Yemen's "peaceful" transition in 2012 - "Heroes" in Yemen - UN: Whitewashing Saudi war crimes - The Yemen War is ignored - Saudi interests in Yemen - and more
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 und Friedensgespräche / UN and peace talks
cp8 Saudi-Arabien / Saudi Arabia
cp9 USA
cp10 Großbritannien / Great Britain
cp12 Andere Länder / Other countries
cp13a Waffenhandel / Arms trade
cp13b Flüchtlinge / Refugees
cp14 Terrorismus / Terrorism
cp15 Propaganda
cp17 Kriegsereignisse / Theater of War
cp18 Schöner Jemen / Beautiful Yemen
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
4.2016 – International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA) (*** B P)
Yemen’s ‘Peaceful’ Transition from Autocracy: Could it have succeeded?
Yemen’s so-called peaceful transition process, which began in 2011, was widely considered a success during the initial stages of its implementation, to the extent that other countries were being encouraged to learn from Yemen’s experience. However, given the subsequent and ongoing conflict in Yemen, it is important to revisit this process, and to explore whether the current conflict could have been avoided.
This report examines all aspects of Yemen’s transition, including the Gulf Cooperation Council Initiative and its Implementation Mechanism, the restructuring of the military–security apparatus, the National Dialogue Conference and the constitution-drafting committee, as well as related issues such as the discussions that revolved around transitional justice.
While Yemen suffers from a number of underlying social and economic factors that will remain crucial to its development, many of the contributors to the current conflict were linked to the original design of the transition plan. In addition, the manner in which the transition was implemented by specific individuals, institutions and states reduced its chances of success. The report concludes with a series of recommendations for future reform efforts, both in Yemen and beyond.
While President Hadi is now blamed for everything that went wrong, he must be given credit for attempting to implement military security reform, as far as his control and power over the institutions allowed. However, he failed to focus his energies on building broad popular support: something he could have done by responding to the people’s social and economic needs. He could have used his good relationship with the ten ambassadors to ensure that the USD 8.49 billion was actually available for use in improving living standards. His frequent meetings with them could thus have had a positive outcome. He failed to distance himself sufficiently from the previous regime, and many continued to associate him with the role he had played over the previous two decades. He came to be seen as weak and ineffective himself (as was the Basendwa government, which its sponsors had intended to be the case).
Given his role as number one spoiler, it is clear that Saleh’s continued presence in Yemen and, more importantly, his continued leadership of the GPC and his control of the elite forces played the main role in the failure of the transition.
The international community, including the UN and the representatives of the ten states sponsoring the GCC Initiative, was much in evidence; but one wonders about its real intentions, given its actions, which actively served to worsen the situation. As has been mentioned, both support for the livelihood of the population and military reform were dismally inadequate; development and humanitarian assistance were insignificant when set alongside the people’s needs. The active withholding of financial support for social and economic development interventions was a major contributory factor to preventing the transitional regime from maintaining the popular support manifested in the 2012 presidential election. The excuses for failing to provide the funds are unconvincing.
A major element of the failure was the sequencing of activities and the unrealistic twoyear timetable.
In the political process, the international community’s focus on support for prominent (or potentially prominent) personalities who would follow its recipes ensured a continuing intra-elite struggle, rather than real ‘regime change’. International support focused on counterterrorism and thus further isolated the regime from the population, neglecting the fact that a satisfied and economically self-sufficient population is not an easy target for the ideologies of aggressive armed fundamentalists.
While federalism has been the ostensible focus for the collapse of the transition initiated in 2011, this paper has sought to demonstrate that there were many other factors. At a time when Yemenis are suffering air and land war, starvation and most of the ills of the apocalypse, it is important to say that this could have been avoided, and that states, institutions and individuals bear responsibility for the people’s current suffering. The prime culprits are the members of the Yemeni political elite (of all hues) who prefer to see the destruction of the country rather than find workable solutions, and who manifest complete contempt for the life and living conditions of the majority of the country’s population.
However, others bear considerable responsibility: the Western and Gulf states who promoted the GCC Initiative pushed for unrealistic targets, while failing to provide the financial support needed to tackle poverty and enable people to achieve socioeconomic improvements which would have ensured massive popular support for a new regime. With a misguided interpretation of their own interests, they also failed to adequately support the transitional regime’s efforts to reform the military–security structures, thus allowing Saleh and his supporters to retain the military strength which has fired the current conflict. Finally, the United Nations system largely focused on intra-elite negotiations and on the most visible and prominent tensions at the expense of the broader long-term concerns of the Yemeni population as a whole – by Helen Lackner.
http://www.constitutionnet.org/vl/item/yemens-peaceful-transition-autocracy-could-it-have-succeeded and the full document: http://www.constitutionnet.org/files/yemen-s-peaceful-transition-from-autocracy-could-it-have-suceeded-pdf.pdf
Comment: A very detailed documentation of 60 pages + annexes.
4.4.2016 – Middle East Eye (** B H K)
Those wearing the white helmets in Yemen’s war
Yemen is one of the biggest man-made humanitarian catastrophes of this century, yet the response to it has been scant - a purposefully forgotten war.
However, amidst all the tears, blood and destruction, there are heroes, too; people who have dedicated their lives to helping other Yemenis and relieve the suffering of their fellow civilians. They are the ones wearing "white helmets".
I first met Abuthar al-Janadi in 2011, at the Yemen International Hospital in Taiz. At the time, he was at the forefront of the protests against the then-president Ali Abdullah Saleh. One of Yemen’s leading heart surgeons, al-Janadi had studied in Russia and worked abroad; but when the uprising against Saleh began, he felt compelled to return and support the movement for change.
[…]
After the closure of the international hospital, al-Janadi knew it was urgent for him to move his work elsewhere. He decided, with a group of fellow doctors, to reopen the al-Jumhury hospital, which had closed but still had functioning machines. Located within striking distance of the frontline, the hospital receives patients of all affiliations and backgrounds. "We treat everyone," al-Janadi explained, "it is not for me to be political, I’m a doctor".
Not only does the team often operate under fire, but it does so largely without the most basic of hospital supplies: there are no oxygen cylinders, no water and, for the past year, no electricity. Improvisation has become essential: many of the patients have had to endure undergoing critical surgery without the benefit of anaesthetic.
"I followed the deterioration of health conditions in my city feeling very sad. The number of martyrs has reached 1536, 148 of whom children and 135 women. More than 10,000 have been wounded by the end of last month, 288 of whom are currently in urgent need to travel abroad for further treatment," al-Janadi explains. "We do the best we can, but a lot of the time it is not enough."
In what has often been a brutal war that has taken a disproportionate toll on civilians, efforts to ensure official accountability have continuously been stalled. In September 2015, a draft Dutch resolution that instructed the UN’s human rights chief to send experts to investigate war crimes committed by both sides in Yemen was blocked. In a farcical move, the UN has instead accepted an investigation due to be conducted by the Yemeni government, despite the latter being a party in the conflict alongside the Saudis.
In the absence of an independent UN effort, global NGOs such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch (HRW), as well as local organisations such as Mwatana, have carried out investigations and research into reported violations of international humanitarian law.
In late November 2015, HRW released a report featuring first-hand interviews with victims, witnesses and medical staff.
Belkis Wille, HRW’s Yemen researcher, began her work in Yemen before the latest conflict began.
Wille has become a very important voice on the war in Yemen, speaking out on humanitarian violations and resolute in holding both sides accountable for their crimes, especially when no one else seems inclined or willing to do so. However, like her counterparts in other NGOs, she has been facing great difficulty in confronting those involved. As she points out:
"The hardest thing at the moment, particularly when it comes to coalition violations, is that we cannot do our traditional advocacy, which includes us entering into a dialogue with the side perpetrating the violations, discussing our findings with them, presenting our recommendations, and seeing if we can encourage them to improve their behaviour. This is because the Saudis and the Emiratis, the most active members of the coalition, completely refuse to respond to any of our requests for information or for meetings."
While editors and the world’s largest media agencies have been busy with other conflicts around the world, Yemen’s crisis has sadly been "the forgotten war". However, there have been a handful of journalists who have been tirelessly working to get the country, and its people, in the headlines. A personal favourite is the work of Iona Craig, who has put her life at risk on numerous occasions, travelling across the country to seek out and tell the stories of the people of Yemen.
Others on the ground have resorted to social media to keep the world informed. Yemeni political analyst Hisham al-Omeisy’s Twitter account has been the go-to source for the latest updates on Yemen.
For al-Omeisy, the last 12 months have been about survival, protecting his children and keeping the world informed about the daily realities that his fellow Yemenis are living through – by Nawal Al-Maghafi
http://www.middleeasteye.net/columns/those-wearing-white-helmets-yemen-s-war-1121112942
3.4.2016 – 21. Century Wire (*** A K P)
YEMEN: UN Whitewashing Saudi Coalition War Crimes and International Human Rights Violations.
Professor Francis Boyle, distinguished Professor of Law in Illinois and long-time thorn in the side of the Imperial Establishment has publicly expressed his disgust at the UN complicity with the sanctions that engendered starvation on a catastrophic scale in Iraq in the early 1990s.
Since the start of the illegal Saudi-led coalition war of aggression against Yemen that began on the 26th March 2015, the UN has appeared to work in lock-step with the lawless aggressor, Saudi Arabia and its allies to exacerbate the widespread suffering of the Yemeni people.
UNSC Resolution 2216 was adopted on the 14th April 2015. It called specifically for the armsembargo to be imposed against 5 named individuals.
“Arms Embargo: All Member States shall immediately take the necessary measures to prevent the direct or indirect supply, sale or transfer to, or for the benefit of Ali Abdullah Saleh, Abdullah Yahya al Hakim & Abd al-Khaliq al-Huthi.”
Two other names were included in the Annex to this list, Abdulmalik al-Houthi and Ali Ahmed Saleh.
Basis for Resolution 2216
This resolution was entirely based upon the premise of the legitimacy of the fugitive, former President of Yemen, Abdo Rabbo Mansour Hadi.
“Reaffirming its support for the legitimacy of the President of Yemen, Abdo Rabbo Mansour Hadi, and reiterating its call to all parties and Member States to refrain from taking any actions that undermine the unity, sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of Yemen, and the legitimacy of the President of Yemen” ~ Resolution 2216
On the same day that the UNSC signed off on a resolution of staggering partiality and bias towards one party in the conflict, namely ex President Hadi and his Saudi backers, a letter had been addressed to the UN by Ali AlAhmed, Director of the Gulf Institute. In this letter, AlAhmed clearly states that, legally, Hadi is NOT the legitimate President of Yemen.
“To reiterate, at present Mr. Hadi is a former president of Yemen. The UNSC has no legal authority to appoint him as president of Yemen, or treat him in such capacity. Although his term ended February 25, 2014, Hadi remained in office until February 2015; one year after his term has expired, in violation of the UNSC-endorsed GCC Initiative. He also failed to call for general presidential elections per the agreement he signed.
Because the Saudi-led war on Yemen was built on the false premise that Hadi is the current legitimate president of Yemen, it must be emphasized that he is, in fact, not a legitimate leader of that country. Legally, Mr. Hadi is the former transitional president of Yemen whose term expired February 24, 2014.”
Al Ahmed reminds the UNSC that Hadi had been elected in a one-horse-race election in February 2012 under the terms of the GCC Initiative [Gulf Cooperation Council]. That term of presidency had been set to expire after two years, when new elections would be held in Yemen.
One month prior to the agreed election date, in January 2014 the NDC [National Dialogue Conference] took the decision, to extend Hadi’s term under the pretext that the transition period was incomplete and that a draft constitution would not be ready for referendum until March 2015.
According to Abdulazeez Al-Baghdadi, a former legal advisor for the Ministry of Interior, the extension of Hadi’s term in office and the justification for this action was:
“A fraud that has no legal basis in constitutional terms….the NDC has no legal authority to extend Hadi’s term because NDC members do not represent the Yemeni people,” he said. “Hadi’s term expired when his two-year term stipulated in the GCC Initiative ended in February 2014.”
During the UNHRC [Human Rights Council], 31st Session in Geneva March 2016, Mohammed al Wazir, Yemeni-American Lawyer and Director of Arabian Rights Watch Association testified that:
“UN Security Council Resolution 2216 is about an arms embargo on 5 people, yet its being used as a cover to justify a blockade on 27 million Yemenis. According to the 2016 Humanitarian Needs Overview released in November 2015, 21.2 million people making up 82% of the population are now in need of some form of Humanitarian assistance. Nearly 2.1 million people are currently estimated to be malnourished, including more than 1. 3 million children suffering from severe acute malnutrition.”
According to Al Wazir’s statement to the UNHRC, Hadi had in fact resigned on the 22nd January 2015 and despite calls from various political factions, he refused to withdraw his resignation prior to the expiry of his questionable extended term as President of Yemen.
In a bizarre turn of events, perhaps after his Saudi controllers had put pressure on their marionette, Hadi fled Sanaa [Yemen’s capital] for the port city of Aden. Once safely ensconced in Saudi loyalist territory, Hadi plucked up the courage to renew his claim to the Presidency.
