Krieg im Jemen-Neue Artikel zum Nachlesen 123

Yemen Press Reader 123: Saudis im Jemen: Zwischen Inkompetenz und Kriminalität - Hunger. Wie die Kinder leiden- Krieg gefährdet Frauen - Wie der Westen Terroranschläge sieht - Jahresrückblicke

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Saudis in Yemen: Between incompetence and criminality - Hunger. How children suffer -- War endangers women - Westeners' look at terror attacks - Retrospects 1 Year of war

Schwerpunkte / Key aspects

Klassifizierung / Classification

cp1 Am wichtigsten / Most important

cp2 Allgemein / General

cp3 Humanitäre Lage / Humanitarian situation

cp5 Nordjemen und Huthis / Northern Yemen and Houthis

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

cp7 UNO / UN

cp8 Saudi-Arabien / Saudi Arabia

cp10 Großbritannien / Great Britain

cp11 Deutschland / Germany

cp12 Andere Länder / Other countries

cp13a Waffenhandel / Arms trade

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

1.4.2016 - BBC (** B K)

Film: Yemen's 'forgotten conflict' - BBC News

A year after Saudi Arabia began a bombing campaign against the Houthi rebels who ousted Yemen's president, the United Nations says more than 80% of the population now need some form of humanitarian assistance.
The UN says 2.4 million people have been internally displaced, and at least 3,200 civilians have been killed - most were victims of airstrikes by the Saudis and their allies. Orla Guerin reports.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KMhxBPFh-7Q

31.3.2016 – The National Interest (** B K)

The Saudis in Yemen: Between Incompetence and Criminality

Prince Abdullah al-Saud, the Saudi Ambassador to Washington, penned an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal attempting to explain why the Royal Saudi Air Force has been bombing Yemen.

If the aim of Ambassador Abdullah’s WSJ piece was to convince Americans that Saudi Arabia has been engaging in a flawless military operation at the request of the legitimate Yemeni government, he more than likely failed. His op-ed recycles the well-worn talking points that officials in Riyadh have used ever since the Houthis stormed into Sana: the Houthis are a bloodthirsty, Shia militia working at the behest of Iran, who is aiming to subject twenty-six million Yemenis to their dominion. In Prince Abdullah’s accounting, Saudi Arabia was simply acting in self-defense in order to preserve the integrity of a neighbor whose capital was quickly being transformed into Iran’s fourth Arab outpost (after Damascus, Beirut and Baghdad).

The problem with Abdullah’s argument is not that he’s describing the conflict as he wishes it to be (an Iranian-orchestrated coup) instead of what it really is (a civil war). The Houthis, after all, have reportedly received Iranian weapons shipments and possess an arsenal of ballistic missiles capable of flying into Saudi Arabia. At least eighty Saudis have died in these missile attacks, which Riyadh is more than justified in responding to.

What is missing from Abdullah’s comments is any mention at all of the thousands upon thousands of Yemeni civilians—a large portion of whom are women and children who are merely trying to survive the civil war around them—that have been killed in Saudi air raids. The claim from Abdullah that “Saudi Arabia has been working with its allies to take all precautions to protect civilians, medical staff, humanitarian organizations and journalists in Yemen,” is laughable on its face given the extensive documentation from a variety of independent and credible sources that the rules of proportionality and distinction are being willfully violated.

Legally speaking, Saudi Arabia’s military intervention in Yemen is perfectly within bounds. Yemeni President Abdu Rabbu Mansour Hadi openly requested Riyadh’s military assistance, so it’s not as if Riyadh is acting preemptively or waging a war of aggression on another country’s soil without the express permission of that government. The way that Saudi Arabia has prosecuted its intervention, however, lies somewhere between incompetence and criminality.

Sometimes being a good friend means telling your friend what he doesn’t want to hear. The United States is not doing its Saudi ally any favors by enabling an intervention that has produced nothing but despair for Yemeni families, hunger for millions of children and piles of rubble where beautiful buildings used to stand – by Daniel R. DePetris

http://nationalinterest.org/blog/the-skeptics/the-saudis-yemen-between-incompetence-criminality-15651

Comment: A good article analysing Prince al-Saud’s propaganda op-ed in WSJ. But he is wrong in an important point: Legally speaking, Saudi Arabia’s military intervention in Yemen is NOT within bounds. Hadis term as president definitely ended on February 25, 2015. More or less pressed by the Houthis, Hadi had resigned on January, 21. He managed to flee to Aden and declared his resign had been invalid and he was the legal president of Yemen. Yes, he was – but just for the four days to come until the constitutional end of his term on February, 25, 2015. Anyone who still acknowledged his presidency after this date did not so because of Hadis legitimacy according to the Yemeni constitution, but according to his own interests. Off course, Americans and Saudis wanted Hadi to stay “president” further on, the Saudis using him as their pretense for their intervention and bombing.

And even if Hadi after February 25, 2015 still would have been the legal president: How much destruction, killing and starving out would be “perfectly within bounds” to assist a legal government asking for assistance?? And, comparing to other countries: What would have been the reply of the “West” when Ukraine’s Yanoukovich after having been ousted by the Maidan coup in 2014 would have asked the same to Russia and Russia would have bombed Ukraine the way the Saudis did in Yemen???

31.3.2016 – Stern (**A H K)

Wie die Kinder im Jemen an Hunger leiden

Seit über einem Jahr wütet im Jemen ein furchtbarer Bürgerkrieg. Vor allem Kinder sind betroffen, 320.000 leiden laut Unicef unter akuter Mangelernährung. Schockierende Aufnahmen zeigen, wie schlimm die Lage ist.

Wie so oft sind es die Schwächsten, die im Krieg besonders leiden - dies gilt auch auf für den Jemen: Seit Beginn des Bürgerkriegs in dem Land vor etwa einem Jahr sind laut einem neuen Unicef-Bericht mehr als 900 Kinder getötet und 1300 weitere verletzt worden. Das sind seit dem Start des von Saudi-Arabien angeführten Militäreinsatzes rund sechs Kinder pro Tag. Das Kinderhilfswerk der Vereinten Nationen dokumentierte zudem 1560 schwere Menschenrechtsverletzungen an Kindern und über 50 Angriffe auf Schulen.

Unicef schätzt, dass allein im vergangenen Jahr rund 10.000 Kinder im Jemen an vermeidbaren Krankheiten starben, weil die Gesundheitsversorgung nicht mehr funktioniert, Impfungen nicht vorgenommen und lebensgefährlicher Durchfall nicht behandelt werden konnten. Ein Videobeitrag des in Katar ansässigen Nachrichtensenders Al Jazeera zeigt nun dramatische Bilder, die das ganze Ausmaß der humanitären Katastrophe verdeutlichen.

Zu sehen ist der kleine Udai. Erst fünf Monate alt - aus seiner Nase ragt ein Schlauch. Das Gesicht des Säuglings ist völlig ausgemergelt, immer wieder reißt er seine Augen weit auf und weint. Er wiegt nur 2,4 Kilogramm; gesunde Kinder in dem Alter wiegen zwischen 5,7 und 8,5 Kilo. Udais Schicksal ist nur eines von vielen im Jemen - laut Unicef hat sich die Situation der Kinder seit Beginn des Konflikts exponentiell verschlechtert.

Nach Unicef-Schätzungen sind in dem Bürgerkriegsland inzwischen zehn Millionen Kinder auf humanitäre Hilfe angewiesen - darunter rund 320.000 Kinder, die von schwerer akuter Mangelernährung bedroht sind. Von den für 2016 benötigten Hilfsgeldern für den Jemen hat Unicef nach eigenen Angaben jedoch erst 18 Prozent erhalten.

http://www.stern.de/politik/ausland/jemen--unicef-bericht-zeigt-wie-sehr-die-kinder-im-buergerkrieg-leiden-6772816.html

Kommentar: Das muss uns klar sein: Das Gesicht dieses Kindes – mittlerweile ist es verhungert, was der Bericht verschweigt – ist das Gesicht dessen, was wie im „Westen“ zu verantworten haben. Die Freundschaft zu Amerika und die Kumpanei mit den Saudis ist uns das aber wert. Diesen Zusammenhang nicht zu sehen, wäre Heuchelei.

