... Wege zur Versöhnung im Jemen – Jemen im Fegefeuer; Helen Lackner Interview – Im Jemen weiterhin Kindersoldaten – Ländliche Entwicklung ist der Schlüssel zu nachhaltigem Frieden – Jemens solarbetriebene Wasserpumpen – Biden wiederholt Trumps Fehler – und mehr
June 20, 2022: Film: Yemen's Dirty War – The Yemen Review, May 2022 – The Nordics Aspire to Promote Peace in Yemen – Despite Yemen's Truce, Lasting Peace is Still Far Off – Pathways for Reconciliation in Yemen – Yemen in Purgatory; Helen Lackner Interview – In Yemen, Child Soldiering Continues – Rural Development is Key to Sustainable Peace – Yemen’s Solar-Powered Water Pumps – Biden repeating Trump’s mistakes – and more
Schwerpunkte / Key aspects
Kursiv: Siehe Teil 2 / In Italics: Look in part 2: https://www.freitag.de/autoren/dklose/jemenkrieg-mosaik-811b-yemen-war-mosaic-811b
Klassifizierung / Classification
Für wen das Thema ganz neu ist / Who is new to the subject
cp1 Am wichtigsten / Most important
cp1a Am wichtigsten: Coronavirus und Seuchen / Most important: Coronavirus and epidemics
cp2 Allgemein / General
cp2a Allgemein: Saudische Blockade / General: Saudi blockade
cp3 Humanitäre Lage / Humanitarian situation
cp4 Flüchtlinge / Refugees
cp5 Nordjemen und Huthis / Northern Yemen and Houthis
cp6 Separatisten und Hadi-Regierung im Südjemen / Separatists and Hadi government in Southern Yemen
cp7 UNO und Friedensgespräche / UN and peace talks
cp8 Saudi-Arabien / Saudi Arabia
cp8a Jamal Khashoggi
cp9 USA
cp9a USA-Iran Krise: Spannungen am Golf / US-Iran crisis: Tensions at the Gulf
cp10 Großbritannien / Great Britain
cp11 Deutschland / Germany
cp12 Andere Länder / Other countries
cp13a Waffenhandel / Arms trade
cp13b Kulturerbe / Cultural heritage
cp13c Wirtschaft / Economy
cp14 Terrorismus / Terrorism
cp15 Propaganda
cp17 Kriegsereignisse / Theater of War
cp18 Kampf um Hodeidah / Hodeidah battle
cp19 Sonstiges / Other
Klassifizierung / Classification
***
**
*
(Kein Stern / No star)
? = Keine Einschatzung / No rating
A = Aktuell / Current news
B = Hintergrund / Background
C = Chronik / Chronicle
D = Details
E = Wirtschaft / Economy
H = Humanitäre Fragen / Humanitarian questions
K = Krieg / War
P = Politik / Politics
pH = Pro-Houthi
pS = Pro-Saudi
T = Terrorismus / Terrorism
Für wen das Thema ganz neu ist / Who is new to the subject
(* B H K P)
Der vergessene Krieg im Schatten der Ukraine: Die größte humanitäre Katastrophe der Gegenwart
Der Krieg im Jemen dauert bereits sieben Jahre. Jeden Tag sterben dort Menschen. Doch in den Nachrichten hört man nicht viel vom ärmsten Land des Nahen Ostens.
Bereits im Jahr 2018 bezeichneten die Vereinten Nationen die Not im Jemen als die größte humanitäre Katastrophe der Gegenwart.
Die medizinische Versorgung ist weitgehend unterbrochen, heißt es in dem Bericht. Die Wirtschaft ist zusammengebrochen, wodurch viele Menschen nur noch von den Hilfsgütern von Hilfsorganisationen überleben können. Krankenhäuser sind überfüllt, auch mit unterernährten Kindern. 80 Prozent der 30 Millionen Einwohner und Einwohnerinnen sind auf humanitäre Hilfe angewiesen.
(* B H K P)
Film: Understanding the Crisis in Yemen
The war in Yemen, now entering its eighth year, has broken the country and created one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises. What happened, what is happening now, and what can be done about it? Join us for a talk with Yemen expert Dr. Gregory Johnsen, introduced by U.S. Representative Peter Meijer (Michigan’s 3rd district) who is a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u9lKB9ntK8E
(* B K P)
Wikipedia: Foreign involvement in the Yemeni Civil War
During the Yemeni civil war, Saudi Arabia led an Arab coalition of nine nations from the Middle East and parts of Africa in response to calls from the internationally recognized pro-Saudi[1] president of Yemen Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi for military support after he was ousted by the Houthi movement due to economic and political grievances, and fled to Saudi Arabia.[2]
Nations such as the United Kingdom and the United States support the Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen primarily through arms sales and technical assistance.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foreign_involvement_in_the_Yemeni_Civil_War
cp1 Am wichtigsten / Most important
(** B H K P)
Film: Yemen's dirty war | DW Documentary
At least 370,000 people have already died in the Yemen conflict, while millions have been displaced. The United Nations ranks the bloody proxy war and its effects as the world's worst humanitarian crisis. The conflict in Yemen, in the south of the Arabian Peninsula, has been going on for years, and has recently seen renewed intensity. In January, an airstrike by the Saudi-led coalition on a prison in the north of the country killed at least 70 people and left hundreds injured. The war has now effectively divided Yemen in two. Its causes are more than just economic and religious ones. It is seen as a proxy war between Saudi Arabia and Iran. At stake are regional dominance, untapped oil reserves and access to the Red Sea, including the all-important Suez Canal. Sana’a, the erstwhile Yemeni capital, is now considered one of the most inaccessible places on the planet. For the past six years, the city has been controlled by a Houthi political and military movement calling itself "Ansar Allah." But Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates view the Houthi rebels, who belong to the Zaydism branch of Islam, as heretics who pose a threat to Wahhabism. Using weapons provided by the West, they have relentlessly bombarded the north of the country. Meanwhile, a strict embargo is starving the population, with some 400,000 children at risk of death from famine.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=apxtznjBasU
while the Hadi government does not like this film:
(A P)
Deutch Wella documentary falsifies Yemen war facts: Gov't
The Deutch Wella on 12 June aired a documentary on Yemen's war, which the Yemeni government dubbed on Tuesday as falsification of facts.
The 'Yemen's dirty war' program "bypassed the war's fact, reasons and description in accordance with local and international laws and UNSC resolutions," the Yemeni information minister tweeted.
The documentary is based on one-sided viewpoint, "deliberately ignoring the fact that the war was sparked by the Houthi terrorist militia," and that the militia "uses arms and violence to achieve political gains, and led a coup against all what the Yemenis agreed to at the National Dialogue Conference," Moammar al-Eryani added.
It included baseless charges against Yemeni officials "without giving the government the chance to refute such allegations or listening to other viewpoints," he said, expressing objection to the program.
https://debriefer.net/en/news-29929.html
and also
(A P)
A pro-Houthi German TV movie angers Yemenis
Yemeni journalist Abdullah Ismail said, "The German station violated all standards of professionalism and respect for the audience, by promoting the image of one of the world's most racist and backward groups, and whitewashing the group's leaders, without making any effort to present the mainstream impression of the Yemeni people, the victims of Houthi racism."
Yemen's Deputy Information Minister Abdul Baset Al-Qaedi said in a tweet, “The German channel Deutsche Welle broadcast a movie presenting the perspective of the Houthi gang and named it “The Dirty War of Yemen.” The one-eyed attitude ignored the fact that the fuse of this war was lit by the Houthi gang and Houthis are the one who keep this war perpetual and invest in it.”
https://www.alsahwa-yemen.net/en/p-57446
(** B H K P)
Despite Headwinds, Truce Flies On – The Yemen Review, May 2022
Despite reports of violations from both the Yemeni government and Houthi forces, May saw the truce hold for a second month, leading to an agreement brokered by the UN special envoy’s office to extend it for another two months from June 2. In addition to the continued absence of air strikes around the country, commercial flights finally resumed between Amman and Sana’a on May 16 and between Cairo and Sana’a on June 1, after delays caused by a dispute over Houthi-issued passports. The main areas of ongoing tension are Marib and Taiz. UN-backed talks between the warring parties in Amman failed to reach agreement on reopening roads to the besieged city of Taiz, whose government-held areas continued to come under occasional Houthi attack.
Marib governorate, whose capital is the last northern city still under full government control, saw occasional clashes. Political tension in the south threatened to undermine the Presidential Leadership Council (PLC)’s message of unity. Forces loyal to PLC members Aiderous al-Zubaidi of the Southern Transitional Council (STC) and Tareq Saleh, head of the National Resistance Forces, faced off over an attempt by Saleh’s supporters to raise the national flag over Maashiq Palace on the anniversary of the 1990 unification of Yemen. On the economic front, renewed warnings that Yemen’s food insecurity crisis could see pockets of famine emerging in the coming months, in part because of plummeting wheat imports from Ukraine and Russia.
https://sanaacenter.org/the-yemen-review/may-2022
Politics and Diplomacy
Yemeni Gov’t: Houthis Cede Little Ground in Taiz Road Negotiations
Delegations from the internationally recognized government and the Houthi movement failed to agree on a plan to reopen four Houthi-controlled main roads in and out of Taiz city during UN-backed negotiations in Amman, Jordan, in late May. Negotiations began May 25, and on May 27, the government delegation issued a statement saying that the Houthis had not responded to their proposals for reopening the roads, which were operational before the war, and instead offered to open one rugged mountain road that is virtually inaccessible by car and used primarily by donkeys and camels.
The reopening of roads in Taiz, along with resuming flights to and from Sana’a airport (see: ‘Sana’a Airport Reopens to the Public’) and fuel shipments into Houthi-held Hudaydah port, were three key confidence building measures outlined in the UN-brokered two-month military truce agreed at the start of April. The government statement accused the Houthis of “intransigence and procrastination” despite having “obtained everything they wanted from the reopening of the Sana’a airport and Hudaydah seaport, including collecting tens of billions of rials in taxes and fees from oil imports and being allowed to let departing travelers use unofficial passports.” On May 28, the head of the Houthi delegation, Yahya Abdullah al-Razami, said the government side only wanted to discuss the opening on roads “in confined areas”, and said his team had presented initiatives to open roads in Taiz as well as in Marib and Al-Dhalea governorates.
On the May 28 conclusion of the opening round of talks, the office of UN special envoy Hans Grundberg issued a statement, noting that “a proposal for the phased re-opening of roads, including an implementation mechanism and guarantees for the safety of civilian travelers, was drawn up based on the three-day discussions and options presented by both sides.” On May 31, Grundberg raised the Taiz issue in a meeting with the Houthis’ chief negotiator, Mohammed Abdelsalem, in Muscat.
Earlier, on May 18, the president of the Houthi Supreme Political Council, Mahdi al-Mashat, said that the group might be willing to agree to extend the truce beyond two months and referred to the opening of roads in Taiz a “priority.” Three days later, the Houthis announced four members of their negotiating team on the Taiz issue: Yahya al-Razami, Hussein Deif, Mohammed Mohammed al-Mahturi and Shukri Mahyoub Abdo Noman. Members of the Houthi delegation to Amman were later criticized on social media for attending the negotiations in military uniforms. The government’s negotiating team was led by Abdelkarim Shaiban, its other members were Mohammed al-Mahmoudi, Abdelaziz al-Majidi and Ali al-Ajar.
Ahead of the Amman negotiations, Shaiban told Turkey’s Anadolu Agency that the decision to open roads in Taiz and lift the siege on Taiz city ultimately lies with the Houthi movement’s chief, Abdelmalek al-Houthi.
