Shaky truce – Hard road to peace: Various aspects and viewpoints – Children face life-threatening illnesses – Western support for terrorists – and more
11.4.2016 – Bildblog
So sieht Journalismus heute aus
http://www.bildblog.de/78487/so-sieht-journalismus-heute-aus/
Blowing things up then fixing them is the new world economy, but lives can't be restored (Jamila Hanan)
The number of children dying daily from preventable diseases has risen to 137, an additional 28 a day since the start of the war (Humanitarian Organisations)
Schwerpunkte / Key aspects
Klassifizierung / Classification
cp1 Am wichtigsten / Most important
cp2 Allgemein / General
cp2a Waffenstillstand / Truce
cp3 Humanitäre Lage / Humanitarian situation
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
cp13 Flüchtlinge / Refugees
cp14 Terrorismus / Terrorism
cp15 Propaganda
cp16 Saudische Luftangriffe / Saudi air raids
cp17 Kriegsereignisse / Theater of War
cp18 Sonstiges / Other
cp19 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
12.4.2016 – International Business Times (** B H K)
Yemen: Children face life-threatening illnesses due to rapid decline of immunisation
There are hundreds of thousands of children in Yemen who are facing life-threatening malnutrition due to lack of access to health care and clean water, with nearly 22 provinces on the verge of famine.
According to Unicef, in this year alone there has been an average of six children killed or injured per day. Many of these children were forced to enrol as soldiers.
"Sixty-one percent of those [children] killed and injured were in [Saudi-led] air strikes across the country," Julien Harneis, Unicef's representative in Yemen, told Reuters from the capital Sanaa. Many charities are now delivering nutritional supplies and vaccines against measles, polio and other childhood diseases in the country of 24 million, but it is not enough. Harneis continued "we've got an increase in both severe acute malnutrition and chronic malnutrition".
The report said there is an estimated 320,000 children who risk severe acute malnutrition, which can leave a child vulnerable to deadly respiratory infections, pneumonia and water-borne diseases.
There has been a fast decline in vital health services provided in Yemen, including immunisation, and Unicef estimates that nearly 100,000 under the age of five may have died in the past year from preventable diseases as a result of the downturn (with images)
Comment: The downturn of immunization is due to the Saudi coalition blockade and the breakdown of medical treatment by bombing and thus closing of hospitals, by the eviction of medical staff. – Child soldiers: many are not even forced, they do it voluntary, either entrapped by exploiting their enthusiasm or because they want to care for their families living, when all other possibilities have vanished because of war and destruction.
12.4.2016 – The Guardian (** A K P)
Yemen’s ceasefire could be the first step towards peace – with international help
The ceasefire promises to be the first step towards peace for the people of Yemen, who are looking to it to provide some indication of the extent to which the various factions in the conflict are committed to ending 13 months of war.
But keeping up with who the warring parties are hasn’t been easy. What at first appeared to be conflict with the Yemeni government backed by Saudi Arabia at one end, and the Houthis and loyalists to ex-president Ali Abdullah Saleh at the other, has disintegrated into many smaller groups with divergent interests and political goals.
To name a few, new factions such as the Taiz resistance, South resistance and Sana’a resistance came into scene after start of the war and are independent of each other as well as from the main warring parties. With no one group strong enough to win the war or with enough clout to provide an umbrella and unite the others, reaching a diplomatic resolution is harder now than at start of the conflict.
This is why as much as we in Yemen welcomed the prospect of peace, we are sceptical about its success. After all, it has failed before, and the people fear a repeat. The first failed peace process did not cast its net wide enough to bring all the parties around the table, and the commitment of those who were present proved to not be firm. As a result, the Taiz and Sana’a resistance rejected the ceasefire and peace talks before they had even started in the past and did so too this time around.
It seems implausible that a ceasefire where not everyone is on board can be expected to last. Especially when the parties across the board are trigger-happy and within line of sight of each other. And if the ceasefire doesn’t hold, what hope do the talks in Kuwait have of succeeding?
What is needed is for the international community and the UN to apply pressure on all warring sides as well as including them in the process by giving them a chair on the negotiating table to secure their buy-in so that if and when a final agreement is reached, it is binding to all. The alternative is de-escalation or even temporary cessation of conflict between the Saudi-led coalition and the Houthis, while disgruntled and marginalised factions continue to fuel the internal conflict and inevitably pull both the bigger players back into the fray. As always with war, it is the people of Yemen, already failed by their leaders and the humanitarian response, who will continue to pay the price with their livelihoods and their lives – by Hisham Al-Omeisy
12.4.2016 – Al Araby (* B K P)
Moving mountains in Yemen: the journey to peace
As Yemen prepares to make another trek in search for peace, warring factions and political grievances continue to hold it back.
Like many of its neighbours, Yemen's internal politics is, one could say, slightly complicated.
On one end is the amalgamation of unlikely friends - Houthi rebels and a former president, Ali Abdullah Saleh - who for many years quietly fought battles against each other in the northern parts of the country - but have now joined forces to capture major cities across Yemen.
On the other are the abrupt divorces that took place in the past few years between old-time friends - current president Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi and many of the officials loyal to the former leader, Saleh - causing ongoing tension in a fraught situation.
Meanwhile, there are also grievances and grudges between different factions - the Southerners who are adamant on ending a 25-year-old relationship with the north, and the Hadramis in the far south-east, who insist on breaking up the country altogether.
Lest we forget those debating the legitimacy of the Saudi-led war in the country, or better yet, the legitimacy of the current president who came to power in a one-man election.
Agreeing on the formation of the authorities is also an issue, with those calling for federalism debating on just how many federal states should exist within the wider national borders.
Of course, militants from al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group continue to add noise to a noisy situation.
There are also those in the coastal city whose campaign slogan "Aden for Adenis" suggests the city's decades of multiculturalism is just not working for them, while Sanaa residents in the capital demand electricity after being in the dark for most of a year.
Omeisy summarised the problem: "The end of the war between the Saudi-led coalition and Houthis doesn't necessarily mean end of all the factional and internal wars within Yemen."
It is clear that many mountains stand between Yemen and its desired peace and stability - but the first trek requires quashing the war.
It is up to the warring parties to decide whether their passion for the state is enough to move mountains (with infograph: history of the war)
https://www.alaraby.co.uk/english/indepth/2016/4/12/moving-mountains-in-yemen-the-journey-to-peace
12.4.2016 – German Foreign Policy (** B P T)
Im Bündnis mit Al Qaida
Der Waffenstillstand in Syrien droht von einer Miliz zu Fall gebracht zu werden, die von Verbündeten Deutschlands aufgerüstet und auf Druck auch der Bundesregierung in die Genfer Syrien-Verhandlungen eingebunden wurde. Berichten zufolge nimmt die Miliz Ahrar al Sham zur Zeit an einer Militäroffensive des Al Qaida-Ablegers Al Nusra teil. Während für Al Nusra der Waffenstillstand nicht gilt, ist Ahrar al Sham in ihn einbezogen. Die Miliz ist von Berlins NATO-Partner Türkei sowie von Qatar, einem zentralen Verbündeten der Bundesrepublik in Mittelost, finanziert und aufgerüstet worden. Außenminister Frank-Walter Steinmeier hat sich energisch dafür eingesetzt, sie in die Oppositionsdelegation bei den Genfer Verhandlungen aufzunehmen, obwohl sie seit Jahren eng mit Al Nusra (Al Qaida) kooperiert. Eine neue Analyse der Berliner Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik (SWP) bestätigt, dass die militärische Kooperation auf großer ideologischer Nähe beruht. Auch sei Ahrar al Sham in Massaker an der alawitischen Minderheit involviert gewesen. Die Miliz werde oft als "syrische Taliban" bezeichnet, berichtet ein führender deutscher Salafismus-/Jihadismus-Experte. Wie er erklärt, stärkt, "wer sie aufwertet, indirekt ... al Qaida". Dies trifft enge Verbündete Berlins sowie das Auswärtige Amt.
http://www.german-foreign-policy.com/de/fulltext/59343
Kommentar: In Syrien unterstützt der Westen Al Qaida, wenn es den eigenen geostrategischen Interessen nützlich erscheint (Assad muss weg), warum sollte es im Jemen denn anders sein (Die Saudis sind unsere „Freunde“, die Iraner nicht).
cp2 Allgemein / General
12.4.2016 – Fars News (* A P)
What Ceasefire? Covert War on Yemen Has Only Just Begun
Over a year into the Saudi-led and US-backed war, however, things have changed, and expectations that the regime changers can produce a total, uncontested military victory have dimmed. That explains why they are now talking peace. They have no choice. Still, that doesn’t mean they really want peace.
Far from it, the colonial campaign to divide and rule Yemen still tops the agenda. Any doubters should ask Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, and Palestine. Just like in those countries, the key policy in the so-called Yemen peace and reconciliation talks is not ending the bloodshed and saving the people. It’s just a shift in tactics.
The regime changers want to attain through talks what they couldn’t in the battlefield: Occupying and dividing Yemen into ethnic-sectarian lines, and stopping it from becoming a unitary state – in cooperation between Saudi, Israeli, British, and American intelligence agencies.
Far from being a one-off policy, this is a high point in systemic collaboration between the Saudi-led and US-backed coalition members to degrade the Resistance Front (Ansarulah) through a combination of international pressure and national dispute/pressure over the terms of ceasefire and any future “peace” accord.
This will happen through familiar patterns and amid negotiations: Continuation of Special Forces operations and drone strikes (unilateral US policy and Western counter-terrorism efforts) against Al-Qaeda (which began in 2001 and will now include Ansarullah targets), creation of a no-fly-zone over the Saudi-Yemeni border areas on the pretext of “humanitarian assistance”, adoption of UN Security Council resolutions against the resistance group of Ansarullah in the form of sanctions and arms embargo (similar to those imposed on the Lebanese Hezbollah and the Palestinian Hamas), as well as many other illegal measures to curb Yemen politically, diplomatically, and economically.
Meaning, despite their assertions to the contrary, the new ceasefire has nothing to do with supporting the legitimacy of a political process in Yemen. The ultimate goal is to maintain the continuity of authoritarian governance in the region by actively repressing the popular forces that threaten to undo the status quo.
To this end, the warmongers will continue to build military bases in and around Yemen, maintain the trade and arms embargo as well as the blockade, and lump together Ansarullah, Iran and the popular democratic movements of the Arab uprisings of 2011. The policy indicates both their broader strategic goals, and the dangers to positive political, economic and social change they represent.
Expect no permanent ceasefire and peace, and certainly no end to all foreign military attacks and “anti-terrorism” efforts. Expect no humanitarian assistance either, including international reconstruction aid, resumption of broad national dialogue, and establishment of an inclusive national unity government. Whatever it is, the covert war on the Resistance Front and the people of Yemen has only just begun.
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13950124001453
Comment: This might be doubted by someone as coming from Iran. Anyway, even as exaggerated someway, it is not far from truth, I fear.
12.4.2016 – Middle East Institute (* A P)
Monday Briefing: Yemen's Cease-fire
While this cease-fire holds more promise, the coming talks in Kuwait this Friday face political challenges that appear impossibly difficult to resolve. Abu Rabbu Mansour Hadi’s side continually repeats that the basis of the talks is the U.N. Security Council Resolution 2216, which calls for the withdrawal of militias from the cities and the return of heavy weaponry to the military. But the only resemblance of a military in Yemen is the one loyal to Ali Abdullah Saleh, currently fighting alongside the Houthis. As such, Saleh seems to have won the war, at least in as much as obtaining his objective of regaining a seat at the negotiating table.
Seemingly in anticipation of this sort of political quagmire, Hadi unexpectedly appointed Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar, arch enemy of both the Houthi and Saleh, vice president, and fired his prime minister, Khaled Bahah. Bahah was replaced by Ahmed Obaid bin Daghr, who was Saleh’s second-in-command in Saleh’s People’s General Congress up until the Saudi air campaign, whereupon he switched sides and flew to Riyadh. Hadi and Riyadh seem to realize they have some long hard bargaining ahead of them – by Charles Schmitz
12.4.2016 – Brookings (* A P)
What the Yemen ceasefire means for the Gulf, the anti-ISIS campaign, and U.S. security
If the truce fails, the Saudis are threatening their coalition will mount a major offensive to take Sanaa from the rebels. A battle for Sanaa would make a bad situation even worse.
A battle for the capital will compound the tragedy enormously. Sanaa is the fastest growing capital city in the world with a population of two million people. It is also the most water-stressed. The city was projected to run out of available groundwater by 2017, before the war added new stress to the urban environment. An urban battle would be a disaster.
The biggest beneficiary of the war has been AQAP, which now controls some six hundred kilometers of the southern coastline—from just outside Aden to Mukalla
Any enduring political settlement will require power sharing between the Houthis and the Saudi-backed Hadi government. It will also need to find a place for former President Ali Abdullah Saleh and his family and supporters. A massive reconstruction effort will be necessary and can only be paid for by the Saudis and Emiratis.
The United States has been quietly pushing the Saudis to end the war for several months, even as Washington provides critical intelligence and logistical aid to the coalition. Obama needs to press King Salman and his Gulf Cooperation Council counterparts to stop the fighting for good when he visits Riyadh later this month. He can assure the Saudis that Washington is opposed to an Iranian role in Yemen and note that U.S. and allied naval ships have thwarted several recent Iranian efforts to smuggle arms to the Houthis. The war has diverted attention and resources from the struggle with ISIS and allowed the growth of AQAP for too long – by Bruce Riedel
http://www.brookings.edu/blogs/markaz/posts/2016/04/12-yemen-ceasefire-us-security-riedel
12.4.2016 – Counterpunch (* A K P)
The Forgotten War: a Shaky Truce in Yemen
A shaky truce has stopped the fighting in only some parts of Yemen, as UN-backed efforts get under way to end a civil war that has killed 6,200 Yemenis and enabled al-Qaeda to set up its own mini-state in the south of the country.
“People are no longer able to live because of the war which destroyed everything,” Shawqi Abdullah, a taxi driver in the capital Sanaa told a news agency as the truce took hold. “We had a calm night with no planes flying and fear of bombs. And we hope that the war ends.”
