Yemen: Analysis by Peter Salisbury - NPR: Failure of media - Hope for peace - New Saudi stance to Yemen? - Attacks against medics - Malnourished children - and more
Schwerpunkte / Key aspects
Klassifizierung / Classification
cp1 Am wichtigsten / Most important
cp2 Allgemein / General
cp3 Humanitäre Lage / Humanitarian situation
cp5a Taiz
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
cp13 Flüchtlinge / Refugees
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
25.5.2016 – Chatham House (*** B P)
Yemen: Stemming the Rise of a Chaos State
While Yemen may not be a Western policy priority today, the growing humanitarian crisis and the rise of jihadist groups will soon force it further up the international policy agenda.
Summary
Yemen’s civil war has reached a stalemate in which an outright military victory by any of the many parties to the conflict is highly unlikely. Although widely presented as a war between two distinct coalitions, the conflict is in fact multipolar, fuelled by regional and international support for the various parties involved in the fighting.
There is broad consensus among international policy-makers that the only way the conflict can be brought to a sustainable end is through political mediation. Yet the current UN-led peace process has not been structured in a way that reflects the complexity of the dynamics in play, and some policy-makers currently lack the capacity to develop a deep understanding of the situation in order to consider a more inclusive structure for peacebuilding and diplomacy.
Maintaining the illusion that either the internationally recognized president, Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi and his allies, or the alliance between the Zaydi Shia Houthi rebels and the supporters of former president Ali Abdullah Saleh, are representative of all the warring groups in Yemen would be a mistake. Tensions are rife within both coalitions, and particularly so in the deeply divided anti-Houthi bloc.
Because of the wide variety of local dynamics and grievances, Yemen risks seeing the ‘big war’ ended only to be consumed by a series of complex ‘small wars’ that are open to exploitation by national and regional actors.
On the assumption that a durable ceasefire can be brokered and a political process initiated, policy-makers working on the Yemen conflict need to begin planning for a peace process that is more inclusive than were the abortive attempts during the transitional period of 2012–14, which prioritized elite-level mediation and security concerns – particularly counterterrorism initiatives – over the economic needs of the population.
The new political process will need to give equal weight to bottom-up, grassroots local approaches to peacebuilding alongside top-down, national and elite-level interests; and ensure that the political, security and economic tracks of the transition are interlinked rather than dealt with separately.
Failure to expand representation and to focus on local governance will almost certainly lead to renewed hostilities at a local level that could push Yemen a step closer to becoming a ‘chaos state’ – a country defined by little more than its borders, in which complex regional conflicts are deepened and prolonged by the interests and actions of external players Contents:
Summary 2 1) Introduction 3 2) Yemen’s War in Brief Historical Context 7 3) The Seeds of Civil War: Yemen in Transition 13 4) The Road to War: the Houthi Takeover 21 5) An Unfolding Conflict 26 6) Another Time, Another Country: the Social and Security Impacts of the Civil War 35 7) Current Approaches and Prospects for Peace 37 8) Conclusions and Lessons Learned 40 Abbreviations and Acronyms 43 About the Author 44 Acknowledgments 44
From the introduction
There is a growing consensus among Yemen analysts and researchers that the transitional process of 2012–14 failed because of exactly such a gap in policy-makers’ understanding of Yemen, and because of the mismatch between the needs of the Yemeni people and the priorities of the transition’s foreign sponsors. Along with the Yemeni elites, the UN and the member states of the UN Security Council focused on political power-balancing at the elite level, reinforcing the power of these elites while ignoring local dynamics and historically marginalized groups such as the Houthis and southern separatists, and paying little more than lip service to addressing the collapse in services and standards of living.
The window of opportunity for peace in Yemen is narrowing, and the cost of failure is rising. The Arab world’s poorest country is on the verge of total collapse, and one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world has the potential to deepen even further as the country descends into even bloodier, ever more complex war.
Conclusions
Yemen’s war has reached a stalemate in which outright military victory of any kind is highly unlikely, and would come at an intolerably high cost, particularly for people already on the brink of starvation. It is widely agreed – and has been stated even by Saudi and Iranian officials – that a political solution is the only way for the war to end. But what are the prospects for peace?
The civil war is multifaceted, rather than a conflict between two distinct coalitions, and is being fought by a wide array of actors with deeply divergent interests and agendas. It is best described as a ‘big war’ made up of many ‘small wars’ that will all need to be ended if a sustainable peace is to be built in the future. To achieve this will require a different approach by the international community from that taken in the political transition of 2012–14. While that process ultimately collapsed because of the Houthi–Saleh coup, various factors made the coup possible: not only the machinations of the northern rebels and the former president, but also the fact that the transition’s sponsors accorded higher priority to elite-level negotiations than to the grievances and needs of local and identity groups, including their urgent economic needs.
Local grievances and divisions have only deepened since the war began, not just between the highland alliance and these local and identity groups, but also between anti-Houthi fighters and the Hadi government, and between the different factions themselves. Should the physical conflict be brought to an end, failure to begin the reconciliation process early on and directly address local grievances as part of any settlement will be likely to result in the ‘big war’ ending only for the many ‘small wars’ to continue, which in turn could lead to a rapid resumption of national-level hostilities fuelled by regional support.
Yet at present, while the Houthi–Saleh alliance is represented at the UN-brokered talks, its counterpart is a delegation appointed by President Hadi that bears little resemblance to the forces fighting on the ground, or the civil society groups that have effectively been excised from the political process because of their unwillingness to take part in armed conflict. While the Hadi team may be able to negotiate a deal with the Houthis, it will need Saudi and Emirati leaders – increasingly divided over the role of Islah in the country’s future and over the role of southern secessionists – to try to convince the combatants to bring the fighting to a halt, to observe the terms of the truce and to participate in the subsequent political process.
It is still unclear what incentive there will be for these groups to stop fighting or to take part in another transition process, especially if it does not meet their expectations. ‘We support Hadi because he represents the outcomes of the National Dialogue, and because the dialogue gives us regional autonomy and calls for development of the regions,’ a Marebi tribal leader told the author in an interview in Riyadh in January 2016. If the autonomy and developmental assistance he and his fellow tribesmen require is not forthcoming after the conflict, he said, then ‘we will go to war again until we get our rights’.
Many of the forces currently participating in the war are made up of unsteady and divided alliances: between local tribesmen, socialists, and Islahi and Salafist forces in Taiz, or the different southern and Islamist factions in Aden. The Mareb tribes are said to be nervous that Islah-backed forces will seek to control their territory in the event of a peace deal, and that revenge killings between aggrieved pro- and anti-Houthi tribes will lead to a war in the province. AQAP is also likely to attempt to exploit anger among Sunnis that a deal has been done with the Houthis.
Given the rise in levels of poverty and pre-existing resource constraints, as well as animosities between different local factions, the probability of localized conflict is high. The government is very unlikely to be able to deal with these issues effectively. The Saleh regime structured the security forces to ensure that northerners provided the bulk of the army and police, such that the pull-out of Houthi– Saleh forces has led to security vacuums in Aden and elsewhere. The Hadi government, which proved to be administratively weak before the war and is currently internally divided, has unsurprisingly struggled to restore order – by Peter Salisbury
https://www.chathamhouse.org/publication/yemen-stemming-rise-chaos-state and in full (PDF): https://www.chathamhouse.org/sites/files/chathamhouse/publications/research/2016-05-25-yemen-stemming-rise-of-chaos-state-salisbury.pdf
Comment by Judith Brown: An long and detailed article by Peter Salisbury who has a real feel for Yemeni politics. Well worth a read if you have time to spare.
https://www.facebook.com/judith.brown.794628/posts/10154384354378641
Comment by Hisham Al-Omeisy: Excellent paper by @altoflacoblanco clears fog surrounding #Yemen 's conflict & dispels many media propagated myths.
https://twitter.com/omeisy/status/735500236051775488
And reporting on this Chatham House paper:
24.5.2016 – Middle East Eye (** B P)
Yemen risks dissolving into 'chaos state' of mini-wars and extremism
Think tank report says UN peace efforts do not address nexus of local rivalries that could spark series of small wars after national conflict ends
International attempts to end Yemen’s civil conflict are too simplistic and any agreement struck would lead to the "big war" dissolving into a series of mini-conflicts and push the country toward a "chaos state" defined by little more than its borders, a hard-hitting report has said.
The report, published on Wednesday by the Chatham House think tank, said a UN-led peace process is modelled on solving a conflict between two distinct coalitions, and is not structured to reflect Yemen's underlying nexus of local history, tribal grievances and internecine rivalries.
Titled "Yemen: Stemming the rise of a chaos state," it says it would be a “dangerous folly” to maintain “the illusion” that the Saudi-backed president, Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi, and his Houthi rebel opponents represent the full spectrum of competing interests in Yemen.
And it warned that those most likely to gain from spiralling chaos were groups including al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula and the Islamic State (IS) group.
The warning came as representatives from the Hadi and Houthi blocs continue to discuss a UN-backed peace process in Kuwait, which so far has failed to produce any meaningful results.
However the Chatham House report stated that any agreement made would address nothing more than “elite-level” interests, risking a situation where Yemen descends into a series of local wars as factions, parties and tribes vie for power.
Groups such as the Muslim Brotherhood-aligned Islah party, loyalists of former president Ali Abdullah Saleh, southern secessionists, Salafis, northern tribesmen, and the Zaidi Houthis all have their own particular agendas which, left unaddressed, would likely result in more localised wars.
“There is broad consensus ... that the only way the conflict can be brought to a sustainable end is through political mediation,” the report said.
"Failure to expand representation ... will almost certainly lead to renewed hostilities at a local level that could push Yemen a step closer to becoming a ‘chaos state’ – a country defined by little more than its borders, in which complex regional conflicts are deepened and prolonged by the interests and actions of external players.”
The civil war, it said, was “sharpening or calcifying pre-existing divisions and turning hitherto largely unimportant differences into serious rifts, a series of competing narratives of victimhood that will need to be addressed”.
“In the event of an end to the ‘big war,’ a replication of past patterns of behaviour – focusing on the dynamics and ignoring localised issues – will most likely result in Yemen collapsing into a multitude of small wars,” the report added.
The study reiterated reporting by Middle East Eye that tensions are rife among the anti-Houthi bloc, where many do not even want Hadi as president. Ties among those supporting the Houthis, such as the loyalists to the former president Ali Abdullah Saleh, who himself is a former enemy of the Houthis, could easily break down.
“Groups taking part in the civil war are routinely oversimplified to ‘pro-Hadi’ and ‘pro-Houthi’ ... The reality is that most Yemenis do not support either the president or the northern [Houthi] rebels; rather they are part of much smaller groups with their own identity, ideology, grievances and political goals, from secessionists in the south to Salafis in Taiz and Aden and tribal leaders in the north."
