Iranian support for the Huthis - Great Britain: targeting training to Saudi pilots - "War on terror" promotes terrorism - Hadi's parallel universe - Breaking the truce
Schwerpunkte / Key aspects
Klassifizierung / Classification
cp1 Am wichtigsten / Most important
cp2 Allgemein / General
cp3 Humanitäre Lage / Humanitarian situation
cp5 Nordjemen und Huthis / Northern Yemen and Houthis
cp6 Südjemen und Hadi-Regierung / Southern Yemen and Hadi-government
cp7 UNO und Friedensgespräche / UN and peace talks
cp8 Saudi-Arabien / Saudi Arabia
cp9 USA
cp10 Großbritannien / Great Britain
cp11 Deutschland / Germany
cp12 Andere Länder / Other countries
cp13 Waffenhandel / Arms trade
cp14 Terrorismus / Terrorism
cp15 Propaganda
cp16 Saudische Luftangriffe / Saudi air raids
cp17 Kriegsereignisse / Theater of War
cp18 Sonstiges / Other
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
15.4.2016 – Critical Threats (** B K P)
Signaling Saudi Arabia: Iranian Support to Yemen’s al Houthis
It is well known that Iran is supporting the al Houthi movement against the Saudi-led coalition fighting against it in Yemen. Western navies have interdicted weapons shipments from Iran to the al Houthis, and Secretary of State John Kerry has publicly remonstrated with Tehran over its support.[1] Iranian rhetoric on Yemen is expansive, referring to Sana’a as the fourth Arab capital under Tehran’s control.[2] But, what may be less appreciated is that the scale of Iran’s support appears to be too limited to shape the battlefield at this point and the al Houthi movement is not yet a true Iranian proxy. How should we understand what is going on and what are the implications for U.S. policy in the region?
The most important point to understand is that Iranian activities in Yemen are not about Yemen. They are, rather, part of the regional struggle between Saudi Arabia and Iran that is now playing out on battlefields and in political and diplomatic arenas throughout the Middle East.
Today, aid from Iran and its proxies is flowing to the al Houthi-Saleh alliance. The extent of the support is not clear, but it is far less than Saudi support to Hadi. The appearance of a modified surface-to-air missile in Yemen in December 2015, which the al Houthis dubbed the “Qahir I,” is one indicator of Iranian support.[6] Hezbollahis have also boasted of working in Yemen, though the statements have not been confirmed through other sources.
Iranian support to the al Houthis appears to fluctuate in response to developments in the regional Iran-Saudi struggle.
The Iranian arms shipments are not providing the al Houthis with strategic capabilities, however. The shipments include light and medium weaponry, all of which is readily available in Yemen. It is possible that al Houthi-Saleh forces are running low on light weapons among the ranks and are therefore seeking additional supplies. Recent gains by the Saudi-led coalition, particularly along Yemen’s Red Sea coast, have begun to isolate the al Houthi-Saleh forces in northwestern Yemen and the Saudi-led coalition is arming local militias.[15] An Iranian support vector would not be sufficient to re-arm the al Houthi-Saleh forces at any dramatic rate, however, which makes it unlikely that the these shipments are tied to internal Yemeni events. They are much more likely meant as signals to the Saudis and threats of possible future escalation.
Iranian rhetoric adds support to this hypothesis. Iranian officials have continued to offer support to the al Houthis even after the al Houthis publicly refused and even dismissed the Iranian overtures.
The al Houthis may mean more to Iran than Iran does to the al Houthis. The Iranian regime has characterized the al Houthis as part of its “Axis of Resistance,” Iranian allies that include Hezbollah and the Assad regime, and the regime leverages different vectors within this so-called axis to needle Saudi Arabia and advance Iranian interests. The al Houthis have periodically expressed support for Iran and gratitude for Iran’s assistance, but they remain much more ambivalent in their attitudes to Tehran than loyal and obedient proxies such as Hezbollah, Assad, and the Iraqi Shi’a militias.
This ambivalence makes strategic sense. Iran clearly desires a reliable partner on the Arabian Peninsula with which to threaten and pressure Riyadh, but the al Houthis likely recognize that full-scale proxy-hood may well mean permanent war with Saudi Arabia and its own allies and proxies.
That situation offers intriguing possibilities to the U.S. and the Saudis. U.S. and Western naval forces must certainly continue to interdict Iranian supplies moving to the al Houthis to support our Saudi partner in Yemen, but the U.S. must also resist the claims of some Saudi officials that the al Houthis are simply Iranian puppets and must be dealt with as such. It would be a mistake for the U.S. to blindly back Saudi actions in Yemen – by Catherine Zimmerman
Comment: Very long, profound and interesting article on the Iran-Houthi relationship, clearly showing that this is totally overstressed by Saudi propaganda. The article also contains a detailed list of all shipments since September 2015 containing weapons certainly coming from Iran. Whether Yemen really was the final destination of these ships, must stay unclear, even if the author describes this as “most likely”.
15.4.2016 – The Guardian (** B K P)
UK military officers give targeting training to Saudi military
Senior British military officers are providing targeting training to Saudi forces, including for cruise missile attacks, despite the kingdom’s airstrikes on neighbouring Yemen provoking an international outcry over civilian casualties.
The extent of the assistance to Saudi units from the Ministry of Defence has emerged from freedom of information (FoI) requests made by the human rights organisation Reprieve, which is urging the British government to reconsider providing military support.
There have been three courses in “international targeting”, each lasting three weeks, for members of the Royal Saudi air force, the MoD has disclosed. A seven-strong army artillery detachment has also visited Saudi Arabia to advise land forces on targeting and “weapons-locating radar”.
The cruise missile courses delivered by RAF “weaponeers” relate to the deployment of Storm Shadow, an air-launched explosive device designed to destroy buried enemy command centres. Reprieve is concerned that the military courses may not contain advice on obligations under international humanitarian law to avoid killing civilians.
The MoD explained: “There are up to 20 Royal Saudi air force students on each course … Each three-week course consists of approximately 90 hours of training.
The MoD also acknowledged there was an “ongoing engagement” between the Saudi and UK air forces over Storm Shadow. “RAF weaponeers have provided the RSAF with training in the better employment of specific weapons systems. Since March 2015, this has consisted of training in Storm Shadow targeting on two occasions. Finally, Saudi personnel may be invited to attend regular training courses run in the UK for UK and allied forces.”
The FoI response contained the standard MoD disclaimer in relation to the Yemen conflict: “British personnel are not involved in carrying out strikes, directing or conducting operations in Yemen or selecting targets, and are not involved in the Saudi targeting decision-making process. UK service personnel provide guidance on best practice techniques, including advice to help continued compliance with international humanitarian law. This advice will be provided to a range of personnel in Saudi headquarters and the Saudi ministry of defence.”
Commenting on the MoD assistance to the Saudis, Omran Belhadi, a case worker at Reprieve, said: “Claims by ministers that Britain is helping the Saudi government abide by the law are disingenuous.
“Extensive British ‘targeting training’ has done nothing to prevent the bombing of schools, hospitals and weddings, and the deaths of thousands of Yemeni civilians. The UK claims its support to the Saudi-led campaign is necessary to combat terrorism – but killing innocents doesn’t make us safer. Ministers must urgently reconsider the UK’s support for these abuses.”
An MoD spokesperson told the Guardian: “UK training helps support continued compliance with international humanitarian law. We do not play a role in targeting decisions or military operations.” – by Owen Bowcott
http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2016/apr/15/uk-army-officers-provide-targeting-training-saudi-military?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter and similar by Middle East Eye: http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/british-soldiers-training-saudi-forces-cruise-missile-attacks-1899895558
Comment: It sounds unbelievable – but is true. “Disclaimer” – that is the right expression for all the statements of the British government.
15.4.2016 – The Independent (** B P T)
Thanks to UK and US intervention, al-Qaeda now has a mini-state in Yemen. It's Iraq and Isis all over again
They have done it again. The US, Britain and regional allies led by Saudi Arabia have come together to intervene in another country with calamitous results. Instead of achieving their aims, they have produced chaos, ruining the lives of millions of people and creating ideal conditions for salafi-jihadi movements like al-Qaeda and Islamic State.
The latest self-inflicted failure in the “war on terror” is in Yemen. The Saudi intervention, supported in practice by the US and Britain, has made a bad situation far worse. The real winners in this war are al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) which has taken advantage of the collapse of central government to create its own mini-state.
The Saudi intervention turned a crisis into a catastrophe.
The disaster is not only humanitarian, but political, and does not only affect Yemen. As in Iraq, Libya, Syria and Afghanistan, foreign intervention energises and internationalises local difference as factions become the proxies of outside powers.
Yemen has always had Shia and Sunni, but it is only recently that sectarian hatred has begun to get anywhere near the level of Syria and Iraq. Saudi Arabia portrays the Houthis as pawns of Iran, though there is little evidence for this, so Yemen is drawn into the regional confrontation between Saudi Arabia and Iran.
A point seldom given sufficient weight is that AQAP is expanding so fast, not because of its own strength, but because its opponents are so weak. The Saudi and Gulf financed media often refer to pro-President Hadi forces as taking territory, but in reality the government-in-exile remains in Saudi Arabia. It recaptured the port city of Aden last summer, but its few officials who are there dare not leave their heavily-defended compound except by helicopter. Even where Saudi-backed fighters advance, they leave anarchy behind them, conditions in which the arrival of disciplined AQAP forces may be welcomed by local people.
I have been struck, ever since the US and British invasion of Iraq in 2003, by the extent to which their whole strategy depends on wishful thinking about the strength and popularity of their local ally who usually, on the contrary, is feared and hated. I seldom spoke to Afghans who truly supported the Taliban, but I was always impressed by the number who detested the Afghan government. Yet when one UN official stated publicly that the foreign powers fighting the Taliban, supposedly in support of the government, had “no local partner”, he was promptly fired.
There was the same lethal pretence by Western powers in Libya and Syria that the rebels they backed represented the mass of the population and were capable of taking over from existing regimes. In reality, the weakening or destruction of central government created a power vacuum promptly filled by extreme jihadi groups.
The dire consequences of the Saudi intervention and the rise of AQAP has been largely ignored by Western governments and media. Contrary to their grim-faced declarations about combating terrorism, the US and UK have opened the door to an al-Qaeda mini-state.
This will have an impact far beyond the Middle East
As has happened repeatedly since 9/11, the US and countries like Britain fail to combat terrorism because they give priority to retaining their alliance with Saudi Arabia and the Gulf monarchies, even when their policies – as in Yemen – wreck a whole country and enable al Qaeda and Isis to use the chaos to establish safe havens – by Patrick Cockburn
15.4.2016 – American Herald Tribune (** B K P)
Yemen’s War - Saudi Arabia’s plays the military musical chair
"I ask all the parties and the international community to remain steadfast in support of this cessation of hostilities to be a first in Yemen's return to peace... Yemen cannot afford the loss of more lives,” declared Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed , the UN Special Envoy to Yemen as he confirmed Yemen had entered into a ceasefire with Saudi Arabia’s grand military coalition.
