Schwerpunkte / Key aspects
Klassifizierung / Classification
cp1 Am wichtigsten / Most important
cp2 Allgemein / General
cp3 Humanitäre Lage / Humanitarian situation
cp5 Nordjemen und Huthis / Northern Yemen and Houthis
cp6 Südjemen und Hadi-Regierung / Southern Yemen and Hadi-government
cp7 UNO / UN
cp8 Saudi-Arabien / Saudi Arabia
cp9 USA
cp10 Großbritannien / Great Britain
cp12 Andere Länder / Other countries
cp13 Mercenaries / Söldner
cp14 Terrorismus / Terrorism
cp15 Propaganda
cp16 Saudische Luftangriffe / Saudi air raids
cp17 Kriegsereignisse / Theater of War
Klassifizierung / Classification
***
**
*
(Kein Stern / No star)
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
cp1 Am wichtigsten / Most important
Am 15. März bombardierte die saudische Koalition einen Markt in der Provinz Hajjah. Die zuletzt sicher angegebene Zahl an Toten liegt bei 119. Alle Artikel zu diesem Angriff in cp16.
On March 15 the Saudi coalition bombed a market in Hajjah province. The newest certain figure of killed which had been reported is 119. All articles on this raid see cp16.
17.3.2016 - The Independent (** A P)
Yemen war rapidly becoming as messy and complicated as the conflict in Syria
So MbS has begun to look for a way out. So, too, have the Americans, who have woken up al-Qaeda being the real threat. They are piling pressure on the Saudis to call time. That, however, is not going to be easy.
The Houthis are prepared to deal but on their terms which means that the woeful Mr Hadi, the internationally recognised president, will likely be thrown to the wolves. Former president Ali Abdullah Saleh, pushed out by the Saudis in 2012 has been fighting alongside the Houthis. Mr Saleh still commands a sizable remnant of the Yemeni regular army. The Saudis see him as a renegade and will want no part of him. If the Houthis cut him loose Mr Saleh will be left with only one option: to play the spoiler to any peace talks.
The Emiratis went into the war hoping to secure Aden and the south as a sphere of influence. They will want a say. As will Saudi Arabia’s regional foe Iran, which backs the Houthis, and remains a potent behind-the-scenes player.
Then there is Aqap. To remove them from Hadramaut would require a whole new war. Add Isis to the mix and, in a neighbourhood already seething with violence, you have a lethal cocktail set brewing by the actions of Mohammed bin Salman, a reckless young prince in a terrible hurry.
It is, in short, a situation that is rapidly becoming as complicated and messy as that in Syria. - by Bill Law
16.3.2016 – German Foreign Policy (** B T)
Die Hauptprofiteure des Jemen-Kriegs
Der Jemen-Krieg Saudi-Arabiens, des wichtigsten Verbündeten der Bundesrepublik in Mittelost, erhöht die Gefahr neuer Terroranschläge in der EU. Dies geht aus Analysen von Experten und aus Stellungnahmen des Auswärtigen Amts hervor. Demnach profitieren vor allem Al Qaida und der "Islamische Staat" (IS/Daesh) von dem Krieg, weil sie den weitgehenden Zerfall der staatlichen Strukturen im Jemen nutzen können, um dort eigene Herrschaftsgebiete zu konsolidieren - als Basis für Attentate im Westen. Deutschland und die übrigen NATO-Hauptmächte lassen Saudi-Arabien im Jemen bislang gewähren, weil Riad sich gegen Teheran in Stellung bringt und damit den iranischen Aufstieg im Mittleren Osten bremst. Dabei ist der Jemen nur das letzte unter mehreren Ländern, in denen Interventionen der westlichen Mächte oder ihrer Verbündeten durch die umfassende Zerstörung staatlicher Strukturen ausgedehnte Freiräume für Jihadisten schufen, die diese letztlich nutzen konnten, um mörderische Anschläge zu planen und durchzuführen. Weitere Beispiele sind Afghanistan, Libyen und Syrien.
Der Durchbruch der Jihadisten
Jihadistische Organisationen, die Terroranschläge verüben, konnten in der Mehrzahl der Länder, in denen sie heute eine starke Stellung halten, erst dank westlicher Interventionen Fuß fassen.
Über Libyen nach Westafrika
Dasselbe gilt für Libyen. Dass dort nicht nur lokale jihadistische Milizen erstarken, sondern auch der IS Fuß fassen konnte, ist dem von der NATO herbeigebombten Sturz von Muammar al Gaddafi geschuldet.
Eine islamistische Diktatur
Zu den Ländern, in denen die Einmischung westlicher Staaten und ihrer regionalen Verbündeten es jihadistischen Organisationen ermöglichte, sich festzusetzen, zählt nicht zuletzt Syrien. Dass die NATO-Staaten das Entstehen halbstaatlicher Jihadisten-Strukturen billigten, um die Regierung von Bashar al Assad zu schwächen, belegen interne Dokumente; aus den erwähnten Strukturen hat sich mittlerweile der IS entwickelt.
Radikalisierte Elemente
Experten warnen seit Monaten, das nächste Land, in dem Jihadisten neue Stärke gewinnen könnten, sei der Jemen.
Der Krieg kehrt heim
Die Jihadisten-Organisationen, die sich in den einstigen Zielgebieten westlicher Interventionen festgesetzt haben, sind längst dazu übergegangen, ihre Freiräume für die Vorbereitung von Terroranschlägen auf westliche Ziele zu nutzen.
http://www.german-foreign-policy.com/de/fulltext/59331
Kommentar: Sehr guter Artikel, der den völligen Bankrott der westlichen Interventionspolitik in verschiedensten Ländern des Nahen Ostens aufzeigt. Man könnte noch fragen, ob nicht noch ein paar Länder in der Liste fehlen. Etwa der Irak. Nur ein Widerspruch – zum Jemen: „Experten warnen seit Monaten, das nächste Land, in dem Jihadisten neue Stärke gewinnen könnten, sei der Jemen“. Nein, das ist schon längst eingetroffen.
15.3.2016 – American Herald Tribune (** B P)
A lesson in counter-extremism - Do we really need to hear from al-Saud?
There must be something in the air which is prompting Saudi Arabia Royals from taking pen to paper those days, because never before have we witnessed such a deluge of editorial and opinion pieces, courtesy of the kingdom’s highest and mightiest.
Following on the heels of Saudi Arabia Ambassador to the United Kingdom, it is Abdullah al-Saud, the kingdom’s Ambassador to the United States who is now offering the world a grand lesson in counter-extremism.
I must say that the irony of it all is not without poetry … if only it wasn’t rooted on bloodshed and boundless political hypocrisy!
Standing tall on its riches and promises of everlasting oil security, Saudi Arabia is now volunteering to save the world from the abject ignominy of extremism – this cancer of our modern times we have all wrestled against, without ever successfully destroying it. Aren’t you glad the kingdom is here to save us the trouble? Aren’t you grateful of Riyadh’s magnanimity and responsible ruling?
As one Saudi Prince so eloquently reminded US President Barack Obama this March: “We are not free riders on US foreign policy.” Clearly Riyadh has indeed its own ideas as to how the world should be arranged, or rather re-arranged under its totalitarian guise.
Full of his own despotic self-importance the Ambassador graciously willed his wisdom into the pages of the Huffington Post - another jewel surely to the Crown’s press empire. How beautifully corruptive the power of money, and promises of fortunes to come … How predictable the fall of corporate media!
“Extremism, especially violent extremism, is a scourge on the planet. Those who promote extremist ideologies or sponsor acts of violence in the name of Islam cannot be condoned or supported by anyone of true faith. In Saudi Arabia, extremists have attempted to hijack our religion, have murdered many of our people and used terrorism to intimidate our nation. There are two things that Saudi Arabia and its people hold most dear, and will never allow to be threatened - our faith and our security” writes al-Saud.
To the risk of departing from a certain journalistic decorum, I would like to point the readers to the sheer insanity of such a statement. Are you kidding me?! Are we in all seriousness supposed to sit here and take the Ambassador’ s pathetic attempt at rationalizing terror and not recognize that Terrorism was in fact engineered somewhere in Nejd desert - al-Saud homeland?
“Our faith?” … which one? That which Wahhabis have attempted to pass for Islam, or that which they truly follow: Takfirism? This belief which asserts that only Wahhabis hold monopoly over God’s Truth, the very ideology Terror’s armies have leaned on, and draw from to rationalize, and spur on their mad crusades against all, and every religious communities.
If not for Wahhabism intolerance, if not for its clergy’s taste for bloodletting the world would have been spared a million tortures. If not for Wahhabism, a devolution which ambitions itself Islamic to better claim religious legitimacy, the world would not have learned Islamophobia.
So please spare us the brutality of another poorly formulated propaganda. The world public is not so deluded as to believe that Saudi Arabia, the grand Wahhabist kingdom actually cares for anyone but its own coffers, and its own rising empire.
Let me quote you US President Barack Obama: “The Saudis and other Gulf Arabs have funnelled money, and large numbers of imams and teachers, into the country. In the 1990s, the Saudis heavily funded Wahhabist madrassas, seminaries that teach the fundamentalist version of Islam favoured by the Saudi ruling family.” Those words were uttered by America’s leadership … the same America which has shielded the kingdom from criticism over its links with Terror on account of its natural resources and ability to sign lucrative dotted contract lines.
When Saudi Arabia’s staunchest, and most fervent cheerleader cannot help but formulate a scathing critic, we ought to pay attention!
So … no I’m sorry but Saudi Arabia does not exactly qualify by way of counter-extremism expertise. Brownies points for trying though!
Undeterred by the inherent irrational of his argument, Ambassador al-Saud carried on with a majestic: “Every part of Saudi society has united to confront extremism. Our religious scholars, including the Mufti and members of the Board of Senior Scholars, have loudly and repeatedly condemned extremism and terrorism and have worked to guide those who could be deluded by extremist ideologies away from that misguided path. Mosques are being protected from becoming platforms for inciting extremism or collecting money that could be diverted into the wrong hands. Our educational systems and curriculum continue to go through major reforms, including teacher training to ensure that our children receive the best religious education. Teachers who fail to meet strict guidelines are removed. The government has also invested in massive public education programs to educate people on the dangers of extremism. These programs have included, but are not limited to, advertising, social media, events, and television programs.”
Oh really?! Indulge me please …
A report published in the World Affairs read in May/June 2015: “The full extent of resources that flowed from Saudi Arabia and its Persian Gulf partners to the so called Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, and to the Syria-based al-Qaeda affiliate Nusra Front, is difficult to determine. But Biden estimated the illicit resource transfer to Takfiris from Saudi Arabia at “hundreds of millions of dollars and tens of thousands of tons of weapons.” In addition to ideology and training, for instance, al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula is reported to have provided $20,000 in cash directly to the Paris terrorists.”
In November 2015 Politico published an opinion piece which read: “Since 2001 our policy for fighting terrorists has been, to put it politely, missing the elephant in the room, sort of like treating symptoms and completely missing the disease. Policymakers and slow-thinking bureaucrats stupidly let terrorism grow by ignoring the roots. So we lost a generation: Someone who went to grammar school in Saudi Arabia (our “ally”) after September 11 is now an adult, indoctrinated into believing and supporting Salafi violence, hence encouraged to finance it — while we got distracted by the use of complicated weapons and machinery. Even worse, the Wahhabis have accelerated their brainwashing of East and West Asians with their madrassas, thanks to high oil revenues.”
Wahhabism stands the very definition of extremism and radicalism all wrapped up in one hateful intolerance. Wahhabism teaches the hatred of all faiths, and of all people in the name of a warped sense of religious purity. Wahhabism’s very belief system is built around bloodshed and holy wars.
So again please give us the courtesy of the truth. In the hands of the kingdom Wahhabism has been a useful weapon of mass-indoctrination, a perfect cornerstone for a very “bloody-thirsty” dynasty – by Catherine Shakdam
American Herald Tribune is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License
http://ahtribune.com/opinion/674-counter-extremism-al-saud.html
16.3.2016 – Control Arms Blog (** B K P)
ENOUGH IS ENOUGH: STATES MUST STOP ARMS TRANSFERS FUELLING YEMEN CONFLICT
As a journalist and analyst, one of the cardinal rules of my work is to distance myself from the story – to not let it affect me. Initially, this was quite difficult. Over time, though, training yourself not to get too close to your subject becomes an almost reflexive instinct.
Over the past few months, my reporting has principally focused on the ongoing civil war in Yemen – my home country.
This has been exceptionally difficult.
While I’ve been keen to maintain the necessary professional distance in my journalistic reporting, it has been impossible to ignore the personal dimension the war represents for me. As the conflict grew in scale and intensity, my own personal involvement in it gradually widened too; expanding from mere journalistic reporting, to political analysis, to full-on campaigning and advocacy, in a desperate attempt to do all I can to help put a stop to the suffering of my people, suffering I’ve been a firsthand witness to for the past weeks and months.
When I was invited to represent Control Arms at the ATT meeting in February, I could not possibly decline. I considered the impact I could have in helping bring the scale of the plight of my fellow Yemenis to the attention of powerful politicians.
Little did I know, however, that my pleas would fall on deaf ears! At the conference, our request to debate the Yemen case was refused. Instead, the ATT president suggested we discuss in a few months, at the annual meeting in August! I watched incredulously as attendees spent the entire meeting debating mundane procedural points, having deemed the plight of an entire people unworthy of consideration. It was a sobering realization though, sadly, not a surprising one.
Today, as Yemenis starve in their millions, the world continues to look away in silence.