In the last 10 days of May, the UN special envoy’s office conducted several other meetings in Amman with Yemeni groups as part of efforts to build on the two-month truce and prioritize topics for further discussion. On May 22, Grundberg met with a group of Yemeni women peace activists, experts, civil society and private sector actors and leaders. On May 24, he concluded two days of consultations with Yemeni economic experts. On May 28, the UN envoy’s military adviser, Brigadier General Antony Hayward, convened the first meeting of the military coordination committee composed of representatives of the internationally recognized government, the Saudi-led coalition’s Joint Forces Command and the Houthis, who discussed a coordination and de-escalation mechanism.
Developments in Government-Controlled Territory
Developments in Houthi-Controlled Territory
International Developments – by Caey Coombs
https://sanaacenter.org/the-yemen-review/may-2022/17856
Military and Security
Truce Extended As Frontlines See Less Violence
Much as in April, the month of May saw the continued absence of heavy fighting in Yemen during the two-month UN-backed truce announced at the start of Ramadan. Frontlines remained stable, and there were few claims of heavy casualties in the clashes that did occur, although the Yemeni government and Houthi forces accused each other of truce violations throughout May. On June 2, the UN special envoy’s office announced that the Yemeni government and the Houthi movement had agreed to renew the truce, which was scheduled to expire that day, for an additional two months.
In Sana’a, where commercial flights resumed in May after a six-year gap, the skies were once again largely empty of Saudi-led coalition traffic, with no air strikes reported there or anywhere else in the country. However, on May 23 there was a brief moment of fear that the strikes had resumed when a large explosion shook the busy Al-Ruwaishan intersection of Sana’a city’s Haddah district. The Houthis later said that they had shot down a Saudi reconnaissance drone, which they described as a Chinese-made CH4, with a locally-made surface-to-air missile. The drone landed on a busy street, killing three people.
Perhaps the most notable battlefield events took place in Marib, where the Houthis continued to occupy positions just outside Marib city, the last major northern city under the total control of the government. The proximity of the two sides led to occasional clashes, such as on May 9, when Houthi forces claimed to have prevented an infiltration attempt by pro-government forces toward their positions on the eastern Jabal Al-Balaq mountain range, which lies to Marib city’s south, killing nine of the government fighters. For its part, the Yemeni government claimed that Houthi forces were continuing to attack civilians and fighters with drone and sniper attacks, and accused the group of shelling government forces in northern Al-Jawf governorate.
Taiz city, which was at the center of negotiations between the Yemeni government and the Houthi movement over opening roads to the besieged city (see Politics & Diplomacy, ‘Yemeni Gov’t: Houthis Cede Little Ground in Taiz Road Negotiations’), also saw violence. The government-held areas of the city continued to come under occasional Houthi attacks. On May 4, at least eight policemen were injured after a reported Houthi drone attack targeted a police station on Al-Urdhi Street, in the east of the city, with the government holding the Houthis responsible for “undermining the truce”. At least two children were also killed in separate reported incidents in Taiz governorate, one on May 13, when a home was hit by Houthi shelling in Al-Sa’ilah village, Al-Dhabab area, in western Taiz governorate, and the other on May 27, when a Houthi sniper stationed in the Central Security base in Taiz city shot a child in the Kalabah area of the city.
Incidents were also reported in several other governorates.
Still, the security situation in Yemen’s southern regions remained fragile. On May 6, when suspected Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula gunmen carrying medium and light weapons attacked the STC’s Security Belt headquarters in Al-Dhalea city, killing the deputy head of the Security Belt forces in the governorate, Waleed al-Dhami, the head of the governorate’s counter-terrorism forces, Mohammed al-Shawbaji and several soldiers – by Sanaa Center staff
https://sanaacenter.org/the-yemen-review/may-2022/17857
Economy and Finance
Russia-Ukraine War Spurs Warnings of Imminent Food Crisis
Yemen faces an imminent food crisis stemming from the Russian invasion of Ukraine, according to the UN, international organizations, Yemen’s largest wheat importer and others. Yemen, which imports up to 90 percent of its basic food needs, is highly vulnerable to exchange rate volatility, price shocks in international markets and disruptions in global food supply chains. Russia and Ukraine together account for nearly a third of the world’s wheat supply and in 2021 supplied 42 percent of Yemen’s wheat (20 percent from Ukraine, 22 percent from Russia). Meanwhile, the World Bank forecasts that global wheat prices will jump more than 40 percent in 2022, to an all-time high (in nominal terms) due to sanctions against Russia, the Russian blockade on Ukraine’s Black Sea ports and other factors.
Sourcing wheat from other countries will likely be complicated and expensive for Yemen, as it will for numerous other developing countries. This is due to both the general shortage of wheat on the global market and the fact that Russian and Ukrainian wheat has historically been cheaper than other varieties, given that it is of lower quality and protein content than competing varieties on the global market.
On May 16, the Hayel Saeed Anam (HSA) Group, Yemen’s largest wheat supplier, warned that supply chain disruptions and price spikes stemming from the Russian invasion of Ukraine could spur “potentially catastrophic famine” in Yemen. In March, the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification’s Famine Review Committee had reported the Russia-Ukraine war may require it to reassess whether an official famine classification could become warranted in various parts of Yemen. In a press statement, HSA noted other factors playing into Yemen’s food security crisis: the country’s strategic stocks of wheat are running low; the private sector’s diminishing purchasing power is eroding its ability to resupply the local market with essential foodstuffs; and India’s May 13 decision to suspend wheat exports in an apparent bid to curb domestic price surges.
Yemeni Trade Minister Mohammed al-Ashwal told Reuters that the government and importers were looking for alternate markets to compensate for lost wheat imports from Ukraine and Russia. Yemen was among several countries, including South Korea, Oman and the UAE, which sent requests to the Indian government for exemptions to the export ban. On May 27, Yemeni Foreign Minister Ahmed Awad bin Mubarak thanked India, via Twitter, for granting Yemen the exemption. The quantity of wheat India agreed to supply, and whether it is sufficient to address Yemen’s food needs, remains unclear. Several media outlets reported that India’s wheat harvest is likely to fall substantially this year due to a sudden rise in temperatures and heavy droughts.
Yemen’s weak agricultural production capacity and heavily concentrated import market increase the country’s vulnerability to food insecurity. Significantly increasing local food production is unrealistic at present given the country’s weak agricultural infrastructure, water scarcity and the high cost of fuel, which has driven up farming costs. The wheat import market is dominated by only a few companies.
The Russia-Ukraine war comes as Yemen is already experiencing one of the world’s largest humanitarian crises and a dramatic fall in funding for the relief response – by Sanaa center’s Economy Unit
https://sanaacenter.org/the-yemen-review/may-2022/17858
One Team, United
After more than seven years of war, football remains one of the few areas that can unite Yemenis, with training camp for the country’s under-20 men’s national team, which began May 17, drawing players to Marib city from northern and southern governorates. Marib was chosen for the facilities it has available, while players were selected based on their participation in previous junior national teams. The team is preparing for the Arab Cup U-20, which begins at the end of July in Abha, Saudi Arabia, followed by qualification matches set to be held in Laos in September for the 2023 Asian Football Confederation U-20 Asian Cup (photos)
https://sanaacenter.org/the-yemen-review/may-2022/17859
The Nordics Aspire to Promote Peace in Yemen, but the Reality is More Complex
Finland, Sweden and Norway all actively provide humanitarian aid to Yemen, despite limited public pressure to do so. Each of these Nordic countries also has engaged diplomatically, urging warring parties and other stakeholders to the negotiating table. Sweden acted as host for a set of talks that gave birth to the 2018 Stockholm Agreement, while Norway and Finland have made efforts to promote broad participation and inclusion in the peace talks. At the same time, however, all three have sold military equipment to Saudi-led coalition members. And despite public outcries condemning these arms shipments, temporary freezes on export permits have had a limited effect.
This article explores the roles Norway, Finland and Sweden have played in Yemen since 2014, to evaluate what can be expected from these countries in the near future. It also examines whether any recent events, such as the war in Ukraine and the public pressure to help Kyiv that followed, could lead to a rearrangement of foreign policy priorities in the Nordics at the expense of their humanitarian engagement in Yemen.
Provision of Aid
Sweden has provided the most humanitarian aid of the three Nordic countries, allocating about 240 million euros between 2014 and 2022, according to data provided by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida). In addition to this financial support, Sweden has used its political capital to co-host yearly conferences together with Switzerland and the United Nations to raise funds for humanitarian aid in Yemen since 2017.
Norway’s peace-driven foreign policy has led to Oslo being an active mediator in conflicts, a steadfast donor of humanitarian aid and home of the Nobel Peace Prize. According to data provided by the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation, Norway allocated just under 133.55 million euros between 2014 and 2021 to humanitarian aid in Yemen and an approximately equal amount of funds in the form of foreign aid. Officials at the Norwegian Ministry for Foreign Affairs confirm that Oslo’s humanitarian aid for Yemen remains unaffected by the war in Ukraine.
Exporting Arms
Politics are seldom consistent. While each of these countries has donated funds for humanitarian work in Yemen, each has also authorized weapons sales to the Saudi-led coalition bombing Yemen. When such exports were made public, heated debates followed.
In Sweden, the first public outcry regarding arms trade with Saudi Arabia occurred in 2015. But the public debate on what became known as the “Saudi Affair” focused less on whether Swedish military equipment would end up in Yemen and more on the apparent contradiction of military cooperation with Saudi Arabia while pursuing a feminist foreign policy. As a result, cooperation between Riyadh and the Swedish Defence Research Agency (FOI) was not renewed.
Peace Efforts
The last area in which all three Nordic countries have engaged is promoting peace in Yemen through diplomacy and dialogue. In concrete terms, this has meant various efforts to gather the warring parties and other stakeholders for various negotiations and lobbying for peace-driven initiatives in the international community.
While Sweden has focused on getting the main warring parties together, Norway has put its efforts into track 2 negotiations that involve a more versatile set of parties on the ground. According to Julia Palik, a senior researcher at the Peace Research Institute in Oslo, these two tracks of peace negotiations are not mutually exclusive. Instead, they should, in an ideal scenario, feed into one another.
Future Outlook
Finland, Sweden and Norway may be located far from Yemen, but all three have been engaged as donors of humanitarian aid, proponents of peace and arms suppliers to members of the Saudi-led coalition.
While the war in Ukraine continues in the Nordics’ backyard, it is unlikely to have a significant impact on their humanitarian engagement in Yemen — despite public pressure to help Kyiv – by Johannes Jauhiainen
https://sanaacenter.org/the-yemen-review/may-2022/17860
(** B H)
Displacement in Yemen – Map
https://displacement.iom.int/yemen
(** B P)
Despite Yemen's Truce, Lasting Peace Is Still Far Off
Houthi violations of the truce have raised questions about their commitment to peace—while the Houthis themselves maintain that the Saudi-led coalition has not allowed all the ships to enter Hodeida, or the flights in and out of Sanaa, that Riyadh agreed to under the truce. The U.N. acknowledges that not all the truce's measures have been fully implemented. The Houthis fear that the Saudi-led coalition will use the truce as a chance to fortify its positions and prepare for a new round of fighting after the truce expires. These fears have prompted the Houthis to remain heavily militarized and consolidate their control over Sanaa and other parts of northern Yemen, while stepping up their own preparedness for a possible return to all-out fighting.
Adopted on April 14, 2015, following the Saudi-led intervention to oust the Houthis from Sanaa and restore the internationally recognized government, U.N. Security Council Resolution 2216 calls on the Houthis to "withdraw from all areas seized during the latest conflict, relinquish arms seized from military and security institutions, cease all actions falling exclusively within the authority of the legitimate Government of Yemen and fully implement previous Council resolutions." The Yemeni government still sees this resolution—which 14 out of 15 members on the Security Council voted for, with one country, Russia, abstaining—as the basis for resolving this conflict. Yet there is absolutely no reason to believe that the Houthis are on the verge of accepting these terms.