The outside world has paid limited attention to the war in Yemen because the country is isolated and there has been no mass exodus of refugees and migrants heading for the European Union. So bad are conditions that some Yemenis have fled to Somalia, one of the most impoverished, divided and war-ravaged countries in the world. Even before the war, Yemenis were very poor and many do not have the money to take flight, however bad local conditions.
As in Iraq, Syria and Libya, the greatest beneficiaries of the break-up of Yemen have been salafi-jiahadi movements, in this case al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP).
The ceasefire that was meant to begin at midnight on Sunday may be inadequate, but it is the most serious attempt to end the fighting in a year. It may be a sign that Saudi Arabia wants to extricate itself from an inconclusive war that it is not winning and which, instead, has produced a stalemate with the Houthis still holding Sanaa and with AQAP creating its own state on the southern coast – by Patrick Cockburn
http://www.counterpunch.org/2016/04/12/the-forgotten-war-a-shaky-truce-in-yemen/
12.4.2016 – Aljazeera (A K P)
Film: Yemen: Hakim Almasmari on suicide attack in Aden and shaky ceasefire
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qbk7BZs_Mjk&feature=youtu.be
11.4.2016 – Press TV Iran (* A P)
Film: The Debate - Yemen Fragile Truce
The news claims that a UN-brokered ceasefire was taking hold in Yemen, yet sporadic clashes are taking place.
Just what is this ceasefire that has been brokered? Nevertheless, the announcement has raised hopes that peace talks due next week may finally resolve the country's devastating conflict.
But this war has had many casualties: over 9000 dead so far, a surge in arms sales from western countries to Saudi Arabia which has used illegal weapons like the cluster munitions, and the rise of Al-Qaeda.
Guests:
- Publisher & Editor, Politics First, Marcus Papadopoulos (from LONDON)
- Fmr. Member, Yemen National Dialogue Conference, Hamza al-Kamali (from CAIRO)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V1xuPR_HM44
11.4.2016 – Stratfor (A K P)
Video: Stratfor Middle East Analyst Emily Hawthorne discusses the political struggles created by a fragile cease-fire in Yemen's yearlong civil war.
https://www.stratfor.com/video/cease-fire-brings-political-battles-yemen = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QVGgmWXp-MQ
11.4.2016 – The Globe and the Mail (* B K P)
Yemen: The war the world is ignoring
When pictures of a starving Yemeni infant by the name of Udai Faisal began circulating on news feeds around the world recently, I felt optimistic. Even when the accompanying article by the Associated Press informed readers that he died from malnutrition a few days later, I willed myself into thinking that his skeletal face and searing, disproportionately large eyes would serve as a wake-up call to the world.
Instead, as often happens with news from Yemen, the media cycle moved on. Within days, the world, rightly or wrongly, turned its attention to the money-hoarding habits of the rich and famous in tax havens.
Any hopes that Udai’s photo would serve as a humanitarian lightning rod, as the image of drowned Syrian child Alan Kurdi did last year, vanished. Granted, a few tweets and status updates on social media delivered the requisite moral outrage by the usual suspects. Otherwise, silence. I should have known better.
The precedents of Syria and Afghanistan, the two countries with which Yemen is often compared, come to mind. Except that the proximity of those two failed or fledgling states to European shores, and the mass exodus of their people, act as constant reminders to Western leaders of the scale of human suffering, and to the nature of Europe’s porous borders.
Yemen is not so lucky. Tucked in the southern tip of the Arabian Peninsula, on the other side of the East African horn, Yemen is out of sight and its people seem to be out of mind, plunging the poorest country in the region into its second civil war in a little more than 20 years.
Take the Houthi rebels who have picked up a fight with a government that has solicited the full support of the mighty Saudi Arabia and the affluent Gulf countries surrounding it. Despite its ailing economy, Saudi Arabia continues to exert undue influence not only on the Arab world but also on the world stage. No country (except perhaps Iran, by proxy) can afford to start a public relations war with the Saudis, let alone an actual one.
In choosing not to confront Saudi Arabia on its war actions in Yemen, world leaders (and that includes almost all in the Arab world, beneficiaries of the petro-state’s largesse) have turned a blind eye to the plight of Yemeni citizens, currently the globe’s largest collateral damage.
Even Canada’s new government has declined to reverse course in a deal to supply the Saudis with armoured vehicles. What price our collective humanity? Fifteen billion dollars and a few thousand jobs in Southern Ontario. I realize what a bind the Liberal government finds itself in with this deal, inked by the Conservatives, but I expect a more coherent and less grim rationale to carrying on with it than the Lady Macbeth-like “what’s done is done.”
Otherwise, we’re just part of the dehumanizing silence that greets Yemen’s ongoing tragedy – by Kamal Al-Solaylee
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/yemen-the-war-the-world-is-ignoring/article29575902/
12.4.2016 – Aljazeera (* A K P)
Film: Sama'a Al-Hamdani on Yemen ceasefire and upcoming peace talks
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=youtu.be&v=e9BKnra3O8c&app=desktop
12.4.2016 – Washington Post (* B K P)
Two ways the war in Yemen is turning into a disaster for the U.S.
Two significant reports last week illustrated the awkward role of the United States in the ongoing conflict in Yemen, which has claimed thousands of lives, seen the virtual collapse of the fragile Yemeni state, and sparked a grim humanitarian crisis in what was already the Middle East's most impoverished nation.
Much to the chagrin of some Arab allies, the United States has played a somewhat quiet role in the conflict over the past year. It has still provided the Saudi-led effort with intelligence, airborne fuel tankers, as well as advanced munitions.
When contacted by the New York Times regarding the rights group's report, a spokesman for the United States Central Command, or Centcom, put distance between the attack and American culpability.
"We have consistently reinforced to coalition members the imperative of target analysis and precise application of weapons in order to identify and avoid structures and areas that, if struck, could result in civilian casualties," the spokesman said – by Ishaan Tharoor
Comment: Overview article, based on reports by Human Rights Watch and Reuters, about US weapons in Saudi air strikes and AQAP.
11.4.2016 – Middle East Eye (A P)
Love of coasts and mountains: Yemenis unite for Lets Coexist Yemen campaign
Instead of looking at what divides them, activists urge Yemenis to remember food, music and sights that all remind them of home
For more than a year Yemen has been ripped apart by conflict that has driven neighbours against each other and divided a country that was once praised for its relative ability to put aside sectarian tensions.
But much continues to unite the people of Yemen with activists now striving to remind their countrymen of a shared heritage - of food, music, sights and sounds that all Yemenis have grown up with and will always have in common.
Launched on 8 April, days ahead of expected peace talks, the #LetsCoexistYemen campaign aims to remind people of what they have in common, rather than what has helped to drive them apart (with film)
10.4.2016 – Huffington Post (* B K P)
Yemen Between Ending the Conflict and a Warrior’s Break
In Yemen, the recent Saudi engagement with the Houthi rebels is coinciding with notable changes in the government announced last week, with both military and diplomatic implications. They also coincide with an international understanding of the new military and political facts on the ground, on the basis of which the peace process is being pushed forward.
Yemeni President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi took a surprising decision to sack his deputy and prime minister Khaled Bahah from both posts, appointing General Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar vice president and Ahmed Obeid ibn Dagher as prime minister. […]
Other informed sources said the Saudi support for the pro-Riyadh Yemeni president’s moves is a message to the Houthis and the supporters of Saleh: Either engage in lasting peace, or continue the fierce war this time with Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar at the helm.
These sources quoted what the Saudi side told UN envoy Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed to communicate to the Houthis: Do not misread or miscalculate, and come to mistakenly believe the kingdom is fatigued and would not be able to continue the war. What is at stake is its strategic interests for which no price is too high. We want peace with you, but not from a position of weakness or intimidation.
In the opinion of some, it is what happened on the ground in the Yemeni war that has prompted the Houthis to reconsider and seek peace with the Saudis. A source put it this way: The Houthis were born and have grown old in the space of a single year. They concluded that Iranian assistance under the table would not be sufficient to fight a ferocious war, and that Iranian support would not be enough to cover the burden of the war in Yemen, which is why they decided to distance themselves to an extent from Tehran.
The Houthis agreed to engage with Saudi Arabia, despite the fact that their request for them to be recognized as an equal to the legitimate government of Hadi was rejected. The Houthis found an opportunity through the UN envoy to discuss a settlement based on resolution 2216, which is backed by the five permanent members of the UN Security Council, led by Russia and the US. They understood that these countries accepted Saudi Arabia’s insistence on its own arrangements at its southern border and its desire to reach a political settlement after eliminating the threat at the border. Now there is a different dynamic after the gains on the ground.
To be sure, the Ali Abdullah Saleh factor remains a key part of the equation, even if some are now claiming he is marginal and others are saying he would not be able to get any deal after the Houthis abandoned him. Some believe Saleh has become an obstacle to the political process, and that there can be no safe exit for him because the conditions for that are impossible. Indeed, his funds and assets he wants to remove from Yemen makes his exit difficult.
Perhaps it is the fatigue factor that will allow Yemen to end its many wars, and the same could apply to Libya’s bloody conflict, where now there seems to be finally a willingness to stop the bleeding – by Raghida Dergham, Columnist and Senior Diplomatic Correspondent, Al Hayat
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/raghida-dergham/-yemen-between-ending-the_b_9657000.html
Comment: Writing from the Saudi side of the negotiation table – it stays quite doubtful how any achievements towards piece could be reached.
10.4.2016 – Kayhan (B K P)
Ask Saudis Not Iran to Stop War on Yemen
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry has a lot of nerves to ask Iran help stop the twin wars on Yemen and Syria.
At a press conference in Bahrain on Thursday, April 7, Kerry urged Tehran to "help us end the war in Yemen... help us end the war in Syria, not intensify, and help us to be able to change the dynamics of this region.”
He also said Iran should "prove to the world that it wants to be a constructive member of the international community and contribute to peace and stability.”
Few points are worth mentioning in this respect:
In the year-long campaign of Saudi-led airstrikes in Yemen, the bombs that do the killing of innocent civilians came from the United States not Iran. The United States and its NATO cohorts should pull the plug on arms to the Saudis or further share responsibility for civilian lives lost. Meaning, it is not Iran that has waged an illegal war on the poorest country. It is the House of Saud and its regional and Western partners in crime that need to stop the ongoing bloodshed. Simply put, John Kerry is barking at the wrong tree.
According to a new report by Human Rights Watch, the Saudi-led killing of civilians in Yemen will not go away as long as they have access to the U.S.-supplied weaponry. There should be an embargo on weapons to Saudi Arabia in order to stop the war. Also, the West should send a clear message to Riyadh that they want no part in unlawful killings of civilians. Kerry is wasting his time to call on Iran to do this.
There have been outraged calls for an embargo on weapons sales to Saudi Arabia in response to its bombing campaign in Yemen, most notably from the EU and the Netherlands. Tragic enough, the hypocrites in Washington have remained silent and continue to sell weapons to the Saudis.
The U.S. is deeply intertwined with Saudi Arabia’s bombing campaign in Yemen as well as the ongoing blockade, including specific military operations. It includes providing advice on targeting decisions and aerial refueling during bombing raids.
Despite all this, the war Party in Washington continually argues that it is not responsible for the atrocities committed in Yemen by the Saudi-led coalition. Its Secretary of State Kerry even has the guts to ask Tehran to help end the war, which is ridiculous and hypocritical at best.
However, the United States’ involvement is such that it is culpable for the Saudis’ war crimes. America’s participation in specific military operations, such as providing advice on targeting decisions and aerial refueling during bombing raids, make American forces jointly responsible for laws-of-war violations and war crimes by Saudi-led forces as well.
Quite the opposite, Iran is not a party to this conflict and cannot help the warmongers end it in its current shape and form. As a party to the conflict, the U.S. is obligated to force the Saudis stop their bombing raids on civilian targets first. The War Party and its cohorts can then ask Iran to help bring peace to all.
http://kayhan.ir/en/news/25447
Comment: Statement from Iran.
cp2a Waffenstillstand / Truce
Siehe / See cp1, cp2, cp16, cp17
12.4.2016 – Ein Parteibuch (A K P)
SAUDISCHE KOALITION IGNORIERT WAFFENSTILLSTAND IM JEMEN
Die saudisch geführte Koalition setzt ihren Krieg gegen den Jemen trotz eines von ihr selbst angeschobenen Waffenstillstandes ohne erkennbare Änderungen fort.
Die von der saudischen Kriegskoalition unterstützten Söldner und Banditen nutzen die aufgrund des Waffenstillstandes eingenommene defensive Haltung von Ansarullah und der jemenitischen Armee an praktisch allen Fronten für Versuche größerer Angriffsoperationen mit dem Ziel von Geländegewinnen und die saudische Luftwaffebombardiert die Bevölkerung des Jemen genauso weiter wie vor dem Waffenstillstand. Der Waffenstillstand sieht also demnach einfach nur nach einem weiteren saudischen PR-Trick aus, der mit keinerlei praktischen Einstellung der fortgesetzten saudischen Aggression gegen den Jemen verbunden ist.
12.4.2016 – Tasnim News (A K P PH)
Yemen’s Ansarullah Warns Riyadh against Continued Breach of Ceasefire
Yemen’s Houthi Ansarullah movement warned against the repercussions of repeated violations of a ceasefire in the war-torn country by Saudi Arabia and its mercenaries.
Ali al-Bukhaiti, a member of the political council of Ansarullah, on Monday underlined the movement’s position on the necessity for cessation of the war, saying that it has even made certain concessions to that aim.
“An agreement was reached with the Saudi side for a ceasefire in border areas,” he went on to say, according to a report by Al Mayadeen TV.
“The success of Kuwait negotiations hinges on the success of the ceasefire,” the Ansarullah figure stressed, warning against Riyadh’s continued breaches of the truce and Saudi jet fighters’ flying over Sa’ada and border areas of Yemen.
12.4.2016 – Almasdar News (A K P)
Yemen ceasefire strained by Saudi violations
A UN-brokered truce appeared to be holding on Tuesday despite repeated Saudi violations in several areas across country.
Yemeni sources told Sabaa news agency that at least 39 breaches of ceasefire have been recorded since the beginning of the truce on Sunday midnight. The sources said that Artillery fire, gun battles and air strikes by a Saudi-led coalition were reported in the capital Sanaa and several other provinces of Taiz, Marib, Shabwa, Jawf and Hijjah.