31.3.2016 – AP (** B H)

Hunger Spreads in Yemen

Repeating an article already presented in YPR 122, overview on the humanitarian situation, and a baby who died 5 month old, with many photos

http://blog.apimages.com/2016/03/30/hunger-spread-in-yemen/ and the mainstream media also report now:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2016/03/31/the-tragic-story-of-a-dead-baby-shows-the-terrible-toll-of-yemens-war/ and http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/heartbreaking-footage-starving-baby-exposes-7665949

30.3.2016 – ITV (**A H)

Starving baby shows horrific effects of war in Yemen

These are the last pictures of Udai Faisal, a five-month-old baby who has died of severe malnutrition as a result of the spread of hunger in Yemen.

The baby's sunken face and protruding bones illustrate the horrific consequence of Yemen's war since Saudi Arabia and its allies launched a campaign of airstrikes and a naval blockade a year ago.

Doctors in Sabaeen hospital's emergency ward said he had severe malnutrition, diarrhea and a chest infection.

They had put him on a nasal drip of antibiotics and a feeding solution. At around five months old, he weighed only 2.4 kilograms (5.3 pounds).

H[is mother] Hezzam says she was able to breastfeed her newborn son for about 20 days, but then her milk stopped, likely from her own malnutrition.

Abeer Etefa, of for the World Food Programme explained: "This is a circle, because children inherit hunger from the mother. If the mother, during pregnancy, and while nursing her child, is hungry, she will also give hunger to her child."

http://www.itv.com/news/2016-03-30/starving-baby-shows-horrific-effects-of-war-in-yemen/

31.3.2016 – AP Video (** A H)

Film: Shocking footage shows extent of war-torn Yemen's child hunger crisis

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/news-video/video-child-hunger-spreads-in-war-ravaged-yemen/article29428016/

30.3.2016 – Channel 4 (* A H)

These images of starving babies from Yemen are some of the most shocking to emerge from the war-torn nation.
They show just a few of the 320,000 children suffering from acute malnutrition https://twitter.com/Channel4News/status/715261158819692544 and (shorter) https://www.facebook.com/ajplusenglish/videos/708684229273087/

31.3.2016 – UN News Center (* * A H)

Yemen: year of conflict puts 3.4 million women of reproductive age at risk, UN reports

A year of conflict in Yemen has left an estimated 3.4 million women of reproductive age between 15 and 49 years in need of humanitarian assistance, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) has reported, expressing growing concern about the situation.

Of them, nearly 500,000 are pregnant and will give birth within the next nine months. The lack of reproductive health services and supplies can result in an estimated 1,000 maternal deaths among 68,000 pregnant women who are at risk of life-threatening complications during childbirth.

“Women and girls lack access to humanitarian aid, including reproductive health services, and are therefore even more at risk of unwanted pregnancies, which, in turn, can put their lives at risk,” UNFPA Country Representative Lene K. Christiansen said in a press release, noting that the status of women and girls was already weak in Yemen prior to the conflict as gender-based violence was common at home.

To date, UNFPA has supported 38 hospitals across the country with lifesaving reproductive health equipment, medicines and supplies. Reproductive health kits containing medical and surgical supplies have benefited some 453,000 women and girls of reproductive age, helping ensure safe deliveries, including at home.

UNFPA has provided more than 100,000 dignity kits to the most vulnerable women and girls in 19 governorates in Yemen to maintain their personal and menstrual hygiene.

Through the recently launched 2016 Yemen Humanitarian Response, UNFPA has appealed for $15.6 million to ensure the continuation of sexual and reproductive health services and prevent and respond to gender-based violence.

http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=53581

24.3.2016 – Countercurrent (** B T)

Terrorists Kill 22 At Beach Resort, But Nobody Cares Because It Wasn’t In U.S. or Europe

While America and Europe changes their social media profile pictures to show solidarity with victims of one European country, then another, victims of terrorism in non-European and American countries are receiving virtual no attention – let alone sympathy – when they receive evenhigher death tolls from ISIS.

After the horrific attack on Brussels, it’s worth noting how the major attacks that have recently been carried out by ISIS, or ISIS-sympathizing groups, have been reported in the media – and subsequently how they have been received on social media:

March 22, 2016, Brussels, 34 killed – HEADLINE NEWS
March 20, 2015, Yemen, 137 killed – no headline
April 18, 2015, Afghanistan, 33 killed – no headline
June 26, 2015, Tunisia, 38 killed – no headline
June 29, 2015, Yemen, 35 killed – no headline
October 10, 2015, Ankara, Turkey, 97 killed – no headline
October 31, 2015, Russian plan, 224 killed – HEADLINE NEWS
November 21, 2015, Beirut, 43 killed – no headline
November 13, 2015, Paris, 130 killed – HEADLINE NEWS
December 2, 2015, San Bernardino, 14 killed – HEADLINE NEWS
January 8, 2016 Libya, 50 killed – no headline
March 6, 2016 (only two weeks ago), Baghdad, 47 killed – no headline
March 13, 2016 (last week), Grand-Bassam, 22 killed – no headline
March 15, 2016 (last week), Ankara, Turkey, 35 killed – no headline

ISIS is killing more Muslims and Africans than any other group. Yet for some reason Western media is only highlighting when Europeans and Americans get killed.

This feeds into a “Muslims are against us” mentality, when in fact what we are facing is an imperialist terrorist cult, that targets Muslims more than any other group of people.

Just last week, Grand-Bassam’s beaches were filled people enjoying the Sunday afternoon.

With temperatures on the rise, many across Ivory Coast came to the city’s oceanfront resorts to enjoy the ocean.

For terrorists, this was a perfect opportunity.

Six figures all in black appeared on the beach, wearing balaclavas and carrying guns. Before anyone could process what was going on, the terrorists opened fire.

They had AK-47 Kalashnikov rifles and hand grenades, which they used on anyone within sight.

They marched across the sand, shredding men, women and children – both Ivorians and foreigners alike.

When security forces arrived, the terrorist gunmen killed two of them as well.

“They killed a child, despite him kneeling down and begging,” one witness told the BBC. “They shot a woman in the chest. I swear, I heard them shouting ‘Allahu Akbar.’ They’ve killed innocent people.”

But aside from sources like the BBC and NPR, this story was simply not covered in the mainstream Western media.

Security video below shows deadly Ivory Coast attack…

The death told reached 22 dead, including the six gunmen, two soldiers and 14 civilians.

The Washington Post reports that “among the dead civilians were four Westerners, including a French and a German national, according to the BBC. The U.S. Embassy in Abidjan said it had no evidence that U.S. citizens were targeted or harmed,” according to the Associated Press.

The attack was claimed by Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), according to the SITE Intelligence Group, but they are basing that only on what they’ve seen on the internet. The reality is that very little has gone into investigating this attack.

Grand-Bassam’s president Alassane Ouattara said “these cowardly terrorist attacks will not be tolerated in the Ivory Coast. We have taken important measures. These attacks were brought under control in three or four hours thanks to our security and defense forces.”

The Post reports that “the bloodshed followed several similar attacks in neighboring countries in recent months,” none of which were highlighted by the Western media – by M. David and Shante Woote

http://countercurrentnews.com/2016/03/terrorists-22-at-beach-resort-but-nobody-cares-because-it-wasnt-in-u-s-or-europe/

cp2 Allgemein / General

1.4.2016 – New York Times (A P)

Hints of an End to the Fighting in Yemen

After a year of civil war, there is a glimmer of hope for long-suffering Yemen.

Saudi Arabia is said to be looking for a way out of the war, but whether Saudi leaders and the Houthis can agree on a political solution remains a big question.

[Overview Article, nothing really new] – by Editorial Board

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/01/opinion/hints-of-an-end-to-the-fighting-in-yemen.html?_r=0

1.4.2016 – The Wall Will Fall (A K)

Yemen: Vanessa Beeley Speaks to Richie Allen about UK US Saudi War Crimes (Audio)

The US is by default a war criminal, they supply these lethal and hideous WMD and they are present in the Riyadh command and control centre when targets are chosen. The UK is also an accessory to murder, standing in the same control tower and supplying identified cruise missiles that have been used on civilian structures with no regard for human life.

I will be talking to Richie Allen tonight about this and other grave violations of human rights and war crimes being committed in Yemen by the Saudi-led coalition supported by US, UK, NATO, UN and reinforced by their AQAP/DAESH proxy forces and British [among other nations] trained mercenaries.

Rest in peace all souls who have been destroyed by this alliance from Hell.

Last night I spoke to Richie Allen about the war crimes & grave human rights violations being committed daily by the Saudi coalition with support and supplies from US, UK and other NATO members.