Hadi even attempted to relocate the Government to Aden but once he realised this was not a popular decision and with the Yemeni army closing in, Hadi fled to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. From there he requested that the Saudi Arabian government launch a war against his own people to reinstate him as President, a post he had resigned from, weeks previously.
So are we seeing the UN endorse and sustain an illegal war without a UN mandate, being waged against the Yemeni people by a known human rights violating, totalitarian, absolute monarchy, Saudi Arabia? And if so, on what basis? To protect an illegitimate, fugitive President who has called for the destruction of his own people?
Is the UN Defending Yemen’s Sovereignty, Independence & Territorial Integrity?
Resolution 2216 states:
“Reaffirming its strong commitment to the unity, sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of Yemen, and its commitment to stand by the people of Yemen”
Why then did the UN ignore the statement of their own Special Envoy, Jammal Benomar, made on the 28th April 2015?
“When this campaign started, one thing that was significant but went unnoticed is that the Yemenis were close to a deal that would institute power sharing with all sides, including the Houthis”
Why then did the UN not strongly oppose the Saudi war of aggression that has decimated the Yemeni people or demand that humanitarian aid be allowed entry to alleviate the universal suffering of the already impoverished nation.
Instead the UN flung the door wide open to the Saudi-led war of aggression against Yemen. A war devoid of any legal, moral or ethical justification. A war that would punish the Yemeni people for striving to form their own government without foreign meddling or Saudi corruption and neo-colonialist intent.
Why is the UN not defending the determination of the Yemeni people to create a new government that would guarantee equal citizenship and governmental proportional representation for previously marginalised minorities?
Is the UN Preventing the Deteriorating Humanitarian Situation in Yemen?
Resolution 2216:
“Expressing grave alarm at the significant and rapid deterioration of the humanitarian situation in Yemen, and emphasizing that the humanitarian situation will continue to deteriorate in the absence of a political solution.
Recalling that arbitrary denial of humanitarian access and depriving civilians of objects indispensable to their survival, including wilfully impeding relief supply and access, may constitute a violation of international humanitarian law.”
Having allowed the Saudi-led coalition to bomb all hopes of a political solution into smithereens, why is the alarm not being sounded against this oppressive, despotic regime that has the worst human rights record in the region?
Mohammed Al Wazir at the UNHRC:
“So, in summary, the Saudi-led coalition of absolute monarchies and military dictatorships conducted daily airstrikes and imposed a comprehensive land, air and sea blockade for the past year on 27 million Yemenis in order to re-install Hadi, a person whose mandate had expired in Yemen. Is this what we call defending legitimacy? Collective punishment and terror, inflicted on the entire population in order to deter a group called the Houthis who are less than 1% of the population. I can say with utmost confidence, there is a major issue with proportionality and a reckless disregard for the principles of distinction and military necessity not to mention international law.”
The UN is in reality, actively allowing the denial of human rights to the Yemeni people by the predatory aggressor, Saudi Arabia. The UN is sanctioning the depriving of civilians of objects essential to their survival. When the Saudi Coalition bombs humanitarian supply convoys does the UN not consider this to be “wilfully impeding relief supply and access”?
Is the UN wittingly allowing these grave violations of humanitarian law or is it an unwilling victim, prey to far more powerful geopolitical players in the region?
What is the UN’s Mandate in Yemen?
The UN was established to maintain state sovereignty, and both national and international unity. Instead we appear to be witnessing a process of fracturing society along false sectarian fault lines and the disruption of internal reconciliation and political peace processes within nation states.
The UN is allegedly seeking a peaceful political transition in Yemen according to the terms laid out in the GCC initiative and its implementation mechanism.
This objective becomes untenable when we consider that effectively, the GCC initiative has expired. So who precisely is obstructing the peaceful political transition? The Yemenis or those who launched an illegal war against them and who are destroying their ability to survive let alone decide their political future?
“That is if we take the GCC initiative as a legal document with full force and effect, which is not conceded by any means….but even by its own terms, it has expired.” ~ Mohammed al Wazir
The illegitimate, fugitive President, Mansour Hadi fled Yemen and incited a war against his own people from Riyadh. A war that has massacred over 8000 people and injured tens of thousands more. A war that has left Yemen without resources, infrastructure, electricity, communication, food and water.
In a logical, rational world all those who supported Hadi’s endeavour should be found by the UN “Sanctions Committee” and Panel of Experts to be “obstructing the peaceful political transition in Yemen” and be considered the main instigators of instability and insecurity in Yemen.
Conclusions
It is almost impossible not to conclude that multiple parties are colluding to starve Yemen into submission to Saudi objectives. Objectives that are aligned with those of the US, NATO and Israel.
“The UN embargo/blockade against Yemen and the Yemenis violates Genocide Convention article II (e): Deliberately inflicting on the group, conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part.” ~ Prof. Francis A Boyle
The Human Trade
Finally and perhaps most disturbingly, lets review the actions of known US outreach agent and neo-colonialist battering ram, USAID. In July 2015, USAID announced that it would turn the aid tap off to Yemen.
“Given the current situation in Yemen, USAID is placing most development programs on a full suspension,” spokesman Sam Ostrander told Al-Monitor. “The suspension will allow us to keep programs in place so that we can restart development activities quickly when the situation becomes more permissive.”
Criticism abounded against this decision accusing the US of facilitating Saudi human rights violations in Yemen. However, nothing should surprise us when we learn that almost simultaneously Saudi Arabia established its first, official, international Human Rights NGO..there are so many oxymorons in that one sentence.
“A UN source said he expected it to operate as the Gulf State’s equivalent of USAID – the state aid agency of the United States”
With barely a fanfare, the King Salman Centre was launched to fill the crater left in Yemen, by the departure of USAID and by the US UK and NATO supplied weapons of mass destruction. The chutzpah of this move is only challenged by the flattening of Gaza by Israel who is then tasked and paid to rebuild it.
During my recent visit to the UNHRC, to testify against the Saudi coalition’s illegal use of US supplied cluster munitions on civilian targets in Yemen, I had the misfortune to attend a Saudi presentation of their Humanitarian flagship. There were numerous UN organisations in attendance. At the end of the Saudi unveiling, oozing with hypocrisy and inflated claims of universal humanitarianism, the representative of UNICEF raised their hand. I paraphrase their comment.
“We would like to thank Saudi Arabia for their continued efforts to provide humanitarian assistance on a global basis and look forward to many years of continued and increased collaboration”
So, having appointed Saudi Arabia to chair of a key human rights panel inside the UNHRC, the UN is now fully endorsing an absolute monarchy’s attempt to further whitewash their crimes against Humanity. One look at King Salman Centre’s partners, denies UN impartiality when dealing with Saudi atrocities against the Yemeni people. Does it implicate the UN in these crimes? Combined with the unjustified and illegitimate bias of UN Resolution 2216, it must certainly raise questions that need answering. The Yemeni people deserve an answer – by Vanessa Beeley
1.4.2016 – The American Conservative (*** B K)
Ignoring the Indefensible War on Yemen
Yemen desperately needs a halt to the fighting, but beyond that it needs the coalition blockade to end. If there is a cease-fire but no lifting of the blockade, the civilian population will continue to suffer from preventable starvation and disease and the provision of humanitarian aid will be significantly hindered as it has been for the last year. As long as the blockade remains in place, the Saudis and their allies will be inflicting enormous harm on the people of Yemen. The country is also going to require enormous aid in rebuilding the infrastructure that has been demolished over the last year. The U.S. and Britain are partly responsible for the wrecking of the country and ought to contribute significantly to helping Yemen recover, but I’m skeptical that either government will accept responsibility for what they have done there. Ideally, the Saudis and their allies would be required to pay for the damage they have caused, but we know that’s not going to happen.
Saudi Arabia and its allies made a horrendous decision to intervene a year ago, and the Obama administration made a disgraceful decision to support them. The administration did this even when they had every reason to expect that the intervention would fail on its own terms, which it did. One of the more sickening things about this war is that almost everyone except the coalition governments could foresee that it would be a disaster for Yemen and the region, and many people said as much when it began, but the Saudis and their allies plowed ahead anyway. It was a completely unnecessary war, but they intervened regardless. The U.S. provided weapons, fuel, and intelligence to help the coalition wage the war, which both enabled the intervention and encouraged the Saudis and their allies to continue fighting. The U.S. has not only helped the coalition to bomb Yemen, but by providing diplomatic cover for their war crimes and withholding criticism of their tactics the administration has made it easier for the Saudis and their allies to get away with numerous violations of international law and to commit more war crimes as the war drags on. The administration has done more than just “tarnish America’s standing” by doing this. They have made the U.S. complicit in the war crimes of Washington’s despotic clients, and to make matters worse they have done all this for nothing. No U.S. interests have been served by this campaign, and it has arguably made both the U.S. and the region less secure by allowing Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) to grow stronger.
Had the Saudis and their allies not intervened, Yemen would almost certainly still be suffering from internal conflict, but the conflict would be a less destructive one.
While theintervention may not technically be illegal because Yemen’s recognized government supports it, it is wrong and unjustifiable in every other way.
It seems incredible that such a thoroughly indefensible military campaign has generated so little outrage and has gone mostly unnoticed outside the region, but unfortunately the lack of attention and reaction is not all that surprising. Most Western media outlets have paid almost no attention to the war, and when there is some coverage the conflict is usually presented with the misleading framing of a Saudi-Iranian proxy war when Iran has little to do with any of what has happened.
Here in the U.S., the reflexive hawkish tendency to side with “allies” ensures that the administration’s domestic opponents don’t care about what the Saudis are doing, and the partisan impulse to refrain from attacking one’s own side keeps most (but not all) Democrats from criticizing U.S. support for the war. Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy is one of the very few honorable exceptions. “Humanitarian” interventionists typically say nothing about humanitarian disasters when the governments responsible for them are on “our” side, and their total silence about this conflict proves that.
The Obama administration pretends that the U.S. isn’t a party to the conflict when it clearly is, and with a few exceptions members of Congress don’t challenge the policy and don’t question the decision to back the Saudi-led coalition. Journalists write wide-ranging essays on Obama’s foreign policy, but U.S. involvement in the war never comes up. Hawks are so dedicated to the fiction that Obama “abandons” allies and clients that they would rather fault Obama for doing too little to help the Saudis than to question the U.S. role in the first place. Many Obama supporters have grown so used to cutting the president slack on bad foreign policy choices because of his unreasonable hawkish critics that they have practically forgotten how to judge his foreign policy decisions on the merits. The result is that the war is rarely talked about and the U.S. role in it is mentioned even less often, and so the administration receives virtually no scrutiny or criticism for one of its most egregious and damaging blunders – by Daniel Larison
http://www.theamericanconservative.com/larison/ignoring-the-indefensible-war-on-yemen/
30.3.2016 – Mint Press News (** A K P)
Saudi Arabia’s Slaughter Of Yemen Fueled By Oil Interests Not Democracy
More than 8,900 people have died in the year-long Western-backed Saudi onslaught against Yemen. The kingdom says it’s fighting to promote democracy and to save Yemen from Iran, but analysis of the actions of its lethal coalition reveal another side to the story.
Since the very beginning of this war of attrition against impoverished Yemen, Saudi Arabia has framed its military intervention within a narrative of political restoration, positioning itself as a responsible actor looking to reaffirm and protect balance within the region. However, Yemen represents too much of a geopolitical prize for anyone to assume Riyadh’s not motivated by anything besides bolstering democracy.
A jewel among all geopolitical jewels, Yemen today is to Saudi Arabia what India was to the Crown in the 19th century. Both a bridge and an access point onto several continents, Yemen also happens to possess vast natural resources, rich arable lands, and water.
It’s also a geostrategic key to the world’s oil route, Bab-el-Mandeb, and holds the promise of an alternative to the Strait of Hormuz through the construction of an oil pipeline in the eastern province of Hadramawt.
With Yemen as its vassal, Saudi Arabia stands to eclipse not just Iran, but any contender to its might through an almost absolute monopoly over the world’s oil route.
“The geopolitical importance of Yemen cannot be ignored. The country controls entry into the Red Sea (towards the Suez Canal) and the Bab-el-Mandeb strait, which although less important than the Strait of Hormuz, is the point of passage for oil and gas on its way to Europe,” wrote Alain Gresh in April 2015 in a report published for The New Arab.
“Stability in Yemen is also a vital strategic goal for Saudi Arabia. The late King Abdulaziz famously told his sons: ‘What is good for you and what is bad for you comes from Yemen.’”
In this bitter battle for hegemonic control Yemen’s a lamb brought to slaughter. The country has become a playground for a newly evolved form of asymmetrical imperialism, one which has relied on proxies to carry out its will, while muddying the political waters to obscure its aim: control through the establishment of an energy monopoly.
Engineering and disseminating a false narrative
If Saudi Arabia has exhausted many great efforts and resources in its war against Yemen, the kingdom has also made a point to control the media narrative of the conflict. Riyadh’s sizeable shares in several corporate andsocial media outlets greatly facilitated the kingdom’s carefully designed dissemination and deflection campaign — the ultimate weapon of mass deception.
