April 27, 2022: Saudi Arabia’s True Ambitions in Yemen – Saudis and UAE Prepare for Yemen Partition – Yemen: Is the War Nearing an End? – Abductees Mothers Association: 2021 Human Rights Report – and more
Schwerpunkte / Key aspects
Kursiv: Siehe Teil 2 / In Italics: Look in part 2: https://www.freitag.de/autoren/dklose/jemenkrieg-mosaik-803b-yemen-war-mosaic-803b
Klassifizierung / Classification
Für wen das Thema ganz neu ist / Who is new to the subject
cp1 Am wichtigsten / Most important
cp2 Allgemein / General
cp2a Allgemein: Saudische Blockade / General: Saudi blockade
cp3 Humanitäre Lage / Humanitarian situation
cp4 Flüchtlinge / Refugees
cp5 Nordjemen und Huthis / Northern Yemen and Houthis
cp6 Separatisten und Aden-Regierung im Südjemen / Separatists and Aden 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
cp12b Sudan
cp13a Waffenhandel / Arms trade
cp13b Kulturerbe / Cultural heritage
cp13c Wirtschaft / Economy
cp14 Terrorismus / Terrorism
cp15 Propaganda
cp16 Saudische Luftangriffe / Saudi air raids
cp17 Kriegsereignisse / Theater of War
cp18 Kampf um Hodeidah / Hodeidah battle
cp19 Sonstiges / Other
Klassifizierung / Classification
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**
*
(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
(B H K P)
Yemen: A tale of human suffering
It is the poorest country in the Middle East facing the worst humanitarian crisis in the world
Imagine living in a country where even the COVID-19 pandemic is the least of its problems! Yemen is the poorest country in the Middle East and has the worst humanitarian crisis in the world.
Besides poverty, the country also faces various other problems like war, terrorism, unemployment, corruption and a major ecological crisis. My sole purpose behind choosing to write about this topic is just to make people more aware about the depressing conditions of the people of Yemen.
It is unfortunate that there is barely any media coverage on the topic, leaving a common man completely ignorant to the ongoing situations of the rest of the world.
In order to understand the current situation of Yemen and how things took such a belligerent turn, we need to rewind and try to understand its past.
https://www.greaterkashmir.com/todays-paper/editorial-page/yemen-a-tale-of-human-suffering
cp1 Am wichtigsten / Most important
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With Hadi’s Ouster, Saudi Arabia’s True Ambitions in Yemen Come to the Fore
The quiet end of Hadi’s reign after a decade of serving US and Saudi interests not only nullifies the legal justification of the war under Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter but reinforces the long-held belief among many in the Middle East that Western powers were never interested in democracy.
In perhaps the most significant political shake-up since 2015, Saudi Arabia and its Western allies have finally abandoned and ousted Yemeni President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi.
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, de facto ruler of the Kingdom, has long been seen as the true power behind Hadi, who has been forced to rule Yemen in absentia from Riyadh for eight years. Bin Salman made a very public spectacle of Hadi’s ouster, as Hadi dismissed his vice president, Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar, and then himself, handing over all his powers to the new presidential council.
MintPress News asked Yemeni citizens and decision-makers to react to the news that “the top of Yemen’s internationally recognized government” was no longer in power and what it could mean for the future of the war-torn country.
Fadl Abass, a Yemeni researcher who lost his son in the war, said of the news:
Getting rid of Hadi proved to us that the president’s value as president was solely to provide cover as he destroyed his [own] country for Saudi-led Coalition interests. And when the Saudis had enough of Hadi, they simply replaced him, regardless of the legality.”
In fact, a majority of Yemenis throughout the country celebrated the removal of Hadi, who was widely mocked as a Saudi puppet and yes-man. In Sana’a and across the northern stretches of the country controlled by the Ansar Allah coalition, people celebrated the news as a victory for Yemen’s Ansar Allah-led resistance movement.
Ansar Allah’s backers not only see Hadi as a traitor who supported the invasion of his own country and caused its destruction, but also believe that his end was spurred by recent Ansar Allah-led attacks on Saudi oil facilities. Some believe that the timing of Hadi’s ouster could be a sign that the Kingdom is growing frustrated as it fails to show any real return on its massive investment in Yemeni proxy groups that have failed not only to secure ground in Yemen but even to prevent costly attacks on the Kingdom itself.
Even those who supported Hadi and voted for him in 2012, and still consider themselves allies to Saudi Arabia, applauded Hadi’s dismissal. They see the move as a step to rearrange and organize the ranks of anti-Ansar Allah forces and, as one put it, “the most serious attempt in years to resolve the internal and external sources of division that have crippled the government’s policies and performance.” In the early days of the war, Saudi Arabia was able to attribute its military and political failure to Hadi. They openly blamed him for the victories of the “Houthis” and the sharp divisions within the ranks of his hodgepodge of mercenary groups. Now, they hope that the new Presidential Council can change the balance of power on the ground in the Kingdom’s favor.
Still, others have condemned the Saudi government for forcing Hadi to give up his office, especially members of the UAE-backed Islah Party, the Yemen-based branch of the Muslim Brotherhood.
If there is one aspect of Hadi’s humiliating ouster that all of Yemen’s myriad political interests seem to agree on, it’s that Hadi, as a Yemeni citizen, should never have been subjected to the sort of public humiliation he faced at the hands of the Saudi monarchy.
The latest puppet
Chosen to head the Presidential Command Council, Rashad al-Alimi, Hadi’s de facto replacement, is seen by most as yet another satellite of the Saudi regime.
Shaking up Team Saudi
The major political shake-up comes amid a fragile and oft-violated two-month truce and is ostensibly geared towards rapprochement with Ansar Allah as the group gains ground, and on the heels of a campaign to inflict economic pain on the Kingdom through the strategic targeting of its oil reserves.
Moreover, observers note that because the Council is composed of rival warlords holding often-opposing political objectives, it likely has little staying power. In fact, Aidarous al-Zubaydi, one of the eight members of the Council, is a staunch advocate of the secession of southern Yemen and labels himself as the president of an independent southern state.
Wasn’t propping up Hadi the war’s justification?
The coup against Hadi – long described by Riyadh and Western leaders as the only “legitimate” president of Yemen – and the creation of a ruling council by a foreign country not only violate democratic ideals and Yemen’s national sovereignty and dignity, they are also direct violations of Yemen’s constitution.
Yemeni legal experts told MintPress that, constitutionally, Hadi was supposed to submit his resignation to the House of Representatives. After its acceptance, his resignation would be considered valid, and therefore a new president would be chosen by Parliament in the case that elections could not be held because of the war.
If championing democracy were the true aim, the United States and its allies should have responded to the millions of demonstrators that took to the streets to demand the dismissal and trial of Hadi before the country devolved into war and thousands of innocent lives were lost, just as they did in Ukraine in 2014 and in many other countries that saw popular uprisings during the Arab Spring.
The quiet end of Hadi’s reign after a decade of serving U.S and Saudi interests not only nullifies the legal justification of the war under Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter, but also reinforces the long-held belief among many in the Middle East that Western powers were never interested in democracy. Instead, they fuel war, use heads of state as casus belli, and then abandon them when they are no longer of use. Political analysts who spoke to MintPress, including Yemeni journalist Ahmed Al-Qantas, warned that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy should pay heed to Hadi’s fate.
The Presidential Command Council is ostensibly playing the same role, unable or unwilling to learn from Hadi’s political faux pas. In their short time in power, they have not only empowered Saudi Arabia in its efforts to secure political control over Yemen, but are similarly opportunistic, without remorse or the desire to place their country’s interests first – falling headfirst, it seems, into the cursed history of Yemeni politics – by Ahmed Abdulkareem
https://www.mintpressnews.com/abed-rabbo-mansour-hadi-ouster-saudi-arabia-objectives-yemen/280262/
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KSA and UAE Prepare for Yemen Partition
The “Presidential Leadership Council” seemingly puts the nail in the coffin for the transition to democracy that the Houthis overthrew in 2014, setting the stage for more pragmatic negotiations geared towards recognising the individual fiefdoms that have been carved out during the war, and towards dividing Yemen into autonomous spheres of influence.
Few believe that the truce will lead to any serious political negotiations. Yet, behind the fanfare of a truce lie more pragmatic considerations for the sides that suggest the agreement could last longer than previous reconciliation attempts.
The Houthis have suffered a resounding military reversal in their campaign for the resource-rich Yemeni province of Marib. While the Houthis once looked to be on the verge of victory, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) reversed its policy of non-confrontation with them in January to rush into Marib with its allies, turning the tide of battle and ruining the once overwhelming momentum of the Houthi advance.
In contrast, the truce itself is not as important to the UAE as the process for bringing about the truce, and ousting former Yemen Vice-President Ali Mohsen Al-Ahmar and other members of the Islah, Yemen’s version of the Muslim Brotherhood. There have already been suggestions that the UAE has worked its own truce with the Houthis, who suddenly stopped targeting Abu Dhabi with inflammatory rhetoric and whose spokespeople have notably ceased to threaten action against the UAE. Instead, Houthi threats are now exclusively focused on Saudi Arabia.
The UAE has been at odds with Hadi and his government for years.
The UAE’s resentment of Hadi’s government is often touted as stemming from its aversion to the influence of the Islah over the government. The Islah party is considered the “Muslim Brotherhood” of Yemen, with whom the UAE has staunch ideological differences across the region. By creating the “Presidential Leadership Council,” the UAE has been able to transfer Hadi’s powers to a body that includes some of its most devoted allies while simultaneously ousting Ahmar, one of the most prominent and influential members of the Islah party.
The UAE is less concerned about the Houthis than it is about the Muslim Brotherhood. It will not be celebrating the truce as much as the establishment of the “Presidential Leadership Council,” which will be re-calibrating the power dynamics in the region through the negotiations expected to eventually include the Houthis.
With the establishment of the new council, future negotiations will no longer be between a single internationally-recognized government and the Houthis, but between the individual warlords who have carved out fiefdoms for themselves with the support of international powers, among them the UAE and Saudi Arabia. These warlords include Houthi leader Abdel-Malik al-Houthi, and council members Saleh and Zubeidi.
The “Presidential Leadership Council” signals the ultimate demise of the democratic transition initially overturned by the Houthis in 2014. In contrast, it portends more pragmatic negotiations geared towards recognizing the individual fiefdoms that have already divided Yemen into spheres of influence. Thus, Saudi Arabia and the UAE are prepared for inevitable talks with the Houthis. Even if the Houthis are granted autonomy over the areas they currently control, Riyadh and Abu Dhabi anticipate the Houthis will be economically hamstrung without Marib, and therefore, contained within their sphere.
If the separatists attain autonomy in southern Yemen, the UAE and Saudi Arabia expect to be the primary influence in that region given that they facilitated the Southern Separatists’ rise to power and resistance to the internationally-recognized government. Then, if a quota-system of government is formed within a loose federal framework, the Houthis’ power will likely be diluted by the council member addition of Saleh.
Yet, Riyadh and Abu Dhabi’s projections of power dynamics may be misguided. Alliances between Yemen’s factions are notoriously fluid. Moreover, Washington remains disinclined to pressure the Houthis while President Joe Biden and US officials continue to push for a comprehensive nuclear deal with Iran, and while relations continue to deteriorate between the US and its Gulf allies.
For the Houthis, US pressure on Saudi Arabia and the sharp media focus on Saudi policy in Yemen is an indication that the environment is still conducive to continuing their seventh (and most successful) armed attempt at seizing all of Yemen. Even if the Houthis relaunch their military offensive after the truce, the group expects Washington’s pressure on Riyadh to continue and [the US] narrative of Saudi Arabia as the principal party obstructing a resolution to remain the dominant theme.
The Houthis remain convinced that they have nothing to lose, and everything to gain, by continuing the war. And if they do manage to take Marib in their next attempt, the power dynamics will become even more precarious for Saudi Arabia and the UAE – by Sami Hamdi
https://insidearabia.com/ksa-and-uae-prepare-for-yemen-partition/
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Yemen: Is the war nearing an end?
While the fighting is not as intense as it used to be, these recent developments raise questions around the group's intentions and the likelihood of a permanent ceasefire in the near future. The status quo also tests the Saudi and Emirati desire to define a common strategy to end a conflict that has spilled over across the Gulf and turned into a quagmire.
A giant umbrella against a common foe
“The newly established presidential council in Yemen is an anaemic attempt to unite anti-Houthi factions based on geographical and political affiliations. Its major flaw is that it is not a true representation of Yemen's political groups and regions. However, suppose the members of this council seriously move to resolve their significant differences and work together to strengthen the internationally recognized government's (IRG) legitimacy on the ground, such as by bolstering state institutions and enhancing public service delivery. In that case, the council may be able to lessen the economic, humanitarian, and security issues in IRG territories. Nonetheless, Yemen observers should be cautiously optimistic about the council's capacity to resolve Yemeni hardship, and more importantly, for the council to agree with the Houthis on the future of Yemen.”
Raiman al-Hamdani, Research Fellow, Yemen Policy Center
Aid won’t solve Yemen’s systematic economic fragilities
"The three-billion-dollar aid package pledged by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in support of the Central Bank of Yemen could go a long way to helping ameliorate the ongoing crisis in the country's monetary sector, in addition to helping boost efforts to combat its ongoing humanitarian crisis. That being said, in some regards, it's only one more comprehensive step to tackle the more systematic, structural issues constricting the Yemeni economy. The country's government continues to lack sufficient revenues to avoid relative insolvency. Simultaneously, the fallout of the ongoing conflict continues to strangle the Yemeni private sector, development, and foreign investment. These challenges are likely to continue to profoundly affect Yemen's economy until some more comprehensive settlement is reached.”