Only there is nothing peaceful about this ceasefire, and Saudi Arabia is most definitely not a legitimate party to peace – how could it when it is Riyadh’s territorial greed which has decimated Yemen in the first place? But since the United Nations has been only too happy to indulge and rationalize Riyadh’s imperial madness in Southern Arabia, the world has been taught to marvel at the kingdom’s commitment to peace.
Such is the paradox of our time – we praise those who wage war in the name of peace, while we criminalize Resistance for daring oppose Tyranny.
While media have clapped in relief as Yemen ceasefire was confirmed, realities on the ground do not reflect any such giddiness. There is nothing festive, or even hopeful to be gained for such a military respite – not when Riyadh is exploiting such a window of opportunity to introduce a change of the guard.
Peace and political negotiations are not on the agenda, rather a change in military strategy. Under the cover of a conveniently timed ceasefire, the kingdom is working to get fresh troops in Yemen – this time courtesy of Jordan, while the UAE organize its men’s comeback. I suppose the province of Marib proved far more challenging that the UAE ever could have expected.
“Jordanian military forces and advisers will be replacing UAE troops fighting in the Saudi war on Yemen, following reports of serious disputes among the few "coalition" members, Yemen Khabar news agency reported this April 14th.
According to Yemeni officials, King Salman’s recent tour of the Levant: Egypt and Jordan, allowed for a series of military agreements to be signed on by both Cairo and Amman in exchange for financial largess. In true imperial capitalist fashion, Riyadh wielded money to co-opt powers to do its bidding in the Yemen – turning allies into obedient mercenaries.
Khabar confirmed that Prince Muhammad bin Salman al Saud, the now infamous Saudi Defense Minister and Crown Prince, met with King Abdullah of Jordan in the seaport of Aqaba where “a package of agreements, including one related to the development of military cooperation was concluded.”
With the UAE withdrawing from Marib, Riyadh had no choice but to find a replacement to its failed military endeavour … and while a game of military musical chair is unlikely to solve anything I suppose it still offers the resemblance of a dignified withdrawal. Or as they say: tactical!
But Yemen’s latest ceasefire betrays more than just a change of the guard, and fresh reinforcement.
13 months into a conflict which it expected would last no more than a few short weeks, Riyadh is desperately trying to regain its footing. Do not allow for political posing, and princely arrogance to fool you into believing the House of Saud is in control.
Riyadh is barely keeping up with Yemen… never mind dictating the pace. For all the losses Yemen suffered, and both the military and political efforts Saudi Arabia exerted against the impoverished nation Sana’s is still towering over Riyadh by the sheer strength of its Resistance.
If Riyadh only bows to money, and the power it can buy, Yemen is living by a different tune altogether. It is national pride and integrity which move the Highlands, not cowardice and greed – those attributes Yemen leaves to Hadi and Co … those sad politicians who sold out their people to rise their personal fortunes.
But money does not ease all upsets … and grand coalition can often crumble into dust.
Saudi Arabia might have gone one miscalculation too far this February when it dismissed Khaled Bahah – Abdel-Rabbo Mansour Hadi’s so called prime minister in waiting, to replace him with Gen. Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar, Yemen’s former top military man, and senior leader of al-Islah - a loose coalition of tribes and political factions which include members of the Muslim Brotherhood.
The mastermind behind former President Saleh’s failed assassination attempt in 2011, Gen. al-Ahmar also led a series of brutal assaults against the Houthis in 2004, and 2009 – all in the name of a covert religious cleansing campaign Riyadh was only too keen to orchestrate, shield and offer its support to.
The once-self-proclaimed protector of the people, Gen. al-Ahmar proved himself a traitor, a renegade and a turn coat. Still Riyadh appointed him to one of Yemen’s highest office, making a mockery of Yemen’s national sovereignty.
Since when are Yemeni officials vetted by Riyadh? In which democratic dystopian reality are kings playing republic?
Interestingly it was the UAE which reacted most of all to Riyadh’s new political appointment … Hadi those days hardly offers more than a whisper. As for the Resistance, it long established that Riyadh’s authority holds NOT a candle to Yemen’s independence.
Appoint al-Saud may, and appoint al-Saud most certainly will, but Yemen will still walk its own political path, heeding not the folly of kings.
Abu Dhabi is not exactly pleased with Riyadh’s newest decision. The return into the scene of a member of the Muslim Brotherhood quite simply infuriated the UAE – especially since it spent so much of its own resources getting rid of it in the first place.
The Saudi crown prince reportedly travelled to the UAE to mend fences with the ruling elite … How Emirates will play this new upset is anyone’s guess, but Abu Dhabi’s distaste for the Brotherhood could prove too much of a betrayal to smooth over.
Or could it be that Saudi Arabia played its last card: abandoning Yemen to the fury of radicalism to better crush those who dared opposed its rule?
There is no real ceasefire in Yemen, only the illusion of a political respite – by Catherine Shakdam
This is the article in full. It is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) license.
http://ahtribune.com/opinion/817-yemen-war.html
cp2 Allgemein / General
16.4.2016 – AP (A P)
Yemen Committees Monitoring Cease-Fire Agree to Begin Work
Local Yemeni committees tasked to monitor a week-old cease-fire between Yemen's internationally recognized government and Shiite rebels, agreed Saturday to begin their work on the ground at six front-lines, security officials said.
The monitors in the city of Taiz have agreed to monitor the cease-fire as of 2 p.m. local time and to exchange records of prisoners of war in preparation to release them, said security officials from the two sides of the civil war.
Following a prisoner exchange, local monitors also agreed to open roads to Taiz, which the rebels have besieged for nearly a year – by Ahmed Al-Haj
http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/yemen-committees-monitoring-cease-fire-agree-begin-work-38446018 = https://www.yahoo.com/news/yemen-committees-monitoring-cease-fire-agree-begin-125000177.html
16.4.2016 – The Sydney Morning Herald (** B K P)
US and Britain under fire over war in Yemen
A long and good overview article, ending this way:]
Just weeks before the start of the Yemeni conflict, London and Washington ordered that flags be flown at half-mast to mark the death of King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia. Canberra did the same.
The king, of course paid fabulous amounts for American and British weapons; no such respect for the thousands of civilian Yemenis who have died in the war – by Paul McGeough
http://www.smh.com.au/world/us-and-britain-under-fire-over-war-in-yemen-20160415-go7vfp.html
13.4.2016 – Rare (* B K P T)
U.S. support for Saudi intervention in Yemen makes us all less secure
What many Americans don’t realize is that our government has been quietly funneling guidance, intelligence, and weaponry to the Saudi intervention. Our navy is patrolling the coast, searching for potential Iranian arms shipments to the Houthi rebels Saudi forces oppose, and our tanker planes are refueling Saudi jets.
In short, though few in the U.S. realize it, we are subsidizing Saudi Arabia’s war—a commitment which neither makes America safer nor brings Yemen closer to stability.
Perhaps the most obvious threat to U.S. security born out of Yemen’s present turmoil is the way it has permitted al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) (believed to be the group’s most lethal franchise) to flourish.
“It is now clear that AQAP has been a significant beneficiary of the chaos unleashed by the Houthi takeover,” said one U.S. counterterrorism official. “While the Saudi-led coalition has started to push back the Houthis, they are not able to simultaneously fight AQAP. The net result is that AQAP continues to make inroads and exploit the situation.”
Aaron Zelin, an expert in jihadi movements at the Washington Institute for Near East Affairs, agrees. “AQAP has been slowly building up capacity,” since the U.S.-backed Saudi intervention began, he says. “They are stronger.”
The longer the U.S. continues to back Saudi intervention in Yemen, the easier we make AQAP’s despicable plots.
Meanwhile, Yemen itself is a wreck. Civilian casualties are mounting. Some 94 percent of Yemenis say they are “suffering” or “struggling” under current conditions. Food and medicine are in short supply, with more than half the population affected by malnutrition. And 45 percent have lost their main source of income thanks to the upheaval of the current war, which makes them prime targets for terrorist recruiters. Idle hands, as they say, are al Qaeda’s workshop.
This is particularly true for Yemen, where resentment has already been building for years thanks to the Obama Administration’s drone war.
Further U.S. backing of Saudi intervention means that instability and danger will only grow – by Bonnie Kristian
http://rare.us/story/u-s-support-for-saudi-intervention-in-yemen-makes-us-all-less-secure/
cp3 Humanitäre Lage / Humanitarian situation
15.4.2016 – Spiegel Online (** B H K)
Jemen: Briefe aus einem verstörten Land
Für den SPIEGEL beschreiben vier Jemeniten, wie sie den Krieg überlebt haben.
Amina Mansour, 30, arbeitete bis zum März vergangenen Jahres als Englischlehrerin und lebt mit ihrem Mann, einem Buchhalter, und ihrem sieben Monate alten Sohn Amir in Taizz.
Hussain al-Bukhaiti, 31, ist ein bekennender Huthi-Aktivist, der nach gut zwölf Jahren im Exil erst 2013 in seine Heimat zurückgekehrte; derzeit dokumentiert der hauptberufliche Englisch-Übersetzer von Sanaa aus vor allem die Kriegsverbrechen, die von der saudi-arabisch geführten Militärkoalition begangen werden. Sein Bruder Mohammed ist Führungsmitglied des politischen Arms der Huthi-Rebellen.
Der Mediziner Ammar Abdullah Derwish, 27, entstammt einer angesehenen Ärztefamilie in Aden und hilft als Freiwilliger den Opfern des Bürgerkriegs.
Ismail Muharram, 61, leitete bis 2010 das staatliche Forschungsinstitut für Landwirtschaft in Sanaa und gründete anschließend eine Beratungsfirma; nach den ersten Luftangriffen floh der Agrarwissenschaftler mit der Familie in sein Heimatdorf, kehrte im September jedoch in die Hauptstadt Sanaa zurück.
Kommentar: Lesenswerter Artikel, der vier einfache Menschen ausführlich zu Wort kommen lässt. Der einleitende Satz „Saudi-Arabien und Iran kämpfen seit einem Jahr um die Vormacht im Süden der Arabischen Halbinsel“ ist freilich Quatsch.
15.4.2016 – Times of Malta (B H)
In Yemen, "the future is a black canvas"
Mahmoud Zeid’s wife and five daughters were at home when the missiles first hit.
“We were queuing up to buy cooking gas,” Mahmoud recalls in the video above. “I heard a huge explosion in our neighbourhood. The planes were bombing everywhere.”