Amidst the indifference, I have not stopped writing about the ravaged, bombed-out neighborhoods in my hometown and other cities. Some of the displaced families I’ve visited and interviewed have included my own.
Make no mistake, though – my family has had it easy compared to the more than 22 million Yemenis who have spent the past few months on the edge of famine, and who remain, as I write, in desperate need of the most basic forms of humanitarian aid.
Over the past twelve months, I have seen people in my home country lose everything as a result of a tragic, senseless war between their own government, backed by a Saudi-led coalition, and Houthi rebels, backed by Iran.
The figures have been harrowing: Since the conflict began in March 2015, more than 35,000 Yemenis have been killed or injured. According to the UN, civilians account for almost 3,000 of the fatalities and 5,600 of the injuries, including 700 child deaths. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs estimates that more than 2.5 million people have been internally displaced by the war.
Having witnessed the devastation firsthand, I have resigned myself to the most painful of conclusions: While houses and roads can be mended or rebuilt, and the dead can be mourned and honored through monuments and memorials, the cost the current humanitarian catastrophe will inflict on future generations might leave our country beyond repair. Put simply, this war is tearing Yemen’s social fabric apart. Today’s children are putting down their school bags and picking up guns and rifles instead in alarming numbers. Faced with a future without prospects, many are opting to join extremist organisations such as Al Qaeda – or even ISIS.
While Yemen – a land seemingly forever at war with itself – is no stranger to internal strife, this latest round has taken on an international dimension that makes it different from those in the past. When President Hadi fled to Riyadh in March of last year, he requested support from his regional allies and sponsors. Within days, they obliged by launching ‘Operation Decisive Storm’, an aerial bombing campaign by a Saudi-led regional coalition.
However, what was meant to be a brief 10-day operation soon turned into a multi-pronged, multi-dimensional quagmire with no end in sight, despite thousands of deaths and the destruction of much of the country’s basic infrastructure. Predictably, heavy fighting on the ground has been accompanied by a full-blown political regional crisis.
In January of this year, Houthi forces seized control of the capital, Sana’a, triggering the full collapse of the internationally recognized government. Since then, civilians have been living under daily threat of attack. Coalition airstrikes have hit civilians and civilian infrastructure across the country, while Houthi forces and their allies have been shelling populated areas with regularity. The violence has not only degenerated into widespread violations of international humanitarian and human rights laws – committed by all parties – but to a severe humanitarian crisis that continues to worsen by the day.
However, beyond the local and regional parties to the crisis – the Saudi-led coalition, the Houthis, former president Saleh’s loyalists – one must not overlook the absolutely central role played by other international powers in fueling and exacerbating the conflict.
While it is said that the Houthi rebels are backed by Iran, the United Kingdom and United States have been the largest arms providers to Saudi Arabia and its allies on the coalition side. Indeed, Saudi Arabia has been one of the largest arms purchasers over the past decade. In 2014, the country became the world’s largest importer of defense equipment.
Although many of the countries exporting to Saudi Arabia are States Parties or Signatories to the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT), a number of organizations, notably Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, have already produced strong evidence that US and UK munitions have been used in Saudi-led coalition airstrikes against several residential neighborhoods in Yemen. In fact, a recent Control Arms report has estimated the size of arms licenses and sales to Saudi Arabia by France, Germany, Italy, Montenegro, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, the UK, and the US to be in excess of $25bn in 2015 alone! These sales include drones, bombs, torpedoes, rockets and missiles; in other words, the very weaponry currently being used by Saudi Arabia and its allies in their aerial and ground attacks in Yemen to commit gross human rights violations – and possibly war crimes.
Having failed to convince some of these key actors at the recent ATT meeting in Geneva, I am hoping they will read my pleas here: I implore all ATT signatory States Parties to take action and lead by example. Considering the urgency of the situation on the ground, any delays will have catastrophic consequences for an entire population. It is imperative they do not wait for the CSP meeting in August to take action. Instead, all States should cease any ongoing arms transfers to the warring parties in Yemen with immediate effect!
The world’s indifference, and complicity, must come to an end. The people of Yemen have suffered enough – by Nawal Al-maghafi
https://controlarmsblog.wordpress.com/2016/03/16/states-must-starting-arming-yemen-conflict/
15.3.2016 – Amnesty International (**A K P)
UK: STOP SELLING ARMS TO SAUDI ARABIA
The bloody conflict in Yemen has been raging for a year – but largely ignored by the rest of the world. Devastating air strikes, led by Saudi Arabia, have killed thousands of Yemeni civilians and destroyed homes, schools and hospitals. Meanwhile, the UK government has been providing weapons to those committing these horrific war crimes.
Demand the UK stops selling arms that risk being used in human rights abuses to Saudi Arabia and the other countries bombing Yemen – we must not be complicit in killing civilians
Evidence of UK-made bomb
We have evidence of a British-made bomb which was used to destroy a Yemeni ceramics factory – a civilian building.
The attack on the factory in the Sana’a governorate killed one person and violates international humanitarian law.
‘This was depressingly predictable. Amnesty has repeatedly warned that UK-made weapons were likely to end up causing civilian casualties in Yemen, but those warnings have been recklessly ignored.’
Kate Allen, Amnesty UK Director
In breach of the Arms Trade Treaty
The UK has fuelled this appalling conflict through reckless arms sales which break its own laws and the global Arms Trade Treaty it once championed.
According to leading international lawyers, in a report commissioned by Amnesty and Saferworld, the continued selling of arms by the UK to Saudi Arabia is breaking national, EU and international law.
An estimated £18 billion of arms export licences were sold to Saudi Arabia during 2015 from th UK, France, Germany, Italy, Montenegro, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey and the US.
Schools targeted
The coalition forces have carried out a series of air strikes targeting schools that were still in use.
We investigated five strikes on schools between August and October that killed five civilians and injured at least 14 others, including four children.
In total 254 schools have been completely destroyed, 608 are partially damaged and 421 are being used as shelters.
Caught in the middle
Civilians are trapped in the middle of violence. Thousands have been killed and injured, and a humanitarian crisis has spiralled.
Four out of five Yemenis today rely on humanitarian assistance in order to survive. There is no access to essential services including clean water and electricity, and food prices have soared creating a desperate situation for millions of people.
Access to health care is also restricted with medical centres shut down, frequent attacks on medical staff and dwindling supplies of electricity, fuel, medication and surgical equipment.
Hospital bombing
A hospital supported by Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) in northern Yemen was bombed on 26 October 2015. This attack may amount to a war crime and demands an urgent, independent and thorough investigation.
Children among the dead
In one airstrike on a home in Dammaj valley coalition forces killed eight children from the same family, and injured nine other relatives.
‘There were 19 people in the house when it was bombed. All but one were women and children. The children who would usually be outside during the day were in the house because it was lunchtime. They were all killed or injured. One of the dead was a 12-day-old baby.’
Abdullah Ahmed Yahya al-Sailami, whose one-year-old son was among those killed
Our researchers have found a pattern of appalling disregard for civilian lives displayed by the Saudi Arabia-led military coalition which has declared the entire cities of Sa’da and nearby Marran as military targets.
We also have evidence of the use of internationally-banned cluster bombs.
What we’re calling for
The UK must end its transfers of arms to the Saudi Arabi-led Coalition carrying out illegal and indiscriminate airstrikes in Yemen.
We must not supply weapons that could be used to commit human rights violations or war crimes.
There must also be an independent enquiry into the supply of arms to Saudi Arabia and all parties currently involved into Yemen conflict.
https://www.amnesty.org.uk/actions/uk-stop-selling-arms-saudi-arabia#.VuiU9kgythE.facebook (with films)
cp2 Allgemein / General
17.3.2016 – UN Country Team in Yemen (B K)
One Year Overview of the Yemen Crisis | March 2015 - March 2016 (Infograph)
http://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/Overview-of-the-crisis_English.pdf
17.3.2016 - AFP (A K)
Kommentar: Wen wundert es, dass die USA sofort positiv auf das Propagandageblubber des herrn Asiri reagieren. damit ist der Zweck, von dem verheerenden Luftangriff auf den markt abzulenken, schon erreicht. Spiel über Bande zwischen Verbündeten.
17.3.2016 – Deutschlandfunk (A K)
Saudi-Arabien kündigt Ende von Militäreinsatz im Jemen an
Nach fast genau einem Jahr steht der Militäreinsatz Saudi-Arabiens im Nachbarland Jemen vor dem Ende.
Dies erklärte der Sprecher des von Riad geführten Bündnisses, Al-Asiri. Doch werde die Koalition den jemenitischen Streitkräften bei Bedarf weiter Unterstützung aus der Luft geben und an langfristigen Plänen zur Stabilisierung des Landes arbeiten. Die Soldaten stehen den schiitischen Huthi-Rebellen gebenüber, die nach wie vor die Hauptstadt Sanaa kontrollieren.
Kommentar: Das sollte wirklich niemand glauben. Mit einer solchen Erklärung möchte Saudi-Arabien wohl nichts als der Kritik an den jüngsten verheerenden Luftangriff auf einen Markt (siehe cp16) etwas entgegensetzen.
17.3.2016 - AFP (A P)
US welcomes Saudi comment on Yemen combat nearing 'end'
A Saudi announcement that major combat is nearing an end in Yemen was welcomed by Washington Thursday, as the death toll from alliance air strikes on a market rose to 119.
The White House welcomed the statement.
"We have expressed our concerns about the loss of innocent life in Yemen, the violence there that is plaguing that country has caught to many innocent civilians in the crossfire," spokesman Josh Earnest said.
"We would welcome and do welcome the statement from coalition spokesperson Saudi General Ahmed al-Assiri who indicated today that major operations in Yemen are coming to an end and that the coalition will work on 'long-term plans' to bring stability to the country."
https://www.yahoo.com/news/toll-tuesdays-strikes-yemen-market-rises-119-dead-135046372.html
Comment: What a bulk of hypocrisy by the greatest supplier of arms for this war!! Off course, they "welcome" every propaganda bullshit from their ally.
17.3.2016 – AP (A K)
Saudi to scale down Yemen campaign; strike death toll rises
Saudi Arabia said Thursday its military coalition will scale down operations in Yemen, an announcement that came as the death toll from an airstrike by the alliance on a market north of the Yemeni capital this week nearly doubled, reaching 119.
A U.N. official said 22 children were among those killed on Tuesday in the Hajja province, an area controlled by Yemen's Shiite rebels known as Houthis, the latest in a series of similar airstrikes that have killed hundreds of civilians since the Yemen war began.
Saudi military spokesman Brig. Gen. Ahmed al-Asiri told The Associated Press over the phone from the kingdom's capital, Riyadh, that his country and its coalition partners would continue to provide air support to Yemeni forces battling the Houthis and their allies.
"The aim of the coalition is to create a strong cohesive government with a strong national army and security forces that can combat terrorism and impose law and order across the country," al-Asiri said.
Only "small" teams of coalition troops would remain on the ground to "equip, train, and advise" Yemeni forces, which are gradually replacing coalition forces, he said, adding that the coalition's primary task will from now on be to help build a Yemeni army.
"This takes time and it needs patience," he said.
Scaling down military operations, however, will not impact on the size of coalition naval and air assets deployed to protect Yemen's porous coastline on the Red Sea and the Arabian Sea, he stressed – by Ahmed Al-Haj and Maggie Michael
http://bigstory.ap.org/66550de27e1a44e0b6ba3a95cb2901e7
Comment: I simply do not believe that. I think he just tells this to weaken any possible critics of this Saudi raid.
16.3.2016 – Middle East Eye (*B K P)
What exactly is the UAE doing fighting a war in Yemen?
Aside from loyalty to the GCC, it is hard to see why Emirati entered the war. The UAE is now left in a quandary without an exit strategy
A war that began as a military adventure led by deputy crown prince and Defence Minister Mohammed bin Salman, the favoured son of King Salman, has at least some strategic significance for the Saudis.
But the Emiratis? Aside from loyalty to the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) it is hard to see why they entered the war. Until you begin to peel away the propaganda surrounding Operation Decisive Storm.
The UAE has longstanding commercial relations with Iran that have weathered the Iranian revolution, sanctions and Saudi opprobrium. They don’t see Iran as quite the bully boy that their next door neighbours do.
For a long time, too, the Emiratis have cast covetous eyes on Aden. They see it as a natural extension to the port facilities of Dubai, one that gives them easy access to the Indian Ocean and an alternative to the Strait of Hormuz which they and the other Gulf states share uneasily with Iran.
It was the Emiratis who led an amphibious assault on Aden in the summer of 2015.
But since then there have been numerous lethal attacks on the city both by the Houthis and Saleh forces and by Daesh and al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP).
Still Aden remains a prize worth acquiring.
Previously the huge DP World port container company, based in Dubai, had a deal with Aden and former president Saleh but pulled out in 2012 when his successor Hadi tried to renegotiate terms.
However in October last year DP World unveiled a plan to resuscitate the deal.
But before that can happen some sort of arrangement needs to be hammered out and the preferable one for the UAE would be a return to the old days - a Yemen divided in two as it was prior to 1990. The south, with Aden again restored to the status of a capital, would fall into the Emirati sphere. The north, once the Houthis and Saleh were sorted out, would be under Saudi sway.
However such an outcome remains highly unlikely, particularly given the strength of AQAP which has quietly taken control of the oil-rich southern province of Hadramawt town by town, in concert with local tribes.
That leaves the Emiratis in a quandary. Like so many before them, they entered a war without an exit strategy. And as they count the cost they must be thinking about how and when to cut their losses – by Bill Law
http://www.middleeasteye.net/columns/what-exactly-uae-doing-fighting-war-yemen-1962079353
15.3.2016 – Russian Council (* B K)
War in Yemen: a New Vietnam?
