Krieg im Jemen-Neue Artikel zum Nachlesen 118

Yemen Press Reader 118: Saudi-Arabien und die Wahrheit - HRW fordert Waffenembargo - Interessen der Saudis - ARD: Was vom Krieg übrig bleibt - Leben im Krieg - Schwangere im Krieg - Streubomben

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Schwerpunkte / Key aspects

Klassifizierung / Classification

cp1 Am wichtigsten / Most important

cp2 Allgemein / General

cp3 Humanitäre Lage / Humanitarian situation

cp4 Kulturerbe / Cultural heritage

cp5 Nordjemen und Huthis / Northern Yemen and Houthis

cp6 Südjemen und Hadi-Regierung / Southern Yemen and Hadi-government

cp7 UNO / UN

cp7a Saudi-Arabien und Iran / Saudi Arabia and Iran

cp8 Saudi-Arabien / Saudi Arabia

cp9 USA

cp10 Großbritannien / Great Britain

cp11 Deutschland / Germany

cp12 Andere Länder / Other countries

cp13a Waffenhandel / Arms trade

cp13b Mercenaries / Söldner

cp13c Flüchtlinge / Refugees

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

21.3.2016 – Huffington Post (** B P)

Saudi Arabia Can’t Hide From the Truth

Saudi Arabia’s pathetic effort to convince the American public that it is a force for tolerance and stability in the world continued in a laughable op-ed published on this site just over a week ago.

Without even a hint of self-consciousness, the Kingdom’s new ambassador to the United States made the delusional claim that “Saudi Arabia has and will continue to lead all nations in combating the mindset that foments violent extremism.” The newly minted ambassador went on to argue that the Kingdom’s religious leaders, including its Grand Mufti, “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.”

Really?

Was that the case when, just two years before the 9/11 attacks, the Kingdom’s Grand Mufti (who by the way is a government official appointed by the King)published a book stating that “[t]he attack of the Christian crusaders is today at its most intense...The Muslim whose mind has not been corrupted cannot bear to see the infidels wielding authority...[t]herefore such a Muslim strives [to] his utmost to expel and distance them—even if he has to sacrifice his own life, or his most cherished possession for this cause.”?

Perhaps the Ambassador was instead referring to the Saudi government textbookwhich proclaimed that true Muslims “must show the infidels rudeness and violence, and wage Jihad in the way of Allah without fear of the Infidels and hypocrites, or terror of their arms and numbers.”

Sadly, the examples of this Saudi government-funded, intolerant, violent, and toxic rhetoric abound, as several studies by the bi-partisan Freedom House have confirmed.

Much as the oil-rich Kingdom would like us to believe otherwise, it is not a coincidence that 15 of the 19 September 11 hijackers and Osama bin Laden himself were Saudis. To the contrary, they were the horrible products of the multi-billion dollar Saudi hate machine. And lest you think this is a problem of the past, Saudisrank number one among the roster of foreign fighters who have joined ISIS.

Given the actual facts, it should come as no surprise that American political and thought leaders do not share the new Ambassador’s implausible view of the Kingdom’s role in the world.

observation of Thomas Friedman of theNew York Times several months ago that “all these Sunni jihadist groups — ISIS, Al Qaeda, the Nusra Front — are the ideological offspring of the Wahhabism injected by Saudi Arabia into mosques and madrasas from Morocco to Pakistan to Indonesia.”

Friedman’s New York Times colleague David Kirkpatrick likewise confirmed the intimate link between Saudi Arabia’s propagation of Wahhabi ideology and the rise of ISIS, explaining in 2014 that “For their guiding principles, the leaders of the Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL, are open and clear about their almost exclusive commitment to the Wahhabi movement of Sunni Islam. The group circulates images of Wahhabi religious textbooks from Saudi Arabia in the schools it controls.

In fairness to the Saudis, they’re right to be nervous about their state in the world and understandably desperate to make themselves look better. Several world leaders have joined President Obama in denouncing the role of the Kingdom in fueling the tide of Islamist extremism that now envelopes the globe.

In the last few weeks the Saudis have lashed out aggressively against allies who have not fallen in line with their thinking, and in the past they have not been above making thinly veiled threats when they do not get their way.

In this moment, we who lost loved ones in the September 11th attacks hope our president and government will finally stand up to our Saudi “friends,” and tell them once and for all that denial is not a viable path forward – by Terry Strada, widow of Tom Strada, North Tower; Gordon Haberman, father of Andrea Haberman, North Tower; Curtis F. Brewer, husband of Carol Demitz, South Tower

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/terry-strada/saudi-arabia-terrorism-9-11_b_9516706.html

21.3.2016 – Human Rights Watch (** B K P)

Yemen: Embargo Arms to Saudi Arabia

US, UK, France Risk Complicity in Unlawful Airstrikes

The United States, United Kingdom, France, and others should suspend all weapon sales to Saudi Arabia until it not only curtails its unlawful airstrikes in Yemen but also credibly investigates alleged violations.

“For the past year, governments that arm Saudi Arabia have rejected or downplayed compelling evidence that the coalition’s airstrikes have killed hundreds of civilians in Yemen,” said Philippe Bolopion, deputy global advocacy director. “By continuing to sell weapons to a known violator that has done little to curtail its abuses, the US, UK, and France risk being complicit in unlawful civilian deaths.”

Nongovernmental organizations and the United Nations have investigated and reported on numerous unlawful coalition airstrikes.

UK, US Arms Support for Saudi-led Coalition
Under international law, the US is a party to the armed conflict in Yemen. Lt. Gen. Charles Brown, commander of the US Air Force Central Command, said that the US military has deployed dedicated personnel to the Saudi joint planning and operations cell to help “coordinate activities.” US participation in specific military operations, such as providing advice on targeting decisions and aerial refueling during bombing raids, may make US forces jointly responsible for laws-of-war violations by coalition forces. As a party to the conflict, the US is itself obligated to investigate allegedly unlawful attacks in which it took part.

The UK government has said that though it has personnel in Saudi Arabia, they are not involved in carrying out strikes, or directing or conducting operations in Yemen, or selecting targets. UK Prime Minister David Cameron has stated that UK personnel are deployed to “provide advice, help and training” to the Saudi military on the laws of war.

Largest Foreign Military Sales to Saudi Arabia
In July 2015, the US Defense Departmentapproved a number of weapons sales to Saudi Arabia, including a US$5.4 billion deal for 600 Patriot Missiles and a $500 million deal for more than a million rounds of ammunition, hand grenades, and other items, for the Saudi army. According to the US Congressional review, between May and September, the US sold $7.8 billion worth of weapons to the Saudis.

In October, the US government approved the sale to Saudi Arabia of up to four Lockheed Littoral Combat Ships for $11.25 billion. In November, the US signed an arms deal with Saudi Arabia worth $1.29 billion for more than 10,000 advanced air-to-surface munitions including laser-guided bombs, “bunker buster” bombs, and MK84 general purpose bombs; the Saudis have used all three in Yemen.

According to the London-based Campaign Against Arms Trade, the UK government approved GB£2.8 billion in military sales to Saudi Arabia between January and September 2015. The weapons include 500-pound Paveway IV bombs. The UK is negotiating a £1 billion weapons deal with the UAE.

In July 2015, Saudi Arabia reportedly signed agreements worth $12 billion with France, which included $500 million for 23 Airbus H145 helicopters. The kingdom is also expected to order 30 military patrol boats by 2016 under the agreement. Reuters reported that Saudi Arabia has also recently entered into exclusive negotiations with the French company Thales Group to buy spy satellite and telecommunications equipment worth “billions of euros.”

Failure to Investigate Alleged Violations
Countries that are party to a conflict have an obligation under international law to investigate credible allegations of war crimes and hold those responsible to account. Human Rights Watch has seen no indication that the Saudi Arabia-led coalition has conducted any meaningful investigations into alleged laws-of-war violations.

On August 19, 2015, Human Rights Watch and 22 other human rights and humanitarian organizations called on the UN Human Rights Council to create an independent international commission of inquiry at its September session to investigate alleged laws-of-war violations by all parties to the conflict. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights similarly called on UN member states to encourage the establishment of an “international independent and impartial” investigative mechanism.

Instead, on September 7, President Abdu Rabu Mansour Hadi of Yemen established a national commission to investigate violations of human rights and the laws of war. During the ensuing UN Human Rights Council session in Geneva, Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries effectively blocked an effort led by the Netherlands to create an international investigative mechanism. The national commission has taken no tangible steps to conduct investigations, nor has it revealed any working methods or plans, three people close to the commission told Human Rights Watch.

Five days after the release of UN Panel of Experts report on Yemen, on January 31, 2016, the coalition announced a new committee to assess the coalition’s rules of engagement in the war and produce recommendations for the coalition to better respect the laws of war. “The goal of the committee is not to investigate allegations,” Al-Assiri said. “Its primary goal is to confirm the precision of the procedures followed on the level of the coalition command.” As such, this proposed body does not meet the requirements for an impartial investigative mechanism that can address accountability for unlawful attacks or compensate victims of coalition violations, Human Rights Watch said.

https://www.hrw.org/news/2016/03/21/yemen-embargo-arms-saudi-arabia

Comment: A long article summing up this war and relating to events and facts often and often reported and linked here before.

15.3.2016 – Informationsstelle Militarisierung (** B K)

IMI-Analyse 2016/09

Operation Restoring Hope im Jemen

Die geostrategischen und machtpolitischen Interessen Saudi Arabiens

von: Jacqueline Andres

Im März 2015 begann die saudische Militäroffensive Decisive Storm im Jemen, welche nur einen Monat später von der Operation Restoring Hope abgelöst wurde. Doch von einer Wiederherstellung der Hoffnung kann für die Menschen vor Ort kann keine Rede sein: Im Rahmen der fortdauernden Militäroffensive wurden bisher mehr als 23.000 Menschen verletzt oder getötet und etwa. 2,5 Millionen vertrieben. Nach Schätzungen des UNHCR haben 85% der 27 Millionen Einwohner_innen keinen Zugang zu sauberem Trinkwasser, medizinischer Versorgung und ausreichender Nahrung.[1] Diese desaströse humanitäre Lage ist das Ergebnis verschiedener geostrategischer und machtpolitischer Motivlagen Saudi Arabiens im Jemen und der Region. Bereits zu Beginn des Krieges definierte das saudische Königshaus folgende drei Ziele: die Rückkehr des Präsidenten Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi an die Macht, den Sieg über die Houthis und die Eindämmung des iranischen Einflusses im Jemen.[2] Doch Nafeez Ahmed erweitert diese Motive in einem vom britischen Nachrichtenportal Middle East Eye veröffentlichten Artikel, in dem unter anderem die langjährige Absicht des Könighauses am Bau einer Ölpipeline durch Jemen als beitragender Faktor zum Krieg genannt wird.[3] Saudi Arabien verschifft seine Erdölexporte hauptsächlich von den am Persischen Golf gelegenen Häfen von Ras al Ju‘aymah und Ras Tanura sowie von Yanbu am Roten Meer. Über einen direkten Zugang zum Indischen Ozean verfügt Saudi Arabien nicht, wodurch es von der Sicherheit der Meerenge zwischen den Vereinigten Arabischen Emiraten und dem Iran einerseits und der Meerenge Bad al-Mandeb zwischen Jemen, Djibouti und Eritrea andererseits abhängig ist. Dies soll sich laut einer von Wikileaks veröffentlichten Depesche und den Aussagen eines Mitglieds des niederländischen Außenministeriums bald ändern. In den Krieg sind auch westliche Regierungen verstrickt; britische und US-amerikanische Militärs sind an den Militäroperationen direkt beteiligt und Deutschland unterstützt den Krieg indirekt durch die massive Aufrüstung Saudi Arabiens.