Adam Baron, Advisor, Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue
“The ceasefire will hold as long as the Houthis and Saudis keep talking”
“The Ansar Allah (Houthi) movement is a secretive and opaque organization that discourages public debate on public issues. Therefore, we can only guess their true strategy and real position on the ceasefire. Overall, there are two factions in the movement, the Jihadists and the pragmatists. The Jihadists have a millennial mission to fight until they liberate Mecca, Medina, and Jerusalem. The pragmatists appreciate the need to end the war as the population under their control has reached its endurance limits. Recent setbacks and the horrendous loss of life during their two-year campaign to take over the city of Marib have strengthened the pragmatists and brought them much closer to the peace table. In addition, ongoing secret negotiations with Saudi Arabia in Muscat seem to be moving toward a deal: a prerequisite to any serious Houthi negotiations with their Yemeni adversaries. The ceasefire will hold as long as the Houthis and Saudis keep talking.”
Abdulghani al-Iryani, Senior Researcher, Sanaa Center for Strategic Studies
Riyadh and Abu Dhabi: different goals, different needs
“For Saudi Arabia and the UAE, this truce pursues two objectives: de-escalating the Houthis’ missile and drone attacks whilst coalescing a real Yemeni anti-Houthi front. Both these purposes are hard to achieve, although the truce is an encouraging step. Saudi Arabia will not have a viable military exit strategy from Yemen as long as the Houthis continue to hit the kingdom and economic targets in the Red Sea. Border security remains Riyadh’s fundamental goal. In the last decade, the Saudi leverage in Yemen has reduced: the appointment of the Presidential Council also aims to strengthen the kingdom’s position in the political process. For the UAE, the reality is quite the opposite: Abu Dhabi has gained remarkable influence in Yemen because of the war. The Emiratis are currently willing to preserve the geostrategic projection they acquired in — and from — Yemen’s coasts and islands. Their leverage is emphasized by the presence of many UAE-backed military leaders in the Presidential Council board. While the truce goes into effect, the launch of the US-led Combined Task Force 153 in the Red Sea, Bab el-Mandeb, Gulf of Aden, fits the Saudi and Emirati strategies in Yemen: it (also) targets weapons smuggling, thus sending a message to the Houthis and Iran.”
Eleonora Ardemagni, Associate Research Fellow, ISPI
https://www.ispionline.it/en/pubblicazione/yemen-war-nearing-end-34759
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The Abductees Mothers Association Launches Its Sixth Annual Human Rights Report, "Mothers at the Gates of Justice-3"
The Abductees' Mothers Association launched its sixth annual report entitled "Mothers at the Gates of Justice 3", which contains the details of violation the abductees, detainees and forcibly disappeared persons were subjected to in the Republic of Yemen during the year 2021.
At the outset, the report highlighted its monitoring of the assaults on the Right to Life, which included “three death cases”. Two cases passed away inside the prisons of the Houthi group, one of whom was gunshot, and the other was demised as a result of medical negligence. However, one case passed away due to medical negligence in the prisons of the Security Belt Forces of the Transitional Council in Aden.
Meanwhile, the report monitored (586) civilians who were subjected to abduction and arrest. (422) were kidnapped by the Houthi group, including a woman and (13) children, (109) were arrested by the military formations of the Transitional Council, (48) were abducted by the security services affiliated with the legitimate government, including a woman, and (7) civilians were detained by the Joint Forces of the Western Coast.
Additionally, the report monitored two mass kidnapping campaigns carried out by the Houthi group in areas the group stormed in 2021, one of which was in Ma'rib Governorate, Abdiya District, and the other one was in Taiz Governorate, Haima District. The other mass kidnapping campaign was carried out by military formations affiliated with the Transitional Council in Aden Governorate, Crater District.
The report also included the details of the forcibly disappeared civilians. The forcibly disappeared civilians' number reached (134) cases. They were forcibly disappeared from all violating parties in Yemen. This includes (62) were forcibly disappeared by the Houthi group, (59) were forcibly disappeared by the Security Belt Forces of the Transitional Council, (8) were hidden by the security forces of the Legitimate Government in the cities of Ma'rib and Taiz, and (5) were forcibly abducted by the Joint Resistance Forces of the Western Coast.
With regard to torture, the report highlighted the details of (490) torture cases, including (367) cases were tortured by the Houthi group, (98) cases were tortured by the Security Belt Forces of the Transitional Council, and (25) cases were tortured by the Security Forces of the Legitimate Government during the year 2021.
The report further included the detailed statistics for 689 cases of ill-treatment and medical negligence, including (601) cases with the Houthi group, (62) cases in the prisons of the Security Belt Forces affiliated with the Transitional Council, and (26) cases with the Security Forces of the Legitimate Government.
Likewise, the report indicated that in 2021, (141) abductees and detainees were released from the lists of all kidnapping and detention parties.
The report referred to the activities carried out by the Abductees' Mothers Association, including hearings for (105) testimonies from the victims' families regarding the violations they and their abductees were affected with, (41) protest stands were carried out, (50) statements, press reports and human rights reports were issued, and (48) weekly electronic newsletter were issued, all in 2021.
The Abductees' Mothers Association also held (80) meetings with international and human rights figures, and sent (24) official letters and legal memoranda to a number of local and international figures. The association's report included many different facts of all violations against the abductees, detainees, forcibly disappeared and their families conducted by all the violating parties.
The conclusion of the report forwarded the recommendations made by the Abductees' Mothers Association to the United Nations, the countries sponsoring peace in Yemen, the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General of the United Nations to Yemen, the Yemeni government, the Houthi group and to the Transitional Council; requesting them to release all the abductees and detainees, reveal the destiny of the forcibly disappeared, and put pressure on the signatory parties of the Stockholm Accord to implement the Exchange of Prisoners, Detainees, Missing, Forcibly Disappeared and under House Arrest comprehensively on a humanitarian basis without delay.
The Association in its recommendations further called for compiling the detaining parties to enable the victims of their rights guaranteed to them in the constitution and humanitarian law. The recommendations stressed on separating the civilian abductees' file from the combatant prisoners' file. It is recommended to pressurize for the immediate release of the kidnapped women as a humanitarian obligation, calling for strengthening the participation of women in the peace process, as their efforts are in the lead, in many humanitarian and human rights files.
The recommendations stressed on the need to include the families of the kidnapped and disappeared to vulnerable cases, provide them with their needs within relief programs, compensate the victims of torture and the released ones with a just compensation, as well as work to include the kidnapped and detainees in the Care Law of the Families of Martyrs and Fighters of the Yemeni Revolution.
http://ama-ye.org/index.php?no=1885&ln=En
Report in full: http://ama-ye.org/up/MOTHERS_ON_THE_GATES_OF_JUSTICE_3_En.pdf
and main points in shorter media report:
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Yemen: Over 500 civilians were kidnapped last year
Over 500 civilians in Yemen were kidnapped and forcibly disappeared last year, according to a report by the Abductees' Mothers Association.
The association's sixth annual report, entitled 'Mothers at the Gates of Justice 3', revealed that 586 civilians were kidnapped in 2021, of that figure 422 were kidnapped by Houthi forces, including a woman and 13 children.
Militia affiliated with the UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council (STC) reportedly detained 109 civilians. Meanwhile, the forces fighting on behalf of the Saudi-based Yemeni government arrested 48 people, including a woman. The remaining seven people were detained by the UAE-supported National Resistance forces, who operate in the west coast.
The report also found three cases which led to deaths, including two cases inside the prisons under the administration of the Houthi-led authorities, one from a gunshot, and the other as a result of medical negligence.
Some 134 civilians were forcibly disappeared from all sides of the conflict in Yemen, of which 62 civilians were forcibly disappeared by the Houthis, 59 by the STC's Security Belt Forces and eight by the security forces affiliated to the internationally-recognised government in the cities of Marib and Taiz. Five civilians were forcibly disappeared by the National Resistance.
https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20220427-yemen-over-500-civilians-were-kidnapped-last-year/
cp2 Allgemein / General
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Interactive Map of Yemen War
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A Ceasefire in Yemen after Seven Years: Are US‐Backed Saudi/Emirati Aggression and War Crimes Finally Over?
Despite Washington’s support for the wealthy Gulf monarchies, they were unexpectedly bested by an indigenous Yemeni insurgency led by the group Ansar Allah, also known as the Houthis. Although not viewed as sympathetically as Ukraine in the West — the former are Islamists unfriendly to America — they largely prevailed against equally brutal aggressors while facing equally dismal odds.
After years of attacks on civilians, the Saudis and Emiratis are guilty of manifold war crimes.
Support for the royal aggressors made US officials into coconspirators.
Washington should never have gotten involved in the royal regimes’ war against Yemen.
The campaign proved to be a disaster.
Like Russia, the Gulf royals promiscuously killed civilians, bombing weddings, funerals, school buses, and apartment buildings. The blockade was even deadlier, contributing to disease and malnutrition which killed hundreds of thousands of people.
Through it all Washington acted as uncomplaining enabler. What the royal aggressors wanted US administrations provided.
Candidate Joe Biden promised a change, but as president continued arms sales and even sent additional US military forces.
However, despite Washington’s shameful backing for Saudi/Emirati aggression and attacks on civilians, the royal regimes appear to have tired of their endless wars.
Still, any optimism must be tempered. Past ceasefires have collapsed and reaching agreement, especially given outside interference, will be difficult.
After seven years Washington should unequivocally end its military support for Riyadh and Abu Dhabi and back Yemeni efforts to reach a peaceful settlement. The Biden administration should indicate that it will block any resumption of the air war, refusing to sell more munitions and withdrawing support for aircraft maintenance.
Moreover, Congress should pass a War Powers Resolution to end US involvement in the conflict.
Finally, international activists seeking to target Russia for war crimes should broaden their effort to Saudi Arabia and the UAE, as well as US, British, and other governments which backed the murderous campaign against Yemen.
Although it will be difficult to bring anyone to justice for such acts, a willingness by Western governments to consider the once unthinkable might create a small disincentive against future misbehavior. And perhaps set the groundwork for eventual accountability.
The war in Yemen must end. The ongoing ceasefire finally offers hope, however uncertain, of a diplomatic resolution. To make that happen, however, Washington must firmly back peace for all rather than victory for the aggressors. And stop subordinating US interests and Yemeni lives to the machinations of Saudi and Emirati lobbyists – by Doug Bandow
https://www.cato.org/commentary/ceasefire-yemen-after-seven-years-are-us-backed-saudi/emirati-aggression-war-crimes = https://original.antiwar.com/doug-bandow/2022/04/19/a-ceasefire-in-yemen-after-seven-years-are-us-backed-saudi-emirati-aggression-and-war-crimes-finally-over/
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Yemen: ceasefire and the collapse of ‘legitimacy’
It is far from clear whether the coalition’s ceasefire is a move towards peace, or a regroupment for more effective war.
Immediately, a development of perhaps greater substance for the war is being slid over in western coverage. On April 7th, Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi and Ali Mohsen Al-Ahmar, ‘President’ and ‘Vice-President’ respectively of the ‘internationally recognised government’ handed their power over to a newly formed Presidential Leadership Council.
The extraordinary importance of this is that the “legal basis” for war lies in UN Security Council (UNSC) resolution 2216 in 2015. The resolution outlines the President’s call for war upon his own people – “he has requested from the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf and the League of Arab States to immediately provide support, by all necessary means and measures, including military intervention, to protect Yemen and its people from the continuing aggression by the Houthis”.
The resolution endorsed by the UNSC continues “Reaffirming its support for the legitimacy of the President of Yemen, Abdo Rabbo Mansour Hadi, and reiterating its call to all parties and Member States to refrain from taking any actions that undermine the unity, sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of Yemen, and the legitimacy of the President of Yemen”. In pursuit of this, over seven years of war have been waged. The implications will be examined later.
Ceasefire or a regroupment pause?
In such horrific conditions an end to military action is a precondition for resolving the humanitarian catastrophe. But there has to remain an element of doubt whether the ceasefire will hold. This is not because of the continuation of local skirmishes, serious though they are. It is because without an inclusive political process the ceasefire will be undermined.
In pursuit of its goals, the Saudi government hosted talks in Riyadh prior to the ceasefire. Ansarallah refused to attend, as it did not accept the Saudi capital as neutral territory. Eventually, the UN ceasefire was mediated in the capital of Oman, Muscat. Oman is not a participant in the coalition’s war, although it remains a member of the Gulf Cooperation Council.
The Saudi talks included the main Yemeni parties engaged in the coalition’s war. It is clear that the talks were an attempt to unify the anti-Ansarallah forces. The problem has been that these allies have been in serious conflict with each other.
It is a big assumption to make that the Presidential Council marks a qualitative break with this past. The Council is led by Rashad al-Alimi, one of Hadi’s close political advisors since 2014.
The Council itself reflects division as much as unity. There are four members from the north – three associated with old regime and one from Al Islah. There are four from the south – split between two UAE aligned and pro-separatist, and two Saudi aligned, including Al-Islah member. While pro-Saudi forces dominate, the fundamental differences in programme threaten the Council’s coherence. There are no women Council members.
A ceasefire creates the best conditions for a positive development. But the Council has to treat Ansarallah as an irreplaceable partner in making a better future for Yemen. Continuing with suggestions of “Iran’s proxy terrorists” is useless. If the Council continues to ignore the popular support for Ansarallah, and insists it is the new “legitimate” government then there is no prospect for an inclusive peace process to reinforce the ceasefire.
Legitimacy and otherwise
None of this has prevented the coalition’s backers from enthusiastically endorsing the Saudi-engineered Council. The EU ambassadors to Yemen were quick to endorse, as was US Secretary of State Blinken.