Saudi Arabia’s ability to manipulate and co-opt is not to be underestimated, and the tragedy unfolding in Yemen should serve as a cautionary tale.
Last summer, MintPress published a report detailing Saudi Arabia’s newest asymmetrical weapon of war: aid. Dangling financial aid in front of NGOs and U.N. humanitarian agencies in order to control the flow of aid — or, in this case, the lack of aid – to Yemen, the House of Saud’s created a new strain of political exceptionalism which would make Washington proud.
While Yemen’s suffering has seldom been condemned by mainstream media, the destruction it’s endured has been well documented. On March 10, a group of experts delivered a rather damning report to the U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva, relaying systematic war crimes which have been — and continue to be — committed against civilian populations.
Still, for fear of upsetting the wealthy and growing Saudi lobby the international community has mostly chosen to look the other way, only too aware of the lucrative contracts a “friendly Saudi Arabia” could offer in exchange for political pliability.
“For Yemen dared imagine itself free, for Yemen had the audacity to stand in rejection of Riyadh’s U.S.-backed imperialism, an entire nation was allowed to suffer the abomination of a genocidal war, a war so violent and murderous that not even the most Saudi-sold and Saudi-controlled NGOs and other international institutions have been able to keep mum,” noted Kim Sharif, founder and head of The International League for Yemen War Crimes, to MintPress.
For the sake of appearances, and likely to justify the military violence which Riyadh’s military coalition unleashed upon Yemen, this war has been sold as a legitimate struggle against Iran’s covert militantism.
Touted as a necessary evil set in motion to return Yemen to its democratic transition and to prevent Tehran from claiming yet another capital to its growing coalition of allies, the so-called “Shia Crescent,” which Saudi Arabia and its Western backers have been so intent on portraying as a nefarious development.
Writing for The Huffington Post on Feb. 8, Akbar Shahid Ahmed explained: “The Saudis see Yemen a key arena for their regional competition with Iran. They and the U.S. both say Iran has supported the Houthis as a thorn in Saudi Arabia’s side.”
And while there is little to no proof of Iran’s influence in Yemen, aside from Iranian advisers urging the Houthis not to attempt a takeover of the Yemeni capital, Sanaa, Tehran’s shadow has not exactly darkened Yemeni skies. The only clear link between Yemen and Iran is that the countries share similar religious sensibilities, in that they’re both home to Shiite Muslim communities.
Iran’s role and pull in Yemen have long been overblown and taken out of context. More than that, though, experts have mostly misinterpreted Iran’s real connection to Yemen, playing into pre-packaged propaganda instead of assessing geopolitical realities.
However, this has not prevented Saudi Arabia from playing the Iranian card ad nauseam.
Addressing a small audience at the Center for a New American Security in February, Saudi Arabia’s military coalition spokesman, Brig. Gen. Ahmad Asiri, stressed: “It is not in the interest of one of the countries in the region if Yemen becomes another Somalia or another Libya. … So we decided to go and to give help in a military manner to the government.”
Saudi Arabia has claimed political restoration and played up resistance against Iran since the onset of the war. In March 2015, The Independent described King Salman as saying: “A Saudi Arabia-led alliance is willing to wage a military campaign against Houthi rebels in Yemen for as long as it takes to defeat the Iranian-backed group that has forced the country’s president [Abdo Rabbo Mansour Hadi] to flee.”
Dancing to the tune of Riyadh’s fronted political and religious paranoia, the corporate media has insistently framed Yemen’s war as a sectarian struggle, offering the eternal Shiite-Sunni divide by way of an answer for the bloodshed which has ravaged this poorest nation of Southern Arabia.
In this tragedy, Iran has played the role of the foe – the dangerous power which has worked since the dawn of time to pervert and imprint its ideology onto the world, a challenger to the mighty and otherwise uncontested will of a Saudi-led Islamic world.
This, of course, is little more than a myth or a fairy tale sold to a gullible public to cover very real geopolitical ambitions and one very real race for control over the world’s oil route. And, at best, it’s dangerously over-simplified.
In November 2014, Asher Orkaby wrote for the Washington Institute: “For its part, the foreign media has portrayed the Houthi rebellion in global terms of religious sectarianism, Iranian foreign policy, and al-Qaeda, while largely ignoring local Yemeni factors.”
Indeed, Yemen’s war has been reduced to a spat between tribal/political factions whose religious identities have inherently pitted them against one another – a bad replay of Yemen’s 1962 revolution.
Back in 1962, Riyadh had no qualms about supporting Yemen’s Zaidi monarchy against President Nasser’s pan-Arabism. Then, it was Saudi Arabia — not the Shah — which ran to northern Yemen’s aid. Then, Iran’s religious denomination had no horse in Yemen’s political race. If faith had no real weight then, why assume that it has any today?
Today the Houthi-led resistance movement has been conflated with Iran’s alleged Shi’ization campaign, an argument which echoes a dangerously rancid xenophobia.
“The Saudis’ principal aim – to restore Yemen’s deposed President, Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi – has not been achieved. If they hoped to contain spreading Iranian regional influence, that has not worked, either,” Simon Tisdall wrote for the New Zealand Herald in March 2015.
This race for access and control is the true red line between Iran and Saudi Arabia that’s at the heart of the war on Yemen. Sectarianism was only ever played up as a weapon of mass deception and mass distraction.
Yemen was literally set on fire so Riyadh could manifest its long-held ambition of an oil monopoly. Of course, Iran, a geopolitical juggernaut in its own right, was not going to stand idly by as the kingdom set out to raise its Wahhabi empire and challenge the Islamic Republic’s regional traction.
When it comes to ambitions, though, Saudi Arabia and Iran stand on polar opposite ends of a spectrum. While the former only understands absolute feudality, the latter prizes cooperation and self-governance. Where the kingdom seeks to impose, the Islamic Republic wants to empower.
They do, however, share a desire to contain one another’s ambitions in Southern Arabia. If ever there was in fact a proxy fight in Yemen, it would be over the control of Bab-el-Mandeb, the world’s oil route; Saudi Arabia’s proposed, U.S.-backed Hadramawt pipeline; and Yemen’s water resources in a region where desertification is a matter of national security.
Writing for Middle East Eye in February, Nafeez Ahmed, an investigative journalist and international security scholar, revealed: “Secret cable and Dutch government official confirm that Saudi Arabia’s war on Yemen is partly motivated by an ambitious US-backed pipeline fantasy.”
Yemen’s war needs to be looked at from a Saudi oil security perspective. After all, it was the oil kingdom which unilaterally declared war on its neighbor on March 25, 2015, around the same time that Yemen’s political factions were close to brokering a tentative political truce. Yemen was thrown into the fires of war so its land and the power it hides would remain under the control of Riyadh and, by extension, the United States.
Indeed, Yemen’s war was devised long ago as a last attempt to protect interests regional players cannot afford to abandon. Everything else is mere political decorum – by Catherine Shakdam
http://www.mintpressnews.com/saudi-arabias-slaughter-yemen-fueled-oil-interests-not-democracy/215207/ = http://www.crescent-online.net/2016/04/bani-sauds-hidden-agenda-in-yemen-the-hadramawt-pipeline-5321-articles.html
cp2 Allgemein / General
4.4.2016 – The American Conservative (** B K P)
Why Isn’t There More Outrage Over Yemen?
War crimes committed by the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen are treated as accidents even when they aren’t. Despite the fact that they illegally declared an entire region of the country to be a military target, Saudi claims that they don’t attack civilian targets deliberately are often accepted at face value. Client governments are usually given the benefit of the doubt even when they don’t deserve it.
That still doesn’t explain why there isn’t more outrage about the humanitarian crisis created by the Saudi-led blockade. Considering that Yemen is suffering one of the greatest contemporary man-made humanitarian disasters, how is there not more outrage against the governments responsible for creating that disaster? How is it that it can be greeted with such indifference outside of the country where it’s happening? I offered some possible reasons last week, and I’ll say a little more about it here.
I suspect that the lack of international outrage stems in part from the example set by political leaders in each country. There is some public debate and criticism in Britain about the Cameron government’s support for the war, but there isn’t a lot of it. There is almost none here because very few members of Congress want to say anything about it one way or the other. If we assume that most people take their foreign policy cues from political leaders, there is so little outrage because there are so few politicians even talking publicly about the war, much less criticizing it. Because the blockade is the result of a U.N. Security Council resolution, the other major powers are implicated in the disaster the blockade has caused, and that gives them an incentive not to draw attention to it.
Unfortunately, a lot of coverage of the war in the West has accepted the framing of a Saudi-Iranian proxy war that the Saudis and their allies would like it to have. Despite Iran’s negligible role in the conflict, this framing allows the Saudis to present the war dishonestly as “self-defense” against Iranian “expansion” that many Western audiences are already predisposed to believe. That in turn makes it easier for many people to continue paying little or no attention to the victims of the Saudi-led intervention. The Saudis are supposedly on “our” side in regional conflicts, and so their abuses and wrongdoing are not judged as harshly or they are simply ignored all together. The civilian victims of military campaigns by U.S. clients and allies tend to be overlooked in Western media more often than civilian victims of other governments, and this conflict has been no exception – by Daniel Larison
http://www.theamericanconservative.com/larison/why-isnt-there-more-outrage-over-yemen/
4.4.2016 – ACTED (* B H K)
Yemen: a year of conflict in a week of tweets
To commemorate one year of brutal conflict in Yemen, ACTED released a series of tweets, articles and picture features focusing on a range of different themes. If you missed it at the time, read ahead for an overview of how the last year has changed this beautiful country.
On World Water Day, ACTED released a WASH assessment of collective shelters in Ibb governorate, covering 24 sites and around 1,000 vulnerable IDPs, some of the most vulnerable of the 19.3 million people in need of WASH assistance in Yemen.
The food security situation in Yemen was bleak even before the conflict and has only exacerbated since fighting began. ACTED released a feature on the importance of livelihoods programming alongside emergency interventions.
Around 2.4 million people have been internally displaced as a result of the conflict. ACTED reflected on the situation through a series of 12 "portraits of displacement".
Delivering humanitarian assistance has been significantly complicated by the complex operational context, as field teams must plan carefully and change plans according to ground conflict, airstrikes or other access restraints in particular locations. This was discussed more deeply in a feature on humanitarian access in Yemen.
On the year anniversary of the war in Yemen, ACTED made a simple call: this war must end. With tweets, images.
https://storify.com/ACTEDYemen/a-year-of-conflict-a-week-of-tweets
4.4.2016 – 21.Century Wire (* B K)
YEMEN: A Genocidal War Against Children and Civilians Sanctioned by the UN, US, UK & NATO (with images)
“The UN embargo/blockade against Yemen and the Yemenis violates Genocide Convention article II (e): Deliberately inflicting on the group, conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part.” ~ Prof. Francis A Boyle
These boys (photos, graphic!) are Abdu and Marwan. Their father was Mohammed Nasser Thuknah. These two boys were targeted along with their entire family in Bakil Almir, Hajjah in an area bordering Saudi Arabia.
12 members of their family were massacred in a cluster bomb strike. Their father, mother, siblings and all their close relatives. These two boys survived, alone and without food, shelter or medical assistance for a further two weeks.
When they were eventually found, they were taken to a hospital which was lacking in necessary supplies and equipment to treat their wounds, thanks to the illegal, UN endorsed, Saudi Coalition blockade on Yemen. After two weeks of agony, shock and grief, Abdu and Marwan finally released their fragile hold on life and succumbed to their dreadful wounds. May their souls rest in peace.
The North of Yemen has been the worst hit, all of Saada was declared a military target by Saudi Coalition spokesperson, Brigadier General Ahmed Assiri. This is in direct violation of international laws of war that dictate, civilian and military targets must be clearly differentiated.
Those cluster munitions were supplied by the US. Cluster munitions can contain chemicals such as Napalm or White Phosphorous. The wounds and burns on these children suggest that a chemical agent had been used, particularly when compared to the Vietnam photograph included in the collage.
The US is, by association, a war criminal, they supply these lethal and hideous Cluster Munitions 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 – by Vanessa Beeley
For further information on the US, UN and UK roles in the Saudi Coalition war of aggression against Yemen please read:
One Year of Bloodshed in Yemen: US and UK are Accomplices in Saudi Coalition War Crimes
Yemen: UN Whitewashing Saudi Coalition War Crimes and International Human Rights Violations
“Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired signifies in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed. This world in arms is not spending money alone. It is spending the sweat of its laborers, the genius of its scientists, the hopes of its children. This is not a way of life at all in any true sense. Under the clouds of war, it is humanity hanging on a cross of iron.” ~ D Eisenhower.