From April 2017 to March 2019, Fernando Carvajal, a Yemen expert with almost two decades of fieldwork experience in the country, served on the U.N. Security Council's Panel of Experts on Yemen. Carvajal said in an interview that the Houthis are "nowhere close to a deal that allows the government of Yemen to return to Sanaa." Such an arrangement would result in the Houthi movement suffering "major losses, as the government would demand all Houthi forces leave the capital," which is "nowhere in the Houthis' plans." Meanwhile, the Yemeni government—and its Gulf backers—would never accept any peace plan that prevents the implementation of this part of Resolution 2216.
"The Houthis are not yet ready to sit down for talks toward a final solution of the conflict," Carvajal said. He warned that the truce's extension, absent a wider diplomatic process, "could slowly normalize current front lines and give the Houthis the sense that they can live with a fractured Yemen as long as they don't lose more territory."
But the Houthis, for their part, continue to believe that the conflict can't end until the Gulf states that intervened in Yemen fully respect the country's sovereign rights.
For the Houthis, ending their siege of Taiz would be the "real test of their desire to implement the truce," according to Abobakr Alfaqeeh, a freelance Yemeni journalist. "If this falters, I do not foresee any real future for the truce and any near peace in Yemen. So far, the Houthis have not shown any positive signs regarding the opening of roads in Taiz. Rather, they are trying to defraud the agreement and try to open bumpy dirt roads that never serve the purpose of the agreement." He cited local sources that report the Houthis have recently transferred military equipment to Taiz. "They are also building a dirt road towards the city fronts, which they are likely to use militarily," Alfaqeeh said. "That's not a sign of any goodwill."
If simply opening a road in Taiz has faced so much Houthi intransigence, what chance does a wider peace deal have? As Alfaqeeh put it, "The position of the Houthis towards lifting the siege of Taiz reveals the difficulty, or impossibility, to persuade the group to help end the war."
While there has been a lull in fighting, not all violence and civilian suffering have abated. "I am extremely concerned about the human rights abuses and violations persisting under the truce," said Afrah Nasser, a Yemen researcher for Human Rights Watch.
However tenuous, the truce has still been welcome from a humanitarian standpoint. But militarily and politically, the picture remains grim in the Middle East's poorest country. For all the talk about progress for peace in Yemen, the situation on the ground is too tense and fragile to justify such optimism. Although the truce may hold for now, and diplomacy may continue, the warring parties are also preparing for new rounds of fighting to break out, even as the U.N. envoy urges them "to make necessary compromises for the benefit of Yemen as a whole." The "rare opportunity" that the truce offers "to pivot towards peace," as Grunberg has said, could be lost – by Giorgio Cafiero
https://dawnmena.org/despite-yemens-truce-lasting-peace-is-still-far-off/
(** B P)
Pathways for Reconciliation in Yemen
Introduction
The Pathways for Reconciliation in Yemen project was developed under the European Institute of Peace’s Conflict Justice and Reconciliation programme. It is the largest effort in recent history and ongoing conflict to engage members of society to consider their needs, perspectives and rights in the search for lasting peace. This report covers highlights from consultations with nearly 16,000 people in nine governorates in Yemen between October 2020 and October 2021.
The process reflects a commitment that peace must be shaped by genuine participatory engagement with society beyond those actively engaging in hostilities or involved with the conflict parties. The likelihood of obtaining a legitimate and sustainable settlement significantly depends on how inclusive the process is and the extent to which it engages beyond elite voices of the powerful.
Yemen benefitted from the 2013–2014 National Dialogue Conference (NDC). While some of the ideas and conclusions it reached remain relevant, the conditions in the country are now significantly worse. Although the NDC was innovative and inspirational, its model can be improved upon to promote a more inclusive process that helps facilitate more legitimate outcomes.
The process of engagement is an essential aspect of sustainable peacebuilding. It should not be seen as a ‘soft’ option or an ornament to ‘serious’ talks with conflict parties. Sustainable peace ultimately requires a critical mass of society to buy into any settlement. To do so, they must believe it represents an improvement to the status quo, and that it is in their interest to stick with it and to withhold support from potential spoilers. The more seriously the settlement’s creation takes into account the views of the wider society, the greater the chances of conferring legitimacy and obtaining buy-in.
The Pathways to Reconciliation initiative identifies the priorities and concerns of ordinary citizens. While some of the findings may not surprise, this does not limit their usefulness. Citizens’ genuine engagement in the initial steps of this process is of the utmost importance. A striking proportion of those consulted (78 per cent) did not support any political party; they consider themselves unrepresented, and with no appropriate avenues in which to express their needs and aims.
Key Lessons
The initiative generated the following set of lessons and recommendations, which represent an overview of key impressions and findings.
Local dynamics need to be properly understood. The types of grievances and aspirations expressed – related to ending the war and securing a dignified life – varied little among the 36 districts. However, undeniable (and sometimes stark) differences surfaced regarding how these came about, the impact they are having, and visions for resolving them. To address rights-based needs and pursue reconciliation, it is important to recognise that each community has specific options, actors, and means.
Issues are interconnected. It may be tempting, as a confidence-building measure, to take an episodic approach from one location to another. However, the consultations highlighted that developments in one governorate have a knock-on effect on conflict, economic and social dynamics in others, and that grievances are interdependent and interrelated.
Meaningful engagement is possible. There is ample demand, space, and time for conflict resolution efforts to genuinely engage the broader Yemeni population in securing a sustainable and just peace. In fact, one of the striking features of the project is the intense interest – even hope – that at this stage in a disastrous conflict and dire crisis, common efforts can still save and rebuild the country. There are viable and more effective ways than a ‘seat around the table’ to ensure that their views are represented meaningfully. This initiative importantly demonstrated that the gender-sensitive and inclusive engagement of women and youth is possible and valuable, even under the restrictive security and social conditions present in Yemen. Meaningful bottom-up participation has so far been missing from the process.
Local networks hold enormous potential. Investing in local community networks and platforms for exchange and dialogue to facilitate reconciliation is, unsurprisingly, a key step towards strengthening the country’s damaged social fabric. However, the results of this study also reveal less immediately obvious benefits. First, more than three-quarters of those engaged did not feel that their needs were currently being effectively expressed or represented in political avenues. Second, social media and friends ranked much higher as primary sources of news and information than traditional avenues. Community networks will therefore stimulate and serve as tools for strategic communication and building legitimacy and buy-in for a peace settlement.
Reconciliation is a multifaceted concept. As in other contexts, the idea of reconciliation is widely used by participants but without sufficient regard for the multivariate ways in which it is understood, both in theory and in practice, by those who would engage in or benefit from it. For example, the Arabic term musalaha was used in the context of the consultations to convey important nuances about dealing with individual or collective trauma, pathways of recourse and addressing grievances, and methods of moving forward. Without deeper understanding of what reconciliation means to distinct local communities in practice, and how best to pursue it with methods they consider appropriate, there is a real likelihood that peace efforts will not produce the necessary fruits to sustain the process.
Citizens seek institution-led solutions. For a society that has experienced several recent conflicts (and is currently in the midst of one), exacerbated by an acute humanitarian crisis and breakdown of state institutions, there is a surprising but encouraging base of hope in institutional solutions in Yemen. Respondents across all nine governorates expressed a preference for a strong central government with democratic and effective institutions to guarantee citizens’ rights.
Reverse negative economic trends as a tangible peace dividend. Understandably, participants were extremely affected by a variety of immediate and longer-term issues related to access to basic services, income and the economy – not least due to the currency devaluation. There is a clear expectation that a peace deal would reverse some of these trends. This presents an opportunity, if carefully designed, to foster tangible peace dividends that can respond to expectations and make a practical and meaningful difference to the population, thereby increasing local peace buy-in and the prospects for reconciliation.
Environmental concerns are urgent and important. It is important to recognise the role that environmental factors have played in exacerbating the grievances expressed by Yemenis – in relation to basic services, conflict causes, internal displacement, or livelihoods – and in terms of future risks. They cover both living conditions (e.g. waste management, water pollution and dealing with debris) and natural resources (e.g. resource management, deforestation and desertification). These factors need to be examined further as they directly underpin challenges and, if leveraged well, opportunities for sustainable conflict resolution.
Tribal mechanisms do not attract support as the basis for reconciliation efforts. Even though tribal mechanisms helped mitigate the negative effects of the war in some governorates, most Yemenis consider the use of traditional methods of reconciliation insufficient. In those governorates, tribal leaders and dignitaries possess a level of influence within their communities and can help support peacebuilding and reconciliation efforts. However, the scale and nature of human rights violations and violence in the current context indicate that such avenues are not embraced as a solution.
https://www.eip.org/pathwaysforreconciliation/
Film: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v5wV-UojXXA
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Yemen in Purgatory. Helen Lackner interviewd by Daniel Finn
DF: Do you see any cause for tentative optimism about whether the conflict can be resolved and the country can move back to a more peaceful and stable situation?
HL: A deal between the Houthis and their opponents is possible, on the proviso that there is a significant change to the United Nations Security Council Resolution 2216 of April 14, 2015, which has been the determining UN element for action in Yemen. It effectively demands complete Houthi surrender.
Between 2015, when that resolution was voted through, and today, the Houthis have been gaining ground. They now control 70 percent of the country’s population, and they have a functioning government in the area they control. It may be a horrible government. It may be highly oppressive. It may be fundamentalist. But it’s operational.
On the other hand, the people who are against them, and particularly the internationally recognized government, are increasingly weak. That government has barely any footing in the country at all. It only represents a small group of the people opposing the Houthis.
A deal between the Houthis and the Saudis, who the Houthis consider to be the main party to negotiate with, is possible, because the Saudis have essentially lost this war after seven years. It’s costing them a lot of money, and it’s also caused them enormous reputational damage, along with other factors, such as the assassination of Jamal Khashoggi. I think Mohammed bin Salman is ready for a deal.
The question is whether a deal can be achieved with the Houthis. They are kind of stuck with their current offensive, but they’ve been making slow progress, and there are certainly factions among them who want to pursue it, while other factions might want to reach an agreement. But a deal of that nature is possible.
Even if there is a deal, all the other issues will remain, from the separatist movement in the South to the divisions among the southern separatists themselves and the various political factions in the North. Those conflicts will go on until there is an entirely new approach to politics in Yemen, starting at the grassroots, which would help develop a new political class who are not a bunch of self-interested thieves.
We must also remember that Yemen is in the Arabian Peninsula, and the Saudis will continue to have massive influence. The Emiratis have also been building up their influence, which is by no means a positive one. There is an Iranian influence on the Houthis, although it is not determining in the sense that many people tend to claim it is. External involvement in one form or another will continue, even if there is a formal end to the fighting.
As well as this, the country’s economy has completely collapsed, so there will be a massive need for financial support for reconstruction. I fear the prospect of neoliberal policies, of Western consultancy firms using Saudi and Emirati funds to promote their own interests and to create development programs that would turn Yemen into an imitation, low-quality version of the worst of the Emirates — I’m talking about the poor Emirates, not Dubai and Abu Dhabi. That is not a prospect to be relished.
DF: The new UN special envoy for Yemen, Hans Grundberg, announced a two-month truce agreement on April 1. How did this agreement come about, and what are its long-term implications for Yemen?
HL: As the first successful attempt to halt the fighting in Yemen for six years, the truce is clearly a significant event in itself. It also involves some important measures that will improve living conditions for the Yemeni people. One likely reason for the truce was a belated recognition by leaders on all sides that no breakthrough was possible in the military stalemate in the Marib region.