This warm glow doesn’t merely fog over the tensions within the Council. More importantly, it also passes over entirely the failure of UN, US, EU and UK policy since 2015. Not only is Hadi’s “legitimate” government not restored. But also this figurehead is now under arrest in Riyadh while material is being put together for a corruption trial. A Saudi committee has been set up to investigate Hadi family holdings in Saudi banks and the National Bank of Egypt, apparently in preparation of confiscations.
Some obvious issues appear. Given the vast resources available to the intelligence services of the coalition and its backers, why have they just discovered their leader of choice is corrupt? He has been resident in Riyadh since 2015, and his government was never popular enough to be stabilised inside Yemen. Equally, and perhaps more importantly, what is the legal basis for the coalition’s continuation of the war, given the evident redundancy of UNSC Res 2216 from 2015?
It is most likely that the supporters of the war in the US, EU, UK and elsewhere will seek to oppose a trial. But really, can we envisage a more ignominious end to the “UN backed” military action? Aren’t the people of Yemen, and elsewhere, owed an explanation for all the lives lost in trying to empower a failed, corrupt politician?
Certainly the anti-war movement must step up its support for ending the war in Yemen. We must continue to demand a ban on all arms sales to the Saudi/UAE coalition until a successful peace process is established in Yemen. Such a process must be agreed and engaged in by the Yemeni people – not figures in Riyadh, Abu Dhabi, Washington and London.
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What role will Iran play in shaping Yemen’s future?
A new presidential council may mean change in Yemen, but what influence will Iran have on their Houthi allies?
As Saudi Arabia continues to play a key role in influencing neighbouring Yemen’s political future, the kingdom’s main regional rival, Iran, has maintained its place on the other side of the equation.
In Yemen’s devastating seven-year war, Iran has supported the Houthi rebels
For its part, Iran has publicly welcomed the truce and has said that it hopes Yemen’s war, which has caused a major humanitarian crisis, is headed towards a political solution. It has yet to directly comment on the presidential council.
But it appears Iran believes that the Houthis, and by extension itself, have the upper hand in the war.
Meanwhile, the Iranian foreign ministry has described its proposal for putting an end to the war as an immediate stop to all fighting, an end to any restrictions on the flow of humanitarian aid, and “Yemeni-Yemeni talks” bringing the various sides in the conflict together.
According to Diako Hosseini, a Tehran-based foreign policy analyst, that last part means that the war can only be ended by Yemeni stakeholders without the intervention of any other parties, including Saudi Arabia.
“Efforts by Saudi Arabia and its allies to intervene in the peace process and create proxy groups is one of Iran’s concerns,” he told Al Jazeera. “Iran understands Saudi concerns, but believes these concerns must become incentives to find sustainable and fair solutions to help Yemenis to rely on themselves, and find a way out of this crisis by accepting facts.”
Hosseini said that while Iran has welcomed the truce, it will only view meaningful diplomatic efforts by the anti-Houthi bloc as indication of a true will to resolve the conflict.
“I don’t think Iran has reached a definitive judgement on this and is still waiting for more evidence,” the analyst said of the new presidential council. “It appears Iran is ready to play a facilitating role in achieving lasting peace, but the will of the opposing sides in Yemen plays a major role in this.”
Iran’s position on an eventual peace process in Yemen has been fairly consistent, according to Thomas Juneau, an associate professor at the University of Ottawa’s Graduate School of Public and International Affairs.
“It is willing to support a peace process provided that it perceives that such a process, whatever its form, will end up consolidating and entrenching Houthi power,” Juneau told Al Jazeera.
If that is not the case, Juneau said, Iran could thwart that process
Analyst Hosseini said only time will tell which will come sooner: making strides in resolving the crisis in Yemen, or achieving a fundamental agreement between Iran and Saudi Arabia.
“The important thing is that Iran and Saudi Arabia accept that regional differences must be resolved through cooperation and shared agreement. It is this spirit and mentality that can set aside not only the crisis in Yemen but also other differences,” he said.
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/4/21/what-role-will-iran-play-in-shaping-yemens-future
(B P)
The ‘legitimacy’s’ military option is key to peace in Yemen
After all these wasted years have passed, it is now possible to talk about a new phase in Yemen.
Aden, the capital of south Yemen, currently hosts the new pillars of the country’s “legitimate government”. It is a “legitimacy” that emerged from the Riyadh conference, which culminated in the removal of interim President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi, with all that he and those surrounding him represented in terms of perpetuating the stalemate.
It was important for the new “legitimacy” pillars led by Rashad Al-Alimi, head of the Presidential Leadership Council to come to Aden, in order to obtain the vote of confidence of the House of Representatives.
Undoubtedly, the presence of the “legitimacy” government on Yemeni soil provides reason for hope. But the question that will arise sooner or later is whether the Houthis, who are directed by Iran, will be willing to sit at the negotiating table. Such a development cannot be achieved with the existing balance of power that the new “legitimacy” is supposed to radically change. Is this possible so as to break the years of deadlock?
In clearer terms, is the military option available to the Presidential Leadership Council ? Can this body convince the Houthis that they have no choice but to negotiate, from the perspective of being part of the Yemeni fabric first and foremost and not to posture as another “legitimacy” with residence in Sana’a ?
In fact, all the calculations of the interim president, who was stripped of his powers at the Riyadh conference, only served the Houthis (Ansar Allah group) and the Iranian project in Yemen. This is the project that Hadi claimed he was fighting and warning against.
It was necessary to get rid of “legitimacy,” which turned into a two-headed “legitimacy,” made up of the interim president and his deputy, Ali Mohsen Saleh al-Ahmar, after the Houthis took control of Sana’a on September 21, 2014. The Gulf stakeholders directly concerned with the Yemeni situation wasted precious time before dealing with a “legitimacy” which has lost all semblance of legitimacy.
After all these wasted years have passed, it is now possible to talk about a new phase in Yemen, in light of two major developments. The first is the current two-month armistice and the second is the possibility of putting the military option back on the table in any negotiations that might take place with the Houthis.
There is a new legitimacy under the Presidential Leadership Council.
https://thearabweekly.com/legitimacys-military-option-key-peace-yemen
My comment: A strictly anti-Houthi view. One main point: There is NO “legitimacy” with this new council at all. the Saudis installing it cannot give “legitimacy” to any body in Yemen.
(* B H K)
How War Fuels Poverty
From Ukraine to Tigray, conflict causes devastating consequences beyond the immediate violence.
The Russian invasion of Ukraine has brought a new war into existence, a grim turn of events that promises brutal consequences.
From a purely economic point of view, war fuels poverty because of how it disrupts livelihoods and access to money. The Institute for Economics & Peace found that the 10 most conflict-affected countries lost, on average, 41% of their economic output as a result of violence. But if we broaden the definition of poverty to include the basic necessities of life, then nothing fuels poverty quite like war, which is catastrophic to human well-being.
3 Things to Know About How War Fuels Poverty
War disrupts food systems by undermining food production, causing rapid inflation of food prices, and preventing people from earning money to buy food.
War destroys key infrastructure that supports daily life, from water systems to energy centers to hospitals.
War displaces people from their homes, forces children from the classroom, worsens gender inequality, and exposes people to extreme levels of violence.
https://www.globalcitizen.org/en/content/how-war-fuels-poverty/
(A K P)
Jemenitischer Ansarullah-Sprecher: Unsere Reaktion auf Verletzung des Waffenstillstands wird schmerzhaft sein
Laut IQNA unter Berufung auf Al-Mayadin gab Mohammed Abd-ussalam, ein Sprecher der Ansarullah-Bewegung am Sonntag bekannt, dass saudische Koalitionstruppen an der Ma'rib-Front mobilisiert wurden.
„Die Reaktion auf die Aufhebung des UN-Waffenstillstands im Jemen von Riad bis Abu Dhabi wird sehr schmerzhaft sein“, sagte Abdul Salam und fügte hinzu, dass die Streitkräfte und Volkskomitees bereit sind mit jeder Aggression fertig zu werden.
Zuvor betonte Mehdi al-Mashat, Vorsitzender des Obersten Politischen Rates des Jemen den Wunsch nach einem erfolgreichen Waffenstillstand der Wiedereröffnung des Flughafens Sanaa und der Häfen von Hudaida sowie der Aufhebung der Belagerung um das Leiden des jemenitischen Volkes zu lindern.
Die saudische Koalition verletzt weiterhin den Waffenstillstand im Jemen und die Yemeni Oil Company bestätigte am Donnerstag, dass die saudische Koalition das Hilfsschiff Harvest trotz einer Inspektion und Genehmigung der Vereinten Nationen beschlagnahmte.
(* B H K P)
Waffenruhe weckt leise Hoffnungen für das Bürgerkriegsland Jemen
Seit 2014 wird in dem Wüstenstaat Jemen gekämpft. Jetzt könnte eine Waffenruhe die Chance für Friedensgespräche eröffnen.
Gibt es jetzt Hoffnung auf ein Ende des Krieges? „Ohne Hoffnung hätte ich mich nicht über so viele Jahre mit dem Jemen derart intensiv beschäftigen können“, sagt die Jemen-Expertin Marie-Christine Heinze im Gespräch mit unserer Redaktion. „Es gibt jetzt eine realistische Möglichkeit auf Frieden, gleichzeitig ist die Gefahr groß, dass diese Chance zunichtegemacht wird“, erklärt die Vorsitzende von Capro, einer unabhängigen Denkfabrik für Orient-Themen.
Der Konflikt hat eine lange Geschichte mit unzähligen Interessengruppen und lokalen Akteuren.
Rund 80 Prozent der gut 30 Millionen Jemenitinnen und Jemeniten sind auf humanitäre Hilfe angewiesen.
Anne Rappel kam 1996 als Touristin in den Jemen. Sie verliebte sich in das Land und wurde angesichts der katastrophalen Verhältnisse zur engagierten und ausdauernden Helferin. Bis 2013 verbrachte sie regelmäßig fast die Hälfte des Jahres in der Großstadt Taizz im Südwesten des Landes. Dort organisierte sie mit Spendengeldern den Bau und dann den Betrieb eines Krankenhauses in dem nahe Taizz gelegenen Bergdorf Al Mihlaf. Bis heute – trotz aller Kriegswirren. Gleichzeitig unterhält die Hilfsorganisation ein Haus für Kriegswaisen in Taizz. Die Projekte sind getrennt durch die Front zwischen Huthi-Rebellen und einer Koalition von Huthi-Gegnern.
Dabei sind viele Märkte in den Städten gut gefüllt mit Obst, Gemüse und Backwaren. „Das Problem ist, dass sich nur ein kleiner Teil der Bevölkerung diese Lebensmittel leisten kann.
Zuletzt kam Bewegung in die Verfahrene Situation
Zuletzt hatten sich die Ereignisse im Jemen überschlagen. Erst trat am 2. April eine überraschende Waffenruhe in Kraft, dann übertrug der unbeliebte Präsident Abed Rabbo Mansur Hadi seine Macht an einen achtköpfigen Präsidialrat. Heinze ist sich sicher, dass die „kriegsmüden Saudis“ Druck auf Hadi ausgeübt haben. Das gelte insbesondere auch für die Vereinigten Arabischen Emirate
Die Frage ist, ob der Präsidialrat, der die Anti-Huthi-Koalition einen und Friedensgespräche mit den Rebellen vorbereiten soll, harmonieren wird. „Gut ist, dass in dem Rat die entscheidenden Akteure durch wichtige Vertreter repräsentiert werden“, sagt Heinze.
Zuletzt wieder aufflammende Kämpfe zeigen, wie wichtig es ist, die sich bietenden Chancen schnell zu nutzen.
(B P)
Nach rund sieben Jahren Kampfhandlungen
Der für die Arabische Halbinsel zuständige katholische Bischof Paul Hinder hofft auf ein Anhalten der Waffenruhe im Jemen
"Die Tatsache, dass unterdessen alle Kriegsparteien einzusehen scheinen, dass keine Seite den Krieg auf dem Schlachtfeld gewinnen kann, berechtigt zur Hoffnung, dass die Waffenruhe den Ramadan überdauert", sagte der Bischof dem Schweizer Portal "kath.ch" in einem am Freitag veröffentlichten Interview.
https://www.domradio.de/artikel/bischof-hinder-hofft-auf-anhaltende-waffenruhe-im-jemen = https://www.kathpress.at/goto/meldung/2136625/arabien-bischof-hinder-hofft-auf-anhaltende-waffenruhe-im-jemen
(* B K P)
Huthi sehen Waffenpause relativ
In Jemen haben Saudi-Arabien und die Emirate ihre Militäraktionen auf Eis gelegt, die Rebellen nur zum Teil
Hans Grundberg ist in diesen Tagen ausgesprochen wortkarg geworden. Man solle ihn doch erst mal seine Arbeit machen lassen, heißt es aus seinem Team. Seit Tagen fliegt der UNO-Sondergesandte für den Jemen zwischen Sanaa, Aden und Riyad hin und her. Die Regierungen Saudi-Arabiens und der Vereinigten Arabischen Emirate (VAE) sind sehr viel gesprächiger: Für sie herrscht jetzt Frieden, ist der Krieg vorbei.
Der Jemen ist von Frieden noch weit entfernt.
Zweieinhalb Wochen später ist die Lage klarer: Saudi-Arabien und die VAE haben ihre militärischen Aktivitäten im Jemen vorerst eingestellt.
Die Huthi sehen sich nicht an den Waffenstillstand gebunden und versuchen derzeit, auf Marib südlich von Sanaa vorzurücken, wo nach Schätzungen der UNO bis zu drei Millionen Menschen Zuflucht gefunden haben. Die Huthi, eine von den iranischen Revolutionsgarden ausgerüstete Organisation, fordern die Aufhebung der Luft- und Seeblockade durch Saudi-Arabien. Doch die dortige Regierung will nur zwei Flüge aus Dschibuti pro Woche nach Sanaa durchlassen und den Schiffsverkehr zum Hafen von al-Hodeidah am Roten Meer kontrollieren, um Waffenlieferungen an die Huthi zu unterbinden.