2.4.2016 – Pars Today (B K)
25 Journalisten seit Kriegsbeginn in Jemen getötet
Laut dem jemenitischen Journalisten-Verband sind seit Beginn der Angriffe Saudi-Arabiens und seiner Verbündeten gegen Jemen 25 Journalisten in diesem Land getötet worden.Des Weiteren geht aus einem Bericht des jemenitischen Journalisten-Verbands (Samstagsausgabe) hervor, dass bei der Invasion Saudi-Arabiens auf jemenitischem Boden zahlreiche Nachrichteninstitute zerstört und vier TV-Sender geschlossen wurden.
http://parstoday.com/de/news/world-i4513-25_journalisten_seit_kriegsbeginn_in_jemen_get%C3%B6tet
2.4.2016 – Jerusalem Post (** B K)
Yemen’s struggle between Saudi bombs and Western neglect
At first, the crisis in Yemen followed the script of a typical “Arab Spring” revolt.
So where are the diplomatic efforts and the calls for humanitarian assistance? Why isn’t Yemen on our everyday headlines just like Syria? Why is this crisis sinking into silence? There are several answers to these questions.
One is that in the lawlessness of this broken country, those who are supposed to deliver the headlines are repeatedly harassed, threatened and at times even assaulted and illegally detained. Consequently most local journalists have escaped, while the few that chose to remain are living in fear. As for the few foreign reporters that are still out there, they would rather keep a low profile in order to avoid trouble. This, however, means that Yemen hardly gets any media coverage. Less coverage means less exposure, which makes it harder for this crisis to climb the priority list of an already congested international agenda.
But there is more.
A second reason is the colossal failure of the United Nations. Last October, as a result of intense diplomatic pressure from Saudi Arabia, the Netherlands was forced to withdraw a Human Rights Council draft resolution that would have dispatched UN investigators to inquire about human rights violations by all the parties involved. Eventually even the US and the UK ended up backing a different resolution, drafted by the Saudis on behalf of the Group of Arab States, that generically called for “technical assistance and capacity-building” for Yemen. Later, in February, the Security Council, too, passed its own resolution. Yet, it merely renewed last year’s sanctions against the Houthis and their pro-Saleh allies, without ever mentioning or condemning the actions of the Saudi-led coalition, and their disproportionate and often indiscriminate use of military force.
This leads us to a third explanation, which is the politically calculated reticence on the side of the US and Europe toward Saudi Arabia’s violations of human rights – both domestically and, as in the case of Yemen, abroad. With large parts of the Middle East crumbling under the pressure of civil wars, sectarian clashes and Islamic extremism, the West suffers a chilling shortage of reliable allies these days. And the Wahhabi kingdom, a key player on several fronts in the region, is not a partner worth alienating.
Is the strategic gain really worth the humanitarian cost? – by David Braha
http://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Yemens-struggle-between-Saudi-bombs-and-Western-neglect-450032
1.4.2016 – BBC (** B H)
Eighty per cent of Yemen's population in need of aid - UN
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.
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-35940409?platform=hootsuite
1.4.2016 – Democracy Now (** B K P)
Human Rights Advocates: U.S.-Backed Saudi Offensive in Yemen a "Dark Mark" on Obama's Presidency
"Yemenis are asking me, ’Why is there no global outrage when our schools, our universities, our hospitals, our clinics, when football fields, when playgrounds are bombed with U.S. bombs?" says Sarah Leah Whitson, executive director of Human Rights Watch’s Middle East and North Africa Division. Her recent piece for the Los Angeles Times is headlined "The U.S. is quietly helping Saudi Arabia wage a devastating aerial campaign in Yemen." Meanwhile, the U.S. launched air attacks on al-Qaeda in southern Yemen, killing 14 people described by local sources as suspected militants. We also get response from Farea Al-Muslimi, a visiting scholar at the Carnegie Middle East Center in Beirut. He is also the co-founder and chairman of the Sana’a Center for Strategic Studies. In 2013, he testified before the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee hearing on the U.S. secret drone program.
SARAH LEAH WHITSON: What the U.S. is doing goes well beyond providing military assistance, as in the weapons that are actually being used in this war. What’s less known and less understood, and what the U.S. government has been very deliberately vague about, is that the U.S. is actually sitting in the Riyadh Command Center providing targeting assistance—this is what they’ve told us—as well as providing refueling for aircraft. Now, the targeting assistance, it is what’s most problematic, because we don’t know whether they’re providing targeting assistance on a strike-by-strike basis, whether they’re just reviewing the strike lists, whether they’re actually telling the Saudis what they should strike. And that is what we are asking the United States to come clean about. We want to know exactly which strikes the U.S. government has provided assistance for.
AMY GOODMAN: One of the issues you emphasize in your Los Angeles Times piece is that Saudi Arabia has been on what you call a "global arms shopping spree" and is now the world’s largest purchaser of weapons.
SARAH LEAH WHITSON: It’s true. It’s a petrodollar-funded acquisition campaign, and it has been going on for a long time. The figures I cited of their purchases from the United States just last year of $20 billion is just a piece of it. They are a shopper from many, many European countries. And if you look at the arms that they’ve been buying for the past two decades, the figures are just staggering. What I think is even more surprising is that UAE, with a population of less than a million people, a fighting-age population of, you know, a couple of 20,000 or 30,000 men, is the fourth largest purchaser of weapons and is fighting, actively fighting, in five wars. It’s just—it’s very hard to comprehend the purpose of these weapons, but it’s very clear that the narrative of a Sunni-Shia war, of this enmity between Saudi Arabia and Iran, is very, very lucrative for defense companies.
AMY GOODMAN: And how much are U.S. companies profiting?
SARAH LEAH WHITSON: Well, just last year, $20 billion. If you look a five-year ratio—and the figures are not always easy to come by, because they’re hidden sort of as contracts and when they’re going to be fulfilled and when they’re not going to be fulfilled—the figure just from the United States is well over $50 billion.
FAREA AL-MUSLIMI: I mean, clearly, the issue of the U.S. policy in Yemen is not, you know, since last year, since it started, unconditionally supporting the Saudis in this big warfare, but even goes back to 2013 and much before that, when it conducted a lot of airstrikes, but also drone strikes, around Yemen. What’s, I guess, you know, as much as—and this is not just something new, but I think something that will always carry with the legacy of a President Obama, which is, you know, compared to his relative success in Cuba, with the nuclear deal, Yemen has been one of the big dark marks in his eight years in the presidency. First of all, you know, he used the drones in one year comparatively much more than even Bush used in eight years. But then it went on to this support of unconditional airstrikes in Yemen with the Saudis.
But even more—I think even much more dangerous than the arm deals is this international protection at the U.N. Security Council. Let’s not forget, last year, the United States and the United Kingdom and much of the big powers blocked the attempt to create an international investigative committee on war crimes that have been possibly committed in the conflict in Yemen. Despite the fact there has been a clear evidence of multiple war crimes have been committed, the United States and a lot of the Western countries have blocked any attempt to investigate this, have even provided an easy path and easy, comfortable support for the coalition in the U.N. Security Council, but overall in the Western decision-making cycles.
AMY GOODMAN: What about the media coverage, Farea? And I want to put that question to Sarah Leah Whitson also. Where is the media spotlight on the catastrophe that is Yemen right now?
FAREA AL-MUSLIMI: I mean, it’s unfortunately not as much as it should be, very, very limited. But there is kind of also strict rules have been imposed by both the Houthis and the coalition and the legitimate government. Both are not, obviously, doing anything good around the country, so they have imposed strict conditions and strict lines against, you know, even attempting to travel to the country, or even very, very strong, tight or very oppressive, even on those journalists around the country—even those right now in Sana’a or in Yemen have been jailed multiple times. And some have been used as human shields by the Houthis. At the same time, other journalists have been killed in airstrikes around the country. So, it’s—you know, it’s a problem where there isn’t already much correspondents and much media in Yemen, but even it has just got much worse since this last coalition or since this last war started earlier last year.
AMY GOODMAN: And, Sarah Leah Whitson, what you think the media needs to pay attention to?
SARAH LEAH WHITSON: Well, I was just in Yemen last week, and I can say that it’s very hard for international media to operate in Yemen, particularly to get out of, for example, Sana’a, because it’s just simply very dangerous. And airstrikes are a real, live threat. There are land mines, there are cluster munitions. It’s a very high security risk for journalists to get out, particularly to the areas that have been the worst struck. We’ve been trying to do our best in that circumstance. Very brave U.N. workers have been trying to do their best to get aid. But it’s not an easy war to cover.
What I find more disturbing, understanding the limited coverage, is the absence of a framing of a narrative into the terror that’s being brought on the Yemeni people. You know, there’s this global outrage when Brussels Airport and a coffee shop is struck, and Yemenis are asking me, "Why is there no global outrage when our schools, when our universities, when our hospitals, when our clinics, or when football fields, when playgrounds are bombed with U.S. bombs? Where is the outrage at attacks on civilians here in Yemen?" And the absence of that parallel framing, of that comparison, is very, very difficult for Yemenis to understand.
http://www.democracynow.org/2016/4/1/human_rights_advocates_us_backed_saudi
30.3.2016 – ITV (** B K)
Films: 7 updates: Yemen's forgotten war
Yemen is embroiled in a deadly civil war with rival forces battling for control of the country.
More than 6,000 Yemenis have been killed - more than half of them civilians - since a coalition led by Saudi Arabia launched airstrikes against the Houthi rebel group in March 2015.
ITV News' Neil Connery has travelled to the country to witness the humanitarian crisis caused by the deadly conflict.
http://www.itv.com/news/story/2016-03-30/yemens-forgotten-war/
cp3 Humanitäre Lage / Humanitarian situation
Facebook Page of YOPA – Yemen Organization for the Protection of Animals (B H)
https://www.facebook.com/yopa.org/
Twitter Page of Your Ability
https://twitter.com/YourAbility_org/status/716747221354614784
4.4.2016 – UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (* B H)
Yemen Humanitarian Bulletin Issue 10 | Issued on 4 April 2016
One in 10 Yemenis is displaced.
Civilian casualties and damage and destruction to civilian infrastructure continue.
Humanitarian presence and assistance increases.
1.8 billion requested (US$), 226 million Funding against HRP, 13% funded
One in 10 is displaced by conflict in Yemen
The largest number of displaced people is in Taizz Governorate
Intense fighting flared up in Taizz City between pro-government forces and militants in mid-March, underscoring the volatility of the situation in a governorate that hosts nearly a quarter (550,000) of the 2.4 million people that have been displaced in Yemen. At the same time, fighting on the ground and coalition airstrikes continued in several governorates including Sa’ada, Amanat Al Asimah, Hajjah, Al Jawf, Marib and Sana’a causing more people to move.
After a year of escalated conflict, one in 10 Yemenis has been forced to flee their homes. Analysis by the interagency Task Force on Population Movements (TFPM) shows that a majority of the displaced are concentrated in the governorates of Taizz, Hajjah, Sana’a, Amran and Sa’ada. Most live with relatives or friends, in schools, public or abandoned buildings, in makeshift shelters or in the open. Shelter, food, water, and nonfood items are identified as the most urgent needs. Finding missing family members, lost while on the move, is also seen as a pressing concern for many. Having fled their homes with few possessions, a large number of the internally displaced people (IDPs) have lost their livelihoods and remain jobless.
The governorates of Sa’ada, Sana’a, and Amran have the highest IDP to host community ratios, 33 per cent, 21 per cent, and 20 per cent respectively. Sa’ada has suffered the largest population change since the escalation of violence, last March, with 31 per cent of the population having fled.
Most of the displaced originated from the five governorates of Taizz, Sa’ada, Amanat Al Asimah, Hajjah, and Sana’a.
Another 2,300 households (about 13,800 people) who fled their homes in November due to cyclones Chapala and Megh, are still displaced mostly in Hadramaut Governorate. In recent months, over 421,000 displaced have returned to their homes in southern governorates despite ongoing violence. This includes nearly 4,000 households (nearly 24,000 people) who were displaced by the two cyclones and have returned to the governorates of Hadramaut, Shabwah, and Socotra
http://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/yemen-humanitarian-bulletin-issue-10-issued-4-april-2016 and in full http://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/Yemen%20HB%20Issue%2010%20Issued%20on%2004%20April%202016%20Eng.pdf
3.4.2016 – Your Ability (B H)
The organization has an inventory of children and civilians injured in Attan bombing.
https://twitter.com/YourAbility_org/status/716747221354614784
3.4.2016 – UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs ( B H)
Yemen: Organizations 3W Operational Presence (as of 29 February 2016)
http://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/February_3W_20160323_v3.pdf
2.4.2016 – Arab 24 (B H)
Film: Yemen: Women Struggles in Taiz
The living conditions are worsening for Taiz women in South Yemen due to the war and the siege imposed by Alhouthi militias on many Yemeni regions.
The current events made the residents go back to using traditional ways to continue their daily activities where Um Mohamed uses wood and boxes for cooking. The struggles are increased as they have to carry water buckets for long distances as well as the absence of electricity which is making life very difficult in Yemen.
2.4.2016 – Living in Yemen on the Edge (A H)
Saada has been declared, from Day 1 of the aggression, military zone, hence, any vile human violation is allowed.