The bombs destroyed parts of the Zeid’s two-room home in Yemen’s capital Sana’a and forced the family to seek refuge in a nearby school. War forced Mahmoud to shut down his tailoring business, and the family now rely on the Norwegian Refugee Council for food assistance.
Mahmoud and his wife Sabah aren’t holding out much hope for a better future.
“The future is a black canvas,” he sighs as Sabah looks on. “This war blots out the future of millions of children. How can we talk about the future? If it goes on it’ll be a future of blood and darkness.”
“I’ve been asked by many Yemenis why nobody cares about them,” says Maltese humanitarian and NRC media advisor Karl Schembri. “It’s a question that haunts me.”
14.4.2016 – UNICEF (*B H)
Helping children cope with violence in Yemen
The ongoing conflict in Yemen has had a profound effect on the lives of children. In schools, students are learning how to use drama, sport and peer support skills to cope with the war and violence that surrounds them.
Boom! Boom!” a girl yells, before she and four others dive to the ground in unison. A few minutes later, one of them starts screaming. The others rise to their feet and begin to calm her down. “You are ok, you are not hurt,” one of the girls says, comforting her classmate.
It’s morning in Yemen’s capital Sana’a. My colleagues and I arrived just in time to join students at the Al-Fadheela Basic School for their assembly, where the girls are acting out a scene reminiscent of their current reality. While the drama here excites the students, the actual situation in the country is perilous, especially for children.
This is part of coping for the children,” says Mohammed Elfadili, the Director General of Education in Sana’a. “You can see them laughing and clapping as they watch the drama. Such activities and sports help them to temporarily forget about the war and concentrate on learning.”
As we walk into the head teacher’s office, Mr. Elfadili taps me on my shoulder and I look back. He points to my right side, where shards of glass are scattered on the ground.
“There was a lot when I first visited in November to assess the damage,” he says.
Repairing the damage
In the past year, Yemen has witnessed intensive bombardment and ground fighting. Civilian infrastructure including schools have been attacked, and children have been killed or maimed, some of them on their way to and from school.
The escalating conflict also forced the closure of nearly 3,600 schools and interrupted the education of 1.8 million children. Despite some improvements, more than 1,600 schools are still closed because of damage or insecurity, leaving about 387,000 children unable to resume their education.
Like more than 1,000 other schools in the country, Al-Fadheela School was damaged, though not directly. Residents say intensive bombardment on a nearby hill caused vibrations, shattering some of the windowpanes. With support from UNICEF, the school was able to replace and clean the broken windows, so that children can learn once again.
UNICEF is also supporting the rehabilitation of other schools across the country, as well as providing training for teachers and students to help children cope with the horrors of the conflict. Teachers are learning how to be more aware of children’s emotions to help them learn, while students are learning peer support skills, such as acting out scenes like the one at today’s assembly, which put smiles on all of their faces.
Dreams in the face of despair
After the morning assembly, the students go to their classes for lessons. Later, there is a sports period where they play games and do various other physical activities, including volleyball, hula hoop and skipping ropes.
It all looks normal – but it is far from it.
Ghadeer, a 13-year-old girl in grade nine, says it’s difficult to concentrate in class when the sounds of bombs and gunshots rattle through the air.
“Sometimes in the middle of a lesson, you hear ‘boom’. What can you expect?” she asked. “Some students scream, others run out of the class.”
Ghadeer wants to be a doctor. And although this conflict poses a threat to her education, she says it is now more urgent than ever that she achieves her ambitious dream.
“I want to treat all the people whether injured or sick. Each child in the school has a plan for the future and that is why those of us alive keep coming to school,” she says.
“Even in despair, our hope for a bright future is undiminished.”
http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/yemen_90865.html
cp5 Nordjemen und Huthis / Northern Yemen and Houthis
15.4.2016 – Hussain Al-Buhkaiti and others
Under the rain #Yemen-is protest today in #Sanaa against #Saudi #UAE constant war and violation of @UN ceasefire
https://twitter.com/HussainBukhaiti/status/721053223239426049
https://twitter.com/YemenPostNews/status/720992773105721344
https://www.facebook.com/yemen.crisis/posts/594734320692808
https://twitter.com/narrabyee/status/720683683955503104
https://twitter.com/narrabyee/status/720683725802053632
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EC7E3nqKwBI
cp6 Südjemen und Hadi-Regierung / Southern Yemen and Hadi-government
15.4.2016 – Al Araby (A T)
Car bomb rips through Yemen's Aden amid shaky ceasefire
The Islamic State group has claimed an attack that left one person dead in Yemen’s coastal city Aden on Friday, as the country struggles to hold a ceasefire aimed at ending months of violence.
The car bomb exploded nearby a local foreign ministry office in the Remy area of the Mansoura district.
Hundreds of worshippers gathered for Friday prayers at a nearby mosque scattered as black smoke rose at the scene.
A man was seen parking a car and fleeing shortly before detonating the device, local media reports.
https://www.alaraby.co.uk/english/news/2016/4/15/at-least-four-dead-in-aden-bomb-attack
15.4.2016 – Middle East Eye (A K T)
Al-Qaeda ousted from key town in south Yemen: Officials
Soldiers and police drove the militants out of Huta, 30km north of Aden, and arrested 49 people suspected supporters
Pro-government forces expelled al-Qaeda fighters from a provincial capital close to Yemen's second city of Aden on Friday, according to security officials, as fighting in the country's civil war continued despite a putative truce.
Soldiers and police drove the militants out of Huta, 30km north of Aden, and arrested 49 suspected supporters there, added the officials.
Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group have been exploiting the chaos caused by the war to strengthen their grip on southern Yemen.
Forces loyal to President Abd Rabbuh Hadi have launched operations against militants in recent weeks, backed by the firepower of a mainly Arab coalition.
A military official said the operation to liberate Huta was "designed to secure Aden", where Hadi's government has temporarily based itself.
http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/al-qaeda-ousted-key-town-south-yemen-officials-1678690966
15.4.2016 – Reuters (A K T)
Yemeni forces seize city from Al-Qaeda
Yemeni forces backed by Apache helicopters from a Saudi-led coalition wrested the city of Houta from Al-Qaeda militants after a gun battle on Friday morning, a local military official said.
Hours later, a car bomb detonated outside the foreign ministry building in the southern Yemeni city of Aden, causing no casualties, another local official said.
The recapture of Houta, regional capital of southern Lahj province which has been held by the militants since last summer, is one of the embattled Yemeni government’s most important inroads yet against Al-Qaeda forces who have taken advantage of more than a year of war to seize territory.
Government troops began their attack at daybreak and succeeded after several hours of air strikes and heavy combat, the military official told Reuters.
“The campaign to control Houta has been completed and it has been cleansed of Al-Qaeda and extremist elements,” he said. Several people were killed and injured on both sides and 48 militants were captured, he added.
Until the attack on Houta, AQAP has suffered few territorial losses.
13.4.2016 – Al Araby (** A P)
President Hadi’s dubious leadership
President Hadi has been struggling to win the hearts and minds of Yemenis
Comment: Hadi's focus on building international ties over domestic ones betrays a lack of concern for Yemeni citizens, and a desire to engineer his own survival, says Afrah Nasser.
Hadi's latest New York Times op-ed, and his cabinet reshuffle both demonstrate that his own survival comes first on his agenda, overlooking the importance of winning the hearts and minds of the Yemeni public.
The fact that he appears more concerned with speaking to the west, only pausing to address Yemeni politics for his own survival interest, is weakening his status domestically. Hadi needs to rethink his leadership style and expand his public diplomacy to include both domestic and international audiences.
Inevitably, after spending 17 years in office as the vice president of ousted President Ali Abdullah Saleh, Hadi has learned about the politics of staying in office from Saleh who for the past 38 years has masterfully engineered his own survival.
For Hadi, though, the tactics he is employing are proving problematic. While Saleh used to preach that ruling Yemen was "like dancing on the heads of snakes", Hadi seems to have adopted the idea that ruling Yemen can be achieved through publishing op-eds in western media, for western audiences.
The two op-ed pieces written by Hadi for The New York Times in April 2015 and March 2016 on the conflict in Yemen were meant to polish his image exclusively on the international stage. Clearly, these addresses were not intended to speak to the people of Yemen, where more than half the population is illiterate, let alone able to read English.
This is not to say that he does not address the Yemeni press. Hadi's texts in Arabic for local press have mostly been about his decrees; no intellectual messages are ever expressed to the hearts and minds of Yemeni citizens.
Hadi's time in office - which was only supposed to last two years but has now lasted four - has seen constant cabinet reshuffles. This, in addition to his most recent shake-up, demonstrates his wavering efforts as a leader to continually adapt to a changing situation.
Just one week before the scheduled ceasefire on April 10, Hadi sacked Khaled Bahah, a well-respected technocrat who had a relatively peaceful connection to the Houthis and who served as both vice president and prime minister. Hadi gave away the positions to two key figures who had formerly been key hardliner members in Saleh's circle: General Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar and Ahmed bin Dagher.
This has been seen as a very problematic move in the context of efforts to hold peace talks, and US Secretary of State John Kerry has reportedly stated that President Hadi has significantly complicated efforts for peace negotiations.
Hadi's actions are simply serving to fuel the fire. Al-Ahmar, who used to be Saleh's right hand man, not only turned the tables against Saleh in 2011 by joining the uprising, but he is also believed to have plotted the assassination attempt against Saleh in June 2011.
Reports on opposing groups reflect the growing discontent over his leadership.
Hadi's recent tactics embody his dubious leadership. In a tribal country such as Yemen, where a leader's power is extremely locally-based through a leverage-building process, Hadi is drifting dramatically from strengthening his domestic ties, towards focusing solely on building his links with the West, which is itself, slowly starting to express discontent over his leadership –by Afrah Nasser
https://www.alaraby.co.uk/english/comment/2016/4/13/president-hadis-dubious-leadership
cp7 UNO und Friedensgespräche / UN and peace talks
16.4.2016 – AFP (* A P)
Yemen peace talks set to resume amid shaky ceasefire
“We can expect a hard time” at the Kuwait talks, said April Longley Alley, a Yemen specialist at the International Crisis Group.
“In a best case scenario, the two sides will agree to a package of compromises that will build trust, strengthen the ceasefire, allow for an inclusive government to return to Sana’a and restart the political process,” she told AFP.
“But this is a tall order.”
Alley says the government and rebels remain far apart on matters of substance.
President Abd Rabbo Mansour Hadi’s internationally recognised government insists on the rigid application of UN Security Council Resolution 2216 calling for the political process to resume and for rebels to withdraw from Yemen’s cities while surrendering their weapons.
The Al Houthis are allied with elite troops loyal to former president Ali Abdullah Saleh.
Alley says rigid implementation of Resolution 2216 would amount to “an Al Houthi-Saleh surrender and is unrealistic”.