Marib is of particular importance as the internationally recognized government’s (IRG) last real stronghold. Two years of Houthi offensives have failed to dislodge IRG forces despite extremely heavy loss of life. In late 2021, when the Houthis appeared to be on the verge of success, the coalition showed its determination to defend Marib by bringing in reinforcements from elsewhere in Yemen.
A second reason has been the growing frustration of international actors — the Saudis and Emiratis in particular — at the failure of their Yemeni partners to function as a unit and seriously seek a solution. There was a very limited response to the UN Humanitarian Response Plan’s appeal in early March, which raised less than a third of the amount it had been seeking. Third, Grundberg displayed skill and determination in his role as envoy after his appointment in August 2021, initiating a process of discussions with the different parties. Hopefully these discussions will bear fruit in the coming period.
In a separate development, the Gulf Cooperation Council organized what was presented as a ten-day intra-Yemeni dialogue in Riyadh. Predictably, the Houthis refused to take part in a meeting convened in the capital of the state responsible for launching the air war in Yemen. It became a meeting of the anti-Houthi forces, whose various factions are mutually hostile if not actually engaged in military conflict with one another.
Although it was expected to produce some changes in the leadership of the IRG, the outcome was a surprise and had little to do with the actual meeting.
https://catalyst-journal.com/2022/06/yemen-in-purgatory/
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In Yemen, child soldiering continues despite Houthi promise
Despite an agreement with the U.N. in April to halt the practice, the Houthis continue to recruit children into the military ranks to fight in the country’s grinding civil war, Houthi officials, aid workers and residents told the AP.
Two Houthi officials said the rebels recruited several hundred children including as young as 10 over the past two months. Those children have been deployed to front lines, as part of a buildup of forces taking place during a U.N.-brokered truce, which has held for more than two months, one official said.
The officials, both hardliners within the Houthi movement, said they see nothing wrong with the practice, arguing that boys from 10 or 12 are considered men.
“Those are not children. They are true men, who should defend their nation against the Saudi, American aggression, and defend the Islamic nation,” one of them said. The two spoke on condition of anonymity to avoid frictions with others among the Houthis.
The Houthis have used what they call “summer camps” to disseminate their religious ideology and to recruit boys to fight. Such camps take place in schools and mosques around the Houthi-held part of Yemen, which encompasses the north and center of the country and Sanaa.
Child soldiers have been involved for years. Nearly 2,000 Houthi-recruited children were killed on the battlefield between January 2020 and May 2021, according to U.N. experts. Pro-government forces have also used child fighters but to a much lesser degree and have taken greater measures to halt the practice, according to U.N and aid officials.
Overall, the U.N. says over 10,200 children have been killed or maimed in the war, though it is unclear how many may have been combatants.
In April, the rebels signed what the U.N. children’s agency described as an “action plan” to end and prevent the practice. U.N. spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said the rebels committed to identifying children in their ranks and releasing them within six months.
Four aid workers with three international organizations operating in rebel-held areas said they observed intensified Houthi efforts to recruit children in recent weeks. The Houthis’ ranks have been thinned because of battlefield losses, especially during a nearly two-year battle for the crucial city of Marib.
The aid workers spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of their safety and that their groups could be barred from working in Houthi-held territory.
They said the rebels have pressured families to send their children to camps where they learn how to handle weapons and plant mines, in return for services including food rations from international organizations.
One aid worker who operates in remote northern areas described watching children as young as 10 manning checkpoints along the road, with AK-47s hanging on their shoulders. Others are sent to the front line. He said children have returned wounded from fighting at Marib.
Abdel-Bari Taher, a Yemeni commentator and former head of the country’s Journalists’ Union, said that the Houthis are exploiting local customs to the children’s and society’s detriment. Having or carrying a weapon is a tradition deeply rooted in Yemen, especially in rural and mountainous communities, he said.
“It is a source of pride and kind of manhood for the boys,” he said.
The Houthis also condition crucial food aid on children attending the training camps, some say.
Two residents in Amran province said Houthi representatives came to their homes in May and told them to prepare their children for camps at the end of the school year. The residents, who are farmers, spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals.
They said their five children, aged between 11 and 16, were taken in late May to the school where the video was taken. One father said he was told that if he didn’t send his children, his family would no longer receive food rations.
The U.N. panel of experts said earlier this year that the Houthis, a Zaidi-Shiite religious movement turned-rebel militia with ties with Iran, have a system to indoctrinate child soldiers, including using humanitarian aid to pressure families.
Children are taken first to centers for a month or more of religious courses. There, they are told they are joining a holy war against Jews and Christians and Arab countries that have succumbed to Western influence. Seven-year-olds are taught weapons cleaning and how to dodge rockets, the experts found.
The Houthis have in the past officially denied enlisting children to fight.
But they have also provided evidence to the contrary. A high-ranking Houthi, Mohammed al-Bukhaiti, posted a video in early June from a visit he paid to one of the camps in Dhamar province. It shows dozens of children in uniforms standing in a military-like formation and declaring allegiance to rebel movement’s top leader, Abdul-Malek al-Houthi.
“Soldiers of God,” they shout. “We are coming.” – by Samy Magdy
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RURAL DEVELOPMENT IS KEY TO SUSTAINABLE PEACE IN YEMEN
Over two-thirds of Yemeni people live in rural areas. For decades, these areas have suffered from shortages of governmental services and development programs, and little in the way of adequate schools, hospitals, or cultural institutions. Successive governments have also failed to create sustainable economic opportunities for rural populations. As a result, millions of rural Yemenis are trapped with the deadly trio of illiteracy, poverty, and disease. And now more than five years of conflict has significantly worsened living conditions. Women and children often bear the brunt of health issues and economic insecurity. Further, without development and economic opportunities in these areas, militias and extremist or criminal groups are more likely to recruit young men, who may get involved in illegal practices such as human trafficking. Kawkab Alwadeai argues that a new approach should be adopted by any future government so that inhabitants of rural areas are treated on an equal footing with urban populations. Supporting the agricultural sector and providing access to education and healthcare in these areas should be a top priority.
RURAL AREAS IN YEMEN: A HISTORY OF FORMAL NEGLECT
For the last 60 years, successive Yemeni governments have failed to provide the 19 million people who make up the rural population with basic services such as medical care and education. They have also failed to create sustainable economic opportunities for people living in rural areas
Large urban centers have tended to receive the most public and private sector investment. The majority of the political elite, as well as big and small merchants, live in the main cities. Even tribal leaders often control their home rural areas from a city address. As the biggest urban center of the highland North, development is concentrated in the capital Sana’a. The city has seen the largest investment in public services, with good schools, good doctors, and paved roads.
In contrast with most urban areas, rural areas have received little in the way of public or private sector support for services.
RURAL ISSUES EXACERBATED BY THE WAR
The situation in rural areas has been exacerbated by the current conflict. The war has made access to cities for employment and medical services even more difficult, as fuel costs have skyrocketed, roads have been damaged, and various conflict actors have taken control over people’s movements. The war has prevented many much-needed rural development projects in areas such as water and healthcare. Access to food has become increasingly difficult for families who were already highly malnourished.
All areas in the rural Northern highlands, in particular Saudi-bordering Hajjah and Saada governorates, have been targeted directly with intense aerial bombardment by the Saudi coalition, leading to the destruction of the governorates’ infrastructure. Even hospitals were not spared from the bombing. Abs hospital in Hajjah, run by Doctors Without Borders, was bombed four times. The education, energy, housing, transportation, water, and sanitation sectors have also been badly affected. When famine hit districts of Hajjah, local media reported stories of families eating leaves from trees, with dozens of children doomed to die from starvation.
It is impossible to forget the scene of a Yemeni father from Aslam district in Hajjah, who carried his infant and walked for three hours from his village, barefoot, until he arrived at the district’s health center, which suffers from a severe shortage of medical supplies. He then walked back to his village, with the baby dead in his arms.
Despite the lack of development in the pre-war period, rural areas were the main source of food production for Yemen, and rural agriculture, fisheries, and water sectors provided jobs for a large proportion of the population. These sectors have struggled since the outset of the war. For example, the rise in fuel prices over the past five years has affected Yemeni farmers’ ability to operate machinery and transport goods, as well as secure sufficient safe drinking water and water for irrigation and livestock. Fishermen have been unable to supply their boats with the necessary fuel, which has led to a significant decline in fisheries production, affecting both their ability to make an income and provide local sources of food.
WOMEN AND CHILDREN IN RURAL AREAS
As much of Yemen is rural, this has historically greatly affected the status of Yemeni women in these areas and their access to various services, most importantly, health and education. The United Nations Population Fund indicated in the Humanitarian Response Report 2020 that about six million women and girls of childbearing age (15 to 49) are in need of support; the majority of these women live in rural areas. Due to rising food shortages, more than one million pregnant women are left malnourished and are at risk of giving birth to babies with stunted growth. In addition, 114,000 women are at risk of developing childbirth complications.
The violence and insecurity brought on by the current conflict have also greatly increased the burdens and responsibilities on women in rural areas.
DIVISION AND CONFLICT PRECLUDE COMPREHENSIVE DEVELOPMENT
Unfortunately, the Houthis and the internationally recognized government, who meet at the negotiating table from time to time, do not see beyond the control of territory and the distribution of government positions after the war. The goals they pursue will not lead to sustainable peace. This can only be achieved through comprehensive development, starting in the areas that have been neglected for decades: the rural areas.
Sustainable peace will also not be achieved without social justice that gives all Yemenis access to education and health, job opportunities, and political participation. The rights of all citizens, children, women, and men, must be protected by strengthening the legal, legislative, and executive authority, where all people are subject to civil law. Future governments need to avoid the mistakes of their predecessors. Instead of spending the state budget on tribal leaders, businessmen, and other individuals connected to the elite, the state must consider the needs of all Yemenis equally.
The donors sponsoring the peace process in Yemen should help support real development for the 71 percent of the population who live in rural areas. Yemen does not need food baskets and infant formula. Instead, international actors should help rebuild the destroyed infrastructure, and provide real development projects for rural areas, with a particular focus on women. Women are key to the development of rural areas in the short and long term – by Kawkab Alwadeai
https://www.yemenpolicy.org/rural-development-is-key-to-sustainable-peace-in-yemen/
(** B H)
How Yemen’s solar-powered water pumps was revolutionary
Amid the global oil crisis to irrigate farms, Yemeni farmers switch to water pumps powered by solar panels as an alternative to diesel.
How Solar Energy Revolutionized Yemen
As one of the most water-poor countries on earth, Yemenis are heavily dependent on groundwater. When people there were using diesel-powered pumps to get water out of the ground, fuel was expensive, so the pumps couldn’t be run for so long. This led to reductions in crops and played a part in the current famine.
The discovery of solar-powered water pumps transformed their lives. However solar-powered water pumps can keep running as long as the sun shines and, once set up, they’re almost free. This was better for agriculture, emissions and the environment, but far worse for groundwater levels.
During the global oil crisis to irrigate farms, Yemeni farmers switch to water pumps powered by solar panels as an alternative to diesel “As a sustainable alternative to traditional pumps, Yemeni farmers switch to water pumps powered by solar panels as the global energy crisis continues,’ quoted by Reuters.
The solar power revolution in Yemen has undoubtedly saved lives — it has, for example, powered hospitals and medical clinics. It has also transformed lives. Young Yemeni women have made international headlines for setting up solar micro-grids for their own communities, a UN study suggests that solar-powered schools have reduced pupils’ drop-out rates, and farmers have replaced polluting diesel generators with solar-powered pumps to irrigate crops.
According to the EADP, which focuses on access to clean and affordable energy, solar power went from being a niche product, used in just a few households in 2012, to the main source of energy for Yemeni households.
From 2016 onwards, its use has zoomed: “75% of the urban population and 50% of the rural population are estimated to receive solar energy,” EADP researchers concluded. That even included some communities that had never had electricity before.