The report said the Kuwait peace process was repeating the mistakes made in the “national transition” process which began after the 2011 revolution against Saleh, and ended in 2014 when the Houthis kicked his replacement Hadi out of the capital, Sanaa, and ultimately led to the civil war and the entry of Saudi Arabia last year.
Concluding, the report said a three-track process was needed to ensure long-lasting peace: an international mediation process that acknowledges the role of the Saudi-led coalition, a peace process between the Houthi-Saleh alliance and the Hadi government, and a “broader political dialogue” involving all key local groups that have a stake in Yemen’s future – by Graeme Baker
25.5.2016 – Huffington Post (** B K P)
NPR, Yemen & The Downplaying of U.S. War Crimes
Liberals and left-leaning individuals in the U.S. trust NPR more than any other news outlet.
This week, NPR has had some significant segments on the world’s refugee crisis.
the only discussion I have found that NPR gave to Yemen in the context of the world refugee crisis was one, solitary piece back on May 11, and that piece was very telling in what it refused to say about the causes for Yemen’s mass displacement problem.
Citing the IDMC report, NPR stated: […]
Of course, it is the Saudi regime which is most responsible for the suffering and massive refugee crisis in Yemen. Again, one strains to hear of this fact, and this fact is indeed notably absent from the foregoing NPR piece which itself relies on the most recent IDMC report. However, the IDMC report, which quite correctly refers to Yemen as “an overlooked crisis,” makes it clear that “[t]he upsurge in violence [in Yemen] has largely been attributed to the Saudi-led military intervention in the conflict.” The same report also points out that the Saudi-led economic and humanitarian blockade of Yemen is the prime cause of the “sharp deterioration in living conditions” in Yemen. But, apparently, none of this is worth repeating.
To be clear, it is not that NPR and other media outlets never mention such inconvenient facts, they just do so rarely. So, for example, in the case of Yemen, I was able to find only six (6) occasions this year in which NPR had a segment talking about the link between the U.S. and the Saudi coalition assault on Yemen. This is compared to the coverage given to Syria, and in particular the human rights abuses of the Assad government, which is nearly a daily drum beat.
The result of this disproportionate news coverage is that the listener could very well miss out entirely on any discussion of such issues as U.S.-backed crimes in Yemen. And, even if one does hear a segment or two on this matter, this issue will be easily forgotten and certainly not taken as seriously or treated as urgently as the misdeeds of the U.S.’s ostensible enemies, such as Syria’s Assad government, to which NPR gives nearly obsessive attention.
In this way, we in the U.S., who may otherwise be moved to care about the fate of millions in Yemen whose lives are being upended with our own government’s complicity, are lulled into complacency, with our comfortable feeling about our nation’s inherent goodness fully intact. The result is that those in power in our ostensibly democratic government are given a free hand to aid and abet such atrocities as the near-total destruction of Yemen without the fear of any reprisal or approbation – by Dan Kovalik
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dan-kovalik/npr-yemen--the-downplayin_b_10132892.html
Comment: That’s not only NPR, that are not only US media. Other western media, and might be German media in special, are not better or even worse.
25.5.2016 – Atlantic Council (** A P)
Small Signs of Hope in the Yemeni Peace Process
UN Special Envoy Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed has worked tirelessly to keep Yemeni peace talks alive in Kuwait, expressing cautious optimism. He described the truce on the ground as holding at around 80 to 90 percent, even as the delegations of the Houthi-GPC alliance and the government of Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi express frustrations at the other and even periodically walk away from the table.
Back and forth and repeated blaming is disheartening, but not unexpected. But between such moments, subcommittees have been discussing key issues, including how to revive the political process and restore state authority. The peace process is far from dead, even if the climb remains steep. In fact, the on-again, off-again talks represent one of the best opportunities for a near-term resolution to one of the region’s civil wars.
Indeed, despite the ongoing tensions—which are expected when warring parties sit down to talk—small and symbolic shifts should not be dismissed in the face of the expected dramatic posturing.
Still, the challenges ahead are not insignificant. Most troubling if not surprising is lack of agreement on the central issue of who will lead the new government. The Houthis understandably want a role and do not trust that a Hadi-led transition would be inclusive. Hadi and his Gulf backers want nothing less than the full implementation of UN SC resolution 2216, but that one-sided document calls for nothing less than the surrender of the Houthis and restoring Hadi as the head of Yemen’s “legitimate” government.
With Hadi as the head of Yemen’s “internationally recognized government,” it bears reflection on the importance of the word “internationally” in that phrase. The United States, Saudi Arabia, and other nations may accept him as Yemen’s legitimate leader, but the reality is that few inside Yemen view him as such. To many, he is little more than a puppet supported by Saudi Arabia in pursuit of its own interests in Yemen. For others, he may have had a legitimate role following his election as interim president in 2012, but that two-year term expired in February 2014, well before the Houthi invasion of Sanaa in September of that year. As such, for many (particularly but not only in the north), he no longer has any legal basis to claim a position of authority in the Yemeni government. The United Nations and other regimes may see little alternative to Hadi for the moment, but it is crucial for a peaceful transition in Yemen to remember that many Yemenis do not share that view.
And while Yemen’s “legitimate” government periodically declares that Aden has been liberated, the more meaningful reality is that Hadi and his government remain in exile and much of Aden and the south remain unsafe. As the “temporary” capital, Aden is highly divided, with few jobs and violence routine.
Another major challenge is to move toward a much more inclusive process bybringing in diverse parties, most notably from the south. Southerners do not embrace Hadi as their representative, and indeed they are no longer united, if they ever were.
Bringing in southern voices directly into the peace talks would increase the possibility of reaching an ultimate arrangement that might accommodate some of their concerns. Without question, excluding or ignoring those voices will only push a real peace further into the future – by Jillian Schwedler
http://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/menasource/small-signs-of-hope-in-the-yemeni-peace-process
Comment by Judith Brown: A rather good short analysis of the chances of peace in Yemen. Note that it is the Houthis, not Saleh, who are negotiating with the Saudis - and the Houthis not Saleh who was referred to by Al Jubair as a negotiating partner and neighbour. As the article says, it is Hadi who is the big stumbling block in Yemen, and he is determined to hang on at all costs, knowing he can only rule as a dictator - which in many ways suits Yemen's GCC neighbours very well. The last thing they want is a democracy in Yemen
https://www.facebook.com/judith.brown.794628/posts/10154384349713641
Comment by Hisham Al-Omeisy: She's right. Also nailed part on Hadi's shaky legitimacy as prez & fact he lacks local popular support in #Yemen
https://twitter.com/omeisy/status/735530555320733700
25.5.2016 – Alwaght (** B K P)
New Saudi Stance on Yemen; Word Play or Serious Shift
The Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir, who last week took part in a conference of foreign ministers of Western countries as well as some Arab countries in Paris, in an interview with the French daily Le Figaro has said that Al-Qaeda and ISIS were top enemies in the Arab Peninsula and so they had no right to exist neither in Yemen nor in any other part of the world, but Ansarulah movement was part of the Yemeni community and should stay neighbor to Saudi Arabia.
Al-Jubeir repeated the same words in a Twitter post, considering Ansarulah a group from Yemen who had the right to exist.
This Saudi standing on the resistant Yemeni group is seen as unprecedented because earlier the Saudis insisted that Ansarulah must be removed from the Yemeni society.
The remarks represent a new and surprise Saudi stance on the revolutionary group, and are evidence of a shift of Saudi officials’ rhetoric on Yemen which has been brought under Saudi fighter jets’ airstrikes for over a year in Operation Decisive Storm.
There is a question: Is this shift of stance of the Saudis in such circumstances a political game through change in statements or a real shift in Riyadh’s foreign policy?
Claims of change in foreign policy of the kingdom could be supported by a couple of factors:
- Failure to realize declared and undeclared Saudi goals in Yemen. After over a year since the start of Saudi-led Operation Decisive Storm against Yemen none of Saudi Arabian objectives have been actualized. Riyadh also failed to impose its will for restoring to power in Sana'a the ousted Yemeni President Abd Rabbuh Mansour who with the ministers of his government currently lives in the Saudi capital. The kingdom also failed to force Ansarulah out of the Yemeni capital, as Riyadh’s efforts to push the Yemeni group to hand over heavy weapons to the government of Mansour Hadi met with failure.
- Increased US pressures on Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia shifted stance towards the Yemenis after Washington has put strains on Riyadh to strike ISIS and Al-Qaeda positions and make a deal with Ansarulah. The US thinks that even a show war against terrorism could get Saudi Arabia out of Yemen quagmire.
The US pressures on the Saudis saw a pick after Washington threatened that should the kingdom refused negotiations with Ansarulah and did not set high on the agenda fight against terrorism, it would stop operations of coordination, information exchange and target determination with Saudi war command posts.
- The UAE asks US for help. Responding to the UAE’s demands, the US Department of Defense has deployed 200 special forces to Yemen’s south to help fight Al-Qaeda terrorist organization in Yemen. Although this is illegal and would not exempt the US and the UAE from their occupation responsibilities, it could work against Riyadh as the two Arab countries are in rivalry in Yemen.
- Increased ISIS and Al-Qaeda power. The fighter jets belonging to the Arab states of the Saudi-led military coalition have refrained from striking the positions of ISIS and Al-Qaeda in Yemen. On the other side, some countries of the Arab coalition have sent weapons to these two terror groups. All these have bolstered the strength of the terrorists in the war-torn Yemen. The terror groups also lunched effective operations in Hardhramaut and Aden provinces, assassinating some politicians and military commanders, and attacking army bases and pro-Mansour Hadi forces.
Based on what was given, it can be noted that Saudi Arabia has shaken up its priority list in the region though in practice its war on Ansarulah and the Yemeni army is under way. But this Saudi adventure is highly risky because attacks on Al-Qaeda and ISIS which mean opening new fronts, while the kingdom has not concluded the war at the first fronts, could break Saudi Arabia’s efforts and thus result in heavy losses.
Generally, it must be said that Saudi Arabia has launched a full-scale war against Yemen and pounded the country point by point. But now signs of losing the war began to appear to Riyadh. The Syrian crisis has also reached a decisive juncture now and Saudi Arabia is afraid to lose interests in the country. All these factors pushed a decision by the Saudis to seek settlement for Yemen’s crisis. The Saudis see loss in both Syrian and Yemeni fronts a disgrace for Riyadh across the world. But a small success in Syria could save their face and make up for Yemen loss.