It is also unclear if the Al Houthis would be willing to disband their “revolutionary councils” and allow a more inclusive government to return to Sana’a, she said.
Probably most important is for the two sides to agree on interim security arrangements essential for strengthening the ceasefire, Alley said.
This would also help prepare for other progress such as the return of the government and Al Houthi disarmament.
Alley believes both the Al Houthis and the Saudis appear to want a way out of the war.
But with neither side having been defeated militarily, she wonders “whether a compromise can be reached that addresses the core concerns of each”.
http://gulfnews.com/news/gulf/yemen/yemen-peace-talks-set-to-resume-amid-shaky-ceasefire-1.1713640
15.4.2016 – UNO (A P)
Special Envoy for Yemen Seeks Security Council’s Support for New Round of Face-to-Face Talks Aimed at Reviving Political Dialogue
The Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Yemen asked the Security Council today for its support in the weeks and months ahead as parties to the conflict in that country prepared to embark on a fresh round of face-to-face negotiations, building on the cessation of hostilities that began on 10 April.
Briefing the Council on developments in Yemen, Special Envoy Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed said the aim of the talks — to begin in Kuwait on 18 April — was to reach a comprehensive agreement on ending the conflict and to allow the resumption of an inclusive political dialogue, in accordance with resolution 2216 (2015) and other relevant Council resolutions.
“We have never been as close as we are today to peace,” he said, requesting the Council’s support, both before and after the talks, to ensure an end to the violence, a comprehensive ceasefire and a return to a peaceful and inclusive political process. “The success of the upcoming talks will require consistent and coherent support from the region, as well as the larger international community,” he added, warning of a security and humanitarian crisis if they failed.
http://www.un.org/press/en/2016/sc12325.doc.htm
15.4.2016 – UN (A P)
Yemen at ‘critical crossroads,’ Security Council told ahead of face-to-face peace talks
Yemen is now at a critical crossroads, the United Nations Security Council heard today from the UN special envoy for the country, with one path leading to peace while the other can only worsen the security and humanitarian situation.
“This briefing comes on the eve of the next round of face-to-face talks in Kuwait, where I hope the parties will come to an agreement on a clear way to end the violence and devastation in Yemen,” Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed, the UN Special Envoy for Yemen, told the 15-member Council.
“The agreement on the cessation of hostilities also created local levels of support. The Government of Yemen and Ansar Allah have nominated local committees in militarily contested areas to work with the DCC and ensure better compliance with the cessation of hostilities,” the envoy indicated, adding that unfortunately, most of the local committees are not yet fully functional but should be in the coming days.
Despite a discernible decrease in the level of military violence in most parts of the country during the first days of the cessation of hostilities, Mr. Ould Cheikh Ahmed told the Security Council there have also been a worrying number of serious violations particularly in al-Jawf, Amran, Mareb and Taiz.
He said both parties confirmed that these agreements pave the way for the general cessation of hostilities in Yemen. “The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has supported both the government of Yemen and the Houthis to sign a landmark agreement aimed at supporting the cessation of hostilities and the work of the De-Escalation, Coordination Committee and Local De-Escalation Committees and supports the role of the United Nations.”
Calling on all parties to support the important work which humanitarian agencies are carrying out, Mr. Ould Cheikh Ahmed underlined that humanitarians will continue doing their best to deliver assistance to those in need and negotiate sustained access to hard-to-reach areas.
http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=53697#.VxG9X_mLSUk
cp8 Saudi-Arabien / Saudi Arabia
15.4.2016 – New York Times (** A P)
Saudi Arabia Warns of Economic Fallout if Congress Passes 9/11 Bill
Saudi Arabia has told the Obama administration and members of Congress that it will sell off hundreds of billions of dollars’ worth of American assets held by the kingdom if Congress passes a bill that would allow the Saudi government to be held responsible in American courts for any role in the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
The Obama administration has lobbied Congress to block the bill’s passage, according to administration officials and congressional aides from both parties, and the Saudi threats have been the subject of intense discussions in recent weeks between lawmakers and officials from the State Department and the Pentagon. The officials have warned senators of diplomatic and economic fallout from the legislation.
Adel al-Jubeir, the Saudi foreign minister, delivered the kingdom’s message personally last month during a trip to Washington, telling lawmakers that Saudi Arabia would be forced to sell up to $750 billion in treasury securities and other assets in the United States before they could be in danger of being frozen by American courts.
The administration, which argues that the legislation would put Americans at legal risk overseas, has been lobbying so intently against the bill that some lawmakers and families of Sept. 11 victims are infuriated. In their view, the Obama administration has consistently sided with the kingdom and has thwarted their efforts to learn what they believe to be the truth about the role some Saudi officials played in the terrorist plot.
“It’s stunning to think that our government would back the Saudis over its own citizens,” said Mindy Kleinberg, whose husband died in the World Trade Center on Sept. 11 and who is part of a group of victims’ family members pushing for the legislation.
Saudi officials have long denied that the kingdom had any role in the Sept. 11 plot, and the 9/11 Commission found “no evidence that the Saudi government as an institution or senior Saudi officials individually funded the organization.” But critics have noted that the commission’s narrow wording left open the possibility that less senior officials or parts of the Saudi government could have played a role. Suspicions have lingered, partly because of the conclusions of a 2002 congressional inquiry into the attacks that cited some evidence that Saudi officials living in the United States at the time had a hand in the plot.
Those conclusions, contained in 28 pages of the report, still have not been released publicly.
Edwin M. Truman, a fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, said he thought the Saudis were most likely making an “empty threat.” Selling hundreds of billions of dollars in American assets would not only be technically difficult to pull off, he said, but would also very likely cause global market turmoil for which the Saudis would be blamed.
Moreover, he said, it could destabilize the American dollar — the currency to which the Saudi riyal is pegged – by Mark Mazzetti
16.4.2016 – New York Times (* A P)
Path of $681 Million: From Saudi Arabia to Malaysian Premier’s Personal Account
How did $681 million end up being deposited in the personal bank account of Malaysia’s prime minister, Najib Razak, last year?
Not in any corrupt way, officials insist.
Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister said on Thursday that an unspecified Saudi source had given a large sum of money as a “genuine donation” with no obligations attached. He joined top Malaysian leaders in waving away any suggestion of scandal.
For those who have never had fortunes deposited into their personal bank accounts with no obligations attached, this may sound suspicious. Indeed, Mr. Najib has been subject to fierce international scrutiny, including a United States Justice Department investigation, as he continues to deny any wrongdoing.
In July, news reports accused Mr. Najib of putting the huge sum in his own accounts. Critics calling for him to step down charged that at least some of the money had been criminally channeled from the 1 Malaysia Development Board, a government fund set up by Mr. Najib. More recently, Swiss investigators have said it appeared that about $4 billion had been misappropriated from Malaysian state companies.
Efforts to investigate the brewing scandal were met with stiff resistance.
Mr. Najib’s office, which has tried without success to put the controversy to rest, issued a statement on Friday welcoming Mr. Jubeir’s comments.
“This confirms what the prime minister maintained all along, and what multiple lawful authorities concluded after exhaustive investigations: The funds were a donation from Saudi Arabia,” said Mr. Najib’s press secretary, Tengku Sariffuddin.
But Mr. Najib’s opponents said they had found Mr. Jubeir’s most recent statement unconvincing – by DANIEL VICTOR and RICHARD C. PADDOCK
15.4.2016 – Middle East Eye (* A P)
Riyadh says $681m given to Malaysia PM was 'genuine donation'
Gulf state's foreign minister says nothing expected in return from Najib Razak, who has been cleared of corruption in his own country.
Saudi Arabia has said a $681m transfer to the personal bank account of Malaysian prime minister, Najib Razak, was a "genuine donation with nothing expected in return".
Najib was cleared of corruption charges in January after the Malaysian attorney general said the cash was a gift from the Saudi royal family.
On Thursday, the Saudi foreign minister, Adel al-Jubeir, said: “We are fully aware that the attorney general of Malaysia has thoroughly investigated the matter and found no wrongdoing
“It is a genuine donation with nothing expected in return. So, as far as we are concerned, the matter is closed."
Najib originally faced claims that the funds found in his personal bank account originated from debt-laden state fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB).
The Malaysian government said it was Saudi financial backing for Najib's promotion of "moderate Islam".
The attorney general's investigation cleared him of all wrongdoing.
Comment: 681 million dollars and nothing in return. So they say. They call it 'genuine- donation. We are genuine idiots to believe it.
https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=1008351849217845&id=961126490607048
14.4.2016 – Middle East Eye (A P)
Saudi Arabia takes action against sectarian fatwas
The Ministry of Islamic Affairs has removed content from its website that was negative about Shia Muslims, Jews, and Christians
Authorities in Saudi Arabia have moved against sectarian religious edicts in the kingdom, according to a local media report on Thursday.
The daily Okaz newspaper quoted a source in the Ministry of Islamic Affairs who said that a team of officials had begun the process of deleting content on its website “related to different sects and schools of religious thought".
They added that a “special internal body” had been established to “review the contents of its website”.
Saudi Arabia has long been criticised for allowing ultra-conservative religious clerics to spread sectarian ideas targeting Shia Muslims, Jews, and Christians, in part through the Islamic Affairs website.
On Thursday a search for Shia, Christians, and Jews on the website returned no functioning results, which appeared to confirm sectarian content had been removed from the site.
An example of a previous sectarian statement on the fatwa website, which has since been deleted, included a quote from Mohammed al-Mosned, a preacher from Riyadh, who said: “If a Sunni Muslim wants to know the blessings God has given him in terms of intellect and faith, he just needs to look at what the rawafidh (a derogatory term for Shia Muslims) are doing these days.”
“We must impose the harshest sanctions against those who violate the faith and those who go beyond the bounds of Islam. These should include killing, crucifixion and defamation. This is to preserve the religion of the nation, its security and stability.”
The source who spoke to Okaz said the ministry planned to set up a new “online portal to communicate with supportive preachers to educate them about their rights and responsibilities”.
The source added that the new site should be ready within the next three months.
http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/saudi-arabia-takes-action-against-sectarian-fatwas-2058233147
12.4.2016 – RT (B P)
Driving exposes women to ‘evil’ & ‘churches must be destroyed’ – Top Saudi cleric’s worldview
Driving ‘exposes women to evil’
All churches must be destroyed
Checkmate: Chess ‘causes hatred’
Twitter: a ‘source of all evil & devastation’
10yo girls can marry’ due to ‘good upbringing’
https://www.rt.com/news/339288-cleric-saudi-laws-islam/
cp9 USA
15.4.2016 – The Intercept (* A K P)
U.S. Report on Saudi Arabia Downplays Civilian Casualties in Yemen
In its annual human rights report on Saudi Arabia, the State Department ignored thousands of civilian casualties from the Saudi-led bombing campaign in Yemen and overlooked the widespread use of illegal cluster munitions by the bombing coalition.