Saada has been pounded with thousands of bombs.ranging from banned weapons to chemical ones.
After one year of at times hundreds of airstrikes per day, Saada itself does no longer exist.
Buildings can be replaced, rebuilt. Historical value may be gone, but what is hurting is that humans lives can never be replaced.
We appeal to the international community, the UN, the human rights organisations, WHO, FAO and anyone who cares (anyone??) to stop this genocide.
This child is dying, in this very moment, of starvation.
There is no food in Saada. There is no running water. Nothing.
There is no way of helping him.
It´s not a consolation he will end suffering soon.
Go and tell his family that it´s better this way (with graphic image)
26.3.2016 – BBC (* B H K)
Sanaa girls' school deserted after air strike
Waleed Noman of the UN's children's charity, Unicef, gives Orla Guerin a tour of a girls' school in Yemen's capital, Sanaa, that was deserted after a Saudi-led coalition air strike across the road.
Over the past year, the Houthi rebel movement and military units loyal to Yemen's former president have been battling a US-backed, Saudi-led coalition supporting the country's internationally-recognised government.
Almost 6,300 people, half of them civilians, have been killed in the fighting, according to the UN
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-35901320
30.3.2016 – Al Araby (*B H)
Yemen's children: Between psychological trauma and physical starvation
Children in Yemen are under immense suffering, a UNICEF report released on Tuesday has found, as cases of malnutrition, starvation and psychological trauma have significantly increased.
As she has every night for many weeks past, six-year-old Fatima al-Khadi wakes up in the middle of the night calling for her parents.
And as in every one of those nights, the ever-present backdrop to her cries are sounds of explosions and the rumbles of firing guns, their shrieks engulfing Yemen's capital and Fatima's home.
The psychological effects of war on Fatima have been severe, her father tells The New Arab.
"We live by the city's international airport, which has come under severe and continuous bombardment since the Saudi-led coalition started targeting it," he said.
With airstrikes now a consistent feature of life both day and night in the capital, nightmares now puncture every one of Fatima's attempts to sleep at night.
Accounts of the physical and psychological trauma of children are flooding out of Yemen's regions as the now one-year-old war shows no real signs of abating.
Yemeni families find themselves unable to hide their children away from the violence that has taken over the country since the Saudi-led coalition began heavy aerial bombardments of Yemen in an attempt to drive away Houthi rebels from the capital city.
Comment: For the UNICEF report, see earlier Yemen Press Readers.
cp4 Kulturerbe / Cultural heritage
29.6.2016 – Vocativ (* B T)
AQAP Threatens To Destroy Tourist Sites In Southern Yemen
One of Southern Yemen's most prominent historical sites is now under threat
According to activists and news outlets based in Yemen’s coastal region, members of the al-Qaeda offshoot say they intend to destroy the Ma’een Palace, a palace said to have been built by Sultan Omar Bin Awadah Qu’aiti in 1925. According to the local reports, AQAP militants have contacted the members of the local committee in charge of its ancient sites and museums and said they plan to destroy the palace in the next ten days, as it contains stones and idols from the pre-Islamic era.
The reports about the future of the palace have sparked anger among local activist groups, concerned over the city’s future cultural heritage.
Meanwhile, activists in Hadramout reported Monday that AQAP militants destroyed a Sufi shrine in the city of Ash-Shihr and say they will target any other Sufi landmarks they can locate. They recently destroyed a Sufi prayer center facility in the heart of Mukallah – by Gilad Shiloach
http://www.vocativ.com/206442/aqap-threatens-to-destroy-tourist-sites-in-southern-yemen/
Comment: I did not realize that the palace really has been destroyed. But the heritage sites within the reach of the jihadists still are in danger as they have been at that time.
cp5 Nordjemen und Huthis / Northern Yemen and Houthis
1.4.2016 – Middle East Monitor (A P)
Saleh fails to convince Houthis to form government
Deposed Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh’s efforts to convince the Houthis to form a joint government have failed due to the group’s commitment to the “constitutional declaration” and its rejection of any concessions in this regard.
Saleh’s Yemen TV said that “a meeting between the General People's Congress and the Houthis at the Presidential Palace in Sana’a regarding the formation of a national government under the leadership of both parties will lead to the cancellation of the Houthis’ constitutional declaration and the Revolutionary Committee.”
The response to the proposal was made by Mohammed Al-Houthi, president of the Revolutionary Committee, who posted on Facebook: “This would never happen, except in a dream.”
A source close to the Houthis said yesterday that the two rounds of talks between the two sides, which took place a few days ago, failed to reach a settlement regarding the formation of a joint government between the General People's Congress, led by Saleh, the Houthis and other small political parties.
The source, who preferred to remain anonymous, told Arabi21 that Saleh set the condition for the Houthis to make concessions and cancel the constitutional declaration that dissolved the parliament, the majority of which is represented by Saleh’s party, and mandated the Revolutionary Committee to manage the country’s affairs since February 2015.
cp6 Südjemen und Hadi-Regierung / Southern Yemen and Hadi-government
4.4.2016 – TAZ von AFP (A P)
Präsident entlässt Regierungschef
Jemens Präsident Abd Rabbo Mansur Hadi hat Regierungschef Chaled Bahah entlassen. Er warf dem Ministerpräsidenten laut einem am Sonntag veröffentlichten Schreiben Scheitern unter anderem in der Wirtschafts- und der Sicherheitspolitik vor, wie die amtliche Nachrichtenagentur Sabanew berichtete. Bahah war seit 2014 im Amt und fungierte auch als Vizepräsident des Jemen. Zuvor war er Vertreter des Jemen bei den Vereinten Nationen gewesen.
Zum Nachfolger Bahahs als Regierungschef ernannte Hadi den Angaben zufolge Ahmed bin Dagher, neuer Vizepräsident solle der General Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar werden. Der Schritt kommt wenige Tage vor dem für den 10. April geplanten Inkrafttreten eines unter UN-Vermittlung ausgehandelten Waffenstillstands zwischen regierungstreuen Truppen und Rebellen. Am 18. April wollen die Konfliktparteien in Kuwait zu Friedensgesprächen zusammenkommen.
3.4.2016 – AFP (A P)
Yemen president dismisses PM Bahah over 'failures'
Yemen's President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi on Sunday relieved prime minister and vice president Khaled Bahah of his duties due to what he called government "failures".
Bahah's surprise dismissal comes just a week ahead of a UN-brokered ceasefire planned between Yemen's warring parties, which is expected to pave the way for peace talks in Kuwait on April 18.
Hadi appointed Ahmed bin Dagher, former secretary general of the General People's Congress party to which the president once belonged, as prime minister, according to a decision published on the official sabanew.net website.
He appointed veteran General Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar as vice president, and a presidency source said that Bahah would now serve as a presidential advisor.
Hadi said the decision to replace Bahah was "due to the failures that have accompanied the performance of the government during the past period in the fields of economy, services, and security".
Bahah's government has "failed to ease the suffering of our people, resolve their problems and provide their needs," Hadi said in a statement.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/yemen-president-dismisses-pm-bahah-presidency-source-185210624.html
Comment: Already for many month, Hadi saw Bahah as a rival and as a possible candidate to replace him after a peace for Yemen would have been achieved. Thus, peace negotiations coming soon, Hadi looked for getting rid of Bahah.
Comment: Hadi, on the contrary, can be proud of all his successes.
https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=1002139976505699&id=961126490607048
Comment: And here we have the 'reasons'. Well I guess it is pretty difficult to keep the economy going and people safe when the world turns a blind eye to Saudis embargo - supported by the UK, USA and France. To say nothing of a war going on. I think Bahah is being used as a scapegoat for Hadi's own failings - but will anyone believe anything Hadi says?
https://www.facebook.com/yemennewstodayenglish/posts/1122050151280808
3.4.2016 – Gulf Today (A P)
There was no immediate explanation behind Bahah's dismissal, which comes just a week ahead of a UN-brokered ceasefire planned between Yemen's warring parties, which is expected to pave the way for peace talks in Kuwait on April 18.
But government sources have in the past spoke of differences between the president and Bahah, who had served as Yemen's envoy to the United Nations before Hadi appointed him as foreign minister and then prime minister.
In December, Hadi reshuffled his cabinet, naming new foreign and interior ministers in a move that was understood to be aimed at smoothing his relations with Bahah.
Hadi has also recently been involving Ahmar more actively in decision-making, appointing him in February as armed forces deputy commander in a bid to rally support from tribes and troops in the rebel-held region around Yemen's capital.
Ahmar's troops played a prominent role in the 2011 uprising that ousted strongman Ali Abdullah Saleh, whose loyalists are now allied with rebels in control of Sanaa.
http://gulftoday.ae/portal/852dff6d-11df-4d3a-a317-e9385dc22e29.aspx
cp7 UNO und Friedensgespräche / UN and peace talks
Siehe cp1 Am wichtigsten / See cp1 Most important
4.4.2016 – Gulf News (A P)
Riyadh upbeat on Yemen peace talks
Saudi Arabia’s deputy crown prince said the warring parties in Yemen are close to resolving a year-long conflict that’s become symbolic of the country’s new foreign policy ambitions.
“There is significant progress in negotiations, and we have good contacts with Al Houthis, with a delegation currently in Riyadh,” the 30-year-old Prince Mohammad Bin Salman, also the country’s defence minister, said in an interview with Bloomberg last week. “We are pushing to have this opportunity materialise on the ground but if things relapse, we are ready.”
http://gulfnews.com/news/gulf/saudi-arabia/riyadh-upbeat-on-yemen-peace-talks-1.1703531
3.4.2016 – Reuters (A P)
UN hopes talks will be constructive
New round of peace talks begin on April 18
The United Nations special envoy to Yemen on Friday welcomed a recent prisoner swap between the parties to the Yemen conflict and urged them to "engage constructively" in a new round of peace talks set to begin on April 18.
Earlier this week, a Saudi-led military coalition said it had completed a prisoner swap in Yemen, exchanging nine Saudi prisoners for 109 Yemeni nationals ahead of a planned truce and peace talks aimed at ending the year-long war with Iran-allied Houthi rebels.
"These initiatives reinforced the spirit of the confidence building measures recommended at the previous round of talks and there is no doubt that they can provide an important drive to the political process," UN envoy Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed said in a statement.
"I am looking forward to the active participation of relevant parties in the talks," he added. "Yemeni delegations should seize this opportunity to provide a mechanism for a return to a peaceful and orderly transition."
Ould Cheikh Ahmed said the two sides have confirmed a cessation of hostilities starting at midnight on April 10 ahead of the peace talks set to begin in Kuwait a week later.
http://www.emirates247.com/news/region/un-hopes-talks-will-be-constructive-2016-04-03-1.626045
3.4.2016 – WAM (A P)
We are ready for peace: Yemen FM
Meeting on April 18 in Kuwait
The Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Yemen, Abdul Malik Al Mekhlafi, has stressed his country's keenness on peace and its willingness to make every effort for the success of the upcoming consultations on April 18, in Kuwait.
He was quoted by Yemeni official news agency as saying that "The consultations will be in accordance with UN Security Council Resolution No. 2216, other relevant initiatives, the GCC initiative and its executive mechanism, and implementation of the national dialogue resolutions."
Al Mekhlafi noted that the government had prepared the working papers including its vision for the implementation of 2216 Resolution to ensure the success of the consultations.
The Yemen official made the remarks while meeting in Riyadh with the Deputy UN special envoy to Yemen, Kenny Gluck and a number of members of the consultation team, panel of advisers and pacification and communication Commission.
He stressed that the government would stick to the cease-fire starting from April 10 and that the consultation and the panel of advisers and commission were in permanent meeting to ensure the success of the ceasefire.
The Deputy UN special envoy to Yemen commended the efforts being exerted by the Yemeni government to make the dialogue a success.
http://www.emirates247.com/news/region/we-are-ready-for-peace-yemen-fm-2016-04-03-1.626014
Comment: Again stressing UN resolution 2216 – the best way to lead the negotiations to a failure and by blaming the Houthis for this.
1.4.2016 – AFP (A P)
Yemen peace talks on track for April 18: UN envoy
Talks aimed at ending the war in Yemen are on track to begin on April 18 in Kuwait, the UN envoy confirmed on Friday.
A nationwide ceasefire is due to come into effect at midnight on April 10 to bolster the new round of talks between the Saudi-backed Yemeni government and Shiite Huthi rebels.
"With political will, good faith and balance, they could take this opportunity to end the conflict and pave the way towards a permanent and durable end of the war," UN envoy Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed said in a statement.
The talks were announced last week after months of shuttle diplomacy by the UN envoy and growing pressure on a Saudi-led coalition to end its air campaign in Yemen.
http://www.france24.com/en/20160401-yemen-peace-talks-track-april-18-un-envoy
cp8 Saudi-Arabien / Saudi Arabia
4.4.2016 – Middle East Eye (* A P)
The vast data leak details 40 years of work by law firm Mossack Fonseca including leading regional figures with accounts in British Virgin Islands
Middle East and North African leaders and their families have used secret offshore accounts to stash billions of dollars of cash and manage investments and assets, according to information from the so-called "Panama Papers" leak.