In the struggle between Iran and Saudi Arabia for power, moral and religious superiority there is no denying that the former is gaining momentum. Now it is not as implausible as it was before that Iran may gain the upper hand somewhere in the foreseeable future.
Indeed, if we had to dissect the time line to dig out what factors could have tipped the scale giving the final push to the Saudi Arabia-led coalition to make their move in March, there is an element that stands out. The airstrikes were launched more than two months after President Hadi was forced to flee the country and even longer after the rebellion had been steadily on the rise, so this does not necessarily screams a sense of urgency on the Saudi side to get involved militarily. On the other hand, though, the timing of the intervention actually falls very close to the moment when the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action for the Iranian nuclear program started to look like a done deal. It is extremely unlikely that this was a coincidence and in the end it turned out to be a masterful coup for Teheran.
It is also not a secret that King Salman's handling of Shia affairs is euphemistically firmer than his predecessor's. Saudi Arabia, for example, has to constantly deal with its Shiite minority, which is located in the oil-rich eastern regions and is regularly a source of unrest. All attempts to overthrow President Assad in Syria ended in failure so far. As if that was not enough, Iraq is shifting under the Iranian influence. It would have been only normal that under these circumstances Riyad felt the pressure to act and do so vigorously.
The difference here is that the United States could withdraw from Vietnam and somehow cut their albeit enormous losses, because in the end it was a country on the other side of the world. Saudi Arabia doesn't have that same luxury – by Anna Corsaro
http://russiancouncil.ru/en/blogs/anna-corsaro/?id_4=2364
16.3.2016 – Hamed Ghaleb (A K)
stopped tweetin abt #Saudi war crimes,i lost faith in humanity& #UN #US ,#UK care mor abt money.now I believe in fightin 2avenge from #Saudi
https://twitter.com/HamedGhaleb/status/709914127603515396
Comment: Bombing = radicalization of those who are bombed.
16.4.2015 – Middle East research and Information Project (B K)
Open Letter from Yemen Scholars Protesting War
published April 16, 2015 - 9:21am
We write as scholars concerned with Yemen and as residents/nationals of the United Kingdom and the United States. The military attack by Saudi Arabia, backed by the Gulf Cooperation Council states (but not Oman), Egypt, Jordan, Sudan, the UK and above all the US, is into its third week of bombing and blockading Yemen. This military campaign is illegal under international law: None of these states has a case for self-defense. The targets of the campaign include schools, homes, refugee camps, water systems, grain stores and food industries. This has the potential for appalling harm to ordinary Yemenis as almost no food or medicine can enter. Yemen is the poorest country of the Arab world in per capita income, yet rich in cultural plurality and democratic tradition. Rather than contributing to the destruction of the country, the US and UK should support a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate, unconditional ceasefire and use their diplomatic influence to strengthen the sovereignty and self-government of Yemen. As specialists we are more than aware of internal divisions within Yemeni society, but we consider that it is for the Yemenis themselves to be allowed to negotiate a political settlement.
[following names]
http://www.merip.org/open-letter-yemen-scholars-protesting-war
Comment: Just true, and there where people who knew that already 10 month before our politicians (who still do not).
cp3 Humanitäre Lage / Humanitarian situation
17.3.2016 – World Health Organisation (A H)
WHO to provide some of the hardest hit areas of Yemen with desperately needed health supplies and services
Since April 2015, continuing violence and insecurity has led to a collapsing health system that has left more than 14 million Yemenis in need of healthcare services. Almost 25% of all health facilities have shut down due to damages, and there are critical shortages of staff and life-saving medicines.
The World Health Organization (WHO) plans to use US$ 8.9 million from a recent Yemen Humanitarian Pooled Fund grant to provide essential health supplies and services to nearly 700 000 people still reeling from last year’s back-to-back cyclones and Yemen’s ongoing conflict.
“Imagine being caught in a conflict with the health system crumbling and then within one week you have two brutal cyclones roll through your country,” Dr Ahmed Shadoul, WHO Representative to Yemen. “This is what we are still dealing with in parts of Yemen.”
The grant will be used to pay for essential health services and supplies, such as deploying medical and surgical teams, provision of medicines, fuel, trauma and interagency emergency health kits. The grant is the largest that WHO has received to date from UN country-based pooled funds, which unite funds from different donors. Managed locally by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, country-based pooled funds are used to address humanitarian needs and priorities in a particular country, and allocated to different UN agencies, such as WHO, and other partners.
The governorates of Al Maharah, Hadramout and Shabwah were the hardest hit areas of two cyclones that struck Yemen in November 2015. UN agencies and their partners provided an immediate response, including distributing food, safe water, non-food items, shelter materials and tents, as well as providing medical assistance. However, severe health needs for these three governorates continue.
“This grant allows us to reach some of the hardest hit places of both the cyclones and the conflict at once,” said Dr Shadoul. “They will receive many desperately needed supplies like medicines, vaccines and fuel.
More than five million children below the age of five have been vaccinated against polio, measles and rubella by WHO and partners. WHO has also provided more than 19 million litres of safe water and one million litres of fuel to health facilities and camps hosting internally displaced persons during 2015.
?.3.2016 – World Health Organization (A H)
Yemen situation report
Highlights, 16–29 February 2016
From 19 March 2015 to 20 February 2016, a total of 6202 deaths and 29 612 injuries have been reported from health facilities in conflict-affected governorates. The number of deaths is believed to be higher given that this report only captures health facility reported deaths.
WHO has expanded its presence in Yemen through the establishing of a focal point in Ibb governorate to coordinate the health and nutrition cluster response in Ibb and Taiz governorates.
On 29 February 2016, WHO provided one trauma kit for 100 beneficiaries and one interagency emergency health kit for 10 000 beneficiaries to Al-Thawra Hospital in Sana'a, which receives patients from all governorates. On 25 February 2016, one interagency emergency health kit for 10 000 beneficiaries was provided by WHO for the Red Crescent in Amran governorate.
WHO provided 91 000 ampoules of insulin to the Ministry of Public Health and Population in Sana'a for distribution to health facilities.
WHO, together with the Ministry of Public Health and Population, UNICEF and the World Food Programme have finalized a strategy coordinating the response to prevent and treat the high rates of acute malnutrition in Yemen.
Yemen health cluster bulletins
An upsurge in cases of measles and dengue has been reported in Al-Mukalla, Hadramout governorate, during the reporting period.
Since March 2015, 5697 cases of suspected dengue fever and severe dengue fever cases have been reported. These include 3000 suspected cases reported from Aden from public and private functioning hospitals through eDEWS and the routine surveillance system.
Due to the disrupted health system and collapsed water and sanitation facilities a consistent increase in diarrhoeal diseases has been recorded among the affected population.
Estimates show that 2.6 million children under 15 years of age in Yemen are at risk of measles; 2.5 million under 5 are at risk of diarrhoeal disease and another 1.3 at risk of acute respiratory infections.
More than 500 000 litres of fuel have been distributed to hospitals to ensure continuity and functionality of main hospitals, vaccine stores, ambulances, national laboratories, kidney and oncology centres, and health centres in 13 governorates.
http://www.emro.who.int/yem/yemeninfocus/situation-reports.html in full http://www.emro.who.int/images/stories/yemen/WHO_Yemen_situation_report_Issue_25_16_-_29_February_2016.pdf?ua=1
16.3.2016 – Asharq al-Awsat (A H K)
Saudi Humanitarian Aid Arrives in the Houthi Stronghold Saada
The Arab coalition led by Saudi Arabia participated in the delivery of humanitarian aid to the governorate of Saada, which is considered the main Houthi stronghold and is situated in northern Yemen, after a period of calm during which some tribal figures pledged to provide a safe route for the admittance of aid and to ensure that it is delivered to the needy.
An official at the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Centre clarified that Yemeni charities provided lists of the names of families according to their relief needs to ensure delivery as soon as possible. 6,000 food baskets and 40 tonnes of dates were distributed and 20 tonnes of medicines and urgent medical supplies were delivered to the Saudi Al-Salam hospital in Saada. The official stressed that the centre “does not differentiate between the spectra of Yemeni people”.
The general supervisor of the centre Dr Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al-Rabiah said that the centre is keen to provide assistance to its brothers in Yemen and deliver humanitarian assistance to all Yemeni provinces including Saada which received 220 tonnes of food, medicine and medical supplies.
In addition to this, humanitarian convoys provided by the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Centre arrived in the city of Taiz, the third biggest Yemeni city, from the southern city of Aden, after the siege on Taiz was lifted last Friday by the national army and the Popular Resistance with the support of Arab coalition forces. The items of relief include 14,000 food baskets.
http://english.aawsat.com/2016/03/article55348578/saudi-humanitarian-relief-arrives-in-the-houthi-stronghold-saada and more images: https://twitter.com/JosephJo1221/status/710281799889457152
Comment: At last - this is probably part of the peace deal. The Saudis have made the delivery of humanitarian aid difficult by insisting that no aid went to the northwest, where the malnutrition rate is so high after such widespread destruction. But it is reported by Saudi news agencies, so it might only be a token trumpeted up in the usual propaganda style - any news of deliveries anyone from Yemen?
https://www.facebook.com/yemennewstodayenglish/posts/1112003298952160
And at once, the French ambassador to Saudi Arabia praises the Saudi help as “notable” – did he ever say a word before about the Saudi air raids in Yemen, are they not “notable” for him??
https://twitter.com/JamilaHanan/status/710495361245323265
But the Saudi food proved to be rotten, in this film people from Taiz are complaining:
https://twitter.com/gaber200140/status/710497554476228608 and see this image: https://twitter.com/alezzisa/status/710515353525288960
16.3.2016 – Doctors Without Borders (* A H)
Yemen: Dramatic influx of wounded amidst fierce fighting in Taiz
Intense fighting in the city of Taiz, in south-western Yemen, has resulted in more than 400 war-wounded people arriving at the emergency rooms of MSF-supported hospitals over the past week, many of them civilians.
MSF warns that urban warfare in densely populated areas is having devastating consequences for civilians trapped between frontlines.
“The patients we are seeing in the emergency rooms are mainly suffering from injuries due to airstrikes, blasts, shelling, gunshots, snipers and recently landmines,” says Will Turner, MSF head of mission in Yemen. “Civilians in Taiz have suffered massively since fighting began here nearly a year ago, but with the intensity of the fighting growing over recent days and weeks, people in Taiz are at even greater risk at becoming caught up in the conflict.”
MSF has made repeated calls to the warring groups to protect civilians and respect medical facilities.
“We hear heartbreaking stories from our patients and colleagues,” says Turner. “An old man was living a simple life with his children when his house was hit by the force of a shell blast. Three of his children were wounded, while the fourth will be paralysed for the rest of his life. A mother of three was killed by gunfire while collecting water for her children. A family of six was killed in an airstrike that destroyed their house while they were sleeping. These incidents are a small fraction of the reality faced by people on a day-to-day basis in Taiz.”
There have been reports of hospitals being damaged or coming under attack by the different warring groups in various areas of Taiz in recent weeks, making it even more difficult for people to access urgently needed medical care.
MSF calls once again on all warring parties to provide protection for civilians; to facilitate access to medical facilities for all the sick and wounded; to allow humanitarian and medical supplies into all areas; and to protect medical staff and health facilities.
http://www.msf.org/article/yemen-dramatic-influx-wounded-amidst-fierce-fighting-taiz
16.3.2016 – Doctors Without Borders (* A H)
Yemen: MSF treats more than 40 wounded following deadly airstrike on marketplace
MSF medical teams working in Abs Hospital, Yemen, treated more than 40 patients injured in two deadly airstrikes on a marketplace in Khamis village, Mustaba District in northern Hajja Governorate. Two people died in transit to the hospital, and four patients arrived in critical condition, including an eight year old child who was referred on for specialist neurosurgical care.
MSF condemns this latest example of the way war is being waged in Yemen – with a total disregard for civilian life – and calls again for the protection of civilians by the warring groups.
Local sources confirm that at the time of the attack – yesterday at midday – Khamis was full of people who had gathered for the weekly market day. Dozens of civilians were present at the time of the airstrike, including women, children and the elderly, and many were injured or killed in the attack.
“The people of this area have been living with insecurity for months; many have been displaced. They have gone through so much already, and this kind of violence makes them yet more vulnerable,” says Albert Stern, MSF field coordinator in Abs.
Almost a year of regular attacks in northern Hajja have pushed more than 90,000 people to seek refuge in Abs District to the south. MSF recently visited the health centre in Khamis and found it barely functioning, and local medical staff living in constant fear of being bombed.
http://www.msf.org/article/yemen-msf-treats-more-40-wounded-following-deadly-airstrike-marketplace
16.3.2016 – The Guardian (* B H)
As doctors in Yemen, war wounds are not our only medical challenge
In addition to all the gunshot victims, Yemen has a healthcare crisis ranging from malnutrition to strokes. I am leaving the country with a heavy heart
It is nearing midnight on a chilly and beautiful January night in Yemen. The hum of the hospital generator outside my window, overlaid with the sound of gunfire (sometimes celebratory, sometimes not), is something I have grown used to over the past three months.
My phone rings: it is the duty doctor calling for back-up after receiving multiple gunshot patients in the emergency room of Al Nasser general hospital in Al Dhale governorate.