A recent report says Yemen’s solar power revolution could drain Yemen of water
However, recently, a report published this week by the Conflict and Environment Observatory in the UK has concluded that, while the lights may be on all over Yemen now, very soon there might be no water. And, they suspect, it is solar power that is to blame.
Water-tracking satellites discovered this when the organization, known as CEOBS, uses open-source information to monitor the impact conflict has on the environment. CEOBS researchers Leonie Nimmo and Eoghan Darbyshire actually started their work in Yemen in 2019, looking at agriculture and also at groundwater — that is, water trapped underground in soil and rocks, rather than rain or river water – by Hams News Staff
https://hamslivenews.com/2022/06/18/how-yemens-solar-powered-water-pumps-was-revolutionary/
(** B P)
In the Middle East, Biden walks in Trump's footsteps and will repeat his failure
Committing American lives to defend dictatorships is far more scandalous than engaging with MBS.
All the latest headlines about President Joe Biden’s July trip to Saudi Arabia focus on a deal to push down gas prices. In reality, he is making a much more sinister and dangerous calculation than most realize: He is reportedly planning to offer the dictators in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates — where all but two of the 9/11 terrorists came from — a defense pact that commits American lives to defend their regimes. What could go right?
Biden isn't just forgiving Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for his direct role in the beheading of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi in return for a Saudi promise to pump more oil. As Biden admitted last week, this Middle East trip is about regional security — and that of Israel in particular. “The commitments from the Saudis don’t relate to anything having to do with energy,” Biden told reporters June 12. “It happens to be a larger meeting taking place in Saudi Arabia. That’s the reason I’m going. And it has to do with national security for them — for Israelis.”
Details are beginning to leak of how he will try to get Saudi Arabia to take critical steps toward recognizing Israel. And the most alarming one is that the United States is offering a major security pact to the autocratic regimes in Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
According to a source close to the ruler of the Emirates, this would be a “binding strategic defense cooperation pact” that goes beyond anything the U.S. has agreed to in the region before. A former Biden adviser, David Shapiro, confirmed to Newsweek magazine that Saudi Arabia was looking for assurances that the U.S. will "retain significant military presence in the region to help Saudi Arabia address the threats it faces from Iran," as well as to take Saudi Arabia’s side in its gruesome war in Yemen.
Committing American lives to defend these Arab dictatorships is far more scandalous than an embarrassing presidential handshake with the Saudi crown prince. Biden will in one swoop break his promises of bringing troops home from the Middle East, making Saudi Arabia pay a price and ending the war in Yemen.
And arguably, Biden’s arms sales-boosting defense pact is the reason why he is breaking his pledge to return to the Iran deal as well, since that would require delisting Iran's Revolutionary Guard from the U.S. terrorist list, which would infuriate Israel and Saudi Arabia and jeopardize the defense pact.
Biden’s gamble is also unlikely to push down skyrocketing gas prices. Experts are skeptical that the Saudis sit on enough unused capacity to push down American gas prices substantially. The root of the problem is Washington's overreliance on Saudi Arabia — a dependence that will only grow more damaging to U.S. interests as Biden moves closer to the Wahhabi kingdom at the expense of diversifying America’s relations in the Middle East.
Thirdly, Biden’s defense pact is not likely to make the Middle East overall more secure. The Abraham Accords — contrary to claims that they are a creative new approach to security in the Middle East — continue a four-decade-long, failed American strategy in the region: That of organizing the region around the goal of isolating and containing Iran.
Organizing the rest of the region against Iran will be a boon for arms producers, but it will not create security.
Perhaps the most important commitment the U.S. will seek to extract from Saudi Arabia and the UAE is alignment with America’s strategy to confront Russia and China.
The Saudi crown prince has driven an uncompromising line with Biden — and won. He famously shrugged off Biden’s refusal to engage with him during the initial stage of his presidency – by Trita Parsi
cp1a Am wichtigsten: Coronavirus und Seuchen / Most important: Coronavirus and epidemics
(A H P)
WHO project to boost COVID-19 vaccination coverage in Yemen
WHO has started a 6-month, US$ 2.8 million project to increase COVID-19 vaccination coverage to 10% in 13 governorates and 133 districts of southern Yemen.
In partnership with the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Centre (KSrelief), WHO is securing and distributing new vaccines and supplies to districts and facilities, coupled with training and deployment of COVID-19 vaccination teams to vaccination sites in these governorates and districts.
Major hospitals and health centres are serving as fixed vaccination sites
http://www.emro.who.int/yemen/news/who-project-to-boost-covid-19-vaccination-coverage-in-yemen.html
(B H)
An Imam promotes the power of vaccines in war torn Yemen
Medical doctors and religious teachers play a crucial role in building trust and convincing families to vaccinate their children against polio
It’s been a long day for Dr. Nabeel Abdu Omar Ali. Since early morning, he has been going from one house to the next in a community in Aden, Yemen – listening to the concerns of parents and speaking to them about the importance of vaccination to save their children from polio. And he plans to continue till the sun goes down.
Nicknamed “the mobile imam” by his peers, Dr. Nabeel is a pediatrician by profession, and a certified imam (Islamic teacher) from the Ministry of Endowment in Southern Yemen. He uses his religious knowledge and medical facts to educate the public about the importance of vaccination in protecting children from polio and other deadly diseases.
A few weeks back, he visited several families who were refusing vaccines in a nearby neighborhood. In addition to speaking to them about the safety and benefits of the polio vaccine, the ‘mobile Imam’ administered polio drops to his grandchildren in front of everyone at the community meeting.
“When the people saw a doctor and Imam like me vaccinating my own grandchildren, I think it was easier for them to believe that the vaccine was safe for their children too,” says Dr. Nabeel with a smile.
Dr. Nabeel frequently reaches out to other Imams, training them about the benefits of vaccination and encourages them to share with the public during their Friday sermons.
“Imams are very influential in our communities – to raise awareness, shape social values, and promote positive attitudes, behaviours and practices. For example, a single sermon is powerful enough to change misconceptions about vaccines in some communities. If Imams are fully equipped with accurate information, it goes a long way in build trust and creating vaccine acceptance among the people – helping children in the community to stay health and free from polio and other vaccine-preventable diseases,” he adds.
https://www.gavi.org/vaccineswork/imam-promotes-power-vaccines-war-torn-yemen = https://www.unicef.org/mena/stories/imam-promotes-power-vaccines-war-torn-yemen = https://polioeradication.org/news-post/an-imam-promotes-the-power-of-vaccines-in-war-torn-yemen/
cp2 Allgemein / General
(* A K P)
Interactive Map of Yemen War
(A K)
MILITARY SITUATION IN YEMEN ON JUNE 19, 2022 (MAP UPDATE)
https://southfront.org/military-situation-in-yemen-on-june-19-2022-map-update/
(A P)
Jemen: 20 Millionen Dollar fehlen zur Rettung von Öltanker «Safer»
Zur Rettung des alternden Öltankers «Safer» vor der Küste des Jemen, wo eine Umweltkatastrophe droht, fehlen immer noch rund 20 Millionen US-Dollar (19 Mio Euro). Das teilte der UN-Nothilfekoordinator für den Jemen, David Gressly, am Sonntag mit. Kämen Spenden in dieser Höhe noch im Juni zusammen, könne die umfangreiche Rettungsaktion im Roten Meer beginnen, schrieb Gressly bei Twitter. Allein für die Rettungsaktion werden etwa 80 Millionen Dollar benötigt (76 Mio Euro). An Bord des maroden Lagerschiffs «Safer» befinde sich fast viermal so viel Öl, wie 1989 vor Alaska aus dem auf Grund gelaufenen Tanker Exxon Valdez auslief. Der Exxon Valdez-Unfall gilt als eine der größten Umweltkatastrophen der Seeschifffahrt. Das Öl an Bord der 45 Jahre alten «Safer» soll auf ein sicheres Schiff abgepumpt werden. Die Zeit drängt, weil der Tanker zerbrechen oder es an Bord zu einer Explosion kommen könnte.
https://der-farang.com/de/pages/nachrichten-zum-thema-seefahrt-am-sonntag-31
(B P)
Audio: The race to stop a Red Sea oil catastrophe
One of the many casualties of the war in Yemen is the FSO Safer, a floating storage facility which holds one million barrels of crude oil. No maintenance has been carried out on the vessel for years, and experts believe it’s in danger or exploding or leaking oil in to the Red Sea at any moment. The UN has previously unsuccessfully tried to resolve the issue, but David Gressly, the Humanitarian Coordinator for Yemen, thinks the next few weeks could be vital, and is calling on the private sector and individuals to help fund an operation to transfer the oil to a safer vessel. We hear from Tim Lenderking, US Special Envoy for Yemen, Ghiwa Nakat of Greenpeace Middle East and North Africa and Yemen’s Minister for Water and the Environment Tawfeeq Al Sharjabi.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/w3ct30rr
“Do the math. The time to act is now," says #USEnvoyYemen Lenderking on @bbcworldservice. Clean-up costs of a #FSOSafer spill alone would exceed $20B. Only $20M left unfunded for the @UN to start transferring the Safer’s oil to a temporary vessel.
https://twitter.com/StateDept_NEA/status/1537815579767316486
My comment: This is odd. The US State Dep. tells us – and the richest country of the West does not just give these $20 million peanuts and finished.
and
(B P)
UN Plan for the FSO Safer Tanker. Stop the Red Sea Catastrophe
Moored off Yemen’s Red Sea coast, the FSO Safer is an aging supertanker in advanced state of decay that will soon break apart or explode if the world does not act. The United Nations is ready to implement an emergency operation to prevent this disaster. But the work to transfer the oil to a safe vessel is already delayed because of insufficient funding. To bridge the funding gap and start the emergency operation, the United Nations is asking for contributions from members of the public. Our goal is to raise $5 million in individual donations by 30 June to start work in July.
https://www.un.org/StopRedSeaSpill
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Hate speech directly contributed to fueling the conflict and tearing the social fabric in Yemen
SAM Organization for Rights and Liberties stated that the continued escalation of hate speech by the parties to the conflict in Yemen through their statements and posting on social media and the exploitation of satellite channels contributes to the continuation of the fighting, and increases the worrying impacts on the lives of individuals. It is also going to cause more violations. SAM also emphasized that these practices are considered a serious infringement of what is recognized by international law, in addition to undermining any peaceful solution or effort that would achieve protection for individuals.
The human rights organization indicated that all the parties to the conflict, since the beginning of the conflict, have relied on hate speech and incitement and mobilized all their intellectual, religious and historical tools, in addition to using all means necessary in order to justify their practices and abolish the other. These parties filled the minds of people and individuals with ideas of revenge, tribalism and racism, which had the effect of deepening violations against civilians, especially children and women.
The organization stressed that the Houthi group ranked first among all parties when it comes to using religious-based hate speech, exploiting religious occasions to plant ideas that incite murder and destruction against its opponents.
On the other hand, the organization monitored the spread of regional-based hate speech among the activists affiliated with STC especially against the people of the northern regions.
The international organization also monitored hundreds of tweets on various social media platforms, which carried the meanings of incitement, threats and order to kill by some military and political leaders of the parties to the conflict, which contributed significantly to the deepening of violations and the increase in their number, especially since these discourses escalate dangerously before any military operation announced by these parties.
The international organization stresses that these and other practices are regarded as a flagrant violation of many international conventions and charter
My remark: SAM is anti-Houthi.
(A P)
Sweden meeting place for talks on Yemen
A meeting on the political situation in Yemen – the Yemen International Forum – is taking place in Stockholm on 17–19 June. The Forum brings together almost 150 participants from all parts of Yemen – both official representatives and representatives of civil society – as well as representatives of the UN, engaged countries and international organisations. Minister for Foreign Affairs Ann Linde will address the opening session of the Forum.