Gewollte Eskalation: Gegen Demokratie…

Die Entwicklungen im Jemen seit den Protesten im Jahr 2011 hätten eine andere Wendung nehmen können. Laut Bernadette Meehan, einer Sprecherin des nationalen Sicherheitsrates des Weißen Hauses, habe der Iran die ihm nahe stehende, jedoch nicht von ihm kontrollierte, zaiditisch-schiitische Houthi-Bewegung vor dem Luftkrieg Saudi Arabiens davor gewarnt, Jemens Hauptstadt Sanaa anzugreifen. Ihre Waffen erhielten die Houthis zu diesem Zeitpunkt auch nicht aus dem Iran, sondern vom Schwarzmarkt und dem ehemaligen Präsidenten Ali Abdullah Saleh. Zwar führte Saleh, obwohl er selbst Zaidit ist, von 2004 bis 2010 sechs verschiedene militärische Operationen gegen die Houthis, doch seit seinem Sturz nutzt er die einst gegnerische Gruppe, um seine eigenen Ziele zu verfolgen. In der Tat werden im Jemen oft Allianzen gewechselt, so führte zum Beispiel Saudi Arabien in den 1960er Jahren Krieg an der Seite des Zaiditischen Imamats gegen die sozialistische Volksrepublik Jemen und den ägyptischen Präsidenten Gamal Abdel Nasser. Die oftmals euro-zentristische Lesart der Außenpolitik Saudi Arabiens entlang der Konfessionslinien Shiiten vs. Sunniten greift wieder einmal zu kurz und stellt laut Julian Engerer auch einen möglichen Eskalationsfaktor an sich dar: „Es steht nicht zur Debatte, dass religiöse Konflikte zwischen Sunniten und Schiiten bestehen. Diese Differenzen manifestieren sich auch in einer politischen Dimension. Diese sollte aber unter den Vorzeichen regionaler Begebenheiten analysiert werden, und nicht in einem geostrategischen Kontext, denn eine derartige geopolitische Einordnung von Konfessionen, die von Seiten der Westmächte und der Monarchien am Golf vorgenommen wird, verschärft die Situation nur noch mehr, da sie die konfessionellen Lager weiter politisiert und damit zur Eskalation beiträgt. Die strategische Instrumentalisierung religiöser Konflikte birgt die Gefahr, zu einer selbsterfüllenden Prophezeiung zu werden.“[4] Irans Unterstützung der Houthi-Bewegung ist nicht abzustreiten, doch liegen die Ursachen des Aufstandes und des Konfliktes vielmehr in der politischen, wirtschaftlichen und religiösen Marginalisierung des nördlichen Jemens.[5]

Die Luftschläge Saudi Arabiens gegen den Jemen erfolgten laut dem UN-Sondergesandten für den Jemen, Jamal Benomar, zu einem Zeitpunkt, an dem die zwölf rivalisierenden Gruppen inklusive den Houthis kurz vor einer Einigung standen.[6] Der UN-Korrespondent des Wall Street Journals, Joe Lauria, beschreibt Details der fast zustande gekommen Einigung: gewisse Machtabgabe des von Saudi Arabien gestützten Präsidenten Hadi, welcher in seiner Präsidentschaftswahl 2012 als einziger Kandidat antrat, Rückzug der Houthis aus den eroberten Gebieten und Erteilung von 20% der Parlamentssitze an die Houthis. Ebenso hätte es einen gesetzlich verankerten Frauenanteil von jeweils 30 im Parlament sowie im Kabinett gegeben.[7] Zu diesem Zeitpunkt, so Nafeez Ahmed, sei es noch nicht primär um eine Eindämmung der iranischen Einflusssphäre auf der arabischen Halbinsel gegangen, sondern um einen expliziten Unwillen von Seiten Saudi Arabiens, den USA und Großbritanniens, Prozesse im Jemen zuzulassen, welche den eigenen Einfluss auf das politische Geschehen im Land mindern könnten. Dieser Unwille „Demokratisierungsversuche“ bzw. das Aufbrechen verfestigter autoritärer Staatsstrukturen zu dulden, sei laut Lauria in der allgemeinen Außenpolitik des saudischen Könighauses zu verorten, welches solche Prozesse in keinem der Länder des so genannten Arabischen Frühlings wie Bahrain, Ägypten oder auch Syrien tolerierte. Betrachtet man die von Saudi Arabien geleitete Militärkoalition, welche die Operation Restoring Hope im Jemen ausführt, fällt auf, dass sie mit den beteiligten Staaten Ägypten, Bahrain, Jordanien, Katar, Kuwait, Marokko, Sudan und der Vereinigten Arabischen Emirate hauptsächlich aus einem Zusammenschluss von Monarchien und Diktaturen besteht, deren Machthaber ebenfalls ein großes Interesse an einer „Stabilisierung“ und der Aufrechterhaltung der eigenen Macht und des Status quo haben.

Die gewollte Eskalation des Konflikts durch die saudi-arabische Koalition trat erneut im Rahmen der angekündigten UN-Friedensgespräche in Genf am 15.Juni 2015 deutlich zum Vorschein. Grundvoraussetzung für die Gespräche der Houthis war ein Waffenstillstand, den auch der UN-Generalsekretär Ban Ki-moon für den Beginn des Fastenmonats und zur Milderung der katastrophalen humanitären Lage im Jemen forderte. Doch Saudi Arabien weigerte sich, das Feuer einzustellen, sollten die Houthis sich nicht aus allen von ihnen unter Kontrolle gebrachten Gebieten zurückziehen.

… für sichere Handelswege

Jemen liegt zwischen zwei der für den internationalen Warenverkehr wichtigsten Meerengen und ist somit für die globale Wirtschaft von erheblicher geostrategischer Bedeutung. Der US-Militär- und NATO-Berater Anthony Cordesman vom Thinktank Center for Strategic and International Studies äußert sich zur strategischen Rolle des Jemens wie folgt: „Jemen ist von großer strategischer Bedeutung für die USA, ebenso wie die allgemeine Stabilität Saudi Arabiens und aller arabischen Golfstaaten. Trotz des Geredes der ‚Energieunabhängigkeit‘ der USA, sieht die Realität weiterhin anders aus. Die Zunahme an Petroleum und anderer alternativer Brennstoffe außerhalb des Golfs haben seine vitale strategische Bedeutung für die globale und die US-amerikanische Wirtschaft nicht gemindert. […] Jemens Festland und Inseln spielen eine entscheidende Rolle bei der Sicherheit einer anderen globalen Meerenge an dem südöstlichen Ende des Roten Meeres namens Bab el- Mandab oder ‚das Tor der Tränen‘.“[8]

Die Bedeutung der Sicherheit im Jemen reicht laut Cordesman bis zum Suezkanal – eine der Hauptschlagadern des internationalen Handelsverkehrs: „Jede feindliche Luft- oder Seepräsenz im Jemen könnte den gesamten Verkehr durch den Suezkanal, sowie den täglichen Fluss von Erdöl und Erdölprodukten bedrohen, welcher sich nach Schätzungen der EIA [US Energy Information Administration] von 2,9 mb/d [Millionen Barrel pro Tag] im Jahr 2009 auf 3,8 mb/d im Jahr 2013 erhöhte.“ Der gesicherte Zugang zu einer der strategisch wichtigsten Wasserstraßen der Welt, dem Suezkanal, scheint zu bedeutend, um die Kontrolle der Meerenge Bab al Mandab, die der Löwenanteil der saudischen Ölexporte täglich passiert, einer demokratischen Regierung im Jemen zu überlassen.

Zudem besteht seit Oktober 2008 eine NATO-Präsenz am Golf von Aden, welche die ersten drei Monate als Operation Allied Provider offiziell für den Schutz von Schiffen des Welternährungsprogrammes der UN vor Piraterie eingesetzt wurde. Ab 2009 wurde sie in Operation Allied Protector umbenannt und war fortan durch eine Ausweitung des Mandats hauptsächlich für den Schutz von Handelsschiffen zuständig. Seit 2009 dauert die NATO-Präsenz im Golf von Aden als Operation Ocean Shield an, in deren Rahmen die NATO u.a. mit chinesischen[9], südkoreanischen[10] und indischen Kriegsschiffen zur Sicherheit der kommerziellen Schifffahrt zusammenarbeitet.[11]

Wie wichtig der ungehinderte Warenverkehr am Horn von Afrika auch für die EU ist, zeigt unter anderem die EU-Operation ATALANTA, welche seit 2008 mit Kriegsschiffen die Piraterie am Golf von Aden bekämpft und damit ebenfalls den Schutz der Handelsschifffahrt vom Indischen Ozean ins Mittelmeer militärisch gewährleistet. Auch die europäische Kapazitätsaufbaumission EUCAP NESTOR, ist in diesem Zusammenhang zu erwähnen: Seit 2011 soll sie zum einen die Küstenwachen der anliegenden Staaten Dschibutis, Kenias, Tansanias, der Seychellen und Somalias ausbilden sowie ausrüsten und zum anderen soll sie polizeiliche und justizielle Strukturen in der Region aufbauen, um die Verhaftung und Verurteilung somalischer Piraten „vor Ort“ zu ermöglichen.[12]

Im Jahresbericht 2015 der deutschen Marine unterstreicht Vizeadmiral Andreas Krause die wachsende Bedeutung der maritimen Sicherheit auch für das deutsche Wirtschaftswachstum: „Die Meere bestimmen die Koordinaten der Weltordnung. […] Seehandelswege sind die Lebensadern unserer Weltwirtschaft. Regionale Krisen und Konflikte, zerfallende und gescheiterte Staaten, Terrorismus, Piraterie und machtpolitische Willkür bedrohen den freien Handel über See. Deutschland als rohstoffarme Nation und gleichzeitig Hochtechnologiestandort ist allerdings ganz besonders auf sichere und funktionierende Seewege angewiesen.“[13]

Mit der Pipeline zur Unabhängigkeit

Abgesehen vom gesicherten Zugang zum Suezkanal liegt es auch im Interesse Saudi Arabiens und der Vereinigten Arabischen Emirate, unabhängig vom Iran das Erdöl der Golfstaaten exportieren zu können. Daher habe Saudi Arabien, laut in Wikileaks veröffentlichten Aussagen eines britischen Diplomaten, seit längerer Zeit die Absicht, eine eigens „besessene, betriebene und beschütze“[14] Pipeline von Saudi Arabien bis in die jemenitische Hafenstadt Al Mukalla am Golf von Aden zu bauen, was der ehemalige Präsident Saleh ablehnte. Saudi Arabien erkaufte daher zur Sicherstellung seiner Interessen die Loyalität einflussreicher Sheikhs in der jemenitischen Hadramaut Region, deren Hauptstadt Al Mukalla ist, um unter dem Nachfolger Salehs die Pipeline errichten zu können. Auch von offizieller Seite wird die Pipeline als eines der Motive hinter dem Jemenkrieg genannt: Wie Nafeez Ahmed beobachtete, beschrieb die Sicherheits- und Rechtsberaterin des niederländischen Außenministeriums im Jemen, Joke Buringa, auf ihrem persönlichen Blog noch im Jahr 2015 die gleiche Absicht und betonte, dass Saudi Arabien seine langjährige Investition in ein mögliches post-Saleh Jemen durch die Proteste 2011 gefährdet sah.[15] Laut Buringa habe die US-Regierung bereits 2007 Druck auf die VAE und Saudi Arabien ausgeübt, um sich für den Fall einer politischen Krise mit dem Iran und einer daraus resultierenden Blockade der Meerenge von Hormus eine logistische Unabhängigkeit vom Iran zu schaffen. Untermauert werden diese Formulierungen durch eine Studie des Gulf Research Center aus dem Jahr 2007, deren Gegenstand die bereits seit zwei Jahrzehnten stetig wiederkehrende Idee der Golfstaaten zur Errichtung einer transarabischen Ölpipeline ist.[16] Eine kritische Wende nahm das Pipelineprojekt, nachdem Oman und Iran im Jahr 2012 ihre eigene Pipelineidee verwirklichten, wodurch, so die niederländische Beamtin Buringa, die Alternative im Jemen an Attraktivität gewann.[17]

Krieg hilft Al Qaida und ISIS im Hadramaut

Der Krieg hilft zugleich auch ISIS und Al Qaida, im Jemen Fuß zu fassen. Besonders betroffen von dieser Entwicklung ist die Region Hadramaut, durch die auch die angestrebte Pipeline verlaufen soll. Bis jetzt ist die Region fast unversehrt von Luftschlägen der saudischen Koalition geblieben und der Flughafen von Mukalla steht weiterhin unter Kontrolle von Al Qaida, welche laut Buringa Waffen aus dem Königreich erhalten. Spätestens im Juni 2015 sei laut Ahmed die Zusammenarbeit zwischen Saudi Arabien und Al Qaida offenkundig geworden, nachdem der von Saudi Arabien gestützte Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi den bekannten Anwerber und Finanzier der AQAP (Al Qaida in the Arab Peninsula) Abdulwahab Hamayqani zu den UN-Gesprächen in Genf sandte. Al Qaidas und ISIS‘ Bekämpfung von Houthis komme auch Saudi Arabien zu Gute, das im Jemen bereits Milizen ausrüste, deren Waffen auch in die Hände von AQAP und ISIS gerieten, so Ahmed weiter.

In den vergangenen Jahren führten die USA einen Drohnenkrieg in der Region gegen Al Qaida und förderten durch eine mit den Angriffen einhergehende Ausbreitung von rechtsfreien Räumen und den Unmut über das Sterben lediglich den Rekrutierungsnährboden der Organisation. Allein zwischen 2002 und 2016 kamen zwischen 514 und 1236 Menschen durch US-Drohnenangriffe ums Leben.[18] Seit Beginn des Krieges im Jemen im April 2015 haben Al Qaida und ISIS mehr oder weniger freie Hand.

Zugleich schützt das Nichteingreifen im Hadramaut auch langwährende Investitionen aus Saudi Arabien in dem Gebiet. In den von Wikileaks veröffentlichten Dokumenten wird auf die für Saudi Arabien interessante Beziehung von Saudis jemenitischen Ursprungs zum Hadramaut hingewiesen. Laut dem saudischen Botschafter Ali al Hamdan überweisen zahlreiche Jemeniten hohe Beträge an ihre Familien im Hadramut.[19] Zu diesen zählten auch die Milliardärsfamilien Bin Laden, Bin Mahfouz und Bouqshan Shaykh. Von Letzterer wurden seit dem Jahr 2002 mehr als 305 Millionen US-Dollar in lokale Wirtschaftszweige gesteckt und zahlreiche Großprojekte in Hadramaut realisiert, u.a. im Straßenbau und im Ausbau der Stromnetzwerke. Ob die Rücksichtnahme auf solche Großbauprojekte und saudische Investitionen zufälliger oder beabsichtigter Natur sind, ist jedoch unklar.