My heart doesn’t race like it used to. From never seeing gunshot wounds back home in India, to now seeing them on a daily basis, I am learning a lot here in Yemen. This night is busier than most.
ne patient has had his left eye socket blown out by a bullet and is still talking coherently – it is like a scene from a movie. Another has a gunshot wound to the head and is being mechanically ventilated, while a third has multiple gunshots through his abdomen. Our medical team manages these patients calmly and efficiently. Later the staff joke with me about how, in the middle of last year, when the frontline was at their doorstep, this was daily life for them.
The resilience of people here is something I will always admire.
War wounds aren’t the only medical needs we have to tackle. Yemen is grappling with a dual burden: malnutrition and vaccine-preventable diseases on the one hand, chronic conditions like heart disease and strokes on the other. Mental health issues are completely ignored. Due to the war and uncontrolled inflation, healthcare is either unavailable or inaccessible to large parts of the population.
There are severe shortages of fuel, food, electricity and water, too.
Alan de Lima Pereira: ‘The moments of helplessness faced by a wartime doctor are many’ Photograph: Ikram N'gadi/MSF
These are times when international humanitarian law is just another meaningless phrase. The indiscriminate attacks on hospitals and civilians – either targeted or conveniently labelled collateral damage – add an extra layer of complexity.
The moments of helplessness faced by a wartime doctor are many.
I now leave Yemen with a heavy heart. It has definitely been one of my most challenging experiences: dire needs for healthcare in the face of insecurity.
My hope and prayer is that this war will end soon – by Alan de Lima Pereira, who spent three months working for Médecins Sans Frontières in Al Dhale
16.3.2016 – World Food Programme (A H)
WFP Launches Food Voucher Programme For Families In Yemen
The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) began distributing food vouchers to assist close to 120,000 people living in Sana’a city with plans to reach one million people across Yemen in this way by the end of 2016.
The voucher scheme will speed up the delivery of food assistance in Yemen, enabling WFP to reach vulnerable people faster through a local retailer who will supply food commodities to families in exchange for WFP vouchers. This new form of assistance will also help revive commercial activities and markets in Yemen.
Each voucher provides a family of six with a one-month supply of wheat grain, pulses, vegetable oil, salt and sugar as well as Wheat Soya Blend (WSB) – a protein-rich blended food provided by WFP through the local supplier.
“Food vouchers ensure the rapid and regular delivery of assistance across Yemen to families who rely almost entirely on external assistance to secure their essential food needs. WFP Vouchers also boost the local economy as we work with local suppliers to provide food to vulnerable people,” said WFP Representative and Country Director in Yemen Purnima Kashyap. “We thank the UK Government for funding this new programme.”
The Government of the United Kingdom has contributed £5.9 million (US$8.6 million), through UKaid, to fund the programme
Oum Ahmed told WFP she escaped Sa’ada eight months ago after her neighbourhood was destroyed by airstrikes and moved to Sana’a city with her family. “I clean people’s homes to be able to feed my children,” she said. “I was very happy when they gave me this voucher with my name on it.”
WFP will gradually replace conventional food distributions with voucher assistance in areas where markets are functioning. By the end of 2016, WFP aims to reach one million with food vouchers.
WFP is assisting up to 3 million people across Yemen every month, including both internally displaced people and vulnerable families in host communities.
http://www.wfp.org/news/news-release/wfp-launches-food-voucher-programme-families-yemen
16.3.2016 – Yemen Real News (B H)
A teacher talking about the devastating effects of the Saudi war on Yemen's children.
Help stop the Saudi aggression on Yemen. Help Save the Children.
https://www.facebook.com/yemen.crisis/posts/577588325740741
15.3.2016 – Alternet (**A H)
Meet the Yemeni Woman Using Creative Direct Action to Resist the Country's Brutal War
Bushra Al-Fusail wants the world to stop ignoring the people of Yemen.
Feminist photographer Bushra Al-Fusail wants the world to stop ignoring the more than 3,000 civilians killed in Yemen’s ongoing war, as the Saudi-led and U.S.-backed aerial assault nears the one-year mark. But she doesn’t want the dead and wounded to be seen solely as victims of bombings, combat, famine and naval blockades. She wants the world to see them as people, and to recognize the women at the forefront of efforts to survive and resist the brutality of Yemen’s conflict.
That’s why Sana’a-born Al-Fusail organized a creative, women-led protest in the heart of her besieged home city last summer that is continuing to have ripple effects around the world.
I met the young photographer at a summit last weekend organized by CodePink, examining the special relationship between the United States and Saudi Arabia. Al-Fusail told me the idea for her protest first came in 2011, when the revolution had spurred a petroleum shortage, cutting transportation options. “I was talking to my close friends asking, why can’t I bike?” she said.
When the Saudi-led bombing campaign began on March 26, the petroleum shortage dramatically worsened, so Al-Fusail says she “opened the subject again. One of my friends suggested we go bike on the street. The community has to accept it.”
During a five-day ceasefire in May, Al-Fusail sent out a Facebook invitation calling for women and girls to bike in the streets of the capital, Sana’a. “At first nobody believed it, they thought it was a joke,” she said. “But then 80 people said they were going to the event on Facebook. So we had to go to the neighbors, because we didn’t have bikes.”
In mid-May, the group went early in the morning to a large street that runs through Sana’a. “I convinced five of my friends who could bike to come, and eight women joined us,” explained Al-Fusail. “I didn’t know them, and they didn’t know how to bike. So I said, ‘I’m going to teach you how to bike.’”
What happened next would have a profound impact on Al-Fusail’s life. “We started to bike, and people were shocked, they were screaming,” she said. “But then one woman came out of her car and joined us.”
“It was like another world,” Al-Fusail continued. “We completely forgot the war and how many ugly things we had seen during that period. The women were so happy and empowered. Even if there are airstrikes, biking will let us keep our lives easier with transportation. This was our resistance to the war.”
Al-Fusail is not the only Yemeni who has launched creative organizing initiatives in the face of this relentless war. Just days into the coalition assault, people across Yemen and the global diaspora launched the independent online campaign Kefaya War (“Enough War” in Arabic) to document atrocities and call for a halt to the fighting on all sides.
These efforts are built upon numerous artistic and civil society campaigns, including Support Yemen Media, which uses video to tell the “under-told and under-heard struggles” of Yemenis organizing in the face of air strikes, repression and U.S. drone wars.
Asked what she wants people around the world to know about Yemeni society, she said, “We are human beings. We live, we eat well. A lot of people are getting married, going to parties, taking photographs and making documentaries. At the end of the day, people are so strong and still trying to survive even if the war is almost one year since it started.”
“I want people to protest your governments that are supporting this war,” she added, saying she plans to continue her activism. “Kids are being killed, and I blame everyone. Remember this story. And let Yemeni women know you support them, that they are not alone.” – by Sarah Lazare
cp5 Nordjemen und Huthis / Northern Yemen and Houthis
16.3.2016 – Yemen Times (B P)
IRAN’S ENVOY IN SANA’A: SORRY FOR SAUDI LOSING ITS RESOURCES THROUGH ATTRITION WARFARE
Meeting with Murtadha Abedin, Iran’s Chargés d'Affairesto Yemen, was a unique experience.
The uniqueness of this meeting at the Iranian embassy was not because Iran has always been portrayed by the Saudi-led coalition as the usual suspect in Yemen, nor for the ongoing war of words between Tehran and Riyadh over the definition of legitimate authority in Sana’a, nor for Iran’s denial of providing arms to Ansar Allah (more commonly known as the Houthis).
The uniqueness was because, despite the public perception, Iran’s top envoy in Sana’a was critical of the style of Ansar Allah in dealing with journalists and media workers in Yemen.
Emphasizing on the important role of independent media in covering war, before starting the interview, Abedin called on the Popular Committees affiliated with the Ansar Allah movement to improve their relations with media workers, especially freelance journalists who risk their lives to report on what is happening in Yemen, even those writing against Ansar Allah.
Scores of Yemeni journalists and media workers have lost their jobs under government pressure or are currently held hostage by armed groups, including Ansar Allah, according to Reporters Without Borders.
“We stand by the people of Yemen and Ansar Allah against any aggression, but we disagree with the movement over the case of journalists, those people should be won over by dialogue and treated with dignity and respect, because the current war is on the entire nation and the national collaboration is needed to prevail in Yemen,” Abedin said.
[following interview]
Many people accuse Iran of hindering the political process in Yemen, saying that Iran does not want the war to end, because it can exhaust the Saudis’ resources, financially and militarily, which will lead to its collapse. What is your reaction?
Everyone knows how this war started, who formed a coalition of countries to launch attacks on Yemen, and who opened a battlefront in the Yemeni-Saudi border.
If the Yemenis or more specifically Ansar Allah were responsible for launching attacks on the Saudi border and opening a new front line, then people were right to hold Iran accountable for instigating Ansar Allah to attack the border and imposing a war of attrition on Saudi Arabia.
But the truth is that Saudi Arabia started this unjust war against the Yemenis. What is happening in reality is the opposite of what the Saudis wanted to do. They started the battlefront in Yemen in order to defeat Bashar Al-Assad in Syria and weaken us politically and economically to stop supporting Al-Assad in Syria. But that didn’t happen.
I should assert to everyone that Iran has no military presence in Yemen; therefore Saudi Arabia will not reach its goal. They will be defeated in Yemen, not us.
We are sorry if Saudis are exhausting their financial resources and power because of the war on Yemen and other countries, but they brought this upon themselves. What they should have done is that their resources should have been utilized against the true enemy of Islam and the Muslims, which is the Zionist entity, not for fighting their brothers in neighboring country.
The internationally-recognized government of Yemen and the KSA are still claiming that Iran is smuggling weapons to Ansar Allah and sending military advisors to Yemen to help the Houthis as well as the forces loyal to former president Ali Abdullah Saleh. Is that true?
We did not intervene in Yemen militarily and everyone knows that. Despite those claims, there are no Iranian advisors or soldiers in Yemen.If there is any Iranian military here in Yemen they have to prove it with evidence – by Ali Ibrahim Al-Mohski
Comment: off course, the Iranian Chargé d’Affairs wants to communicate a good image of Iran, thus you could label this article as “propaganda”. Anyway, in the case of the Yemen war such a positive propaganda seems to be much easier for Iran, as showing Iran in a better light can keep much closer to reality and truth than in case of the Saudis. Thus, it is just true that Iranian interference and support for the Houthi mainly is limited to “cheerleading”, propaganda and political support. What just is odd: he certainly is right when asking the Houthis not to oppress the work of journalists. Off course, he is right with that and thus throws a good light on himself and Iran (in western eyes), but what about the freedom of journalists in Iran??
cp6 Südjemen und Hadi-Regierung / Southern Yemen and Hadi-government
16.3.2016 – Gulf News (A T)
Yemen's VP urges joint action for strengthening security in Lahij
Yemeni Prime Minister and Vice President Khaled Bahah on Wednesday stressed that efforts and joint action by local should be intensified to restore the situation in Lahij Governorate to normal by addressing security issues and repairing infrastructure and public departments destroyed in the war.
He was speaking during a meeting with Governor of Lajih, Naser Al Khabji, and local officials to discuss the security situation in the governorate, located between Tazi and Aden.
http://gulftoday.ae/portal/a149d944-e2c3-4b7b-b7b1-57c66c69fee7.aspx
16.3.2016 – Press TV Iran (A T)
Blast in Yemen’s Aden kills three
At least three people have been killed and three others injured in a blast in the province of Aden in southern Yemen.
Two attackers and a pedestrian were killed in the blast in Dar Saad district of Aden on Wednesday, according to Yemen’s al-Omanaa.net.
The blast occurred as an explosive belt that one of attackers, identified as Walid al-Namis, was wearing went off before the motorcycle he was riding with another unidentified person approached the house of a leader of the Southern Movement, which is opposed to the Saudi aggression of Yemen, in Dar Saad.
Yemeni sources said Daesh and al-Qaeda terrorist groups who are holding parts of southern Yemen might be behind this attack.
http://presstv.ir/Detail/2016/03/16/456102/Yemen-Aden-Ansarullah
15.3.2016 – Living in Yemen on the Edge (A K)
officials and security sources said that" on Tuesday, March 15, the militants supported by Saudi-led coalition controlled an oil refinery, and they closed all gates, and prevented staff from entering in Aden south Yemen, where the province witnessed heavy clashes between different militants, some of them loyal to Saudi Arabia ond others loyal to UKE. The sources added that" this comes after the militants had promis for employ by the authorities in the city's .
The sources expressed concern about this issued which stormed by the militants, preventing employees from entering or doing business. The sources asserted that" this action will stop it completely, that is reflected on the logistical situation of petroleum products in Aden and neighboring provinces.
The statement indicated that the gunmen blocked, too, the oil port of the refinery. And "What happened portends disastrous results"
cp7 UNO / UN
16.3.2016 – Nasser Arrabyee (A P)
Yesterday I spoke to Yemen-based UN chief Jamie McGoldrick about US-backed Saudi war crimes in Yemen (interview)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BGoH06mUVYI&feature=youtu.be&app=desktop
16.3.2016 – AP (A P)
UN Says None of Yemen's Warring Parties Protect Civilians
The U.N.'s humanitarian chief in Yemen said Wednesday that none of the warring parties there were fulfilling their obligations to protect civilians or facilitate humanitarian assistance.
Jamie McGoldrick's comments at a Sanaa news conference came one day after airstrikes by a Saudi-led and U.S.-backed coalition targeted a busy market in a northern region controlled by Shiite Houthi rebels, killing and wounding dozens.
http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/yemens-warring-parties-protect-civilians-37689101
Comment: The balance would be more real if telling how much victims and destructions can be ascribed to each side of the conflict.