“We express our condemnation of air strikes and the military advances made in some fronts since this morning,” spokesman of Ansarullah revolutionary movement, Mohammed Abdel-Salam said in a statement on his Facebook page. Meanwhile, he stressed that Ansarullah is committed to the ceasefire. Earlier, Ansarullah said it had set up committees in six provinces to prevent escalation and coordinate aid efforts with the United Nations.
https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/yemen-ceasefire-strained-saudi-violations/
11.4.2016 – Tagesspiegel (A K P)
Waffenruhe wird eingehalten
Erster Schritt in Richtung Frieden: Regierungstruppen und Rebellen stellen die Kämpfe weitgehend ein.
Im Jemen ist eine von der UNO vermittelte Waffenruhe in Kraft getreten. Die Huthi-Rebellen, die Regierungstruppen und die arabische Militärkoalition stellten die Kämpfe in der Nacht zum Montag weitgehend ein. Es gab nur vereinzelte Verstöße, wie die Regierungstruppen und die Militärkoalition mitteilten. Der UN-Vermittler Ismail Ould Scheich Ahmed appellierte an alle Konfliktparteien, die Waffenruhe zu befolgen.
Die Waffenruhe trat am Sonntag um Mitternacht (23.00 Uhr MESZ) in Kraft. Alle Konfliktparteien hatten zuvor angekündigt, sich an die Vereinbarung zu halten. Der Generalstabschef der regierungstreuen Truppen, Mohammed Ali al-Makdaschi, warf den Huthi-Rebellen am Montag allerdings mehrere Verstöße gegen die Waffenruhe vor, vor allem in der Stadt Taes. Es handele sich bislang jedoch lediglich um "kleinere" Verstöße, erklärte der Sprecher der Militärkoalition, Ahmed Assiri. "Es ist der erste Tag und wir sollten Geduld haben", fügte der Brigadegeneral hinzu.
Kämpfe gab es am Montag vor allem in Taes im Südwesten des Landes. Die dortigen Regierungstruppen berichteten von zwölf Verstößen gegen die Waffenruhe durch die Rebellen. In Marib östlich von Sanaa wurde den Angaben zufolge eine von den Rebellen abgefeuert Rakete abgefangen. Auch aus der Provinz Dschawf im Norden des Landes wurden Verstöße gemeldet. Sanaa wurde dagegen nicht mehr bombardiert.
http://www.tagesspiegel.de/politik/krieg-im-jemen-waffenruhe-wird-eingehalten/13431792.html
12.4.2016 – Deutsche Welle (A K P)
Offiziell stellten die Huthi-Rebellen, die Regierungstruppen und die arabische Militärkoalition die Kämpfe in der Nacht zum Montag ein. Alle Beteiligten hatten zuvor angekündigt, sich an die Vereinbarung halten zu wollen. Der Generalstabschef der regierungstreuen Truppen, Mohammed Ali al-Makdaschi, warf den Huthi-Rebellen am Montag allerdings mehrere Verstöße vor, vor allem in der Großstadt Tais im Landesinneren.
Wie Anwohner berichten, hatten die Huthi-Rebellen dort Wohngebiete beschossen. In den Provinzen Tais und Lahdsch habe es zudem Luftangriffe der saudisch-geführten Militärkoalition auf die Rebellen gegeben. In der von den Huthis kontrollierten Hauptstadt Sanaa blieb es dagegen bislang ruhig.
http://www.dw.com/de/waffenruhe-im-jemen-hält-gewissermaßen/a-19179260 siehe auch von Reuters http://de.reuters.com/article/jemen-waffenruhe-idDEKCN0X81UR
11.4.2016 – Aljazeera (A P)
UN envoy: Yemen truce first step in return to peace
General Mohamed Ali al-Makdashi, the chief of staff for Hadi's forces, said early on Monday the ceasefire was largely holding despite some violations by rebels.
"The truce has not collapsed and we hope the rebels end their attacks and respect the ceasefire," he said, alleging breaches in several areas including the cities of Taiz, in southwestern Yemen, and Marib, east of Sanaa.
Hadi forces accused Houthis of 25 truce violations around Taiz, while the rebels said in a statement that there was at least one coalition air strike in Taiz province, and accused loyalists of being behind 33 truce violations north and east of Sanaa, as well as in the south.
A committee comprising representatives from both sides will work to ensure the ceasefire is respected.
Coalition spokesman Brigadier General Ahmed Asiri earlier described the violations as "minor".
"It is the first day and we should be patient," the top Saudi officer told AFP news agency. "Day by day, it will be better."
An AFP photographer in Sanaa said the rebel-held capital has not been targeted by coalition warplanes since Sunday.
The Western-backed Prime Minister Ahmed bin Dagher also played down violations, saying that the truce "seems good", adding after meeting the UN envoy in Riyadh that "we want a durable peace".
"Now is the time to step back from the brink," the UN envoy Ahmed said.
"The progress made represents a real opportunity to rebuild a country that has suffered far too much violence for far too long."
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2016/04/envoy-yemen-truce-step-return-peace-160411141155833.html and from Al Arabiya (Saudi website) http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2016/04/11/Warring-Yemen-sides-vow-to-respect-ceasefire.html
11.4.2016 – Wall Street Journal (A K P)
Fighting Mars Start of Yemen Cease-Fire
Airstrikes and ground fighting dim prospects for next week’s U.N.-mediated peace talks
Fighting on Monday marred the latest cease-fire in Yemen just hours after it began, dimming prospects for next week’s United Nations-backed talks aimed at ending the yearlong war between Houthi rebels and a Saudi-led military coalition.
Residents of Taiz said the coalition carried out airstrikes on the southern city. Fighting also broke out some 35 miles east of the capital San’a, a witness said. The scope of that violence and the identities of the combatants weren’t immediately known.
The rebels and the Saudi coalition had pledged to comply with the U.N.-mediated cease-fire, which went into effect late Sunday, local time. Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed, the U.N. special envoy to Yemen, said both sides were committed to it.
“Now is the time to step back from the brink,” he said. “The progress made represents a real opportunity to rebuild a country that has suffered far too much violence for far too long.”
The cease-fire has been on tenuous footing from the start. Armed Yemeni factions allied with the Saudi coalition near Taiz said earlier this week they wouldn’t abide by the cease-fire.
Yemen’s main jihadist groups, al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula and local branches of Islamic State, weren’t expected to honor it, either. AQAP fighters advanced Monday in the southern Abyan province, local officials said.
In a statement carried by the official Saudi Press Agency, the coalition said Sunday it reserved the right to respond to any violations of the cease-fire – by Asa Fitch and Margherita Stancati
http://www.wsj.com/articles/saudi-led-coalition-promises-to-adhere-to-yemen-cease-fire-1460359998
Comment: Joke of the year. Warplanes are hovering over Sanaá. Saudi mercenaries engaged in fierce fighting in Mareb, Al Jawf, Taiz, Nihm Mountain close to Sanaá. That is what ceasefire is made of: LIES
https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=1006096579443372&id=961126490607048
Comment: I do not hope so.
11.4.2016 – Entwicklungspolitik Online (* A H K P)
Jemen: Waffenstillstand muss halten oder Tausende mehr werden sterben
Nach der vereinbarten Waffenruhe im Jemen hat ein Zusammenschluss von 16 Hilfsorganisationen, darunter CARE, Oxfam und Save the Children, am Montag vor katastrophalen Folgen gewarnt, sollte der Waffenstillstand, wie bereits zuvor, nicht eingehalten werden.
Bislang zwang der seit über einem Jahr andauernde Konflikt täglich rund 6610 Menschen zur Flucht, pro Tag wurden etwa 25 Zivilisten verletzt oder getötet. Die Zahl der Kinder, die täglich an vermeidbaren Krankheiten sterben, hat sich seit dem Beginn der Krise um 28 auf 137 gesteigert. Insgesamt sind mehr als 2,75 Millionen Menschen auf der Flucht, über 82 Prozent der Jemeniten, oder 21,2 Millionen, sind dringend auf humanitäre Hilfe angewiesen.
"Für Millionen von Zivilisten im Jemen ist jetzt der Moment der Wahrheit gekommen. Ein anhaltender Waffenstillstand könnte der erste Schritt zur Beendigung dieser zutiefst erschütternden Krise sein", sagte CARE-Generalsekretär Karl-Otto Zentel. "Sollte der Waffenstillstand nicht eingehalten werden, müssen jene, die ihn brechen, dafür zur Rechenschaft gezogen werden. Die Zahlen sprechen für sich. Jeder Tag des Krieges ist ein weiterer Tag der Vertreibung, der Verzweiflung und des massiven Todes."
Während ein sofortiger Waffenstillstand von wesentlicher Bedeutung ist, werden weitere Maßnahmen folgen müssen, um die Krise zu beenden und den Weg für dauerhaften Frieden zu ebnen.
"Die Zerstörung von jemenitischen Häusern, Fabriken, Schulen und Krankenhäusern ist immens. Der Wiederaufbau wird Jahrzehnte dauern, doch noch viel langwieriger wird die Wiederherstellung des sozialen Zusammenhaltes und die Heilung von Traumata sein, die Millionen unschuldiger Menschen erleiden", erklärte Robert Lindner, Referent für Humanitäre Krisen bei Oxfam Deutschland. "In den mehr als drei Jahrzehnten, die wir im Jemen arbeiten, haben wir dort noch nie eine Krise dieser Größenordnung gesehen. Durch die Blockade, den Krieg und die Bankenkrise droht Millionen von Menschen der Hunger."
Die Hilfsorganisationen fordern mehr finanzielle Hilfszusagen internationaler Regierungen, damit Millionen von Menschen so schnell wie möglich unverzichtbare Hilfsgüter und Dienstleistungen wie Nahrung, Wasser, Medizin und Unterkünfte erhalten.
"Solange die Konfliktparteien weiter Krieg führen und Hilfe behindern, werden Millionen von Kinder weiterhin hungern und ohne Gesundheitsversorgung, sauberes Wasser und Bildung auskommen müssen. Jemeniten dürfen nicht erneut mit leeren Versprechungen im Stich gelassen werden. Dieses Mal brauchen jemenitische Kinder mehr als nur Worte. Es müssen Taten folgen, damit die Gewalt ein Ende findet", so Edward Santiago, Länderdirektor von Save the Children im Jemen.
Die Hilfsorganisationen betonen, dass die durch die Vereinten Nationen geförderten Friedensgespräche am 18. April eine einmalige Gelegenheit bieten, das Leiden zu beenden. Langfristige Lösungen müssen jedoch die Stimmen und Anliegen der jemenitischen Zivilgesellschaft in einem repräsentativen und integrativen Prozess umfassen.
11.4.2016 – Oxfam (* A K P)
Yemen: Ceasefire must hold or thousands more will die
Today's agreed cessation of hostilities in Yemen comes at a crucial moment when an entire country is on the brink. Humanitarian agencies warned today that should the ceasefire break down again, as previous ones did, the consequences would be catastrophic.
"This is a moment of truth for Yemen’s millions of civilians. A real ceasefire could be the first step towards ending this staggering yet forgotten crisis," said the Secretary General of the Norwegian Refugee Council, Jan Egeland. "If it doesn't hold, those breaking it must be held accountable for the bloodshed. The figures speak for themselves. Every day of war is another day of massive death, displacement and despair."
While an immediate cessation of hostilities is essential, it is just the first of several measures needed to stop the crisis and pave the way for long-lasting peace and recovery.
"The widespread destruction of Yemen's houses, factories, schools and hospitals will require decades to rebuild; the destruction of Yemen's social fabric and the trauma millions of innocent people are suffering will take even longer to heal," said Sajjad Mohammad Sajid, Oxfam's Country Director in Yemen. "In the more than three decades that we've been working in Yemen, we have never witnessed a crisis of this scale. The blockade, war and now a looming banking crisis risk pushing millions into famine."
The humanitarian agencies reiterated their call on international governments to fully fund the humanitarian response so that millions of civilians receive essential aid and services like food, water, medicine and housing as an immediate priority. Parties to the conflict need to allow aid agencies to reach those most in need caught in the fighting, and the most vulnerable to reach the services they need. The commercial blockade needs to be lifted so that commercial supplies are allowed into Yemen.
Save the Children's Country Director in Yemen Edward Santiago said: “As long as parties to the conflict continue to wage war and obstruct aid, millions of children will continue to go hungry or without healthcare, clean water and education. Yemenis must not be let down yet again, with more empty promises of ceasefires that fail to stop the killing. Yemeni children need more than words this time, they need action and a genuine commitment to end the violence once and for all."
The agencies warned that the upcoming UN-sponsored peace talks, due to start on April 18, are the only real opportunity to end the suffering. Long-term solutions however must include the voices and concerns of Yemeni civil society in a representative and inclusive process.
“All Yemenis need their voices to be heard if there is any hope for these peace talks to be sustainable,” said Daw Mohammed, CARE Country Director in Yemen. “Women, youth and minority groups must be included because they will be critical to rebuilding Yemen in the years to come.”
http://www.oxfamamerica.org/press/yemen-ceasefire-must-hold-or-thousands-more-will-die/
11.4.2016 – Die Welt (A K P)
Waffenruhe im Jemen macht Hoffnung auf Frieden
Im Bürgerkriegsland Jemen blieb es in den ersten Stunden der Waffenruhe überwiegend ruhig, trotz vereinzelter Gefechte. Die weitere Entwicklung ist entscheidend für anstehende Friedensverhandlungen.
Die langerwartete Waffenruhe im Jemen ist trotz vereinzelter Kämpfe in den ersten Stunden größtenteils eingehalten worden. Vor allem aus der zentraljemenitischen Großstadt Tais wurden trotz der um Mitternacht (Ortszeit) in Kraft getretenen Feuerpause anhaltende Kämpfe berichtet. Nach Angaben von Anwohnern hätten die aufständischen Huthi-Rebellen dort Wohngebiete beschossen.
In den Provinzen Tais und Lahdsch habe es zudem Luftangriffe der saudisch-geführten Militärkoalition gegeben. In der von den Huthis kontrollierten Hauptstadt Sanaa blieb es Berichten zufolge erst einmal ruhig.