France and Qatar completed the deal for 24 Dassault Rafale fighter jets at the opening day of the Doha International Maritime Defence Exhibition & Conference” ~ March 29th 2016

It was announced the deal is worth $ 7.5bn.

Thanks go to Richie Allen for giving me a platform to raise awareness for Yemen.

https://thewallwillfall.wordpress.com/2016/04/01/yemen-vanessa-beeley-speaks-to-richie-allen-about-uk-us-saudi-war-crimes/

31.3.2016 – NTV (* B H K)

Wenn Krieg auf Katastrophe trifft: "Der Jemen wird Jahrzehnte brauchen"

Im Interview mit n-tv.de berichtet Sultana Begum, Mitarbeiterin von Oxfam in Sanaa, was sie täglich erlebt.

Es gibt regelmäßig Luftschläge. Daher ist unser Bewegungsradius sehr begrenzt, besonders in der Hauptstadt Sanaa, wo unser Hauptquartier ist. Im Land haben wir noch mehrere Regionalbüros, wo wir auch von Sanaa aus hinfahren können. Oxfam arbeitet auf mehreren Gebieten: von sauberem Wasser über Lebensmittelmarken bis hin zu Zelten für obdachlos gewordene Familien.

Viele können sich nur noch auf Pump Essen kaufen, da sie ihre Arbeit und Lebensgrundlagen verloren haben. Geschäfte füllen zum Teil ihre Vorräte gar nicht mehr auf, weil die Leute ohnehin nicht bezahlen können.

Die meisten Jemeniten sind vollkommen abhängig von den lokalen Märkten. Doch es wird so gut wie nichts mehr produziert. 90 Prozent der Nahrungsmittel müssen importiert werden, doch über die Häfen wurde eine Blockade verhängt. So kommt einfach nichts mehr ins Land hinein. Falls doch einmal etwas durchkommt, so erreicht es kaum die Bedürftigen, weil Straßen und Brücken zerstört sind.

Von allen Menschen hören wir, dass dieser Krieg alles noch schlimmer gemacht hat, als es zuvor schon war.

Selbst wenn der Krieg morgen endete, wäre es genau so: Es würde Jahrzehnte dauern, bis die Wasserinfrastruktur, das Gesundheitswesen, Schulen, Märkte und Geschäfte wieder auf einem Standard sein werden, dass die Gesellschaft im Jemen wieder halbwegs existieren kann. Und dabei wäre noch nicht der Zusammenbruch der Wirtschaft durch die Finanzkrise abgewendet.

http://www.n-tv.de/politik/Der-Jemen-wird-Jahrzehnte-brauchen-article17344606.html

31.3.2016Middle East Research and Information Project (A K P)

Open Letter from Scholars of Yemen

US Secretary of State John Kerry
British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond
French Minister of Foreign Affairs Jean-Marc Ayraut

On the occasion of a year of the bombardment and blockade of Yemen, we write for a third time as scholars of Yemen to deplore the actions of the governments you represent, which have served cumulatively to erase fundamental principles of international and international humanitarian law: a) drafting the one-sided UN Security Council Resolution 2216 used to legitimize war; b) attempting to protect Saudi Arabia and the other Coalition countries against condemnation by the UN Human Rights Council, leaving the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights alone to issue a condemnation of war crimes; c) continuing massive arms sales in the face of documented war crimes by the Coalition; and d) participating in refueling warplanes, identifying targets, and facilitating the blockade of vital imports of food and fuel to Yemen.

We are aligned with no party in the internal political divisions of Yemen and deplore human rights violations by all the warring parties. However, we note that the major targets of the Yemen war, the Houthis and the bulk of the former Yemeni army, have over the past years fought Islamic State and al-Qaeda, which your governments view as terrorist groups and which have targeted Arab as well as European cities—most recently Brussels. Against this background, we renew our call to you to do everything to obtain an immediate and complete ceasefire and the launch of unconditional Yemeni-Yemeni negotiations for the formation of a transition government. And we ask that you offer no cover to the attempts of the Coalition states to extract commercial gains from their war and to avoid, in the name of plans for Gulf Cooperation Council “reconstruction” of Yemen, legal responsibility for war reparations.

http://www.merip.org/open-letter-scholars-yemen = http://www.counterpunch.org/2016/04/01/third-letter-from-scholars-of-yemen-on-the-saudi-war-on-yemen/

30.3.2016 – ITV (* B K)

Yemen: No escape from the trauma of airstrikes

On a bridge in Sana'a a crowd gathers around the aftermath of another airstrike by the Saudi-led coalition.

Their faces peer through the hole punched through the road. Two lives were claimed here, they tell me.

In the flats above the floor is covered in broken glass. There's blood stains on the wall.

Fatthi Al-Romaim shows me around his debris-strewn children's bedroom.

He tells me how he ran to their room when he heard the jets to save his two sons Habib, 10, Ismail, 6, and his daughter Tasbin, 4 – by Neil Connery (images)

http://www.itv.com/news/2016-03-30/yemen-no-escape-from-the-trauma-of-airstrikes/

29.3.2016 – European Council on Foreign Relations (** A K P)

Indecisive Storm: One year of Saudi-led intervention in Yemen's civil war

Whoever ends up ruling Yemen at the end of the conflict will inherit a nation in almost unfathomably deep crisis. It’s worth stressing that Yemen was not just already incredibly impoverished before the war began but also at the brink of financial insolvency. If the war were to end in the coming weeks or months the damage that Yemen has suffered will take years if not decades to bring Yemen to a point where it is merely “underdeveloped.”

Much of Yemen’s already inadequate infrastructure has been completely destroyed. Key roads have been obliterated by airstrikes while clashes and sabotage have left key cities with power cuts measured in days and weeks, rather than hours. Yemen’s industrial capacity, similarly, has been deeply damaged. Major factories that employed hundreds of Yemenis and provided some modicum of self-sufficiency in the import-reliant country have been been bombed and shelled into rubble. Across the country, hundreds of thousands of children are out of school, millions of heads of households have lost jobs and roughly 15 million people - more than half of the population of the country - does not have enough food to eat. Most of those left are too poor to leave, trapped by neighbouring countries tightening of their borders.

Much of Yemen’s upper and middle classes on the other hand have already fled the country, while the bulk of the country’s key business families - figures that will be key in any rebuilding process - started to liquidate their Yemen-based assets some time ago.

This last part is perhaps most significant. Even greater than the physical and financial effects of the crisis have been the psychological and societal trauma it has caused.

Yemen is more divided that it has ever been in its modern history. Nearly every conceivable fault-line has been ripped open. The scorched-earth nature of the Houthis-Saleh campaign in the south and their continued marginalisation has caused secessionist-leaning southerners to harden their stance that continued unity is unsustainable. Once hidden tensions between central Yemen and the north have come blaringly out into the open. Sectarian sentiments once uttered by extremists in private are now loudly proclaimed by mainstream figures and officials on satellite television and in newspapers. Rather than seeing themselves on different sides of a political conflict, Yemenis increasingly on different sides in a regional battle.

Nearly every political party and faction have themselves split into different factions. Even those who have technically remained unified remain riven by internal tensions. People on the same side of the wider conflict have increasingly come into conflict with each other. Factional divisions between different regional, political and ideological components of the anti-Houthi “resistance” have increasingly come out into the open, while quiet tensions between the Houthis and Saleh’s backers have begun to mount.

Despite the dire nature of the crisis facing Yemen there is much that can be done by international actors to both ameliorate the current situation and push key factions towards returning things to the political track.

In light of the unimaginable human tragedy facing Yemenis, international actors must do all in their power to alleviate the suffering of Yemeni civilians.

Support for the upcoming UN-lead talks in Kuwait and the related ceasefire will be crucial.

It remains equally important for international actors to recognise their limits. So long as key factions are convinced that waging war remains in their interest, they are - particularly in the absence of significant international pressure - likely to remain averse to any potential peaceful resolution – by Adam Baron

http://www.ecfr.eu/article/commentary_indecisive_storm_one_year_of_saudi_intervention_in_yemen6051

26.3.2016 – Telesur (B K P)

One Year Later: West-Backed Saudi Coalition Has Destroyed Yemen

As Yemenis mark Saturday as one year since the Saudi Arabia-led operation in Yemen was launched, observers see no end in the near future to the bloody conflict that has inflicted human and structural damage on the country, has given rise to extremism, and, according to the United Nations, has resulted in war crimes

[Overview Article]

It is important to highlight that the U.S. and the U.K have kept their steady military support for the Saudi kingdom despite mounting accusations of crimes and abuses by its military campaign in Yemen.