Die NATO im Jemenkrieg

Auch NATO-Mitgliedsstaaten wie die USA und Großbritannien sind in die Kriegsaktion eingebunden. Wie Ahmed feststellt, bestätigte der saudische Außenminister Adel al Jubeir, dass britische und US-amerikanische Militärangehörige sowie Militärs ungenannter anderer Länder, in der für die saudischen Luftangriffe auf Jemen genutzten Kommando- und Kontrollzentrale arbeiten. Sie – so Jubeir – wüssten von den Zielen und Aktionen der saudischen Armee im Jemen. Weitere Unterstützung erhält die Militärkoalition u.a. für die Wiederbetankung von Kampffliegern maßgeblich durch die USA. Air Force Major Timothy Smith berichtet in der US Air Force Times, die US-amerikanische Luftwaffe habe seit April 2015 im Laufe von 709 Einsätzen insgesamt 3.720 Kriegsflugzeuge mit mehr als 12.000 Liter Treibstoff betankt. Zu diesen zählten in den ersten Wochen des Krieges auch dutzende Kampfflieger der Verbündeten Saudi Arabiens, u.a. aus Ägypten, Katar, Bahrain, Kuwait sowie den Vereinigten Arabischen Emiraten.[20] Bei den Luftangriffen warfen saudische Kampfflieger auch in den USA produzierte und völkerrechtlich geächtete Streubomben über zivilen Wohngebieten ab.[21]

Auch aus der EU erhalten Saudi Arabien sowie die Mitglieder der von Saudi-Arabien geleiteten Koalition zahlreiche Rüstungslieferungen. Laut einem kürzlich veröffentlichten Bericht der Control Arms Coalition verkauften Deutschland, Frankreich, Großbritannien, Italien, Montenegro, die Niederlande, die Schweiz, Spanien, Schweden, die Türkei und den USA alleine im Jahr 2015 Lizenzen und Rüstungsprodukte wie Drohnen, Bomben, Raketen, Kampfflugzeugen und Kriegsschiffen im Wert von 25 Milliarden US-Dollar an Saudi Arabien.[22] Die Waffenimporte des Königreichs sowie Katars stiegen nach Angaben des SIPRI, dem Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, innerhalb der letzten vier Jahre um 275% an, wodurch Saudi Arabien nach aktuellem Stand der größte Waffenimporteur weltweit ist.[23]

Deutschlands Rolle und die Aufrüstung Saudi Arabiens

Die deutsche Bundesregierung beteiligt sich zwar nicht mit Bundeswehrsoldat_innen an dem Krieg im Jemen und ließ im April 2015 die geplante Lieferung von 200 Leopard 2 Panzern und im Oktober desselben Jahres den Export von Schlüsselkomponenten des Sturmgewehrs G36 an das Königreich platzen, doch stellte sie in der ersten Jahreshälfte von 2015 allein 66 Exportlizenzen im Wert von insgesamt 178 Millionen Euro an Saudi Arabien aus, welche unter anderem den Verkauf von Geländefahrzeugen, Zieldarstellungsdrohnen und Kampffliegerkomponenten erlaubten.[24]

Die ausstehende Lieferung von Schlüsselkomponenten des G36 ist von großer Bedeutung für Saudi Arabien, da das Königreich über eine eigene Fabrik verfügt, in der sie das Gewehr bis auf einige ausschlaggebende Komponenten selbst herstellen kann. Unklar ist es der Bundesregierung laut einer von der Linksfraktion gestellten Kleinen Anfrage, ob Saudi Arabien momentan trotz der geblockten Lieferung essenzieller Einzelteile noch Sturmgewehre eigens produzieren kann.[25] Der Lizenzvertrag beschränkt die Produktion der Sturmgewehre auf eine Nutzung durch die Streitkräfte Saudi Arabiens, dennoch warfen saudische Militärflugzeuge nach Berichten der Süddeutschen Zeitung im April 2015 G36-Gewehre ohne notwendige Genehmigung des Bundesamtes für Wirtschaft und Ausfuhrkontrolle in Kisten über dem Flughafen von Aden ab. Somit gelangen deutsche Waffen auch in die Hände von Kriegsparteien im Jemen. Einschränken könne die Bundesregierung dies nicht, denn faktisch verfüge sie nicht über die Zustimmung des Königreiches, um vor Ort zu überprüfen, wohin die an das Königreich gelieferten sowie die in Saudi Arabien produzierten G36 Gewehre gelangten.[26]

Nicht nur an der Bewaffnung, sondern auch an der Ausbildung saudischer Streitkräfte ist die Bundesregierung beteiligt. So schulten drei „einsatzerfahrene“ Bundeswehrsoldaten das saudische Militär in der Bedienung der von Deutschland gelieferten Aufklärungsdrohne LUNA (Luftgestützte unbemannte Nahaufklärungsausstattung) im Rahmen der Errichtung eines Grenzüberwachungssystems. Diese Beihilfe, für die die Herstellungsfirma der LUNA-Drohne ETM – ansässig im bayerischen Penzberg – scheinbar keine Kosten tragen musste, wurde vom Verteidigungsministerium als „Ausbildungsunterstützung“ verharmlost.[27] Seit 2009 schult die mit Immunitäten und Privilegien ausgestattete Bundespolizei saudische Grenzpolizisten, die vor der Herausforderung stehen, mit einem 2 Milliarden Euro teuren High-Tech-Überwachungssystem bestehend aus Grenzzäunen, Sensoren, Radaren und Kameras die 9.000 Kilometer lange Grenze zu überwachen, um Schmuggel und unkontrollierte Migrations- und Flüchtlingsbewegungen zu unterbinden. Jemen ist nicht nur ein Herkunftsland, sondern für viele Migrant_innen und Geflüchtete aus Ostafrika auch ein Transitland, um nach Saudi Arabien zu gelangen. Der ausschlaggebende Punkt für die Erteilung des Auftrages zum Bau dieses Großprojekts an das deutsch-spanisch-französische Unternehmen EADS, heute Airbus, war vermutlich das Angebot zur Technik auch gleich die Bundespolizei als auszubildende Institution zur Verfügung zu stellen. Der Vertrag sah vor, dass Saudi Arabien für die Beamten entstehende Mehrkosten zahlen sollte. Die Zahlungen der Auslandszulage und Reisespesen konnten allerdings nicht über die Bundespolizei direkt erfolgen,[28] wodurch die Mehrkostenzahlung von 2,5 Millionen Euro für den Zeitraum von Mai 2014 bis Juni 2015 an die Gesellschaft für internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) geleistet wurde.[29] In einer kleinen Anfrage der Fraktion Bündnis 90/Die Grünen bezeichnete die Bundesregierung dies als „administrative und logistische Unterstützungsleistungen, die im Rahmen der Umsetzung des Projekt- und Finanzmanagements zur Durchführung der Trainings- und Beratungsmaßnahmen erforderlich sind.“[30] Die Militarisierung und Technologisierung der Grenzüberwachung erschwert es Menschen aus dem Jemen momentan aus dem Kriegsgebiet zu fliehen, da Jemen seine Landesgrenze nur mit Saudi Arabien und Oman teilt.

Weitere indirekte Unterstützung der von Saudi Arabien geleiteten Koalition leistet die Bundesregierung unter anderem auch durch die Behandlung verletzter Luftstreitkräfte der Vereinigten Arabischen Emirate in deutschen Krankenhäusern. Gemeinsam mit dem Botschafter der VAE in Berlin, Juma Mubarak Al Junaibi, besuchte Shaikh Hamed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan vom Hof des Kronprinzen des Emirats Abu Dhabi am 25. Januar 2016 verletzte Militärangehörige in dem Vivantes Krankenhaus in Berlin, der Klinik Godeshöhe in Bonn sowie in dem BGU Murnau bei München.[31]

Das Gestaltungsmächtekonzept im Jemen

Diese starke Aufrüstung passt zu den steigenden Machtansprüchen von Mitgliedern des Golfkooperationsrates, die auch an der aktiven militärischen Beteiligung Katars, Saudi Arabiens und der Vereinigten Arabischen Emirate in Libyen und Syrien zu sehen ist. Bekräftig werden diese Ansprüche unter anderem von Deutschland.[32] Hintergrund dieses Interesses an der militärischen Aufrüstung Saudi Arabiens, einer so genannter „Gestaltungsmacht“, ist laut Engerer die Verbesserung der geostrategischen Positionierung der BRD in der Region. Ausdruck findet diese Ambition in dem Gestaltungsmächtekonzept, durch das die Bundesregierung versucht, „regionale Sicherheitsarchitekturen“ aufzubauen und die „Instrumentarien“ so genannter Gestaltungsmächte auch in Form von Waffenlieferungen zu stärken, um „die Region nach eigenen geostrategischen Prämissen zu formen.“ Durch die Aufrüstung diverser Staaten des Golfkooperationsrates, so Engerer, solle „die Stabilität der Golfmonarchien nach innen und ihr militärischer Einfluss auf regionale Stellvertreterkonflikte gestärkt werden, sodass konvergente Interessen durch fest im Sattel sitzende Regime im gesamten Nahen Osten durchgesetzt werden können.“ Bis heute hat Engerers Analyse aus dem Jahr 2012 nichts an Aktualität eingebüßt, wie eine im Februar 2016 formulierte Antwort der Bundesregierung auf eine von der Fraktion Die Linke gestellten Kleinen Anfrage zeigt: „Saudi-Arabien spielt als dominante Kraft auf der Arabischen Halbinsel eine wichtige Rolle bei den Bemühungen der internationalen Gemeinschaft, Stabilität in der Region wieder herzustellen.“[33] Der Bundesnachrichtendienst hingegen warnt vor der, wie er es ausdrückt, „impulsiven Interventionspolitik“ Saudi Arabiens, welche der BND gar als Destabilisierungsfaktor in der Region wertet.[34] Mit dem Einsatz im Jemen wolle das Königshaus seine Bereitschaft beweisen, so wird der BND zitiert, „militärische, finanzielle und politische Risiken einzugehen, um regionalpolitisch nicht ins Hintertreffen zu geraten.“[35]

Spiel mit dem Feuer

Doch die Strategie Saudi Arabiens scheint nicht aufzugehen. Trotz der rüstungstechnischen Überlegenheit der hinter Operation Restoring Hope stehenden Militärkoalition, rückt der Sieg über die Houthi nicht näher. Aufgrund des hohen Todeszolls und der systematischen Zerstörung vitaler ziviler Infrastruktur durch die Luftanschläge gewinnt die Houthi-Bewegung in einigen Gebieten Jemens sogar an Zulauf,[36] obwohl die Rebellen selbst durch das wahllose Streuen von Landminen, sowie den unkontrollierten Beschuss und Einsatz von Scharfschützen verantwortlich für den Tod hunderter Zivilisten sind.[37] Durch weitere Waffenlieferungen an die Kriegsparteien wird eine Fortsetzung des verfahrenen Krieges ermöglicht. Zwar forderte das EU-Parlament im Februar 2016 ein Waffenembargo gegen Saudi Arabien, doch ist diese Forderung weder bindend noch scheint sie von vielen EU-Staaten ernst genommen zu werden.[38] So lobte der britische Premierminister David Cameron nur wenige Stunden nach dem EU-Parlamentsbeschluss vor der Belegschaft des britischen Rüstungskonzern BAE die „brillanten“ Geschäfte mit Saudi Arabien und kündigte an, es sei noch mehr Arbeit mit Saudi Arabien zu verrichten.[39] Frankreich hingegen verlieh nur wenige Tage später den Verdienstorden Legion d’Honneur an den saudischen Innenminister und Kronprinzen Mohammed bin Nayef für seine Bemühungen im Kampf gegen den Terror und Extremismus.[40] Von einer Distanzierung von der saudischen Regierung aufgrund der vorgeworfenen Kriegsverbrechen im Jemen und von einer ernsten Bemühung um eine friedliche Lösung am Golf von Aden ist de facto weiterhin wenig zu spüren – von Jacqueline Andres

Anmerkungen

[1] Nasser Arrabyee: Saudi Arabia’s Unholy War, carnegieendowment.org, 03.03.2016.

[2] Joe Lauria: What are the real Saudi motives in Yemen?, middleeasteye.net, 12.05.2015.

[3] Nafeez Ahmed: Saudi war for Yemen oil pipeline is empowering al-Qaeda, IS, middleeasteye.net, 10.02.2016.

[4] Julian Engerer: Weltpolitik und Waffenexporte Deutsche Machtpolitik und die Konfessionalisierung von Konflikten am Persischen Golf, IMI-Studie 17/2012, imi-online.de, 03.12.2012.

[5] Jürgen Wagner: Jemen. Nächstes Aufmarschgebiet im „Krieg gegen den Terror“, IMI-Analyse 2010/007,imi-online.de, 16.02.2016.

[6] Ahmed 10.02.2016.

[7] Lauria 12.05.2015.

[8] Ahmed 10.02.2016.