Der UN-Vermittler Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed begrüßte den Beginn der Waffenruhe. Er forderte nach Angaben der Vereinten Nationen alle Konfliktparteien dazu auf, das Abkommen einzuhalten. Es sei ein erster Schritt für den Jemen zum Frieden. Es dürfe nicht noch mehr Tote geben, mahnte er. Alle Seiten müssten bereit sein, schwierige Kompromisse einzugehen.
Weitere Meldungen auf Deutsch: http://www.zeit.de/politik/ausland/2016-04/jemen-waffenruhe-saudi-arabien-huthi-rebellen und http://www.n-tv.de/politik/Waffenruhe-im-Jemen-haelt-vorerst-article17432741.html und http://www.msn.com/de-de/nachrichten/other/jemen-hoffnung-auf-ein-wenig-frieden/ar-BBrAtwC
11.4.2016 – Deutschlandfunk (A K P)
Feuerpause soll Jemen Frieden bringen
Da ist klar, dass sich die Menschen im Jemen gestern nicht einig waren, ob der Waffenstillstand halten wird.
"Ich denke nicht, dass er halten wird. Es ist so viel gefoltert und gemordet worden. Familien wurden vertrieben, ihre Häuser zerstört, ihre Kinder getötet, Schulen sind geschlossen. Waffenstillstand? – Wir haben so oft versucht zu verhandeln, aber alles ist gescheitert."
"Ich bin optimistisch und hoffe, dass alles gut wird. Wenn die ausländischen Kräfte aufhören, sich bei uns einzumischen. Wenn sie uns lassen, können wir unsere Heimat wieder aufbauen."
In einer Woche sollen nun in Kuwait Friedensverhandlungen beginnen – zwischen einer Delegationen der Huthis und einer von Präsident Hadi. – von Björn Blaschke (A K P)
11.4.2016 – BBC (A K P)
Both sides 'will respect' Yemen truce
The Saudi-led coalition supporting government forces in Yemen has said it will respect a UN-backed ceasefire which came into force on Monday.
Iranian-backed Houthi rebels who are trying to overthrow the government have said they will also respect the truce.
The Saudi-led coalition issued a statement saying it was "going to respect a ceasefire... at the demand of President [Abdrabbuh Mansour] Hadi but reserves the right to respond" to any rebel attacks.
A spokesman for the Houthis said the rebels would also respond to any attacks on their forces.
A further 20 people were reportedly killed in clashes on Sunday, hours before the truce was due to come into effect.
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-36011794
Comment: “Iranian-backed Houthi rebels” is double propaganda speech.
10.4.2016 – Reuters (* A K P)
Warring Yemen sides begin truce, warn against violations
Rival sides in Yemen's year-long conflict began a tentative truce overnight on Sunday saying they were committed to the halt in
A halt in fighting from Sunday midnight (2100 GMT) precedes peace talks set to begin on April 18 in Kuwait.
A spokesman for a Saudi-led military coalition, which has been carrying out air strikes over the past year, urged the Iran-allied Houthis to respect the halt in violence which he said the Yemeni government and alliance would adhere to.
"But if there is any violation of this ceasefire, we will have the right to retaliate, to assess the situation at that time and take whatever steps are necessary to stop these violations," Brigadier-General Ahmed al-Asiri said by telephone.
Pan-Arab TV channel al-Arabiya later reported clashes in an area around Taiz in southwestern Yemen in the early hours of Monday. Reuters was not immediately able to confirm this.
"This truce is in its early stages, violations may occur in the beginning, but we hope the next few hours will see more discipline towards the ceasefire," Yemen's foreign minister Abdel Malek al-Mekhlafi told the channel from Riyadh.
He added events were being monitored to see if they were systematic violations requiring retaliation.
In his comments to Reuters earlier, coalition spokesman Asiri said Yemeni military officials and some militia representatives had met over the past two days in southern Saudi Arabia to prepare for the ceasefire and had signed agreements on how it would be implemented and monitored.
The rival sides had formed committees to observe the halt in hostilities and facilitate the delivery of humanitarian aid, he said.
During the halt in fighting, the military alliance will continue to carry out intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, he said, and monitor the Saudi-Yemeni border, territorial waters and airspace.
A spokesman for the Houthis and their allies said they were also committed to the truce but also retained the right to respond if it was broken by the other side.
In the capital Sanaa, controlled for the last 18 months by the Houthis, residents said they desperately wanted this attempt at peace to succeed after two rounds of talks failed last year – by MOHAMMED GHOBARI AND SYLVIA WESTALL
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-yemen-security-idUSKCN0X70O6 = https://www.yahoo.com/news/clashes-erupt-yemen-hours-planned-truce-155749081.html
Comment: The wording “The conflict between the Yemeni government, backed by Saudi Arabia, and its Houthi rebel enemies” is propaganda speech as the greater part of the Yemeni army, loyal to ex-president Saleh, is fighting as an ally of the Houthis – who are “rebels” in the real sense of this word no more, but formed a rival Yemeni government.
11.4.2016 – Deutsche Welle (A K P)
Ceasefire takes effect in Yemen; one violation reported in Taiz
A ceasefire that was due to take effect in Yemen at midnight local time (2100 UTC) has largely taken effect, albeit with one reported violation.
Residents and local journalists in the central city of Taiz say rebel forces shelled residential areas and a military base after midnight
Still, both sides - Saudi-backed government forces and Iranian-backed Houthi rebels had agreed to abide by the UN-backed ceasefire in the run-up to its implementation.
General Mohamed Ali al-Makdashi told reporters that "we are going to respect it... unless the Houthi rebels violate it."
http://www.dw.com/en/ceasefire-takes-effect-in-yemen-one-violation-reported-in-taiz/a-19177538
10.4.2016 – Al Arabiya (A K P)
Yemen’s ceasefire begins, FM warns of violations
Yemen’s foreign minister expressed alarm after reported breaches minutes after a ceasefire went into effect at 2100 GMT on Sunday in the country, just a week before the upcoming UN-sponsored peace talks in Kuwait.
“Until now we do not know if the violations were intentional but we will evaluate in the next few hours to see if they were,” Yemeni Foreign Minister Abdulmalik Al-Mekhlafi told Al Arabiya News Channel.
“If these violations prove to be intentional, we will retaliate,” he warned.
But the Houthi rebels vowed to respect the truce that began, joining other combatants in supporting the ceasefire.
The Houthis, along with allied troops loyal to ex-president Ali Abdullah Saleh, have sent the United Nations a letter committing to “cease land, sea and air military operations” throughout Yemen, according to a communique carried by the rebel-run Saba news agency.
Earlier, Saudi military spokesman Brigadier General Ahmed al-Asiri said the Arab Coalition fighting Iran-backed Houthi militias will honor Yemen’s ceasefire.
“The Arab coalition is going to respect a ceasefire in Yemen starting from midnight Sunday at the demand of President (Abedrabbo Mansour) Hadi but reserves the right to respond” to any rebel attacks, it said in a statement.
In a telephone interview with Al Arabiya News Channel, Asiri expressed his hopes that the Houthis will commit to the ceasfire.
He also said that humanitarian aid will be delivered to six Yemeni provinces during the ceasfire, emphasizing that the Yemeni government will go through the talks in Kuwait regardless of the situation.
Comment: Saudi view. Other sources do not object to any side having started the fights in Taiz region (see cp17).
cp3 Humanitäre Lage / Humanitarian situation
Siehe cp1 Am wichtigsten / See cp1 Most important
12.4.2016 – UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
Yemen: Humanitarian Snapshot (12 April 2016)
Prior to the conflict, the health system in Yemen was significantly strained, with only three doctors per 10,000 people. Some 14.1 million people now need help to access adequate healthcare as a result of the intensified year of conflict. Lack of supplies, medicines, electricity, fuel for generators, and staff or equipment have caused health services to decline across the country. This is disproportionately affecting under-5 children, pregnant women, and people suffering from chronic diseases – including cancer, hypertension, diabetes. The three main causes of additional deaths among children under-5 are neonatal, diarrhoeal disease, and pneumonia. Health facilities report attending to more than 30,000 injured and 6,400 killed since the escalation of violence in March 2015. Demands and strains on the health sector and on host families are increasing along with the number of people that have fled their homes in search of safety and security.
http://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/yemen-humanitarian-snapshot-12-april-2016-0 and in full http://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/YEMEN%20Humanitarian%20Snapshot%20%2812%20April%202016%29_0.pdf
12.4.2016 – Metro.uk (* B H)
Child soldiers of Yemen: The youthful faces of boys, as young as 10, fighting in the conflict
In Yemen, children as young as 10 are picking up weapons that are almost as tall as them to fight in a conflict they could never fully comprehend.
It is a modern day tragedy but one that doesn’t look like going away any time soon.
Earlier this year, UNICEF estimated that a third of the soldiers fighting a brutal civil war in the Middle Eastern country are children.
It is a shocking truth that is not isolated to either side in the conflict.
Both the Houthi rebels and militias fighting on behalf of the internationally recognised President Abdullah Mansour Hadi have recruited children.
In Yemeni culture, you are considered a man at the age of 14 or 15 and part of manhood is picking up a weapon.
Many are used on checkpoints but also feature on the frontline too with more and more dying – by Toby Meyjes (with impressing photos; also: suffering of children in general9
12.4.2016 – Washingtons Blog (B K P)
U.S. and Saudis Causing Hundreds of Thousands of Children to Starve to Death In Yemen
[Short overview on humanitarian crimes already reported]
11.4.2016 – Domradio (B H)
Hilfsorganisationen fordern Hilfe für den JemenDer "Moment der Wahrheit"
Nach der vereinbarten Waffenruhe im Jemen fordert ein Zusammenschluss von 16 Hilfsorganisationen weitere Maßnahmen für dauerhaften Frieden. Derweil stocken die Freilassungsbemühungen für einen im Jemen verschleppten Priester offenbar.
Sollte die Waffenruhe nicht eingehalten werden, drohten katastrophale Folgen für das arabische Land, warnten die Hilfsorganisationen am Montag in Bonn. Zu dem Bündnis gehören Care, Oxfam und Save the Children. Die Jemeniten bräuchten Nahrung, Wasser, Medizin und Unterkünfte, betonten die Organisationen. Dafür sei mehr finanzielle Hilfe notwendig. Zudem könnten die durch die Vereinten Nationen (UN) geförderten Friedensgespräche am 18. April die Gelegenheit bieten, das Leiden zu beenden.
Nun sei der "Moment der Wahrheit" gekommen, mahnte Care-Generalsekretär Karl-Otto Zentel. Der Wiederaufbau werde Jahrzehnte dauern, ergänzte Robert Lindner, Referent für Humanitäre Krisen bei Oxfam Deutschland. "Doch noch viel langwieriger wird die Wiederherstellung des sozialen Zusammenhaltes und die Heilung von Traumata sein, die Millionen unschuldiger Menschen erleiden."
https://www.domradio.de/themen/soziales/2016-04-11/hilfsorganisationen-fordern-hilfe-fuer-den-jemen
11.4.2016 – Elisabeth Kendall (B H)
New Education Project in al-Mahra, Yemen
A little bit of good news from Yemen! Watch this warming 3 min video to see how locals in al-Mahra are seizing the initiative. With al-Qa'ida now on the doorstep, they are acting preemptively to involve communities in positive projects, like this one. Such initiatives can help build a long-term sustainable future without the need to succumb to offers of help from Ansar al-Shari'a. Small start, high hopes.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5nO9Yywva-8&feature=youtu.be
11.4.2016 – World Food Programme (A H)
Yemen Market Situation Update - March 2016
Market situation update for March 2016. Key highlights include:
Due to the intensified conflicts and airstrikes during the month in several governorates including Taiz, Sa'ada, Hajja, Shabwa, Marib, Al Jawf, Sana'a and Al Bayda, essential commodities continued to be sporadically available into local markets. The level of food imports in February 2016 was lower than the previous month which also led to the poor supply. The domestic crop production in 2015 was estimated to be 30% lower than last year which could add more pressure.
The national average price of wheat flour was 9% higher than the pre-crisis period (ranging from 1% in Amran to 72% in Taiz). Average price of red beans were 35% higher than pre-crisis (ranging from 5% in Hadramout to 81% in Taiz). Prices of other food items were also persistently more than the pre-crisis levels.
Fuel imports in February was much lower than in January 2016 which resulted in severe scarcity of fuel across most of the governorates. The national average price of fuel remained to be over 52% higher than pre-crisis period (ranging from 3% in Al Mahra to 179% in Taiz). The prices of fuel in Taiz is still the highest due to the ongoing intensified conflict.
Given the fact that livelihoods of the majority of Yemeni households have been seriously disrupted and coping mechanisms are severely eroded, the high level of food insecurity may likely to remain unchanged, could even deteriorate further in areas such as Taiz, Sa'ada, Hajja, Al Jawf, Al Bayda and Marib governorates that are suffering from the continued conflicts and airstrikes.
http://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/yemen-market-situation-update-march-2016 and in full: http://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/wfp282917.pdf
cp6 Südjemen und Hadi-Regierung / Southern Yemen and Hadi-government
12.4.2016 – Almanar (* B T)
ISIS emerges in strategic port city of Aden in southern Yemen
Over the past few months, ISIS has targeted several Hadi-affiliated checkpoints and many innocent Yemeni civilians in Yemen’s port city of Aden. This comes as the Islamic State allegedly set up a training camp at a secret location inside the city last summer.
While sporadic ISIS appearances are on the increase inside Aden, the Islamic State also keeps appearing in the countryside of Yemen, often spawned out of defecting Ansar al-Sharia ranks. Occasionally, ISIS units manage to capture actual towns as they have done in Lawdar not long ago; however, they often disappear into the deserts of Yemen or what could be considered mere thin air.
More often than not, it is merely local militia chieftains who join ISIS partially for ideological reasons but also due to being upset with the failed states in their turbulent countries home countries. The Islamic State still faces a considerable task if they ever intend to connect their territories across various nations; meanwhile, the United Nations seem more committed than ever to destroy ISIS once and for all – by Chris Thomson
https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/isis-emerges-strategic-port-city-aden-southern-yemen/
12.4.2016 – NZZ (A T)
Selbstmordattentäter tötet fünf Soldaten
Bei einem Selbstmordanschlag in Jemens zweitgrösster Stadt Aden sind am Dienstag fünf Armeerekruten getötet worden. Zehn weitere Menschen wurden verletzt, als der Attentäter einen Sprengstoffgürtel zündete.