It appears that Saudi Arabia’s change is coming with a Western and American advice as they seek mobilization of their whole strength to focus on Syrian fronts, otherwise; the Saudis are those who opposed even a limited participation of Ansarulah in Yemen’s future government and politics.
Consequently, the Saudi stance shift is only tactical in a bid to move from one front to the other in the region to save face.
http://alwaght.com/en/News/54435
24.5.2016 – Fars News (** A K P)
Saudi Whistle-Blower: Bin Salman Ready to Make Extensive Concessions to Ansarullah
Saudi whistle-blower Mujtahid, who is believed to be a member of or have a well-connected source in the royal family, revealed that Deputy Crown Prince and Defense Minister Mohammad bin Salman has ordered the country's representatives in Yemen peace talks to give extensive concessions to Ansarullah to get rid of Yemen war.
"After facing problems in Yemen peace talks in Kuwait, Bin Salman entrusted the Saudi ambassador with negotiations with Ansarullah and ordered the Yemeni delegation (affiliated to fugitive President Mansour Hadi) to remain committed to the ambassador's agreements with Ansarullah," Mujtahid wrote on his tweeter page on Tuesday.
According to the whistleblower, the Saudi envoy has told Ansarullah that Riyadh will withdraw from its demands embedded in the UN resolution and will make other concessions in return for Ansarullah's ending its operations at Yemen-Saudi Arabia bordering areas while Ansarullah will remain in the regions under its control and will not be asked to lay down its weapons.
Also among other concessions offered by Bin Salman, Mansour Hadi will return to Yemen to remain a president as a formality until the formation of a national unity government in which Ansarullah will have a major say and a major share as large as the regions under its control.
But according to Mujtahid, Ansarullah still raised more demands, including compensation for tens of billion of dollars of the destruction left in Yemen by the Saudi-led war, which he said was also agreed by Bin Salman in principle provided that it will remain a secret and will be made within the framework of a national meeting to reconstruct Yemen.
In relevant remarks last month, Mujtahid had revealed that bin Salman is making serious efforts to put an end to the war in Yemen in order to get rid of the quagmire he has created for the Riyadh regime.
Mujtahid underlined that the Saudi crown prince feels so helpless that he is ready to ignore the Saudi regime's conditions for ending the war on Yemen, including its insistence on the withdrawal and disarmament of Ansarullah forces as well as recognition of Mansour Hadi as Yemen's legal president.
The Saudi tweeter noted that the large number of the Saudi soldiers killed in the war, the UAE troops pullout, the frequent blames put on Bin Salman for the spread of Al-Qaeda terrorists in Yemen and massacre of thousands of Yemeni civilians are among the strongest causes of deputy crown prince's helplessness and destitute.
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13950304000451
Comment: This already had been reported by an Asian news channel (see YPR 147) without naming the source. Now, the source is reported. Based just on this source, the whole story up to now sounds quite uncertain. But Mujtahid is an insider, active since several years and no bad source anyway (see cp8, RT 12.8.2013)
23.5.2016 – Safeguarding health in Conflict (** B H K)
No Protection, No Respect: Health Workers and Health Facilities Under Attack: 2015 and Early 2016
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
International law dating back more than 150 years holds that in all armed conflicts, whether internal or international, parties must not attack or interfere with health workers, facilities, ambulances, and people who are wounded or sick. The Geneva Conventions and customary international humanitarian law provide that parties have a duty to distinguish between military and civilian objects and to take precautions to avoid harm to hospitals even when a military target is nearby; that hospitals and clinics may not be taken over for military or security purposes—and that even if they are, parties to a conflict have an obligation to minimize harm to civilians inside; that health professionals may not be subjected to punishment for adhering to obligations to provide care consistent with their ethical duties, including treating the sick and wounded without discrimination; and that access to health care may not be obstructed through such practices as unreasonably delaying or blocking passage of ambulances, supply transports, medical staff, and the wounded and sick. International human rights law imposes similar obligations.
This report reviews attacks on and interference with hospitals, health workers, ambulances, medical supply transports, and patients in armed conflict and times of political violence that violated these obligations in 2015 and during the first three months of 2016.
Attacks on health services take many forms but can be grouped into four major categories:
Bombing, shelling, and looting facilities or transports, in some cases as a result of targeting the facility or transport, and in other cases because of an indiscriminate attack that failed to take precautions to avoid harm to the facility.
Violence inflicted on health workers independent of an attack on a facility or transport.
Military takeover of hospitals, or fighting in and around hospitals.
Obstruction of access to health care, medicine, and essential supplies. Bombing, shelling, burning, looting, and other violence inflicted on health facilities and transports
Hospitals, ambulances, and medical supply transports have been attacked and looted in many countries, sometimes intentionally and sometimes due to attackers failing to take precautions to distinguish between military and civilian objects. These attacks have led to the deaths of health workers, medical staff, and others during initial attacks and during ongoing violence following the attacks.
http://reliefweb.int/report/world/no-protection-no-respect-health-workers-and-health-facilities-under-attack-2015-and and full report: http://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/SHCC2016final.pdf , Yemen pp. 43–45
31.7.2015 – Reuters (** A H)
A life in the balance
Born just before the outbreak of Yemen's devastating war, Ali Mohammed al-Tawaari may well not survive it.
Damaged by a lack of skilled medical care at a critical moment in his early weeks, the six-month-old infant struggles for life in a hospital in the bomb-damaged capital Sanaa.
Ali suffers malnourishment and complications from a botched circumcision performed by an unqualified practitioner.
When the war began in March between the country’s Houthi movement and an exiled government backed by Gulf Arab states, hundreds of foreign, mostly Asian medical staff members were evacuated to their countries, leaving their jobs in Yemeni hospitals.
Local medics, nurses and doctors also left the places they were working in to go back to their home areas.
The rural district three hours from Sanaa where Ali's family lives was one of the areas that lost qualified medical staff.
Without their skills, routine problems can turn lethal.
Disruptions of daily life caused by war have also deprived many Yemenis of their livelihoods, robbing people like Ali's parents of the financial means to help their children.
"We had a decent life before the war started, we had a business and were cultivating crops,” Wadha said. “But now diesel became expensive and my husband cannot pay for water."
Yemen normally imports almost 90 percent of its basic food from abroad. The U.N. emergency food agency said on July 30 that the impact of traders being unable to import enough food and safely move it inside the country has led to a severe rise in prices, increasing the suffering of the poorest and most vulnerable.
The U.N. children's agency UNICEF said on July 10 it was stepping up screening for malnutrition, vaccinations and other life-saving interventions for millions of Yemeni children caught up in the crisis – by Khaled Abdullah (with photos of malnourished children)
https://widerimage.reuters.com/story/a-life-in-the-balance
cp2 Allgemein / General
25.5.2016 – Schweiz Magazin (A K)
Britische Streubomben im Jemen eingesetzt
In einem jemenitischen Dorf wurden eine in Grossbritannien hergestellte "Cluster Bomb" nach Angriffen der Saudis gefunden, berichtet „The Guardian“.
Eine in Grossbritannien hergestellte Streubombe wurden in einem jemenitischen Dorf gezielt von der Saudi-geführten Koalition bei Luftangriffen gegen die Zivilbevölkerung eingesetzt. Die britische BL-755 Streubombe ist so konzipiert, dass Tornado-Flugzeuge der saudischen Luftwaffe sie verwenden können. Sie wurde in einem Dorf im Norden der zerrütteten Golf Nation gefunden.
Die Menschenrechtsorganisation Amnesty International fand die nicht explodierte Munition im Rahmen einer Inspektion.
Die Bombe wurde in den 1970er Jahren von der britschen Firma „Hunting Engineering“ in Bedford hergestell.
http://www.schweizmagazin.ch/nachrichten/ausland/27066-Britische-Streubomben-Jemen-eingesetzt.html
Kommentar: Wer kein Englisch kann, ist arm dran, wenn er etwas vom Jemen mitbekommen will. Dazu schauen Sie doch mal in Yemen Press Reader 148, cp1.
23.5.2016 – Palestine JS (B K P)
Film: Yemen Media Under Attack
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=share&v=RL6XB6ynslA&app=desktop
cp3 Humanitäre Lage / Humanitarian situation
25.5.2016 – British Red Cross (A H)
Red Cross bolsters support to Yemen
The Red Cross is now delivering essential water, food, health kits and shelter to help people caught up in the devastating conflict in Yemen. Donations to our Yemen Crisis Appeal have been essential in funding this vital relief effort.
Water was in short supply in parts of Yemen even before the current crisis. Now, the lack of safe drinking water caused by damage from the fighting puts people at high risk of diseases.
To help prevent illness, the Red Cross will provide 15 water tanks in communities with acute water shortages. Each tank holds 4,000 litres of water and can meet approximately 15 families’ basic needs.
The Red Cross will truck in water to refill each tank every day for six months. To make sure that the water service will continue after that, we will work with other organisations in the area to support local people to keep it going.
Good hygiene – such as washing hands and using sanitary toilets – is also essential for health so we will distribute hygiene kits to 400 families most in need. The kits include essentials such as toothbrushes, towels and nappies, which will be bought locally to support Yemen’s economy.
Four hundred families who have left everything behind and cannot afford food will get Red Cross food parcels as well.
For people who have had to flee with almost nothing, the Red Cross will supply tents, pots, clothes and mattresses.
Working with local teams, we will keep 150 tents for emergency evacuations around the country so that they will be ready when families need them. The same goes for plastic sheeting, which will be stored in warehouses to give to households who need it over the coming months.
First aid has been vital to stabilise people with injuries before they can reach health facilities. Since hundreds of hospitals and clinics in the country have been destroyed, it is sometimes all the treatment that people get.
To help keep this essential service going, we will supply 150 first aid and emergency rescue kits to eight Yemen Red Crescent branches most likely to be affected by armed conflict.
The first aid kits include bandages, soap, iodine and other essentials for emergency medical treatment.
The emergency rescue kits support longer term health care and include drugs and medical equipment such as syringes, scalpels and splints.
http://www.redcross.org.uk/About-us/News/2016/May/Red-Cross-bolsters-support-to-Yemen
Comment: And the own government had supplied the airplanes and the bombs to bomb all this to rubble.
25.5.2016 – Saba Net (* B K)
MSF calls for end to civilians' suffering in Yemen
Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) has called on all parties to the conflict in Yemen to take steps to end the suffering of civilians.
The MSF demanded the parties to the conflict to ensure the safety of health facilities and their workers and give them the opportunity to do their job effectively and safely.
" The organization (MSF) does its efforts in areas that are most in need of medical and humanitarian assistance and we ask all parties to the conflict to respect our work, " MSF's official Will Turner said in a press release.