16.3.2016 – UNO (A P)
Condemning Attack on Yemen Market, Secretary-General Calls Air Strike One of Deadliest Incidents since Conflict Started
The following statement was issued today by the Spokesman for UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon:
The Secretary-General condemns the air strikes that hit Al-Khamees market in Mastaba District in the Hajjah Province of Yemen yesterday. This incident is one of the deadliest — reportedly killing and wounding scores of civilians, including women and children — since the start of the conflict. This is the second major incident of this kind in just over two weeks.
The Secretary-General underscores to all parties the utmost necessity to fully respect their obligations under international humanitarian and human rights laws, including the fundamental rules of distinction, proportionality and precaution. Attacks directed against civilians and civilian objects, including populated markets, are strictly prohibited. The Secretary-General stresses that any intentional attack against civilians or civilian objects is a serious violation of international humanitarian law. It is critical to carry out prompt, effective, independent and impartial investigations into all allegations of serious violations.
The Secretary-General continues to urge all parties to the conflict to cease all military activities and to start to resolve all differences and outstanding issues in a new round of peaceful negotiations facilitated by his Special Envoy for Yemen.
The Secretary-General expresses his sincere condolences and sympathies to the families of the victims and wishes a speedy recovery to those injured.
http://www.un.org/press/en/2016/sgsm17599.doc.htm or http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=53458#.Vuo4MOLhCUl (film: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TuKHeZrZJH8)
Comment: Ban, a tragicomic figure in the Yemen war. The UN still 100 % siding with the Saudis, who still could take him for serious?
cp8 Saudi-Arabien / Saudi Arabia
15.3.2016 – Veterans Today (A P)
Saudi Arabia’s horrible execution spree: 30 Saudi citizens put to death for criticizing the king
Amnesty International in the strongest terms condemned the Saudi regime for sending 4 juveniles to gallows, considering the verdicts as a clear violation of international laws and conventions, since the defendants committed the alleged crimes—participating in a pro-democracy rally— while under the age of 18.
As the international community’s widespread condemnation against Saudi regime for crackdown on pro-democracy movement by staging unfair trials and issuing arbitrary verdicts continues; the Human Rights organization express their grave concerns with the ominous reports confirming the punishment of political opponents by giving them death penalties.
According to the initial reports, the Saudi general prosecutor asked the penal court in Riyadh to sentence 27 Saudi political prisoners to death and 3 others to severe punishments. In May 2013, the Saudi security arrested 30 political activists without pointing charges amid a fierce clampdown on pro-democracy movements in Al-Hasa, Qatif, Jeddah and Medina.
The international community also accuses the Saudi regime of systematic torture and death punishments as a gruesome means to deal with its political dissidents.
Nearly all defendants belong to Saudi Arabia’s persecuted Shiite community and there are eminent Muslim clerics between the convicts— namely Sheikh Badr Al Hilal Taleb and Abdul Jalil Alaithan —, in addition to physicians and university professors whom the Saudi regime accuses of collaboration with the Iranian government and espionage.
Meanwhile, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights slammed the Saudi regime for high rate of executions and myriad cases of torture in Saudi prisons.
James Lynch, the London-based deputy director of Middle-East and North Africa programme at Amnesty International lamented the death sentences and forced confessions —obtained under duress— and considered the Saudi inhumane approach vis-à-vis prisoners of conscience as an overt scorn for the universal human rights conventions.
2.12.2015 – Instituto Manquehue (* B S)
Saudi government's destruction of Mecca severely denounced
Hundreds of sites of historical and cultural significance were removed in order remodel Mecca in the template of Houston, Texas
Ziauddin Sardar, a renowned writer, cultural critic, and specialist in the Muslim world, born in Pakistan and living in London, claimed in an interview with the British newspaper, The Telegraph, that the Saudi government has "turned Mecca into a Disneyland”.
Sardar also criticized the cost and form of the pilgrimage packages - costing about 3,000 to 3,500 British pounds (approx. $4,500-$5200) and designed for pilgrims to travel to Mecca within their distinct grouping - preventing different Muslim cultures from contacting each other and recognize their great diversity and wealth, formerly a major part of the original objectives of Hajj.
Speaking about his recent book, "Mecca: The Holy City", the intellectual said that although the city was redesigned many times during its history, its current guardians have modeled it after the American city of Houston, and thus destroyed even the last constructions that gave it its particular architectural distinction, transforming it into a "grotesque metropolis" with "an eruption of ostentatious architecture”.
In another article published in The New York Times, Sardar recalled that the destruction of historic sites and shrines, many of which dated from the time of Prophet Muhammad, began in the 1970s, and that the Royal Clock Tower of Mecca, completed in 2012, was built on about 400 places of historical and cultural significance after using bulldozers during the night to evict families who had been living there for a long time.
Sardar also reported that the needs of city's inhabitants, more than 1.6 million, have been ignored for the sake of the pilgrims.
Sardar also criticized the cost and form of the pilgrimage packages - costing about 3,000 to 3,500 British pounds (approx. $4,500-$5200) and designed for pilgrims to travel to Mecca within their distinct grouping - preventing different Muslim cultures from contacting each other and recognize their great diversity and wealth, formerly a major part of the original objectives of Hajj. - See more at: http://en.institutomanquehue.org/publications/news/saudi-government-s-destruction-of-mecca-severely-denounced.html#sthash.hxlQqcvr.dpuf
cp9 USA
17.3.2016 – Shadowproof (* A K P)
US ROLE IN WAR CRIMES IN YEMEN GETTING HARDER TO HIDE
Not surprisingly, the horrors bestowed upon the people of Yemen by the US-backed Saudi military campaign have led to increased sympathy with anti-American Islamic extremists among Yemenis. The New York Times has now reported that “American spy agencies have concluded that Yemen’s branch of Al Qaeda has only grown more powerful in the chaos.” So much for hearts and minds.
The Times story also notes that, when the Saudis came to the US for support for the war last March, everyone involved understood the Saudi campaign in Yemen had nothing to do with a security threat to Saudi Arabia from a faction in the Yemen Civil War. This was instead about sending a message to Iran. The Saudis worry about spreading Iranian influence in the wake of the Iraq War and considered one faction in the Yemen Civil War, the Houthis, to be aligned with Iran.
It’s by no means clear that the Houthis are Iran’s proxy in Yemen, though I’m sure the thousands of non-Houthis the Saudis have killed or wounded in Yemen can feel better that they are dying to, as former White House official Philip H. Gordon put it, “[G]ive Iran a bloody nose.”
OK, so now we know the facts, time to do the incredulous American pundit class whine on the Middle East again: Why do they hate ussss? – by Dan Wright
https://shadowproof.com/2016/03/17/us-role-in-war-crimes-in-yemen-getting-harder-to-hide/
16.3.2016 – PRI (A P)
US senator to Saudis: Stop bombing civilians in Yemen
A senator from Connecticut is raising big questions about America’s unwavering support for Saudi Arabia.
Saudi Arabia buys more US weapons than any nation in the world. US support does not end at weapons sales. The United States military advises the Saudi-led coalition as it conducts its air war in Yemen.
Connecticut Democrat Chris Murphy, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, asks why the US has stood by while the Saudi-led coalition of Arab air forces has pounded Yemen daily since March 26, 2015.
“It's hard for me to figure out what the US national security interests are inside the civil war in Yemen,” says Senator Murphy.
“It appears that our support for the Saudi-led bombing campaign is killing a lot of civilians,” says the senator. “It is leading to a humanitarian disaster, and strengthening the very groups that we say are our priority to defeat in the region.”
Murphy is one of very few politicians in Washington calling on the US to hold the Saudis to higher standards. “I mean, right now I'm, I think, the loudest voice here. There are a handful of members of the House who've raised similar objections and I've been talking to my colleagues both on the Republican and Democratic side as well.”
The Senator says his office has heard from the Saudi Embassy. “The Saudis obviously don't like what I'm saying, but I'm not talking about walking away from this alliance. I'm just talking about putting some higher-level conditions upon the arms that we provide them.”
“So, if I'm listening to Yemenis on the ground,” says Murphy, “I think one of their first requests is for this relatively indiscriminate bombing campaign by the coalition to stop. And right now the US is facilitating that bombing campaign, leading to the destruction of cities, the deaths of civilians, and a growing humanitarian catastrophe inside Yemen.”
But it’s not easy to explain the Yemen story to Murphy’s Connecticut constituents.
“I think there is a real lack of recognition of what's happening inside Yemen today, and certainly there's a lack of recognition that the United States is playing a very large role in supporting the Saudi campaign there,” he observes. “I mean, I don't know what terminology you put on this, but the United States certainly has weighed in on one side a war inside Yemen today, between the Saudis and the Iranians, and their proxy forces therein.”
Senator Murphy says the Yemen war, though not a focus for people in his state, is nonetheless the kind of potential quagmire they would want to avoid. “What people in Connecticut tell me is they want us to learn from the mistakes of Iraq: that they want America to have a little bit less hubris about our ability to try to influence events on the ground in the Middle East with the blunt force of American military might.”
Among Murphy’s constituents are two big arms makers who do business with Saudi Arabia: Pratt & Whitney, which makes and maintains jet engines, and Sikorsky which produces the Blackhawk helicopter. Senator Murphy says he must balance the interests of everyone in his state.
“Ultimately I'm tasked with creating jobs in Connecticut,” he says, “but first and foremost I'm tasked with keeping America safe from attack and keeping my state safe from attack.
“And, again,” he adds, “I’m not talking about stopping these arms sales. I'm just talking about raising the stakes and forcing the Saudis to step up to the plate and be a better partner as a condition of moving these sales forward.”
http://www.pri.org/stories/2016-03-16/us-senator-saudis-stop-bombing-civilians-yemen
Comment: Murphy is one of the very few politicians in the US who care. But his last two sentence are something like one step back after two steps forward.
16.3.2016 – Human Rights Watch, Letter to New York Times (A P)
The U.S. Role in Yemen
To the Editor:
In “Quiet Support for Saudis Entangles U.S. in Yemen” (“Secrets of the Kingdom” series, front page, March 14), Robert Malley, the Obama administration official in charge of Middle East policy, endorses the United States backing of Saudi Arabia in its armed conflict in Yemen but says “this is not our war.”
But American support for the Saudi-led coalition, including by providing targeting assistance and air refueling of coalition warplanes, makes the United States a party to the conflict in Yemen under international law. This obligates Washington to investigate coalition airstrikes that may be war crimes for which American forces may be liable.
Given the coalition’s repeated unlawful attacks in Yemen over the last year, which Human Rights Watch and others have documented, the United States should cease selling bombs to Saudi Arabia or risk complicity in civilian deaths.
JAMES ROSS, Legal and Policy Director, Human Rights Watch, New York
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/16/opinion/the-us-role-in-yemen.html?_r=0
16.3.2016 – Sputnik News (B K P)
US Responsible for War Crimes in Yemen - Human Rights Watch
[Overview article]
http://sputniknews.com/us/20160316/1036390031/yemen-us-war-crimes.html
16.3.2016 – Wikileaks (**A P)
Hillary Clinton Email Archive
On March 16, 2016 WikiLeaks launched a searchable archive for 30,322 emails & email attachments sent to and from Hillary Clinton's private email server while she was Secretary of State. The 50,547 pages of documents span from 30 June 2010 to 12 August 2014. 7,570 of the documents were sent by Hillary Clinton. The emails were made available in the form of thousands of PDFs by the US State Department as a result of a Freedom of Information Act request. The final PDFs were made available on February 29, 2016.
https://wikileaks.org/clinton-emails/
16.3.2016 – Middle East News Agency
Saudi Arabia’s Horrible Execution Spree: 30 Saudi Citizens Put To Death For Criticizing The King
As the international community’s widespread condemnation against Saudi regime for crackdown on pro-democracy movement by staging unfair trials and issuing arbitrary verdicts continues; the Human Rights organization express their grave concerns with the ominous reports confirming the punishment of political opponents by giving them death penalties.
According to the initial reports, the Saudi general prosecutor asked the penal court in Riyadh to sentence 27 Saudi political prisoners to death and 3 others to severe punishments. In May 2013, the Saudi security arrested 30 political activists without pointing charges amid a fierce clampdown on pro-democracy movements in Al-Hasa, Qatif, Jeddah and Medina.
The international community also accuses the Saudi regime of systematic torture and death punishments as a gruesome means to deal with its political dissidents.
Nearly all defendants belong to Saudi Arabia’s persecuted Shiite community and there are eminent Muslim clerics between the convicts— namely Sheikh Badr Al Hilal Taleb and Abdul Jalil Alaithan —, in addition to physicians and university professors whom the Saudi regime accuses of collaboration with the Iranian government and espionage.
Meanwhile, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights slammed the Saudi regime for high rate of executions and myriad cases of torture in Saudi prisons.
James Lynch, the London-based deputy director of Middle-East and North Africa programme at Amnesty International lamented the death sentences and forced confessions —obtained under duress— and considered the Saudi inhumane approach vis-à-vis prisoners of conscience as an overt scorn for the universal human rights conventions.
Comment: 30 citizens put to death for criticising the king (this is how you ´head´ the human rights panel).
https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=987019661351064&id=961126490607048
15.3.2016 – Pittsburgh Gazette (* A P)
Yemen’s misery: The U.S. should get out of an intra-Islamic war
Many Americans find it hard to understand why the United States is involved in a war in Yemen, the poorest country in the Middle East.
In the face of criticism even from Democratic lawmakers, the best explanation from the Obama administration is that Saudi Arabia, a key U.S. ally, is threatened by the takeover in neighboring Yemen of Shiite rebels backed by Iran. At the other end of the conflict is an unelected Sunni government supported on the battlefield by Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, which have been U.S. arms customers. The U.A.E. lost a fighter-bomber over Yemen on Sunday; Bahrain lost a U.S. F-16 in December.