[9] NATO Maritime Command: NATO Danish and Chinese ships conduct combined sea training during NATO’s counter-piracy Operation OCEAN SHIELD, mc.nato.int, 27.11.2015.

[10] NATO Maritime Command: Danish and Republic of Korea naval vessels engage in cooperative sea training during NATO’s counter-piracy Operation OCEAN SHIELD, mc.nato.int, 24.11.2015.

[11] NATO: Counter-piracy operations, nato.int, 26-03.2015.

[12] Jonna Schürkes: Im Interesse des Nordens. Die Atalanta-Mission führt zur Ausweitung des Kriegs am Horn von Afrika, IMI-Analyse 2012/011, imi-online.de, 20.12.2012.

[13] Andreas Krause: Vorwort. Fakten und Zahlen zur maritimen Abhängigkeit der Bundesrepublik Deutschland, Jahresbericht 2015, 28. Auflage, marine.de

[14] The US Embassy Sanaa via Wikileaks: 08SANAA1053_a , Yemen’s Big Brother: What has Saudi Arabia done for Yemen lately?, wikileaks.org, 28.06.2008.

[15] Ahmed 10.02.2016.

[16] Ali al Ahmad, Andrew Bond und Daniel Morillo: Security Threats to Saudi Arabia’s Oil Infrastructure, The Institute for Gulf Affairs, gulfinstitute.org, November 2011.

[17] Ahmed 10.02.2016.

[18] Bureau of Investigative Journalism: Casualty estimates, thebureauinvestigates.com, 04.03.2016.

[19] Wikileaks: 08SANAA1053_a , 28.06.2008.

[20] Oriana Pawlyk: Remember the war in Yemen? The U.S. Air Force is there, airforcetimes.com, 25.02.2016.

[21] Rick Gladstoe: New Report of U.S.-Made Cluster Bomb Use by Saudis in Yemen, nytimes.com, 14.02.2016.

[22] ATT Monitor: Dealing in Double Standards. How Arms Sales to Saudi Arabia Are Causing Human Suffering in Yemen, Case Study 2/2016, controlarms.org.

[23] Arms sales to Saudi Arabia and Qatar almost triple in four years, middleeasteye.net, 22.02.2016.

[24] ATT Monitor, Case Study 2/2016.

[25] Drucksache 18/6131 – G36-Fabrik in Saudi-Arabien, dip21.bundestag.de, 02.11.2015.

[26] Christoph Hickmann und Georg Mascolo: Die Saudis sollten die Vernichtung alter Gewehre nachweisen, sueddeutsche.de, 29.10.2016.

[27] Matthias Monroy: Deutsches Militär unterstützt hochgerüsteten Grenzschutz in Saudi-Arabien, heise.de, 08.03.2012.

[28] Ebd.

[29] Drucksache 18/5748: Zum aktuellen Einsatz der Bundespolizei in Saudi-Arabien, dipbt.bundestag.de, 24.08.2015.

[30] Ebd.

[31] UAE troops wounded in Yemen assured full support, gulfnews.com, 25.01.2016.

[32] Engerer 2012.

[33] Ebd.

[34] BND warnt vor Saudi-Arabien, zeit.de, 01.12.2015.

[35] Ebd.

[36] Arrabyee 03.03.2016.

[37] Ceasefire in Yemen Faces Collapse as U.S. Continues Weapons Sales to Saudi Arabia, Fueling Civil War, democracynow.org, 18.12.2015, Ben Norton: U.S.-backed Saudi coalition responsible for two-thirds of civilian casualties in Yemen — U.N. again confirms, salon.com, 14.03.2016.

[38] Waffenlieferungen an Riad. EU-Parlament fordert Embargo gegen Saudi-Arabien, spiegel.de, 25.02.2016.

[39] Matt Pyton: David Cameron backs ‚brilliant‘ arms deals with Saudi Arabia… hours after Europe says we should ban them, independent.co.uk, 26.02.2016.

[40] France awards Legion d’Honneur to Saudi prince ‚for terror fight‘, theguardian.com, 07.03.2016.

Ich danke für die Erlaubnis, den Artikel hier vollständig wiederzugeben.

http://www.imi-online.de/2016/03/15/operation-restoring-hope-im-jemen/ = http://linkezeitung.de/2016/03/17/operation-restoring-hope-im-jemen/

21.3.2016 – ARD (** B K)

"ARD Reportage: Was von Kriegen übrig bleibt - Irak, Syrien, Jemen - HQ Doku"

Irak, Syrien, Jemen – der Mittlere Osten geht in Flammen auf. Armeen aus aller Welt kämpfen im Hexenkessel der Weltgeschichte. Schon ist die Katastrophe in Europa angekommen: Anschläge in Paris, Brüssel und in der Türkei – während Millionen Menschen auf der Flucht sind, auf der Suche nach Sicherheit und Frieden. Inmitten des arabischen Flächenbrandes boomt die Waffenindustrie. Unter dem Motto "Sicherheit und Verteidigung" werden alle zwei Jahre in Abu Dhabi die neuesten Waffen präsentiert.
Unbeeindruckt vom Sterben betreiben Waffenproduzenten aus aller Welt das Geschäft mit dem Tod: Drohnen zu Luft, zu Land und zu Wasser sind der Verkaufsschlager, sagt ein Aussteller. "Es ist wie ein Computerspiel, ganz einfach. Sie drücken den Knopf und schon wird gefeuert." Investiert wird auch in Überwachungssysteme, die lokal, regional und international "alles im Blick" haben. Robotersoldaten werden entwickelt, sogar Atomwaffen werden modernisiert.
Die Folgen des Kriegs im Irak
Markus Matzel und Karin Leukefeld haben den Kriegsschauplatz Irak besucht, der wie kaum ein anderes Land in den letzten 35 Jahren von Kriegen überzogen wurde. Bis heute zerstören die eingesetzten Waffen das Leben der Menschen, vor allem neu geborener Kinder, und der Umwelt. Besonders schädlich erweist sich Uranmunition, die in Afghanistan, Jugoslawien und im Irak in großen Mengen verschossen wurde.
Von der internationalen Gemeinschaft fühlen sich die Menschen im Irak mit ihrem Leid alleingelassen. Verantwortung übernehmen stattdessen Einzelpersonen und zivilgesellschaftliche Gruppen oder Soldaten, die die Schrecken des Krieges erlebt haben. Die Filmemacher begleiten einen Arzt, der die Landbevölkerung in den südirakischen Sümpfen versorgt. Sie sprechen mit Medizinern und Wissenschaftlern, die den Anstieg der Krebsraten dokumentieren und treffen einen ehemaligen US-Soldaten, der beim Angriff auf die irakische Stadt Falluja eingesetzt war.
Film von Karin Leukefeld und Markus Matzel

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3bfOa51pHP8 = http://www.daserste.de/information/reportage-dokumentation/dokus/sendung/was-von-kriegen-uebrig-bleibt-100.html = http://www.daserste.de/information/reportage-dokumentation/dokus/videos/was-von-kriegen-uebrig-bleibt-108.html

20.3.2016 – Middle East Eye (** B H)

Lost generation: Yemen's war takes its toll, even in the womb

Hospitals in Taiz report surge in stillbirths, miscarriages and neonatal deaths as war-related stress and trauma take toll on mothers

According to Fahd al-Saberi, the manager of al-Modhafar hospital, the war there has caused a surge of miscarriages, still births and neonatal deaths.

Some have been blamed on fear and trauma caused by Saudi air strikes and Houthi shelling, while others have been due to shortages of electricity and oxygen cylinders that have left hospitals unable to power the equipment necessary to look after premature infants.

Even al-Modhafar, which now deals with about 80 percent of all pregnancies in Taiz, regularly lacks fuel to power generators. Since the middle of February the hospital has partially relied on solar energy to remain operational.

Saberi said that at least 208 women had gone into premature labour at al-Modhafar because of war-related stress and fear in 2015, compared with just one recorded case in 2014.

"Sometimes if the pregnancy is in the seventh month, we can rescue the baby and it can live, but mostly they die either because they are insufficiently developed or because there is no electricity or oxygen,” he said.

But he added that the total number of women affected was likely much higher. At least 42 women had registered stillbirths at home because they had been unable to reach the hospital, and Saberi said that many other undocumented cases had probably also occurred.

Soaad Qasem, the head of the Yemeni Midwives Association in Sanaa, the capital, said that an increase in miscarriages and stillbirths had been reported in all provinces affected by the war, with fear caused by shelling, air strikes and clashes often cited as the cause.

Although statistics for 2015 were still being compiled, she said anecdotal reports suggested a sharp rise in Taiz and Aden, which have both been the scene of heavy fighting.

“Pregnant women are the hidden victims of the war,” she told MEE. “The politicians and the humanitarian organisations talk about different issues caused by the conflict like refugees or the plight of children but they do not highlight this issue. These women need psychological support for the trauma and loss they have suffered.”

Vivette Glover, a professor of perinatal psychobiology at Imperial College London, told MEE it was entirely plausible that fear and trauma suffered as a result of war could cause pregnancy-related complications.

“There is lots of evidence that stress can bring on premature labour or later miscarriage and stress levels in these cases would be very, very extreme,” she said.

Glover said research also suggested that children whose mothers experienced war-related stress during pregnancy would be more at risk of experiencing problems in later life ranging from attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) to being more fearful or having learning difficulties.

The war in Taiz has also increased the risks associated with pregnancy and childbirth for women, according to the UN Population Fund (UNFPA), an agency focused on women's reproductive health.

It said earlier this month there were an estimated 90,000 pregnant women in Taiz city alone, with 4,500 of them facing the risk of death due to complications during childbirth in the next nine months.

“For women and adolescent girls, the advent of a crisis can lead to an even greater risk of sexually transmitted infections, including HIV, unintended and unwanted pregnancy, maternal morbidity and maternal mortality, as well as other risks to the health of mothers and newborns,” Lankani Sikurajapathy of the UNFPA told MEE – by Nasser Al-Sakkaf and Simon Hooper

http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/lost-generation-stillborn-and-neonatal-victims-yemens-war-240876838

Comment: The figure of 90.000 pregnant women cannot refer to the city of taiz alone, must be the whole province.

cp2 Allgemein / General

22.3.2016 – Critical Threats (* A K P)

2016 Yemen Crisis Situation Report: March 22

The announcement that there will be a ceasefire in Yemen as a step toward resuming political negotiations generated reactions on the ground as warring parties seek to cement gains in advance of talks. Taiz remains contested and coalition-backed forces are advancing against the al Houthi-Saleh forces in southern Ma’rib and northern Shabwah governorates. The full implementation of the ceasefire’s terms, which remain unclear, may once again impede the start of negotiations.

Yemeni officials reported that the al Houthis and Abdu Rabbu Mansour Hadi’s government have agreed to a ceasefire in advance of the next round of political negotiations.

Both al Houthi-Saleh forces and coalition-backed forces are mobilizing to Taiz.Al Houthi-Saleh supporters in Sana’a held a rally calling for the liberation of Taiz on March 20. The al Houthi-Saleh commander of Yemen’s Fourth Military District, UN- and U.S.-sanctioned Major General Abdullah Yahya al Hakim, was among the speakers and called for fighters to go to Dhubab and Umari in Taiz governorate. Hadi’s vice president, Khaled Bahah, called for the liberation of all Taiz cities and for the reinforcement of the brigade currently deployed in Taiz in a meeting in Aden on March 21. The southwestern entrance to Taiz city remains open after coalition-backed forces broke through the frontline a week ago. Al Houthi-Saleh forces launched a counter-attack on March 19 in western Taiz that killed 35 people on both sides.

Pro-Hadi government forces advanced the frontline in southern Ma’rib and northwestern Shabwah governorates. The commander of the 21st Mechanized Brigade, Brigadier General Jahdel Hanash al Awlaki, announced an offensive to seize and secure Bayhan district in northwestern Shabwah on March 19. The 19th Infantry Brigade, under the command of Brigadier General Musfar al Harithi, advanced to secure Usaylan district to the northwest of Bayhan district in Shabwah, and the 26th Mechanized Brigade, under the command of Brigadier General Mufrah Bahibah, advanced to secure Harib district in southern Ma’rib. Coalition forces provided air support for the offensive. Local popular resistance forces cooperated with the army troops.

Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) continues to demonstrate control over Hadramawt’s coastal population.

The Hadramawt Tribal Confederation, an anti–al Houthi-Saleh and –AQAP group, announced its intent to reform as an umbrella organization for groups in Hadramawt.

The war in Yemen has created security and governance vacuums that subnational actors, including AQAP, are attempting to fill. AQAP has expanded significantly and is creating conditions in which smaller groups are unwilling to resist it to prevent its further growth or roll back gains over the past year – by Katherine Zimmerman

http://www.criticalthreats.org/yemen/yemen-crisis-situation-reports-march-22-2016

22.3.2016 – Amnesty International (A K P)

Nach einem Jahr Krieg ist die Lage für die Zivilbevölkerung in Jemen desaströs. Menschenrechtsverletzungen und Kriegsverbrechen sind an der Tagesordnung. Amnesty International fordert deshalb den Stopp jeglicher Waffenlieferungen an die Konfliktparteien.