Grundbergs Diplomatie trägt erste Früchte: Die Huthi, unter deren Kontrolle gut 24 der 30 Millionen Jemenit*innen leben, haben sich bereiterklärt, keine Kinder und Jugendlichen mehr als Kämpfer einzusetzen, außerdem sollen Einrichtungen wie Krankenhäuser von Angriffen verschont bleiben. Denn während in den vergangenen Jahren vor allem Nachrichten von Luftangriffen auf bevölkerte Märkte für Aufmerksamkeit sorgten, bei denen auf einen Schlag Hunderte starben, ist die zerstörerische Wucht dieses Krieges kaum in Wort zu fassen: Er sei die größte von Menschen gemachte Katastrophe seit vielen Jahrzehnten, heißt es einem UNO-Bericht.
Dass der neue Präsidialrat, dessen Mitglieder fast ausschließlich aus dem Umfeld Hadis stammen, tatsächlich den gesamten Jemen kontrollieren wird, ist unwahrscheinlich: Al-Alimi und viele der Ratsmitglieder halten sich in Saudi-Arabien auf, kennen den Jemen nur noch aus der Ferne. Die Huthi fordern langfristig eine Machtbeteiligung. Doch das lehnen Saudi-Arabien und die VAE ab.
https://www.nd-aktuell.de/artikel/1163103.jemen-huthi-sehen-waffenpause-relativ.html
(* B H K)
Film: Waffenruhe gibt leise Hoffnung: Kindersoldaten schildern Kriegsgräuel im Jemen
In Jemens nun schon siebten Kriegsjahr einigen sich die Parteien auf einen zweimonatigen Waffenstillstand. Ob dieser anhält, ist fraglich. Laut UN leidet das Land unter der größten humanitären Katastrophe der Welt, Kinder hungern oder müssen kämpfen.
(* B H IK P)
Audio: Jemen - 7 Jahre Krieg, wenig Hoffnung
Die Vereinten Nationen sprechen von der größten humanitären Katastrophe unserer Zeit. 80 Prozent der Bevölkerung ist auf Hilfe angewiesen, auf Nahrung und Medizin. Seit sieben Jahren herrscht im Jemen Krieg. Zur Zeit gilt eine zweimonatige Feuerpause (April und Mai), es ist die erste seit 2016, aber die ist fragil. Was bedeutet das für die Menschen im Land? ARD-Korrespondent Ramin Sina konnte seit Langem erstmals wieder in den Jemen reisen. Wir sprechen mit Christa Rottensteiner von IOM (International Organization for Migration) darüber, was der Bevölkerung fehlt und über die Hoffnungen von Marwan Abdulgafor. Er kommt aus dem Jemen und lebt seit 11 Jahren in Deutschland.
https://www.ardaudiothek.de/episode/weltspiegel/jemen-7-jahre-krieg-wenig-hoffnung/swr/10454081/ = https://deutschepodcasts.de/podcast/weltspiegel-thema/jemen-7-jahre-krieg-wenig-hoffnung
(* B H K)
Film: Jemen: Der vergessene Krieg
Vorbei an den strategisch begehrten Ölfeldern der Region, nehmen wir Kurs auf unser Ziel: die Stadt Marib. Vor dem Krieg eine Kleinstadt, sind in den vergangenen Jahren jedoch Millionen Menschen aus dem ganzen Land hierhin geflohen.
Millionen Vertriebene leben in 191 Flüchtlingscamps rund um die Stadt verteilt. Zwischen Wüste und Bergen wohnen sie in bescheidenen Unterkünften. Viele von ihnen sind 4, 5 Mal geflohen, immer in der Hoffnung auf einen sicheren Zufluchtsort.
Die Familie klagt Ansari ihr Leid. "Es fehlt uns an Wasser, an Elektrizität, es fehlt uns an so vielem. Dieses Kind ist krank, das andere hat eine Infektion, wir bräuchten alle dringend ärztliche Versorgung", erzählt Safaa.
Frauen und Männer haben Holz gesammelt, es ist ihre einzige Möglichkeit Feuer zu machen. Gas zum Kochen gibt es nicht. Die Menschen, die hier im Staub leben, haben das Gefühl, die Welt hat sie vergessen.
Es fällt schwer auf unserem Weg Richtung Frontlinie sich bewusst zu machen, dass 400.000 Menschen in diesem Krieg ihr Leben gelassen haben. Die Front ist nur 20 Kilometer von Marib entfernt. In der Wüste versuchen jemenitische Regierungstruppen ihre Stellung zu halten. Sie sind ein Akteur von zahlreichen Konfliktparteien im Land. An nächsten sind die aufständischen Huthis, die in den Bergen lauern.
Die humanitäre Lage im Jemen könnte sich durch den Krieg in der Ukraine noch einmal verschärfen. Lebensmittel sind für Jemeniten seit Jahren knapp.
https://www.daserste.de/information/politik-weltgeschehen/weltspiegel/sendung/jemen-der-vergessene-krieg-100.html = https://www.ardmediathek.de/video/weltspiegel/jemen-der-vergessene-krieg/das-erste/Y3JpZDovL2Rhc2Vyc3RlLmRlL3dlbHRzcGllZ2VsLzgwYzI0NjUwLTZlNDUtNGZmYi04NDdiLWQ2ODczMzM2ZmUzYg
(B K P)
Gutes Zeichen: Waffenstillstand im Jemen hält
Der Waffenstillstand, der im bewaffneten Konflikt im Jemen zwischen der saudischen Koalition und den regierenden Huthi-Streitkräften vereinbart wurde, geht nun in seine dritte Woche.
Es besteht kein Zweifel: Der einzige Weg nach vorn besteht darin, den Waffenstillstand in ein endgültiges Friedensabkommen umzuwandeln, das nur durch die Achtung der Vielfalt, eine föderative Politik, die Emanzipation von geopolitischen Zwängen und einen Geist der Versöhnung unter der jemenitischen Bevölkerung konsolidiert werden kann, die wie in anderen Teilen der Welt Opfer des Verlangens der gegnerischen Mächte nach strategischer Kontrolle ist.
https://www.pressenza.com/de/2022/04/gutes-zeichen-waffenstillstand-im-jemen-haelt/
(* A P)
Houthis initially agree to reopen Taiz northern passage
The Houthi group has given initial (informal) approval to reopen one of Taiz city's main crossings northwest Yemen, sources close to the Iranian-backed group told Debriefer on Sunday, following Omani pressures.
Since Yemen's truce took effect, Omani mediators exerted great pressures to persuade the Houthis into dealing positively with the issue putting an end to blockade imposed on Taiz city, the sources said on condition of anonymity.
While they showed willingness to positively deal with the matter, the Houthis asked for the Yemeni government and Arab coalition to honor their commitments under the UN-brokered truce, particularly to reopen Sana'a airport, according to the sources.
On Friday, the Houthi group said an Omani delegation arrived at Sana'a international airport to meet with Houthi officials.
Houthi officials told the Omani delegation that they were ready to reopen the northern 60-meter Street, which connects Taiz city's east to its west, the sources added.
"The Houthi Supreme Political Council on Thursday summoned Taiz local officials (appointed by the group) to discuss a plan to reopen the road in Sana'a City."
An specialist demining team is expected to begin in the next few days removing the landmines from the road's vicinity in preparation for officially reopening the passage, the sources said.
On Saturday, a UN source talked about "progress made in reopening Taiz entrances, as the Houthi group and government troops are expected to strike a deal on reopening a crossing in the city's northern part."
The UN looks forward to new steps in coming days, mainly in relation to improvement of civilians' livings and ending economic division, the source told Al-Araby al-Jadeed.
But the "Houthi group so far refuses to nominate its representatives to a committee that would deal with reopening Taiz crossings," chairman of the Yemeni new Leadership Council, Rashad al-Alimi, said on Tuesday.
https://debriefer.net/en/news-29448.html
and why this is necessary:
It used to take only 7- minute drive to get to Al-Hawban from #Taiz before Houthis imposed their siege on the city. now it takes 5-8 hours using the unpaved & hazardous road Al-Aqroudh, not to mention the widespread checkpoints that extort travelers (photo)
https://twitter.com/RiyadhAldubai/status/1518593275107713024
(* A P)
Yemen's Houthis release crew of seized Emirati cargo vessel - spokesman
The Houthi movement that controls most of northern Yemen has released the crew of the United Arab Emirates cargo ship RWABEE that was seized on Jan. 3, the group's spokesman said on Monday.
(* B K P)
Audio: KALEIDOSCOPE: FUTURE DIALOGUE IN YEMEN
Common to ceasefires and peace negotiations are complex discussions, with actors seeking maximum gains at minimal cost. As a current truce holds in Yemen, we share a recent discussion on the difficulties of dialogue, such as the involvement of regional actors and the attractions of a war economy, as well as the opportunities, such as the need to center civil society and marginalized Yemenis as peace actors. YPC’s Ibrahim Jalal is joined by Nadwa al-Dawsari, political and conflict analyst and non-resident scholar at the Middle East Institute, and Mohammed Al-Qadhi, journalist and analyst.
https://www.yemenpolicy.org/kaleidoscope-future-dialogue-in-yemen/
(* B P)
Audio: “The hope is that the ceasefire could lead to a more durable peace”—A truce in Yemen
(* B K P)
“The hope is that the ceasefire could lead to a more durable peace”—A truce in Yemen
Also on the daily podcast: Why Indian politicians like a brutal film about Kashmir, and why Brazilians are taking to cricket
Yemen cease-fire holds as Saudi Arabia sees opportunity to disengage from the war
Crown Prince Mohamed bin Salman is seeking to unite a credible anti-Houthis front that will allow him to reshape its military intervention.
Whether it is simply a respite or the beginning of longer-term appeasement, this period is being used by Saudi Arabia to try to reshape its military intervention – or at least to give the impression it is doing so. Riyadh is lacking options in the face of the Houthis' resilience, and is aware that this conflict is seriously damaging its image in Western public opinion. The Saudi crown, whose strongman is Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, wants to reduce its involvement in Yemen.
"They say they have tried everything with the Houthis," confided a Yemeni observer, who agreed to speak on condition of anonymity. "They bombed them, tried to buy them, tried to negotiate. But nothing worked. As a result, the Saudis now want to stick to a security approach, focused on defending their borders, and no longer bother with ideological considerations – the fight against a movement of Shiite origin and close to their rival Iran. Perhaps this will create an opening that will bring the Houthis to the negotiating table."
Appear as a mediator
The keystone of this new strategy is the presidential council, which was created on April 7 at the instigation of Riyadh. T
By uniting an anti-Houthis front that it hopes will be credible, Riyadh wants to be able to begin a disengagement process from the country, or at least to stand back a little. "Saudi Arabia no longer wants to appear as a belligerent – and in particular as the main instigator of the conflict – but as a mediator seen as impartial and responsible," emphasized the Yemeni observer interviewed [subscribers only]
(* B H K P)
What the Ceasefire in Yemen Means for Poverty
A glimmer of hope came on April 2, 2022, when U.N. negotiators announced a historic ceasefire in Yemen. This temporary truce aims to relieve the country’s rampant humanitarian suffering and may be the first step in resolving the devastating civil war.
These terms will only last for two months and will expire in early June of 2022. However, interim negotiations hope to use the temporary ceasefire in Yemen to discuss possible solutions for permanent peace.
What the Truce Means for Poverty
The ceasefire in Yemen has important implications on nationwide poverty. In the short term, it grants some humanitarian relief. With the limited resumption of commercial flights, wounded civilians can receive expert medical treatment abroad and displaced families have the opportunity to reunite. Additionally, the entry of fuel tankers will lower domestic fuel prices, which have skyrocketed and led to a worrying shortage.
In the long term, this agreement inspires hope for prolonged peace. This is the first serious truce in six years of warfare, so it may signal an important shift in the tides of the conflict. If negotiations can bring the war toward a resolution, Yemen may begin the process of recovery and millions of Yemenis may finally escape the cycle of poverty that constant conflict has induced.
Of course, the ceasefire in Yemen is just a first step. The current accord is fragile and the warring parties still have deep divides. However, this truce does show that peace is possible. If this budding diplomacy can eventually yield peace, millions of Yemenis would be free of the crushing conflict that has trapped their country in suffocating and perpetual poverty for almost eight years.
https://www.borgenmagazine.com/ceasefire-in-yemen/
(* B K P)
Yemen Truce Is Good News for the Wider World
A country that gets little attention inevitably gets little aid. The UN has been unable to raise the money needed to alleviate Yemeni suffering. Its latest appeal for donations raised less than a third of the target.
That the warring parties agreed on a truce when the world wasn’t watching may, counterintuitively, be the best reason for optimism. Outside pressure can be an important factor in ending conflict, but it is so much the better when the combatants have independently concluded that it is in their interest to stop fighting.
The Saudis recognize that they need to get out of a quagmire that has cost them tens of billions of dollars and earned them international opprobrium. The Yemeni government, in exile since the rebels took the capital Sanaa in 2014, realizes it cannot return in a military triumph. And the Houthis, having experienced their first major loss of territory earlier this year, seem to have accepted they cannot achieve complete domination of the country by force of arms.
All these things have been obvious to outside observers for several years. Belated as it is, the acknowledgement of these realities by the principal protagonists is good not only for Yemen but also the wider world.
Among other things, it removes a persistent threat to the supply of fossil fuels at a time when much of the global economy is struggling to cope with the loss of Russian oil as a result of the war in Ukraine.
So, quite apart from humane considerations, most of the world has a vested interest in the success of the truce.
The first test of the truce is whether it lasts the full two months agreed by all the parties.