Turner confirmed that the organization will remain committed to providing health care to patients and respond to the emergency medical needs and will stand by the side of the conflict victims.
There is a great pressure on the organization to expand its activities even though it operates with the largest capacity it has, Turner added.
He called on humanitarian organizations to provide broader and more effective humanitarian aid, because the needs are great and the medical staff are facing a severe shortage of medical supplies.
In Yemen, MSF is working in Aden, Dhale, Taiz, Sa'ada, Amran, Hajjah, Ibb and Sana'a governorates. Since March 2015, MSF teams have treated more than 20,000 war-wounded patients in Yemen. More than 790 tons of medical supplies have been sent by MSF so far.
MSF is managing 11 hospitals and health centers and supporting 18 health centers. With the health care system barely functioning, MSF is also providing non-emergency health services.
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news428808.htm
24.5.2016 – World Food Programme, Emergency Telecommunications Cluster
Yemen – Conflict: ETC Situation Report #10, Reporting period 04/04/16 to 20/05/16
The Emergency Telecommunications Cluster (ETC) is installing Information Technology (IT) equipment in Al Hudaydah to deploy ETC services in the common United Nations (UN) building.
The ETC completed the installation of a Communications Centre (COMCEN) in Ibb. This COMCEN allows humanitarians to utilize radios and satellite communications, increasing their safety and security.
An assessment mission took place at the VOS Apollo, the new inter-agency passenger boat, for the possible installation of a marine satellite system. This boat will be used by humanitarians travelling between Djibouti and Aden.
The ETC is currently supporting humanitarian operations in Sana’a, Aden, Al Hudaydah, Sa’ada and Ibb. Ta’izz and Al Mukalla, where the ETC plans to deploy vital communication services, continue to be inaccessible due to security concerns.
http://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/yemen-conflict-etc-situation-report-10-reporting-period-040416-200516 and in full http://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/2016%20-%2005%20-%2020%20-%20Yemen%20-%20ETC%20SitRep%20%2310.pdf
cp5a Taiz
25.5.2016 – Middle East Eye (* A K P)
Taiz stands alone: Protesters raise flag of independence from Yemen
Neglected by Saudi-backed president, shunned by south and besieged by Houthis, civilians and fighters alike join calls for new Republic of Taiz
The national tricolour of Yemen could not be seen in Taiz on this year's unity day, and its people did not celebrate. The government-in-exile cancelled Sunday's events in answer to those planned by their Houthi enemies in the capital, Sanaa.
Instead, new flags were flying for a growing movement - the Republic of Taiz - and traditional celebrations were replaced by local protests calling for independence.
Such is the mood in Taiz, scarred by a year of war, neglected by the government and its Saudi backers, shunned by southern separatists and under siege by the Houthis, that many feel their only answer is to go it alone.
The republican movement has taken root among residents and those fighting the Houthis - the local "Popular Resistance" and regular army troops who ostensibly back the government-in-exile of President Abd Rabbuh Hadi.
And their feelings have been made known. Their red, blue and yellow flag can now be seen fluttering from many military vehicles in the city of Taiz, and protests are regularly held by civilians.
Farouq al-Samei, an independence activist in Taiz, told Middle East Eye: "When I saw the Houthis killing the civilians of my city and no one helped, I decided to demand independence.
"All sides had disappointed Taiz - even those injured in the war have been denied help. We demand independence, and then we can develop our country."
Samei said resistance fighters and the military were at the forefront of the movement, which would push their plan after the Houthis were defeated.
"In 2011 we supported Hadi, and he did not help us. In 2015 we fought for Hadi, and again he did not help us. We will not fight for Hadi again, we are fighting for liberation, and then we will build our own country."
"We changed our loyalty, we are loyalists to the Republic of Taiz and not Yemen, and we do not care about the north or the south, we only care about Taiz."
Activists say the new republic would encompass "al-Ganad" - Taiz province and surrounding areas such as Ibb, and some areas from al-Dhale and Lahj provinces – by Nasser Al-Sakkaf
http://www.middleeasteye.net/fr/news/republic-taiz-yemen-resistance-1769604821
cp6 Südjemen und Hadi-Regierung / Southern Yemen and Hadi-government
25.5.2016 – Aden Now News (A T)
Suicide bomb against police chief of Brega, Aden province
https://twitter.com/AdenNowNews/status/735417316746354688
24.5.2016 – Gulf News (A K)
Yemen seizes Iranian fishermen off Socotra
Local authorities in Yemen’s remote island of Socotra said on Tuesday that they were quizzing at least two dozen Iranian fishermen who came ashore on seven fighter vessels due to tidal sea waves.
“We formed a committee of intelligence and fishery officials and the army to search for evidence of illegal fighting materials,” Salim Abdullah, the governor of Socotra province, told Gulf News.
Abdullah said the committee questioned the fishermen about their presence in Yemeni waters and inspected their boats looking for illegal fighting materials or arms.
“The committee’s initial probe showed that they were not carrying illegal fishing materials. But we want to know now whether they were fishing illegally in Yemeni waters or not.”
The Yemen government has repeatedly accused Iran of using fishing boats for funnelling lethal arms to Al Houthis. Local fishermen also complain about unknown commercial ships trawling for fish in Yemen’s unprotected waters – by Saeed Al-Batati
http://gulfnews.com/news/gulf/yemen/yemen-seizes-iranian-fishermen-off-socotra-1.1833979
Comment: This is from the Gulf: remember that talking about seizing, the GCC is present (heavily) in Socotra. They use it as a military base and want to boost tourism Emirati style (in a protected paradise we shiver at the idea). What we see here is another form of paranoia and Socotra serving its purpose of controlling post for the waters.
https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=1031308193588877&id=961126490607048
cp7 UNO und Friedensgespräche / UN and peace talks
Siehe cp1 Am wichtigsten / See cp1 Most important
26.5.2016 – AFP (*A P)
UN's Ban wants to ramp up Yemen peace effort
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon plans to beef up the UN mediation in Yemen to overcome deep differences in peace talks, according to a letter obtained by AFP on Wednesday.
Ban outlined his proposal in a letter to the Security Council just before UN envoy Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed delivered a report to the council's 15 members on the peace talks he is leading in Kuwait.
"While both sides have committed to reaching agreements in Kuwait, there remain deep differences between the two sides which will need to be overcome in order to achieve a successful outcome," Ban wrote.
He proposed expanding the staff of the UN peace mission to Yemen and moving it to Amman from New York to intensify the mediation.
The bigger UN team would provide technical expertise to the Yemeni parties on a range of issues, especially shoring up a ceasefire in force since April 10 that has led to a decrease but not a halt in attacks.
Egyptian Ambassador Amr Aboulatta, who chairs the council this month, told reporters that council members agreed on the need to bolster the mediation effort.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/uns-ban-wants-ramp-yemen-peace-effort-182153828.html
Comment: As long as there still is UN security Council’s resolution 2216 as the base of UN policy, there will be no peace in Yemen.
25.5.2016 – Berghof Foundation (A P)
Jemen: Viertes Konsultationstreffen zur Unterstützung des politischen Prozesses
Vom 10.-13. Mai 2016 fand in Jordanien ein Konsultationstreffen von 19 hochrangigen jemenitischen Persönlichkeiten zur Diskussion von Möglichkeiten und Mechanismen zur Einbindung des jemenitischen Südens in den Friedens- und Transitionsprozess statt. Es wurde von der Berghof Foundation in enger Abstimmung mit dem Büro des Sondergesandten der Vereinten Nationen für den Jemen sowie mit freundlicher Unterstützung des Auswärtigen Amtes organisiert.
Das Treffen brachte Repräsentanten unterschiedlicher politischer Zugehörigkeiten und gesellschaftlicher Gruppen der südlichen und nördlichen Regionen des Jemen zusammen.
Das Treffen zielte darauf, zu diskutieren, auf welche Weise sich die Ergebnisse der Nationalen Dialogkonferenz und die Folgen des Krieges auf die Nord-Süd Beziehungen im Jemen auswirken. Ein weiteres Anliegen war es, Optionen und Mechanismen zur zukünftigen Einbeziehung von relevanten Akteuren sowie Sichtweisen des Südens in den jemenitischen Friedensprozess und die weitere politische Transition zu identifizieren.
and the same in English:
25.5.2016 – Berghof Foundation (A P)
Yemen: Fourth Consultation Meeting to support the political process
From 10-13 May 2016, a consultation meeting of 19 Yemeni Eminent Personalities took place in Jordan to discuss options and mechanisms for the inclusion of the Yemeni South into the peace and transition process.
The meeting was facilitated by the Berghof Foundation; it was organized in close consultation with the office of the UN Special Envoy of the Secretary General to Yemen and kindly supported by the German Federal Foreign Office.
The meeting brought together representatives from the Southern and Northern regions of Yemen, with diverse political affiliations and from different social components.
The objective of the meeting was to discuss how the NDC outcomes and the effects of the war impacted on North-South relations in Yemen.
The meeting further aimed at identifying possible options and mechanisms to improve the inclusion of Southern stakeholders and perspectives into the Yemeni peace process and the resumption of the political transition.
25.5.2016 – Inner City Press (A P)
On Yemen, After Saudi Bombs Rally in Sana'a, ICP Asks of Talks
The UN Secretariat's bungling of Yemen mediation has become ever more clear, according to multiple sources and documents exclusively seen by Inner City Press, see below. On May 9, Inner City Press asked Ban Ki-moon's spokesman Stephane Dujarric about Saudi-led Coalition air strikes on Amran, and if the UN would admit that the Houthis have controlled the base there since 2014. "Not for us to say, "was the answer from Dujarric, who as it happens blocks Inner City Press on Twitter just as the UN Envoy blocks journalists in Yemen. Video here. From the UN Transcript – by Matthew Russell Lee
http://www.innercitypress.com/yemen140fishy052416.html
25.5.2016 – Pars Today (A P)
Jemenitische Delegation scheidet aus Waffenstillstandskomitee aus
Die jemenitische Delegation ist am Dienstag aus Protest gegen die Verstöße Saudi-Arabiens gegen die Feuerpause aus dem Komitee zur Überwachung des Waffenstillstandes ausgetreten.
Die jemenitische Delegation schrieb in einem Brief an den UN-Sonderbeauftragten für den Jemen, Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed, dass man aufgrund der Zuspitzung der saudi-arabischen Angriffe und seiner Verbündeten auf den Jemen, die Teilnahme an diesem Komitee suspendiere.
In diesem Brief heißt es weiter, dass nach nahezu 50 Tagen seit Beginn der Arbeit des Komitees, ein weiteres Mal wegen der andauernden Angriffe der saudischen Invasoren, kein Fortschritt im Verlauf der Feuerpause im Jemen erreicht werden konnte.