While its public objective is targeting the Houthis, the Saudi war in Yemen is part of a bigger goal for solidifying dominance in the region against the so-called Iranian threat, while having no regard for civilian lives and the people of Yemen.

“The Houthis and their allies … are the declared targets of the coalition’s 1-year-old air campaign. In reality, however, it is the civilians,” Rawan Shaif, a British-Yemeni freelance journalist wrote in an article for Foreign Policy magazine on March 24 – by Mohamed Hemish

http://www.telesurtv.net/english/analysis/One-Year-Later-West-Backed-Saudi-Coalition-Has-Destroyed-Yemen--20160326-0004.html

cp3 Humanitäre Lage / Humanitarian situation

Hunger: cp 1 Am wichtigsten / Most important

1.4.2016 – Famine Early Warning System Network (A H)

Yemen: Key Message Update, March 2016

Year-long war drives Emergency (IPC Phase 4) food insecurity

The year-long war has severely disrupted livelihoods, reduced household purchasing power, and limited poor households’ access to food through market purchases, the most important food source in Yemen. In the absence of improved humanitarian access, major populations are expected to face Emergency (IPC Phase 4) or Crisis (IPC Phase 3) acute food insecurity, depending on the area, between now and September 2016.

The value of the Yemeni Rial will likely depreciate in the coming months. In addition to causing food prices to rise, this will likely lead to increased prices for agricultural inputs, such as diesel, fertilizer and urea. Already, fertilizer price in Hadramaut have increased by 53 percent in January compared to pre-crises levels, according to FAO. As agriculture is an important livelihood activity for the majority of Yemen’s population, this could reduce labor opportunities and incomes among poor households, further stressing food access.

The latest WFP Access Constraints Map indicates that many roads into Ta’izz Governorate remain closed. This will likely contribute to a continuation of elevated food and fuel prices, which are already the highest across all monitored markets at Al Ma’afer market. In this governorate, livelihood disruptions and poor household purchasing power will drive the depletion of assets (ex. selling lands) and food consumption gaps for poor households, in line with Emergency (IPC Phase 4) food insecurity, through at least September 2016.

A ceasefire and peace talks are currently scheduled for April. If these negotiations lead to a longer term ceasefire, this could contribute to some recovery in market functioning, macroeconomic conditions, and livelihoods, and improved food access compared to current projections.

http://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/yemen-key-message-update-march-2016 = http://www.fews.net/east-africa/yemen/key-message-update/march-2016?utm_source=FEWS%20NET%20Daily%20Digest

31.3.2016 – Press TV Iran (B H)

Press TV has conducted an interview with Hussain al-Bukhaiti, a Yemeni activist and political commentator from Sana'a

From the beginning of the attack, we have for example no electricity and you know that hospitals in Yemen and medical clinics depend on electricity to provide their health services to the Yemeni people and as well we have a lack or shortage in fuel because of the Saudi blockade. So, even though those hospitals have generators they cannot afford the cost of oil at this time. So, this is directly affecting the most vulnerable people in Yemen and we have just seen the latest report of UNICEF that was released I believe two days ago. It has said that there are ten thousands children who died because of the lack of health services and shortages.

So, those ten thousand children died because of this blockade of this Saudi war in Yemen and of the Saudi targeting all infrastructure and all health facilities. We always hear only the number that are killed directly by the Saudi airstrike, this number is actually may be three hundred time more are killed because of the blockade and the lack of health and public services because the Saudi from the beginning of the war has destroyed all Yemeni infrastructure. They have destroyed all bridges, all roads, power stations, fourteen airport were destroyed, all Yemeni ports as well are targeted, wheat silos, schools, 650 mosques and above 2000 chicken farms. So, you just imagine the amount of destruction.

http://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2016/03/31/458481/Yemen-Saudi-Arabia-Houthis-Ansarullah/ 31.3.2016 – UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (A H)

Infograph: Yemen: Health Cluster Response (as of February 2016)

http://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/Yemen_HEL_31032016_Final.pdf

cp5 Nordjemen und Huthis / Northern Yemen and Houthis

1.4.2016 – Human Rights Watch (A P)

Yemen: Baha’i Adherent Faces Death Penalty

Yemeni authorities should drop all charges against a member of the Baha’i faith detained since December 2013, apparently for his religious beliefs. Prosecutors are expected to seek the death penalty for Hamed Kamal Muhammad bin Haydara in a court hearing scheduled for April 3, 2016.

Yemeni authorities should stop the persecution of the country’s Baha’i community, Human Rights Watch said.

“The Yemeni authorities have committed an injustice by prosecuting Haydara for his religious beliefs and compounding that injustice by seeking to execute him,” said Joe Stork, deputy Middle East director. “The charges should be dropped and Haydara should be released.”

“The prosecution of Hamed Kamal Haydara is symbolic of the broader attack on Yemen’s Baha’i community,” Stork said. “If the current authorities want to show the world that they represent an inclusive Yemen, they need to release him and anyone else being held for their opinions and beliefs.”

https://www.hrw.org/news/2016/04/01/yemen-bahai-adherent-faces-death-penalty

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

31.3.2016 – The talking of the Soul (* B K)

What have they done to Aden?

Aden, the liberated city.

In the hands of Al Qaeda and ISIS.

Neighbourhoods turnt into the shadows of themselves. Crippled skeletons of an architecture no longer standing. Unrecognisable Aden.
Whatever was there: the port described by Marco Polo as the centre of the commerce, the memories of French poet Rimbaud who lived there and hated it (Yemenis never believed him, though); the traces of Portuguese, Ottoman, British, Soviet governance summing up to centuries of foreign occupation, the local legends repeating that Aden is as old as humanity and hosts – somewhere – the remains of Cain and Abel, whatever was there has been buried under the bombs.

Aden was once known as the ´eye of Yemen´, the gate from the Indian Ocean to the plains, mountains, fertile valleys of the North.
Aden, now, is the temporary capital of the government of ex President Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi who is in exile. A President unrecognisable even to his own few supporters. A President who escaped twice, once from Sanaá and once from Aden itself, to rush to Ryadh asking for military intervention. Against his own people, almostovernight.That was March 25, 2015.

They tell us the story that the Saudi-led coalition launched military operations on Yemen rubbling the country to prevent the Houthis absorption of the South. Houthis seen as an extension of Iran´s arm in Yemen.

Whatever Aden represents now, it is unlikely to be considered a success. Unless debris, the variety of militias belonging to the most heterogeneal Islamist groups and militants occupying buildings and sniping passers-by, car bombs claiming lives by the dozens, a closed port, sealed and destroyed schools, collapsing infrastructure, a non-operating airport, coalition mercenaries locked in their basis too scared to venture out, are to be considered a sign of victory and order restoration.
Surprisingly enough, ex President Hadi and his exiled government, rarely fly and step foot in Aden. They constantly run away from their own self-claimed success.

https://thetalkingofthesoul.wordpress.com/2016/03/31/what-have-they-done-to-aden/

31.3.2016 – Almasdar News (A K T PH)

Air strikes target Al-Qaeda in Yemen, troops control Aden district

At least four suspected al Qaeda militants in southern Yemen were killed in what is believed to be a drone strike on Wednesday as unidentified warplanes bombed outposts held by the Islamist militant group further east, witnesses and local residents said. The four suspected militants were killed when what was thought to be a U.S. drone fired on a checkpoint at the entrance of the city of Azan in southern Yemen. It was not immediately possible to confirm the accounts by the residents, who said the militants had seized the city two months ago. The United States has acknowledged using drones but declines to comment on specific attacks.

The stepped-up air strikes came as forces loyal to President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi conducted a security operation against militants in al-Mansoura district of Aden, trying to end a state of chaos that had gripped the southern port city where the Yemeni government is temporarily based.

Residents said unidentified warplanes launched three strikes on a former Yemeni army camp east of Mukalla controlled by al Qaeda late on Wednesday night. They said the air strikes ignited a fire at the old al-Rayyan air base that could be seen from several miles away. Residents said they believed the attacks have caused casualties, but provided no figures.
https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/air-strikes-target-al-qaeda-yemen-troops-control-aden-district/

cp7 UNO / UN

31.3.2016 – Press TV Iran (A K)

Press TV has conducted an interview with Hussain al-Bukhaiti, a Yemeni activist and political commentator from Sana'a, to investigate the reports about heavy fighting between Yemen’s Ansarullah forces and troops loyal to the Saudi-backed fugitive former president Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi.