Der Attentäter brachte nach Angaben aus Sicherheitskreisen seinen Sprengstoffgürtel inmitten einer Gruppe junger Soldaten zur Explosion, die zu ihrem Stützpunkt in Aden unterwegs waren.
Zu dem Anschlag bekannte sich zunächst niemand, die Behörden machen aber in der Regel das in Aden und im Südjemen aktive Al-Kaida-Netzwerk für vergleichbare Attentate verantwortlich.
12.4.2016 – Aljazeera (A T)
Suicide bomber targets young men in Yemen's Aden
Suicide attacker sets off explosives belt during ceasefire and before peace talks, killing at least four people.
A suicide bomber detonated an explosives belt near a football stadium in the southern Yemeni city of Aden, killing at least four people, witnesses said.
Eight people were wounded in the attack on Tuesday, which appeared to target young men queueing to sign up for the military.
The witnesses told the Associated Press news agency that the four people killed were in addition to the bomber.
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2016/04/suicide-bomber-targets-young-men-yemen-aden-160412063223994.html see also Reuters http://www.france24.com/en/20160412-suicide-blast-yemens-aden-kills-four
Comment: According to Reuters, 10 wounded.
Comment: There are very few jobs anywhere in Yemen except for in the military; many are joining up just to get food for their family rather than because they are motivated to fight. And as they line to sign on, they are attacked by a suicide bomber - it is alleged from Daesh.
https://www.facebook.com/yemennewstodayenglish/posts/1125229567629533
11.4.2016 – Nasser Arrabyee (A T)
Yemen Qaeda/ISIS killed senior security officer today in Aden south 1 day after killed head of local authority&his son in the same city
https://twitter.com/narrabyee/status/719489339315630080
cp7 UNO und Friedensgespräche / UN and peace talks
Siehe / See cp1, 2, 2a
12.4.2016 – Al Thawra Net (A P)
France Calls For Unconditional Yemen’s Peace Talks
rench Foreign Ministry and Japan’s Embassy in Yemen welcomed the ceasefire and the new round of peace talks set to begin on April 18. They also appreciate the role of the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General of the United Nations and Yemeni parties to achieve Yemen’s peace and stability.
April 11th, a statement of the French Foreign Ministry said that 10th of April is the day of the ceasefire in Yemen, this was the first step toward peace talks on April 18 in Kuwait.
The statement called also Yemeni parties to participate in Kuwait talks with a constructive way avoiding any preconditions.
The French Foreign Ministry statement said “ people must be allowed to access to the humanitarian aid they need.”
“We offer our full support to the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General of the United Nations in the talks procedures,” the statement said.
Tokyo embassy statement on April 11th confirmed that Japan continues its support with the international community and the UN special envoy to achieve peace in Yemen ,and participates in the humanitarian aid for humanitarian needs.
http://en.althawranews.net/2016/04/france-calls-for-unconditional-yemens-peace-talks/
Comment: “avoiding any preconditions” – well, that’s the only chance for any peace talks. The Saudi side, especially “president” Hadi, were disturbing all prior negotiations with a lot of preconditions, the greatest demanding the capitulation of the other side.
11.4.2016 – Aljazeera (A P)
UN envoy: Yemen truce first step in return to peace
Special envoy Ahmed Ismail Ould Cheikh says now is time to step back from the brink and rebuild the war-torn country.
The United Nations special envoy has called the ceasefire in Yemen "a first step in Yemen's return to peace", as the truce in place since Sunday midnight seems to be mostly holding.
"This is critical, urgent and much needed. Yemen cannot afford the loss of more lives," Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed, the UN’s special envoy for Yemen, said in a statement on Monday.
Ahmed urged all parties to work to ensure that the cessation of hostilities is "fully respected".
He added that preparations were under way for Kuwait peace talks scheduled to be held on April 18, which are to focus on key issues such as withdrawal of militias and armed groups, handover of heavy weapons and resumption of an all-inclusive political dialogue.
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2016/04/envoy-yemen-truce-step-return-peace-160411141155833.html
7.4.2016 – Inner City Press (B P)
A month before the one year anniversary of the Saudi-led Coalition's campaign of airstrikes on Yemen, Inner City Press exclusively published, not for the first time, an email leaked to it between UN envoy Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed and UN Department of Political Affairs chief Jeff Feltman.
As Inner City Press subsequently reported, Feltman conducted questioning -- some called it a witch hunt -- of DPA staff to try to find out who had leaked it to Inner City Press. Feltman responds, below. On April 7 while Feltman was in Geneva meeting, among others, Morocco about Western Sahara, Inner City Pres asked of the UN noon briefing, UN transcript here:
http://www.innercitypress.com/yemen17kirbyicp040716.html
Comment: Anyone who says there is a truce in Yemen is an absolute liar! Almost from the first hour Saudi planes were strafing away at every nook and cranny of Yemen. Ould Al-Sheikh is the embodiment of full failure at peace-keeping.
If you do not believe me as Lee Russell Mathews of Inner City Press. By the way, just now, Saudi jets could be heard rather loudly overhead in Sana'a. So it is business as usual as far as the Saudis are concerned.
https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=1006379119415118&id=961126490607048
cp8 Saudi-Arabien / Saudi Arabia
12.4.2016 – The Guardian (* A P)
Saudi king Salman bin Abdulaziz begins visit to Turkey
Ruler and Turkish president have much in common and trip seen as a pivotal moment in relations between the two countries
Salman and Erdoğan, described as Turkey’s modern-day sultan who lives in a lavishly appointed palace, have much in common. They both want to topple Syria’s leader, Bashar al-Assad, and have made proclamations about defeating terrorism in Syria and Iraq.
Saudi Arabia has stationed warplanes at Turkey’s İncirlik base in support of US-led operations. In December, Riyadh unveiled an “anti-terrorism” coalition that it said would deploy troops, if necessary, in Syria. There is speculation Turkish troops could get involved, but most likely in anti-Kurd operations.
Erdoğan, a devout Sunni who has broken with the Turkish republic’s secular tradition, is sympathetic to the Saudis in their rivalry with Shia Muslim Iran for regional power and influence. He recently attacked Tehran over its frequent use of the death penalty. But he made no such criticism of the Saudi regime when it executed a leading Shia Muslim cleric, Nimr al-Nimr, and 46 others in January.
Bringing together these two major Sunni powers is a key Saudi strategic aim.
Turkish analysts suggest a closer military, investment and trade relationship with Saudi Arabia could fuel Erdoğan’s neo-Islamism, his undemocratic behaviour and his defiance of the EU and the west as he seeks to create an executive presidency – by Simon Tisdall
12.4.2016 – Near Eastern Outlook (* B P)
Saudi Arabia’s Plan for the MENA –Where is the Place to Stop?
Saudi Arabia King Salman visited Egypt this weekend – a move most media hailed as a sign of rapprochement in between the two powers, a positive development which will undoubtedly allow for better cooperation, and thus security in the region. I, for one, remain very dubious. A carnivorous power, Saudi Arabia never gives anything unless it stands to take more … and since Egypt stands an important geostrategic pawn, sitting atop the Suez Canal, and several crucial openings onto Europe, Africa and the Middle East, I would venture and say that King Salman’s motives have more to do with asserting his own ambitions, than bringing the region closer together – unless of course by closer you mean under al-Saud’s banner.
The abyss as it happens already swallowed some of Egypt sovereignty. How long before the entire country is sold out to Saudi Arabia’s imperial ambitions, co-opted into submission by capitalism’ siren song? Or was it the threat of terror … it is difficult to tell those days as both threats and bribery have become politics’ only language. – by Catherine Shakdam
http://journal-neo.org/2016/04/12/saudi-arabia-s-carnivorous-plan-for-the-mena-geopolitical-crusading-and-kingly-ambitions/
11.4.2016 – Sott.net (C P)
Diplomatic correspondence reveals Riyadh could have known about assassination plot on Yemen ex-president
The diplomatic correspondence of the Embassy of Saudi Arabia in Sanaa, obtained by Sputnik, revealed that Riyadh could have been aware of the preparation of the 2011 assassination attempt on former Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh.
As several marked "top secret" telegrams of the diplomatic mission claimed that Lt. Gen. Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar, the former commander of the Yemeni army's 1st Armored Division, was heading the conspiracy against the ex-president. The first data about the assassination attempt was sent to Riyadh on May 28, 2011, just a week before it was committed.
"We inform, that we received data confirming information of the General Intelligence Bureau at the Embassy that Ali Mohsen Saleh al-Ahmar, commander of the 1st Armored Division of the Army, with the support of some members of the General People's Congress party and the leadership of the presidential guard, in the coming days will make an assassination attempt on Yemen's President Ali Abdullah Saleh. It is assumed that the Americans are aware of it," the text of a telegram, handed to Sputnik by a source close to the Yemeni General People's Congress party, controlled by the former Yemeni president, read.
The country's ex-president was the target of an assassination attempt in a mosque on June 3, 2011. As the gunmen shelled the mosque, located in the vicinity of the presidential palace in Sanaa, Saleh suffered from shrapnel wounds, broken bones, smoke inhalation, internal bleeding and extensive burns.
Al-Ahmar in the beginning of last week was appointed vice-president in the current Yemeni President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi's government.
11.4.2016 – The Independent (A P)
Saudi Arabia’s top Islamic cleric says women would be ‘exposed to evil’ if allowed to drive
Saudi Arabia's most senior cleric has defended a ban on female drivers, saying it is “a dangerous matter that exposes women to evil”.
Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdul Aziz bin-Abdullah al-Sheikh told religious television channel Almajd that men with “weak spirits” and who are “obsessed with women” could cause female drivers harm.
He also said family members would not know the whereabouts of women if they were allowed to drive unaccompanied – by Kayleigh Lewis
10.4.2016 – AP (A P)
Saudi monarch addresses Egyptian parliament
Saudi Arabia’s king addressed the Egyptian parliament on Sunday, the fourth day of a visit that saw the oil-rich kingdom pledge billions of dollars in investment and aid to Egypt but sparked an outcry over Cairo’s intention to surrender sovereignty over two Red Sea islands to the Saudis.
In a six-minute address, King Salman said Egypt and Saudi Arabia have agreed to build a bridge linking the two nations across the Red Sea and to work together to create a pan-Arab defense force, an Egyptian idea first floated last year that was later thought to have been overtaken by Riyadh’s creation of a pan-Islamic coalition – by Hamza Hendawi
Comment: What money can do.
8.4.2016 – The Independent (B H)
Saudi judge orders eight-month pregnant woman to divorce husband over her 'superior origin'
The couple told Saudi media they would refuse to split
She claimed her uncles filed the lawsuit calling for her divorce because they objected to her husband’s background.
According to a translation by Emirates 24/7 News, she said: “My uncles claimed in court that I married against my father’s wish…but their real reason is that they believe my husband and I do not have compatible family origins.
“I appeal for the Monarch to intervene to save me and my baby.” – by Lizzie Dearden
cp9 USA
11.4.2016 – New York Times (* B K P)
Questioning America’s Role in Yemen
Who is to blame when bombs kill civilians?
The conflict in Yemen has become an albatross for the United States, and maybe worse. Human Rights Watch, the research and advocacy group, says that America may be complicit in war crimes.
Technically, the United States is not a combatant in the air war launched one year ago. But America plays important, even indispensable, roles.
American culpability turns on whether the United States provided targeting assistance or aerial refueling to the coalition during these particular airstrikes. Various administration officials have acknowledged that the United States is providing targeting and refueling help to the Saudis but it is unclear whether the Americans are assisting with every airstrike or some portion of airstrikes, she added.
In an email to The Times, a spokesman for the United States Central Command said decisions on “final vetting of targets” are made by the coalition, not the United States. But does that absolve Washington of responsibility? In conversations with administration officials in recent months, I have discerned considerable discomfort with the way in which the Saudis are conducting and prolonging the war, as well as concerns about score-settling against Houthi rebels.
Americans deserve to know more clearly just what role their government is playing in the Yemen war. The United States and Saudi Arabia both have an obligation to investigate alleged war crimes by their armed forces, the rights group said. If the Saudi government cannot be more disciplined in its use of devastating weapons, the United States should consider halting arms sales to the government in Riyadh, as the European Parliament has urged European governments to do – by Carol Giacomo
http://takingnote.blogs.nytimes.com/2016/04/11/questioning-americas-role-in-yemen/?_r=1
Comment: Looking at the facts, this is rather a very soft critic.
11.4.2016 – Middle East Institute (* B P)
Recalculating U.S. Policy in the Middle East: Less Military, More Civilian
The largely declining challenges to U.S. national security in the Middle East and North Africa are widely known across the domestic political spectrum. There remain, however, sharp political differences about the appropriate means to achieve U.S. objectives. The military option has been over utilized and is becoming less relevant, even if it remains vital to framing the strategic environment. Civilian instruments, such as diplomacy to create a regional security architecture and international assistance in building more inclusive and effective states, are increasingly required – by Daniel Serwer
http://www.mei.edu/content/recalculating-us-policy-middle-east-less-military-more-civilian
Comment: Very long article. Title is misguiding. ´Less Military´ means that proxy wars do the job.
https://www.facebook.com/Living-In-Yemen-On-The-Edge-961126490607048/?fref=nf
11.4.2016 – Jamila Hanan commenting US officials (A P)
US talking like they aren't refuelling the jets that killed most of #Yemen's kids.
US talking like they aren't party to the bombardment of #Yemen but they've been making a killing out of dead kids.
https://twitter.com/JamilaHanan/status/719652739936956416
https://twitter.com/JamilaHanan/status/719636879923113985
Comment: The US off course want to stand on the “good side” in Yemen – the problem is, they actually do not and by what they have committed in Yemen, they never again will.
10.4.2016 – PRI (* B K)
The US is dropping bombs quicker than it can make them
Ongoing air wars in Middle East have caused an unexpected dip in the Pentagon’s stockpile of air-to-ground munitions — and Washington has been slow to address the supply problem.
The Pentagon has had months to deal with it.
“We're expending munitions faster than we can replenish them,” USA Today quoted Air Force chief of staff Gen. Mark Welsh as saying in December.
Since then Secretary of Defense Ash Carter has asked Congress to include funding for 45,000 smart bombs in the Defense Department’s 2017 budget. But it could take a while to rebuild the stockpile.