Kommentar: Iranische Quelle, daher Bedeutung: „jemenitische Delegation“ = Huthi / Saleh-Delegation. Das typische Nonsense-„Wording“ der jeweiligen Sympathisanten, schließlich ist die Delegation der Hadi-Regierung genauso „jemenitisch“. In pro-Hadi-Berichten ist das „Wording“ dann genau umgekehrt.
25.5.2016 – UN Envoy for Yemen (A P)
The international community’s support to #Yemen is unprecedented. I hope that the parties will take advantage of this international unity
https://twitter.com/OSESGY/status/735592565433602051
Comment by Living in Yemen on the Edge: One of the most unfortunate tweets of the UN Envoy to Yemen.
People's comments are furious.
Ranging from list of countries whose bombs fell on Yemen, to mercenaries, to food blockade, to humanitarian funds never delivered.. there is plenty for everyone.
Comments by Haykal Bafana: Saudi airstrikes, US bombs, UK military advisers, US intel & war logistics, UAE-sponsored Colombian mercenaries.
Can the international community STOP supporting Yemen, please? Your love is too deadly for many of us Yemenis.
https://twitter.com/BaFana3/status/735621192741179392 and https://twitter.com/BaFana3/status/735621732564914178
Comment by Jamila Hanan: The international community's unity in dropping bombs on #Yemen is unprecedented
https://twitter.com/JamilaHanan/status/735600280448962560
Comment by Al’Asso: International community? Support? Unity? Too much to decipher, could you please use regular, human language please?
https://twitter.com/AlassoAsso/status/735602924194271234
25.5.2016 – WAM (A P)
UN Envoy announces temporary suspension of Yemen peace talks to attend UNSC meeting
The UN Envoy to Yemen, Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed, has announced a temporary suspension of the Yemeni peace talks currently being held in Kuwait, in order to attend a closed-door session of the UN Security Council today.
The Kuwaiti news agency, KUNA, quoted the envoy in a press statement saying that he will participate in a closed-door session of the UN Security Council to brief its members on the progress of the peace consultations and his vision for the next phase in Yemen.
Mr. Ahmed said that they are getting closer to reach a common vision among the two parties for the next stage, and they are working to overcome the existing obstacles and addressed all the practical details of the implementation mechanism.
Ould Cheikh Ahmed added that he had held successive meetings within the peace consultations, including two meetings with the government delegation. He also briefed ambassadors of the 18 countries on the latest developments regarding the Yemeni dossier.
He said that one of the meetings, which was attended by military experts, discussed some military and security issues.
https://www.wam.ae/en/news/international/1395295909695.html
25.5.2016 – Alwaght (A K P)
Warring Parties in Yemen Close to Deal as Saudi Kills Yemenis
The UN envoy says warring parties are closer to agreement at peace talks in Kuwait while Saudi Regime is still pounding war-torn country, killing more civilians including children and women.
Saudi Regime in a clear move on violating the ceasefire on Wednesday carried out fresh airstrikes on residential areas in the northern al-Jawf province, killing six people and wounding eight others.
Six other civilians, including children, were killed and four others injured in the southern province of Lahej in separate Saudi airstrikes.
Saudis are accused of violating ceasefire while on Wednesday Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed, United Nations Special Envoy for Yemen, said: ”We are moving towards a general understanding that encompasses the expectations and visions of the parties.”
The main sticking point in the talks has been the form of government to oversee a transition.
Ansarullah and their allies have demanded a unity government but the Saudi-backed side insists that former president Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi should take the reins.
The Saudi side has also demanded that Ansurallah withdraw from the capital and other territory which they have been controlling since 2014.
Hadi is being propped up by Saudi Arabia and some of its regional allies, notably the UAE, which have deployed troops to Yemen amid airstrikes pounding the country on a daily basis
http://alwaght.com/en/News/54487
Comment: “Saudi side”: Hadi government delegation, this is propaganda wording here.
25.5.2016 – Middle East Online (A P)
Yemen warring parties 'closer' to agreement
UN envoy says discussions between Yemen’s warring parties have centred on various military, security issues
The UN envoy said Wednesday that the warring parties in Yemen were closer to agreement at peace talks in Kuwait as he headed to New York to brief the Security Council.
"We are moving towards a general understanding that encompasses the expectations and visions of the parties," Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed said in a statement.
"The discussions have become more sensitive and delicate bringing us closer to a comprehensive agreement," he said.
Ould Cheikh Ahmed is to brief the UN Security Council in a closed session later on Wednesday on the progress made in the peace talks which began on April 21 but have been clouded by repeated walkouts by the government delegation.
Face-to-face meetings resumed on Monday for the first time in nearly a week after the latest government boycott.
Ould Cheikh Ahmed said discussions on Tuesday centred on "various military and security issues including withdrawals and troop movements".
"We are now working on overcoming various obstacles and addressing specific details of an implementation mechanism," he said.
The apparent progress comes after Foreign Minister Abdulmalek al-Mikhlafi said on Monday that the government stood ready to make concessions for the sake of peace.
http://muhitelyemen.net/en/news/33735.html and by AFP very similar http://www.france24.com/en/20160525-yemen-peace-talks-closer-agreement-un-envoy = http://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/yemen-peace-talks-closer-agreement-un-envoy
25.5.2016 – TASS (A P)
Yemen supports probe into Saudi air strikes against civilians
Yemen’s Foreign Minister Abdulmalik Al-Mekhlafi has accused the rebels of continuing to avoid talks, killing civilians in the country’s third largest city of Taiza and imposing the war. "Every day we submit reports on this to the special envoy," he said, adding that despite the plans of surrendering arms by the Houthi rebels they obtain the new ones.
Al-Mekhlafi said in general, the rebels reject all initiatives of the international community, stressing that this creates obstacles for reaching progress.
Yemen’s foreign minister said the delegation that he leads accepts all the UN decisions and passes UN Security Council’s resolutions. He believes that the UNSC permanent member-states have huge influence on the situation and could also influence the Houthis.
http://tass.ru/en/world/877963
Comment: That is the propaganda line: “all initiatives of the international community” and “all the UN decisions and UN Security Council’s resolutions” = the Houthis must capitulate.
25.5.2016 – Arab News (A P)
Saleh, Houthi be excluded, Yemen govt demands
Yemeni government delegates to peace talks in Kuwait have demanded that deposed President Ali Abdullah Saleh be excluded from any political settlement, and that militias be disbanded before any agreement is reached.
The UN-backed unity government delegates said Saleh and Houthi Leader Abdel-Malek Al-Houthi need to be excluded prior to any political agreements.
The delegation has also urged militias to release Defense Minister Maj. Gen. Mahmoud Al-Subaihi and other political prisoners.
Al-Subaihi was leading a counter-offensive against the Houthis in Lahij governorate in March last year when he was captured by militia forces along with Faisal Rajab, commander of the pro-Hadi 119th Armored Brigade.
They also called for the immediate release of journalists imprisoned in Houthi militia prisons, who have reportedly been on hunger strike while in custody.
Peace talks in Kuwait ended with no resolutions as yet after the government representatives returned to the negotiating table, with close sources reporting that no topics of major disagreements and controversial topics being discussed during the last meeting.
http://www.arabnews.com/node/929336/middle-east
Comment: The negotiations just are walking in a circle – again and again. With these claims by the Hadi government, there will be no progress for ever. They just think they can win the war on the negotiation table and get anything they want, because of the international support by the Un resolution 2216 – which had been implemented by the Western powers due to Saudi influence.
24.5.2016 – UN Envoy to Yemen (A P)
We are now working on overcoming various obstacles and addressing the details of an implementation mechanism.
https://twitter.com/OSESGY/status/735212706517667841
24.5.2016 – Almanar (A P)
Saudi-backed Delegation Deliberately Obstructs Yemen’s Talks in Kuwait
Yemeni sources asserted that the Saudi-backed delegation deliberately absented itself deliberately from the meeting of the hostages committee which was scheduled to convene on Tuesday at Bayan Palace in Kuwait.
The session was set to examine the lists of the hostages, according to the same sources which added that the Saudi military violations across the Yemeni provinces accompanied the political obstruction for the talks.
The UN-sponsored peace talks between the Yemeni parties in Kuwait were resumed on Monday after a six-day stop due to the Saudi-backed delegation deliberate absence.
http://english.almanar.com.lb/adetails.php?eid=271203&cid=23&fromval=1&frid=23&seccatid=31&s1=1
cp8 Saudi-Arabien / Saudi Arabia
12.8.2013 – RT (** B P)
Saudi prince defects: 'Brutality, oppression as govt scared of Arab revolts'
Saudi Arabia, a major supporter of opposition forces in Syria, has increased crackdown on its own dissenters, with 30,000 activists reportedly in jail. In an exclusive interview to RT a Saudi prince defector explained what the monarchy fears most.
“Saudi Arabia has stepped up arrests and trials of peaceful dissidents, and responded with force to demonstrations by citizens,” Human Rights Watch begins the country’s profile on its website.
Political parties are banned in Saudi Arabia and human rights groups willing to function legally have to go no further than investigating things like corruption or inadequate services. Campaigning for political freedoms is outlawed.
One of such groups, which failed to get its license from the government, the Saudi Civil and Political Rights Association (ACPRA), was cited by AFP as saying the kingdom was holding around 30,000 political prisoners.
Saudi Prince Khaled Bin Farhan Al-Saud, who spoke to RT from Dusseldorf, Germany, confirmed reports of increased prosecution of anti-government activists and said that it’s exactly what forced him to defect from his family. He accused the monarchy of corruption and silencing all voices of dissent and explained how the Saudi mechanism for suppression functioned.
“There is no independent judiciary, as both police and the prosecutor’s office are accountable to the Interior Ministry. This ministry’s officials investigate ‘crimes’ (they call them crimes), related to freedom of speech. So they fabricate evidence, don’t allow people to have attorneys”, the prince told RT Arabic. “Even if a court rules to release such a ‘criminal’, the Ministry of Interior keeps him in prison, even though there is a court order to release him. There have even been killings! Killings! And as for the external opposition, Saudi intelligence forces find these people abroad! There is no safety inside or outside the country.”
Prince Khalid Bin Farhan Al-Saud announced his defection from the Saudi Arabian royal family on July 27.
“They don’t think about anything but their personal benefits and do not care for the country’s and people’s interests, or even national security,” his statement reads as cited by the website of Tehran-based Al Alam International News Channel.
The prince criticized the royal family for silencing all voices calling for reforms and said he learned of the common Saudis’ sufferings having gone through “horrible personal experience,” without specifying exactly what it was.