The following is a rough transcription of the interview.

Press TV: Tell us a bit more about this surprise attack. What does it mean and what is it hope to achieve?

Al-Bukhaiti: Actually this attack the Saudi has been conducting in north of Hajjah especially on the city of Midi, show you as soon as talks started by the UN about this ceasefire the Saudi has conducted in the last 72 hours three massive attacks to take Midi city and take all the surrounding area with north of Hajja and it shows that all these kind of concert about the talks are just cover for the Saudi new campaign in Yemen and we all remember that the invasion of Aden happened during the ceasefire and as well the massive attack that happened on al-Jawf months ago was as well during the ceasefire.

This show you that the UN is becoming as I said and I say again a political wing for the Saudi to cover for their crime. Just one hour and half ago a Saudi fighter jet has conducted an airstrike on a traveling car in Taizz killing 13 civilians including woman and children. I haven’t seen any I mean the Saudi has not stopped any of their attack during all the previous ceasefires and now even though they have a kind of ceasefire with Ansarullah and the Houthis in the Saudi border, they still keep continue targeting civilians and keep trying to gain more ground that they could may be use as pressure in any future talks.

http://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2016/03/31/458481/Yemen-Saudi-Arabia-Houthis-Ansarullah/

cp8 Saudi-Arabien / Saudi Arabia

31.3.2016 – Nasser Abu LL (A H)

Torture in Saudi Arabia

Images (graphic): was arrested in Saudi Arabia and handed over to his family today lifeless body in this case

https://twitter.com/NasserAbuLL/status/715304756399448065

29.3.2016 – Saudi Gazette (A H)

New center receives 1,890 cases of domestic violence

The new domestic violence reporting center has received 1,890 domestic violence reports during the first three days of its opening, the Ministry of Social Affairs has said.

Deputy Minister of Social Affairs for Social and Family Care Abdullah Al-Muaiqil said the center opened on Sunday of last week and it was already bombarded with calls. “Forty-nine percent of the calls were reporting new cases, 12 percent were inquiring about previous reports and 20 percent were seeking consultancy. Nineteen percent of the calls were to inquire about the services the center offers,” said Al-Muaiqil.

“These numbers show that domestic violence and abuse is indeed a widespread phenomenon in our society,” said Al-Muaiqil.

http://saudigazette.com.sa/saudi-arabia/890-cases-of-domestic-violence/ = http://english.alarabiya.net/en/perspective/features/2016/03/29/Saudi-domestic-violence-center-gets-1-890-reports-in-three-days.html

20.11.2015 – The Guardian (*A P)

Saudi court sentences poet to death for renouncing Islam

Friends of Palestinian Ashraf Fayadh believe he is being punished for posting video showing religious police lashing a man in public

A Palestinian poet and leading member of Saudi Arabia’s nascent contemporary art scene has been sentenced to death for renouncing Islam.

A Saudi court on Tuesday ordered the execution of Ashraf Fayadh, who has curated art shows in Jeddah and at the Venice Biennale. The poet, who said he did not have legal representation, was given 30 days to appeal against the ruling.

Fayadh, 35, a key member of the British-Saudi art organisation Edge of Arabia, was originally sentenced to four years in prison and 800 lashes by the general court in Abha, a city in the south-west of the ultraconservative kingdom, in May 2014.

But after his appeal was dismissed he was retried earlier this month and a new panel of judges ruled that his repentance did not prevent his execution – by David Betty

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/nov/20/saudi-court-sentences-poet-to-death-for-renouncing-islam

cp10 Großbritannien / Great Britain

31.3.2016 – Gulf News (A P)

Saudi Arabia has ‘every right’ to defend itself — Fallon

Saudi Arabia has been attacked and it has every right to defend itself against Iran-backed Al Houthi militants and restore Yemen’s legitimate government, British Defence Minister Michael Fallon told Gulf News in an exclusive interview in Oman.

“The UK supports the peace process and we continue to do what we can to get the parties to come to the table,” he said. Iran-backed Al Houthis seized Sana’a in September 2014, then advanced south, raising fears in Riyadh that the militants would extend the influence of Iran in the kingdom’s southern neighbour.

Defending recent criticism that the UK has come under over its arms sales to Saudi Arabia, Fallon said that Riyadh was “a key ally in the fight against terrorism and extremism, particularly Daesh”. He also praised the Saudi decision to create an Islamic military alliance against terrorism.

http://gulfnews.com/news/gulf/oman/saudi-arabia-has-every-right-to-defend-itself-fallon-1.1701646

Comment: ???? Fallon: Starting to bomb another country = has been attacked. Stupid, lying, audacious??

cp11 Deutschland / Germany

31.3.2016 – Ständige Publikumskonferenz (A P)

Programmbeschwerde: ARD-aktuell: Jemen-China

Programmbeschwerde: ARD-aktuell: Jemen-China
Sehr geehrte Frau Vorsitzende,
wenn Saudi-Arabien im Jemen während eines völkerrechtswidrigen Angriffskrieges ein Bombardement auf einen Gemüsemarkt veranstaltet und 106 Besucher umbringt, berichtet das die Tagessschau nicht. Es entspricht also einer inneren Logik, dass die Tagesschau auch mit keinem Wort darüber informierte, dass am 27. März, dem Jahrestag des Kriegsbeginns, eine halbe Million Jemeniten in ihrer Hauptstadt Sanaa zu einer Protestdemonstration gegen diese Bombenangriffe zusammengekommen waren. Gegen diese abermalige Verschwiegenheit erheben wir eine weitere Programmbeschwerde.
Es entspricht unserem Verständnis vom Auftrag des öffentlich-rechtlichen Rundfunks, dass er umfassend und vollständig zu unterrichten und damit einen Überblick über das Weltgeschehen zu geben hat. Die Vorgänge auf der arabischen Halbinsel sind nicht zu ignorieren.
Wir sind an einer Klärung der gesamten, aus unserer Sicht äußerst tendenziösen Nachrichtengestaltung über das Geschehen im Nahen Osten in den Sendungen der Hauptabteilung ARD-aktuell interessiert. Wir sehen durchaus Zusammenhänge, wenn
- über Massaker und Kriegsverbrechen im Jemen nicht berichtet wird
- die Herrschaften in Riad in höfischen Formeln tituliert und nicht als menschenfeindliche Diktatoren bezeichnet werden
- die Wortwahl der Tagesschau in konformistischer Linientreue den Vorgaben der Berliner Regierung folgt, im Fall Saudi-Arabien gemäß Steinmeierscher Diktion also von „Regierung“ und „Herrschern“ die Rede ist, im Fall Syrien hingegen von „Regime“ und „Machthaber“
- und im Fall Jemen Schweigen im Walde herrscht.
Dieser Stil ist fern aller Anforderungen, die die Staatsverträge an den öffentlich-rechtlichen Rundfunk stellen. Er erfüllt weder das Erfordernis der Objektivität, noch der Vollständigkeit, noch der Sachlichkeit. So ist das Programm nicht der Information der Rundfunkteilnehmer dienlich und schon gar nicht dem Ziel der Völkerverständigung.
Er ist vielmehr nur Ausdruck von Agitation und Propaganda.

https://publikumskonferenz.de/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1263&p=4609

cp12 Andere Länder / Other countries

29.3.2016 – The Globe and Mail (* A P)

Cancelling Saudi arms deal would have no effect on human rights: Dion

[Canadas] Foreign Affairs Minister Stéphane Dion is defending a controversial $15-billion arms deal with Saudi Arabia by saying cancelling it would be a futile gesture because another country would simply supply the combat vehicles to Riyadh instead.

“It would not have an effect on human rights in Saudi Arabia,” Mr. Dion predicted, if the Liberals were to scrap a 14-year lucrative contract to build fighting machines that will be equipped with machine guns or anti-tank weapons.

International censure of Saudi Arabia is on the increase as rights groups decry an erosion of human rights under the current leadership there. Only two weeks ago, the Dutch parliament voted to stop arms shipments to Saudi Arabia, and in February, the European Parliament passed a motion calling for the suspension of weapons sales to Riyadh.

Mr. Dion used a Monday speech on the Liberals’ foreign policy to mount a hard-nosed defence of what is Canada’s largest-ever manufacturing contract – a transaction that was brokered by Ottawa under the former Conservative government and will benefit defence contractor General Dynamics’ London, Ont., plant until 2028.