The details of the financial lives of many leaders were contained in the leak of 11.5 million tax documents from the Panamanian offshore law firm Mossack Fonseca.
The documents, which have been seen by more than 100 media groups, were reported on Sunday and have been described as the biggest data leak in history. It reveals the hidden offshore dealings of 140 political figures, including 12 current or former heads of state.
Among them are leaders or close associates and family members from the Arab world, including Qatar, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Jordan, Syria, Egypt and Morocco.
The vast stash of records for the first time details some of the financial dealings carried out by the wealthy leaders and their relatives, revealing how vast property portfolios and bank accounts are managed through a network of companies mostly registered in the tax haven of the British Virgin Islands.
4.4.2016 – Bloomberg (A P)
Deputy crown prince describes Saudi Arabia’s partnership with the US as ‘huge’ and one in which ‘oil is only a small part’
During a five-hour conversation with Bloomberg News last week, Prince Mohammad outlined some of Saudi Arabia’s regional policy positions and his views on the Saudi-US relationship.
Prince Mohammad described Saudi Arabia’s partnership with the US as “huge” and one in which “oil is only a small part.” He declined to comment about the US presidential race saying “we do not interfere in the elections in any other country.”
“America is the policeman of the world, not just the Middle East,” Prince Mohammad said sitting in his office in a royal compound in Riyadh. “It is the number one country in the world, and we consider ourselves to be the main ally for the US in the Middle East and we see America as our ally.”
http://gulfnews.com/news/gulf/saudi-arabia/riyadh-upbeat-on-yemen-peace-talks-1.1703531
1.4.2016 – Middle East Eye (A P)
Saudi-owned Al-Arabiya television shuts Lebanon offices
Closure comes months after Saudi halted military aid to Lebanon in protest of what it called Hezbollah's 'stranglehold' on the country
The Saudi-owned Al-Arabiya news channel has shut down its offices in Lebanon, amid tensions between the kingdom and the Iran-backed Hezbollah movement.
The Beirut offices of Al-Arabiya and its sister channel Al-Hadath, which offers extensive coverage of political news, have been closed and they no longer have any correspondents in Lebanon, a spokesman from the channel told AFP.
In a statement, the Dubai-based channel said it has "restructured" its operations in Lebanon "due to the difficult circumstances and challenges on ground, and out of Al-Arabiya's concern for the safety of its own employees and those employed by its providers."
It said it would nonetheless "continue to closely cover Lebanese affairs".
http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/saudi-owned-al-arabiya-television-shuts-lebanon-offices-1429395041
Comment: Hezbollah paranoia knows no limit.
https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=1001073733278990&id=961126490607048
1.4.2016 – New York Times (B P)
Saudis Moving to Reduce Dependence on Oil Money
A top Saudi prince has announced new elements of a plan to reduce the kingdom’s heavy dependence on oil, amid a drop in world prices that has sent shock waves through the Saudi economy.
The plans include publicly selling shares of the state oil giant, Saudi Aramco, and routing much of its worth into a public investment fund, said the prince, Mohammed bin Salman, in an interview with Bloomberg published Friday.
The fund could become the world’s largest, he said, with more than $2 trillion in assets.
“Undoubtedly, it will be the largest fund on earth,” said Prince Mohammed, who is second in line to the Saudi throne and has emerged as the country’s most powerful and dynamic official. “This will happen as soon as Aramco goes public.”
Although less than 5 percent of Saudi Aramco would be sold, the prince said the national oil company would be transferred to a government fund, now relatively small, called the Public Investment Fund, giving it instant heft and potential financial firepower.
Saudi Aramco is the world’s leading oil producing company
The announcements came as Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest oil exporter, struggles to reformat its economy.
A decade-long boom left the kingdom’s economy heavily dependent on oil, which provides most of the government’s income, and made the state far and away the country’s biggest employer. The drop in oil prices — to about $39 a barrel from more than $100 a barrel in June 2014 — undermined that model, leading to huge budget deficits and vast cuts in public spending.
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/02/world/middleeast/saudi-aramco-mohammed-bin-salman-public-fund.html and also http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/saudi-plans-create-2-trillion-wealth-fund-move-away-oil-867099678
30.3.2016 – The National Interest (* B P)
The Salman Doctrine: the Saudi Reply to Obama's Weakness
The best way to demonstrate the complete opposite worldview of the Obama doctrine is to look at the Salman Doctrine. The Saudi leadership believes that Assad must be removed from Syria; that Iran’s regional and nuclear ambitions must be denied; that the Shia militias of Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and Yemen are terrorist groups and must be destroyed; that the world needs to recognize a Palestinian state; and every global effort must be made to defeat ISIS and Al Qaeda. At the center of many of these doctrinal differences is the Saudi assertion that Iran is at the root of numerous security problems now plaguing the Middle East. Obama’s assertion that Saudi Arabia should “share” the region with Iran is patently absurd, given Tehran’s vast and unending support for terrorism.
There are three elements one must understand about the Salman Doctrine: it has not spontaneously appeared, it is based on a solid assessment of history and it is bringing about significant real world changes. First, the Salman Doctrine has emerged from strategic necessity, following the increasing withdrawal of American leadership from the region as a result of the Obama Doctrine. Second, just as President Obama’s views are steeped in American history, King Salman’s views are steeped in Arab history, and he has no intention of allowing Iran, which seeks to give its minority Shia sect the upper hand in worldwide Islam, to disrupt 1,400 years of majority Sunni domination. Finally, the Salman Doctrine is backed up by extensive, transformational developments in Saudi Arabia’s military, public policy and Arab alliance system. Indeed, when one looks closely at what the Saudis and their allies are doing in order to push back against the region’s chaos, mostly supported by Iran, one can see that the Obama Doctrine is cutting America out of a major growing multinational coalition of like-minded states taking shape in the Islamic world – by Nawaf Obaid
http://nationalinterest.org/feature/the-salman-doctrine-the-saudi-reply-obamas-weakness-15623
cp9 USA
4.4.2016 – World Food Programme (A H)
U.S. Wheat Shipment Arrives In Yemen Port To Help WFP Provide Critical Food Assistance
A shipment of wheat from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) – sufficient for nearly 2 million people for two months – berthed in the Yemeni port of Hodeidah last Wednesday and offloaded its cargo over the weekend.
“The food supplies USAID has provided will provide critical assistance to nearly 2 million of the most vulnerable and conflict-affected people in Yemen. WFP is grateful for this timely contribution providing 10,000 metric tons of wheat through Aden and 20,000 metric tons through Hodeidah,” said Purnima Kashyap, Representative and Country Director of WFP in Yemen.
The Liberty Glory is the second vessel to deliver a U.S. wheat contribution since WFP began its emergency operation in Yemen a year ago. The ship carries 30,000 metric tons of wheat, from a US$45 million contribution from the U.S. to WFP in December 2015. The Sea Athena delivered 35,800 metric tons of U.S. origin wheat to WFP in Yemen in September 2015.
Since March 2015, USAID has contributed a total of US$123 million. "This is another example of Americans wanting to assist those impacted by a large scale crisis. This food will help alleviate some of the worst impacts the crisis has had," said Matthew Nims, Acting Director of USAID's Office of Food for Peace.
Comment: Off course, this is good news. But the US is Saudi Arabia’s main partner in the West backing this war and the Yemen blockade. Thus, there is a lot of hypocrisy at the US side.
3.4.2016 – Global Research (* B K P)
Saudi and Allies Bombard Yemen - US Clocks up $33 Billion Arms Sales in Eleven Months. Sometimes even to the most towering cynic, American hypocrisy is more than breathtaking.
As they lambast their latest "despot", Syria's President Assad - a man so popular in his country and the region that the US Embassy in Damascus had, by the end of 2006, devised a plan to oust him (1) arms sales to countries where human rights are not even a glimmer on the horizon have for the US (and UK) become an eye watering bonanza.
The latest jaw dropper, as Saudi Arabia continues to bombard Yemen with US and UK armaments, dropped by US and UK-made aircraft, is sales worth $33 Billion in just eleven months to the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) according to Defense News. (2)
The GCC, a political and economic alliance of six Middle East countries, comprises of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain and Oman. It was established in the Saudi Capital, Riyadh, in May 1981.
Weapons sold to the alliance since May 2015 have included: "... ballistic missile defense capabilities, attack helicopters, advanced frigates and anti-armor missiles, according to David McKeeby, a spokesman the State Department's Bureau of Political-Military Affairs."
"In addition, the U.S. government and industry also delivered 4,500 precision-guided munitions to the GCC countries in 2015, including 1,500 taken directly from U.S. military stocks - a significant action given our military's own needs," he added, stressing: "that the US government would like to continue to strengthen partnerships with Kuwait and Qatar through defense sales and other security cooperation activities.
A metaphor for our times that "partnerships" are "strengthened" with lethal weapons, not in trade of goods, foods, medical, educational or intellectual exchanges.
A fly or two in the oil of the wheels of the US arms trade is the two year delay in approval of sales 40 F/A-18 Super Hornets to Kuwait and Qatar and also 72 F-15 Silent Eagles to Qatar.
Suspicion has been voiced that this has something to do with a pending US-Israel military financing deal, a suggestion emphatically denied by Washington.
"In the meantime as Yemen continues to be blitzed, with the UN stating that eighty percent of the population are in need of humanitarian assistance, 2-4 million are displaced and a conservative estimate of at least eight thousand dead."
It seems Saudi and its allies have more than enough ordinance to continue the slaughter and more than enough US and UK military advisors to help them in the decimation – by Felicity Arbuthnot
http://www.globalresearch.ca/expensive-weapons-of-mass-destruction-as-saudi-and-allies-bombard-yemen-us-clocks-up-33-billion-arms-sales-in-eleven-months/5517825 = http://www.mintpressnews.com/us-clocks-33-billion-arms-sales-eleven-months-wars-middle-east/215269/
cp10 Großbritannien / Great Britain
1.4.2016 – Green Lemon (A K)
#Yemen Remains of a British 1000 LB MC bomb that failed to explode in Hajja. Paveway II kit missing here.
https://twitter.com/green_lemonnn/status/715915254115536896
30.3.2016 – ITV (* B K P)
Why Yemen's civil war puts UK arms sales under spotlight
Rageh Omaar explains why Yemen's bloody civil war is putting the UK's arms deal with Saudi Arabia under increased scrutiny.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d2Q7qKKjI9M
cp12 Andere Länder / Other countries
1.3.2016 – Middle East Eye (A P)
Jordanian official praises 'deep ties' with Saudi after damning report
After MEE reveals that Jordan only joined Saudi's anti-IS coalition because it was non-binding, official stresses 'total support' for the alliance
A Jordanian official on Friday praised the "deep ties" between his country and Saudi Arabia, days after Middle East Eye first reported that Jordan only signed up to the kingdom’s coalition to fight the Islamic State group because it was non-binding.
The Royal Court official, who was not identified in the state-run Petra News Agency report on Friday, stressed Jordan’s “total support” for Saudi’s Islamic Alliance.
Earlier this week, MEE revealed that in a meeting in January King Abdullah II told US congressional leaders that Jordan only joined the coalition to show that his country is against the militant group.
In his discussion with US politicians, the king also cautioned them to be “realistic” about what the 34-country force could actually accomplish.
- See more at: http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/jordanian-official-praises-deep-ties-saudi-after-damning-report-1825776446#sthash.mPikdsyA.dpuf
Comment: Such a small country. Ondulating with anyone. Just to keep afloat.
https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=1001154706604226&id=961126490607048
cp13a Waffenhandel / Arms trade
4.4.2016 – Sputnik News (A K)
Militärfracht für Huthis? US-Seeleute stoppen Waffenlieferung vom Iran nach Jemen
Ein US-Kriegsschiff hat Ende März im Arabischen Meer ein mit Waffen beladenes Schiff gestoppt, das vermutlich aus dem Iran in den Jemen unterwegs war.
Auf dem Schiff wurden 1500 Kalaschnikow-Sturmgewehre, 200 Panzerbüchsen und mehrere Dutzend Maschinengewehre entdeckt, wie AP am Montag unter Berufung auf die Marineführung der USA meldet.
Die an Bord befindlichen Waffen sind beschlagnahmt und das Schiff zusammen mit der Besatzung freigelassen worden.
http://de.sputniknews.com/militar/20160404/308952229/waffen-huthis-us-kriegsschiff-gestoppt.html
4.4.2016 – AP (A K)
US Navy: Weapons shipment from Iran to likely Yemen seized
The U.S. Navy says it has seized a weapons shipment in the Arabian Sea from Iran likely heading to war-torn Yemen.
The Navy said in a statement Monday that the USS Sirocco on March 28 intercepted and seized the shipment of weapons hidden aboard a small dhow, a type of ship commonly used in the Persian Gulf and Indian Ocean.
The Navy said the shipment included 1,500 Kalashnikov assault rifles, 200 rocket-propelled grenade launchers and 21 .50-caliber machine guns. It said those aboard the dhow were released after sailors confiscated the arms.