The strong wave of oppression is in response to the anti-government forces having grown ever more active.
he loudest voice of the Saudi opposition at the moment is a person called ‘Saudi Assange’. His Twitter name is @Mujtahidd, he keeps his identity and whereabouts secret and is prolific in online criticism of the ruling family, which has gained him over a million followers.
“The regime can destroy your credibility easily and deter people from dealing with you if your identity is public,” Mujtahid wrote to RT’s Lindsay France in an email.
“The government is obviously scared of the Arab revolutions. And they’ve responded as they usually do: by resorting to oppression, violence, arbitrary law, and arrest,” Prince Khaled says, adding that so far the tougher the measures the government took to suppress the dissent, the louder that dissent’s voice was.
“The opposition used to demand wider people’s representation in governing bodies, more rights and freedoms. But the authorities reacted with violence and persecution, instead of a dialogue. So the opposition raised the bar. It demanded constitutional monarchy, similar to what they have in the UK, for example. And the Saudi regime responded with more violence. So now the bar is even higher. Now the opposition wants this regime gone.”
Saudi Arabia’s crackdown on opposition has been strongly condemned by human rights organizations, but not by Western governments, which usually claim sensitivity to such issues.
“The White House certainly does maintain a long-standing alliance with the leaders of Saudi Arabia, cemented by common political, economic and military interests in the Middle East,” said Prince Khaled.
“With arms they [Gulf States] are also buying favors from the West. They are insuring the maintenance of their legitimacy on spending massive amounts of money that are pouring into Western economies,” Dr. Ahmed Badawi, co-executive director of Transform, which studies conflicts and political developments, told RT.
https://www.rt.com/news/saudi-arabia-opposition-prince-374/
cp9 USA
25.5.2016 – Tagesanzeiger (** B K P)
Der lange Arm der Weltmacht
Berater und Ausbilder der US-Armee sind überall. Erfolg? Der ist zweifelhaft. Bestenfalls.
Sie sind im Irak und in Syrien, in Libyen und Afghanistan, auf den Philippinen, in Somalia, der Ukraine sowie in Dutzenden weiteren Ländern an der Arbeit: US-Militärberater und -ausbilder sowie Kommandoeinheiten amerikanischer Sonderkräfte.
Seit kurzem sind sie sogar im Jemen tätig als globaler Arm Washingtons, der abseits prüfender Blicke die militärischen Geschäfte der Weltmacht betreibt. 2015 operierten sie zumindest zeitweilig in 147 Nationen. Kein Tag vergeht, an dem sie nicht mindestens in 70 Staaten im Einsatz sind.
Nahezu ausnahmslos sind die Ausbilder und Berater Angehörige von Eliteeinheiten wie den Green Berets oder den Rangers der US-Armee, den Seals der Marine, den Air Commandos der Luftwaffe oder den Raiders der Marineinfanterie.
Ein Blick zurück seit dem Beginn des amerikanischen «Kriegs gegen Terror» aber stimmt wenig zuversichtlich. Mit Ausnahme der ersten militärischen Aktionen in Afghanistan im Herbst und Winter 2001 haben von US-Kräften ausgebildete und beratene Einheiten in Afghanistan, im Irak und in Syrien bislang zumeist versagt.
Abgeschreckt durch die Pleiten wird die Weltmacht trotzdem nicht: Erst kürzlich wurde die Zahl der US-Militärberater und -ausbilder in Syrien erhöht, danach wurde bekannt, dass amerikanische Berater erstmals im Jemen eingesetzt werden.
Heute agieren sie vor allem im Nahen und Mittleren Osten, am Horn von Afrika sowie in Westafrika. Sie sollen «ausbilden, beraten und Hilfe leisten», beschrieb das Weisse Haus unlängst ihre Rolle in Syrien. Hinterfragt wird die Wirksamkeit dieser Einsätze auch deshalb nicht, weil sie den auf über 70'000 Soldaten angeschwollenen US-Sonderkräften eine weltweite Bühne bieten.
http://www.tagesanzeiger.ch/ausland/amerika/der-lange-arm-der-weltmacht/story/27979693
Kommentar von Erwin Kreiter: Ich bin mir gar nicht sicher, dass sie versagen und versagt haben. Unter dem Deckmantel der sog. Demokratisierung säen sie überall Krieg, Tod, Verderben und Chaos. Nebst den lukrativen Waffengeschäften wird so die angestrebte Hegemonie der USA gefördert und gleichzeitig verhindert, dass die "demokratisierten" Staaten selbstständig, unabhängig werden.
Kommentar von Ali Kazemi: Fast ironisch daran zu erinnern, dass sowohl Bin Laden als auch viele andere Steinzeit Fanatiker von "US-Beratern" trainiert und aufgerüstet wurden...Auch in Aleppo waren anscheinend während paar Monaten gewisse CIA-Berater Vorort um ISIS im Kampf gegen Syrien & Hisbollah & Russland zu beraten...... Früher wurden auch die Todesschwadronen in Südamerika von Amis trainiert und bewaffnet "oder netter ausgedruckt beraten"
Kommentar von Erich Deiss: Wenn Putin Waffen und Berater z.B. in die Ukraine schickt, ist es etwa Böses, wenn USA Berater und Waffen in die Ukraine schickt, ist es etwas Gutes. Irgendwie verkauft sich die USA besser bei uns, und das macht den Unterschied zwischen einer Regionalmacht und einer Weltmacht aus.
Kommentar von Vito Snaporaz: ein Staat der offen die Herrschaft über die Welt beansprucht kann nicht für Frieden und schon gar nicht für Demokratie stehen. Zu der im Kommentar erwähnten umfassenden Beratertätigkeit (welche nicht selten Beratung zur Anstiftung von Krieg und Putschen (siehe zB Georgien, Ukraine, etc) darstellt kommt ein riesiges Söldnerheer, welches bereits 2005 den damaligen UNO Generalsekretär K. Annan zu einer eindringlichen Warnung vor den zu erwartenten Folgen veranlasste. Diese US Söldnerheere gehen nicht zum Arbeitsamt sondern sind rund um die Uhr ausserhalb von int. Recht zum Wohle der Konzerne und des US Imperiums und zum Nachteil der betroffenen Bevölkerungen "beschäftigt". Wer politisch und medial diesen täglichen Wahnsinn stützt kann sich nicht auf Demokratie und Menschenrechte berufen!
19.5.2016 – Truthfeed (* A P)
THE SAUDIS are FUNDING Hillary Clinton 2016 with 9/11 BLOOD MONEY
According to The Wall Street Journal, Hillary’s donors include the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Saudi Arabia, Oman, Australia, Germany, and a Canadian government.
Hillary Clinton re-joined the foundation after leaving the State Department in 2013 and has fronted a $250 million endowment campaign, Fox News Reported.
The Journal has reported that foreign donors doubled in 2014:
-UAE donated between $1 million and $5 million last year.
-Germany gave between $100,000 and $250,000.
-Saudi Arabia, which has contributed at least $10 million since the foundation’s founding in 1999.
On Christmas Eve in 2011, Hillary Clinton and her closest aides celebrated a $29.4 billion sale of over 80 F-15 fighter jets, manufactured by US-based Boeing Corporation, to Saudi Arabia. In a chain of enthusiastic emails, an aide exclaimed that it was “not a bad Christmas present.”
19.5.2016 – MEMRI (* B P T)
Article In Saudi Daily: U.S. Planned, Carried Out 9/11 Attacks – But Blames Others For Them
On the eve of President Obama’s April 2016 visit to Saudi Arabia, the U.S. Congress began debating the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act (JASTA), that would, inter alia, allow the families of victims of the September 11 attacks to sue the Saudi government for damages. Also in April 2016, the New York Times published that a 2002 congressional inquiry into the 9/11 attacks had found that Saudi officials living in the United States at the time had a hand in the plot. The commission’s conclusions, said the paper, were specified in a report that has not been released publicly. The JASTA bill, which was passed by the Senate on May 17, 2016, triggered fury in Saudi Arabia, expressed both in statements by the Saudi foreign minister and in scathing attacks on the U.S. in the Saudi press. On April 28, 2016, the London-based Saudi daily Al-Hayat published an exceptionally harsh article on this topic by Saudi legal expert Katib Al-Shammari, who argued that the U.S. itself had planned and carried out 9/11, while placing the blame on a shifting series of others – first Al-Qaeda and the Taliban, then Saddam Hussein’s regime in Iraq, and now Saudi Arabia. He wrote that American threats to reveal documents that supposedly point to Saudi involvement in 9/11 are part of standard U.S. policy of exposing archival documents to use as leverage against various countries – which he calls „victory by means of archives.“i
http://www.memri.org/report/en/0/0/0/0/0/0/9202.htm
Anmerkung Paul Schreyer: Es ist überaus bemerkenswert, dass der renommierte saudische Anwalt Katib Al-Shammari (er vertrat unter anderem Angehörige von Guantanamo-Häftlingen) in einer der international meistgelesenen arabischsprachigen Zeitungen (Al-Hayat) so klar Stellung bezieht und den USA direkt die Täterschaft bei 9/11 vorwirft. Hintergrund ist ein schon länger schwelender Konflikt zwischen den USA und Saudi-Arabien, bei dem die Anschläge vom 11. September 2001 immer stärker als Druckmittel von Washingtoner Kreisen instrumentalisiert werden (Präsident Obama gehört nicht dazu, er steht hier eher auf der Bremse).
Wahr ist, dass unmittelbar vor den Anschlägen einige in Kalifornien lebende Saudis mit Kontakten zur saudischen Regierung im direkten Umfeld der späteren mutmaßlichen Attentäter agierten. Wahr ist auch, dass die US-Regierung entsprechende Recherchen der eigenen offiziellen Untersuchungskommissionen seinerzeit blockierte und von der Veröffentlichung sperrte – wohl, um die heikle politische und ökonomische Allianz Washingtons mit den Saudis nicht zu gefährden.
Entgegen der gängigen Darstellung in den großen Medien ist bislang jedoch unklar, wer für die Planung der Anschläge die Verantwortung trägt. Die gängige Theorie dazu stützt sich im Wesentlichen auf erzwungene Aussagen aus Folterverhören. Seit der Veröffentlichung des CIA-Folterreports Ende 2014 (die NachDenkSeiten unterstützten seinerzeit die deutsche Übersetzung) ist dieser Zusammenhang auch einer breiteren Öffentlichkeit bekannt. Dennoch werden aus dieser Erkenntnis bisher keine Konsequenzen gezogen.