“The US maintains a pretty steady inventory of bombs and missiles for full-on war scenarios,” says Roman Schweizer, aerospace and defense policy analyst at Guggenheim Securities in Washington. “But 2 1/2 years of fighting ISIS and continued bombing in Afghanistan have exceeded weapons-use projections.”
Operation Inherent Resolve, the US-led military intervention against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant flies bombing missions in Syria and Iraq. The United States, which flies a majority of the missions, strikes ISIS targets with laser- and GPS-guided bombs, Joint Direct Attack Munition bombs, Joint Standoff Weapons, and air-to-ground missiles, such as the Hellfire. Per unit pricetags on these munitions range from around $25,000 to close to $400,000.
The Saudi-led coalition, with American support, has been bombing Yemen with munitions made by US companies including Raytheon, Boeing, General Dynamics and Lockheed-Martin. They have purchased American smart bombs and missiles through US State Department-brokered deals for more than a decade.
Following a Camp David summit in May 2015, the US approved a new sale of $1.29 billion dollars in munitions to the Saudis intended to replace bombs already used in the Yemen War. It also approved a $380 million dollar sale of guided bombs to the UAE.
While the US does not routinely report when weapons are delivered to its foreign customers, State Department spokesman David McKeeby did say in US Defense News in January this year that “the US government and industry … delivered 4,500 precision-guided munitions to the GCC countries in 2015, including 1,500 taken directly from US military stocks — a significant action given our military’s own needs.”
So is the US in danger of running out of bombs? – by Stephen Snyder
http://www.pri.org/stories/2016-04-10/us-dropping-bombs-quicker-it-can-make-them
10.4.2016 – Daily Record (* B K)
US arms manufacturer with factory in Glenrothes develops 'lethal' missile steering system similar to one used in Yemen bombing
RAYTHEON, which has a base in Fife, sells products to a Saudi regime facing international condemnation for its bombing campaigns in Yemen.
[Referring to the HRW report which was recorded earlier]
www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/uk-world-news/arms-manufacturer-factory-glenrothes-develops-7726745
8.4.2016 – Rhode Island Future (* A K P)
What US company made the bomb that killed 97 civilians in Yemen?
General Dynamics, doing business as Electric Boat, announced last week it is building a $2.5 billion military submarine in Rhode Island. Good news for the state’s struggling economy, as defense contractors here are a major source of jobs, income and tax revenue.
“I couldn’t be more proud to have Electric Boat in our backyard,” Governor Gina Raimondo said at the submarine’s keel-laying ceremony
Just a few days later, New York Times foreign correspondent and former Providence Journal reporter CJ Chivers wrote this about what seems to be a different General Dynamics product. “A Saudi Arabia-led military coalition used bombs supplied by the United States in an attack on a market in Yemen last month that killed at least 97 civilians, including 25 children.”
If the bomb in question was made by General Dynamics, it would mark the second time a company with significant ties to Rhode Island has made a weapon that was used by Saudi Arabia against civilians in Yemen.
General Dynamics did not immediately respond to a request for comment. An arms expert for Human Rights Watch told RI Future he could not confirm the make of the bomb. “There wasn’t enough left of the bombs to determine when or where it was produced,” said Mark Hiznay. But here’s what we know:
General Dynamics is based in Newport News, Virginia and the division that makes the Mk-84 bomb is located in Florida, the weapons were manufactured in Texas. But General Dynamics has operated as Electric Boat, the company’s initial name going back to the early 1900’s, at Quonset since the early 1970’s. Based, in Groton, Conn., Electric Boat employs roughly 3,000 people in Rhode Island.
Both incidents have attracted local and international scrutiny to US companies involved in what President Eisenhower called the military industrial complex, an industry that looms large in the Ocean State.
“The Defense Sector plays a major role in the Rhode Island economy because of its unique ability to undertake large and small-scale basic and applied research and development projects and to push manufacturers to develop innovative products and revamp supply chains to meet production and/or distribution demands of civilian and military projects,” according to a 2014 legislative report on the defense sector in Rhode Island.
There are 32,900 jobs in Rhode Island, 6.2 percent of all jobs in the state, that are supported by the defense industry, according to the report.
Meanwhile, the fruits of economic development from the US military industrial complex, whether directly or indirectly, is causing a human rights catastrophe in Yemen that could be aiding al Qaeda in the highly impoverished African nation.
http://www.rifuture.org/which-us-company-made-the-bomb-that-killed-97-civilians-in-yemen.html
Comment: Typical American: Yemen is not in Africa.
7.4.2016 – Voice of America (A P)
US, Gulf to ‘Push Back' Against Iran
The U.S. and Gulf allies have a shared concern about "Iran's destabilizing actions in the region," said Secretary of State John Kerry on Thursday, following talks with Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) ministers.
"We will continue to push back" against such provocations, said Kerry, during an appearance with Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir.
He commented following a series of talks on regional security issues with Bahraini and GCC officials.
cp10 Großbritannien / Great Britain
11.4.2016 – We work for you (A P)
Members of parliament ask the government
Chris Evans, Labour/Co-operative, Islwyn
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what recent assessment she has made of the humanitarian situation in Yemen; and if she will make a statement.
Desmond Swayne,The Minister of State, Department for International Development
The United Nations report that 21.2 million people in Yemen require some kind of humanitarian assistance to meet their basic needs or protect their fundamental rights, as cited in the 2016 Humanitarian Response Plan (HRP). The government uses this UN report as one if its primary data sources.
We continue to call on other donors to step up. In July 2015 the Foreign and Development Secretaries wrote to international donors to raise the profile of Yemen’s humanitarian crisis and encourage more funding to the response. In September, the Development Secretary co-hosted a meeting on Yemen’s humanitarian crisis at the UN General Assembly, at which donors (including theUK) pledged an additional £85 million.
http://www.theyworkforyou.com/wrans/?id=2016-03-23.32340.h
Comment: What a hypocrisy can this be “We continue to call on other donors to step up” – asking others to pay for the humanitarian aid and reconstruction of the mess in Yemen caused by the air planes, bombs and tactical help given by exactly this government now asking others to pay?
11.4.2016 – The Telegraph (* B K P)
Britain's pact with the Saudis in Yemen is undermining us on the world stage
Is our foreign policy fit to prevent countries like Yemen going the same way as Syria? Between the EU referendum and the refugee crisis, the UK’s role in the world is under particular scrutiny at the moment. With the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (Isil) now exporting terror to mainland Europe, it is in our interest – as well as true to British values – to help prevent countries collapsing into humanitarian catastrophe and lawless violence in which groups like Isil flourish like scrub in the desert.
Even among the vast majority of Yemenis who abhor extremism and fear it just as we do, Britain is becoming a target of their anger. Yemenis living under fear of airstrikes know full well that the UK is one of Saudi Arabia’s most prominent backers.
Our ability to continue to punch above our weight in the world will be undermined if we cannot be trusted to uphold consistently the international rules we helped to create.
The Foreign-Office led a Security Council agreement for thousands more people to get life-saving aid in Syria; we should do the same for Yemen. The UK helped secure an independent UN investigation into human rights abuse in Syria; we should do the same for Yemen.
Seven thousand slaughtered souls remind us that there is a humanitarian imperative to strain every diplomatic sinew to make the ceasefire last and the political talks stick.
The human crisis presents a wider reminder: we fail to serve our interests and those of others when such contradictions confuse and distort our role in the world – Andrew Mitchell, Conservative MP for Sutton Coldfield and a former Secretary of State for International Development
Comment: Saudi Arabia clearly does not lead any “legitimate” war in Yemen.
11.4.2016 – Political Scrapbook (* B K P)
NEW INVESTIGATION IMPLIES CAMERON MISLED MP ABOUT BRITAIN’S INVOLVEMENT IN YEMEN WAR
In January this year, David Cameron told the House of Commons that Britain was not involved in Saudi Arabia’s assault on Yemen, which has claimed thousands of lives.
But an investigation now reveals this may be untrue.
In response to a question from the SNP’s Angus Robertson, the PM said in January:
Just to be absolutely clear about our role: we’re not a member of the Saudi-led coalition, British military personnel are not directly involved in the Saudi-led coalition’s operations, personnel are not involved in carrying out strikes, directing or conducting operations in Yemen or selecting targets and we’re not involved in the Saudi targeting decision making process.
But now an investigation by VICE News into the war in Yemen seems to have contradicted that claim.
The piece on Britain’s “Covert War” in Yemen reveals that:
UK agents were providing Americans with locations and information for drone strikes
Britain played a “crucial and sustained role” with the CIA in “finding and fixing targets”
British intelligence also assessed the effect of drone strikes
Agents were also training Yemeni intelligence for US drone strikes
The investigation also reveals that:
British forces also, on occasion, took the lead. In Sanaa, the British training team was living in a team house, moved every six months for security reasons, with a permanent medic. However, according to UK military personnel who served in Yemen, some rooms were kept empty for “temporary visitors” — British special forces who were flown in for short missions. Due to the low profile maintained by the British trainers, these teams could avoid drawing attention.
The vast majority of bombings in Yemen have been authorised and carried out by Saudi Arabia.
But British and American interests are thought to operate in Yemen not just to learn about potential threats to their countries, but continue operations against al-Qaeda.
The VICE revelations seem to go beyond what was admitted by Cameron earlier this year.
Perhaps another statement on the matter is necessary.
11.4.2016 – The Guardian (B K P)
UK special forces and MI6 involved in Yemen bombing, report reveals
Britain’s MI6 and special forces have played a crucial and sustained role in covert US-led counter terrorism operations in Yemen. Their role has included identifying targets for drone strikes, according to a detailed, in-depth, investigation.
The disclosures are not entirely surprising. Britain has had a long and close diplomatic and intelligence relationship with Yemen, which borders on Britain’s chief ally in the region, Saud Arabia.
What is significant - and for British parliamentarians and journalists, frustrating - is that the detailed disclosures are the result of report by a US-based current affairs channel, Vice News.
It would have been much more difficult to get British officials to talk here, given the official blanket ban on comments about special forces operations or intelligence matters.
Reprieve said the investigation appeared to contradict years of denials by the UK about involvement in US operations in Yemen. “Even more disturbing”, said Jen Gibson, a Reprieve lawyer, “the UK has copied wholesale the US model of outsourcing the military to the intelligence agencies in order to hide their involvement and avoid any accountability.” – by Richard Norton-Taylor
6.4.2016 – Diane Abbott, MP (* B K P)
British arms sales to Saudi Arabia are immoral and illegal
ith one hand our government sells arms to the Saudis. With the other it uses the profits to try to clear up the carnage the Saudis wreak in Yemen writes Diane Abbott MP.
The Committee on Arms Export Controls (CAEC) reconvened for the first time in almost two years on Wednesday in response to the chorus of international condemnation against Britain for supplying Saudi Arabia with arms that are being used to target civilians, an international humanitarian crime. CAEC heard evidence from Saferworld, Amnesty, Human Rights Watch (HRW) and Oxfam, who have published documentary evidence on individual cases of the Royal Saudi Air Force bombing Yemini hospitals, ports, warehouses, factories, schools, markets and homes.
Their message was clear, unanimous and withering: the UK is breaking its own laws and fueling a humanitarian catastrophe by selling arms to Saudi Arabia. British law is also clear: it is illegal to sell arms to a state that is at a “clear risk” of committing international humanitarian crimes. But over the past year alone, Britain has sold around £6bn worth of weapons to Saudi Arabia, whose campaign in Yemen is targeting civilians – 191 such attacks have collectively been reported by the UN, HRW and Amnesty.
Another witness, Amnesty International’s arms expert Oliver Sprague, questioned the honesty or the competence of the government, which when questioned over allegations of Saudi international humanitarian crimes in Yemen said: “The use of UK supplied weaponry in the conflict in Yemen is an operational matter for the Royal Saudi Air Force.”
“That’s fundamentally incorrect,” Sprague said. “The entire purpose of our export control regime is to link responsibility of the exporter to the eventual use of their weapons … If they say this is not a matter for us, it is impossible to authorise that weapon lawfully.”
The only refutation of the testimony from the rights groups was from CAEC member Daniel Kawczynski, who dismissed their field research because he knew that no violations of international humanitarian law had occurred – the head of the Royal Saudi Air Force had told him so – by Diane Abbott
http://dianeabbott.org.uk/news/articles/news.aspx?p=1021189
cp12 Andere Länder / Other countries
12.4.2016 – Arab News (A K P)
Joint Saudi-Turkey action on Syria and Yemen planned
The visit of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman to Ankara for the Organization of Islamic Cooperation summit will be a key opportunity for bilateral talks on pressing issues in the region, especially Syria.
This is the view of Younes Demirar, Turkey’s ambassador to Saudi Arabia, who told Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper during a telephonic interview from Ankara on Sunday that the talks would also focus on terrorism, particularly Daesh.
He said Riyadh and Ankara share the same views on all regional issues, including on Syria and Yemen.
The summit would help the two sides produce a joint strategy on how to deal with challenges in these countries, particularly a political solution for Syria.
http://www.arabnews.com/middle-east/news/909616
Comment: Now also Turkey will be interfering in Yemen??
11.4.2016 – Washington Post (A P)
Egypt hands Saudi Arabia two islands in gratitude. Egyptians are outraged.
The social media hashtag #Egyptissold says it all.
The virtual world of Egyptians erupted on Sunday with the news that Egypt had handed over two Red Sea islands, Sanafir and Tiran, to Saudi Arabia as a show of gratitude for the kingdom’s immense economic aid. Thousands took to Twitter and Facebook to condemn the decision by Egypt’s cabinet.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2016/04/11/egypt-hands-saudi-arabia-two-islands-in-gratitude-egyptians-are-outraged-2/?tid=sm_tw and also https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=1006288799424150&id=961126490607048 and http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/egypt-hands-over-disputed-islands-tiran-sanafir-saudi-arabia-1246995118
Comment: Saudi money buys it all.
cp13 Flüchtlinge / Refugees
12.4.2016 – UNCHR (* B H)
War strands Yemenis in Egypt, separated from their families
Thousands of Yemenis who were in Egypt when war broke out at home a year ago are still unable to return to their families, and are running out of ways to survive without help.