The report, which was released Wednesday and covers all of 2015, attributes to Human Rights Watch a report “that 13 people total were killed, including three children, in seven rocket attacks from April to mid-July.”
But Human Rights Watch also tallied more than 550 civilian deaths in 2015 from 36 airstrikes by the Saudi-led coalition, and documented 15 attacks where the coalition used banned cluster munitions. And the Human Rights Watch report the State Department referenced specifies that Saudi forces used U.S.-made M26 cluster bombs in all seven attacks.
Human Rights Watch accused the State Department of cherry-picking its research:
“The State Department report suggests that Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International accused the Saudis of only 13 civilian deaths during the fighting,” said Wille. “The U.S. is presenting a small bite of the apple.”
The State Department admitted to more civilian casualties in its report on Yemen, also released Wednesday. But the Yemen report only acknowledged four problematic air attacks and confirmed only 173 civilian casualties. The report included several estimates of civilian casualties killed by both sides in the conflict, but never attributed a percentage to the Saudi-led coalition.
President Obama has approved more arms sales to Saudi Arabia than any other president. By 2015, his administration had approved more than $100 billion in weapons sales to the Saudis, and currently has approved $46 billion in new agreements.
A State Department spokesperson, who would only comment on background, pointed out that the U.S. has called on both sides of the conflict to protect civilians. He also claimed that the use of cluster munitions is not a human rights violation because the United States has not signed the ban on cluster munitions – by Alex Emmons
15.4.2016 – Reuters (* A P T)
Exclusive: U.S. considers supporting new U.A.E. push against al Qaeda in Yemen
The United States is considering a request from the United Arab Emirates for military support to assist a new offensive in Yemen against al Qaeda's most dangerous affiliate, U.S. officials tell Reuters.
A U.S.-backed military push by the Gulf ally could allow the administration of President Barack Obama to help strike a fresh blow against a group that has plotted to down U.S. airliners and claimed responsibility for last year's attacks on the office of Charlie Hebdo magazine in Paris.
The UAE has asked for U.S. help on medical evacuation and combat search and rescue as part of a broad request for American air power, intelligence and logistics support, the U.S. officials said. It was unclear whether U.S. special operations forces - already stretched thin by the conflicts in Iraq, Syria and Afghanistan - were part of the request.
The U.S. officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the UAE was preparing for a campaign against AQAP, but declined to offer details, citing operational security.
Washington's consideration of the request comes ahead of Obama's planned trip next week to a summit of Gulf leaders in Saudi Arabia. The multiple conflicts in Yemen will be high on the agenda.
The officials said the U.S. government's consideration of the UAE's request in part reflected the Emirates' proven capabilities, including well-trained and resourced special operations forces on the ground.
Frederic Wehry, a Middle East expert at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and a U.S. Air Force veteran, said the UAE's ability to combat AQAP would rest partly on its ability to navigate Yemen's complex web of tribal allegiances – by Phil stewart and Matt Spetalnick
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-mideast-crisis-usa-yemen-exclusive-idUSKCN0XC19A
14.4.2016 – Rare (A P)
John McCain hates when Assad bombs civilians, but when the Saudis do it, it’s cool
Surely John McCain is furious. Surely he’s mortified that the United States is supporting this ghastly bloodbath [in Yemen] through intelligence sharing and arms deals. Surely he’s going to demand action—humanitarian relief for those under siege and even a no-fly zone to keep the Saudis at bay—just as he did with Assad. Surely not. From Tyler Koteskey’s piece on Yemen yesterday:
Senator John McCain is skeptical of limiting sales to Saudi Arabia. “The Iranian backed Houthis were about to take over Yemen, so I suggest he reevaluate,” McCain said of Chris Murphy. “We wouldn’t do anything about it, so the Saudis did.”
Incredible. It should be clear now that McCain isn’t furious with Assad merely because he’s slaughtering civilians, but because he’s slaughtering civilians while allied with Iran. Those who oppose Iran, like the Saudis, get a free pass. McCain even notes in an admonitory tone that “we wouldn’t do anything about it,” as though it should be American jets buzzing over Yemen right now. The linchpin for his outrage isn’t humanitarian catastrophe, but a set of alliances and enmities that dates all the way back to the Cold War.
Many are the times Senator McCain has encouraged the Obama administration to “send a message to our enemies.” Today, the message he’s sending is: if you’re going to rain mayhem down on the innocent and bolster al Qaeda, you’d better make damned sure you peripherally link your enemies to Iran first – by Matt Purple
14.4.2016 – Petitions White House (* A P)
Petition: Curb America's drone campaigns in Southwest and Central Asian countries, including Yemen, Pakistan, and Afghanistan
America's drone campaigns are morally, legally and strategically irresponsible.
Morally: Distance from the battlefield produces psychological detachment in soldiers/technicians. Civilian tolls are high (http://huff.to/1SDx2xL) and "signature strikes" (http://wapo.st/1SDxjAV) target people whose identities are not even known.
Legally: Amnesty International (http://bit.ly/1Lm9ooZ) and Human Rights Watch (http://bit.ly/1GeOaua) have documented the legal issues with drone strikes.
Strategically: Drone campaigns turn public opinion against the US, empowering groups like Al Qaeda (http://brook.gs/1SObOO0). AQAP membership has swelled as a result of America's drone war.
Mr. President, please use your final months in office to curb the drone program and end "signature strikes."
https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/curb-americas-drone-campaigns-southwest-and-central-asian-countries-including-yemen-pakistan-and-afghanistan and see also https://thetalkingofthesoul.wordpress.com/2016/04/14/students-for-responsible-policies-in-yemen/ with some links
Comment: Just 17 signatures after one day…
13.4.2016 – Rare / 21. Century wire (A P)
Saudi Arabia is empowering al Qaeda in Yemen—here’s how Rand Paul is fighting back
Senators Rand Paul and Chris Murphy have introduced a new bill that would limit the sales of air-to-ground weapons to Saudi Arabia.
The bill is intended to protest Saudi Arabia’s conduct in Yemen as it intervenes to prop up the government of Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi against Iranian-backed Houthi rebels aligned with former president Ali Abdullah Saleh. In order to purchase further weapons, the bill would require the Saudis to follow safeguards to minimize civilian casualties and target al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) as part of its air campaign.
Paul and Murphy oppose continued unrestricted American involvement in the conflict. “I have yet to see evidence that the civil war we’re supplying and supporting in Yemen advances our national security,” Murphy said in a statement. “The more it drags on, the clearer it becomes that our military involvement on behalf of the Saudi-led coalition is prolonging human suffering in Yemen and aiding the very groups that are intent on attacking us.”
More recently, it’s surfaced that arming Saudi Arabia may be doing more than indirectly empowering AQAP – by Tyler Koteskey
http://rare.us/story/saudi-arabia-is-empowering-al-qaeda-in-yemen-heres-how-rand-paul-is-fighting-back/ = http://21stcenturywire.com/2016/04/15/yemen-senator-rand-paul-combats-saudi-empowerment-of-aqap-and-indiscriminate-bombing-of-yemeni-civilians/ and see comment by Daniel Larison:
Sens. Murphy and Paul deserve a lot of credit for taking on an issue that has mostly been ignored by their colleagues in the Senate, and Americans that want to try putting a stop to at least part of the U.S. role in the war on Yemen can urge their members of Congress to support this important legislation. Murphy and Paul are to be commended for being some of the only people in Congress to challenge the administration on its indefensible support for the Saudi-led war.
cp10 Großbritannien / Great Britain
Siehe cp 1 Am wichtigsten / See cp1 Most important
15.4.2016 – Exaro News (* A P)
MPs to grill foreign minister over use of UK weapons in Yemen
http://www.exaronews.com/articles/5811/mps-to-grill-foreign-minister-over-use-of-uk-weapons-in-yemen
14.4.2016 – Huffington Post (* B K P)
Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and Beyond: The Rampant Hypocrisy Behind UK Foreign Policy
This week, Stratford Magistrates Court in East London sees the trial of eight political activists, charged for disrupting the set-up of DSEI, one of the world's biggest arms fairs, when it was in the London Docklands last year.
DSEI, which is organised with the support of the UK government, brings some of the world's biggest arms companies together with some of the most oppressive regimes in the world. It exists for one purpose: to sell weapons.
The UK government has gone out of its way to cement its relationship with the Bahrain, a country that the foreign secretary, Philip Hammond, has insisted is "heading in the right direction."
The oppression has only intensified since the 'Arab Spring' in 2011. Since then,Amnesty International has charted five years of "torture, arbitrary detention and a widespread crackdown against peaceful activists and government critics."
In December 2014, following a long series of high-end diplomatic visits and pleasantries, a Defence Agreement was agreed between the two nations. One outcome is that the UK will open a naval base in Bahrain, the majority of which has been paid for by the Bahraini government.
In the UK, the news was proudly welcomed by cabinet ministers, who boastfully proclaimed it to be "just one example of our growing partnership," but in Bahrain it was met with angry protests outside the British embassy.
Unfortunately, Bahrain is far from the only dictatorship that can count the UK government among its friends. Since David Cameron took office in May 2010, there have been photo-ops galore for human rights abusers.
The impact of British weapons has been felt nowhere more so than in Yemen.
There is a rampant hypocrisy at the heart of UK foreign policy, and, as usual, it is civilians that are paying the price.
Whatever the verdict in the courts this week, it is impossible for the government to claim that it respects the human rights of people like Isa while arming and supporting those that have tortured him.
How can it be the case that peaceful protesters and campaigners are arrested for blocking a road, yet regimes that systematically oppress their own citizens and kill others in wars of aggression are given the red carpet treatment and plied with weapons? – by Andrew Smith, spokesperson for Campaign Against Arms Trade (CAAT).
http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/andrew-smith/uk-foreign-policy_b_9679594.html
14.4.2016 – Buzz Feed (A P)
Britain Challenged Over Assurance Saudis Aren’t Targeting Civilians In Yemen
“The UK government’s focus has been solely on the profit column,” Amnesty International told BuzzFeed News.
The British government’s claim in an official memorandum that the Saudi Arabia-led coalition is not bombing civilian targets in Yemen has been called into question by leading campaign groups.
The memo, submitted by the Foreign Office to the UK arms export control select committee and published on its website on Wednesday, says the “coalition is not targeting civilians” and adds: “Saudi Arabian processes and procedures have been put in place to ensure respect for the principles of International Humanitarian Law.”
However, Campaign Against Arms Trade and Amnesty International have both called the evidence in the document into question, pointing out significant omissions in terms of the facts it outlines and arguing that it is too reliant on the kingdom investigating itself. Britain has sold over £5.6 billion of military licences to Saudi Arabia since David Cameron came to power.