Amnesty International dokumentierte sowohl Luftangriffe der saudisch geführten Koalition auf Spitäler, Schulen, Märkte und Moscheen als auch rücksichtslose Angriffe auf die Zivilbevölkerung in den Städten Aden und Taiz durch Huthi-Milizen und deren Alliierte. nowhere safe yemen

Trotz der Dokumentation mutmaßlicher Kriegsverbrechen durch alle Konfliktparteien und der Notlage der Zivilbevölkerung gehen die Waffenlieferungen ungehindert weiter. Die fortgesetzten Waffenexporte sind mitverantwortlich für die desaströse humanitäre Lage in Jemen.

Amnesty International fordert ein umfassendes Waffenembargo gegen sämtliche Konfliktparteien und den Stopp jeglicher direkter oder indirekter Lieferungen von Waffen, die im Konflikt in Jemen eingesetzt werden könnten.

https://www.amnesty.at/de/ein-jahr-krieg-in-jemen/

22.3.2016 – Stratfor (* B P)

Alliances Crumble as Yemen Moves Toward Peace

Summary

An old Arabic proverb says "my brother and I together against my cousin, and my cousin and I together against the other." In essence, it means that loose alliances can form in the face of common enemies, even if conflict exists between the united parties.

Nowhere is this truer than in Yemen, where many alliances of convenience have formed over the past year amid the country's protracted civil war. But as a resolution to the fighting becomes an increasingly likely prospect, partnerships will crumble and allegiances will change, enabling old rivalries and problems to resurface. Even if a political deal emerges, it will not bring peace to Yemen.

Analysis

Several recent developments suggest that the conflict between Yemen's former and current presidents, and the Shiite Houthi rebels, may be drawing to a close.

A shift in momentum on the battlefield has created an opening for negotiations to move forward.

Indeed, despite being allies, the Houthis desire a much different outcome for the civil war than Saleh's loyalists do.

Saleh and his supporters want to regain control over all of Yemen — a goal that partially contradicts the Houthis' objective of securing greater autonomy for their traditional northern stronghold of Saada.

Fighting May End, but Conflict Will Not

Though a peace deal between the Saudis and Houthis could calm the battlefield, it will not bring an end to the infighting and violence that has plagued Yemen for years. Instead, it will simply shift leaders' focus toward other security threats and issues of contention.

The Southern Resistance's antagonism toward the north will persist, and the movement could renew its secessionist demands.

Any cease-fire between pro-Hadi and -Saleh forces will have little impact on the violence perpetrated by these groups [Islamist extremists].

https://www.stratfor.com/analysis/alliances-crumble-yemen-moves-toward-peace

18.3.2016 – The Wall Will Fall (* B K)

Yemen: Statement on Saudi Coalition Illegal Use of Cluster Munitions on Civilian Targets

My Statement to the UNHRC on the Saudi Coalition illegal use of US supplied Cluster Munitions in Yemen and the deliberate targeting of civilian areas that constitutes a War Crime.

In this presentation I will firstly explain a Cluster Bomb. I will then present evidence of their use by the Saudi led coalition in densely populated civilian areas in Yemen. I will conclude with our recommendations.

A basic cluster bomb consists of a hollow shell containing up to as many as 2,000 sub-munitions or bomblets.

Cluster bombs are indiscriminate weapons when used in densely populated civilian areas. When fired as rockets or dropped in air-strikes, the outer shell detonates in mid-air releasing the bomblets which are deposited across vast areas. Upon impact they explode, showering civilians and livestock with shrapnel and molten metal.

Decades after the initial bombing, these sub-munitions still have potential to do tremendous damage, often surpassing even landmines in their threat to civilians. The majority of victims of this concealed killer are children, for whom, the bright yellow or spherical bomblets resemble toys.

The Convention on Cluster Munitions banning their use entered into force and became binding international law 1st August 2010. As of 1 October 2015. A total of 118 states have joined the Convention.

Russia, China, US, Israel, Saudi Arabia & Yemen are non-signatories. However US export rules specify categorically that the Cluster Bomb MUST NOT BE USED IN CIVILIAN areas.

Statistics will be displayed on the screen behind me collated by various organisations including Human Rights Watch, Sheba Rights Coaltion, Yemen’s Legal Centre for Rights and Development & the National Committee to Document Saudi coalition Crimes of Aggression.

Slide one shows the number of Cluster Munition strikes by province. Slide two and three show the air dropped and ground launched Cluster Munitions and Slide 4 shows the attacks by date, area and cluster munition type.

[Examples from Sanaa, Hajjah, Saada provinces]

OUR RECOMMENDATIONS:

We call upon the UN Human Rights Council to take stronger action in response to widespread and grave violations of human rights and humanitarian law in Yemen.

We urge your delegation to ensure that, during this 31st session, the UN Human Rights Council adopts a resolution under agenda item 4 to: – by Vanessa Beeley

https://thewallwillfall.wordpress.com/2016/03/18/yemen-statement-on-illegal-use-of-cluster-munitions-on-civilian-targets/

cp3 Humanitäre Lage / Humanitarian situation

22.3.2016 UN News Centre (* B H)

'Terrible year' in war-torn Yemen leaves majority of country's people in need of aid – UN

One year on into the conflict in Yemen, tens of thousands of Yemenis have been killed or injured, one in 10 are displaced and nearly the entire population is in urgent need of aid, the top United Nations humanitarian official in the country said.

“It has been a terrible year for Yemen, during which a war peppered with airstrikes, shelling and violence had raged on in the already very impoverished country,” Jamie McGoldrick, Humanitarian Coordinator in Yemen told journalists in Geneva.

Shelling of ports and airports, resulting in blockades and congestion, is one of the drivers of the humanitarian crisis, Mr. McGoldrick said, noting that health workers cannot reach patients and some 90 per cent of the food has to be imported.

“The country had had extremely high levels of poverty before the war, and currently, the war has escalated, in an already fragile environment,” said the aid official.

Some 6,400 people have been killed in the past year, half of them civilians, and more than 30,000 are injured, with 2.5 million people displaced, according to figures from the UN World Health Organization (WHO).

In addition, more than 20 million people, or 80 per cent of the population, require some form of aid – about 14 million people in need of food and even more in need of water or sanitation.

The UN has appealed for $1.8 billion for food, water, health care and shelter and protection issues, but only 12 per cent has been funded so far.

Also speaking in Geneva, Bettina Luescher for the World Food Programme (WFP) said that shortages forced the agency to cut rations to 75 per cent of a full ratio so that enough people could eat. She also highlighted the problems with movement and inability of workers to safely reach all the areas in need.

“Yemen should not be forgotten, with all the attention focused on the Syria crisis,” she said.

The UN human rights chief last week condemned the repeated failure of the Coalition to effectively prevent civilian coalition airstrikes after two deadly strikes – just weeks apart – killed nearly 150 people, including children.

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein said incidents that have hit markets, hospitals, clinics, schools and other civilian structures occur “with unacceptable regularity.”

The National Oncology Centre in Sana'a announced that it was on the brink of shutting down, with more than 100 other hospitals, blood banks and other health facilities impacted by the violence.

There is now a localized ceasefire along the Yemeni border with Saudi Arabia, but the airstrikes continue.

UN spokesperson Farhan Haq in New York today said that UN Special Envoy for Yemen, Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed, who leads the political process, has been meeting with the parties to the conflict, but no date has yet been announced for direct talks.

In the meantime, the UN is also preparing for longer-term reconstruction and providing some urgently needed jobs.

The UN Development Programme (UNDP) is focusing on mine clearance, public service restoration and emergency employment, spokesperson Sarah Bel said. One of the public services being restored is waste collection, part of the cash-for-work schemes under UNDP's umbrella.

http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=53519#.VvGjSeLhCUk

21.3.2016 – The Guardian (** B H)

Life amid conflict in Yemen: ‘Everyone has forgotten us’

The first thing I noticed was the destroyed airport. I flew in to Yemen on a small aircraft chartered by the UN Humanitarian Air Service with a handful of other aid workers – at the time the only way for foreigners to make it to Sana’a. It felt surreal landing among other destroyed aircraft and the skeleton of what was once an international airport terminal.

On the way to the city, it was the types of places that had been bombed that really struck me: fuel stations, bridges, roads, factories. Instead of coffee kiosks the streets are now lined with mobile fuel sellers, as the Saudi-led blockade has made Yemenis turn to the black market for their essential daily needs.

Government and military buildings have become regular targets in the daily air strikes. Even when the attacks do not target civilians directly, it is always the innocent families who get hit in one way or another, and the effects are always devastating.

That’s what happened to Mahmoud Zeid last June. He was queuing to get cooking gas when an airstrike hit. Rushing to his home, he found his two-room house overwhelmed with fumes, all windows destroyed, part of the roof gone. His frail wife, Sabah, who suffers from kidney failure, had passed out. His children were terrified, trying to revive their mother while thinking of where to flee. There was shrapnel everywhere, kilometres away from the bombing site, and hundreds of families staggering through the rubble towards some place of safety.

So much of what I saw during my 10 days in Sana’a reminded me of Gaza, where I lived for four years. The blockade and the massive poverty brought overnight because of it. The attacks on civilian infrastructure – from hospitals and schools to bowling alleys. And the sheer impunity with which all this happens. The air strikes at night keeps everyone guessing what the latest target is.

But there is also a touching, overwhelming warmth that makes the Palestinians in Gaza and the Yemenis so similar. The more people are forcibly cut off from the rest of humanity through man-made barriers, the more they value the little details that make us human.

As our driver Ziyaad took me back to the airport at the end of my stay, he asked a painful question: “I understand your job is to bring attention to our situation, but how do you do it? Nobody cares. We’ve been in this war for almost a year and everyone has forgotten us.” – by Karl Schrembri, Middle East regional media adviser for the Norwegian Refugee Council.

http://www.theguardian.com/global-development-professionals-network/2016/mar/21/life-amid-conflict-yemen-humanitarian-aid-everyone-has-forgotten-us?CMP=share_btn_tw

21.3.2016 – UN High Commissioner for Refugees, CCCM Cluster, Shelter Cluster

Infographic: Yemen: Shelter/CCCM/NFI Cluster Dashboard (as of 29 February 2016)

http://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/yemen-sheltercccmnfi-cluster-dashboard-29-february-2016

20.3.2016 – Living in Yemen on the Edge (A H K)

We always try to be objective because it's the only thing which will work for the safety of the country, and which will save us from this madness of Saudi Arabia aggression.
I received a message from Taiz from a friend of the university, explaining what is really going on in the city.
He asked me to apologise to our professors saying: " Dear brother Qasim, please, tell our teachers that, I couldn't be present at the university because of the siege imposed by the militants supported by the Saudis"
He adds that " after the Houthi/Saleh militants withdrew from our residential area, there are horrific crimes committed by the militants supported by the Saudis , and as I told you before, I want to be here to protect my family and our home from the thieves - militants who enter the houses robbing everything."
This is a different voice on the city of Taiz and the siege. Different from the usual media coverage.
If you have your voice to add, please do so.
For the sake of the country, let´s be united.

https://www.facebook.com/961126490607048/photos/a.961595153893515.1073741828.961126490607048/989934021059628/?type=3

cp7 UNO und Friedensgespräche / UN and peace talks

22.3.2016 – Reuters (A P)

Yemen peace talks expected in Kuwait next month: government official

Talks aimed at ending Yemen's war are expected in Kuwait next month along with a temporary ceasefire, a senior Yemeni government official said, raising the possibility of an end to violence that has killed thousands.

"The talks will be on April 17 in Kuwait, accompanied by a temporary ceasefire," the Yemeni official said, declining to be named. There were two inconclusive rounds of peace talks in Switzerland last year.

http://ca.reuters.com/article/topNews/idCAKCN0WO29Q

21.3.2016 – Pars Today (A P)

Jemen: Ansarollah-Bewegung fordert vollständige Einstellung von Kampfhandlungen für Wiederaufnahme von Friedensverhandlungen

Die Ansarollah-Bewegung und die Volkskongresspartei im Jemen haben zur Wiederaufnahme der Friedensverhandlungen die vollständige Einstellung der Kampfhandlungen zur Bedingung gestellt, damit lehnten sie einen vorübergehenden Waffenstillstand ab.

Laut Al-Mayadeen traf sich der UN-Sondergesandte Ismail Walad Al-Scheich Sonntagmorgen mit den Führern der Ansarollah-Bewegung und der Volkskongresspartei, dabei wurde ein weiteres Treffen vereinbart.

Vor zwei Tagen hatte sich Al-Scheich mit dem zurückgetretenen und flüchtigen Präsidenten Jemens Mansur Hadi in Riad getroffen und mit ihm über die Friedensmöglichkeiten gesprochen.

Unterdessen behauptete Saudi-Arabien, die Angriffe gegen das jemenitische Volk seien zurückgefahren worden, dennoch wurden die Luftangriffe gegen Haja, Taez und Sanaa seitens der saudisch-geführten arabischen Kriegskoalition fortgesetzt.

http://parstoday.com/de/news/middle_east-i3643-jemen_ansarollah_bewegung_fordert_vollständige_einstellung_von_kampfhandlungen_für_wiederaufnahme_von_friedensverhandlungen

21.3.2016 – AFP (A P)

Yemen peace talks could resume in Kuwait this month

A new round of UN-brokered Yemeni peace talks could be held by the end of this month in Kuwait, a Yemeni government official told AFP on Monday.