Trickier compromises lie ahead, including the exchange of prisoners and the ending of the Houthi siege of the southwestern city of Taiz, where the rebels may have to cede battlefield gains.
There is always the possibility that the truce will end without any progress and the fighting will resume.
So there’s a great deal that could yet go wrong in Yemen. But, at long last, there’s at least the prospect of something going right.
https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2022-04-20/yemen-truce-is-good-news-for-the-wider-world
(* B K P)
Will Yemen’s new nationwide ceasefire ease energy security concerns in China and the rest of Asia?
Efforts to extend the country’s first ceasefire for years, and create an opportunity to negotiate an end to the conflict, continue despite setbacks
Move signifies ‘the most significant step in a while to shake up a largely moribund political process in Yemen’ according to an adviser
But participants at the Riyadh conference “had no idea” about the formation of the presidential leadership council “until it was announced following hours of closed-door discussions” between Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and “a small group of Yemeni politicians”, said Maysaa Shuja al-Deen, a senior expert at the Sanaa Centre for Strategic Studies.
“No one can realistically claim that ‘consultations’ resulted in this council,” she said, in an April 8 statement issued by the Yemeni think tank.
Despite questions about the legitimacy of the council, its formation and the ceasefire “signify the most significant step in a while to shake up a largely moribund political process in Yemen,” said Adam Baron, an adviser on Yemen at the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue, a private diplomacy organisation based in Switzerland.
“This could yield new opportunities,” he told This Week In Asia.
The success of the GCC push to end Yemen’s conflict will be determined by “conditions on the ground and a very strong international effort to help the Yemeni-to-Yemeni process by allowing the Houthis to begin to open up their ports”, said Theodore Karasik, a senior adviser at Gulf State Analytics, a Washington-based political risk consultancy.
With the Houthis continuing their military operations at a low tempo, “there is concern about what comes next”, he said.
“So there are Track-2 efforts ongoing now in the region to help soothe over the issues, and to get communications up and running,” Karasik told This Week In Asia. “It is an uphill battle.”
The ongoing backchannel talks are being hosted by influential members of the Yemeni diaspora in Oman and Turkey, he said.
“Any insecurity in Bab el-Mandab has fallout on global energy markets,” Baron said. “Therefore, any progress in the Yemeni peace process would likely have positive fallout on wider energy markets.”
A 34-nation naval task force led by the United States Navy’s Bahrain-based 5th Fleet on Sunday launched patrols in the Red Sea, which is the conduit of about 12 per cent of global maritime trade.
The Arabian Peninsula is the leading source of oil, petroleum products and liquefied natural gas for China, India, Japan and South Korea.
“In a macro sense, this region literally and figuratively fuels the world,” said Vice Admiral Brad Cooper, Commander of the US 5th Fleet, while unveiling the task force.
(B E K P)
Audio: Sana’a sunrise: A ceasefire in Yemen
In Yemen, fighting between Houthi rebels and a Saudi-led coalition has led to hundreds of thousands of deaths. Recently, a ceasefire has taken hold — but whether it presages the war’s end or further fighting remains unclear.
https://www.economist.com/podcasts/2022/04/20/the-hope-is-that-the-ceasefire-could-lead-to-a-more-durable-peace-a-truce-in-yemen = https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/sanaa-sunrise-a-ceasefire-in-yemen/id151230264?i=1000558141109
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Time to End the Forgotten War in Yemen
Despite the Biden administration’s failure to do everything in its power to end the conflict, a two-month truce has been reached that calls for an end to military attacks and the Saudi-led blockade. And while the truce has been imperfectly carried out, it still offers the best hope in years for an end to the war. Now is the time for the United States to make clear that if Saudi Arabia doesn’t adhere to the truce and negotiate for peace, U.S. military support will come to an end. As President Obama’s deputy national security adviser Ben Rhodes said soon after the truce announcement, "I’d like the U.S. to put on the table that we won’t support in any way a resumption of hostilities from the Saudi side... We have some leverage here… That might be one way to make this stick."
Given its record thus far, the Biden administration may not be inclined to threaten to end U.S. military support for Saudi Arabia to “make this stick.” Congress needs to take the lead in forging a more effective U.S. policy toward Saudi Arabia and the Yemen war.
As Aisha Jumaan, President of the Yemen Relief and Reconstruction Foundation, has noted, “The fragile truce between the Saudi led coalition and Ansar Allah [the Houthis] is a golden opportunity for the Biden administration to push for an end to Saudi Arabia’s brutal war and war crimes against the Yemeni people.”
The time to act is now – by William Hartung
https://www.forbes.com/sites/williamhartung/2022/04/20/time-to-end-the-forgotten-war-in-yemen/
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Audio: Can a UN Brokered Ceasefire in Yemen Lead to a Lasting Peace?
Yemen remains the worst humanitarian crisis in the world. More than 17 million are food insecure with over 150,000 people experiencing famine like conditions. In late March the heads of all the main UN humanitarian agencies said Yemen was “teetering on the edge of outright catastrophe.”
But after nearly eight years of war, the United Nations brokered a truce to coincide with Ramadan and last two months. So far, over two weeks in, this truce is holding. Can it lead to a broader peace agreement?
On the line with me to explain how we got to this ceasefire agreement and what happens next is Annelle Sheline, a Research Fellow in the Middle East program at the Quincy Institute.
https://www.undispatch.com/can-a-un-brokered-ceasefire-in-yemen-lead-to-a-lasting-peace/
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Can Yemen’s Ceasefire Lead to Lasting Peace?
In the longer-term, the newly structured government in Aden could allow room for Houthis to form part of a wider Yemeni government. Ahmed Nagi, an analyst at the Carnegie Endowment for Peace, said last week: “The Presidential Council and its subsidiary committees and bodies were formed in a flexible way to absorb more members in the future, if a political compromise is achieved with the Houthis. In other words, the council’s structure prepares the ground for any possible understanding among the actors in the Yemeni conflict.”
“It should be pointed out that after the Houthis carried out their military coup and dissolved parliament in February 2015, they suggested forming a five-member presidential council. Therefore, the new council can be seen as a positive signal to the Houthis, as there is a place for them if they decide to join.”
However, there is a sense amongst some analysts, particularly in the U.S., that the Houthis may not be pushing for peace. The influx of funds and military technology from Iran has created a formidable fighting force in Sanaa. Recently, Houthi fighters have launched attacks on targets in the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, pushing the conflict beyond the borders of Yemen.
Nevertheless, the humanitarian situation in the country is worsening by the day and this could force the hands of the warring parties.
https://www.albawaba.com/news/can-yemen%E2%80%99s-ceasefire-lead-lasting-peace-1474346
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Politics in South Yemen: A Conversation with Susanne Dahlgren (S. 6, Ep. 9)
Dahlgren speaks about the history of southern Yemen and its union to become present-day Yemen in 1990. “In the beginning it was a happy union, but very soon it turned out to be very ugly politics from the perspective of the Southerners. Things went really bad in 1993– or the three years after the unity— and that led to the first inter-Yemeni war. The current war, which started in 2015 is considered by southern Yemenis as the inter-Yemeni war.”
“They think that the the Houthi’s movement—together with the former president Ali Abdullah Saleh— want to conquer South Yemen militarily. They have taken up arms in order to resist and they are working in cooperation with with the Saudi war coalition” said Dahlgren. “In Yemen, you have two very contradictory ideas about the Saudi involvement in this war. In the south, they consider t
https://pomeps.org/politics-in-south-yemen-a-conversation-with-susanne-dahlgren
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Countering hate speech in Yemen : Dakkah initiative
Dakkh was among the selected winners for the second “My Solution” competition, launched in April 2021 by UNESCO GCC and Yemen office and RNW Media, which invited young Yemenis to send their “solutions” to achieve peace in their country. The 7 winning proposals were supported to realize their projects.
Dakkh, an initiative launched under the umbrella of the Yemen Hub for Media Support, was founded in January 2021 with the aim to counter hate speech discourses in the media and society. Through its different activities, the initiative works on finding alternative discourses that restore the unity in the community.
As part of the “My Solution” project, Dakkh first launched an online survey aiming to study the spread of hate speech in the society and ways to confront it. The survey which included multiple choice and open-ended questions measures the level of understanding of the participants on hate speech and its impacts, and captures qualitatively their opinions on ways to address this issue. The survey plans to collect around 500 responses from all Yemeni governorates. Subsequently to the data collection, the information will be studied and the in-depth analysis will be publicly shared in the form of a report.
Based on the survey findings, Dakkh hopes to make recommendations on the best ways to address hate speech in the Yemeni society.
https://www.unesco.org/en/articles/countering-hate-speech-yemen-dakkah-initiative
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Film: Who killed my grandfather? - BBC World Service
1974 Beirut. It’s the height of the Cold War. A prominent Yemeni politician is shot dead in his car. Some say, had he lived, Yemen would be a different country today. The killer was never caught, the assassination never investigated.
The unsolved murder of Yemen’s former Foreign Minister in 1974, sent shockwaves across the country and was covered widely in the region and in the West. Mohamed Noman was a liberal and progressive politician who was building a different path for Yemen away from authoritarian rule. His death at the early age of 41 had arguably paved the way for decades of military rule in Yemen. In this documentary, his granddaughter sets off on a mission to investigate who could have been behind his murder almost 50 years ago.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UMI13vQgf0A
and audio on the subject: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/w3ct35s1
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Abductees’ Mothers Association and the American Center for Justice (ACJ) Launch the Campaign of Yemeni Abductees Day-18 April
The Yemeni Abductees Day campaign will be launched tomorrow, Sunday, with the aim of declaring 18 of April a popular and official day to end the suffering of the abductees and to provide them with rehabilitation.
This campaign, which is the result of the cooperation between Abductees’ Mothers Association and the American Center for Justice (ACJ) and the participation of a number of activists and organizations, aims to solve the issue of abductees and the arbitrarily detained individuals kidnapped by the different parties to the conflict, whether the militias, the military formations or the government agencies. The campaign also aims at releasing the kidnapped and arbitrarily detained individuals, ending the suffering of them and of their families, and ending all forms of extortion they are subjected to.
The objectives of this campaign include ending the suffering of the families of the kidnapped, the arbitrarily detained and the forcibly disappeared individuals by taking care of them socially and economically in order to rehabilitate them and help them face the detention and its social and economic impacts, as well as criminalizing all forms of discrimination against the abductees and their families.
http://ama-ye.org/index.php?no=1872&ln=En
and
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Abductees’ Mothers Association and the American center for Justice (ACJ) Organize a Hearing on the stories of the Abductees
American Center of Justice (ACJ) Executive Director, Abdul-Rahman Barman said that the violations committed against the kidnapped, arbitrarily detained and forcibly disappeared do not receive enough attention by media and human rights organizations especially since they are committed by all parties, albeit to varying degrees.
This statement was a part of a session held by Abductees’ Mothers Association and the American Center for Justice (ACJ) on Twitter space to present the stories and experiences of the released abductees. This session itself was one of the activities organized on the occasion of the Yemeni Abductees’ Day to release the Yemenis kidnapped in the prisons of the various armed group and the government organizations and also to declare 18 April a, popular and official day to show solidarity with the abductees and end their suffering.
Barman spoke about the suffering of the abductees in the prisons of the Houthi group, STC, forces of Republican Guards and the forces of the government, pointing to the difference in the scale of these violations, the role of the Abductees' Mothers Association and the role of the American Center in transferring this suffering to world public opinion.
A number of the released abductees who were subjected to these violations participated in the account of the kidnapping experiences, including journalist Essam Balghith, who was kidnapped with a number of his fellow journalists, some of whom were released, while others are still being held by the Houthi group, facing death sentences, and all of them were subjected to various forms of torture.
http://ama-ye.org/index.php?no=1881&ln=En
My remark: More in cp1.
cp2a Saudische Blockade / Saudi blockade
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Film: The US-Backed Siege of Yemen [Arabic Subtitles]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h-pge9eOPJA
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Jemen: Erster kommerzieller Flug aus Sanaa verschoben
Im Jemen haben sich die Hoffnungen auf die ersten kommerziellen Flüge aus der Hauptstadt Sanaa seit Jahren vorerst wieder zerschlagen.
Ein eigentlich für Sonntag geplanter Flug in die jordanische Hauptstadt Amman wurde verschoben, wie die Fluggesellschaft Yemen Airways mitteilte. Mit dem ersten Flug aus Sanaa seit fast sechs Jahren war Hoffnung verbunden auf etwas mehr Entspannung in dem jahrelangen Bürgerkrieg. Der UN-Sonderbeauftragte für den Jemen, Hans Grundberg, zeigte sich besorgt.
Die international anerkannte Regierung, die mit einem von Saudi-Arabien angeführten Bündnis gegen die Huthi-Rebellen kämpft, gab den Aufständischen die Schuld. Diese hätten Flugtickets vergeben für Reisende mit Pässen, die von Huthis vergeben worden seien, teilte die Regierung der staatlichen Nachrichtenagentur Saba zufolge mit. Die selbst ernannte Huthi-Regierung gab dagegen dem von Saudi-Arabien angeführten Bündnis die Schuld.
https://www.aero.de/news-42457/Jemen-Erhoffter-kommerzieller-Flug-aus-Sanaa-verschoben.html
Mein Kommentar: Eine irre und vorgeschobene Begründung. Wer hätte sonst die Pässe der Flugpassagiere ausstellen sollen? Die Houthis regieren seit 2015, ältere Pässe dürften ganz überwiegend abgelaufen sein.
und
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Jemen: Erster kommerzieller Flug seit Jahren abgesagt, da Saudi-Arabien Genehmigung verweigert
Der erste kommerzielle Flug aus der jemenitischen Hauptstadt Sanaa seit sechs Jahren, der Passagiere befördern sollte, die medizinische Versorgung benötigen, wurde auf unbestimmte Zeit verschoben, nachdem Saudi-Arabien die Erteilung der Genehmigung unter Verstoß gegen die Bedingungen eines zweimonatigen Waffenstillstands verweigert hatte.