Näheres zu einer alternativen Sichtweise auf die Anschläge, die bis heute weitgehend totgeschwiegen wird, hier und hier.
http://www.nachdenkseiten.de/?p=33527#h16
cp10 Großbritannien / Great Britain
25.5.2016 – International Business Times (* A K P)
We need an immediate suspension of British military sales to Saudi Arabia
For over a year now, the British government has flatly rejected claims that the Saudi Arabian-led coalition has violated the laws of war during its conflict in Yemen, despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary. Although the British government supplied nearly £3 billion worth of weapons and equipment to the Saudis in 2015 alone, ministers insist that Britain's arms export licensing procedures are amongst the most stringent in the world and that there's no serious risk of British supplied equipment being used unlawfully. But these claims - already disingenuous and misleading – were further discredited this week by fresh evidence from Amnesty International that banned British-made cluster bombs have been used by coalition forces in Yemen.
It's true that these British-made bombs were sold to a coalition member before the existence of an international convention banning cluster munitions, which Britain ratified in 2010 and has since championed. Nonetheless, the fact that such weapons are still being used by a coalition which we support and arm would normally prompt an investigation and a serious review of British policy. But these are not normal times. In recent months, British policy on Yemen appears to have hardened, becoming more supportive of the coalition in Yemen and more dismissive of the human rights groups that expose their violations.
Just last month, for example, Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond made a series of claims about coalition actions in Yemen that don't withstand scrutiny. Four are particularly worth highlighting: 1, 2, 3, 4
Given the scale of the violations, and the documented use of British-supplied equipment, parliamentarians should demand an immediate suspension of British military sales to Saudi Arabia and a full and independent investigation. Anything less will make Britain complicit in further abuses and the ongoing intolerable suffering of the Yemeni people – by David Mepham, UK Director of Human Rights Watch
http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/we-need-immediate-suspension-british-military-sales-saudi-arabia-1561943
24.5. – Parliament (* A P)
Urgent Question on Yemen: 24 May 2016
Minister for Defence Procurement, Philip Dunne, responded to an urgent question, asked by Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh MP, on reports of new evidence that UK manufactured cluster bombs may have killed and injured civilians, including children, in the conflict in Yemen.
Watch Parliament TV: Urgent Question on Yemen
Read current Parliamentary material in Topics: Middle East
Read Commons Hansard: Yemen: Cluster Munitions
http://www.parliament.uk/business/news/2016/may/urgent-question-on-yemen-24-may-2016/
Comment by Judith Brown: The parliamentary questions on Yemen need listening to. Weasel words at their best. You can see ordinary MPs with genuine concerns raising issues with the minister who keeps protesting that all is well with Saudi Arabia, and if it wasn't they would say so, the UK Government will ask them again to check, and that is the normal way of doing things. So sickening.
https://www.facebook.com/judith.brown.794628/posts/10154383329188641
cp11 Deutschland / Germany
25.5.2016 – Auswärtiges Amt (A P)
Steinmeier trifft saudischen Außenminister: Krisen im Nahen und Mittleren Osten im Fokus
Außenminister Steinmeier empfing am Mittwoch (25.05.) seinen saudischen Amtskollegen Adel Jubeir im Auswärtigen Amt. Im Mittelpunkt der Gespräche standen die Konflikte im Mittleren Osten, insbesondere in Syrien, Jemen und Libyen. Am Rande des Treffens zeigte sich Steinmeier erleichtert über die Freilassung der ukrainischen Pilotin Nadia Sawtschenko, die aus russischer Haft nun in die Ukraine zurückkehren konnte.
Neben Syrien ging es im Gespräch der Außenminister auch um die Situation in Jemen. Dort habe sich die militärische Lage beruhigt und die humanitäre Versorgung verbessert, seitdem es Mitte April zu Verhandlungen zwischen Regierung und Opposition gekommen sei – nicht zuletzt dank der Verhandlungsbereitschaft Saudi-Arabiens. Durch die Gespräche, die derzeit in Kuwait stattfinden, werde hoffentlich auch eine politische Lösung in Gang kommen, so der Minister.
25.5.2016 – Reuters (A K P)
Steinmeier verteidigt Export von Patrouillenbooten an Saudi-Arabien
Das Königreich habe ein legitimes Interesse am Schutz seiner Grenzen und seiner Küste, sagte Steinmeier nach einem Treffen mit seinem saudischen Kollegen Adel al-Dschubeir am Mittwoch in Berlin. "In Fragen der Grenzsicherung haben wir in der Vergangenheit kooperiert", erinnerte der Minister an den Bau eines Grenzzaunes durch Airbus. "Und was die Frage des Küstenschutzes auch durch Patrouillenboote angeht, finde ich aus meiner persönlichen Sicht, dass es gute Gründe gibt, diese Art von Sicherheitskooperation auch fortzusetzen."
Dschubeir erklärte, sein Land decke sich zum Zwecke der Verteidigung bei befreundeten Staaten mit Rüstungsgütern ein. "Die Entscheidung liegt bei diesen Staaten, ob sie unsere Verteidigungsbedürfnisse decken möchten oder nicht", sagte der Minister. Saudi-Arabien sei nicht auf eine Quelle allein angewiesen.
http://www.onvista.de/news/steinmeier-verteidigt-export-von-patrouillenbooten-an-saudi-arabien-33465561 und von dpa: http://www.n-tv.de/ticker/Steinmeier-fuer-Lieferung-von-Patrouillenbooten-an-Saudi-Arabien-article17777111.htm
Kommentar: Wie „Verteidigung“ nach Saudi-Art aussieht, kann man seit 14 Monaten im Jemen besichtigen. – Die Patrouillenboote kann man dann bestens zur weiteren Blockade des Nordjemen einsetzen, auf dass dort weiter ge- und verhungert und an Mangel an Medizin gestorben werden darf. Danke, Steinmeier.
cp13 Flüchtlinge / Refugees
24.5.2016 – UN High Commissioner for Refugees (A H)
Map: New Arrivals in Yemen Comparison 2013 - 2016 (As of 30 April 2016)
24.5.2016 – UN High Commissioner for Refugees (A H)
Yemen: Factsheet, April 2016
9,962 Persons arrived at Yemeni coasts since January 2016
4,165 Refugee families provided with cash assistance since January 2016
1,283 Refugee children provided with child protection services since January 2016
154,811 Persons provided with NFIs since January 2016
UNHCR leads the multi-sector response for refugees and asylum-seekers in urban settings and in Kharaz refugee camp. It introduced the Refugee Coordination Model to ensure a more inclusive UNHCR-led strategic planning, operational coordination, service delivery, and resource mobilization for refugee protection and assistance in Yemen. Regular interaction is maintained with authorities at national and local level, with international and national NGOs, and with refugee community leaders.
UNHCR leads the Protection and the Shelter/CCCM Clusters for the IDP response throughout Yemen. UNHCR also co-leads the Task Force on Population Movements (TFPM) with IOM to collect, analyse and disseminate data, trends and characteristics of internal displacement in Yemen.
http://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/yemen-factsheet-april-2016-enar and in full http://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/UNHCR%20Yemen%20Fact%20Sheet%20April%202016%20-%20English.pdf
24.5.2016 – World Food Programme (A H)
WFP Djibouti Country Brief, April 2016
The protracted relief and recovery operation (PRRO) requires new contributions urgently to avert possible pipeline breaks. WFP has prioritized general distributions and nutrition interventions for the refugees, to stretch available food stocks.
For the school feeding programme under the development operation, new contributions are required soon for WFP to deliver food before the beginning of the new school year, which starts in September.
http://reliefweb.int/report/djibouti/wfp-djibouti-country-brief-april-2016 and in full http://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/Djibouti%20CB%20April_HQ%20%281%29.pdf
cp14 Terrorismus / Terrorism
24.5.2016 – ZDF (nicht bewertet B T)
Film: "Ansar al- Scharia" der Islamische Staat im Jemen [Doku deutsch]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c2SDcs6WD1k
24.5.2016 – RT (* A T)
Saudi Arabia's Terrorism in Yemen. Joaquin Flores talks to RT International (Video interview)
Fort Russ co-editor Flores speaks with RT international about last week's bombing in Yemen, and the situation in this war ravaged country in general.
Media focus is centered on events as they take place, and rarely in the context which gives any event its narrative meaning. While there was an apparent ISIS 'terrorist' attack in Yemen, these attacks did not begin until Yemen's government changed to one led by Zaidis, which Saudi Arabia did not recognize. Simultaneously, ISIS and Al Qaeda groups began openly operating in the country. The relationship between Saudi Arabia and ISIS and Al Qaeda is well established.
What Flores seems to indicate is that the terrorist attacks are meant to justify further Saudi involvement in the Yemeni 'conflict'. Also, he notes that Saudi's bombing of Yemen is also terrorism.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Js_hQBsTgPY
24.5.2016 – Aljazeera (* B T)
ISIL's evolving strategy should raise security concerns
ISIL's coordinated attacks in Syria and Yemen augur badly for the near future.
A series of coordinated attacks in three cities in Syria and Yemen on Monday by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS) provides important new insights into the group's current capabilities and strategy, suggesting that the months ahead will be increasingly violent in the Middle East and perhaps further afield.
At least five distinct aspects of the Monday attacks should raise eyebrows and security concerns in many countries: their locations, simultaneity, logistical prowess, multi-country coordination and ISIL's evolving strategy in its wider political-military context.
The most noteworthy aspect of the attacks was the combination of multiple, large-scale bombings in the political hearts of the Syrian and Yemeni governments, which both appear more vulnerable than assumed.
The fact that ISIL can attack a military recruiting centre near a general's home in the capital of Yemen does not bode well for the country's immediate future, especially after other attacks on high-profile targets in Aden in recent months.
The expansion of ISIL and al-Qaeda support, capabilities and territorial control in southern parts of Yemen has been an unintended dimension of the 14-month-long war that has raged there.
The dramatic ISIL attacks occur at a time when it has been losing control of parts of its territory in Syria and Iraq to Syrian, Iraqi, Kurdish, Iranian, and international military forces – by Rami G. Khouri
Comment by Judith Brown: The link between the Syrian and Yemeni bomb gas yesterday - this was not mentioned at all on the British media that reported Syria but not Yemen - as usual. But to my mind they might have been purposefully planned to demonstrate international cooperation.
https://www.facebook.com/judith.brown.794628/posts/10154381880628641
cp15 Propaganda
25.5.2016 – Asharq Al-Awsat (A P)
Saudi Arabia Playing a Pivotal Role in Brokering Peace for Yemen
Arab and foreigner diplomats hailed the great role played by Saudi Arabia concerning Yemeni peace talks- underway in Kuwait- and on reaching a comprehensive peaceful solution which reflects justly upon the people of Yemen.