Comment: “likely to”: nobody knows for certain.
cp13b Flüchtlinge / Refugees
2.4.2016 – Arab Weekly (* B H)
Safe from war, Yemen refugees struggle on Djibouti rocky shores
Markazi camp residents complain of lack of food, water, sanitation, and also rough treatment by Djibouti\'s police.
Under a scorching sun, refugees who fled Yemen's war struggle on in a camp on Djibouti's rocky shores, a year after Saudi-backed air strikes began devastating their homeland.
Over 2,000 Yemenis have made the Markazi camp their home, fleeing the Arabian Peninsula to Djibouti across the narrow Bab al-Mandeb straits -- the "Gate of Tears" in Arabic -- the key shipping channel of the Gulf of Aden.
"It's very hard. It's hot, there is nothing to do, nothing to eat, nothing to drink," said 36-year old Irsal Ismail, who has lived in the baking hot camp for a year.
She fears the devastating effects of the 'khamsin', the ferociously hot sandy wind that will accompany the arrival of summer in the weeks ahead.
"We will not be able to live in this place with the same thing we already experienced last year," she said softly.
Markazi camp on Djibouti's rugged northern Gulf of Tadjourah coastline is run by the UNHCR and the government's own disaster response agency, the National Office for Refugees and Disaster Victims (known by its French acronym, ONARS), which says it does what it can to help, but living conditions are tough.
"I was forced to leave Yemen because there was no more peace," said Hassan Din, 35, from Yemen's southern port of Aden. "But I came from war to find another war. Children have had hepatitis, malaria, they got sick because of the water. We can not find water or food."
Rania Dida Ahmed, 24, who was studying to be a lawyer before she fled: “I'm suffering every day, not only me, all the people here," she said. "You can see it on our faces... in a desert, what kind of life is here. Everyone is sick."
Camp residents, who also include refugees from neighbouring Eritrea who first fled to Yemen before being forced to cross back to Africa due to the new war, complain of lack of food and water, sanitation, and also rough treatment by Djibouti's police.
Despite there being no let up in Yemen's war, the number of refugees arriving in Djibouti has dropped from a peak of 800 a week late last year to around 40 a week over the last two months.
Some have even taken the risk of returning home, with some 600 refugees leaving the camp in recent months to return to Yemen, the UN says.
Relatives of Ahmed chose to return, but she says she will stay, and that news sent from home is bleak.
UNHCR camp manager Salim Jaafar said they were not encouraging people to go back.
http://www.thearabweekly.com/?id=4517
1.4.2016 – UNOCHA (* B H)
Dangerous crossings — migrants search for a better life in Yemen
Mohammed, 20, is returning home to Ethiopia after spending a grueling seven months in war-torn Yemen as a migrant. He was euphoric to arrive in Djibouti, which marked the first stage of his long journey home.
As with many migrants, Mohammed suffered traumatic experiences during his time in Yemen in search of employment. His leg was amputated after smugglers shot him in an attempt to extort more money from his family when they first arrived in Yemen. Following the amputation, he was arrested by the Yemen authorities as an irregular migrant. But after seven months in prison he was released by the authorities to return home via Obock on the northern coast of Djibouti, with the help of the International Organization for Migration (IOM).
The dry, dusty town of Obock has long been a transit point for migrants from the Horn of Africa trying to reach Yemen. Every day, hundreds of Ethiopians attempt to make the perilous journey to Yemen in search of job opportunities and a better future, according to IOM, which runs a migrant-response centre in Obock. But since conflict erupted in Yemen, more and more migrants are attempting to return home with IOM’s assistance. The organization helps to evacuate them on boats from Yemen and then onto buses from Djibouti to Ethiopia.
Henry Glorieux, IOM’s Head of Mission in Djibouti, explained: “Obock is one of the few places in the world that sees migrants passing through in both directions: a steady movement of people towards war-torn Yemen continues without pause, while at the same time people fleeing the war arrive, seeking safety.”
Migrants who attempt to reach Yemen alone face a perilous journey. Many die en route, according to military police records. The first leg involves a four-week walk through the barren mountains of Djibouti. From there, a dangerous boat ride awaits to take them to Yemen. Most of the migrants pay smugglers to aid their passage, paying half the amount on departure and the rest on arrival in Yemen. But many — like Mohammed — are tortured or blackmailed into paying more.
In Obock, IOM’s reception centre is doing its best to host everyone who passes through in both directions. According to IOM, 4,000 people of 29 different nationalities have arrived from Yemen since March 2015. Of these people, 2,500 have been evacuated from Yemen to Djibouti on IOM-chartered vessels and assisted to return home. This is just a portion of the overall number of third-country nationals and migrants in Yemen. IOM estimates that 12,865 people passed through Djibouti on their way home, but most did so of their own accord.
Mohammed arrived in Obock on 20 March alongside some 250 evacuees from Yemen. Most of them were women and children, as well as some men who needed medical attention. The atmosphere was euphoric as they prepared to return to Ethiopia the next day. Many had been in jail for their entire time in Yemen, while others had scraped together a paltry living in that country for over a decade.
Mohamed’s friend sat near him on a plastic chair in the shade. He would not answer questions — he was too traumatized to speak, said the nurse, Fatouma. She explained that the most common illnesses are malaria and diarrhoea, but many people arrive psychologically traumatized.
One evacuee is a four-year-old boy, Murad, whose mother was killed in a bombing in Al Hodeidah. The oldest evacuee, 70-year-old Mougbel Isse Fadel, is a trained pharmacist who sold medicine in Yemen for more than 10 years. He tries to warn the young boys who arrive in Obock en route to Yemen: “If you thought the journey from Ethiopia to Obock was hard, it is nothing compared to what you’ll find in Yemen,” he says. But little seems to deter them, as most faced extreme poverty, lack of sufficient food and few economic opportunities back home.
IOM also does its best to inform migrants of the risks that may await them, including the dangers relating to irregular migration, human trafficking and the current conflict in Yemen. The organization also produces video testimonies of evacuees to deter others, and in April it will start to provide legal advice for trafficking victims.
1.4.2016 - Living in Yemen on the Edge (B H)
Thousands of Yemeni refugees escaping horrors of Yemen just to meet death in Djibouti.
The war waged on Yemen will be remembered for the heavy air attacks launched by the Saudi-led/US-backed warplanes which carpet bombed entire slices of the country, leaving desperation, a death toll of almost 10.000 civilians, a rubbled country and one of the worst humanitarian crises of the XXI century
In this hell-like scenario, with 320.000 literally starving, a siege country, how not to mention also the tragic fate of the Yemeni refugees who have managed to reach the only country, for now, offering shelter, Djibouti?
Interviewed at the camp in Djibouti, Yemeni refugees said: ''A deep, unthinkable pain keeps running behind us. Our suffering has not left us, even if we have left the devastation of the war in Yemen."
Apart from the personal traumas and memories each refugee carries, all of the thousands of Yemenis live in a harsh reality which is of no help.
They are secluded in a camp in the middle of the Djiboutan desert, with no food, no water, medicines.
Their situaiton seems little different from their war-torn homeland.
" There is no hope for us. Why are we still alive? At this stage it makes no difference a death in Yemen or here. Death is death''
Miraculously, thousands of refugees remain still survive under the burning sun of the desert concentration camp in Djibouti.
Only hope is for the war to end. And return, alive, home
cp14 Terrorismus / Terrorism
3.4.2016 – Reuters ( A K T)
Air raids hit Qaeda Yemen camp, militants killed: official
Warplanes attacked an al-Qaeda camp in southern Yemen, killing and wounding a number of militants, a local official says.
The aircraft launched four air strikes on militants of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) near the port city of Mukalla on Yemen's south coast on Sunday, he said.
The official said the planes were from a Saudi-led coalition which over the past year has tried to stop the Iran-allied Houthi group from completing its takeover of the country.
It was not immediately possible to confirm the affiliation of the aircraft. A spokesman for the Saudi-led alliance could not be contacted for immediate comment.
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-yemen-security-raid-idUSKCN0X00CL
3.4.2016 – Radio Vatikan (A T)
Indiens Bischöfe: Im Jemen entführter Priester lebt
Der aus Indien stammende Salesianerpater Tom Uzhunnalil, der vor einem Monat bei einem Terroranschlag im Jemen vermutlich von IS-Einheiten entführt worden war, befindet sich laut Informationen der indischen Außenministerin Sushma Swaraj in Sicherheit. Das teilte die katholische Bischofskonferenz Indiens (CBCI) am Samstagabend (Ortszeit) per Presseaussendung mit. Swaraj zufolge arbeite die indische Regierung intensiv auf die baldige Freilassung des Priesters hin und schöpfe dafür alle Möglichkeiten aus.
Eine hochrangige Kirchendelegation, der u.a. CBCI-Generalsekretär Joseph Chinnayyan, Indiens Caritas-Geschäftsführer Frederick D`Souza und der Salesianer Joseph Manipadam angehörten, traf die Außenministerin am Samstagabend und besprach alle Details über die Freilassung des Priesters. Weiterhin sei dessen Aufenthaltsort nicht bekannt, hieß es in der Stellungnahme. Einzelheiten über die Verhandlungen und deren Bedingungen dürften im derzeitigen Moment nicht veröffentlicht werden, um die Freilassung nicht zu gefährden.
3.4.2016 – Reuters (A T)
Indian priest kidnapped in Yemen "could be freed soon"
An Indian priest abducted by gunmen in Yemen last month is safe and could be released soon, a Catholic group said Sunday, quoting the Indian foreign minister.
Father Tom Uzhunnalil was captured from the southern Yemeni city of Aden by gunmen who killed at least 15 people at an old people's home in an attack that was condemned by Pope Francis.
The Catholic Bishops' Conference of India (CBCI) said a delegation met Indian Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj who said the government was working to secure the priest's safe return.
"She has assured us Father Tom is safe and negotiations are on for his release which could happen very soon," said Father Joseph Chinnaiyan, deputy secretary of the CBCI.
2.4.2016 – Radio Vatikan (A T)
Jemen: Entführter Priester P. Tom sendet Video mit Hilferuf
Der vor einem Monat entführte indische Salesianerpater Tom Uzhunnalil hat laut Medienberichten in einer an die indische Regierung gesendeten Videonachricht um Hilfe zu seiner Befreiung gebeten. In dem Video, von dem der indische englischsprachige TV-Nachrichtensender CNN-IBN am Freitag berichtete, sollen die Entführer des Ordensmanns einen Dollar-Millionenbetrag für seine Freilassung fordern. Auf den Bildern wird P. Tom demnach gezeigt, wie er um Hilfe bittet, während ein Mann hinter ihm steht. Es ist unklar, wann das Video gedreht wurde, und ob der Priester jetzt noch am Leben ist.
21.11.2015 – Deutsche Welle (* B T)
Brussels' Great Mosque and ties with Salafism
Brussels' largest mosque is bankrolled by Saudi Arabia, a Salafist regime. Mosque leaders have dissociated themselves from terrorism - but are not revealing everything. Barbara Wesel reports from Brussels.
http://www.dw.com/en/brussels-great-mosque-and-ties-with-salafism/a-18866998
Comment: A half year before the Brussels attacks. Worth a read now.
cp15 Propaganda
3.4.2016 – Bloomberg (* A P)
Saudi Prince Sees ‘Significant’ Progress Toward Yemen War End
Saudi Arabia’s deputy crown prince said the warring parties in Yemen are close to resolving a year-long conflict that’s become symbolic of the kingdom’s new foreign policy ambitions.
“There is significant progress in negotiations, and we have good contacts with the Houthis, with a delegation currently in Riyadh,” the 30-year-old Prince Mohammed bin Salman, also the kingdom’s defense minister, said in an interview with Bloomberg last week. “We are pushing to have this opportunity materialize on the ground but if things relapse, we are ready.”
“Saudi Arabia seems unwilling to commit the kind of ground force that would be needed to possibly defeat the Houthis,” said James Dorsey, a senior fellow in international studies at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore. That’s one reason the kingdom is “looking for a negotiated solution,” he said. “The Saudis have also been stung by international criticism of the way they have conducted the war.” – by Glen Carey and Deema Almashabi
2.4.2016 – Arab News (A P)
‘Restoration of Yemen govt a must to defeat Al-Qaeda
Brig. Gen. Ahmad Al-Assiri, spokesman of the Arab coalition forces in Operation Decisive Storm and adviser to Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, said during his visit to France that the cease-fire in Yemen will take effect on April 10.
He said Europe has downgraded the problem in Yemen to one about Al-Qaeda, which is “not right.” He said the organization fled Saudi Arabia to take shelter in Yemen, where there is no authority to oppose it. Any intention to defeat the terrorists requires strengthening Yemen's legitimate government.
He said terrorist groups grow where there is no stability or state, noting that Daesh controls places in Syria and Iraq because the two countries are currently weak, as is the case in Yemen. He said working on stabilizing Yemen will take time and will not succeed if imposed from outside. The Yemenis themselves should do this job through a capable state.