Der internationale Flughafen von Sanaa sollte das Verkehrsflugzeug am Sonntagmorgen erhalten, was die Hoffnungen wieder aufleben ließ, dass das vom Krieg heimgesuchte Land einen normalen Betrieb wieder aufnehmen könnte.
Das von der nationalen Fluggesellschaft Yemenia betriebene Flugzeug sollte im Rahmen des von der UNO vermittelten Waffenstillstands, der Anfang dieses Jahres in Kraft trat, Passagiere, die medizinische Behandlung benötigen, von Sanaa in die jordanische Hauptstadt Amman bringen.
Aber Stunden vor dem Flug sagte die Fluggesellschaft auf ihrer Facebook-Seite, dass „sie noch keine Betriebsgenehmigungen erhalten hat“ und drückte den Reisenden „tiefes Bedauern aus, dass sie den lang erwarteten Flug nicht durchführen dürfen“.
Es fügte hinzu, dass es hoffe, dass „alle Probleme in naher Zukunft überwunden werden“, ohne ein Datum für den Betrieb der Strecke anzugeben.
Einer der Passagiere sagte der Nachrichtenagentur AFP, er habe einen Anruf der Fluggesellschaft erhalten, in dem er aufgefordert worden sei, nicht zum Flughafen zu fahren. Ein Manager des Unternehmens sagte auch, dass „die erforderliche Genehmigung der Koalition nicht eingetroffen ist“.
und
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Waffenruhe im Jemen: Erster kommerzieller Flug seit sechs Jahren möglich
Die staatliche Fluggesellschaft Yemen Airways kündigte ab Sonntag wöchentliche Flüge zwischen Sanaa und Amman in Jordanien an.
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Yemen war sides fail to operate 1st flight as part of truce
Yemen’s warring parties failed to operate the first commercial flight in six years from the rebel-held capital on Sunday, dealing a blow to an already fragile truce in the country’s grinding conflict.
The flight to Amman, Jordan, had been planned as part of the U.N.-brokered, 60-day truce agreement that the internationally recognized government and the Houthi rebels struck earlier this month.
https://apnews.com/article/middle-east-jordan-amman-yemen-sanaa-0dacbe7a7606d0a0ee26445291c7f4af
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First Sanaa flight in six years canceled over Houthi-issued passports: Yemen govt
The first commercial flight due to take off from Yemen’s capital in six years was canceled on Sunday.
Moammar al-Iryani, the information minister of the country’s internationally-recognized government, said flight was canceled as some passengers had been issued passports by the Iran-backed Houthi militia.
While 104 passengers bore government-approved passports, 60 had “unreliable” passports issued by the Houthis, al-Iryani said in a tweet.
The Yemeni government announced in March 2017 that it doesn't recognize documents issued by the Houthis.
My comment: This is BS by the Aden gov. obstructing the Yemeni truce. This should not be this government’s business at all.
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Jabal: Aggression coalition deliberately insults Yemeni people, doubles their suffering
Head of the [Sanaa gov.] General Authority for Civil Aviation and Meteorology, Raed Jabal, on Sunday said that “the aggression coalition deliberately insults the Yemeni people and doubles their suffering for more than eight years of aggression and siege.”
In a press conference held at Sana'a International Airport today, Jabal explained that one of the terms of the announced armistice agreement is the opening of Sana'a International Airport with two flights per week to two specific destinations, “Jordan and Egypt.”
He continued: "Two trips per week are not enough to transport the Yemeni patients, and they will not alleviate the suffering of the Yemenis. However, there is nothing wrong with that being a step towards establishing peace and working to alleviate part of the suffering of the patients."
Jabal pointed out that nearly a month after the armistice was announced, in early April, no flights had been operated to the two specified destinations, "Amman and Cairo."
He affirmed that the aggression countries continue to delay the opening of Sana'a International Airport.
https://www.saba.ye/en/news3184617.htm
and
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Aggression refuses to permit Yemenia Airlines to land at Sana'a airport
The countries of the aggression refused to grant a permit for the Yemenia Airlines flight that due to arrive at Sana'a International Airport today, 24 April, Head of the Civil Aviation and Meteorology Authority said on Sunday.
The countries of aggression repudiated their obligations by refusing to give Yemenia airlines the permission to land the commercial flight that was scheduled to arrive today, Raed Jabal said, considering the move a violation of the armistice announced by the UN envoy to Yemen.
https://www.saba.ye/en/news3184562.htm
and
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[Sanaa gov.] Minister of Health: US-Saudi Aggression Delaying Opening of Sana'a Int. Airport, Voiding of Truce
he Minister of Public Health, Dr. Taha Al-Mutawakel, confirmed that the US-Saudi aggression's delay in opening Sana'a Int. airport voids the most important provisions of the truce in its humanitarian aspect.
Al-Mutawakel said that the US-Saudi aggression's cancellation of the first flight to Sana'a int. Airport "at the last moments aims to increase the suffering of patients who had hope."
He pointed out that only 30,000 patients have been registered with the Higher Medical Committee for three years, st
and
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[Sanaa gov.] Deputy FM: Saudi-led Aggression's Retreat from Opening Sana’a Airport Reflects Lack of Any Desire for Peace
Deputy Foreign Minister Hussein Al-Ezzi confirmed that the US-Saudi aggression's retreat from operating flights from Sana'a International Airport hours after the unilateral release of a large group of prisoners reflects its lack of seriousness to move towards peace.
and
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Last-Minute Dispute Leads to Delay of First Flight as Part of Yemen Truce
A dispute between the Yemeni legitimate government and Iran-backed Houthi militias over details of the two-month truce agreement led to the delay of the first scheduled flight out of Sanaa on Sunday.
The government accused the Houthis of violating the truce and attempting to add travelers, whose identity could not be confirmed, on to the flight. It charged that they were holding illegal passports.
Information Minister Moammar al-Iryani said the Houthis did not adhere to the agreement because they wanted dozens of passengers to board using illegal passports.
He said the government allowed the travel of 104 passengers on the Sanaa-Amman flight but the Houthis insisted on adding 60 more passengers "with unreliable passports."
He cited reports that said the Houthis were planning to use the flights to smuggle out dozens of their leading members and experts from the Iranian Revolutionary Guards and Lebanese Hezbollah party.
and
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Yemeni LC tells UN envoy: Diplomacy cannot work with Houthis
The Houthi group is to blame for the obstructed operation of the first commercial flight from Sana'a airport, the Yemeni Leadership Council (LC) said Sunday, as the flight was expected to head for Amman on Sunday under a UN-brokered truce.
As their meeting in the interim capital of Aden, the LC accused the Houthis of deliberately exacerbating Yemenis' sufferings in areas held by the group, by fabricating causes to renege the UN truce and foil peace process.
The LC is "determined to exert every effort to ease sufferings of all the Yemenis, without exception or trade in humanitarian issues,"
https://debriefer.net/en/news-29464.html
My comment: This is propaganda BS, looking at the passports story.
and
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UN Envoy Grundberg: "I'm concerned by the postponement of the 1st commercial flight from Sanaa airport which was scheduled for today. I urge the parties to work constructively with me and my Office to find a solution that allows the flights to resume as planned.
"The Truce is meant to benefit civilians including through reducing violence, making fuel available, and improving their freedom of movement to, from and within their country. We're working to support the parties in implementing, strengthening and renewing the Truce."
https://twitter.com/OSE_Yemen/status/1518139358834049025
and
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Yemen: Sana'a flight cancellation a deep disappointment
Statement by the Norwegian Refugee Council's Yemen Country Director Erin Hutchinson about the last-minute cancellation of the first commercial flight out of Sana'a airport in 6 years
"We hoped that the first commercial flight in six years leaving Sana'a airport would happen today as promised in the truce agreement. We are deeply disappointed that it didn't happen. This would have been a first small but important step towards long-lasting stability in Yemen. It is also a life-saver for tens of thousands of medical patients who desperately need urgent treatment abroad.
"We hope both parties stick to their truce commitments, including allowing flights out of Sana'a airport and opening roads to Taiz and other governorates.
https://www.nrc.no/news/2022/april/yemen-sanaa-flight-cancellation-a-deep-disappointment/
and
(A H P)
Photos: These are sick people who need treatments outside Yemen They were supposed to be in Jordan now,but never happened Their flight was cancelled in the last minutes 2day It would have been the first flight from Sanaa airport since more than6years Fragile 2-month truce still holding
https://twitter.com/narrabyee/status/1518273787225165824
and
(A P)
[Sanaa gov.] Transport Minister: Sana'a International Airport ready to receive flights
https://www.saba.ye/en/news3184473.htm
(A P)
YPC: the aggression practices a policy of distillation in releasing fuel ships
The Yemeni Petroleum Company (YPC) confirmed that the aggression is practicing the policy of distillation in releasing fuel ships despite the announced truce.
YPC spokesman Essam al-Mutawakel said that the aggression is still practicing the policy of distillation in releasing fuel ships, as the diesel-loaded vessel "Harvest" was released today, while the diesel-loaded "Daytona" has been detained for 15 days.
Al-Mutawakel indicated that the continued detention of oil derivatives ships increases the suffering of the Yemeni people and raises the delay fines resulting from piracy.
https://www.saba.ye/en/news3184177.htm
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YPC: Aggression detains new diesel ship
YPC's spokesman Essam al-Mutawakel said that the aggression coalition is still practicing piracy on fuel ships, as it detained the emergency diesel ship, "Empire", loaded with a quantity of 30,899 tons, although it has been cleared by the United Nations.
https://www.saba.ye/en/news3184322.htm
https://debriefer.net/en/news-29440.html
cp3 Humanitäre Lage / Humanitarian situation
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Ramadan in Yemen
Journalist Abdullah Ali interviews Yemenis on how social initiatives are contributing to the alleviation of the suffering of Yemen during Ramadan
Under the weight of the Ramadan night and during the day, Youssef Mahdi, 38, travels with a group of young people between the homes of poor families in the countryside of central Yemen. Their mission isto provide the families with Ramadan staples to ease their daily suffering. His efforts are just one of the actions they have taken as a result of the ongoing war.
Yemeni economist Rashid Al-Haddad says: “The level of cooperation between individuals and community initiatives grows significantly during the month of Ramadan, a feature that has distinguished Yemenis for decades, pointing out that self-initiatives are part of the social fabric in Yemen, and contribute to alleviating the suffering of the poor and needy in various fields. governorates of Yemen.”
Mahdi told Media Diversified, that he was able to obtain dates for about 700 poor families in Ibb governorate during the first days of Ramadan, noting that most families are unable to buy dates due to the high prices in the market and the deterioration of living standards of Yemini citizens.
With the beginning of the month of Ramadan in Yemen, social solidarity and cooperation are increasing significantly among the population. Charitable projects and youth social initiatives are on the rise, and this is positively reflected in the lives of many Yemenis who find themselves unable to help themselves anymore. And thus it is civil society that is providing the most basic of needs.
Community Initiatives
It is difficult to know how many community initiatives are operating during Ramadan in Yemen, but Yemeni economist Rashid Al-Haddad says: “Social solidarity played a key role in stopping the collapse of humanitarian conditions during the years of war in Yemen.”
During the course of the war community initiatives have emerged in Yemeni governorates such as Sana’a, Ibb, Taiz, Aden and other governorates.
Voluntary Values Initiative, southwest of Taiz city are working to distribute humanitarian aid to poor families and displaced people during the month of Ramadan. This initiative was established on December 5, 2018, and it consists of eight main members, and about twenty=six volunteers who distribute food aid on a daily basis.
While Al-Haddad praised the efforts made by community initiatives to support the poor and alleviate their suffering, it clearly isn’t enough if Yeminis who haven’t been killed by British and American made Saudi bombs are to survive the world’s worst humanitarian crisis and its resulting punishing economic conditions.
https://mediadiversified.org/2022/04/19/ramadan-in-yemen/
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Film: Yemen: Ramadan ceasefire ‘opportunity to feed millions’
With malnutrition ravaging children projected to worsen if fighting returns or humanitarian funding does not pick up, the humanitarian aid groups do not decelerate their efforts.
"The benefits of the first weeks of truce are already significant," said Erin Hutchinson, Yemen Director for the Norwegian Refugee Council – a group that managed to aid 12,000 people in one district of Hajjah province. Given the province’s three-year-long isolation due to the military developments, the Council’s achievement displays particular significance.
The task at hand is extremely difficult. The destruction of Yemen’s economy, the displacement of millions of people and the global grain and commodity prices hike make obtaining food in the dry and arid Yemen an onerous undertaking.
Representing the World Food Programme (WFP), an organisation which has been exerting itself to feed half of Yemen’s population, Richard Rogan said that "tens of millions of people in Yemen are living hand-to-mouth."
https://tvpworld.com/59775299/yemen-ramadan-ceasefire-opportunity-to-feed-millions
(B H P)
Film: VSLAiE (Village Savings and Loan Associations) CARE Pilot in Yemen Webinar_English
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8JWAatOB00w
(* B H)
Der vergessene Krieg
Die Lage im Jemen ist prekär. Mittlerweile sind dort über 10’000 Kinder gestorben. Millionen leiden an Hunger. Die Hilfsorganisation «Save the Children» zeichnet ein düsteres Bild der Lage vor Ort.