Oliver Sprague, Amnesty’s UK arms programme director, said: “We completely dispute that the government has done anything near the sufficient level of scrutiny to ensure that the arms they are flogging to Saudi Arabia are not being used to kill and injure thousands of civilians in Yemen. No memo in the world can get them off the hook.”
Campaigners say the memo downplays the severity of certain incidents. It says: “On 15 March 2016, the Coalition committed to investigating an attack on the marketplace in Mastaba, Haijah province,” but does not mention that this attack killed over 100 people.
The memo goes on: “We have also been briefed on the findings of several preliminary investigations conducted by the Saudi Government. These investigations are considered to indicate preparedness on the part of Saudi Arabia to learn lessons from incidents of concern, including specifically those in which civilian casualties occurred.”
However, it does not mention that the majority of people killed in the conflict have been killed by airstrikes.
Campaigners have also raised questions about the memo’s portrayal of Britain’s attempts to reform human rights in Saudi Arabia, suggesting it overstates how successful these overtures have been.
The Saudi-UK relationship has had devastating consequences for the people of Saudi Arabia, who have had to live under one of the most brutal and authoritarian regimes in the world. For the last year that impact has also been felt in Yemen, where UK bombs and UK fighter jets have exacerbated the humanitarian catastrophe – by Alan White
16.4.2016 – The National Scot (* A P)
MP's call to end UK Government secrecy over the fate of Yemeni refugees
A SCOTTISH MP is pressing the Home Office to end its secrecy over the treatment of Yemeni asylum seekers as international concern about the humanitarian crisis in their home country grows.
Home Office guidance published this week concedes the north, west and centre of Yemen are so dangerous that sending refugees back could breach international law.
However, returns have not been ruled out and cases are still turned down – despite the fact no enforced returns have been made since December 2014 due to safety fears.
In a letter obtained by The National to Foreign Office Minister Tobias Ellwood in December, Immigration Minister James Brokenshire states concerns over UK nationals as the reason, adding that the Government employed “specialist contractors used to operating in more hostile environments” on the last occasion but the numbers sent back, the firm used and the costs incurred are not known.
Figures obtained in January show just 14 Yemenis were granted asylum in the first half of 2015, with 31 refused and a growing backlog of “pending decisions” reaching 120 at the end of the second quarter.
The National has pressed the Home Office for information about the fate of those deemed unsuitable for asylum – given that no return flights to their country of origin have been made. However, a Freedom of Information (FOI) request submitted in February was delayed by a further 20 days and has now been extended indefinitely – by Kirsteen Paterson
Comment by Judith Brown: This is truly shocking. How can it be reasonable to give asylum to Syrian refugees and not to Yemeni refugees when in the UNSCR it was said over six months ago that Yemen was as bad after 5 months as Syria was after 5 years? What is more I tried to get consent for a visa for one Yemeni child and his mother for medical treatment (a congenital birth defect that could have been caused by the effects of the bombs in Sanaa) and I asked a friend who knows the ambassador to assist. The ambassador apparently said - off the record no doubt - that no visas of any sort are being given to Yemeni people because conditions are so bad there that no one would return. So if it is that bad - why don't they get asylum?????
https://www.facebook.com/judith.brown.794628/posts/10154286753043641
14.4.2016 – RT (A P)
UK Home Office thinks Saudi committing war crimes in Yemen, Foreign Office doesn’t!
Britain’s Home Office now believes Saudi Arabia’s war in Yemen is breaching international human rights laws, after declaring it illegal to return refugees to the country. The only problem is, the Foreign Office thinks otherwise.
An internal Home Office assessment published on Wednesday appears to contradict claims by the Foreign Office that Saudi-led airstrikes in Yemen are not in breach of international humanitarian law.
https://www.rt.com/uk/339629-yemen-saudi-refugees-weapons/
Comment: See YPR 129.
cp11 Deutschland / Germany
16.4.2016 – Junge Welt (* B K P)
Geschäfte mit Islamisten
Deutscher Rüstungskonzern betreibt Munitionsfabrik in Saudi-Arabien
Die deutsche Waffenschmiede Rheinmetall AG betreibt zusammen mit einem staatlichen südafrikanischen Partnerunternehmen eine neue Munitionsfabrik in Saudi-Arabien. Südafrikas Präsident Jacob Zuma besuchte das Projekt zusammen mit dem saudischen Vizekronprinzen und Verteidigungsminister Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud während eines Besuchs in der Golfmonarchie Ende März, wie sein Sprecher Bongani Majola erstmals am Freitag bestätigte. Berichten zufolge sollen dort unter anderem Artilleriemunition und Bomben hergestellt werden.
Die Fabrik wurde demnach von der staatlich saudischen Military Industries Corporation südlich von Riad in Al-Khardsch gebaut, wird jedoch von Rheinmetall Denel Munition betrieben. An dem Joint Venture mit der südafrikanischen Rüstungsschmiede Denel hält Rheinmetall einen Mehrheitsanteil von 51 Prozent.
https://www.jungewelt.de/2016/04-16/007.php
15.4.2016 – Telepolis (** B P)
Medien: "Vom Thema Vertrauen und Glaubwürdigkeit ist nur Gerede übriggeblieben"
Der Soziologe und Publizist Stefan Schulz über die Glaubwürdigkeitskrise der Medien
Harmlose Leitartikel, Nachrichtensendungen, die auf die Verlautbarungen der Bundesregierungen warten bevor sie berichten, Hausbesuche bei Hasskommentatoren als einzig reflexives Element im deutschen Journalismus: Der ehemalige FAZ-Journalist Stefan Schulz hat sich intensiv mit der Berichterstattung in Deutschland auseinandergesetzt.
Seinen Einblick und seine Einschätzungen in Sachen Journalismus und Medien hat der Soziologe und Publizist im aktuellen Buch "Redaktionsschluss" zusammengefasst. Mit einem analytischen Blick geht er darin auch der Frage nach, welche Folgen der "digitale Wandel" für unsererGesellschaft mit sich bringt. Im Interview mit Telepolis legt er unter anderem da, warum vom Thema Vertrauen und Glaubwürdigkeit im Hinblick auf die Medien nichts übriggeblieben ist - "außer Gerede".
Ob in der Eurokrise mit Griechenland oder in der Flüchtlingskrise mit der Türkei warten beispielsweise die Nachrichtenredaktionen des ZDF erst auf die Verlautbarung der Bundesregierung, ehe sie dem Zuschauer vermitteln, was - aus deutscher Sicht - vor sich geht. Die Frage, ob das erste Thema der Abendnachrichten auch eins sein darf, das gerade nicht von der Bundesregierung als wichtig bewertet wird, traut man sich in Mainz nicht zu stellen. Zeitungen wie die F.A.Z. kultivieren ihre Seite-1 mit längst bekannter Topmeldung, harmlosem Leitartikel und beliebiger Glosse auf eine Weise, die nur noch den Rentner als scheues Gewohnheitstier im Blick hat.
Ich habe in den vergangenen Monaten seit April 2015 bis auf wenige Ausnahmen alle heute-journals und Tagesthemen gesehen und gemeinsam mit dem Berliner Journalisten Tilo Jung in einem inzwischen hundert Ausgaben umfassenden Podcast besprochen. Zwei Mal hatten wir Elmar Theveßen zu Gast, um auch über die Arbeit der Redaktionen zu sprechen.
Mein Fazit, mein Ratschlag, lautet: Fernseher aus! Die 800 ertrunken Flüchtlinge, mit denen im Sommer 2015 die "Flüchtlingskrise" begann, wurden per Kurzmeldung abgehandelt. In der 15 Minuten langen heute-Sendung an Heiligabend wurden 55 Todesfälle, unter anderem ertrunkene Kinder und verbrannte Babys, und 132 Schwerverletzte weggemeldet. Der letzte Beitrag der Sendung befasste sich dann in Form einer Reportage aus einem Dresdener Einkaufszentrum mit der Frage, warum Männer hierzulande ihre Weihnachtsgeschenke eher spät kaufen. Das ist das typische Format.
Beobachtet man das Nutzerverhalten, stellt man fest, dass die Medien, die für sich Glaubwürdigkeit reklamieren, immer weniger genutzt werden. Fünf Prozent der heute-Journal-Zuschauer sind unter 40 Jahren alt. Die Auflage der F.A.Z. sank in den vergangenen fünf Jahren von 460.000 auf 260.000 Stück – Marcus Klöckner interviewt Stefan Schulz
http://www.heise.de/tp/artikel/47/47942/1.html
Kommentar: Oh wie wahr. Die Berichterstattung über den Jemen und den Nahen Osten entspricht genau dem, was Schulz hier äußert.
cp12 Andere Länder / Other countries
15.4.2016 –Fars News (A K)
Qatar, Jordan to Replace UAE in Saudi-led War on Yemen
Informed sources disclosed that Qatari military equipment and Jordanian military servicemen are to replace the UAE hardware and soldiers in Yemen, respectively.
“It has been planned that the Qatari military equipment and weaponry as well as Jordanian soldiers replace the UAE army and military hardware,” Arab media outlets quoted unnamed informed military sources as saying.
They said the recent visit of Saudi Defense Minister Mohammad bin Salman to Jordan just few days after the UAE pulled out 80 percent of its troops from Yemen shows that Saudi Arabia is going to replace the UAE forces with Jordanians.
In a relevant development on Monday, media reports said that the UAE had pulled out most of its forces out of a strategic military base located between Ma’rib and al-Jawf provinces.
The UAE has withdrawn 80 percent of its troops from al-Tadavin military base located between Ma’rib and al-Jawf provinces in the Northern parts of Yemen, the Arabic service of the Russian Sputnik news agency quoted an unnamed informed source as saying.
The source also said that the UAE has also dismantled three patriot missiles launch platforms, adding that only one more missile launchpad is left there.
The UAE military servicemen have been relocated to Saudi Arabia’s al-Wadi’a border region.
The UAE army has also pulled out its military hardware from al-Tadavin military base.
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13950127000756 = http://www.caribflame.com/2016/04/source-qatar-jordan-to-replace-uae-in-saudi-led-war-on-yemen/
14.4.2016 – BBC (A P)
Kuwait academic charged with blasphemy over TV interview
Sheikha al-Jassem was summoned to the public prosecutor's office after legal complaints were filed against her over a recent interview she gave on TV.
During the interview, Ms Jassem was asked about radical Islamists who said that religion was more important than the Kuwaiti constitution.
She responded by saying that this was dangerous and that, in her opinion, politics and religion should be kept apart.
Ms Jassem made reference to the violence across the Middle East and divisions between Sunni and Shia Muslims. She said that if you just went back to holy books and relied on them, society could not move forward.