There is no reason for the United States to have taken sides in this intra-Islamic war. Yemen’s former authoritarian president, Ali Abdullah Saleh, was pushed out in 2012 after decades in office by a combination of Saudi Arabia, Yemeni elements and the United States. He is now backed by a well-armed militia and is fighting alongside the Shiite Houthis.
Al-Qaida and the Islamic State group are taking advantage of the chaos in the country to seize more territory.
The Saudis themselves acknowledge that they have no endgame for the Yemen war. So far some 6,000 Yemenis are estimated to have been killed, including 3,000 civilians. Yemen never had much of an economy, and what little there was has been destroyed. An estimated 56 percent of its people are considered to be hungry.
If Mr. Obama would like to end involvement in one of America’s Middle East wars before he leaves office next January, Yemen should be high on the list. It is a pathetically poor country, and the United States has no reason to add to its misery by selling bombs, drones and aircraft to Saudi Arabia to hurt the Yemenis – by Editorial Board
cp10 Großbritannien / Great Britain
15.3.2016 – They work for you (A P)
Members of Parliament asking the government
Tulip Siddiq, Labour, Hampstead and Kilburn
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answers of 21 July 2015 to Question 7583 and 9 September 2014 to Question 207819, how many (a) military, (b) civilian and (c) liaison personnel are now stationed at each of those sites in Saudi Arabia; how many of each of those personnel are in locations where Saudi Arabia plans and executes military operations in Yemen; and how many (i) military, (ii) civilian and (iii) liaison personnel are in the command and control centre for Saudi airstrikes in Yemen.
Penny Mordaunt, Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
Further to my answer of 21 July 2015 the UK currently has:
11 personnel providing mentoring and advice to the Saudi Arabian National Guard, as part of the British Military Mission to the Saudi Arabian National Guard.
19 military and 37 civilian personnel working on the Saudi Arabia National Guard Communications Project to acquire and support, modern communications capabilities for the Saudi Arabian National Guard.
72 military and 42 civilian personnel working on the Ministry of Defence Saudi Armed Forces Projects, supporting the United Kingdom's commitment to the defence of Saudi Arabia through the supply of modern military aircraft, naval vessels, weapons and associated support services to the Saudi Armed Forces.
We have a small number of liaison personnel who work at the Saudi MOD and Operational Centers to provide insight into Saudi operations. They remain under UK command and control. There are no other UK military or civilian personnel working at these headquarters.
British personnel in Saudi Arabia are not involved in carrying out strikes, directing or conducting operations in Yemen or selecting targets and are not involved in the Saudi targeting decision-making process
http://www.theyworkforyou.com/wrans/?id=2016-03-10.30727.h
Comment: The most interesting figure is not told: “a small number of liaison personnel”. Thus: Not matched.
15.3.2016 – Amnesty International (A P)
Photo-op, London: giant missiles to be delivered to Downing Street in protest at UK arms sales to Saudi Arabia (Fri, 10am)
Bombs to be carried to No 10 by white boiler-suited campaigners in effort to ‘re-stock’ supplies for Saudi war machine
UK sold 2,400 missiles and 58 war planes to Saudi Arabia in past year
Campaigners will take a batch of five giant dummy missiles to Downing Street this Friday (18 March) to draw attention to the UK government’s refusal to halt exports of UK-manufactured arms to Saudi Arabia despite the clear risk that they could be used to commit war crimes in Yemen.
The missiles - exact 1.8-metres-long replicas of the 500lb “Paveway-IV” weapon which are currently used by Saudi Arabia’s UK-supplied Eurofighter Typhoon war planes - will bear the message “Made in Britain, destroying lives in Yemen”.
cp12 Andere Länder / Other countries
16.3.2016 – The Malay Mail Online (A K P)
Defence Minister: Malaysia not involved in combating extremism in Yemen, Syria
Malaysia has never been involved in any military cooperation to combat extremist groups in Yemen and Syria led by Saudi Arabia, the Dewan Rakyat was told today.
Defence Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein said the Malaysian Armed Forces’ (ATM) initial participation in the recent Thunder of the North Exercise (Raad al Shamal) was by invitation of Saudi Arabia in view of the close ties between the two countries.
“The training was held in northern Saudi Arabia, while Yemen is located at Saudi Arabia’s southern border. Obviously, this exercise had nothing to do with the current military campaign in Yemen.
“Malaysia supports efforts to combat militancy, but ATM is not willing to be directly involved with military operations in Yemen. This is different from the North Thunder exercise,” he said in reply to Tian Chua (PKR-Batu) in the Dewan Rakyat here today.
16.3.2016 – Pars Today (A P)
Parlament in Holland verbietet Waffenlieferung an Saudi-Arabien
Das holländische Parlament hat am Dienstag mit der Verabschiedung eines Gesetzes die Regierung gefordert, den Verkauf von Waffen an Saudi-Arabien zu stoppen.
Damit reagiert das holländische Parlament auf die anhaltenden Menschenrechtsverletzungen in Jemen durch Riad. Dies entspricht außerdem dem EU-Beschluss vom Februar.
Das EU-Parlament verabschiedete am 25. Februar einen Entwurf, in dem Großbritannien, Frankreich und weitere EU-Staaten aufgefordert werden, den Verkauf von Waffen an Länder, die auf Zivilisten in Jemen zielen, zu stoppen.
http://parstoday.com/de/news/world-i3382-parlament_in_holland_verbietet_waffenlieferung_an_saudi_arabien siehe auch http://de.sputniknews.com/militar/20160316/308471438/saudi-arabien-waffen-niederlande-verbietet-deutschland-liefert.html
15.3.2016 – Reuters (A P)
Dutch parliament votes to ban weapon exports to Saudi Arabia
The Dutch parliament passed a bill on Tuesday calling for the government of the Netherlands to halt weapon exports to Saudi Arabia, citing ongoing violations of humanitarian law in Yemen.
The Dutch vote effectively seeks to implement a decision in February by the European Parliament, which called on countries in the European Union to impose an arms embargo against Riyadh.
The Dutch bill cited a U.N. report from Jan. 22 by the Panel of Experts on Yemen and ongoing executions in Saudi Arabia as reasons for the ban.
It asked the government to strictly implement the weapons embargo and not to licence dual-use exports that could be used to violate human rights.
http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-netherlands-saudi-arms-idUKKCN0WH2T4
15.3.2016 – Middle East Eye (A P)
Dutch parliament calls for arms embargo on Saudi Arabia over Yemen war
Landmark resolution is the first of its kind to be passed in a national parliament since the EU parliament called for an arms sales freeze
The parliament of the Netherlands on Tuesday passed a landmark resolution calling on the government to stop selling arms to Saudi Arabia, saying it was “guilty of violating international humanitarian law in Yemen”.
The resolution was tabled by the Labour Party, a member of the ruling coalition, and follows a historic vote in the EU parliament at the end of February.
In that vote, 359 MEPs supported a bill demanding a complete arms embargo on Saudi Arabia, with 212 voting against.
The Dutch resolution references a report prepared by a UN panel of experts that was leaked in January, which found that 119 sorties carried out by the Saudi-led coalition had violated international law.
Tuesday's resolution is the first vote to take place in a national parliament since EU politicians called for the arms embargo.
A majority of MEPs called on EU High Representative Federica Mogherini to “launch an initiative aimed at imposing an EU arms embargo against Saudi Arabia, given the serious allegations of breaches of international humanitarian law by Saudi Arabia in Yemen”.
Following Tuesday's vote, Amnesty International's senior political affairs officer in The Netherlands, Youssef Rahman, said he hoped the Dutch resolution would set a precedent for other European states to begin halting arms sales to Saudi Arabia.
In 2008 the Dutch government said it had a “restrictive” arms policy towards Saudi Arabia, citing human rights concerns. But between 2001 and 2010, The Netherlands sold arms to Saudi Arabia valued at around $43 million.
14.3.2016 – DAWN (B P)
Saudi connection
Most importantly, the public deserves a clearer indication of the potential for Pakistani troops to become involved in conflicts in Syria and Yemen as a result of growing counterterrorism cooperation with Saudi Arabia, particularly after parliament in April last year decided against sending Pakistani troops to join the Saudi-led coalition fighting Houthi rebels in Yemen.
Transparency regarding military cooperation with the kingdom is particularly important given growing concerns that Saudi Arabia has violated international laws and allegedly committed war crimes by systematically targeting civilians during the conflict in Yemen. Western governments that sell arms to Saudi Arabia are increasingly under pressure by human rights groups to cease supplies to it for use in Yemen. In the UK, a cross-party committee is investigating British arms sales to Saudi Arabia while a high court is determining whether such sales have violated British and EU arms export laws.
Pakistanis also need greater transparency around the transactional parameters of the relationship with Saudi Arabia; in other words, how true is the perception that Pakistan is a gun for hire in exchange for subsidised fuel and bailouts?
While the military exercises were under way, Saudi Arabia also signed economic agreements worth $122 million with Pakistan, of which $67m are grants, rather than loans, to support infrastructure development and the construction of a college, hospital and housing. This is officially the largest amount of financial assistance Riyadh has provided over the past five years — the ‘gift’ of $1.5 billion in March 2014 remains off the books.
Officials on both sides have stated that the assistance is not linked to Pakistan’s participation in the coalition. Parliament’s decision not to engage in Yemen despite the receipt a year earlier of the $1.5bn ‘gift’ lends credence to the suggestion that the relationship is not brutally transactional. But only greater transparency can address lingering concerns about what Pakistan gets in exchange for its military support of Saudi Arabia, and at what greater cost.
Given its sensitivity to the sectarian dimension of Middle Eastern conflicts, Pakistan is also well positioned to facilitate back-channel negotiations to help resolve regional crises – by Huma Yusuf
http://www.dawn.com/news/1245474
cp13 Mercenaries / Söldner
17.3.2016 – Fars News (B K)
Intelligence Source: Over 4,000 Saudi Mercenaries Killed in Yemen War
Over 4,000 Saudi mercenaries, including 178 commanders, have been killed during the year-long Riyadh-led war against Yemen, a Yemeni intelligence source said on Thursday.
"At least, 4,000 Saudi mercenaries have been killed during the savage aggression of the Saudi-led Arab coalition against Yemen in the past one year," the source told FNA.
He said that tens of the Saudi mercenaries killed by the Yemeni army and popular forces have been Sudanese, Djiboutian, and even Chechnian nationals, adding that 178 commanders are seen among the Saudi death toll in Yemen war, "a fact that has always been kept secret the Saudi media".
His remarks came after the Yemeni army and popular forces destroyed the Saudi military positions and bases in Ma'rib province with a ballistic missile, killing tens of the kingdom's forces.
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13941227000523 see also at http://en.alalam.ir/news/1799802
16.3.2016 - Telesur (A K)
US Mercenaries Enter Yemen as Death Toll Climbs
Mercenaries from DynCorp have entered Yemen to fight for the Saudi-led coalition after fighters from the infamous Blackwater group were routed by the Houthis. A new batch of mercenaries from the United States have entered Yemen, according to Russia Insider.
The hired guns are from the company DynCorp, a U.S.-based private military contractor. The United Arab Emirates paid DynCorp to send these men to fight against the Houthi rebels in the country. DynCorp will reportedly receive US$3 billion for their service.
Comment by Judith Brown: More mercenaries from an American security company entering Yemen. Though the Sudanese militias in Aden apparently don't do anything but sit in their camp; too dangerous for them with Al Qaeda militias about. These companies generate profits and are a major source of revenue for western countries after locals have been needled and stirred so that they cannot live peacefully together. It has happened in Iraq, in Libya, in Syria and in Yemen.
https://www.facebook.com/judith.brown.794628/posts/10154188000853641
14.3.2016 – Almasdar News (* AK)
Saudi Arabia hires American mercenaries to kill Yemenis
An agreement has been recently concluded between Saudi Arabia and the notorious Academi security company (formerly known as Blackwater), claimed Dhahi Khalfan, deputy chief of Dubai Police in a tweet. According to the contentious security chief, the UAE-brokered agreement has been signed between Mohammad Bin Salman–the deputy crown prince of Saudi Arabia and Erik Prince, a resident of UAE, and Craig Nixon the company’s incumbent CEO. The deal was orchestrated by Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces. The $539 million-agreement guarantees Saudi Arabia 1400 Academi security servicemen who will engage in combat actions along with Saudi Armed Forces in neighboring Yemen.
The newly-joined mercenaries will allegedly be deployed to subdue the local Yemeni tribes who not only refused to fight along the Saudi-led coalition and, but also showed explicit support to the national Yemeni army and Houthi fighters. Unclassified reports claimed that Saudi regime vowed to guarantee the safety of Academi security personnel through wielding its influence among the active al-Qaeda militants in Yemen to prevent any possible attack.
https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/saudi-arabia-uses-american-mercenaries-kill-yemenis/
Comment: That is interesting because it had been reported before that Academi (Blackwater would retreat from Yemen because of the high losses.
https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/saudi-arabia-uses-american-mercenaries-kill-yemenis/
7.9.2015 – Fars News (A K)
Captured Saudi Soldier: Sudanese, Somalian Mercenaries Receive $200 Monthly Salary to Fight in Yemen
A Saudi soldier who has been captured by the Yemeni revolutionary forces disclosed in a Monday interview that the Sudanese and Somalian mercenaries are fighting in Yemen on low wages.