Als wären die Folgen des eigenen Konflikts nicht schwer genug, trifft auch der Ukraine-Krieg den Jemen schwer. Das Land importiert bis zu 95 Prozent seines Weizens aus dem Ausland. Weizen in Form von Brot macht mehr als die Hälfte der Kalorienzufuhr der Bevölkerung aus. «Der Krieg in der Ukraine hat bereits zu einem drastischen Anstieg der Weltmarktpreise für Weizen geführt», sagt Ahmad Baroudi, Medien- und Kommunikationsmanager der Hilfsorganisation «Save the Children» im Jemen auf Anfrage von ref.ch.
Die durch den Ukraine-Krieg verursachte Unterbrechung der globalen Lebensmittelversorgungskette würde weitere Millionen jemenitischer Kinder an den Rand des Verhungerns treiben. Zumal über 37 Prozent des in den Jemen eingeführten Weizens aus Russland und der Ukraine stammen.
Die UNO schätzt, dass in den sieben Jahren, in denen die Kämpfe im Jemen andauern, mehr als 10'000 Kinder getötet wurden. Der Januar dieses Jahres sei aufgrund massiver Luftangriffe der tödlichste Monat seit der letzten grossen Eskalation im Jahr 2010 gewesen.
Anfang 2022 sind laut Baroudi zudem 17,4 Millionen Menschen von akuter Ernährungsunsicherheit betroffen, darunter 2,2 Millionen Kinder, die akut unterernährt sind. «Darüber hinaus sind die Kinder nicht nur durch die unerbittlichen Kämpfe verängstigt, sondern auch das Gesundheitssystem ist am Ende», sagt Baroudi. Mehr als die Hälfte der Gesundheitseinrichtungen seien geschlossen oder nur teilweise funktionsfähig. Die Folge: Schon jetzt sei die Kindersterblichkeit aufgrund der Zunahme leicht behandelbarer Krankheiten wie Durchfall und Lungenentzündung stark angestiegen. Und sie könnte noch weiter steigen. Denn die für die Gesundheit der jemenitischen Kinder lebenswichtigen Wasser- und Abwassersysteme könnten bald nicht mehr funktionieren.
Damit humanitäre Hilfe überhaupt geleistet werden kann, müsse sie nun entsprechend finanziert werden können. «Sie ist leider chronisch unterfinanziert», sagt Baroudi.
https://www.ref.ch/news/der-vergessene-krieg/
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Little relief for war-torn Yemen this Ramadan
A humanitarian crisis has been unravelling in Yemen for years, as a civil war continues to rage and divide the Middle East’s poorest country.
But even in the worst of times, the month of Ramadan was a period when people came together. A time when they shared meals, set up food tables along the streets for those who wanted to break fast, and sent Iftar meals to each other’s homes. Somehow, they managed to find a way to share whatever little they had.
However, this year things are different.
Back-breaking food inflation has squeezed the meagre income of millions of Yemenis. And the situation is getting worse as the conflict over Ukraine continues.
“It will worsen the humanitarian crisis and create more instability in Yemen,” says Yemen expert Riad Domazeti on the impact of the Ukraine-Russian conflict.
“Yemen imports around 42 percent of [its] wheat from the two countries.”
Russia and Ukraine, among the world’s top producers of cereals and grains, including wheat, have suspended exports, causing flour and bread prices to shoot up in Middle Eastern and African countries.
Like millions of people elsewhere, Yemenis consume flatbread as part of their diet.
With the economy in tatters, the cash-strapped government hasn’t been able to distribute wages among people who work for various state-run organisations.
A minuscule private sector means that Yemenis rely on government jobs to pay for their expenses. This crisis is particularly severe in areas controlled by the Houthis, a rebel force backed by Iran.
A hike in the price of energy in the international market is also leaving its mark on Yemenis who are paying more for diesel and gas.
The United Nations says more than 25 million people in Yemen live below the poverty line.
https://www.trtworld.com/magazine/little-relief-for-war-torn-yemen-this-ramadan-56668
(B H)
Yemen WANTS Situation Overview, January - March 2022
This situation overview describes all YWC partner assessments carried out between January and March 2022, including 36 common and cholera key informant interviews (KIIs) and 4 cholera household interviews. The situation overview triangulates WASH assessment findings with secondary data sources.
https://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/yemen-wants-situation-overview-january-march-2022-enar
(A H)
NRC: Thanks to the ongoing #Yemen truce, our colleagues have managed to reach Bani Othabi, which was inaccessible for over 3 years because of the fighting. Now we can help thousands of families with urgent humanitarian aid (film)
https://twitter.com/NRC_EAY/status/1516702521795960838
(A H)
Ghaleb Alsudmy: Alhamdullah we visited some areas to provide food aid to poor families. I will send all details, All love, peace, thanks & gratitude to all of you without exception (film)
https://twitter.com/ghalebalsudmy/status/1518012947649417221
(B H)
Film: #Yemen is part of a "ring of fire" circling the globe, where millions of people are on the brink of starvation. Ali explains how @WFP Food assistance is the only way to prevent a slide toward disaster.
https://twitter.com/WFPYemen/status/1518225244636557316
(A H)
A man and his wife omitted suicide because of poverty and depression in north Yemen last night. Khamis Alqafrah and his wife hanged themselves to death separately (within hours interval) last night in the Houthi-militia controlled Aljawf province/Almashehad Alkhaleeji website
https://www.alsahwa-yemen.net/en/p-55683
(A H)
High way robbery continues to block humanitarian and commercial movement between Aden and Taiz in the same spot where Abdulmalik Al-Sanabani was killed/Yemeni Post
https://www.alsahwa-yemen.net/en/p-55732
(A H)
750 families received in Sana'a city food supplies from @monarelief. Our project was funded by @monareliefye's fundraising campaign in Patreon & @PartnersRelief
for 700 baskets along with @SzkolydlaPokoju in #Poland for 50 baskets others. (photos)
https://twitter.com/Fatikr/status/1516967945007767555
(* B H)
Yemen | Food Security Quarterly Review - Q4 2021
Exchange rate: The Yemeni riyal weakened in areas under IRG and slid to an-all-time low of YER 1,654/USD 1 at end of November, by then the riyal had lost more than half of its recorded value at the beginning of the year. In December, the riyal saw an abrupt appreciation by 91 percent, and reached YER 865/USD 1 at end of the year.
Fuel imports: Total imports of fuel through Al Hodeidah and Saleef ports decreased by 69 percent in 2021, compared to 2020.
Fuel prices: The pump price of petrol and diesel doubled during 2021 in areas under IRG, compared to 88 percent increase in prices of petrol and 65 percent increase in prices of diesel in areas under Sana'a-based authorities.
Food imports: The volume of annual food imports through Al Hodeidah and Saleef ports during 2021 remained the same as 2020, while food imports through Aden port increased in 2021 by 66 percent from the year before.
Global food prices: The global FAO Food-Price Index reached a 10-year high in December 2021, recording its highest levels since 2011.
Humanitarian food assistance: In late December, WFP announced reduced rations due to severe funding shortfalls, affecting eight million people as of January 2022.
Minimum food basket in areas under IRG: The cost of MFB increased by 119 percent during 2021 and reached an all-time high of YER 18,654 in the first week of December.
Minimum food basket in areas under Sana’a-based authorities: The cost of MFB increased by 41 percent in 2021 and reached an all-time high of YER 7,698 in December.
Nearly half of the interviewed households reported inadequate food consumption in December 2021
https://docs.wfp.org/api/documents/WFP-0000138730/download/
(B H)
WFP Yemen Food Security Update, April 2022
https://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/wfp-yemen-food-security-update-april-2022
(* B H)
Yemen Food Security Outlook, March to September 2022
Key Messages
Household purchasing power has been significantly eroded by years of economic decline and compounding shocks. Given lack of income and very high prices of food and non-food commodities, many have exhausted available livelihood coping strategies, forcing millions toward more severe food coping strategies such as skipping meals. Eight million beneficiaries of humanitarian assistance have been receiving reduced rations since late 2021. At the area level, Crisis (IPC Phase 3) and Crisis! (IPC Phase 3!) outcomes are likely widespread. Many households facing ration reductions have likely been unable to compensate for the sudden reduction in food and income, with an increasing number likely to face widening consumption gaps and Emergency (IPC Phase 4) outcomes during local lean periods.
In areas controlled by the internationally-recognized government (IRG), the Yemeni Rial depreciated slightly in March despite improved supply of hard currency in markets. In March 2022, the parallel market exchange rate in Aden averaged 1,239 YER/USD, 11 percent higher than in the previous month and 39 percent higher than same time last year, according to data from FAO. Meanwhile, in SBA-controlled areas, strict control measures together with stable foreign currency inflows from domestic trade have contributed to keeping local currency exchange rates largely stable.
Yemen is highly dependent on imports for its food supply and typically sources a significant share of staple wheat from Russia and Ukraine. As such, food prices have increased significantly across the country in March, with IRG areas worst affected. In IRG areas, the cost of the Minimum Food Basket (MFB) increased significantly by 12 percent from February to March 2022, to reach levels 85 percent higher the same period of last year. In SBA areas, the cost of the MFB increased by a full 13 percent from February to March, to reach levels 37 percent higher than last year.
https://fews.net/east-africa/yemen/food-security-outlook/march-2022
(* B H)
Therapeutic Feeding Centers: Lifeline for Children in Yemen Suffering from Severe Acute Malnutrition
Integrated nutrition services were provided to over 415,000 children aged 6-59 months and more than 178,000 children with severe acute malnutrition were admitted for treatment.
Malnutrition has long been a challenge in Yemen and has deteriorated during the last seven years of conflict. UNICEF supports 34 therapeutic feeding centers (TFC) in Yemen financially and with supplies and training. In addition, thanks to the European Union generous contributions, UNICEF gives families of malnourished children vouchers covering transportation costs. Throughout 2021, integrated nutrition services were provided to over 415,000 children aged 6-59 months and more than 178,000 children with severe acute malnutrition were admitted for treatment.
From Al Hudaydah to the Alqutae Center
Enshrah Mohammed Saeed is a mother of four, including seven-month-old Rajwa, who suffers from multiple health issues. “My baby was losing weight”, Enshrah says, which drove her to seek medical advice.
“Since she was born seven months ago, my daughter has been hospitalized at Al-Thawrah Hospital, in Al Hudaydah, as she had lung problems.” Eshrah has gone from one health facility to another, hoping that her daughter would get diagnosed and treated. Until she was told Rajwa suffers from malnutrition.
“The doctor told me to feed her every two hours and to follow his instructions”, she explains. “She’s gained 2 kgs now. I see a huge difference in her. She used to pass out before I could breastfeed her. Now, she’s getting much better and a glow is showing on her face”, she adds with an air of relief.
The Alqutae TFC receives 70 to 80 cases of children suffering from malnutrition every month. Last August, they received 130 cases.
“The TFC is important to reduce the number of malnutrition cases in the community”, explains nurse Camellia. Ninety-nine per cent of the cases the center receives are children with severe acute malnutrition, the most dangerous form of malnutrition. Without urgent treatment, children with severe acute malnutrition (SAM) are at risk of dying.
“We have a treatment plan and a medication plan. The medication plan consists of medicines that are based on the complications”, she adds. Generally, the treatment plan provides therapeutic milk (F75) milk until the child’s condition stabilizes. After that, therapeutic milk (F100) is given to the child until he or she returns to a healthy weight.
Today in Yemen, 2.2 million children under five years old suffer from malnutrition, and half a million of them suffer from severe acute malnutrition. Therapeutic Feeding Centers and their dedicated staff are essential to UNICEF’s response to the malnutrition crisis in the country.
(* B H)
Yemen: Annual Humanitarian Access Overview, 2021
In 2021, some 50 per cent of people in need, or 10.1 million people, were estimated to be living in areas that are 'hard-to-reach' (HtR). This was predominantly due to impediments of a bureaucratic nature, but other constraints that affect access and obstruct aid agencies' ability to deliver assistance, are conflict-induced security risks and logistical impediments.
Over the year, humanitarian partners reported 2,928 access incidents in 156 districts and 20 governorates across Yemen, affecting 10.9 million people. Over 90 percent of access incidents reported in 2021 pertained to bureaucratic constraints affecting movement within the country imposed by the parties to the conflict. These include travel permit denials or delays and refusals or delays in approving project sub-agreements.
Movement restrictions were the predominant type of access incident reported in 2021. These restrictions have been steadily increasing since 2018, hitting the highest point in late 2020. They, however, decreased by 43.5 percent – 1,114 in 2021, compared with 1,971 in 2020. About 95 percent of these incidents were recorded in Ansarullah controlled areas. They mainly pertained to denials of or delays in granting travel clearances for the delivery of assistance or the conduct of needs assessments, monitoring activities and humanitarian coordination.
Partners across Yemen reported that humanitarian movements were blocked at roadside checkpoints. In Ansarullah-controlled areas, ad-hoc requirements were imposed on humanitarian missions at checkpoints, manifested most predominately in the requirement for a Mahram (a close male relative) to accompany female Yemeni aid workers when traveling on field missions, leading to the cancellation of field missions and aid deliveries. Ultimately, many humanitarian partners refrained from submitting travel requests for national female aid workers to avoid rejections and delays; it is also known that there is some reporting fatigue as this issue has become prolonged. An arrangement allowing for the joint travel of two or more Yemeni female aid workers was short-lived, especially in Sa’adah and Hajjah governorates.
In the Internationally Recognized Government (IRG)-controlled areas, movement challenges were mainly incident-based and reported along key access routes outside Aden. These ranged from unpredictable and lengthy documentation inspections to arbitrary fees demanded for passage. A requirement for humanitarian notification paperwork issued by the Saud-led Coalition continued to be imposed at the Dhubab checkpoint in Ta'iz Governorate for movements heading north along the Red Sea coast, despite the voluntary nature of the Humanitarian Notification System.