The talks would be accompanied by a ceasefire in the war-torn country where a Saudi-led coalition launched a military campaign in support of the internationally-recognised government one year ago, said the official who requested anonymity.

Yemen's warring parties who met with UN envoy Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed last week have agreed on "the principle of holding a new round of talks in late March in Kuwait", the official told AFP.

Yemen's Foreign Minister, Abdulmalik al-Mekhlafi, on a visit to Doha, later said the government would attend the talks.

On Sunday, the UN envoy wrote on his Facebook page that he held "positive and constructive talks" in rebel-held Sanaa with the Iran-backed Huthis and their allies -- supporters of former president Ali Abdullah Saleh.

"Preparations are ongoing for the next round of peace talks on Yemen," he wrote, without giving a specific date or location.

A resumption of talks must be accompanied by a "week-long truce that could be renewed if respected", he said, adding that discussions should focus on the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 2216.

The resolution states that the rebels must withdraw from seized territories and disarm, before peace talks can progress.

http://www.globalpost.com/article/6749175/2016/03/21/yemen-peace-talks-could-resume-kuwait-month

21.3.2016 – Süddeutsche Zeitung (A K P)

Gefälschte Facebook-Seite verkündet Einheitsregierung in Jemen

Die Meldung, wonach die Konfliktparteien im Bürgerkrieg inJemen sich auf die Bildung einer Einheitsregierung geeinigt hätten, ist offenbar gefälscht. Über eine gefälschte Facebook-Seite des UN-Vermittlers Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed war vor einigen Stunden der entsprechende Text verbreitet worden.

Inzwischen meldet die Nachrichtenagentur dpa, dass es sich bei der zitierten Facebookseite nach Angaben des UN-Büros in Sanaa um eine gefälschte Seite gehandelt habe. Wer für die Fälschung verantwortlich ist, ist derzeit nicht bekannt.

http://www.sueddeutsche.de/politik/konflikt-in-jemen-gefaelschte-facebook-seite-verkuendet-einheitsregierung-in-jemen-1.2916779

21.3.2016 – Sputnik News (A K P)

Yemen Peace Talks Bear Fruit: Idea of Unity Government Agreed

© REUTERS/ Hani Mohammed

UN Special Envoy for Yemen Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed said that parties to the Yemeni military conflict agreed to hold a new round of peace talks in Kuwait and expressed their readiness to create a national unity government during a meeting in Sana

http://sputniknews.com/middleeast/20160321/1036653965/yemeni-peace-talks.html

Comment: The site reporting that was a fake. It is strange that I did not find any report on that fake in English, only in German, see above.

20.3.2016 – AP (A K P)

Yemeni Officials Say Government, Rebels, Agree on Ceasefire

Yemeni Shiite rebels and the internationally recognized government have agreed to begin a ceasefire for a week or two before their next round of negotiations which are expected in April, Yemeni officials said Sunday.

The officials participated in Sunday's talks in Sanaa, the capital, between the rebels and the U.N. envoy to Yemen, Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed. All officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief reporters.

According to the officials, the Shiite rebels known as Houthis have agreed to implement a U.N. security council resolution which requires them to hand over their weapons and withdraw from territory they occupy, including Sanaa.

Officials with the internationally recognized government also said Sunday they agree to the ceasefire as a first step for the warring sides to show their good intentions.

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2016/03/20/world/middleeast/ap-ml-yemen.html

Comment: The UN resolution 2216 mentioned here which demands the Houthis to capitulate, while asking absolutely nothing from the other side, will be the best prevention of peace you could imagine, until it will be dropped and replaced by another one which demands both sides to implement a permanent ceasefire and a real political solution.

20.3.2016 – Middle East Monitor (A P)

Yemen's Houthis ready to hold talks with government

Yemen’s Shia Houthi militant group is prepared to engage in a fresh round of talks with the Yemeni government with a view to ending the country’s two-year-old conflict, Yemeni sources have said.

"The Houthis have told [UN envoy Esmail] Ould Shaikh that they have agreed to take part in negotiations," one Yemeni source told Anadolu Agency on Sunday.

According to the same source, talks are expected to be held in Kuwait later this month or in early April.

Kuwaiti Deputy Foreign Minister Khaled al-Jarrallah said Friday that his country was "ready and willing" to host the talks with a view to finding a peaceful solution to the conflict.

https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/news/middle-east/24584-yemens-houthis-ready-to-hold-talks-with-government-sources

cp8 Saudi-Arabien / Saudi Arabia

16.3.2016 – Reuters (* B P)

Why oil collapse is forcing Saudi Arabia to cut back on its checkbook diplomacy

Saudi Arabia — emboldened militarily, but struggling financially — is being more selective in using its checkbook diplomacy. With the global collapse in oil prices and economic pressures at home, the House of Saud is scaling back some of its aid to fellow Arab countries, especially those that fail to line up behind Saudi regional policy. Aside from cancelling the $4 billion in grants to Lebanon, Saudi officials may also be slowing down billions of dollars in aid to Egypt.

While it’s true Saudi leaders wanted to punish Hezbollah and Lebanon by revoking the military aid, the kingdom also diverted those funds to help sustain its war effort in Yemen, which by some estimates is costing the Saudi treasury $1 billion a month. Last year, Riyadh racked up a record budget deficit of nearly $98 billion, which was made up by dipping into its massive foreign reserves. And in another sign of Saudi belt-tightening, officials are seeking international loans of $6 to $8 billion — the first time the kingdom has sought foreign financing in over a decade.

In recent years, Saudi Arabia pursued a muscular foreign policy that benefited from decades of economic expansion fueled by booming oil prices.

Facing these pressures, the Saudi government sees foreign aid as another area to reduce spending. But Riyadh is likely to make new cutbacks quietly, instead of through public announcements like the one that targeted Hezbollah in Lebanon. The challenge for Saudi leaders is to rein in spending without alienating their allies in the region, especially those supporting the proxy battle with Iran.

With the collapse in oil prices, money is no longer flowing like rice into Saudi coffers. And that means the kingdom will be forced to restrain its checkbook diplomacy – by Mohamad Bazzi

http://blogs.reuters.com/great-debate/2016/03/16/why-oil-collapse-is-forcing-saudi-arabia-to-cut-back-on-its-checkbook-diplomacy/

16.3.2016 – Veterans Today (* B K P)

When Will Saudi Arabia’s Anti-Terror Coalition Actually Fight Terrorism?

Back in December 2015 Saudi defence minister Prince Mohammed Bin Salman declared the creation of a new coalition of mainly Muslim countries to confront and combat terrorism plaguing the Islamic world[1]. What a good idea, Finally a Muslim Arab country taking a lead in the war against terrorism. That was the general reaction from much of the media as Former US assistant secretary of defence Lawrence Korb put it in an interview with Al Jazeera.

I’m sorry to say that the media hasn’t really followed up on the coalitions list of achievements because quite frankly there are not many (if any) to glorify, I’m sorry to say that the media hasn’t really followed up on the coalitions list of achievements because quite frankly there are not many (if any) to glorify.

The Gulfs recent campaign targeting Lebanon’s shia led group Hezbollah is just one example of many that the coalition against terrorism sectarian agenda.

Both Syria and Iraq was excluded by Saudi in its grand coalition of terror fighting buddies yet these 2 countries are arguably the most affected by terrorism in the past 5 years and are both fighting on the front lines against ISIS. You would think this would be the best place to start since this is where ISIS is biggest and baddest but for Saudi to not include Syria is understandable since Saudi is a staunch enemy of its current leader Assad who is also long-time ally of Shia led Iran. Iran and Saudi Arabia are the biggest regional rivals involved in a deep cold war standoff with no sign of end in sight.

Saudi and some of its coalition allies such as Qatar and Turkey are present in Syria they have been long-time supporters of Syria’s Sunni rebel fighters many of whom have been labelled terrorist groups by mother Russia who herself is active in bombing anti Assad rebel groups in Syria. This issue of terrorist rebels linked to Al Qaeda has been largely ignored as the main priority of the coalition has been to remove the secular Alawite ruler Assad from power who is a loyal Arab ally of Shia Iran and Shia Hezbollah. Alawite and Zaidi Muslims are considered an off shoot branch of Shia Islam meaning Alawite Assad in Syria and Zaidi Houthi rebels in Yemen are just another non Sunni minority which Saudi coalition doesn’t want around which I will elaborate on.

Let’s see how well our anti-terror coalition is doing in elsewhere. Yemen is another country Saudi is neck deep involved in, there plan was to defeat the Zaidi Muslim Houthi led revolution which seized power and ousted pro Saudi president Hadi[10] in March 2015. Saudi has decided that the Houthis are enemies and must be defeated, a coalition of Muslim nations was thrown together and Saudi began a bombing campaign and ground assault to recapture Yemen from the Houthis. However almost a year on and still Houthis stand while recent reports have revealed that Saudi and its allied forces fighting in Yemen have joined up with Al Qaeda jihadists which pose a threat not just to Yemen non-jihadist population but also the rest of the world as Al Qaeda in Yemen has been the most successful branch. The US has been drone striking Al Qaeda in Yemen for years but now it seems Saudis coalition is fighting alongside A Qaeda[ – by Muhammad Ali Carter

http://www.veteranstoday.com/2016/03/16/when-will-saudi-arabias-anti-terror-coalition-actually-fight-terrorism/

14.3.2016 – Middle East Eye (* B D)

BOOK REVIEW: How lineage as much as oil and faith formed modern Saudi Arabia

Of Sand or Soil is the first comprehensive look at the demographic markers that shaped identity in central Arabia in the 1970s oil boom

Saudi Arabia's social structure is a rarely discussed component in the country's oil age history.

Though the kingdom's image has taken on a relatively simplistic dimension in international relations over the years - notably through alliances between kings and US presidents and King Faisal's famous oil embargo of 1973 - its sociological history is a vital component when understanding the country at large.

Nadav Samin’s Of Sand or Soil is the first comprehensive look at the demographic markers that shaped identity in central Arabia in and around the 1970s oil boom, now feared to be in decline.

In a region that saw a mass influx of pilgrims over the centuries to Makkah, the Prophet Mohammed’s birth place, and Madinah, his final resting place, many families from the Far East, Turkey, Central Asia and Africa would settle predominantly in the Hijaz region - home to both the holy sites - and become assimilated into what became the modern Saudi state.

By contrast, the rural and central Najd region, from where the country's ruling family originates, was home to some of the country's oldest tribes. Non-Arab pilgrims also migrated to Najd, while the descendants of slaves and fugitives who had lost their lineage also lived among the peninsula's oldest tribes.

Though the kingdom's ethnic melting pot became typical of the country's national demographics, and more or less accepted by Arabs since assimilation spanned several centuries (not to mention the fact that many of the prophet’s revered companions were non-Arab) it would eventually amplify the fascination with lineage.

Samin is perhaps the only academic who has delivered an extensive critique on the work of one of the country's most prolific scholars, Hamad al-Jasir, formerly a journalist who, beginning around the 1970s, embarked on a genealogical project after being beckoned by hundreds of petitioners – many of whom were non-tribal and lower in status on a state level – to ascertain a concrete lineage.

Samin takes a biographical approach to Al-Jasir’s work, using his studies to document the period in which genealogy went from being ascribed to prominent families – passed on orally from generation to generation via tribal elders – to an area of intense and universal interest after the Second World War when both Bedouin and non-nomadic Saudis were assimilated into a then nascent state.

Tribal belonging seemed the only way to set them apart and assert some sort of claim to territory, which paved the way for what Samin, a professor of anthropology at Dartmouth College, New Hampshire, refers to as a genealogical culture.

As Samin puts it, "the Saudi conquerors had inherited a population with two broadly distinct sociological profiles: one town-based, commerce-oriented and ethnically diverse; the other rural, pastoralist and tribal".

Samin, who travelled extensively within both regions, "decided that it was most compelling to approach the study of Saudi history and culture through an emphasis on kinship, oral tradition, and social transformation, elements that are less tangible than the religious and economic narratives, yet no less vital for understanding the nature of modern life in the kingdom" – by Sarah Sayyidah

http://www.middleeasteye.net/in-depth/reviews/book-review-how-lineage-much-oil-and-faith-formed-modern-saudi-655863910 = https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=989726281080402&id=961126490607048

12.3.2016 – New York Times (*B P)

FOR the past half-century, the world economy has been held hostage by just one country: the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Vast petroleum reserves and untapped production allowed the kingdom to play an outsize role as swing producer, filling or draining the global system at will.

The 1973-74 oil embargo was the first demonstration that the House of Saud was willing to weaponize the oil markets

In 2006, Nawaf Obaid, a Saudi security adviser, warned that Riyadh was prepared to force prices down to “strangle” Iran’s economy. Two years later, the Saudis did just that, with the aim of hampering Tehran’s ability to support Shiite militia groups in Iraq, Lebanon and elsewhere.