“Riyadh does not care if the equipment comes from a factory in Lima, Ohio or Sterling Heights, Mich., rather than one in London, Ont.,” Mr. Dion said, naming American cities where military suppliers such as General Dynamics have a presence.

More than 2,000 workers in Canada would lose their jobs if the government cancelled the deal, the minister predicted.

Louise Arbour, a former United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights who once sat on the Supreme Court of Canada, was in the audience for Mr. Dion’s speech, and she said the contention that some other country would just take over the contract is “the weakest argument” that could be made.

“This argument that if we don’t do it somebody else will do it I find, frankly, the least convincing,” she said. “It is not infused with moral, ethical values.”

She said there are better reasons to justify sticking with the Saudi deal and would like to see Mr. Dion “do a balancing of consequences,” such as reputational, financial, jobs and the impact of doing nothing at all, including “Canada being seen as validating a regime that is at odds with a lot of Canadian values.”

Ms. Arbour said she hopes the federal government applies more rigour to examining weapons export permits, as it has repeatedly promised.

The Foreign Affairs Minister distanced himself Monday from comments made in January by Jocelyn Coulon, an academic and former journalist who joined Mr. Dion’s office in February.

Saudi Arabia has “bought the silence” of Western countries by awarding them lucrative contracts to supply it with military and civilian goods, Mr. Coulon wrote in La Presse just six weeks before he began work for Mr. Dion. This statement is at odds with the Trudeau government’s repeated insistence that it can effectively stand up to Saudi Arabia on human rights while overseeing this unprecedented arms deal with Riyadh – by Steven Chase

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/cancelling-saudi-arms-deal-would-have-no-effect-on-human-rights-dion/article29427814/

Comment: This really is a crazy reasoning. There are more critics in the article.

29.3.2016 – Voice of America (* A P)

Saudi Arabia Looks to African Allies During Gulf Crises

Saudi Arabia appears intent on reaching across the Red Sea to build alliances in the Horn of Africa, where piracy, drug and weapons smuggling, and terrorism threaten commerce in the world's busiest shipping lanes.

This was evident during the Saudis' intervention in Yemen. Over the past year, they built a coalition of African partners to help dislodge Houthi rebels who were in control of most of the country, including the capital, Sana'a.

Eritrea played a key role, although it was not technically part of the Saudis' 12-nation coalition. Eritrea allowed the United Arab Emirates to use an airbase and logistics hub in the port town of Assab. The two countries also shared intelligence.

Analysts say the Saudis' interest in the Horn of Africa is an extension of their intense competition with Iran for influence in the Middle East.

Phillip Smyth, a research associate at the University of Maryland and an adjunct fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, says the Saudi diplomatic surge in Africa is specifically aimed at countering Iranian influence.

"The Saudis are now aggressively reaching out to any state [in the Horn of Africa and beyond] that may have actually had any contact with the Iranians or have dealt with the Iranians," Smyth said, "in order to bring them under their wing and demonstrate that [Saudi Arabia] can actually function as a regional hegemon [significant regional power]."

Observers find these new alignments interesting because, from a broader perspective, they put countries like Eritrea and Sudan on the same side as the United States – by Salem Solomon

http://m.voanews.com/a/saudi-arabia-african-allies-gulf-crisis/3260218.html

12.3.2016 – Change org (* A K P)

Petition: Basta bombe fabbricate in Italia e usate dai sauditi nei massacri di civili in Yemen

È necessario pretendere il rispetto dello spirito dell'Articolo 11 della nostra Costituzione.

Il governo italiano, anche sulla base di questo ennesimo atto di ferocia dovrebbe imporre l'interruzione dei regolari rifornimenti di bombe per l'areonautica militare saudita prodotte nel nostro Paese dalla Rwm di Domusnovas.

L'ultimo carico è partito da Cagliari non più tardi dello scorso 16 gennaio, diretto alla base aerea di Taif, da cui il 22 gennaio sono decollati gli aerei che a Dhayan hanno ucciso Hashim e colpito i soccorritori, assieme a decine di altri civili inermi.

Chiediamo al Governo e al Parlamento di non far partecipare l’Italia a questo crimine contro l’umanità, fermando i rifornimenti di bombe all’Arabia Saudita e ai suoi alleati che da più di 300 giorni continuano ad aggredire lo Yemen martellato con bombardamenti indiscriminati sulla popolazione civile senza alcun mandato da parte dell'ONU. Organizzazioni come l'ONU stessa, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch e Medici Senza Frontiere hanno denunciato questi bombardamenti come "crimini di guerra in violazione del diritto internazionale e del diritto umanitario".

Non voglio che il mio Paese sia complice di questo mercato di morte nello spirito della nostra Costituzione. Organizzazioni come Rete Disarmo e OPAL hanno dimostrato che regolarmente dalla Sardegna consistenti carichi di bombe vengono consegnati all'aeronautica militare saudita. Che quello del 16 gennaio da Cagliari sia stato l’ultimo rifornimento."

https://www.change.org/p/basta-bombe-fabbricate-in-italia-e-usate-dai-sauditi-nei-massacri-di-civili-in-yemen-matteorenzi

cp13a Waffenhandel / Arms trade

30.3.2016 – Jerusalem Post (* A K P)

Saudi Arabia buys drones from Israel through South Africa

A Saudi political analyst who is well known for leaking exclusive information about the royal family of Saudi Arabia on Twitter has recently reported that the kingdom buys drones from Israel, in cooperation with South Africa.
In a series of remarks he wrote on his Twitter page Wednesday, the Saudi analyst suggested that the official report released by the Saudi Defense Ministry according to which the kingdom would build a drone factory in collaboration with South Africa is false.

"The report aims to hide the fact that Saudi Arabia intends to purchase drones from Israel via South Africa," the analyst, calling himself "Mujtahid", claimed.

He further stated: "Notwithstanding the political controversies between Israel and South Africa, the military cooperation between both states strongly continues, enabling South Africa to purchase drones from Israel.
"Saudi Arabia buys Israeli drones through South Africa. These drones later arrive from South Africa, dismantled, to Saudi Arabia, where they are assembled, Mujtahid added, describing the mechanism developed to carry out the Israeli-Saudi deal.
According to the Saudi analyst, this deal not only means that the Saudi deputy crown prince and Defense Minister, Mohammad bin Salman, committed fraud by lying to the Saudi people, but it also paints him as a traitor who is serving Israel's interests by purchasing its drones – by Maayan Groisman

http://www.jpost.com/Middle-East/Report-Saudi-Arabia-purchases-drones-from-Israel-through-South-Africa-449779?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

cp14 Terrorismus / Terrorism

Siehe cp 1, Am wichtigsten / See cp1, Most important

1.4.2016 – Islamic Invitation Turkey (A T)

Al-Qaeda Terrorists Fleeing Zinjibar in Southern Yemen

The Al-Qaeda terrorists have started fleeing the city of Zinjibar in Southern Yemen as the Yemeni army and popular forces launched heavy offensives against their military positions, informed sources announced.

The Al-Qaeda terrorists left a number of government buildings and centers such as the governor’s office, the security organization and the criminal court buildings, the sources said.

Tens of Al-Qaeda militants have been killed and dozens more wounded in the Yemeni government troops’ attacks on their positions.

http://www.islamicinvitationturkey.com/2016/04/01/al-qaeda-terrorists-fleeing-zinjibar-in-southern-yemen-2/

31.3.2016 – Long War Journal (* B T)

US strike on camp targeted local AQAP fighters, not external network, commander claims

A US airstrike on a training camp in Yemen that killed more than 50 jihadists two weeks ago targeted al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula’s local operations, not its external operations network, an AQAP commander claimed. While the AQAP commander’s statement may be technically true, it ignores the fact that jihadist groups’ local and foreign operations support each other, and both pose a threat to the West.

AQAP “commander” Sa’ad bin ‘Atef al Awlaki said that the March 22 airstrike in Mukallah in the eastern province of Hadramout hit a “general camp in which volunteers train to fight the Houthis and the ousted Ali Saleh,” and posed no threat to US national security, as claimed by the Pentagon. Awlaki made the claim in a statement that was released yesterday by the Al Malahem Media Foundation, AQAP’s official propaganda outlet. The statement was obtained and translated by the SITE Intelligence Group.

“[The Pentagon’s] spokesman claimed that the airstrike targeted an al Qaeda camp that posed danger to America’s national security and interests, disregarding the confirmed information that proved that this camp is a general camp in which volunteers train to fight the Houthis and the ousted Ali Saleh,” Awlaki said.