"The Sudanese and Somalian mercenaries fight against the Yemeni forces in lieu of a meager salary of only $200 per month," an arrested Saudi military man told FNA's correspondent in Sana'a on Monday.
He noted that most of the foreign fighters directly take orders from Saudi military commanders in Southern Yemen.
The Saudi soldier reiterated that a majority of foreign militants fighting against the Yemeni forces are from Somalia and Sudan.
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13940616001357
cp14 Terrorismus / Terrorism
Siehe „Am wichtigsten“
16.3.2016 – Southfront (A K T)
ISIS FIGHTS ALONGSIDE SAUDI-COALITION IN YEMEN
According to a photo published by the news agency, two dead bodies of Houthis and Yemeni army soldiers were dragged on the street of Ta’iz by a Toyota van that belongs to ISIS terrorists.
A Yemeni news agency “Al-Jabhah News” reported that in Yemen’s Taiz Governorate ISIS terrorists are fighting alongside the Saudi-led Coalition against the Yemeni Army and Houthi forces.
The news agency also reported that there are a small presence of ISIS and Al-Qaeda inside Taiz Governorate where those terrorists groups have been only fighting against the Yemeni army and Houthis popular committees.
According to a photo published by the news agency, two dead bodies of Houthis and Yemeni army soldiers were dragged on the street of Ta’iz by a Toyota van that belongs to ISIS terrorists.
It is also reported that terrorist groups videotaped the gruesome act and distributed in social media to create terror propaganda against the Yemeni defending forces.
https://southfront.org/isis-fights-alongside-saudi-coalition-in-yemen/
16.3.2016 – Nasser Arrabyee (A T)
Yemen Qaeda/ISIS Providing medical services to residents to confirm its ruling the eastern provinces (photos)
https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=603089939841375&id=551288185021551
16.2.2016 – Nasser Arrabyee (A T)
Yemen Qaeda/ISIS Providing public services like this car park to confirm its ruling (photos)
https://twitter.com/narrabyee/status/709982928202289152
16.2.2016 – Nasser Arrabyee (A T)
Yemen Qaeda/ISIS Destroying songs CDs, claiming that singing Haram not Islamic! (photos)
https://twitter.com/narrabyee/status/709982504397230080
cp15 Propaganda
16.3.2016 – Bahrain News Agency (A P)
Yemeni President praises Bahrain's unwavering stance towards Yemen
Yemeni President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi underlined the key role played by Bahrain as part of the Saudi-led Arab coalition to support legitimacy in Yemen, thanking the kingdom's leadership, government and people for the honourable and unwavering stance towards Yemen.
In a statement to Bahrain News Agency (BNA), the Yemeni President considered Yemen's victory as a victory to all countries in the region, expressing hope stability would be restored to Yemen soon. He pointed out his meeting with His Majesty the King during which he extended condolences on the death of Bahrain soldiers who sacrificed their life in defending legitimacy in Yemen. He paid tribute to the leadership for supporting Yemen, asserting that victory in Yemen is a victory for all countries in the region.
Concerning peace negotiations in Geneva, he pointed out the Houthis' evasive stance and unwillingness to carry out the resolutions of the UN Security Council or the GCC initiative, stressing that attempts to copy the Iranian experience in Yemen will be doomed to failure.
http://www.bna.bh/portal/en/news/716617
Comment: That’s the common Hadi propaganda. “Yemen” for him just is meaning his own government, not the country. Thus, speaking of “Yemen's victory”, what should that be in a war in which Yemenis are fighting against Yemenis? In Hadi’s propaganda, “legitimacy” is equalized with his own government. But, “legitimacy” of this government ended with had*s prolonged term on February 25, 2015. And off course, the war-prolonging UN resolutions cannot be missed in a Hadi statement. And does anybody know what the “Iranian experience” should be, aside from giving him the possibility to mention Iran and just by that remembering all the propaganda which has been told on Iranian interference before. In the moment, Yemen is just making the “Saudi experience”, which means that the country is bombed to rubble.
16.3.2016 – Gulf News (A P)
Yemen will need long-term support: Al Assiri
Al Assiri says coalition learned from mistakes made by the US in Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya
Riyadh: Major combat in Yemen is nearing an end but the country will need long-term support from the Saudi-led coalition to secure its institutions, the coalition spokesman said on Wednesday.
Brigadier General Ahmad Al Assiri also told AFP in an interview that fighting has essentially stopped along the border, where demining has begun in an effort to assist aid flows.
“In any military campaign you have phases,” Al Assiri said.
“Today we are in the end of the major combat phase,” which must be followed by security stabilisation and finally reconstruction.
He said the Saudi-led coalition had learnt from the United States which pulled combat troops from Iraq and Afghanistan before the countries were stable.
Nor does the coalition want to follow the example of Libya, where Western forces helped topple dictator Muammar Gaddafi in 2011 and then left it to slide into chaos.
“We don’t want that Yemen becomes another Libya, so we have to support the government, go with them step by step until they bring peace and security and stability for the people,” Al Assiri said.
He said that in areas retaken from Iran-backed Al Houthi militants, fighters get training and equipment to join Yemen’s army, “but it takes time”.
http://gulfnews.com/news/gulf/yemen/yemen-will-need-long-term-support-al-assiri-1.1691946
Comment: The most funny: “We don’t want that Yemen becomes another Libya” – but the Saudis by their intervention did everything just for Yemen becoming another Libya. “Nor does the coalition want to follow the example of Libya”, he says this when the Saudis exactly did just that.
The article by AFP:
16.3.2016 – AFP (A K P)
Yemen must not become 'another Libya': coalition spokesman
"In any military campaign you have phases.... Today we are in the end of the major combat phase," he said, adding that the next stages would involve creating a stable security situation and then reconstruction.
But he insisted the coalition would not abandon Yemen, saying it had learned from the United States which pulled combat troops from Iraq and Afghanistan before the countries were stable.
Nor does it want to follow the example of Libya, where Western forces helped topple Moamer Kadhafi in 2011 and then left the country to slide into chaos, Assiri said.
"We don't want that Yemen becomes another Libya, so we have to support the government, go with them step by step until they bring peace and security and stability for the people," Assiri said.
Asked if the coalition may have to stay for years in Yemen, Assiri would not give a timeframe.
"Look, there is no magic solution... Yemen has been dismantled through 30 years. You cannot fix this in 30 days."
Last week's talks were not an "agreement with the militias" but the coalition supported the effort in the interests of Yemen's stability, he said.
The effort allowed aid to be delivered to villages across the border and helped to ensure that humanitarian convoys are safe, including by the clearance of mines laid by rebels around Alb.
Food and medical supplies have since been sent to Saada, which is the Huthis' stronghold, he said.
http://news.yahoo.com/yemen-needs-long-term-support-avoid-another-libya-145129028.html
16.3.2016 – Aljazeera (A P)
Saudi-led coalition to investigate Yemen air strikes
The Saudi-led coalition conducting an air campaign in Yemen said on Wednesday that it was investigating reports of mass casualties from air strikes on a market packed with civilians in the northwest
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2016/03/saudi-led-coalition-investigate-yemen-air-strikes-160316071229274.html and also http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/least-65-killed-after-saudi-led-warplanes-hit-yemeni-market-reports-1496546013
Comment: The Saudis “investigating” their own air strike – that’s not more than propaganda.
cp16 Saudische Luftangriffe / Saudi air raids
17.3.2016 – Press TV Iran (A K PH)
Saudi airstrikes kill 2 children, 1 woman in Yemen
Saudi Arabia’s airstrikes have targeted a number of areas across Yemen including the capital, Sana’a, killing at least two children and one woman.
Yemen’s Al-Masirah TV reported on Thursday that the three were killed in Saudi airstrikes against the southern Ta’izz Province’s al-Taiziyah city.
Similar airstrikes were also carried out in different areas including Nehim city’s Beran district, the city of Zobab in Ta’izz, Marib’s Sarwah city, as well locations in the capital.
http://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2016/03/17/456250/Yemen-Saudi-Arabia-Marib-Sanaa-Houthis
3.2016 – Legal Center for Rights and Development (A K PH)
Die saudischen Luftangriffe Tag für Tag / Saudi air raids day by day
15. März / March:
The following articles on the great Saudi raid on a market in Hajjah province; the newest on top. The death toll rises and rises…
17.3.2016 – Yemen Update (A K PH)
UNICEF released initial stats of #Saudi-led coalition airstrikes on Hajja local market that 141 were killed. #Yemen
https://twitter.com/yemen_updates/status/710503281278189568
Comment: No other proof for this figure has been found. The latest reported figure were 119 killed.
17.3.2016 – Spiegel Online (A K)
Jemen: Unicef meldet 119 Tote bei Luftschlag auf Markt
Bei Luftangriffen nordwestlich von Jemens Hauptstadt Sanaa sind am Dienstag deutlich mehr Menschen getötet worden als bisher bekannt. Bei dem Bombardement eines Marktes in der Provinz Hadscha kamen 119 Menschen ums Leben, darunter 22 Kinder. 47 weitere wurden verletzt, meldet das Kinderhilfswerk der Vereinten Nationen.
17.3.2016 – AFP (A K)
Saudi-led strikes on Yemen market killed 119: UN
Saudi-led air strikes on a market killed 119 people this week in northern Yemen's rebel-held Hajja province, the United Nations said Thursday, nearly three times the previously reported death toll.
Among those killed in Mastaba district on Tuesday were 22 children, while another 47 people were wounded, the UNICEF children's agency said.
It is one of the highest death tolls since the Saudi-led coalition launched a bombing campaign in support of the internationally recognised government against Huthi rebels and their allies in March last year.
Medics and tribal sources had previously reported 41 people killed in the strikes, and a health official in Hajja said the dead were civilians.
But a tribal chief close to the rebels on Wednesday told AFP that 33 of those killed were fighters of the Iran-backed Huthis.
A coalition spokesman said the strikes targeted "a militia gathering" in a place for buying and selling qat, a mild narcotic that is chewed throughout Yemen.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/toll-tuesdays-strikes-yemen-market-rises-119-dead-135046372.html
Comment: “Strikes targeted "a militia gathering" in a place for buying and selling qat”: any proof? No. And a “tribal chief” had been invented before telling another story of three cars passing by in which “fighters” were sitting.
17.3.2016 – AP (A K)
Strike death toll rises
Meanwhile, Meritxell Relano, UNICEF's deputy representative in Yemen, told the AP of the new death toll — almost double the 65 who were initially reported killed in Tuesday's strike on the market in Hajja — came from a UNICEF field team at the site.
The airstrike in the Houthi-controlled town of Mastaba also wounded 47 people, she said, and warned the death toll could rise further.
The attack on the market marked the second deadliest in Yemen since the Saudi-led airstrikes began, after an airstrike hit a wedding party in September, killing at least 131 people.
After the strike, the Houthis' TV network al-Masirah showed graphic footage of dead children and charred bodies next to sacks of flour and twisted metal. Witnesses said houses, shops and restaurants were also damaged, while cars caught fire.
Al-Asiri, the Saudi military spokesman, said the coalition was investigating the Mastaba attack, arguing that Tuesday's airstrikes targeted a "gathering area" for Houthi fighters, located about 10 kilometers (6 miles) away from the market.
"Initial, independent and field sources say that 80 percent of the deaths are Houthi forces," said a comment scribbled on a map of the area he sent to the AP in Cairo – by Ahmed Al-Haj and Maggie Michael
http://bigstory.ap.org/66550de27e1a44e0b6ba3a95cb2901e7 and here a newer list of names: 117 killed; 47 injured; 24 missing: https://twitter.com/SultanetZman/status/710447524289576960
16.3.2016 – RT (A K)
Update Mittwoch 11:40: Jemen: Zahl getöteter Zivilisten bei saudischem Luftangriff 107
Die von Saudi-Arabien angeführte Koalition hat am Montag einen belebten Markt in der Hadscha-Provinz aus der Luft bombardiert. Dabei wurden nach letzten Meldungen 107 Zivilisten getötet, weitere 75 wurden verletzt, wie ein hochrangiger Vertreter der lokalen Gesundheitsbehörde mitteilte.
Amnesty International beschuldigt Saudi-Arabien erneut der schweren und systematischen Menschenrechtsverletzungen. AI Fordert den UN-Menschenrechtsrat auf, Das Königreich zur Verantwortung zu ziehen. Rijad habe "internationale humanitäre Regeln bei zahlreichen Gelegenheiten verletzt", sowohl mit dem Krieg gegen den Jemen und den Massenhinrichtungen im eigenen Land. (Ende Update)
Der Direktor des Gesundheitsamtes der Provinz Hadscha, Dr. Ayman Mathkour, sagte im Gespräch mit der Nachrichtenagentur Reuters, dass drei Luftschläge einen Markt im Mustaba-Distrikt getroffen hätten.
https://deutsch.rt.com/der-nahe-osten/37319-jemen-41-zivilisten-bei-saudischem/
16.3.2016 – Zeit Online nach AFP (A K P)
Stammeschef: 33 Rebellen unter 41 Toten nach Luftangriff in Jemen
Bei den 41 Todesopfern nach einem Luftangriff der arabischen Militärkoalition im Jemen handelt es sich nach Angaben eines Stammeschefs entgegen früherer Angaben von Rettungskräften nicht ausschließlich um Zivilisten. Es seien 33 Huthi-Rebellen und acht Zivilisten getötet worden, sagte ein Stammesführer, der den Aufständischen nahe steht und nicht namentlich genannt werden wollte, am Mittwoch der Nachrichtenagentur AFP.
