Dr. Geoffrey Gresh said “the United States is still going to be front and center, and as we know, on the Gulf side by certain estimates there are around 50,000 U.S. troops spread, if you include Turkey, Jordan, and the like spread across the Middle East region … so clearly the United States has a vested and long-term interest, and this is going to play out significantly down the road.” While the points from Haass and Gresh are markedly different, they represent a larger school of thought in American foreign policy that the United States must stay in the Middle East to protect its interests.
But many experts have come to oppose this viewpoint, representing a growing movement for ending America’s forever wars and pursuing a more rigorous diplomatic strategy. In fact, the beginning of the U.S. drawdown in the Middle East has led many to believe that it creates better opportunities for diplomatic channels between regional leaders.
“Biden’s pending withdrawal from the region predictably unlocked an untapped potential for the Middle East actors to resolve their problems on their own and to try to build structures necessary to ensure a more peaceful and stable region,” said the Quincy Institute’s Trita Parsi in the wake of the Baghdad Summit.
Indeed, a Quincy Institute issue brief authored by the late Mark Perry pushes back at the idea that expanding the American internationalism doctrine protects U.S. interests in the region: “The claim that a smaller military footprint in the Middle East would undermine U.S. security interests actually reflects a concern that a reduced force presence would undermine the interests of combatant commanders, who wish to maintain access to resources.”
These arguments represent a growing consensus in the U.S. foreign policy debate
(A P)
Did anyone notice that Google removed information about certain countries such Saudi Kingdom from its archive. It appears that this company makes money in two ways: providing information and hiding or removing information
https://twitter.com/fuadibrahim2008/status/1453254913358770178
(* A K P)
Biden’s $500m Saudi deal contradicts policy on ‘offensive’ weapons, critics say
Arms contract will allow Saudi Arabia to maintain attack helicopters despite previous use against Houthis in Yemen
The Biden administration’s new $500m military contract with Saudi Arabia contradicts the spirit of the White House’s public policy to bar all “offensive” weapons sales to the kingdom for use against the Houthis in Yemen, critics of the deal have alleged.
The military contract will allow Saudi Arabia to maintain its fleet of attack helicopters despite their previous use in operations in Yemen.
The administration’s decision to end so-called “offensive” weapons to Saudi Arabia was one of Joe Biden’s first foreign policy objectives, and reflected what the US president called his commitment to “ending all support” for a war that had created “a humanitarian and strategic catastrophe”.
Saudi Arabia was given permission by the state department to enter a contract to support the Royal Saudi Land Forces Aviation Command’s fleet of Apache helicopters, Blackhawks, and a future fleet of Chinook helicopters. It includes training and the service of 350 US contractors for the next two years, as well as two US government staff. The deal was first announced in September.
“To my mind, this is a direct contradiction to the administration’s policy. This equipment can absolutely be used in offensive operations, so I find this particularly troubling,” said Seth Binder, director of advocacy at the Project on Middle East Democracy.
The decision to approve the military maintenance contract comes as the Biden administration appears to be softening its approach to the kingdom, with several high-level meetings between senior administration officials and their Saudi counterparts.
Experts who study the conflict in Yemen and the use of weapons by Saudi Arabia and its allies say they believe that Apache attack helicopters have mostly been deployed along the Saudi-Yemen border. They also say that it is difficult to pinpoint specific violations of international humanitarian law that occurred as a result of the Saudis’ use of Apaches, in part because such detailed data is scarce and difficult to verify.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/oct/27/joe-biden-saudi-arabia-arms-weapons-deal
(A P)
Photo: As part of #Biden admin bringing #MBS back @JohnKerry stands behind #MBS #Riyadh climate summit yesterday. Recalibration is dead.
https://twitter.com/AliAlAhmed_en/status/1453006235775782933
Fortsetzung / Sequel: cp9a – cp19
https://www.freitag.de/autoren/dklose/jemenkrieg-mosaik-767b-yemen-war-mosaic-767b
Vorige / Previous:
https://www.freitag.de/autoren/dklose/jemenkrieg-mosaik-766-yemen-war-mosaic-766
Jemenkrieg-Mosaik 1-766 / Yemen War Mosaic 1-766:
https://www.freitag.de/autoren/dklose oder / or http://poorworld.net/YemenWar.htm
Der saudische Luftkrieg im Bild / Saudi aerial war images:
(18 +, Nichts für Sensible!) / (18 +; Graphic!)
http://poorworld.net/YemenWar.htm
http://yemenwarcrimes.blogspot.de/
Liste aller Luftangriffe / and list of all air raids:
http://yemendataproject.org/data/
Untersuchung ausgewählter Luftangriffe durch Bellingcat / Bellingcat investigations of selected air raids:
Untersuchungen von Angriffen, hunderte von Filmen / Investigations of attacks, hundreds of films:
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