Awlaki then questioned the US military’s motives, and said that the aim of the US air campaign in Yemen and elsewhere was part of a wider war against Muslims worldwide.

There is no way to independently verify Awlaki’s claim that the camp was used to exclusively train AQAP fighters who are tasked to fight its local war in Yemen. However, the statement masks the fact that jihadist groups use their local insurgencies to bolster their external operations.

As groups like AQAP gain control of territory, they use the resources of these proto-states to support all of its operations. In the past, al Qaeda has used its network of training facilities to train fighters to battle in local insurgencies, identify potential recruits for attacks against the West, and support a host of allied jihadist groups. Thus, camps such as the one hit on March 22 do indeed pose a threat to US national security.

But Awlaki’s statement highlights a fundamental flaw in the US government’s messaging when it comes to justifying airstrikes against jihadist groups – by Bill Roggio

http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2016/03/us-strike-on-camp-targeted-local-aqap-fighters-not-external-network-commander-claims.php

30.3.2016 – The Independent (A T)

Ransom video demanding millions of dollars for Catholic priest kidnapped in Yemen 'sent to Indian Government'

Confusion surrounds the fate of an Indian priest amid rumours he was due to be crucified on Good Friday

A video demanding millions of dollars in return for an Indian priest kidnapped in Yemen has reportedly been sent to the Indian Government who are attempting to secure his release.

The ransom video shows Tom Uzhannalil, 56, asking for help while a man stands behind him, according to a report on India’s IBN-CNN News.

The channel's news anchor Karma Paljor also says the Indian government are “in touch with several local agencies” to rescue the priest, and are in contact with a Catholic Church ambassador to “dispel unconfirmed reports of crucifixion” – by Kayleigh Lewis

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/ransom-video-catholic-priest-kidnapped-yemen-isis-islamic-extermists-a6958496.html

cp15 Propaganda

1.4.2016 - Arab News (A P)

Tajikistan, Yemen thank king for aid

The King Salman Relief Center (KSRC) has been praised for providing further aid to support those hit by a devastating earthquake in Tajikistan and for the rebuilding of Yemen.

Mohamed Al-Maitami, Yemen’s minister of planning and international cooperation and chairman of the reconstruction and development committee, thanked King Salman for the aid.
Al-Maitami said Saudi Arabia had provided 60 percent of all the relief flowing to the country. He made the comment in a press statement following his meeting with Al-Rabeeah.
He said no words could express the gratitude of millions of Yemeni people who have benefited from the aid from the King Salman and several international organizations.
He said the aid would help reconstruct the country at a time when Yemenis were facing hard and difficult times. There would be support provided for every home in every village, he was quoted as saying by the local media.

http://www.arabnews.com/saudi-arabia/news/903816

Comment: As if there would not be any aerial war. That is just crazy. To adulate those who bomb the own country to ruins, seems to be one main task of ths Yemeni "government", how absurd it ever will be: "He said no words could express the gratitude of millions of Yemeni people who have benefited from the aid from the King Salman". Crazy.

28.3.2016 – Hisham Al-Omeisy (B K)

Saudi info graphic "Goals Achieved" marking anniversary of Saudi led military ops in #Yemen a bit off. Corrected ;)

https://twitter.com/omeisy/status/714490616261001216

30.3.2016 – Gulf News (A P)

‘Light at the end of the tunnel’ in Yemen

The first anniversary of the launch of Operation Decisive Storm in the country was the focus of the region’s papers this week

The one year anniversary for the launch of Operation Decisive Storm was the focus of the region’s papers this week.

The success of Operation Decisive Storm is clear for all to see, changing the situation from one of pessimism to optimism, said UAE’s Al Bayan.

“The operation against the rebels, Iran’s agents, was launched following an official request by the Yemeni legitimate government. The Arab coalition’s military intervention in Yemen was launched to restore stability to the country and ensure that it continues to carry out its vital regional role. The intervention helped the Arab coalition and Yemen hold off the terrorism and terrorist groups that are corrupting the region. The intervention also helped avert a civil war in Yemen, which would have dragged the nation and entire region into a spiral of violence. It has been a year since the launch of Operation Decisive Storm, and Yemeni parties are now discussing political solutions and the legitimate government controls over 85 per cent of the country’s areas.”

The Arab Coalition, through Operation Decisive Storm, was able to liberate Aden in record time, said Qatar’s Al Sharq.

“Following the liberation of Yemen’s temporary capital, the coalition liberated four governorates that were under the control of Al Houthis and forces loyal to Ali Abdullah Saleh. The coalition was also able to take control of Yemen’s airspace only a few minutes after the operation was launched. It has been a year since the operation began, and now the Yemeni Popular Resistance forces and National Army have liberated the governorates of Marib and Al Jawf, surrounding the Yemeni capital Sanaa, as well as breaking the siege on Taiz. Operation Decisive Storm, which was later renamed Operation Restoring Hope, is now in its second year. It has resulted in major challenges on the ground, giving hope for achieving the aspirations of Yemeni people.” – compiled by Mohammad Al Jashi

http://gulfnews.com/opinion/media-watch/light-at-the-end-of-the-tunnel-in-yemen-1.1700948

Comment: Delusional. Read, laugh, cry, despair. A fiasco, a humanitarian crisis and hell, have been turnt into a triumph.

https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=999191483467215&id=961126490607048

Comment: This really is a ridiculous article. “changing the situation from one of pessimism to optimism”: with half the country bombed to ruins?? – “launched to restore stability”: there is less stability in Yemen than ever. – “. The intervention helped … hold off the terrorism and terrorist groups that are corrupting the region”. There never is more terrorism, terrorists never held greater parts of Yemen, than ever before. “. The intervention also helped avert a civil war in Yemen”: are you aware that the Saudi coalition’s intervention had stopped any war? Quite on the contrary, a limited civil war was inflamed to become an international war. “the legitimate government controls over 85 per cent of the country’s areas”, what’s that? They not even are controlling their provisional capital city; most of the country not controlled bay the Houthis is controlled by Al Qaida. “The coalition was also able to take control of Yemen’s airspace only a few minutes after the operation was launched” – a pretty circumscription of having bombed the country for more than 365 days now.

25.3.2016 – Arab News (A P)

Obama vision troubling

After a long debate during the last seven years over whether or not there is an Obama doctrine, Jeffrey Goldberg of The Atlantic magazine recently published a 19-page article titled “The Obama Doctrine.”

This vision is troubling on many levels. For a start, it not only overlooks the history of Saudi-US relations as well as the US-Iranian confrontations but, more importantly, it misunderstands the essence of the worldview of both Saudi Arabia and Iran. Also, it reduces the security situation in the region to a narrow sectarian tension. This vision explains the failure of the Obama administration’s foreign policy in the Middle East.
A brief look at the history of the political behavior of Saudi Arabia and Iran as well as their strategic visions reveals how out of touch Obama is with the region. The two countries differ in their political values, visions of regional stability and views. The current Iranian government follows a revolutionary ideology.

In contrast, Saudi Arabia has emerged with a genuine desire to assimilate into the international community and establish lasting relationships based on cooperation and friendship. In 1926, the late King Abdulaziz, founder of modern Saudi Arabia, described his vision in the following words: “As we have rights that others are bound to recognize, we also have obligations to respectable foreign countries. We must honor all the covenants that we have made with them.”
He envisioned building the Kingdom on Islamic foundations and, at the same time, adhering to modern international norms and laws. As a founding member of the United Nations, Saudi Arabia’s foreign policy is based on regional and international cooperation, good-neighborly and bilateral relations to serve regional and international security. These are not merely empty slogans; the history of Saudi political behavior in the region mirrors these principles. In Lebanon, Yemen, Iraq and Kuwait, the Kingdom has exerted tremendous efforts and spent billions of dollars in foreign aid to ensure regional stability.

Saudi Arabia has a long history of mediation and conflict prevention in the region.