Then, in 2011, Prince Turki al-Faisal, the former chief of Saudi intelligence,told NATO officials that Riyadh was prepared to flood the market to stir unrest inside Iran. Three years later, the Saudis struck again, turning on the spigot.

But this time, they overplayed their hand.

When Saudi officials made their move in the fall of 2014, taking advantage of an already glutted market, they no doubt hoped that lower prices would undercut the American shale industry, which was challenging the kingdom’s market dominance. But their main purpose was to make life difficult for Tehran: “Iran will come under unprecedented economic and financial pressure as it tries to sustain an economy already battered by international sanctions,” argued Mr. Obaid.

The tactic had been brutally effective in the past.

All the evidence suggests that Saudi officials never expected oil prices to fall below $60 a barrel. But then they never expected to lose their sway as the swing producer within the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, or OPEC. Despite wishful statements from Saudi ministers, the kingdom’s efforts last month to make a deal with Russia, Venezuela and Qatar to restrict supply and push up prices collapsed.

The I.M.F. has warned that if government spending is not reined in, the Saudis will be bankrupt by 2020.

The instability and economic misery for smaller oil-producing states like Nigeria and Azerbaijan look set to continue. But that’s collateral damage. The real story is how the Saudis have been hurt by their own weapon – by Andrew Scott Cooper

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/13/opinion/sunday/how-saudi-arabia-turned-its-greatest-weapon-on-itself.html?smid=fb-share&_r=0

cp9 USA

21.3.2016 – New York Times (* A P)

A Presidential Rebuke to the Saudis

It is rare for an American president to skewer a friendly government publicly. But that’s what President Obama did last week in presenting a well-considered analysis of troubles in the relationship with Saudi Arabia.

Mr. Obama has long regarded Saudi Arabia and other Sunni Arab countries as repressive societies whose strict interpretation of Islam contributes to extremism. In a blunt and lengthy discussion with Jeffrey Goldberg in The Atlantic, Mr. Obama included the Saudis among other “free rider” allies that ask the United States to fight their battles for them and “exploit American ‘muscle’ for their own narrow and sectarian ends.”

Mr. Obama, who has blamed Saudi Arabia and other Sunni Arab governments for encouraging anti-American militancy, also told Mr. Goldberg that the Saudis should try harder to “share the neighborhood” by achieving “some sort of cold peace” with their enemies in Iran.

The Saudis promptly fired back. Writing in the Arab News, Prince Turki al-Faisal, a former Saudi intelligence chief, argued that Mr. Obama does not appreciate all his government has done,

Mr. Obama has now forced a behind-the-scenes conversation about the Saudi-American relationship into the open. Is there anything Washington can do to encourage transformative reforms? Apart from expressing critical views, even Mr. Obama, who will visit Saudi Arabia for a meeting with Gulf leaders next month, has felt a need to maintain the alliance largely along traditional lines.

There is little time left in the president’s term to rethink how the United States and Saudi Arabia can move forward together. That task will largely belong to his successor – by Editorial Board

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/21/opinion/a-presidential-rebuke-to-the-saudis.html

Comment: I wonder why this article has been published this late as the interview in “Atlantic” and the Saudi replica are no more “news” at all. Both had been discussed at length and the relating articles had been linked here. The best commentary on Obama was by Daniel Lazare, on prince Turki by Catherine Shakdam.

16.3.2016 – Defense One (* B K P)

Bombs Away! Lockheed Expanding Missile Factories, Quadruples Bomb Production for ISISLong Haul

The Hellfire maker is boosting production for an era of conflict with no end in sight

Lockheed Martin is expanding various munition factoriesto meet rising demand from the U.S. and its partners fighting the Islamic State — and to start equipping American warplanes for great-power wars at sea.

U.S. and allies are burning through their stocks of Lockheed’s Hellfire missile, the signature weapon of Predator and Reaper drones. Helicopters and fixed-wing planes also carry the versatile laser-guided weapon.

“It requires a little bit of investment on our part to expand the factories, but the demand is there and we’re keeping up with it [and] we’re staying ahead of it,” St. John said.

It also requires Pentagon funding. Last June, the U.S. Army gave Lockheed $18 million to boost Hellfire production from 500 to 650 missiles per month. St. John said the company has added tools, test equipment, and floor space to its Hellfire production line.

Lockheed has also “quadrupled our production capacity” at the Archbald, Pennsylvania, factory to meet demand from the U.S. and its allies for Paveway II laser-guided bombs.

With top military officials predicting that the ISIS campaign will run for years, demand for missiles and bombs is expected to remain high – by Marcus Weisgerber

http://www.defenseone.com/management/2016/03/lockheed-expands-munitions-factories-isis-future/126725/

cp10 Großbritannien / Great Britain

21.3.2016 – Human Rights Watch (* B P)

Dispatches: Britain’s Dishonesty Over Yemen

The British government’s claims about the conduct of its ally Saudi Arabia in Yemen are self-serving and disingenuous.

From the outset, Human Rights Watch monitored the conduct of all parties to the conflict.

We documented serious abuses by the Houthis, as well as far more lethal violations by the Saudi-led coalition, which is supported and armed - to the tune of £3 billion (US$4.3 billion) over the past 12 months - by the British government. We have investigated 36 unlawful coalition airstrikes, plus an additional 15 attacks using banned cluster munitions. Amnesty International has documented a further 26 unlawful strikes, and a recent UN Panel of Experts report identified 119 coalition sorties that violated international humanitarian law, including attacks on schools, medical facilities and markets.

Faced with this extensive body of evidence, it is preposterous for Foreign Minister Philip Hammond to claim he has “seen no evidence” of violations by the coalition.

British ministers make two further highly questionable claims: that they favor “proper investigations” into allegations of laws-of-war violations, and that the British government closely monitors the use of UK-made weapons in Yemen.

The Yemen National Commission, which Britain supports, has not conducted a single investigation since it was set up last year. Similarly, the Saudis’ own committee to assess its role in the conflict will not investigate “specific” airstrikes. The British government repeatedly cites these processes, but it is clear that they are both toothless and that the Saudi, Yemeni and indeed British governments have no interest in properly investigating responsibility for civilian deaths. The fact that the British helped kill a Dutch-led proposal at the Human Rights Council last year for a credible international investigation into violations in Yemen shows the hypocrisy of the government’s position.

Last November Hammond audaciously claimed the government monitors “very carefully” the coalition’s use of British weapons. Not that carefully, it seems. Just two months earlier the coalition used a British-made cruise missile to destroy a Yemeni ceramics factory in which one civilian died – an apparent unlawful attack.

Britain needs to be pressed to radically revise its approach. This week, Human Rights Watch and others are calling on the British and other governments to suspend all arms sales to Saudi Arabia, pending serious coalition investigations into alleged laws-of-war violations. Anything less may make the British government complicit in war crimes, facilitate further violations and intensify the intolerable suffering of the Yemeni people – by David Mepham, HRW UK director

https://www.hrw.org/news/2016/03/21/dispatches-britains-dishonesty-over-yemen

cp13a Flüchtlinge / Refugees

22.3.2016 – Norwegian Refugee Council (* B H)

War in Yemen spikes displacement six-fold in one year

The escalation of war and de-facto blockade in Yemen have resulted in the country's largest ever displacement of civilians and unprecedented levels of poverty. Within one year alone, there has been a six-fold increase of people forced to flee their homes, raising the number to 2.4 million.

Since March 2015, the poorest country in the region has been pushed to the brink of catastrophe as 82 per cent of the population is now in need of humanitarian aid. Up to 48 per cent of Yemenis no longer have access to safe water and sanitation, spiking the total number of people affected to 19.3 million.

"With the world looking the other way, the last 12 months of fighting in Yemen have pushed an entire nation into the abyss," said Norwegian Refugee Council Secretary General Jan Egeland. "The ongoing fighting and continued enforcement of a de-facto blockade have caused displacement, hunger and suffering almost without equal, yet world leaders have closed their eyes to this crisis."

Already difficult, life in Yemen has gotten much worse over the past year. More than half the population in Yemen, some 14.4 million people, now struggle to get enough food for their families – with at least 7.6 million women, children and men going to bed hungry each night. Almost 10 million more people do not have access to safe water and sanitation. The number of children out of school has doubled to 3.4 million.

While need for humanitarian assistance exploded, delivery of humanitarian aid remains is becoming harder. Aid agencies face insecurity and movement restrictions by all parties to the conflict. Humanitarian assistance continues to be delayed or blocked. Funding is also a huge challenge. While the needs keep rising, only 11 per cent of the US$ 1.8 billion required for the UN appeal has been funded.

http://www.nrc.no/?did=9215974#.VvE83XqSn3E

cp13b Wirtschaft / Economy

03.2016 – Georgetown University (B E)

Preparing for the Day After: the World Bank and the Yemen Conflict (Event)

Thursday, March 31st 12:00 pm - 1:30 pm Intercultural Center Executive Conference Room (ICC 700)
Lunch will be served. Yemen is in a midst of a civil war. In the past, the World Bank, like many other development organizations, often withdrew from similar conflict settings until a functioning authoritative environment was back in place. In the Yemen case, however, the World Bank has tried to pursue a more active engagement: while suspending most of its programming (lending, technical assistance, etc.) in early 2015, it has initiated a mostly remote-based damage and needs assessment, which relies on satellite imagery, social media analytics and ground partners to analyze damage to infrastructure and service delivery across key sectors. The strategic objective of the assessment is to develop high levels of preparedness for post-conflict recovery.
During this presentation, two practitioners from the World Bank will discuss the approach and preliminary findings of this cutting-edge assessment, which is situated right at the nexus of development, conflict and technology.

http://guevents.georgetown.edu/event/preparing_for_the_day_after_the_world_bank_and_the_yemen_conflict#.VvE9gHqSn3E

cp14 Terrorismus / Terrorism

22.3.2016 – AFP (A K T)

Dozens dead or wounded in coalition raids on Qaeda in Yemen

Saudi-led coalition air strikes hit an Al-Qaeda training camp in the network's southeastern Yemen stronghold on Tuesday, killing and wounding dozens, government officials in the region said.

"An Arab coalition air force targeted an Al-Qaeda training camp, killing and wounding dozens" in Hajr, west of Hadramawt's provincial capital Mukalla which has been held by the jihadists since April.

Tribal sources in the area told AFP that a series of air strikes hit the camp and that wounded militants were taken to a hospital in Mukalla.

Witnesses there reported seeing around nine vehicles carrying casualties from the area.

Dozens of Al-Qaeda militants were meanwhile seen rushing to the hospital to donate blood, according to residents.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/dozens-dead-wounded-coalition-raids-qaeda-yemen-182129754.html

cp15 Propaganda

21.3.2016 – Human Rights Watch (* A P)

Smear Campaign Against UN Rights Expert in Yemen, Another Bad Move

I carry out human-rights work in the age of social media, but the hashtag #AbuAlzulofLostHumanitarianEthics is one of the most disturbing I’ve seen in a long time. It’s one more wrong move that has turned the hope for a new day in Yemen into a humanitarian and human-rights disaster.

Documents leaked to Human Rights Watch say that the hashtag is the product of a media campaign coordinated by the Yemeni Media Association, a group in the Saudi Arabian capital, Riyadh, which was reportedly established and funded by the Yemeni government. The campaign aims to attack and discredit George Abu al-Zulof, the representative of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to Yemen, and his office.

The campaign against Abu al-Zulof, which began in February, has included op-eds in Arabic across different Yemeni media outlets, and as one of the leaked campaign memos said, plans exist to submit at least three in English. Posters featuring Abu al-Zulof’s photograph and slogans accuse him of bias toward the Houthis. Abu al-Zulof told Human Rights Watch that the sectarian language — including accusations that he is an agent for Hezbollah — has led to death threats against him and exposed his staff in Yemen to risk of reprisals.

The attacks allege that Abu al-Zulof’s office has limited its documentation of human-rights violations in Yemen to one side of the conflict: the Saudi-led coalition. Even a glance at the office’s regular reports disproves this claim.

This move by the Yemeni government is just a new chapter in its smear campaign against Abu al-Zulof. In early January, the government informed Zeid Ra’ad al-Hussein, the UN high commissioner for human rights, that Abu al-Zulof was persona non grata in the country and must bereplaced. The move came after Zeid’s office warned of escalating civilian casualties, many from airstrikes by the Saudi-led coalition, and noted that it had received alarming reports of the coalition’s use of cluster munitions, a globally banned weapon. The Saudis deny using such weapons.

A day later, the government hastily rescinded the demand to oust Abu al-Zulof, succumbing to external pressure. But since then, it has continued to try to undermine the important work of Abu al-Zulof and the human-rights officers working for him in the field.

After intense lobbying by Saudi Arabia, made possible by the passivity of a number of countries, including the US and Britain, the Netherlands withdrew its draft resolution. Instead of creating its own commission of inquiry, the council chose to rely on a Yemeni national commission of inquiry. To mitigate much-deserved criticism that the domestic inquiry would not be impartial, the resolution that did pass also said the Office of the High Commissioner should assist the national commission in meeting international obligations.

In comments afterward, the US ambassador to the UN in Geneva, Pamela Hamamoto, acknowledged that UN support would be crucial to ensuring the credibility of the domestic investigation.