Kommentar: Eine typisch-dümmliche Propagandameldung, die natürlich von westlichen Medien gerne weiter getragen wird. „und nicht namentlich genannt werden wollte“, ach wirklich. Woher will er 8oder sonst jemand) das eigentlich wissen. Jetzt sind es erst einmal doch wesentlich mehr Tote als 41. Offenbar hat er die Toten einzeln untersucht, „Rebell“ hier, „Zivilist“ dort. Machen Sie das doch einmal anhand der Filme und Fotos. Was soll ein „Rebell“ sein? Im englischen Text heißt es „Kämpfer“? Woran erkennt man den? Eine Waffe trägt im Jemen fast jeder. Genauso gut wird man an den Toten im Film erkennen, wer Bauer, Lehrer, Handwerker etc. war. Im englischen Text ist noch davon die Rede, die Rebellen seien in drei Autos gefahren. Wo in Filmen und Fotos sind die Autos voller Leichen? Und ist es nicht seltsam, dass genau die Behauptung von drei vorbeifahrenden Autos mit Rebellen auch zur Begründung für den saudischen Angriff vom 27. Februar auf einen anderen Markt im Bezirk Nehim (Provinz Sanaa)mit vielen Toten herhalten musste (http://diepresse.com/home/politik/aussenpolitik/4934932/40-Tote-nach-Luftangriff-auf-Markt-im-Jemen)? Propaganda kann über ihre eigenen Lügen stolpern. Und: hat sich noch niemand gefragt, warum die Saudis, wenn sie Autos mit „Kämpfern“ treffen wollen, ausgerechnet bis zu dem Moment warten, an dem diese Autos die Stelle passieren, an der sich möglichst viele Zivilisten befinden? Normalerweise bewegen sich Autos, wenn jemand drin sitzt, also, warum gerade in diesem Moment und an diesem Markt und nicht wonanders???
15.3.2016 – Der Standard (A K)
Yemen: Saudis bombardieren Markt, 41 Zivilisten tot
Bei Luftangriffen nordwestlich von der jemenitischen Hauptstadt Sanaa sind örtlichen Behördenangaben zufolge mindestens 41 Zivilisten getötet worden. Mehr als 35 Menschen seien bei der Bombardierung eines Marktes in der von Rebellen kontrollierten Provinz Hajjah verletzt worden, viele darunter schwer, sagte der Leiter der lokalen Gesundheitsbehörde. Nähere Details wurden zunächst nicht bekannt. Es wird angenommen, dass der Luftangriff von der von Saudi-Arabien angeführten Militärkoalition geflogen wurde, weil ansonsten niemand im Jemen bombardiert. –
http://derstandard.at/2000032985751/Yemen-Saudis-bombardieren-Markt-41-Zivilisten-tot
Kommentar: So vorsichtig hätte man das wirklich nicht formulieren müssen. Es wurde von F-16-Bombern (made in USA) berichtet.
16.3.2016 – France 24 (A K)
Saudi-led Yemen market strike killed 33 rebels: tribal chief
A Yemeni tribal chief said Wednesday that 33 of the 41 people killed in a Saudi-led air strike on a market in a northern province were rebel fighters, not civilians as first reported.
Medics and tribal sources said that the Tuesday strike in the rebel-held Hajja province killed 41 people and wounded 35.
A health official in Hajja said the dead were civilians.
But on Wednesday a tribal chief close to Yemen's Iran-backed Huthi rebels said that 33 of those were "fighters".
"The fighters were riding in three vehicles at a military camp that was hit by three air raids," the chief told AFP on condition of anonymity.
He added that Saudi-led warplanes then hit the market when the Huthis arrived there.
An official at a hospital run by Doctors Without Borders (MSF) said on Tuesday the facility had received the bodies of 41 people killed in the raids.
But the charity disputed the claim on Wednesday.
"MSF's hospital in the region received 44 people wounded in the incident, two of whom died," the group's Yemen project coordinator Juan Prieto said.
The rebel-run sabanews.net website said on Tuesday that the coalition carried out two raids targeting the market and a restaurant in the area and gave a toll of 65 civilians dead and 55 wounded.
http://www.france24.com/en/20160316-saudi-led-yemen-market-strike-killed-33-rebels-tribal-chief = http://www.news24.com/World/News/saudi-led-yemen-market-strike-killed-33-rebels-20160316-2
Comment: This seems to be a typical bullshit record. No more details who this “tribal chief” is. Up to now, the figure of those killed has increased to 107. How was this “tribal chief” able to make such an exact body count: “fighter” here and “civilian” there? Almost everybody can carry a gun in Yemen. Look at the bodies in the films and photos and try to distinguish. With the same certainty, you could identify farmers, teachers and craftsmen. And, even still stranger: The “fighters” should have passed by in three cars? Please look at the films and show me the three cars full of killed people. And furthermore: it is strange that the same story of “fighters” passing by in three cars already had been told as an explanation or justification for an earlier Saudi air attack against a market causing lots of victims? (Nehim district, Sanaa province, Feb.27: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/wires/afp/article-3467031/Air-strike-Yemen-market-kills-30-rebels-civilians-witnesses.html). Propaganda can stumble upon its own lies. And: did nobody ask himself, why the Saudis, when they wanted to target cars driven by “fighters” for that purpose had waited exactly to the moment when these cars passed by exactly the place being crowded by most civilians as possible? Normally, cars are moving, and you would target them at another place, or am I wrong with that???
15.3.2016 – AP (A K)
Witnesses: Warplanes Bomb Yemeni Market, Killing Dozens
Saudi-led warplanes on Tuesday launched two airstrikes on a busy market in a northern Yemeni region controlled by Shiite Houthi rebels, killing and wounding dozens of people, witnesses said.
The state-run news agency SABA, which is controlled by the Houthis, said at least 65 people were killed and 55 wounded. A nearby hospital received dozens of wounded people, but no bodies, perhaps because families buried them. Three witnesses described a scene of carnage, with dozens wounded or killed, but had no precise figures.
The market in the city of Mastaba, in Hajja province, serves tens of thousands of people and was struck during a busy time. Witnesses said there were no military targets nearby. A Saudi-led coalition has been battling the Houthis on behalf of the internationally recognized government for a year now.
Doctors Without Borders spokeswoman Malak Shaher told The Associated Press that at least 40 of the wounded were transferred to a nearby hospital, three of whom were in critical condition.
The Houthis' TV network al-Masirah showed graphic footage of dead children and charred bodies next to sacks of flour and twisted metal. Witnesses said houses, shops and restaurants were also damaged, while cars caught on fire.
"The scene was terrifying," Showei Hamoud told The Associated Press by phone from Mastaba. "Blood and body parts everywhere." He said many of the dead were children who worked stalls or carry goods in return for tips.
"People collected the torn limbs in bags and blankets," he said, adding that he could count up to 40 motionless bodies.
A second witness, Mazahem Khedr, said "dozens were killed" and that he saw wounded people screaming for help. Mohammed Mustafa said people were afraid to help the wounded, fearing a third airstrike – by Ahmed Al Haj
http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/warplanes-bomb-market-northern-yemen-wounding-dozens-37658423 = https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=986682974718066&id=961126490607048 see also at http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/yemen-people-collect-torn-limbs-bags-blankets-after-saudi-led-warplanes-pound-market-1549689
15.3.2016 – Reuters (A K)
Many civilians among wounded by coalition airstrike in Yemen-MSF
Dozens of injured civilians sought medical help at a Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) hospital in Yemen after an airstrike in Haja province by the Saudi-led coalition, the medical group said on Tuesday.
It said in a series of Tweets that more than 40 injured people, all of them civilians and including women and children, among them an eight-year old in critical condition, were admitted to the Abs Hospital after a strike in Mustaba.
Saba Net, a Yemeni news agency controlled by the Houthis, reported that 65 people had been killed and 55 wounded in the strike on a market and restaurant in Mustaba
http://news.trust.org/item/20160315143326-mtd2g/?source=fiOtherNews2
16.3.2016 – New York Times (A K)
Dozens Killed in Airstrikes on Market in Yemen
Rescue workers could not give an exact count of the victims because few of the bodies were left intact, said Ali Ajlan, an administrator at one of the hospitals in the area.
An initial count turned up as many as 90 bodies, he said, making it among the deadliest airstrikes in Yemen’s yearlong civil war.
“One leg here and a head there,” said Mr. Ajlan, the assistant director of the Jamhouri hospital in Hajja Province, where the airstrikes occurred. “They are still collecting.”
Residents near the site of Tuesday’s strike said that there were no military targets near the market, which sold a mild narcotic called khat. Children were visible in footage broadcast on a Houthi news channel that was said to show the aftermath of the bombing, their bodies contorted in the rubble and the sand – by SHUAIB ALMOSAWA and KAREEM FAHIM
15.3.2016 – Press TV Iran (A K PH)
Film: Saudi jets kill 107 in Yemen (graphic!!)
Yemeni media say at least 107 people have been killed in fresh Saudi airstrikes in the northwestern province of Hajjah. Saudi warplanes conducted a series of air attacks in Abs and Mustaba districts of Hajjah. According to al-Masirah TV, close to Ansarullah movement, 10 bodies could not be identified due to severity of the bombardments. The Saudi warplanes have reportedly targeted Abs with internationally-banned cluster bombs, injuring at least 30 people. They also hit a local market in Mustaba, where most of the victims were found. The medical charity, Doctors without Borders says its local hospital has so far received more than 40 injured, many of them women and children.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yHO1lnoWL1Q and a less graphic part only: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/video/news/video-1274567/At-65-killed-Saudi-led-airstrikes-Yemen-marketplace.html?ITO=1490&ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490
Comment: This seems a strange way of the Saudis pursuing peace. They are meant to be in talks with the Houthis. So far it seems the Houthis have stopped their attacks on southwest Saudi Arabia and also withdrawn from Taiz. For Saudi Arabia, the killing goes on as usual. This does not seem like an equal peace deal; if this continues, I forecast that Yemen unrest will just start again.
https://www.facebook.com/yemennewstodayenglish/posts/1111996105619546
17.3.2016 – Sultana (A K)
A list of 82 names of recognized 107 people killed. Youngest is 5 years old, oldest 65
https://twitter.com/SultanetZman/status/710240643281526784
Comment: Just “fighters”.
cp17 Kriegsereignisse / Theater of War
16.3.2016 – Almasdar News (A K PH)
Yemeni Army’s missile strike kills several Saudi soldiers in Dhubab
The Yemeni Army’s Rocket Battalion struck again, launching a number of missiles towards the Saudi-led Coalition’s defensive positions inside the southern district of Dhubab City on Tuesday. According to the Yemeni Army’s 48th Brigade of the Republican Guard, one ballistic missile achieved a direct hit on a Saudi military installation, killing several soldiers upon impact; this was confirmed to them by local activists, who stated that a number of ambulances arrived on the scene. Following the missile strike by the Yemeni Army, the Saudi Air Force conducted a half dozen air raids in the ‘Azzan area of Dhubab, claiming that they were targeting enemy positions.
https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/yemeni-armys-missile-strike-kills-several-saudi-soldiers/
16.3.2016 – UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
Yemen: Intense fighting in Taizz Governorate - Flash Update on Taizz 1 | 16 March 2016
Key Messages
Over the past several days, fighting has spread within Taizz City as well as to other districts of the governorate. Changes in conflict lines and areas of control have opened up access to some parts of the former Taizz enclave where humanitarian access has been severely limited for many months.
Fierce fighting continues in the city, and OHCHR is investigating reports of international humanitarian law (IHL) and human rights violations by all parties involved. The Task Force for Population Movement (TFPM) is also monitoring civilian displacement issues.
Humanitarian agencies are responding to the situation and deploying additional staff to the United Nations sub-office in neighbouring Ibb Governorate from where the operation is being coordinated.
Situation Overview
For the past eight months, Al Houthi forces have severely restricted humanitarian and commercial access to some 175,000 people residing in an “enclave” inside three districts of Taizz City (Al Mudhaffar, Al Qahirah and Saleh). The assistance that reached the enclave during that time was delivered following protracted access negotiations, resulting in acute shortages of fuel, cooking gas, critical drugs while prices of available commercial food supplies were grossly inflated.
Some areas of the “enclave” are now accessible following changes in conflict lines and areas of control. On 11 March, forces aligned with the GoY and the Saudi-led Coalition launched an attack on Al Houthis and forces aligned with ex-President Saleh with the aim of dislodging them from Taizz City. Following intense clashes, these forces reportedly took control of several areas in Al Mudhaffar district, including Taizz University, Al Dahi, Al Hasseb, Bir Basha, Al Zunqol, and the central prison areas. They also seized control of the old airport, the 35th Armoured Brigade camp, the Saber Al Mawadem area in Taiziah district; the Al Saleh gardens, and the 30 meter road in Al Saleh district.
http://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/yemen-intense-fighting-taizz-governorate-flash-update-taizz-1-16-march-2016 and in full http://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/Yemen%20Flash%20Update-%20Taizz%2016%20March.pdf
16.3.2016 – World Food Programme (A H)
UNHRD Operations Update - Response to the Crisis in Yemen, as of 15 March 2016
Since the escalation of the conflict in March 2015, UNHRD has supported 6 Partners responding to the crisis by sending 413 MT of critical relief items, equipment and medical supplies to Djibouti and Yemen. Most recently, UNHRD dispatched 35 metric tons of medicine to Hoedida on behalf of WHO.
http://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/yemen_snapshot_as_at_15032016.pdf
Vorige / Previous:
https://www.freitag.de/autoren/dklose/krieg-im-jemen-neue-artikel-zum-nachlesen-115
Neue Artikel zum Nachlesen 1-115: / Yemen Press Reader 1-115:
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