Participants will meet over three days to discuss Yemen’s political and economic development and the security situation in the country. The UN’s Special Envoy for Yemen, Swede Hans Grundberg, is attending.
https://www.government.se/press-releases/2022/06/sweden-meeting-place-for-talks-on-yemen/
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Yemen International Forum Opens With Pledges of Support for Yemeni-led Solutions
The opening session of the Yemen International Forum, organized by the Sana’a Center for Strategic Studies and the Folke Bernadotte Academy, kicked off in Stockholm today, June 17, 2022, with Sweden’s foreign minister and the UN special envoy to Yemen urging participants to take advantage of the current truce to overcome obstacles that will allow peacemaking processes in Yemen to move forward.
Hans Grundberg, the UN special envoy to Yemen, noted that Yemen has long stood out from other countries in the region because of its culture of dynamic political debate. He urged the more than 200 delegates to work toward restoring that. [more at cp7, https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/yemen-un-envoy-grundberg-renewed-truce-tangible-shift-war and https://english.alaraby.co.uk/news/renewed-yemen-truce-step-towards-broader-peace-deal
Swedish Foreign Minister Ann Linde spoke of the opportunity available to Yemeni forum participants to further peace efforts and offered advice to her international colleagues: “Let us use these days to listen, learn and let the Yemeni-led discussions inform our support going forward.”
Ambassadors from the permanent member countries of the United Nations Security Council as well as representatives of the Gulf Cooperation Council and other segments of the international community will join the discussion at the forum. Political actors, experts and representatives of a host of Yemeni civil society organizations are among the Yemeni participants tackling these urgent issues facing Yemen, aiming to promote healthy dialogue, exchange ideas, discuss policies and present viable recommendations.
Yemen International Forum discussions revolve around the challenges as well as the opportunities for a political settlement, economic priorities, security-sector reform, governance and the meaningful inclusion of women in peacemaking. Forum sessions also will explore local perspectives on opportunities to overcome obstacles on the way to an enduring peace in Yemen.
https://sanaacenter.org/publications/news/17982
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Yemen International Forum in Stockholm Discusses Ceasefire
Ceasefire Discussions
Many discussions at the Forum addressed the Yemeni armistice sponsored by the United Nations, which is still seeking to resolve some of its provisions.
"The truce is holding, and this is to the surprise of many analysts who are out here…and I have to say that I'm also surprised at the commitment that the parties have shown, despite all the challenges," UN Special Envoy for Yemen Hans Grundberg said at the Forum.
"We know that it is fragile, yes, it's far from perfect, but it is holding."
Yemenis fear investing in the truce instead of building on it to include a bigger deal, amid Houthis' lack of response to opening the Taiz crossings.
Economy and development
The Yemeni political situation can't be addressed without referring to development and the economy, two significant challenges that affect citizens in various parts of the country.
Officials involved in the development assert the necessity of transforming emergency relief into sustainable projects, and international organizations work to fulfill and support their commitments to the most vulnerable groups.
Some participants at the Forum questioned why the money paid by donors is not reflected in simple services such as electricity.
Managing Director of the Executive Bureau for the Acceleration of Aid Absorption and Support for Policy Reforms Afrah al-Zouba cited the amount of electricity wasted due to worn-out devices and outdated generators.
Peace and Negotiations expert Shatha al-Harazi believes it is essential to bring together this large number of Yemenis from different parties and backgrounds with international actors.
Harazi said such forums are an opportunity, and while some may come with different aspirations and think that the outcomes will constitute a roadmap, it is vital to be engaged in discussions.
She explains that Yemen needs to intensify the discussions, addressing the economic and development aspects, saying: "they are the basic needs of citizens."
Boycotting the Forum
Observers believed the speech of the head of the Sanaa Center for Studies, Farea al-Muslimi, carried a message to some figures who criticized the meeting or the Sanaa Center itself.
Muslimi said that not all Yemenis are at the Forum, "but we are Yemenis and committed to Yemen and even to those who did not attend."
The spokesman of the Southern Transitional Council (STC), Ali al-Kathiri, said that the Council would not be attending the Forum.
Speaking to Asharq Al-Awsat, Kathiri said the STC sent a letter to Director General of the Folke Bernadotte Per Olsson Fridh, lauding the efforts of Sweden and its Ministry of Foreign Affairs in bringing peace to Yemen, the South, and the region.
The Council apologized for not participating in the Forum, saying it was organized by the Sanaa Center for Studies, which fueled the conflict.
Kathiri accused the Center of lacking neutrality and adopting positions against the cause of the South.
STC's General Department of Foreign Affairs previously expressed the same position during a meeting with the Swedish envoy, Peter Semneby, at the end of last March, said Kathiri, adding that this stance refers to any activity that includes the Center.
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Yemeni Voices and Solutions Emerge from First-Ever Yemen International Forum
Support for a host of potential approaches to overcome economic and political impasses and ease the way for a negotiated end to Yemen’s protracted war emerged throughout the Yemen International Forum 2022, which closed Sunday in Stockholm.
Parallel meetings at the YIF, organized by the Sana’a Center for Strategic Studies in cooperation with the Folke Bernadotte Academy, also brought together experts and leaders in the financial and banking sector from across Yemen. These meetings focused on some of the most critical issues facing Yemeni banks and the private sector, and their negative ramifications for Yemeni citizens.
The dynamic technical discussions tackled Yemen’s currency market and divergent exchange rates, liquidity challenges, strengthening compliance and anti-money laundering and counterterrorism financing measures, efforts to restore Yemen’s international banking relations and ways to address public debt in Yemen. During these talks, participants sought to build a consensus on potential solutions and recommend processes for various stakeholders to pursue.
More than 250 participants took part in the Yemeni-led in-depth conversations at the YIF 2022, including local and international political and economic experts and mediators as well as many Yemeni civil society actors.
“We tried to dedicate this forum as a platform for all voices, especially those who were shut down and marginalized as the conflict intensified,” Sana’a Center chairman Farea al-Muslimi said in closing remarks to participants. “What have we achieved during this record time? We will certainly not reach final and successful solutions, but we have accomplished a preliminary, serious rehearsal for a comprehensive and Yemeni-led dialogue process.”
Yemeni Voices and Solutions Emerge from First-Ever Yemen International Forum - Sana'a Center For Strategic Studies
https://sanaacenter.org/publications/news/18061
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US-European Differences Reduce Chances of Peace in Yemen
Deputy Director of the Middle East Department at the European Union Karl Hallgaard, during the discussion of US-regional efforts in Yemen, indicated that the European Union is eager to support the Yemeni economy, but he linked this to opening roads in a move that reveals the union’s link to any support for the successes of the international envoy’s mission.
For his part, the American expert Fernando Carvajal said that the peace process in Yemen is far away, revealing his country’s failure to conclude a deal with what he described as “Houthis” to achieve peace.
https://alkhabaralyemeni.net/2022/06/21/176358/
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#YIF2022 A final day of in-depth talks aimed at clearing obstacles in the way of sustainable peace for #Yemen kicks off with a focus on the South and inclusion of its concerns in the peace process.
@fadibaoom at #YIF2022: The southern movement knows it is in a difficult situation, and needs to have a common stance to reach a solution.
Kawthar Al-Shathly of the Southern National Alliance at #YIF2022: Marginalizing political groups will not lead to a sustainable settlement. Working with the PLC is the only solution, and the PLC needs to understand Yemen wants an inclusive settlement
@Fuad_Rashed1 at #YIF2022, where participants engage with the southern issue: Unification cannot come by force, and secession cannot come by force. It must be negotiated.
Yaseen Makawi at #YIF2022: We cannot move on to restoring the state unless there is a real and inclusive Southern partnership.
https://twitter.com/SanaaCenter/status/1538425189666537474
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US Envoy Discusses International Mediation Efforts for Yemen at YIF 2022
The United States would welcome the day when Yemenis can sit together to address the root causes of Yemen’s conflict, US Special Envoy to Yemen Tim Lenderking told delegates Saturday at the Yemen International Forum 2022, where more than 200 Yemeni, regional and international actors were seeking new approaches to remove some of the obstacles to a peaceful settlement.
Lenderking, during a discussion of regional and US efforts in Yemen on the second day of the forum, said the UN-mediated truce that has largely held since April was fragile, but could be built upon.
“We very much agree that the truce doesn’t address root causes,” Lenderking said. “We would love to accelerate the day when Yemenis can get together to talk about the root causes. And that’s something that the United States would very much welcome seeing because I don’t think you end this conflict without dealing with reconciliation, justice and accountability, and an agreed-upon vision for what Yemen looks like in the future.”
US Envoy Discusses International Mediation Efforts for Yemen at YIF 2022 - Sana'a Center For Strategic Studies
https://sanaacenter.org/publications/news/18015
My comment: Bla bla.
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SDRPY Participates In Yemen International Forum In Stockholm
Saudi Development and Reconstruction Program for Yemen (SDRPY) is participating in the Yemen International Forum 2022, in Stockholm
During its participation, SDRPY is reviewing at Forum the program's experiences, strategy, and methodology in implementing development projects and initiatives and strengthening strategic partnerships
https://menafn.com/1104395768/SDRPY-Participates-In-Yemen-International-Forum-In-Stockholm
My comment: This really should not have happened and devaluates the whole event.
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Der Monatlicher Bericht Über die Allgemeine Situation in der Republik Jemen April 2022
https://twitter.com/NTFOYemenOrg/status/1537827732968587264
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The Monthly Report on the General Situation in the Republic of Yemen April 2022
https://twitter.com/NTFOYemenOrg/status/1537823292379348995
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Saudi Arabia issued on Wednesday, a new classification list against Yemeni individuals and institutions, it accuses her of supporting those she describes as “Houthis.” Exclusive-alkhabar alyemeni: This coincides with the increase in the pace of international mobility, to push for a comprehensive settlement; this indicates that Saudi Arabia is trying to throw its last cards in #Yemen. The new Saudi list included eight Yemeni personalities, some of whom are residing abroad, it participated in conferences sponsored by Saudi Arabia, the latest of which was Riyadh Consultation, in addition to 11 different institutions. The list was not new, as it was the second since March of this year. Where Saudi Arabia announced a list of about 25 individuals and Yemeni institutions on the same charges.
The Saudi move came after Riyadh failed to pressure United States by reclassifying Anssarallah movement “Houthis” on the terrorist list, its timing indicates that Riyadh is preparing to receive US President Joe Biden, who, prior to his arrival at the White House, issued a decree to cancel Trump's decision to include “Houthis” on the sanctions list. It is trying to throw the ball into the court of the Americans, at least, to neutralize a number of Yemeni institutions and active companies, and to impede any future attempt to revive the Yemeni economy and put the most important facilities under sanctions. She described Saudi Arabia's recent decisions as reflecting the extent of the weakness that Riyadh has reached, after nearly eight years of leading the war and promising to storm Sana'a and disarm #Yemen, it is an attempt, according to observers, to achieve an achievement before reaching a settlement in #Yemen, which Saudi Arabia itself has begun to push towards, in light of the obstruction on the war horizon.
https://twitter.com/GhalebM0nz1i7/status/1537902139862749185
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Yemen presidential council chairman’s trip to Qatar could reflect future Doha role in talks: analyst
Qatar’s Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani met with Yemen’s newly-appointed Chairman of the Presidential Leadership Council Rashad Muhammad Al Alimi in Doha on Thursday.
According to Qatar’s News Agency (QNA), Sheikh Tamim and Al Alimi discussed the latest developments in Yemen along with issues of common concern.
Speaking to Doha News, analysts believe that the Yemeni official carries “an entangled web of challenges” that comes with his new appointment.