Her remarks provoked a storm of attacks against her, spearheaded by Islamist members of Kuwait's parliament.
Ms Jassem faces charges of blasphemy but it is up to the public prosecutor to decide whether to proceed to trial. If convicted, she could be jailed for one year.
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-36046706
14.4.2016 – CBC (* A P)
On Saudi arms deal, the new boss in Ottawa is just like the old boss
Well. If further proof was needed that the sunny new regime in Ottawa is perfectly capable of behaving just like the un-sunny previous regime, we now have it, in a memo that was stamped "Secret," then rather inconveniently laid bare in the Federal Court of Canada.
The document, signed by Foreign Affairs Minister Stéphane Dion, is a gem of hair-splitting, parsing, wilful blindness and justification for selling billions worth of fighting vehicles and weaponry to Saudi Arabia, one of the most oppressive regimes on Earth.
It employs the death-merchant logic of a long list of other countries that have profited for decades by arming despots: The deal means jobs and the customer assures us it won't misuse the weapons and we can't prove otherwise.
Besides, anti-tank weapons and heavy machine-guns don't kill people; people kill people.
With a single checkmark, Dion concurred with everything in the memo.
Among other things, Dion explicitly endorses Saudi Arabia's ruinous military campaign in Yemen, the victims of which, according to the United Nations, are overwhelmingly civilian.
The Saudi-led campaign, Dion agrees, is an attempt to "counter instability" in Yemen and is "consistent with Canada's defence interests in the Middle East."
Perhaps more to the point, the memo also notes that the Saudis have the world's largest oil reserves.
None of this is to suggest that Canada is any more hypocritical than other countries that shill vigorously for their arms manufacturers – by Neil Macdonald
12.4.2016 – The Globe and Mail (* A P)
Liberals accused of lying about Saudi arms deal
The Trudeau government is facing accusations it misrepresented the $15-billion Saudi arms deal to Canadians as the Liberals play down their unexpectedly large role in green-lighting exports of these weaponized armoured vehicles to a country notorious for human-rights abuses.
As The Globe and Mail first reported, Foreign Affairs Minister Stéphane Dion only last week quietly approved export permits covering more than 70 per cent of the transaction with Saudi Arabia – a decision that represents the most vital step in determining whether a weapons shipment to a foreign country can proceed or whether it’s “illegal,” as Ottawa calls it.
NDP Leader Tom Mulcair on Wednesday said the Liberals misled Canadians. “I am going to say this straight up and I don’t say it lightly: The government lied to Canadians about who signed what [and] when in the Saudi arms deal and that is a very serious matter,” he said. “The Liberals lied.” – by Steven Chase
4.4.2016 – Brookings (A K P)
Money talks? Why Canada is likely to keep its arms deal with Saudi Arabia
Canada is in the midst of a soul-searching debate about whether and how to proceed with the largest ever arms sale in its history. Saudi Arabia has purchased $15 billion in infantry fighting vehicles from Canada at a time when the Kingdom's human rights record is under unprecedented scrutiny in the West. After a week of discussion about Saudi Arabia in Canada at universities and think tanks, my call is that the Saudis are facing an unprecedented storm but will probably prevail in Canada and elsewhere.
{The deal] will produce armored personnel carriers for the Saudi Arabian National Guard (SANG) until at least 2028. Some will be equipped with Belgian made anti-tank canons, others with machine guns. At least 3,000 workers will be employed in London Ontario on the project.
The SANG has 100,000 troops today. They are trained by the United States under a deal that dates back to 1975. The SANG served as the kingdom's praetorian guard for many decades when the monarchs of the Arab world were being outed by military coups in the 1950s and 1960s. The Saudi regular army was deliberately deployed on the periphery of the Kingdom to face external threats like Iran and Iraq in the northeast, Yemen in the southwest, and Israel in the northwest. They were far from the capital in Riyadh, the two holy cities in the Hejaz, and the oil fields in the Eastern Province (where most Saudi Shiites live). The SANG was deployed in all these critical places to prevent a coup, it still is deployed in these areas which give it a critical role. It guards the royals.
It also preserves Sunni Wahhabi dominance at home and abroad – by Bruce Riedel
http://www.brookings.edu/blogs/markaz/posts/2016/04/04-canada-saudi-arabia-arms-sale-riedel
6.4.2016 – Defense News (A K P)
Rheinmetall Denel Munition Factory Opens in Saudi Arabia
South African defense equipment manufacturer Rheinmetall Denel Munition (RDM) and Saudi Military Industries Corp. (SAMIC) have opened a joint weapons factory that will produce mortars, artillery shells and aircraft-borne bombs weighing up to 2,000 pounds.
According to the Saudi Press Agency, the facility, which is in the Al-Kharj military industrial complex south of Riyadh, was officially opened by South African President Jacob Zuma and Saudi Arabia's Deputy Crown Prince Mohamed bin Salman during his state visit to the kingdom last week.
According to SAMIC head Mohamed Al-Mady, the factory complex was built with the help of RDM and will specialize in the production of 60mm, 81mm and 120mm mortars as well as 105mm and 155mm artillery shells, mainly for use by the Saudi defense forces.
The factory has the capacity to produce 300 artillery shells and 600 mortar rounds per day. It was not immediately clear if any of the weapons produced by the partnership will be exported.
cp13 Waffenhandel / Arms trade
Siehe / See cp 9, 10, 12
cp14 Terrorismus / Terrorism
Siehe / see cp 1, 6
cp15 Propaganda
16.4.2016 – Al Ekhbariya (A P)
Yemen’s President praises Saudi’s confrontation of Houthi rebels
Yemen's President Abdrabbou Mansour Hadi expressed appreciation of the great support provided by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, led by the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud which resulted in restoring most of the land seized by the Houthi rebels and deposed president Ali Abdullah Saleh.
In a speech he delivered last night before the ongoing 13th Islamic summit in this Turkish city of Istanbul, President Hadi also paid tribute to the support the Arab Coalition lent to his country to defeat the usurpers of power in Sanaa.
The state-run Yemeni News Agency quoted President Hadi as telling the Islamic leaders that "during one year, we have achieved much and restored most of the territories upon support of our allies in the Arab and Islamic Coalition, led by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia under the leadership of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and the United Arab Emirates".
He also described the establishment of the Islamic Coalition as a glimpse of hope that a consistent Islamic force is being formed to provide protection for its nation and effectively contribute to deter terrorism and make world peace, a step that should be supported, he stated.
President Hadi said the rebels are still procrastinating the implementation of the UN Security Council's resolution No. 2216, which, he recalled, instructed the turnover of seized state's weapons, withdrawal from provinces, cities and government institutions, surrender to the legitimate power and resumption of the political process.
He said that without the steadfast of the Yemeni peoples' resistance which received support of some Arab and Islamic countries, the rebels would have continued control of the country.
He reiterated confirmation that the intentions of the rebels and deposed president Saleh pose drastic threat to the security of Yemen, neighbors, region and world at large, noting that, on the other hand, the legitimate power has provided unlimited support and assistance to the UN special envoy for Yemen to go ahead in implementing the UN resolution.
He said Kuwait consultations will tackle the mechanisms of implementing the international legitimacy, led by ending the coup, surrendering of weapons, withdrawal of armed militias, and restoration of government institutions. Accordingly, the political process will resume as per the GCC initiative, its executive mechanisms and outcome of the Yemeni dialogue conference, he added.
President Hadi vowed that his government is committed to the ceasefire to create a good atmosphere to make the consultations in Kuwait a success, confirming the determination of the authorities to proceed with achieving fair peace which ends the coup, restore the Yemeni State and impose its powers all over its territories.
http://www.alekhbariya.net/en/node/11760
Comment: A typical “Hadi”. You could think that this man must suffer from an advanced grade of dementia. As if this man would be living in a parallel universe, his own “Hadiverse”. The only thing of importance for him seems to be that he can stay “president”. Of most interest is what he thinks to be the agenda for the upcoming peace talks in Kuwait: The capitulation of the Houthis and Hadi himself being fully reinstalled as president of the whole country. Anyway, this is the best way to smash the peace talks. It is clear that there would be a much greater chance with vice president Bahah still in power, but Hadi had fired him exactly for this reason and replaced him by and old Saleh crony. And this speech in another report here also:
16.4.2016 – Arab News (A P)
Saudi-led coalition ‘saved Yemen’
Yemen’s President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi has expressed appreciation for the great support provided by Saudi Arabia in liberating most of the land seized by Houthis and former President Ali Abdullah Saleh.
In a speech he delivered ahead of the OIC summit in Istanbul, President Hadi paid tribute to the Arab Coalition for its support to defeat those who usurped power in Sanaa.
President Hadi said: “We have achieved much and restored most of the territories upon support of our allies in the Arab and Islamic Coalition, led by Saudi Arabia, under the leadership of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman, and the UAE.”
He said the establishment of the Islamic coalition offers hope that a consistent Islamic force is being formed to deter terrorism and promote world peace.
President Hadi highlighted his government’s commitment to the cease-fire to create a good atmosphere for the consultations in Kuwait.
He said the authorities are determined to achieve a fair settlement that ends the coup, restores the Yemeni state and imposes its powers all over its territories.
Hadi said the rebels would have continued to control Yemeni territories if not for the steadfast support of the Yemeni peoples’ resistance which received support from Arab and Islamic countries.
The president demanded that the rebels should surrender to legitimate authorities and hand over their weapons.
http://www.arabnews.com/news/911076
15.4.2016 – Tag 911 (A P)
Houthi militia’s access to weapons an obstacle to Yemen peace process: PM
The Yemeni Prime Minister has expressed concern over the Houthi militia’s access to weapons, the national news agency WAM has reported.
Ahmed Obaid bin Dhager says it’s a major obstacle to the peace process in his country, and a threat to regional security.
In a meeting with the British ambassador to Yemen in Riyadh, Dhager stressed the needed for Houthi rebels to withdraw from the cities and hand over their weapons.
Meanwhile the ambassador praised the legitimate government for observing the ceasefire and its efforts ahead of the peace talks in Kuwait.
http://tag911.ae/houthi-militias-access-to-weapons-an-obstacle-to-yemen-peace-process-pm/
Comment: The fact that the anti-Houthi side might have 1000 times more weapons than the Houthis no “obstacle to peace”?? And again, the demand for the Houthis to capitulate – where for should they do that?
cp16 Saudische Luftangriffe / Saudi air raids
16.4.2016 – Saba News (A K PH)
Aggression launches sorties on Amran
The Saudi warplanes waged on Saturday a series of air raids on al-Khadrah area in Jabal Yazid of Amran province.
The Saudi aggression targeted Khera Mount in al-Khadrah, a local official said, adding that no human casualties were reported in the raids.