Hoda, 37, came to Egypt for a routine medical check-up following cancer treatment she received in the country four years ago. She travelled with her mother and two sons, fully expecting to return to Yemen. But then war broke out, stranding them in Egypt and splitting up the family. Her husband and the rest of the family remain trapped in Yeman.
As the situation deteriorated at home, Hoda's husband could no longer send her any money. "I have had to rent an apartment beyond my means in a quiet place," she says.
"When I was here in 2012 I had a bad experience with how people treated my youngest son who is autistic…I had some gold when I arrived which I sold to get by."
She soon found she could no longer afford to buy her son's medicine or put him in a special needs school. As a result, his condition began to deteriorate. She has also been unable to send her older son to school.
UNHCR is helping Hoda with some cash, and her mother receives health assistance. In Yemen Hoda was a homemaker, raising her boys. Now she is trying to put her skills and degree in business administration to use to make extra money for survival. "I try to tailor some clothes, but I have not sold any of them yet," Hoda says. "Life is simple in Yemen, all the neighbours would help each other, so different from here in Cairo."
Hoda is among an estimated 6,000 to 8,000 Yemenis now stranded in Egypt, either because they were in the country when the war erupted in March 2015, or because they have fled here for safety. UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, has registered 1,375 of them, and is helping where it can.
UNHCR provides cash, medical help, and education assistance to Yemeni refugees, as well as protection and psycho-social support, with support from its partners Caritas and Catholic Relief Services.
So far, more than 100 people have been given cash to help ease their difficulties, and close to 500 have been received medical treatment. A further 141 have been given education grants to continue with schooling in Egypt while they wait to go home.
But as the conflict continues, the prospects of returning remain dim – by Marwa Hashem
http://www.unhcr.org/570ca5926.html
cp14 Terrorismus / Terrorism
Siehe cp1, Amwichtigsten, cp6, Südjemen / See cp1, Most important, cp6, Southern Yemen
cp15 Propaganda
12.4.2016 – Saudi Gazette (A P)
The Saudi-led coalition of Gulf States, which saved the legitimate government of Yemen from imminent defeat and has thrown back the rebels from Aden, is of course backing this search for peace. President Hadi has made it clear that his forces and their allies reserve the right to respond to any breaches in the ceasefire by the Houthi. Past agreements for the guns to fall silent have tragically failed because of the bad faith of the insurgents.
Yet there is a sense that this truce may be more enduring. The reason is not hard to see. The rebels are split and dejected. While it is true that they still hold the capital Sanaa, there is no disguising the truth that their uprising has failed. They believed the assurances of their Iranian sponsors and have paid a terrible price for their gullibility.
The splits within the Houthi leadership, which emerged almost immediately that the Kingdom launched Operation Decisive Storm last year, have become increasingly apparent. Some Houthi notables continue to insist that theirs is a rebellion that can still succeed. But it is now apparent that more and more ordinary insurgents understand that they face only more defeat, death and destruction. There is a sense that they were conned by the Iranians into a rebellion over issues, which could have been resolved peaceably through negotiation. There is also growing anger against those leaders who insist that the fight must go on.
Very understandably ordinary Houthis are increasingly asking themselves why they should continue to try and defy the Hadi government and the might of its Saudi-led Gulf allies. There seems to be an ever-greater appreciation that this is not really their war but Iran’s war, except that they, the Houthis, are the ones doing the fighting and dying, not the Iranians. It can be expected that hard-line Houthis, rather than face the inevitable outcome of the Kuwait negotiations, will do what they can to undermine the truce. Indeed, they probably will not even dare wait until the UN-staged peace talks begin. It is one of the tragedies of so many Houthis, that their leaders rely on duping them into taking up arms, while they themselves seize whatever they can of the many opportunities to prosper financially from the conflict, while staying well clear of the dangerous fighting.
The message in Kuwait will clearly be that only by accepting the UN Security Council demand to give up the territory they have seized, can the Houthi expect peace. Their rebellion has brought massive destruction to one of the world’s poorest countries. What Yemen needs now is the security and stability that will enable it to rebuild and recover. Saudi Arabia and its Gulf allies have already committed to playing a crucial role in that reconstruction program. But it is absolutely clear that for that to happen, today’s truce must be converted rapidly into tomorrow’s lasting peace.
http://saudigazette.com.sa/opinion/editorial/yemen-new-chance-peace/
Comment: That really is a quite senseless piece of propaganda looking at the upcoming peace talks. Having followed the Yemen war in all available media, I must confess to have never heard of greater tensions within the Houthi movement and leadership. There might be tensions between Houthis and their ally ex-presidentSsaleh, but there was more speculation about that than reports of really dissents coming up. On the other side, the dissents within Hadis government itself were evident. His firing of vice-president Bahah as the most evident fact. Further on, there evidently at tensions between Saudi-Arabia and the Emirates, Hadis government and southern separatists (Hirak), between Islah party and others. – As Iran is playing only a minor role, hardly any Houthi will have the idea that this war will be Iran’s war, as this article is stressing, and for that reason be dissatisfied with the Houthi leadership. – – And, opening the backdoor to end the truce and to blow up the peace talks: By already stating now that the Houthi leadership clearly wants to break the truce, and by again clearly stating as precondition for even peace talks that the Houthis must surrender (that is what Hadi and his allies always connect with the UN resolution 2216 they always are stressing). – And, also mere propaganda: The claim that the Saudi coalition and hadi have won the war and the Houthis are defeated. Reality is different.
12.4.2016 – Saudi Press Agency (A P)
Yemeni President meets with UN special envoy to Yemen
Yemeni President Abdrabbou Mansour Hadi met in Riyadh today with UN special envoy to Yemen Ismail Ould Alshiekh within efforts being exerted to make Kuwait consultations between Yemeni government and Houthi militias a success.
The state-run Yemeni news agency quoted President Hadi as saying during the meeting "we will go to Kuwait carrying the concerns of our people who suffered from war, siege and destruction imposed by the rebels despite their retrogression of the outcomes of the national dialogue which would have laid the foundation for a better Yemen based on justice, equality and rational rule".
http://www.spa.gov.sa/viewstory.php?lang=en&newsid=1488792 and also from WAM https://www.wam.ae/en/news/international/1395294065234.html
Comment: According to Hadi, there seem to have been no air raids. Due to the air raids, one thing Hadi is stressing here is absolutely impossible: Taking up the “national dialogue” at the point when it has been interrupted in early 2015.
11.4.2016 – Gulf News (A P)
Coverage of Saudi Arabia is way off balance
The list of accusations goes on, the criticism keeps snowballing and the stereotyping of the people, the society and the ruling family of the country gets worse by the day.
Coverage of Saudi Arabia by the western media has never been more negative and noticeably biased. Saudi Arabia is bombarded nearly on a daily basis with negative stories and critical editorial articles. Typically, foreign media coverage of this giant oil kingdom has been one-sided, but it has become systematically nastier than usual lately.
At a time when Saudi Arabia is forced to stand up to expansionist Iran and get serious about introducing badly-needed domestic reform while exuding both confidence and independence, many in the West are getting palpably mean in their coverage of the kingdom.
It is almost becoming conventional wisdom to lash out at the kingdom for no good reason. Saudi Arabia is insanely blamed for spreading fundamentalism, financing extremism, igniting sectarianism and it is accused of being the sole source of much instability and violence in the region. None of these loaded accusations stands up to the facts.
Of course, some in the West do not like the conservative Saudi way of life. Many are unhappy with its treatment of women and ban on women driving. Others are critical of its human rights record, which admittedly is not the best, but not necessarily any worse than the human rights situation in neighbouring states. Saudi Arabia is heavily bashed these days for waging a war in Yemen without paying due attention to the geopolitical background to the conflict in the country.
The list of accusations goes on, the criticism keeps snowballing and the negative stereotyping of the people, the society and the ruling family of Saudi Arabia gets worse by the day.
Most of the negative reporting is not checked for accuracy and this is happening in the media around the world. Recent stories about Saudi instability, resilience and its domestic affairs that have been published in respected news outlets are factually wrong, but surprisingly, get front-page coverage.
The negative coverage of Saudi Arabia is turning into a systematic hate campaign.
Much of this ‘hate Saudi’ campaign is emanating from the newly active Iranian lobby organisations in the West, especially in Washington. The National Iranian American Council (NIAC), which maintains close links to both the White House and the Rouhani regime in Tehran, is busy selling the post-nuclear deal to the American public, but seems to be hyperactively blaming Saudi Arabia for the rise of extremism and sectarianism and for everything that is wrong with the Middle East today.
The ‘love Iran’ and ‘hate Saudi Arabia’ camps are intrinsically linked as the two faces of the same media campaign that has forgotten history and is confused about what Iran and Saudi Arabia really stand for. Media cohorts in the West need to be reminded that Saudi Arabia, not Iran, has a proven record of being a reliable partner of the West for the past 65 years.
Western media elites also need to be told that Saudi Arabia, not Iran, stands for badly needed regional stability. The clash in the Middle East is essentially between the forces of stability led by Riyadh versus the forces of disorder linked directly to the top decision-makers in Tehran, especially the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei and the Revolutionary Guards. If the West values stability and has a vested interest in maintaining regional order, the natural ally is the moderate and pro-status quo Saudi Arabia, not the clerical and radical Iran.
Current media coverage of Saudi Arabia is way off balance and should be based on fact, not fiction, and account for history as well as the politics of the day. It also needs to distinguish between a proven ally as opposed to a potential market for lucrative deals. But most of all it needs to adhere to its own long-standing values of fairness and objectivity, which are desperately missing from the current western media coverage of contemporary Saudi Arabia – by Abdulkhaleq Abdulla, professor of Political Science, chairman of the Arab Council for Social Sciences
http://m.gulfnews.com/opinion/thinkers/coverage-of-saudi-arabia-is-way-off-balance-1.1709076
Comment: Deploring western media coverage, embedded into the normal Saudi propaganda of Saudi Arabia is the guaranty of stability; Iran is the hoard of all evil in the region. Related to the reports in western media, things could be so easy, see:
Comment by Jamila Hanan: negative media will stop when Saudi stops killing #Yemen's kids, fuelling terrorism+chopping heads off (etc).
https://twitter.com/JamilaHanan/status/719772608686899200
cp16 Saudische Luftangriffe / Saudi air raids
12.4.2016 – Nasser Arrabyee (A K PH)
4 Yemeni women & man killed todayby US-backed Saudi war criminals bombing their house in Dhaba area of Taiz central Yemen.
https://twitter.com/narrabyee/status/719877369767600128
11.4.2016 – Ahmed Alghobary (A K PH)
#Saudi jets are over Sadaa city now
https://twitter.com/AhmadAlgohbary/status/719600247211737088
11.4.2016 – Hamed Ghaleb (A K PH)
Huge offense by Pro #Saudi forces in nahm despite the #UN truce , #Saudi jets carried airstrikes too ,, #US & #UK r backing war criminals
https://twitter.com/HamedGhaleb/status/719550161622601728
11.4.2016 – Nasser Arrabyee (A K PH)
US-backed Saudi war criminals Violating UN-declared ceasefireOfYemen By bombings&by air dropping weaponsNTaiz where Qaeda/ISIS expand
https://twitter.com/narrabyee/status/719582386141446144
11.4.2016 – Hussain Albulhaiti (A K PH)
Heavy #Saudi #UAE airplanes present n my city Dhamar #Saada Aljawof #Taiz
https://twitter.com/HussainBukhaiti/status/719610010188324866
11.4.2016 – The Iran Project (A K PH)
Saudi Arabia violates truce agreement in Yemen
Saudi warplanes have reportedly bombarded a number of areas in Yemen’s southwestern province of Ta’izz, violating a UN-brokered truce agreement that had just taken effect.
Yemen’s al-Masirah news website reported that Saudi bomber aircraft targeted the Salah and al-Huban districts of Ta’izz just two hours after the truce came into force at midnight (2100 GMT) on Sunday.
Yemeni sources also said that Saudi warplanes had pounded several areas in the Yemeni capital, Sana’a, and the province of Omran.
http://theiranproject.com/blog/2016/04/11/saudi-arabia-violates-truce-agreement-yemen/
10.4.2016 – Press TV Iran (A K)
Saudi warplanes strike Yemen ahead of UN-brokered truce
Saudi Arabia’s war machine is using every last minute for more attacks against Yemenis before a UN-brokered ceasefire takes effect.
Saudi fighter jets carried out dozens of airstrikes across Yemen on Sunday, targeting civilians’ houses and properties, Yemen's official Saba Net news agency reported.
Saudi warplanes conducted a dozen airstrikes on the Sirwah district of the central province of Ma'rib. They also carried out nine air raids against the Matun district in the northern province of Jawf and launched another attack on the Karsh district of the southwestern province of Lahij.
Separately, Saudi jets conducted over 12 airstrikes against the Nihm district of the western province of Sana'a. There were no immediate reports of possible casualties and the extent of damage inflicted by the Sunday attacks.
http://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2016/04/10/460123/Yemen-Saudi-Arabia-Sanaa-Hadi-UN/
10.4.2016 – Hussain Albukhaiti (A K PH)
Rprt of Casualties in #Saudi #UAE led coalition air raid on the home of Ahmed Sabbr in Nehim area East #Sanaa #Yemen
https://twitter.com/HussainBukhaiti/status/719434408902705152
10.4.2016 – Haykal Bafana (A K)
1 hour to #Yemen ceasefire : Saudi jets over Taiz city at the moment. And I heard them fly over capital Sanaa.
https://twitter.com/BaFana3/status/719255609045073921
10.4.2016 – Josephjo1221
Multiple Saudi airstrikes on Taiz now. Less than one hour to #YemenCeasefire
https://twitter.com/JosephJo1221/status/719256979370323968
10.4.2016 – JosephJo1221 (A K)
Saudi airstrikes on Muthaikherah in Ibb province and Taiz now. #YemenCeasefire
https://twitter.com/JosephJo1221/status/719259941371035649
10.4.2016 – Ahmed Alghobary (A K)
#Saudi jets are over my city [Dhamar] now What about the ceasefire? when the war will be over? We are tiered, we want to live a normal life
https://twitter.com/AhmadAlgohbary/status/719291835470974979
cp17 Kriegsereignisse / Theater of War
Siehe cp2a Waffenstillstand / See cp2a Truce
12.4.2016 – fars news (A K PH)
Yemen Clashes Continue for Second Day Despite Truce
Saudi-backed militants clashed with Ansarullah fighters on several fronts across Yemen, marring a UN-mediated ceasefire deal for the second day since it came into force.