“In the short term, Alimi is coordinating with the international community to sustain the fragile truce with the Ansar Allah (Houthi) bloc, while addressing the Command-and-Control challenges of integrating fragmented anti-Houthi forces under a unified chain of command,” Mohammed Basha, Communications and Client Engagement Manager at Navanti Group told Doha News.
“Doha can play a future role in hosting peace talks or mediating between warring parties, and support post-war reconstruction efforts,” said Basha.
and also https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/3708691/qatar-underlines-support-political-consensus-yemen
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Qatar Underlines Support for Political Consensus in Yemen
https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/3708691/qatar-underlines-support-political-consensus-yemen
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Jemen. Der vergessene Krieg
Über den Jemen ist wenig bekannt. Über das Land an sich, aber auch über den Krieg, der schon sieben Jahre dauert und bis Ende des Jahres fast 380.000 Menschen das Leben gekostet haben wird. Die aus Saudi-Arabien stammende preisgekrönte Journalistin Safa Al Ahmad berichtet immer wieder aus und über ein Land, das als das instabilste Land der Welt gilt. Warum über diesen Krieg in Europa kaum berichtet wird, welche die wichtigsten der vielen Konfliktparteien sind und ob die überraschende Verlängerung des Waffenstillstands Grund für Hoffnung ist, darum geht es in diesem Blickwechsel.
Safa Al Ahmads Dokumentationen zum Nachsehen:
Saudi's Secret Uprising: https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-middle-east-31915367
Yemen Under Siege http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/film/yemen-under-siege/
Targeting Yemen https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/film/targeting-yemen/
https://blickwechsel.podigee.io/10-neue-episode
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Landmines will kill and maim along Yemen’s coast for ‘many decades’ to come, UN warns
Pro-government forces pulling out of Hodeidah to honour agreement has let de-mining teams get to work
Landmines have killed and injured about 150 civilians around Yemen’s port city of Hodeidah since November and removing the deadly remnants of war will take decades to complete, a UN military official said on Wednesday.
Maj Gen Michael Beary, the top UN official in rebel-held Hodeidah, said a relative calm since pro-government forces withdrew from the region late last year had allowed the painstaking and dangerous task of removing the mines to begin in earnest.
The area — once a front line in the war between Yemen’s Houthi rebel movement and forces loyal to the internationally recognised government — was “very contaminated” with mines and other unexploded ordnance, he added.
Yemen is awash with tens of thousands of landmines. Many were laid by Houthi rebels along the coast, the border with Saudi Arabia and nearby towns and villages during the war that has ravaged the country since 2014, researchers say.
The Arabian Peninsula nation has joined Afghanistan, Angola, Somalia and Cambodia as among the world’s most mine-contaminated countries, where devices maim and kill civilians decades after bloody wars have ground to a halt.
Various UN agencies are working with de-mining groups and Yemen’s government to tackle the problem, which has claimed more than 1,400 lives since 2018, according to one UN estimate.
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The landmines sowing tragedy, chaos in war-torn Yemen
Landmines are part of the legacy of the war in Yemen, long the Arab world's poorest country, where Iran-backed Huthi rebels have been fighting a Saudi-led coalition since 2015.
Almost a third of Yemen's landmine casualties were reported in Hodeida province, even though it has been spared much of the fighting after a 2018 ceasefire agreement aimed at protecting its Red Sea port, a lifeline for the country.
Hodeida province is "a strategic centre" for the north, which is largely controlled by the Huthi rebels, said Ibrahim Jalal, a researcher at the Middle East Institute in Washington.
"The indiscriminate spread of landmines across multiple Yemeni governorates creates dozens of victims every day, including farmers, travellers and other civilians," he told AFP.
"People are living under numerous uncertainties," he said, explaining that mines complicate the transport of aid and take a heavy toll on the agriculture-dependent economy.
Experts estimate that at least one million mines have been planted during Yemen's years of turmoil, often with tragic results.
https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20220617-the-landmines-sowing-tragedy-chaos-in-war-torn-yemen
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Afrah Nasser: One of the most inconvenient discussions about Yemen is the need for Justice. And I don’t mean just discussing the matter lightly but deeply & in details. Parties to the conflict have responsibility under not only international laws but also under their own domestic laws.
I’m not here going to list all those parties responsible of war crimes in Yemen but I am talking about the inconvenience & difficultly in raising those issues. There’s a general sense that once Yemen is out of the news headlines, let alone going through a truce, things are fine & no need to talk about the need for accountability & Justice.
In my discussion about the need for accountability with many outside the human rights circle, I very often, almost always, get the feedback, “not now, let’s focus on the truce now & if it’ll build up to a peace deal.”
This kind of attitude reminds me of the reaction we women used to get while advocating for Women’s rights at the beginning of Yemen’s 2011 uprising. “Not now”. “We’ll deal with Women’s issues later”. “Let’s first fix the political structure & later we’ll get into Women’s issues.”
Disregarding the urgency of achieving accountability drives me crazy. If not now, then when?! I feel the huge responsibility on my shoulder. All those victims we documented their stories & suffering deserve to know that there’ll be Justice. I want to know that many will be held accountable for destroying Yemen. If we can’t achieve accountability, how can we be sure that all those injustices won’t be repeated?
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Why the “end the Yemen war” narrative is problematic
While Lenderking’s appointment is a much-needed step, the “end the Yemen war” discourse championed by Western policy analysts, diplomats, and peace advocates is highly problematic and disconnected from the reality on the ground. Since 2014, successive U.N. special envoys for Yemen have tried to broker a political settlement between the Hadi government and the Houthis to end the conflict and resume the political transition process that was thwarted when Houthi forces allied with former President Ali Abdullah Saleh and captured Sanaa in September 2014. This effort is commonly known as the “peace process” and is widely supported by the international community, including the permanent members of the U.N. Security Council and the European Union.
While the Biden administration can successfully put pressure on the Saudi-led coalition and the Yemeni government, it does not have the same leverage on the Houthis.
The Biden administration appears to have revoked the FTO designation unconditionally in the hope that the Houthis will reciprocate and engage in negotiations in good faith.
Politically, the U.N.-led peace process overlooks new actors that have emerged over the past few years, including the Southern Transitional Council and forces on the west coast.
Failed international interventions
In recent years, Yemen has paid the price for well-intentioned international interventions in the name of peace that have not only failed but also backfired.
Looking ahead
Moving forward, the Biden administration should be cautious and assess the unintended consequences of using diplomacy to force a political negotiation process that fails to consider Yemen’s complex domestic dynamics and the reality on the ground.
In order to address the Yemen problem, the Biden administration should first embrace the complexity of the conflict and develop a Yemen policy that reflects it. The administration has to come to terms with the fact that conditions might not be ripe to end the conflict, much less bring about peace.
Increased U.S diplomatic engagement to address the conflict in Yemen could help pave the way to end the war if it factors in the complexity and power dynamics on the ground. It could also potentially exacerbate the conflict if the administration is too focused on a quick fix that lacks the essential ingredients for sustainable peace. The administration should recognize its limitations and make decisions wisely.
https://www.mei.edu/publications/why-end-yemen-war-narrative-problematic
My comment: Totally US-centered, pretending that the US could play any positive role as a peace broker in Yemen. The US played a very malign role from the very day 1 of this war, and for the future as well US geopolitics simply makes it impossible to assume any positive US role.
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The Attack on Yemen’s Infrastructure — and the Humanitarian Disaster That Followed [subscribers only]
cp2a Saudische Blockade / Saudi blockade
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9th flight leaves Sana'a Int'l Airport to Jordan
https://saba.ye/en/news3191359.htm
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Aggression coalition releases gasoline ship, sizes another
Official spokesman for the company Issam Al-Mutawakil told Yemeni News Agency (Saba) that the coalition has released the gasoline ship "Voice Energy" and seized the ship "Oud", which was carrying 30,929 tons of gasoline, in a new violation of the declared UN armistice.
https://saba.ye/en/news3191357.htm
cp3 Humanitäre Lage / Humanitarian situation
Siehe / Look at cp1
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Japan and UNOPS Enhance Access to Healthcare Services in Yemen
With support from the Government of Japan, UNOPS delivered eight mobile clinics to the Ministry of Public Health and Population in Aden.
Funded by the Government of Japan, the project “Urgent Support to Health Services through the Provision of Mobile Clinics in Yemen,” focused on increasing access to healthcare through enhancing the operational capacity and resilience of the Ministry of Public Health and Population in Aden and southern governorates. It is envisaged that the additional mobile clinics will support provision of essential health services, including urgent response to the COVID-19 pandemic, to 50,000 people
https://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/japan-and-unops-enhance-access-healthcare-services-yemen-enar
(B H)
Yemen: Monthly Situation Report (May 2022)
May Highlights
Nutrition
Reducing acute malnutrition through blanket supplementary feeding program in Sama, As Silw, Jabal Ash Sharaq, Dawran Aness and Wusab Al Ali districts of Taizz and Dhamar 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
https://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/yemen-monthly-situation-report-may-2022
(B H)
Yemen Women Protection AoR Services, Jan- May 2022
https://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/yemen-women-protection-aor-services-jan-may-2022
https://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/yemen-women-protection-aor-services-may-2022
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The Impact of the Russian-Ukrainian War on Yemen
The repercussions of the Ukrainian crisis have further exacerbated food insecurity crisis in Yemen, as Yemen imports 40 percent of its wheat from Ukraine and Russia.
Unfortunately, the repercussions of the Ukrainian crisis have further exacerbated food insecurity crisis in Yemen, as Yemen imports 40 percent of its wheat from Ukraine and Russia. The recent war on Ukraine has imposed significant restrictions on grain supply, on which the majority of the Yemeni population depend for their sustenance. This has resulted in a dramatic increase in food prices. Wheat prices soared by 35 percent compared to their prices at the beginning of the war; the price of 50 kg of wheat rose from 29,000 Yemeni riyals ($22) before the Ukrainian-Russian war to 41,000 Yemeni riyals ($31) after its outbreak. The Russian-Ukrainian War has also led to the disappearance of the wheat supply in the Yemeni markets, which resulted in the inability of families - and the displaced in particular - to purchase their needs of wheat and grain. It has also resulted in fuel supply crisis, adding an additional burden and making the situation much worse and even more difficult due to the high transportation costs.
At the same time, concerns are also growing about humanitarian aid, especially since Yemen is already suffering from fragile conditions. Millions of Yemenis depend on food aid to survive.
https://www.wilsoncenter.org/blog-post/impact-russian-ukrainian-war-yemen
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Film: Yemen- Ukraine war pushes food prices higher in Yemen
The Russian invasion of Ukraine has dramatically caused a leap in food prices in the war-torn Yemen, where millions of people are at risk of famine and malnutrition due to war. The United Nations data indicate that one third of Yemen's wheat comes from Russia and Ukraine and Yemen imports 90 percent of its foodstuffs from abroad. The war in Ukraine led over the past days to the rising prices of basic foodstuffs by 38 percent with staple wheat flour and vegetable oil recording the largest increases, according to the report on Yemen food security outlook during the months from March to September 2022. Hamdi Najib, a Yemeni citizen, told A24 News Agency's reporter that his salary is only fifty thousand Yemeni riyals, which is enough to buy one bag of flour. He said the government had promised to find a solution to the rising prices but nothing was resolved. Um Ahmed, another citizen, spoke to A24 and said her family has one meal per a day and the family's salary of thirty thousand Yemeni riyals is not even enough for a bag of flour. Majid Al-Daeri, an economist, said the war in Ukraine has also affected prices across the world not only in Yemen.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9vNycnO751s
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Yemen WASH Needs Tracking System (WANTS) Variouss Districts, Al Hodeidah Governorate, April 2022
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Yemen Key Message Update: Despite measures to support imports, significantly elevated food prices expected to rise further, May 2022
Key Messages
The wheat export ban announced by India on May 14 aggravated concerns for the stability of Yemen’s food supply due to the country’s high dependence on imports. However, India’s late May decision to exclude Yemen from the ban will likely allow Yemeni importers to secure the required quantities of wheat grain, though some uncertainty exists. Due to limited storage capacity of existing silos at both Aden and Al Hudaydah ports—which does not exceed 20 percent of Yemen's annual consumption requirements—strategic stockpiles cannot be meaningfully increased, raising the vulnerability of the national food supply to further global supply and price shocks.