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news425199.htm
16.4.2016 – Saba News (A K PH)
Saudi aggression hits Sa'ada
The Saudi fighter jets waged on Saturday an air raid on Takhya area in Baqim district of Sa'ada province.
A local official said that the Saudi aggression is continuing to breach the ceasefire, adding that the air raid targeted Akbr area and causing serious damage to private properties in the area.
Breaking : #Saudi jets are over #Sadaa city now
https://twitter.com/AhmadAlgohbary/status/721059171551027200
15.4.2016 – Press TV Iran (A K PH)
Saudi warplanes bomb Yemen in violation of ceasefire
Saudi warplanes have bombarded a number of areas in the Yemeni capital, violating a UN-brokered truce agreement for the fifth day since it went into effect.
Local residents and witnesses said Saudi aircraft on Thursday struck several targets in the Faj Attan district and some other areas across Sana’a.
Muhammad Ali, a Sana’a resident, told Reuters that Saudi warplanes keep pounding Yemen despite the truce.
“I live in Attan. There were airstrikes at dawn this morning and they hit some targets in the area. Warplanes have been hovering overhead around here in Sana’a since the ceasefire took hold,” the news agency quoted him as saying.
Separately, Saudi helicopters struck al-Houta, the capital of the southern Lahij Province, killing at least eight people. The aerial raid hit a government building, a stadium and two homes in the region.
Saudi jets have intensified their bombing of Yemeni cities on the weekend, hitting dozens of civilian houses and properties. Riyadh had earlier pledged in a statement that it would honor the ceasefire.
Yemen’s Houthi Ansarullah movement has accused Saudi Arabia and its mercenaries of constantly violating the truce agreement across the country.
15.4.2016 – Haykal Bafana (A K PH)
Saudi jets screaming over #Yemen capital Sanaa now, like enraged Wahhabi clerics who've sighted a woman driving a car.
https://twitter.com/BaFana3/status/720887637565804544
14.4.2016 – Arabellastory (A K PH)
Saudi drops 2bombs on ceasefire committee bldg in Aljawf. 0 injured Saudi again attempts & fails insurgency in Nehm
https://twitter.com/Arabellastory/status/720702229397770240
14.4.2016 – Hussain Bukhaiti (A K PH)
#Saudi #UAE CO jet targetd ceasefire committee n Aljawof NE #Yemen & CO backed force failed2advance n Nehim E #Sanaa
https://twitter.com/HussainBukhaiti/status/720689315370688512
14.4.2016 – Fatik Al-Rodaini (A K PH)
Despite the ceasefire truce, Saudi jets flying now over the sky of the capital Sanaa, hitting this early morning Attan mountain. #Yemen
https://twitter.com/Fatikr/status/720651079373975552
14.3.2016 – Hisham Al-Omeisy (A K PH)
Airstrikes, ground fighting, and dozens killed in Nehm north of capital Sana'a. Condemnations of breaches but "ceasefire" still on. #Yemen
https://twitter.com/omeisy/status/720677991316111365
cp17 Kriegsereignisse / Theater of War
15.4.2016 – Middle East Monitor (A K P PS)
The Yemen ceasefire and international delusion about the realities of the war
According to a statement I received from the Centre for Human Development in Taiz, within the first hour of the ceasefire the Houthi and Saleh militias bombed the strategic 35 Armoured Brigade and began shelling residential areas. By the second hour, civilians were reported to be injured, with attacks intensified as shelling continued, including around a hospital in Al-Rawdah neighbourhood. Attacks continued throughout the night, provoking local resistance forces to retaliate.
Other provinces have not been unaffected by this. Within the first 48 hours of the ceasefire, a total of 153 ceasefire violations by the Houthi and Saleh forces were recorded across the country. The violations have not only been recorded in Taiz, which is still being besieged, but also in other provinces. Through the first night of the ceasefire, clashes in Marib and, further north, in Al-Jawf continued, including the firing of a ballistic missile in Marib which was intercepted by aerial support from the coalition. On Wednesday, General Zaid Houri, a senior officer in the Yemeni forces, was killed by sniper fire from Houthi/Saleh forces in north-western Sana’a.
Many locals have interpreted this as a message by the Houthis and Saleh that, yet again, they are not ready to disarm, thus further deteriorating the pretext of trust for the peace talks. Despite this, Houthi spokesperson Mohammed Abdel Salem gave a statement to Saudi newspaper Al-Sharq Al-Awsat, stressing the Houthis’ intention to implement UN Security Council Resolution 2216 and claiming that they are looking forward to a permanent solution to the conflict in Yemen – by Diana Alghoul
16.4.2016 – Fars News (A K PH)
Ansarullah Spokesman:Saudi Arabia Continues Attacks on Yemeni Forces Despite Ceasefire
Spokesman of Yemen's Ansarullah Movement Mohammed Abdulsalam announced that the Saudi-led forces continue the war in Yemen despite the ceasefire in the Arab country.
"Unfortunately, the other side (Saudi Arabia) is continuing the war and reinforcing its forces," the Arabic-language al-Rai newspaper quoted Abdulsalam as saying on Saturday.
Abdulsalam reminded that the Saudi continued attacks happen as the priority of the peace talks in Kuwait is cessation of hostilities.
He further stressed that popular forces would like to see the rise to power of an all-inclusive government that will help resolve the political differences through national dialogue.
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13950128000821
Comment by Judith Brown: The usual in a ceasefire.Of course both sides violate the ceasefire but the Saudis blame the Houthis the other 'side' blame the Saudis. The ordinary Yemeni people deserve better than this - they need peace. I heard from a friend in Sanaa yesterday that the Saudi warplanes are still dominating the skies and causing much anguish. How much more can they take whilst the leaders prevaricate over any peace deal.
https://www.facebook.com/judith.brown.794628/posts/10154286769888641
Comment: For ceasefire violations on the ground, from outside it will almost be impossible to look through the contradictory claims of both sides. Only for ceasefire violations by air raids, the facts are obvious. There never have been any air raids by the Houthi / Saleh side in this war.
11.4.2016 – Almotar (A K PH)
Saudi aggression breaches UN-brokered ceasefire 33 times so far
Over 33 violations were recorded by the Saudi aggression and its hirelings until Monday morning.
The Saudi aggression and its mercenaries did not abide by the ceasefire announced by the United Nations, a military official said.
http://www.almotamarenglish.net/9446.htm
15.4.2016 – Zeit Online (A K)
Viele Tote trotz Waffenruhe
Im Jemen sind seit Beginn der Waffenruhe vor drei Tagen mindestens 35 Kämpfer regierungstreuer Truppen und eine unbestimmte Zahl von Aufständischen getötet worden. Nach Angaben des Militärs griffen Aufständische vor allem Stellungen in der Umgebung der Hauptstadt Sanaa an. 26 regierungstreue Kämpfer wurden demnach in Nihm, nordöstlich von Sanaa, neun weitere in Sarwah im Osten getötet.
http://www.zeit.de/politik/ausland/2016-04/jemen-kaempfe-waffenruhe-tote
14.4.2016 – Khabar Agency (A K PH)
#Yemen: #Saudi airdrop of weapons in Sinah area of #Taiz province
https://twitter.com/khabaragency/status/720682824655859712
cp18 Sonstiges / Other
16.4.2016 – Press TV Iran (A)
26 Yemenis die in floods triggered by rainfall
A total of 26 people have lost their lives in western Yemen as floods caused by heavy downpour hit the war-ravaged impoverished country and destroyed dozens of homes.
Abdulrahman Jarallah, director of the health bureau in Yemen’s western Hudaydah province, released the death toll recorded between Wednesday night and Friday evening, Hadarem Net news website reported on Saturday.
Jarallah said eight people were killed only on Friday in the province’s two districts of Zuhrah and Luhayyah.
He further noted that flood water has demolished 12 and 7 villages in Zuhrah and Luhayyah, respectively.
In the northwestern province of Amran, the flooding also claimed the lives of three Yemenis, Jarallah said.
Elsewhere in Hajjah, another northwestern province, 14 people died as a result of the flooding, he added.
According to the health official, aid groups have provided emergency relief materials to affected citizens.
Floods have caused heavy damage across Yemen, with rushing muddy water cutting off roads and sweeping away vehicles and cattle, reports say.
http://presstv.ir/Detail/2016/04/16/461020/Yemen-Hudaydah-Red-Sea/
15.4.2016 – Zeit Online (A)
[Im Jemen] sind mindestens 16 Menschen durch Überflutungen ums Leben gekommen. Die Menschen seien beim Einsturz ihrer Häuser in der nordwestlichen Provinz Hadscha gestorben, sagte ein lokaler Verantwortlicher.
Starker Regen habe Dutzende Häuser in der Provinz zerstört. Rund 300 Menschen hätten ihr Zuhause verlassen müssen. Anwohner berichteten von Straßen, die wegen der Überflutungen blockiert waren.
Nördlich von Sanaa seien mehrere Dämme gebrochen, teilten Sicherheitsbeamte und das Innenministerium mit. Die Wassermassen hätten Straßen überflutet, Autos fortgeschwemmt und Kühe mitgerissen. Auch Sanaa selbst und die Hafenstadt Aden im Süden des Landes seien betroffen gewesen.
http://www.zeit.de/politik/ausland/2016-04/jemen-kaempfe-waffenruhe-tote und Film: http://de.euronews.com/2016/04/15/jemen-ueberflutungen-nach-dammbruch-und-unwettern/ und https://de.nachrichten.yahoo.com/video/jemen-%C3%BCberflutungen-nach-dammbruch-und-233900062.html
15.4.2016 – AP (A)
Dams collapse from floods in Yemen, at least 16 dead
Heavy rainfall in several parts of Yemen has caused widespread flooding that killed at least 16 people and caused the collapse of small dams, including two in Hajja and Omran provinces north of the capital, Sanaa, security officials and the Interior Ministry said on Thursday.
The ministry said the 16 were killed over the past 24 hours, mostly in Omran and Hajja. Damage to property was particularly heavy, with rushing muddy water cutting off roads and sweeping away cars and cattle, according to the officials.
Besides Hajja and Omran, unusually heavy rainfall over the past 24 hours has also hit Sanaa and the southern port of Aden – by Ahmed Al-Haj
http://www.canadianunderwriter.ca/catastrophes/dams-collapse-floods-yemen-least-16-dead-1004089012/
14.4.2016 – AP (A)
Film: Raw: Dam Collapses in Yemen After Heavy Rain
Heavy rains are being blamed for the collapse of the Rouna Dam in Yemen's Omran province.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/raw-dam-collapses-yemen-heavy-202446371.html
Vorige / Previous:
https://www.freitag.de/autoren/dklose/krieg-im-jemen-neue-artikel-zum-nachlesen-129
Neue Artikel zum Nachlesen 1-129: / Yemen Press Reader 1-129:
https://www.freitag.de/autoren/dklose oder / or
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