Armed conflict severely constrained access to affected populations. In 2021, active frontlines affected 51 districts at the highest point in mid-June, decreasing gradually to 45 districts by the end of the year
Interference in the implementation of humanitarian activities by the authorities in Yemen was frequently reported in 2021. A total of 890 interference incidents were reported, most of them related to delays in the approval of project sub-agreements.
https://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/yemen-annual-humanitarian-access-overview-2021
(A H)
WFP welcomes US$1 million from the Government of the Republic of Korea to support Yemen
https://www.wfp.org/news/wfp-welcomes-us1-million-government-republic-korea-support-yemen
(* A H P)
The European Union and WFP join efforts against hunger in Yemen
The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) welcomes a contribution of EUR 45 million from the European Union (EU) to address the hunger crisis in Yemen. With these resources, WFP will continue to provide emergency assistance and nutrition support in response to an alarming rise in food insecurity affecting millions of Yemenis.
With the EU’s support, WFP will maintain the use of cash transfers to deliver food assistance, allowing beneficiaries to decide upon the food they prefer. Cash transfers provide immediate relief for struggling families while also having a multiplier effect on the local economy, building economic resilience.
Over the last seven years, the EU has contributed approximately EUR 300 million to WFP’s Yemen operation out of a total of EUR 827 million made available to alleviate humanitarian needs in Yemen since the onset of the conflict. In addition, the EU continuously advocates for an accountable and transparent humanitarian response in the war-torn country. WFP is the EU’s largest partner in Yemen.
This EU contribution specifically provides for nutrition support to vulnerable Yemenis
https://www.wfp.org/news/european-union-and-wfp-join-efforts-against-hunger-yemen
(* B H)
Yemen Humanitarian Needs Overview 2022 (April 2022)
At least 286,700 people are estimated to have been displaced in 2021.2 Substantial devaluation of the Yemeni rial (YER) contributed to the further worsening of Yemen’s economy in 2021, driving up the prices of essential goods and services including food, fuel and healthcare.
The rial fell by some 57 per cent between January and December in Government of Yemen (GoY) areas, reaching successive historical lows in the process. In areas under Ansarullah control, severe fuel shortages have driven price increases even as the exchange rate has remained more stable. Consequently, public services have been further degraded and the authorities face even greater challenges to paying regular salaries and pensions to public employees. With the livelihoods situation remaining largely unchanged across the country, the average person’s purchasing power is being substantially eroded, incentivizing increased adoption of harmful coping strategies.
Natural hazards continue to aggravate the crisis, with torrential downpours and recurrent flooding in 2021 causing deaths, injuries and displacements as well as inducing widespread damage to essential infrastructure, affecting at least 240,000 people.
The impact of the crisis is most visible in the pervasiveness of malnutrition, disease outbreaks, and civilian casualties and displacements in Yemen, as well as in the collapsing economy, looming famine and the reversal of the country’s past development gains. While humanitarian partners reached an average of 11.6 million people a month with humanitarian and protection assistance in 2021, the operating environment remains restricted and characterized by extensive access challenges and insecurity. Some 10.9 million people live in areas of Yemen where bureaucratic and logistical impediments, as well as armed conflict and insecurity, represent major challenges for the delivery of humanitarian assistance.
Scope of the analysis
All 333 districts of Yemen are covered by this Humanitarian Needs Overview (HNO), with analysis particularly focusing on the needs of internally displaced persons, refugees, asylum seekers and migrants. Specific attention is also provided to population groups that experience heightened vulnerabilities, including children, women, people with disabilities, older persons, and marginalized communities such as the Muhamasheen.
Expected context evolution in 2022
Humanitarian needs in Yemen are expected to increase and intensify in 2022 as the context deteriorates further, at least in the absence of a deescalation of the conflict and significant improvements to the economy as well as funding for humanitarian and development partners.
Violations of international humanitarian law and human rights law are likely to continue to cause additional harm to civilian populations and infrastructure. A nationwide ceasefire - and in the long-term a political agreement - is urgently needed to create the conditions for recovery and long-term peace.
Constraints on the humanitarian response will likely continue to be compounded by armed violence and bureaucratic challenges, while protracted displacement is set to further erode people’s resilience and exacerbate vulnerabilities in displaced as well as host communities. As people increasingly resort to negative coping strategies, women and girls will face increased risk of gender-based violence (GBV) and other risks, while children will encounter diminished access to education and greater instances of family separation, child recruitment, child marriage, child trafficking, and exploitative forms of labour. Other groups such as displaced people, refugees, asylum seekers, migrants, people with disabilities and older persons are also likely to see their vulnerability increase.
Yemen’s socioeconomic environment is also expected to continue its deterioration in 2022
https://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/yemen-humanitarian-needs-overview-2022-april-2022
(A H P)
QRCS, OCHA launch multi-sector project in Yemen
Qatar Red Crescent Society (QRCS) has launched an integrated intervention project in the sectors of health care, food, shelter, water, sewage, and hygiene, to meet the needs of the displaced and most vulnerable communities in the districts of Jabal Habashi and Maqbanah, Taiz Governorate, Yemen.
At a total cost of nearly $2 million, the new project is funded by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs’ (OCHA) Yemen Humanitarian Fund (YHF).
https://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/qrcs-ocha-launch-multi-sector-project-yemen-enar
(B H)
Mental Health and Psychosocial Support in Primary Health Care Settings
This guide is intended for PHC staff involved in promoting mental health in their community and addressing related issues for people experiencing emotional distress and/or mental illness that impairs their day-to-day functioning.
(A H)
Flowers bloom as Yemen enters ceasefire
As part of the Flowers for Children campaign, a drawing workshop was held in Southwestern Yemen for children aged between 8 and 17. (photos9
https://www.savethechildren.org.au/our-stories/flowers-bloom-as-yemen-enters-ceasefire
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OUR 360-DEGREE HUMANITARIAN APPROACH IN YEMEN
FHI 360 applies a 360-degree lens to its response to the crisis: delivering medical equipment and medicines, establishing water collection sites and installing solar panels to ensure a reliable source of electricity. In addition, we train community health volunteers who host information sessions and go door-to-door to deliver essential health and nutrition information.
Challenges as complex and intractable as the humanitarian crisis in Yemen need comprehensive solutions. We don’t just treat patients; we look to understand the other factors that erode health and to address them at the source.
Availability of — and access to — clean water can reduce the incidence of disease, so we built and repaired water points. Health facilities needed reliable electricity, so we installed solar panels. There are few health clinics in remote areas, so we repaired nine health facilities and one mobile clinic.
Since November 2020, FHI 360-supported health facilities have provided over 90,000 health consultations in Yemen — and we look beyond patient care and apply our 360-degree lens. Our Yemen team relentlessly pursues better health for their communities in this, the worst humanitarian crisis in the world.
https://fhi360.exposure.co/our-360-degree-approach-in-yemen
(A H)
Support from TİKA to the Reinforcement of the Health Infrastructure in Yemen
Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TİKA) supplied the New-born Unit of the Gynaecology Department of Taiz Cumhuri Education and Research Hospital in Yemen with incubators and phototherapy machines, and, thus, contributed to the reinforcement of the health infrastructure of the hospital.
(B H)
RDP Yemen: Monthly Situation Report (March 2022)
NUTRITION
Reducing acute malnutrition through blanket supplementary feeding program in 16 districts of Ibb, Taizz, and Hajjah governorates.
Providing MAM treatment to children U5 and PLW in Sama & As Silw districts of Taizz Governorate.
HEALTH
Reducing morbidity and mortality rates caused by malnutrition and prevalence of diseases by providing an integrated package of life-saving, preventative and enhanced quality health and nutrition services in Sirwah and Harib Al Qaramish districts of Marib governorate.
Food Security & Livelihood
Providing food rations to 53,405 individuals to reduce the severely food insecurity crisis in Al Malagim, Wald Rabi, and As Sawadiya districts of Al-Bayda gov.
Providing cash assistance to 3,500 most affected IDPs and host community in As Sawadiya district of Al-Bayda governorate.
https://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/yemen-monthly-situation-report-march-2022
(A H)
Aid groups push to feed Yemen's hungry millions during Ramadan ceasefire
A two-month ceasefire has given aid groups a chance to step up aid to Yemen's hungry millions, but malnutrition ravaging children is projected to worsen if fighting returns or humanitarian funding does not pick up.
"The benefits of the first weeks of truce are already significant," said Erin Hutchinson, Yemen Director for the Norwegian Refugee Council.
The group has been able to give aid to 12,000 people in one district of Hajjah province that has not been reached for more than three years.
"Tens of millions of people in Yemen are living hand-to-mouth," said Richard Ragan of the World Food Programme (WFP), which is trying to feed half of Yemen's 30 million people in one of its largest ever programmes.
Hunger and malnutrition have worsened this year, the UN's March data showed, and the body projected that, between June and December, those unable to secure minimum nutrition will hit a new high of 19 million, up from 17.4 million currently.
The number facing famine-like conditions could increase from 31,000 to 161,000 people, the UN's Integrated Food Security Phase Classification analysis said.
In Al-Mahra, in Yemen's east, women in a displacement camp of tattered shelters built outdoor fires to fry dough balls that children munch on, and pat bread into hot mud ovens.
"We adults, we have to be patient and go hungry to feed the children. If only you could see how sick I am, because I only feed my children," said mother-of-ten, Fatima Qayed.
She said they only get aid once a year, during the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, and they buy food by collecting and selling plastic cans, rarely seeing meat.
Unable to obtain milk, mother-of-four, Seham Abdelhakim, feeds her young children sugar and water.
"When I'm pregnant I barely eat, just tea and bread … After I give birth, it's the same thing; we have no chicken or anything. All I pray for is to hug my child after giving birth," said Abdelhakim, 36.
https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/aid-groups-push-feed-yemens-hungry-millions-during-ramadan-ceasefire-2022-04-22/ = https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20220422-aid-groups-push-to-feed-yemens-hungry-millions-during-ramadan-ceasefire/ = https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/aid-groups-push-to-feed-yemen-s-hungry-millions-during-ramadan-ceasefire/47536508
Film: https://twitter.com/Reuters/status/1517662034627895296
cp4 Flüchtlinge / Refugees
(A H)
Yemen - Flood Update 26 April 2022 - Ma’rib (Reporting date: 27 April 2022)
IOM DTM visited two sites in Ma’rib District on 26 April 2022 to verify reports of flooded displacement camps. DTM found that approximately 100 households were affected by rains that severely damaged camp structures.
The families are in need of food, shelter and non-food items. As of the time of reporting no humanitarian support has been provided.
(B H)
Yemen: Training develops IDPs' capacities and raises their economic potential
They have the same sufferings, the same stories; they are all displaced by war and united by pain and unemployment, enduring - in silence - the bitterness of living.
This is the story of 150 IDPs from Hajjah, Hodeidah, Amran and Saada, who were forced to leave their homes and settle at camps in Al-Safra and Sahar districts in Saada governorate.
Sulaiman Al-Shami, displaced from Hodeidah to Saada, sums up his suffering as a result of war saying, "War affected us a lot, including displacement and losing jobs and means of livelihoods."
For 30 days, 150 IDPs (90 men and 60 women) received training (both practice and theory) on the skills needed for electricity works, plumbing, welding & blacksmithing, building, painting, sewing, weaving & embroidery, producing incense & perfumes, and making accessories. These skills are required by the labor market. A
(A H)
Film: Yemen..displaced orphans in Ma'rib governorate benefit from 16 housing units funded by Turkey
https://twitter.com/TRTArabi/status/1516872713511579648
(A H)
Floods and winds sweep tents of IDPs in Marib
Floods and winds have swept the tents of 1200 internal displacees in Abu Janb and Alorwayk areas in Yemen's Marib province leaving families stranded in the desert without shelters or food./Marib News facebook page.
https://www.alsahwa-yemen.net/en/p-55732
Photos: https://twitter.com/Alsakaniali/status/1518765951021375494
https://twitter.com/Alsakaniali/status/1518765951021375494
(* B H)
Yemen: UNHCR Operational Update, covering the period from 12 to 19 April 2022
Close to 3,000 IDP families (some 18,000 individuals) have been assessed for vulnerabilities and assistance during the reporting period. UNHCR continues conducting protection monitoring and needs assessments countrywide to determine urgent needs and refer vulnerable individuals for assistance. These tools help detect the demographic profile of households, socio-economic profile, living and shelter conditions, coping mechanisms, specific protection needs and vulnerabilities, and assistance needs including cash, legal assistance, shelter support and core relief items.
Last week, UNHCR field staff and partners assessed close to 3,000 IDP families living in IDP sites in Hudaydah, Sa’ada, Shabwah, Hadramaut, Taiz and Marib Governorates.
Livelihood-support projects continue to be implemented countrywide.
UNHCR has distributed more than $8 million in cash assistance since the beginning of the year. So far, 43,700 IDP families (some 290,000 individuals) and 8,135 refugee families (close to 20,000 individuals) have benefitted from UNHCR cash assistance in 2022.
https://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/yemen-unhcr-operational-update-covering-period-12-19-april-2022
(B H)
IOM Yemen: Rapid Displacement Tracking - Yemen IDP Dashboard Reporting Period: 17 to 23 April 2022
From 1 January to 23 April 2022, IOM Yemen DTM tracked 5,556 households (HH) (33,336 Individuals) who experienced displacement at least once.
Between 17 and 23 April 2022, IOM Yemen DTM tracked 116 households (696 individuals) displaced at least once. The majority of people moved into/within the following governorates and districts:
Fortsetzung / Sequel: cp5 – cp19
https://www.freitag.de/autoren/dklose/jemenkrieg-mosaik-803b-yemen-war-mosaic-803b
Vorige / Previous:
https://www.freitag.de/autoren/dklose/jemenkrieg-mosaik-802-yemen-war-mosaic-802
Jemenkrieg-Mosaik 1-802 / Yemen War Mosaic 1-802:
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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