From March to April 2022, the Yemeni Rial (YER) appreciated by 23 percent and 7 percent in Aden and Sana’a city, respectively, according to data from WFP. This is likely linked to the early April formation of the Presidential Leadership Council and announcement of a planned 3 billion USD Gulf financial aid package. However, Yemeni households and traders continue to lose faith in short-lived appreciation of the YER, and traders do not decrease food prices in proportion to recovery of the currency. Given this and rising global wheat prices in April, wheat flour prices decreased by only 6 percent in Aden in and increased by 11 percent in Sana’a city. On aggregate, prices of wheat grain, wheat flour, rice, sugar, and oil declined by 4 percent on average in Aden city and remained relatively stable in Sana’a city. More recently, as of May 29, key informants report that prices of subsidized bread increased by 25 percent (from 30 YER/bread to 40 YER/bread) in Aden.
Prices of basic food commodities remain significantly above average and continue to increase overall. Given limited income-earning opportunities and eroded coping capacity, food is becoming increasingly unaffordable for many poor households. Access to food is expected to be decreasing again following recent slight improvements during Ramadan and Eid in April and early May.
https://fews.net/east-africa/yemen/key-message-update/may-2022
(B H)
Lifesaving oxygen stations to be installed at 5 main hospitals in Hadramout, Shabwa, Marib and Abyan
The World Health Organization (WHO), in partnership with the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Centre (KSrelief), will install lifesaving oxygen stations in 5 main hospitals located in priority southern governorates of Hadramout, Shabwa, Marib and Abyan.
The 5 oxygen stations will be a critical support to hospitals for administering anaesthesia and treating critical medical emergencies, including severe cases of COVID-19, major trauma, cardiac arrest and shock. All require an uninterrupted oxygen supply to prevent permanent organ damage or even death of many patients.
(* B E H)
Wo Fischen lebensgefährlich ist
Durch den Krieg im Jemen haben viele Fischer den Zugang zu ihren traditionellen Fanggründen verloren. Um ihre Familien zu ernähren, segeln einige bis an die Küste von Somalia oder Djibouti.
Wer im Jemen vom Fischfang lebt, hat es seit Beginn des Kriegs im März 2015 immer schwerer. Die Preise für Bootsbenzin klettern in die Höhe; gleichzeitig steigt die Gefahr, auf See in Schießereien zwischen den Kriegsparteien zu sterben. Vor dem Krieg konnten die Fischer ihre Ausrüstung einpacken und überall in jemenitischen Gewässern in See stechen. Nun aber verbietet die von Saudi-Arabien angeführte Militärallianz vielerorts die Fischerei. Die Stellen, die den Fischern für ihre Boote bleiben, bieten ihnen keine attraktive Beute. Deshalb segeln einige Fischer in somalische Gewässer, legal oder illegal.
„Wir konnten mit unseren Booten überall im Jemen auslaufen und dachten gar nicht darüber nach, was für ein Glück das war“, erzählt er gegenüber welt-sichten. Kürzlich hätten einige seiner Kollegen versucht, in gesperrten Gewässern zu fischen. Die Sicherheitskräfte der Militärallianz jagten sie und beschlagnahmten ihre Boote. Jetzt wage sich niemand mehr dorthin.
Waseem kennt auch einige Kollegen, die von Kämpfern der Saudi-Arabischen Militärallianz getötet wurden, als sie in gesperrten Gewässern fischten. „Ich weiß nicht, ob das aus Versehen oder bewusst geschah, aber sie sind tot. Andere wurden festgenommen und später wieder freigelassen.“
Einheimischen Berichten zufolge wurden zwischen 2015 und 2019 an der Westküste bislang 271 Fischer von der Militärallianz getötet und 216 verletzt, andere wurden festgenommen – einige von ihnen befinden sich jetzt in saudisch geführten Gefängnissen.
Waseem schlägt sich mit seinem Boot nur mühsam durch, denn er fischt nur in erlaubten Gewässern. Dort aber werfen viele Fischer ihre Netze aus, und die Fangquote ist niedrig.
Waseem weiß von einigen seiner Kollegen, dass sie in somalischen Gewässern fischen. Andere haben sich neue Jobs gesucht, die sichererer und einfacher sind. Wieder andere sind arbeitslos. Doch für ihn gibt es keinen anderen Beruf – Fischen ist das einzige, was er gelernt hat. Örtliche Medien berichten, dass seit 2015 von 100.000 Fischern im Jemen 37.000 diese Einkommensquelle verloren haben.
Auch Ismail ist Fischer, und auch er möchte nur seinen Vornamen nennen. Als Fischer zu arbeiten bedeute, jeden Tag aufs Neue sein Leben zu riskieren, meint er. „Wenn wir in gesperrten Gewässern unterwegs sind, können wir von den Kräften der saudisch geführten Koalition erschossen werden, und wenn wir an der Grenze zu Somalia oder in somalischen Gewässern erwischt werden, schießt die dortige Küstenwache auf uns“, berichtet er gegenüber welt-sichten. Er selbst wurde vor zwei Jahren von der somalischen Küstenwache festgenommen. „Sie beschlagnahmten mein Boot und sperrten mich für zwei Monate ins Gefängnis.“
Normalerweise beschlagnahmten die somalischen Grenzwächter Fisch und Boote derjenigen, die unerlaubt in ihre Gewässer vorgedrungen sind, und verlangten zudem eine Strafgebühr.
uch die Küstenwache von Djibouti nimmt ab und zu Fischer aus dem Jemen fest, so etwa im November 2021 sechs Fischer aus Aden. „Wenn es nicht so viele Beschränkungen in jemenitischen Gewässern gäbe, würden wir unser Leben nicht in den gefährlichen Grenzgebieten zu Somalia und Djibouti riskieren“, beteuert Ismail.
Die saudi-arabisch geführte Militärallianz begründet die Absperrungen der Gewässer damit, dass man nur so den Waffenschmuggel an die Houthi-Rebellen einschränken könne. Die Fischer, denen es nur um ihren Lebensunterhalt geht, verstehen das nicht – sie möchten vor allem irgendwo fischen.
Ein weiteres Problem ist, dass viele Fischer es sich kaum noch leisten können, ihre Boote instand zu halten,
In ehemaligen Konfliktzonen wie etwa Al-Hudeida droht ein weiteres großes Risiko: Land- und Seeminen im Küstengebiet. „In Al-Hudeida sind nur Fischer unterwegs, die hungern und denen es an allem fehlt“, berichtet Suleiman, selbst Fischer aus Al-Hudeida. „Es ist extrem gefährlich. Einer von uns hat seine Beine verloren, weil er an der Küste auf eine Mine trat, andere wurden getötet.“
Abdulmalik Saleh, der in einem Fischereizentrum im Verwaltungsbezirk Aden arbeitet, berichtet, dass die Fischpreise seit Kriegsbeginn dramatisch gestiegen sind, weil die Fischer wegen der gesperrten Gebiete und wegen der gestiegenen Treibstoffpreise nicht mehr genug fangen.
https://www.welt-sichten.org/artikel/40372/wo-fischen-lebensgefaehrlich-ist
(B H)
Film: Meet Yassin, a student at Ammar Bin Yasser School in Hadramawt. He & many children like him had to study in partially damaged & overcrowded classes for years.
https://twitter.com/IOM_Yemen/status/1536736477647880192
(B H)
Film: Millions of children like Anass from #Yemen find themselves forced to give up school, sports & play to support their families. Children deserve better living conditions, in peace & prosperity.
https://twitter.com/UNICEF_Yemen/status/1535984233084342278
(B E H)
Climate Change and Conflict Impacting Beekeeping Tradition in Yemen
Armed conflict and climate change are threatening the continuity of a 3,000-year-old practice in Yemen, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said in its report.
ICRC affirmed that "successive waves of displacement to flee violence, the impact of weapon contamination on production areas and the growing impact of climate change are pushing thousands of beekeepers into uncertainty, significantly reducing production."
Last year, the International Committee of the Red Cross provided aid to more than 1.6 million Yemeni people, including more than 3,700 beekeepers and 112,000 livestock keepers. This year, the support continues in both training and financial aid. The ICRC is supporting sustainable income-generating activities, such as beekeeping, to empower the Yemeni people and help them to be more independent in the long run.
http://en.adenpress.news/news/35205
(* B H)
With emergency obstetric care elusive, pregnant women in Yemen face tragic consequences
UNFPA is the sole provider of reproductive health medicines and is leading reproductive health service provision in Yemen. But lack of funding has forced it to scale back humanitarian operations by 25 per cent since the beginning of the year. (Only 13 per cent of a $100 million appeal has been funded so far.)
In 2021, UNFPA reached 1.6 million women and girls with reproductive health services, assisting 151,000 safe deliveries and averting 344,000 unintended pregnancies with support to 127 health facilities and payments to 2,065 health workers.
But UNFPA has had to reprioritize, currently supporting 98 health facilities and four reproductive health mobile teams with the contributions of Canada, the Central Emergency Response Fund, the European Union, the Netherlands, Qatar Fund for Development, USAID’s Bureau for Humanitarian Aid and Yemen Humanitarian Fund.
Only half of Yemen’s hospitals remain functional, and only one in five of them provide maternal and child health services. Nineteen of the country’s 22 governorates have six maternity beds for every 10,000 people, half of what the World Health Organization deems standard. In addition, an estimated 42.4 per cent of the population lives more than one hour away from the nearest fully or partially functional public hospital.
One Yemeni woman dies every two hours during childbirth from causes that are almost entirely preventable. An estimated 8.1 million women and girls of childbearing age require help accessing reproductive health services, including antenatal care, safe delivery services, postnatal care, family planning and emergency obstetric and newborn care. Among them are 1.3 million women who will deliver in 2022, of whom 195,000 are projected to develop complications that will require life-saving medical assistance.
(B H)
Film: Aden’s Poor fishermen use primitive techniques to collect seashells
Fishermen in the southern port city of Aden use primitive fishing techniques to collect seashells which requires a lot of time and effort. They use their hands to collect them as they spend long hours in shallow waters before selling them to popular restaurants.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HcexUbb368E
cp4 Flüchtlinge / Refugees
Siehe / Look at cp1
(B H)
Film: Desperate Africans seek better life in Aden but find more jeopardy
Tens of thousands of desperately poor African migrants continue to cross into Yemen’s southern port city of Aden. Yemen has long been a transit point for migrants and refugees from East Africa, many of whom are fleeing hunger and violence. The refugees make the dangerous journey despite Yemen’s civil war that crippled the economy and drove millions of people to the brink of famine. Many Africans try to cross from Aden into other countries while others take the war-torn city a permanent place of residence, despite poor living conditions there.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=udqmvctW6eQ
Fortsetzung / Sequel: cp5 – cp19
https://www.freitag.de/autoren/dklose/jemenkrieg-mosaik-811b-yemen-war-mosaic-811b
Vorige / Previous:
https://www.freitag.de/autoren/dklose/jemenkrieg-mosaik-810-yemen-war-mosaic-810
Jemenkrieg-Mosaik 1-810 / Yemen War Mosaic 1-810:
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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