A series of clashes erupted overnight on Monday in the Sarwah area of Ma’rib, which is mostly controlled by the Ansarullah movement and allied army forces, AFP quoted a military source as saying.
Saudi warplanes carried out air raids in the area as well as Hilan Mountain in Ma’rib as clashes raged on, Yemen’s al-Masirah television reported.
Similar clashes broke out in the Nihm district, Northeast of the capital Sana’a, as Houthi fighters tried to repel an attack by the Saudi-backed militants.
The Houthis said Saudi-backed forces were behind at least 39 violations of the ceasefire that took effect midnight Sunday. They also said Saudi warplanes conducted several airstrikes over several areas.
The “continued military action endangers the peace process and reduce the chances of holding the forthcoming dialogue,” Mohammed Abdulsalam, spokesman for the Ansarullah movement, warned in a statement on his Facebook.
Amid the battles, Yemeni forces managed to take control of two strategic hilltops in Sarwah, reports said. Seven Saudi-backed mercenaries were allegedly killed and 15 others were wounded in the fighting.
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13950124001469
12.4.2016 – AFP (A K)
Loyalist and rebels clash in Yemen, jeopardising truce
Loyalists and Iran-backed rebel fighters have clashed on several fronts in Yemen, officials said on Tuesday, the second day of a UN-brokered ceasefire the insurgents have warned is in jeopardy.
Forces loyal to President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi fought with Shiite Huthi rebels in the province of Marib, east and north of the rebel-held capital Sanaa, officials said.
The rebels and their allies loyal to ousted president Ali Abdullah Saleh advanced overnight in the area of Sarwah, in Marib, wresting control of two hills, a military official said.
12.4.2016 – Press TV Iran (A K PH)
Yemen clashes continue for second day despite truce
Saudi-backed militants clash with Houthi fighters on several fronts across Yemen, marring a UN-mediated ceasefire deal for the second day since it came into force.
A series of clashes erupted overnight on Monday in the Sarwah area of Ma’rib, which is mostly controlled by the Ansarullah movement and allied army forces, AFP quoted a military source as saying.
Saudi warplanes carried out air raids in the area as well as Hilan Mountain in Ma’rib as clashes raged on, Yemen’s al-Masirah television reported.
Similar clashes broke out in the Nihm district, northeast of the capital Sana’a, as Houthi fighters tried to repel an attack by the Saudi-backed militants.
The Houthis said Saudi-backed forces were behind at least 39 violations of the ceasefire that took effect midnight Sunday. They also said Saudi warplanes flew sorties over several areas.
The “continued military action endangers the peace process and reduce the chances of holding the forthcoming dialogue,” Mohammed Abdulsalam, spokesman for the Houthi movement, warned in a statement on his Facebook.
Amid the battles, Yemeni forces managed to take control of two strategic hilltops in Sarwah, reports said. Seven Saudi-backed mercenaries were allegedly killed and 15 others were wounded in the fighting.
http://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2016/04/12/460355/Yemen-Ansarullah-Marib-Clashes/
11.4.2016 – Reuters (A K P)
Precarious truce starts in Yemen, fighting reported in Taiz
The war-damaged capital Sanaa spent a quiet night, witnesses said, but residents said fighting flared in the southwestern city of Taiz soon after the planned start of the cessation of hostilities at 2100 GMT on Sunday.
The government, which backed by a Saudi-led Arab coalition, and its Iranian-allied Houthi adversaries blamed each other for the violence in Taiz, a city that has been hit hard by the war.
The government accused Houthis of using heavy artillery within moments of the start of the truce, while the Houthis said coalition warplanes staged three strikes on the city – by Mohammed Mukhashef
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-yemen-security-idUSKCN0X80OP
11.4.2016 – Middle East Eye (A K P)
Houthis accused of ignoring ceasefire in Yemen's Taiz
Popular Resistance claims 12 violations in first hour, as commanders say they do not recognise truce while city remains under siege
A much-vaunted Yemeni ceasefire appeared to falter in its first hours in Taiz, with clashes ongoing and the Popular Resistance accusing the Houthi rebels of 12 violations in the first hour.
The resistance's the military council on Monday said that Houthis were advancing on several fronts in the province, and Houthi shelling of civilian areas was continuing.
Reports said at least four children had been injured in the shelling.
"A medical source told Saba news agency that the Houthis shelling killed two civilians and injured ten others, including children and women and two fighters of the popular resistance have been killed and six injured in Taiz city," according to a report by Saba state news agency.
Moaath al-Yaseri, a leader of the Popular Resistance in Taiz, told Middle East Eye that resistance forces responded with defensive fire but did not attack the Houthis.
"According to the agreement of the ceasefire, we can reply to the fire, but we cannot attack, but the Houthis did not abide by the ceasefire agreement, and they continue to target both the civilians and the resistance," Yaseri said.
He pointed out that the Houthis advanced in al-Dhabab and al-Rabie fronts, while the clashes were still ongoing on several fronts. "We can say that Taiz is not part of the peace process," he added.
The Hadi government accused Houthis of using heavy artillery within moments of the start of the truce, while the Houthis were reported by Reuters as saying Saudi coalition jets staged three strikes on the city.
The Houthis have not commented on allegations they had broken the ceasefire.
A statement from the Saaleek brigade, which is part of the Popular Resistance, said it was not part of the agreement and would not accept dialogue with the "enemy" if the Houthis continued their siege of Taiz.
"The brigade participated in the war of Taiz from the beginning and they will not stop fighting until the liberation of Taiz, and we will fight to win either victory or martyrdom," it said.
Nabil al-Adimi, a Saaleek commander, told MEE on Sunday: "We will leave the dialogue and politics to the parties and the [Saudi-backed government] that disappointed Taiz, but we are fighting over our religion, ground and honour."
Farouq al-Hamadi, a resident of Taiz city, does not believe in the peace process, accusing both of the Houthis and the Popular Resistance of destroying his city and killing civilians – by Nasser Al-Sakkaf
http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/houthis-accused-ignoring-ceasefire-yemens-taiz-1831768490
10.4.2016 – Al Arabiya (A K P PS)
Yemen’s ceasefire begins, FM warns of violations
Sources told Al Arabiya News Channel that Iran-backed Houthi militias breached the ceasefire with reports of heavy clashes taking place in the eastern part of Yemen’s Taiz.
Mohammad al-Kamari, a resident in Taiz told Al Arabiya English in a phone interview that “Houthis violated the ceasefire and began attacking [pro-government] resistance forces in Taiz,”
Shelling could be heard in the background during the phone interview with Kamari, who said he first heard the gunfire at 2200 GMT, and later heard heavy heaving shelling near his home.
10.4.2016 – The National UAE (A K PS)
Sporadic clashes hit Yemen ahead of midnight ceasefire
Sporadic fighting gripped parts of Yemen on Sunday, hours before a UN-brokered ceasefire aimed at laying the groundwork for upcoming peace talks was due to take effect.
The new ceasefire, which was timed to start at midnight (1am UAE), is supposed to be the cornerstone of a long-lasting peace deal negotiated between Yemen’s warring parties from April 18 in Kuwait.
Fighting raged on Sunday in regions surrounding Sanaa, while the rebel-held city itself, was quiet.
Rebels and their allies exchanged mortar and artillery fire with pro-Hadi forces in the Sarwah region of Marib province east of Sanaa.
Aircraft from the Arab coalition also carried out air strikes to stop rebels seeking to retake a military base pro-government forces had recaptured in late 2015, military sources said.
A pro-Hadi commander in Sarwah, Lieutenant Colonel Abdullah Hasan, said loyalists will “observe the ceasefire as soon as it comes into effect at midnight".
“But if the Houthis attack us, the situation will return to what it was" before the truce, he warned, pointing out that four of his men were killed by rebel mortar fire on Sunday.
Further north, coalition jets struck Houthi positions in Jawf province, according to the rebels.
There were also clashes in Nihm north-east of Sanaa, witnesses said.
http://www.thenational.ae/article/20160410/ARTICLE/160419872/1018
11.4.2016 – Almasdar (A K PH)
Houthi forces ambush an Emirati Army convoy in northern Yemen: 12 killed
The Houthi forces carried out a successful ambush on Sunday, striking an Emirati Army convoy that was seen making its way through the Asaylan District of the Mareb Governorate. According to the Yemeni news site “Al-Jabhah”, the Houthi forces and Yemeni popular committees struck the convoy on the way to the Bayhan District, leaving 12 Emirati soldiers dead and several others wounded.
https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/houthi-forces-ambush-emirati-army-convoy-12-killed/
10.4.2016 – Press TV Iran (A K PH)
Saudi warplanes strike Yemen ahead of UN-brokered truce
Reports coming out of Yemen say Saudi Arabia is increasing its military forces in Yemen's Hajjah province ahead of the UN-mediated ceasefire that comes into effect on Sunday midnight. Scores of Saudi troops and some forces loyal to Yemen’s former president Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi were also deployed to Nihm, near the capital Sana’a.
The deployment is reportedly aimed at launching a military operation to seize the control of the capital if the upcoming talks fail to end the conflict.
http://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2016/04/10/460123/Yemen-Saudi-Arabia-Sanaa-Hadi-UN/
10.4.2016 – Aljazeera (A K)
Deadly fighting breaks out in Yemen ahead of ceasefire
Fighting has broken out north of Yemen's capital, Sanaa, and in the centre of the country, killing more than 20 people, hours before a truce was due to come into force to facilitate peace talks.
Heavy battles flared between forces loyal to President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi and Houthi fighters in al-Maton, north of Sanaa, residents said on Sunday.
In the central Bayda province, battles in the districts of al-Sawadiya and al-Zaher killed more than 20 people, local officials and residents said, and fighting continued in the southwestern city of Taiz.
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2016/04/deadly-fighting-breaks-yemen-ceasefire-160410184845266.html
cp18 Sonstiges / Other
12.4.2016 – Arab Youth Survey (** B P)
The largest survey of its kind of the Middle East’s largest demographic – its young people
ASDA’A Burson-Marsteller conducts this survey every year to provide evidence-based insights into the evolving hopes, concerns and aspirations of Arab youth – providing governments, the private sector and civil society institutions with critical information and analysis to inform decision-making and policy formation.
82% of #Yemen youth consider #America an enemy (Arab Youth Survey 2016, p.19). Only in Iraq is the % higher.
http://www.arabyouthsurvey.com/en/whitepaper and in full http://www.arabyouthsurvey.com/uploads/whitepaper/2016-AYS-White-Paper-EN_12042016100316.pdf and http://www.arabyouthsurvey.com/uploads/whitepaper/2016-AYS-Presentation-EN_12042016100316.pdf
12.4.2016 – FAO (* A H)
Desert Locust outbreak in Yemen leaves surrounding countries potentially at risk
The presence of recently discovered Desert Locust infestations in Yemen, where conflict is severely hampering control operations, poses a potential threat to crops in the region, FAO warned today. FAO urged neighbouring countries, Saudi Arabia, Oman and Iran, to mobilize survey and control teams and to take all necessary measures to prevent the destructive insects from reaching breeding areas situated in their respective territories.
Groups of juvenile wingless hoppers and adults as well as hopper bands and at least one swarm formed on the southern coast of Yemen in March where heavy rains associated with tropical cyclones Chapala and Megh fell in November 2015.
"The extent of current Desert Locust breeding in Yemen is not well known since survey teams are unable to access most areas. However, as vegetation dries out along the coast more groups, bands and small swarms are likely to form," said Keith Cressman, FAO Senior Locust Forecasting Officer.
He noted that a moderate risk exists that Desert Locusts will move into the interior of southern Yemen, perhaps reaching spring breeding areas in the interior of central Saudi Arabia and northern Oman.
There is a possibility that this movement could continue to the United Arab Emirates where a few small swarms may appear and transit through the country before arriving in areas of recent rainfall in southeast Iran.
http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/409939/icode/ = http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=53663#.Vw1bIPmLSUk
11.4.2016 – Al Araby (* C E)
#PanamaPapers: Financing chaos in Yemen with 'The Sugar Kings'
For ordinary Yemeni citizens, information contained in the Panama Papers concerning the business elite and its links with Saleh demonstrates the corruption affecting their lives.
On 6 April, an investigation carried out by The New Arab based on the Panama Papers revealed information on one of the most prominent business figures in Yemen - Shaher Abdulhak Bishr and his brother Abduljalil, who are known for their close ties to the former president Ali Abdullah Saleh. They have been dubbed "the sugar kings" by media outlets for their involvement in the soft drinks industry.
The investigation showed that the Bishr brothers, of the famous Taj Sheba Hotel in Sanaa, Mercedes Benz Yemen and MTN Yemen - the second provider of mobile phone services - as well as many other companies in Yemen and abroad, own 18 offshore companies in the British Virgin Islands. These offshore holdings help the family tuck away assets far out of the Yemeni authorities' reach.
The Bishr family enjoyed a special relationship with Ali Abdullah Saleh during his rule.
According to one state official who is still serving in Yemen, "in the year 2000, Saleh gave the Bishr family and the tribal and business figure Hameed Al-Ahmar exclusive rights to become the only two providers for mobile services for more than seven years. In exchange, Saleh shared profits in both companies without contributing a single dollar."
The same official said that Bishr Businesses received special treatment from the Yemeni government. He adds that "when Shaher Abdulhaq was building the Taj Sheba hotel, the Yemeni government paid for the iron and cement under the guise of encouraging investments."
He adds that "under the same reasoning, many Bishr businesses were exempt from tax, it was all corruption".
Corruption and cronyism were commonplace during Saleh's rule. Government tenders were open exclusively to certain businesses, one of which was the Bishrs' – by Baraa Shiban
cp19 Schöner Jemen / Beautiful Yemen
Yemen Jewel of the Peninsula 2
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LVwVlNJuhH4&sns=tw
Vorige / Previous:
https://www.freitag.de/autoren/dklose/krieg-im-jemen-neue-artikel-zum-nachlesen-127
Neue Artikel zum Nachlesen 1-127: / Yemen Press Reader 1-127:
https://www.freitag.de/autoren/dklose oder / or
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