Al-Assiri cited the case of Afghanistan, which is still unstable because foreign powers have not yet succeeded after 11 years to secure stability and eliminate the Taliban.
He said the situation in Yemen has improved in comparison to last year, when the Yemeni president was imprisoned and planes bombed his palace. But today there is a political path supported by UN Envoy Ismail Oeld Cheikh and Security Council Resolution 2216.
He said that former President Ali Abdullah Saleh is “breaching the law,” which requires that the international community work on implementing the resolution to prosecute and try him.
Regarding Iranian interference in Yemen, Al-Assiri said that Iran has established a new model in the region through use of militias in Syria and Iraq, as exemplified by its use of Hezbollah in Lebanon. “The war is not a football game, but rather aims to build an internationally recognized state and government,” he said.
He said the cease-fire will take effect on April 10, and 80 percent of Yemeni territory is under the control of the legitimate government, while there are military operations that hit specific areas because the military objective is to achieve political solution and stability.
As for the Yemeni negotiations in Kuwait, he said: “Oeld Cheikh confirmed today that the militants will go to Kuwait, and if they agreed to Security Council Resolution 2216, this will be a step forward.” He said militants must provide a program for the implementation of the Security Council resolution, withdraw, hand in their weapons to the legitimate government and release all political prisoners.
http://www.arabnews.com/saudi-arabia/news/904361
1.4.2016 – Bahrain News Agency (A P)
Bahrain's supportive stances towards Yemen lauded
Former Yemeni Foreign Minister Dr. Riyadh Yaseen has asserted the "Operation Decisive Storm" has foiled Iran’s imperial project, noting that Iran seeks to extend the Persian influence over the Arabian Gulf region.
After the failure of its plans in the Kingdom of Bahrain, Iran supported the Huthis in Yemen to achieve its hidden goals, considering that Yemen occupies a key strategic location in the Arabian Gulf.
Yaseen made the statements while delivering a lecture on "Yemen's difficulties, challenges and interference", hosted by the Isa Cultural Centre (ICC) on Thursday.
He extended sincere gratitude and appreciation to His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa and the Bahraini people for their constant keenness to be at the forefront in defending legitimacy in his country, paying tribute to the brave Bahraini BDF personnel who lost their lives while participating in the operation within the Saudi-led Arab Coalition to support legitimacy in Yemen.
Dr. Riyadh Yaseen lauded the stances of the Bahraini leadership in support of Yemen. He hailed the stances of Shaikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa and Shaikh Khalid bin Hamad Al Khalifa and asserted that their participation in the war is appreciated by the Yemeni citizens.
He highlighted the multiple obstacle facing the Yemeni people at various levels, stressing that what is going on in Yemen is the outcome of the trip-partite alliance between the Huthi militias, the ousted President Ali Abdulla Saleh and Iran, through its blatant interference in the country’s domestic affairs by training Huthi insurgents and providing them with funds and weapons.
Dr. Riyadh Yaseen affirmed that the constant brotherly support by Saudi Arabia, UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait and the other countries of the Arab Coalition, has contributed to the success of many initiatives, citing the "Operation Restoring Hope" and efforts to reach a lasting peace solution.
It is to be noted that Dr. Yaseen participated in a closed-doors seminar titled "Brainstorming Coalition 2: Islamic Military Counter-terrorism Coalition: Future horizons" hosted on Monday by the ICC with participation of intellectuals, media professionals and research and study centres from Gulf and Arab countries.
http://www.bna.bh/portal/en/news/719754
1.4.2016 – Asharq Al-Awsat (A P)
Saudi Sources: the Ultimate Solution in Yemen will Put an End to the Militias
The sources said that Riyadh’s relations with Washington are strategic despite “differences of opinion that will be discussed during Obama's visit”
Official Saudi sources confirmed that the ultimate solution to the Yemeni crisis “enjoins ending the presence of militias” in the country and stressed that the recent changes on the ground will provide an opportunity for a “real” ceasefire on the 10th of April and will also “create opportunities” for negotiations which are supposed to begin in Kuwait on the 18th of April.
These sources also said in a small press conference in Paris on Wednesday that the UN envoy to Yemen Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed has obtained “assurances” from the Houthi militias that their representatives “will go to Kuwait to implement the UN Resolution 2216 which calls for the militias to withdraw from cities, hand over heavy weapons and enable the state to exercise its powers”.
Commenting on the observations that some have made about the role of the Arab coalition forces and what they have achieved in Yemen, the same sources urged people to “compare” the situation that was prevalent in Yemen a year ago before operation “Decisive Storm” to the situation of the country today where “the legitimate government has reclaimed large parts of the country, the Houthis have withdrawn and the path has been paved for serious political negotiations between Yemenis”.
On the other hand, the sources said that Riyadh’s relations with Washington are “strategic and historical”. However, they did not deny the existence of discrepancies and differences of opinion that “will be discussed” during President Barack Obama’s upcoming visit to Saudi Arabia in the coming weeks. The sources believe that Obama intends to visit Riyadh because Saudi Arabia is “an important country and an element of stability in the region. The two countries have common interests including fighting ISIS, Al-Qaeda and terrorism in general, and the Americans and the west know our role in this war”. – by Michel Abu Najm
1.4.2016 – CNBC (B P)
The 30-year-old prince who is changing the world
http://www.cnbc.com/2016/04/01/the-30-year-old-prince-who-is-changing-the-world.html
Comment: This article by CNBC almost sounds like a propaganda piece in favour of deputy crown prince Mohammed bin Salman – who is the spiritus rector of the Yemen war.
cp17 Kriegsereignisse / Theater of War
4.4.2016 – Almasdar News (A K PH)
Saudi Army loses dozens of soldiers in another failed offensive at the Yemeni border
The Saudi Royal Army – backed by the Arab Coalition forces – made a second attempt to capture the strategic city of Rabuah after a failed attack on Sunday that resulted in heavy casualties. According to the Yemeni Army’s spokesperson, the Republican Guard forces repelled the Saudi forces attempting to infiltrate northern Rabuah, killing an estimated 3 dozen soldiers inside this border-city in Saudi Arabia’s ‘Asir Province. The Saudi Armed Forces, Arab Coalition, and Hadi loyalists have lost approximately 550-600 combatants in the last 8 days while trying to capture Rabuah and the Midi District in northwestern Yemen.
https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/saudi-army-loses-dozens-soldiers-failed-offensive-yemeni-border/
3.4.2016 – AFP (A K)
Rebel attack on Yemen hospital kills 3 civilians
Three civilians were killed in east Yemen on Sunday when rockets fired by Iran-backed rebels hit a government hospital, the facility's director and a local official said.
The attack wounded 17 other people, said the director of the Marib General Hospital Authority, Shawqi al-Sharjabi.
A government official in Marib city told AFP that rockets were fired by rebels from the Haylan mountains overlooking the provincial capital.
He said the attack, which killed a doctor, took place during a visit to the city by a government delegation.
http://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/rebel-attack-yemen-hospital-kills-3-civilians
3.4.2016 – Albawaba News (A K PS)
Yemen army captures Houthi positions in clashes near Saudi border
Pro-government forces and the national army have recaptured a military site held by Shia Houthi rebels in Yemen’s Al-Jawf province near the Saudi border, a pro-government source told Anadolu Agency on Sunday.
Speaking by phone, the source said that the Yemeni army and pro-government "popular resistance forces" had managed to seize control of the Al-Zallaq site in Al-Jawf following fierce clashes with Houthi fighters.
"The army and resistance forces have also progressed towards other sites in the Al-Hadaba area," the source, insisting on anonymity, added without elaborating.
Abdullah al-Ashraf, a spokesman for the pro-government "resistance" in Al-Jawf, told Anadolu Agency last week that some 80 percent of the province was now under the control of pro-government forces.
http://www.albawaba.com/news/yemen-army-captures-houthi-positions-clashes-near-saudi-border-824778
Comment: Both sides totally contradict each other, see the following:
3.4.2016 – Almasdar News (A K PH)
Saudi Army’s long-awaited offensive at Rabuah turns disastrous
The Saudi Army’s long-awaited offensive at the strategic border-city of Rabuah in the Asir Governorate turned disastrous on Friday and Saturday after several attempts to break-through the Yemeni Army’s defenses. According to the Yemeni Army’s spokesperson, the Saudi Army and the Arab Coalition suffered heavy casualties on Saturday after a long battle at the northern perimeter of Rabuah, The Saudi whistle-blower, Mujtajid, confirmed that the Saudi military and their allies also lost a significant amount of military personnel to the Yemeni Forces; this includes the capture of Saudi Colonel ‘Abdullah Fahd al-Qahtani.
As a result of the significant casualties they sustained over the last 48 hours, the Saudi Army has officially withdrawn their forces and ended this phase of their offensive at Rabuah.
https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/saudi-armys-massive-offensive-rabuah-turns-disastrous/
3.4.2016 – Fars News (A K PH)
Yemen Strikes Saudi Coalition with More Ballistic Missiles
The Yemeni army and popular forces destroyed the Saudi military positions in Al-Jawf province with their Qaher-I ballistic missile, killing tens of the kingdom's forces.
The Qaher-I missile hit Qanav military base in al-Jawf province, destroying their military hardware and equipment.
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.
The Saudi-led forces' armored vehicles were destroyed during the Yemeni missile attack.
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13950115001096
2.4.2016 – Almasdar News (A K PH)
Houthi forces overrun Saudi-backed forces in Taiz
The Houthi forces – backed by the Yemeni Army’s 48th Brigade of the Republican Guard – has seized the Waziyah District of Ta’iz City this morning after a violent battle with the Hadi loyalists and Saudi-led Coalition. According to Tony Toh (Al-Masdar’s Yemeni War correspondent), the Houthi forces overran the center of the Waziyah District after the Hadi loyalists withdrew due to low ammunition. In addition to liberating the Waziyah District, the Houthi forces also seized Al-Sheikh village and a number of sites nearby. The loss of the Waziyah District this morning is another blow to the Haid loyalists and Saudi-led Coalition; especially, after they lost the large city of Dhubab in February.
https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/houthi-forces-overrun-saudi-backed-forces-taiz/
2.4.2016 – TRT (A K)
Gefechte im Jemen
In der westlichen jemenitischen Stadt Hudajda sind bei Gefechten zwischen den Anhängern von Staatspräsident Abdurabbu Mansur Hadi und den Huthis 16 Menschen ums Leben gekommen.
In der westlichen jemenitischen Stadt Hudajda sind bei Gefechten zwischen den Anhängern von Staatspräsident Abdurabbu Mansur Hadi und den Huthis 16 Menschen ums Leben gekommen. Bei den Gefechten in der Region Beit al Fakih im Kreis Tihame bei Hudajda kamen von den Huthis 13 und von den Hadi-Anhängern 3 Menschen ums Leben.
http://www.trt.net.tr/deutsch/welt/2016/04/02/gefechte-im-jemen-1-463231
1.4.2016 – Emirates 247 from WAM (A K PS)
Yemeni army seize city of Baraqish
Yemeni national army is backed by local fighters
The Yemeni national army backed by local fighters seized control of the historic city of Baraqish, Marib Governorate, following heavy fighting against the Houthi militia and forces loyal to ousted president Ali Abdullah Saleh.
The city has been under the control of rebels since 2011 who turned it into barracks, training camps and a centre for combat operations.
A resistance source said the victory had come one day after the government and resistance fighters seized the strategic Safra area between governorates of Marib and Jawf, where tens of rebels were killed and others fled towards Al-Ghail Directorate, west of Jawf.
http://www.emirates247.com/news/region/yemeni-army-seize-city-of-baraqish-2016-04-01-1.625929
Comment: Yemeni army here in a pro-Hadi source: Part of Yemeni army loyal to “president” Hadi.
Comment by Judith Brown: The ruins of an ancient city have been bombed many times from the air in this conflict. They were just ruins - nowhere for militias or armies to hide or store their weapons. Another casualty of war.
https://www.facebook.com/judith.brown.794628/posts/10154247783263641
1.4.2016 – AFP (A K)
Houthis 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://gulftoday.ae/portal/59bc0496-208e-49a4-9c53-55a31a7c6c73.aspx
cp18 Schöner Jemen / Beautiful Yemen
8.1.2015 – Towns of USA
Skyscrapers more ancient of the world in Shibam, Yemen
Shibam is the name of a beautiful location in Yemen, whose Antigua and Walls city were declared a World Heritage Site in 1982. It is a spectacular mini-isolated city in the desert, whose characteristic “mini-skyscrapers” of between 5 and 11 live about 7,000 homes. The lovingly nicknamed as “The Manhattan of the desert ‘. (with images)
http://townsofusa.com/travels/2015/01/skyscrapers-ancient-world-shibam-yemen/
Vorige / Previous:
https://www.freitag.de/autoren/dklose/krieg-im-jemen-neue-artikel-zum-nachlesen-123
Neue Artikel zum Nachlesen 1-123: / Yemen Press Reader 1-123:
https://www.freitag.de/autoren/dklose oder / or
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