The initial expulsion of Abu al-Zulof from Yemen and now the smear campaign against him cast serious doubt on the government’s willingness, let alone capacity, to ensure that national investigations are carried out with credibility – by Belkis Wille, Yemen researcher at Human Rights Watch

http://passblue.com/2016/03/21/smear-campaign-against-un-rights-expert-in-yemen-another-bad-move/

22.3.2016 – Jerusalem Post (A P)(

'Israeli-Houthi secret deal' to airlift Yemenite Jews arouses furor in Yemen

The arrival of a final group of Yemenite Jewish immigrants in Israel Monday morning aroused widespread criticism from Yemenite citizens on social media networks, claiming that the move was a result of a secret understanding between Israel and pro-Iran Houthi militias.
The opponents to this "secret deal" between Israel and the Houthis launched a social media campaign defaming Houthis as traitors under the hashtag, "The Houthis are Israeli agents.

The social media activists who participated in the anti-Houthi campaign based their main claim according to which there is a secret alliance between Israel and the Houthis on an image of Dahari carrying a rifle with the writing "death to Israel" on it. Since this is a well-known Houthi slogan, these anti-Houthi activists deduced that the Jewish Rabbi was a fighter in the Houthi militias.

http://www.jpost.com/Middle-East/Israeli-Houthi-secret-deal-to-airlift-Yemenite-Jews-arouses-furor-in-Yemen-448788

Comment: Really crazy looking at the Houthis antijudaism.

21.3.2016 – Alriyadh Newspaper (A H P)

King Salman Center distributes 12 tons of dates over the needy in Yemen

Riyadh-based King Salman Center for Relief and Humanitarian Works has distributed as much as 12 tons of dates over the needy in Markha directorate, Shabwa province in Yemen.

The charity was carried out by Al-Khair Coalition for Humanitarian Relief as part of a package to distribute 128 tons of dates in the different directorates of Shabwa province.

http://www.alriyadh.com/en/article/1139379/King-Salman-Center-distributes-12-tons-of-dates-over-the-needy-in-Yemen

Comment by Judith Brown: Dates!!! Dates!!! People need homes, water, jobs, medical care, hospitals, roads, bridges, security, education - and King Salman sends them his left over DATES. I despair.

https://www.facebook.com/judith.brown.794628/posts/10154199537693641

20.3.2016 – Al Araby (A P)

Yemen Houthis 'ready' to withdraw from Sanaa

Yemen's warring parties could take part in a ceasefire for between one and two weeks, as negotiations on ending the conflict reach another round.
Talks between Houthi rebels and forces loyal to the internationally-recognised President Abd Rabbo Mansour Hadi are expected to restart next month.
It comes after Houthi rebels took part in talks in the capital Sanaa on Sunday with UN Yemen envoy Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed.
Houthi leaders agreed to implement a UN security council resolution which requires them to hand over weapons and withdraw from territory, including the capital.
All officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to speak to reporters, AP reported.
There are still only slim hopes the deal will be implemented and previous attempts to implement a ceasefire have failed with both sides blaming one another.

https://www.alaraby.co.uk/english/news/2016/3/20/yemen-houthis-ready-to-withdraw-from-sanaa

Comment: The conclusions drawn from the fact that the Houthis want a ceasefire must be labeled ass wrong and as propaganda. Their withdrawal from Sanaa might stand at the end of a peace process, certainly never at the beginning, as that would mean a secure suicide for them. Setting the expectations this high, it will be much easier to blame the Houthis for refusing peace if they refuse to withdraw from

cp16 Saudische Luftangriffe / Saudi air raids

3.2016 – Legal Center for Rights and Development (A K PH)

Die saudischen Luftangriffe Tag für Tag / Saudi air raids day by day

19. März / March 2016:

https://www.facebook.com/551288185021551/photos/a.551858951631141.1073741828.551288185021551/605269999623369/?type=3&theater

22.3.2016 – The Intercept (** A K)

“FAMILIES WERE BLOWN UP” — SCENES FROM A SAUDI-LED BOMBING IN YEMEN

Around midday on March 15, fighter jets from a Saudi-led coalition bombed a market in Mastaba, in Yemen’s northern province of Hajjah. The latest count indicates that about 120 people were killed, including more than 20 children, and 80 were wounded in the strikes — perhaps the deadliest attack yet in a war that has killed more than 6,000 civilians. Local residents and health officials say the carnage was so great in Mastaba that most of the bodies could hardly be identified, and several were beyond recognition.

At the roadside marketplace in Mastaba, journalist Mohammed Ali Kalfood interviewed a number of survivors this weekend. The following is the account of Khaled Hassan Mohammadi, 21, who sold sacks of flour at the market and survived the attack. Mohammadi’s account has been translated and condensed.

WE SAW DEADLY airstrikes on a market last Ramadan, not far from here, but this attack was the deadliest. There was an earlier attempt to bomb this market over two months ago — you can still see the crater over there, where a dud missile is still buried.

But this time, two explosions destroyed the marketplace at noon, when people usually buy their food and khat [a leaf that is a mild stimulant when chewed]. This was the only marketplace in the entire district and had recently become larger, especially after many storekeepers and retailers had to escape from neighboring areas, such as Haradh. People bought a wide range of food in this market; they used to buy and sell livestock, and even bought clothes.

There was a big hangar where khat was sold. Around 12 p.m., the first airstrike hit that hangar. The second hit another hangar soon afterward, where a lot of food was sold. I was in my spot, selling sacks of flour. The market was bustling at the time, with a large number of people. There was a lot of noise coming from the electricity generators and motorcycles, so I heard no warplane. Usually they fly over Mastaba almost every day — you can hear now, this warplane circling overhead.

At noon, when the first explosion took place, I nearly passed out, falling on the ground. The other explosion followed right after the first one. Then, all of a sudden, I found myself jumping to my feet and running ahead. I stopped when I got to the opposite side of the market, only to see bodies scattered all over the place. There were two big craters where the bombs hit — nearly full of ripped and charred bodies, and blood was everywhere. Survivors were in a frenzy; rescuers began to pile up the bodies, while the wounded were rushed to hospitals.

Thank God, I survived unscathed. None of my family members were there at the time. But other families were blown up: Five brothers, who used to help khat sellers to make a living, were all killed in the strikes. When their old father, Hassan Kashoor, came to identify the bodies of his five sons, four of them could hardly be identified, while the other went unidentified. There were too many limbs and other parts of the bodies of those who were killed, so that the families could barely identify their dead.

Sheikh Bakeeli, the local authority in Mastaba, decided that all the unidentified bodies, along with the limbs and other body parts that had been collected, should be buried in one place. They were buried in a communal grave, not far from the marketplace itself – by Mohammed Ali Kalfood

https://theintercept.com/2016/03/22/families-were-blown-up-scenes-from-a-saudi-led-bombing-in-yemen/

Comment: More reports in Yemen Press Reader 117, 116.

22.3.2016 – Die Presse (A K)

Luftangriffe im Jemen: Etliche Soldaten getötet

Der Luftangriff wurde von der saudisch geführten Militärkoalition durchgeführt. Mindestens 33 Menschen kamen dabei ums Leben.

Bei einem Luftangriff der saudisch geführten Militärkoalition auf ein Gebäude der Sicherheitskräfte in Jemens Hauptstadt Sanaa sind mindestens 33 Menschen getötet worden. Wie ein Sprecher des von den aufständischen Houthi-Rebellen geführten Gesundheitsministeriums am Montagabend mitteilte, wurden neun weitere Menschen verletzt.

Unter den Opfern des Bombardements vom Vorabend seien größtenteils Soldaten.

http://diepresse.com/home/politik/aussenpolitik/4907269/Luftangriffe-im-Jemen_Etliche-Soldaten-getotet-

22.3.2016 – Tasnim News (A K PH)

11 Killed in Saudi Aerial Attacks on Yemen's Northern Province

Nearly a dozen people have been killed in a series of airstrikes carried out by Saudi warplanes in Yemen’s Jawf Province, local media said.

The Yemeni al-Masirah television said on Monday that at least seven civilians lost their lives after Saudi fighter jets bombed Dahouk Academy in al-Matun district of the troubled northern province.

Separately, an airstrike against two trucks carrying food in the same volatile district killed at least four people.

Saudi warplanes also pounded a crowded marketplace in al-Masloub district of Jawf Province. But there was no immediate report on casualties, Press TV reported.

http://www.tasnimnews.com/en/news/2016/03/22/1032208/11-killed-in-saudi-aerial-attacks-on-yemen-s-northern-province

20.3.2016 – Almasdar News (A K PH)

Saudi warplanes target Yemeni schools in Sanaa

On Sunday morning, the Saudi Royal Air Force carried out several ruthless airstrikes over the Yemeni capital of Sanaa, targeting an elementary school for children on North 60th Street inside the Haffah Camp. Local sources could not provide the death toll from the airstrike; however, they did confirm that the elementary school has no military presence or strategic advantage to the Saudi-led Coalition and their allies.
https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/saudi-warplanes-target-yemeni-schools-sanaa/

cp17 Kriegsereignisse / Theater of War

21.3.2016 (A K)

23 Houthi militants killed in Taiz, Yemen

Six members of the pro-Yemen President Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi forces were also killed in the attack. Houthi artillery shelling against residential neighbourhoods in the city have resulted in the death of three civilians and wounded several others.

Yemen’s Popular Resistance said in a statement on its official Twitter account that it was “able to cleanse the area west of Taiz, after battles backed by air cover from the Arab alliance, killing 23 Houthi militants and injuring dozens and destroying two military patrols and munition stores.”

https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/news/middle-east/24592-23-houthi-militants-killed-in-taiz-yemen

22.3.2016 – AFP (A K)

Yemen rebels shoot dead cameraman: union

Iran-backed rebels have shot dead a cameraman who was covering clashes in Yemen's third-biggest city, the war-torn country's union of journalists said on Tuesday.

Mohammed al-Yemeni, a freelancer for several media outlets in Yemen, was killed by rebel sniper fire on Monday in Taez, the union said in a statement carried by the official sabanew.net website.

Three other cameramen were wounded in the gunfire, the statement added, identifying them as Naef Wafi, Haikal al-Uraiki and Abdulqawi al-Azzani.

http://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/yemen-rebels-shoot-dead-cameraman-union

Comment: Who actually shot him? “Iran backed rebels”, if meaning the Houthis, would be a double-propaganda expression.

21.3.2016 – AP (A K)

Local Journalist Killed by Sniper Fire in Yemen's Taiz

Yemeni security officials say a local photojournalist was killed and three other reporters were wounded by sniper fire in the war-torn city of Taiz.

The officials say Mohammed al-Yamani was shot in the head Monday while covering the fighting between Shiite Houthi rebels who have been besieging the city for a year and local fighters backed by the internationally-recognized government and a Saudi-led coalition.

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2016/03/21/world/middleeast/ap-ml-yemen.html?_r=0

20.3.2016 – AFP (A K)

At least 55 killed in two days of Yemen fighting

At least 55 people, including 14 civilians, have been killed in two days of fighting between pro-government forces and Shiite Huthi rebels in Yemen, officials said Sunday.

Since Saturday, fighting has raged in the outskirts of third city Taez as rebels try to retake positions lost in recent weeks to loyalists, military sources said.

Pro-government forces backed by a Saudi-led coalition managed earlier this month to break a months-long rebel siege of the southwestern city.

"At least 26 people, including 14 civilians, have been killed in 24 hours" in rebel shelling of residential neighbourhoods and loyalist positions, a local official told AFP.

On another front, six pro-Hadi fighters and seven rebels were killed Saturday in clashes in the southern province of Shabwa, where loyalists advanced in the oil-rich area of Baihan, another military source said.

In the neighbouring province of Marib, pro-Hadi forces on Saturday captured the Harib area, the military source said, adding that 13 rebels and three loyalists were killed in the fighting.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/least-55-killed-two-days-yemen-fighting-143740945.html

20.3.2016 – WAM (A M PS)

Yemen army gains new areas in Ma’rib

Following fierce battles with rebels

The national army and popular resistance in Yemen has announced they have gained control over large parts of the city of Huraib in the Ma'rib province following fierce battles with the coup supporting fighters and Houthi militias.

In a statement carried by the official state news agency last night, a Yemeni military source said that the national and resistance armies, with support from the Arab coalition forces, were able to recover a number of areas in Ma'rib, including a military base and part of Al Hashfa.

The source added that fighting is still ongoing and that the allied forces are advancing forward while the Houthi militias are fleeing towards Al Shakir.

http://www.emirates247.com/news/yemen-army-gains-new-areas-in-ma-rib-2016-03-20-1.624739

cp18 Sonstige / Other

2.2016 – Free Ebooks (B P)

Salafism In Yemen: Transnationalism And Religious Identity

Free e-book for download

http://izitonyg.ru/wuzir.pdf

Vorige / Previous:

https://www.freitag.de/autoren/dklose/krieg-im-jemen-neue-artikel-zum-nachlesen-117

Neue Artikel zum Nachlesen 1-117 / Yemen Press Reader 1-117:

https://www.freitag.de/autoren/dklose oder / or

http://poorworld.net/YemenWar.htm

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

Dietrich Klose

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

Dietrich Klose

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