For Saudi Arabia, in particular, violent sectarian extremism is one of the main threats to its national security. Therefore, the Kingdom is waging a war on two fronts simultaneously — against the Shiite Houthi militia in the south and Daesh in the north. It is important to note that Saudi Arabia did not embark on these military campaigns until the two militias posed an imminent threat to the land of the country – by Saad Alsubaie

http://www.arabnews.com/columns/news/900466

16.3.2016 – Center for Strategic and Contemporary Research (A P)

Islamic Military Alliance

The Islamic military alliance is an alliance of 34 countries that have decided to fight against terrorism while united. The alliance is formed to fight against all armed groups and terror organizations which are involved in carrying out heinous crimes against humanity in various form of terrorism.[1] Countries with large and established armies i.e. Pakistan, Egypt and Turkey as well as war-torn countries like Libya and Yemen are also the part of this counterterrorism alliance. In addition to these, African Countries which are massively affected by militant attacks, such as Chad, Mali, Somalia and Nigeria are also contributing in this coalition. Despite having the common enemy in the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) group, Saudi Arabia’s regional rival Iran and its allies, Syria and Iraq, are not participating in this counterterrorism alliance.[2]

Objectives of the alliance

The alliance is still in its formation strategy and has yet to formulate its mode of operations, but the core objectives of the alliance would be:

To coordinate efforts to fight terrorism in Iraq, Syria, Libya, Egypt and Afghanistan

To have international coordination with major powers and international organizations for operations in Syria and Iraq

To counter Daish, the Arabic acronym for ISIS or ISIL

To counter other terror organizations

To protect all member states[5]

Apart from the above-mentioned objectives, more specific objectives would likely be:

To counter other international and regional terror groups like Al-Qaeda and Boko Haram

To help in subduing terror groups in participating countries of military alliance

To develop mechanism to annihilate terror chains within the member countries

To help countries, not part of the military alliance, in eliminating the menace of terrorism

Significance

The formation of the military alliance will help the member countries to fight terrorism in better coordinated and effective way. The alliance is expected to share information, train, equip and provide military support to counter terrorism. This coalition would have joint operations centre that will coordinate and support military operations to combat terrorism – by Faiza Maqsood

http://cscr.pk/briefs/research-brief/islamic-military-alliance/

Comment: There have been many reports on this “alliance”, linked to in earlier YPRs. It mainly is a Saudi propaganda event – giving the Saudis to be the leader of the Islamic world and to unite all Sunni countries behind them, aminly against Iran.

cp16 Saudische Luftangriffe / Saudi air raids

1.4.2016 – Yemen War Crimes (A K)

1st April 2015, 8 civilians killed 42 injured by Saudi led coalition airstrikes across Sana'a, Saada, Marib, Hajjah and Ibb in Yemen

The Legal Center for Rights and Development based in Sanaa, Yemen, reported that on 1st April 2015, the Saudi led coalition targeted residential neighbourhoods and civilian facilities in the governorates of Sana'a, Saada, Marib, Hajjah and Ibb in Yemen, killing a total of 8 civilians including 1 child and 2 women, and injuring 42 more. The details were as follows:

In Sana'a, (1) civilian was killed, in Saada (4) were killed, including a child and (2) women, in Hajjah (1) was also killed and (2) in Ibb.

In Sana'a (15) civilians were injured, in Marib (16) civilians also, in Hajjah and in Ibb (11) civilians were wounded.

http://yemenwarcrimes.blogspot.de/2015/04/1st-april-2015-8-civilians-killed-42.html

cp17 Kriegsereignisse / Theater of War

31.3.2016 –APA (A K)

60 Tote bei schweren Gefechten binnen weniger Tage im Jemen

Bei schweren Gefechten zwischen regierungstreuen Truppen und Rebellen im Jemen sind in den vergangenen Tagen 60 Kämpfer getötet worden. Vertreter des jemenitischen Militärs sprachen am Donnerstag von einem "Massaker" an den Kräften von Präsident Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi. Demnach gab es seit Dienstag in den Reihen der Regierungstreuen 45 Tote. Zudem wurden 15 schiitische Rebellen getötet.

Einem Militärvertreter zufolge waren die Soldaten bei ihrem Vorstoß vom Hafen von Midi im Nordwesten des Landes aus mit einem Gegenangriff der schiitischen Houthi-Rebellen konfrontiert. Die Truppen seien von den Aufständischen und ihren Verbündeten eingekesselt worden, sagte er. Der Vertreter bedauerte zudem das Ausbleiben militärischer Unterstützung aus der Luft seitens der von Saudi-Arabien angeführten Militärkoalition.

http://www.suedtirolnews.it/d/artikel/2016/03/31/60-tote-bei-schweren-gefechten-binnen-weniger-tage-im-jemen.html = http://www.nachrichten.at/nachrichten/weltspiegel/Jemen-60-Kaempfer-binnen-weniger-Tage-getoetet;art17,2192617

31.3.2016 – AFP (A K)

Yemen rebels in deadly counterattack on Red Sea coast

Yemeni rebels have mounted a deadly counterattack against government troops advancing down the Red Sea coast from the Saudi border ahead of a planned ceasefire next month, military sources said on Thursday.

The rebels and their allies surrounded a government force that was attempting to recapture the coastal town of Midi and killed 45 loyalist troops on Tuesday and Wednesday, the sources said.

At least 15 rebels were also killed in the fighting.

Forces loyal to the internationally recognised government based in the south crossed the border from Saudi Arabia in mid-December in a bid to open up a new front in the north as offensives faltered in the centre and east.

They swiftly captured the inland town of Haradh and Midi port, but they have met heavy resistance from the rebels and their allies in the adjacent town.

http://news.yahoo.com/yemen-rebels-deadly-counterattack-red-sea-coast-075116154.html

31.3.2016 – Al Araby (A K)

Coalition airstrikes and clashes ahead of Yemen ceasefire

At least 45 pro-government forces and 15 Houthis were killed as Houthi rebels launched a counterattack against troops advancing on a town along the coast of the Red Sea in Yemen, just a week before aplanned ceasefire and peace talks.

Government soldiers were surrounded on the coast after crossing the Saudi border last December in an attempt to recapture coastal towns from Houthis.

Troops were met with heavy resistance by rebels in Midi despite swiftly capturing Haradh earlier.

The clashes come as Saudi-coalition forces missiles targeted Houthis in Sanaa, Taiz, Ibb and Marib on Thursday.

At least 55 were killed in the airstrikes on Ibb, local sources told The New Arab

https://www.alaraby.co.uk/english/news/2016/3/31/coalition-airstrikes-and-clashes-ahead-of-yemen-ceasefire

31.3.2016 – Almanar News (A K PH)

Yemen Army Fires Ballistic Missile in Marib, More Mercenaries Killed in Mede

Yemeni army and popular committees fired a ballistic missile on a gathering of mercenaries in Marib, as the allied forces confronted a new attempt by Saudi-led forces to advance in Hijja.

Yemeni sources said that the allied forces fired a Qaher-1 missile on a gathering of mercenaries near Nakhla military camp, killing and injuring many of them.

Earlier, the sources said that more Saudi-led forces and mercenaries have been killed in a new attempt to advance in Mede desert in the western Yemeni province of Hijja.

Field sources reported that dozens of mercenaries were killed as they tried to get into Mede on Wednesday, noting that the advance attempt is the fourth one in the last few days.

Yemeni army spokesman, Colonel Sharaf Luqman, confirmed that 378 Saudi-led mercenaries were killed in attempts to enter Mede desert in the last few days.

“About 378 mercenaries were killed when they tried to enter the border area of Mede from Saudi’s Jizan,” Luqman said, noting that the “heroes of army and the popular committees thwarted such attempts.”

Saudi-led forces tried to enter a Yemeni border town which was liberated by the Yemeni allied forces a month earlier, in a bid to make it a starting point for their advance to Mede, army spokesman said.

However, the Saudi-led advance was failed and Mede along with the border town are under the control of the army and the popular committees, Luqman said.

http://english.almanar.com.lb/adetails.php?eid=263393&cid=23&fromval=1 = http://en.abna24.com/service/middle-east-west-asia/archive/2016/03/31/744223/story.html

31.3.2016 – Fars News (A K PH)

Yemen Strikes Saudi Coalition Forces with Another Ballistic Missile

The Yemeni army and popular forces destroyed the Saudi military positions and bases in Ma'rib province with a ballistic missile, killing tens of the kingdom's forces.

The Qaher-I ballistic missile hit Saudi Arabia's Nakhla military base in Ma'rib province in Yemen on Thursday, the Arabic-language media outlets reported.

Early reports indicate large casualties on the Saudi forces in the missile attack. The Saudi army and its coalition members have lost, at least, over a hundred troops each time they have come under a ballistic missile attack by Yemen.

http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13950112000110

Vorige / Previous:

https://www.freitag.de/autoren/dklose/krieg-im-jemen-neue-artikel-zum-nachlesen-122

Neue Artikel zum Nachlesen 1-122: / Yemen Press Reader 1-122:

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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