Saudi diplomacy played a pivotal function over the past few days in achieving consensus between conflicting Yemeni perspectives, laying forward many proposals and brokering multiple agreements.
At the peak of complex situations, which heightened after the government’s delegation suspending participation, Saudi diplomatic efforts consequently doubled in order to preserve the progress reached so far.
Officials from 18 peace-talks-sponsoring countries have lauded Saudi efforts and the efforts of the U.N. Special Envoy to Yemen Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed.
Whoever keeps track of regional developments, especially those ongoing in Yemen, realizes that Saudi Arabia had promoted a peaceful solution for the war-torn country and all other embattled regional countries.
Saudi Arabia had launched the Decisive Storm operation which restored authority to Yemen and reinstated Yemeni President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi into power. Hadi’s return to authority was the factor bringing diplomatic goals urging for a comprehensive peace process.
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia after all supports the legitimacy-found government and political leadership in Yemen. Moreover, the Kingdom supports peaceful settlements sought by the legitimate government, ceasefire and the return to political processes.
FM al-Mekhlafi added that Saudi efforts devoted to the Yemeni peace process, and mediation provided by the Kingdom, working among negotiating parties, is remarkably adding to positive guidance and headway at the discussions.
Not to mention that Saudi Arabia had sent in writing assurances to all Houthis so that they join the negotiations. Agreements which led and influenced the peace talks were Saudi brokered, al-Mekhlafi stressed – by said Al-Abyad
Comment: Crazy.
25.5.2016 – Qatar Tribune (A P)
Qatar's role in backing Yemen lauded
Yemeni Foreign Minister Abdulmalek al Mikhlafi has lauded the pioneering role of Qatar in supporting the Yemeni people and its legitimate government.
In an interview with Arrayah newspaper, Mikhlafi highlighted Qatar's mediation to return to Kuwait negotiations and work to install the reached agreements.
The Yemeni foreign minister said the appreciated Qatari mediation came in order to remove any obstacles to the negotiations and strengthen the reality of these negotiations to take the Yemenis out of fighting. He lauded the role played by the GCC states who are keen to fully achieve security and stability in Yemen under the legitimacy of Yemen and the legitimacy of President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi. He praised the role of the Arab coalition forces in changing the equation of the political forces in Yemen in favour of legitimacy.
The Yemeni minister added that the intervention of Gulf Cooperation Council is important to achieve security and stability in Yemen, pointing out that the continuation of the situation in Yemen without this intervention means destabilisation of the whole Arabian Peninsula.
http://www.qatar-tribune.com/news-details/id/3568
Comment: Praising the states of the Saudi coalition is one of the main tasks of the Hadi government. – “supporting the Yemeni people and its legitimate government”: these two entities have nothing to do with each other. – “under the legitimacy of Yemen and the legitimacy of President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi”: what the hell is “the legitimacy of Yemen”?
25.5.2016 – TASS (A P)
Yemen supports probe into Saudi air strikes against civilians
Yemen’s Foreign Minister Abdulmalik Al-Mekhlafi has accused the rebels of continuing to avoid talks, killing civilians in the country’s third largest city of Taiza
The Yemeni government supports the investigation of all war crimes committed during the armed conflict in the country, including Saudi-led coalition air strikes, which caused deaths among civilians, Yemeni Foreign Minister Abdel-Malek al-Mekhlafi told TASS on Wednesday.
"As for the Arab coalition, then it really committed mistakes," the Yemeni top diplomat said.
Yemen’s foreign minister is heading the government delegation at the inter-Yemeni talks in Kuwait.
"We, as the government, have taken steps that have led to the creation of the National Investigation Committee with the participation of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR). This committee regularly sends reports for OHCHR sessions in Geneva and the government supports its work as a whole," al-Mekhlafi said.
The investigation is embracing all the violations committed, the Yemeni foreign minister said.
"The Houthis [Shia rebels] have committed a great number of crimes against civilians. They continue delivering artillery fire from entrenchments in the mountains around Taiz. This cannot even be called a battle," the foreign minister said.
http://tass.ru/en/world/877963
Comment: This is pure propaganda. The Hadi government never had any interest and never did anything for the investigation of the Saudi aerial war. A “National Investigation Committee” already had been announced about half a year ago at a moment when the Saudi air raids had been somewhat in focus, nothing has happened. On the contrary, the Saudi aerial war never had been a subject for the Hadi government, they did not stop to praise the Saudi intervention in the most primitive, exaggerated and brown-nosing way.
cp16 Saudische Luftangriffe / Saudi air raids
25.5.2016 – AP (** A K)
Yemeni officials: Airstrike kills 11 from same family
The death toll of a suspected Saudi-led coalition airstrike that hit a family's house in southern Yemen has been raised to 11, including four children from one family, security officials and witnesses said Wednesday.
The officials said that warplanes, thought to be Emirati, fired two missiles at the family's house in the town of el-Mahala, in the southern province of Lahj. The house was flattened and only one child from the family survived the strike, they said.
The officials said the home is adjacent to a building that is suspected of housing Islamic militants.
A witness, Ahmed Hadash, said he heard explosions for 40 minutes while the warplanes were flying.
"The bodies were distorted and the human remains were everywhere," he said.
The governor of Lahij, Naser al-Khoubeigi, has called on the Yemeni government and the coalition to conduct an investigation. He denied any communications between the authorities in Lahij and the coalition.
"We know nothing about the attack. The coalition conducts attacks without informing us. The responsibility of this operation is on those who provide the coalition with the wrong coordinates," he said.
Security officials claim that the Saudi-led coalition regularly conducts unreported strikes and has detained many people, claiming that they are members of al-Qaida or the local Islamic State group affiliate.
"They have their own prisons," one official said.
Also on Wednesday, a suspected Saudi-led coalition airstrike hit a mineral water factory in Lahij, security officials said. No causalities were reported – by Ahmed Al-Haj
https://www.yahoo.com/news/yemen-officials-strike-kills-6-1-family-124254223.html?ref=gs = http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/yemen-officials-strike-kills-family-39362955 and images: https://twitter.com/HussainBukhaiti/status/735418993759137792 and https://twitter.com/AhmadAlgohbary/status/735473403424038912 and https://twitter.com/YemenPostNews/status/735459054215139330 and https://twitter.com/JosephJo1221/status/735394018650140672 and https://twitter.com/JosephJo1221/status/735395489990905856 and (graphic!!) 4 dead children https://twitter.com/narrabyee/status/735528686032687104
and an earlier report:
25.5.2016 – AFP (A K)
Coalition raid kills six Yemeni civilians 'by mistake'
An airstrike by the Saudi-led coalition fighting opponents of President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi killed six civilians from the same family by mistake Wednesday, a provincial official said.
Warplanes targeted the home of a suspected member of the ISIS extremist group in Huta, the capital of southern Lahj province, but missed and hit an adjacent house, the official told AFP.
The Arab coalition carried out raids Wednesday on several positions in Huta suspected of being used by extremists, including an abandoned water bottling plant and an arms depot, another official said.
Comment: “By mistake” is ridiculous. This almost is “normal” for Western and Saudi so-called “war on terror” (which is terrorism by itself, as to be seen here).
Comment by Judith Brown: Funny how they keep making the same mistake and no one worries about it.
https://www.facebook.com/judith.brown.794628/posts/10154383789338641
25.5.2016 – Josephjo1221 (A K PH)
Airline Arab Coalition bombards water factory in Lahj
https://twitter.com/JosephJo1221/status/735393739976368128
25.5.2016 – Hisham Al-Omeisy (A K)
Lahj governor stmnt condemned the "unidentified aircrafts bombed places in Huta, Tuban, and Yafe'e" today. #Yemen
https://twitter.com/omeisy/status/735464231588528129
Governor stressed had no knowledge of airstrikes and is holding those coordinated & conducted fully responsible for casualties.
https://twitter.com/omeisy/status/735465170961567744
25.5.2016 – Khabar Agency (A K PH)
Yemen: dozens of dead and wounded in the escalation of aerial Saudi (Arabic)
http://khabaragency.net/news61466.html
25.5.2016 – Fatik Al-Rodaini (A K)
Now in the capital Sanaa.. Saudi jets flying over the sky of the city
https://twitter.com/Fatikr/status/735496483353415681
A woman has been seriously wounded in a raid by KSA jets on a house in Hareeb area of Nehim in Sanaa.
https://twitter.com/Fatikr/status/735495724121522176
Saudi warplanes launch 4 sorties on Haylan area of Serwah in Marib
https://twitter.com/Fatikr/status/735496268923822080
25.5.2016 – Fatik Al-Rodaini (A K)
14Yemenis killed today by US-backed Saudi war criminals jets bombing on Karamish village of Mareb east
https://twitter.com/narrabyee/status/735387737180807173
24.5.2016 – Fatik Al-Rodaini (A K)
Hareb area of Nehim in Sanaa and Al-Ghail area of Jouf were hit tonight with 5 sorties by KSA jets.
https://twitter.com/Fatikr/status/735187263869440004
cp17 Kriegsereignisse / Theater of War
25.5.2016 Press TV Iran (A K PH)
Saudi-sponsored militiamen loyal to former President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi lobbed a barrage of artillery rounds and mortar shells at al-Ghayl and al-Maton districts of Yemen’s northern province of al-Jawf.
24.5.2016 – Gulf News (A K PS)
Fighting rages between Al Houthis and government troops in Jawf, Marib and Nehim
Government forces battled Al Houthis and their military allies outside the capital and in Shawba, Jawf and Marib as the rebels were exploiting the widely violated truce to make territorial gains. In Nehim district of Sana’a province, Abdullah Al Shandaqi, a spokesperson for Sana’a resistance, said on Tuesday that pro-government tribal fighters and army troops repelled many attempts by Al Houthis to recapture many military sites from the government forces.
“Al Houthi militias launched an attack on our forces on Tuesday morning. We managed to push them back and pursued them in many areas in Nehim. We gained control of new regions like Al Amer, Dhabia, Thera, and Nemala,” he said on his Facebook page on Tuesday.
Al Shandaqi said as many as 20 Al Houthis and one resistance fighter were killed in the heavy battles. In the neighbouring Marib province, local officials reported fierce clashes between the two sides in Serwah district on Tuesday.
Deadly clashes were also reported in the northern province of Jawf where government forces said they fought off a big assault by Al Houthis and other forces loyal to the ousted president Ali Abdullah Saleh to take control of areas in Masloub and Ghayel districts. Officials said that ten Al Houthis were arrested during fighting – by Saeed Al-Batati
http://gulfnews.com/news/gulf/yemen/yemen-seizes-iranian-fishermen-off-socotra-1.1833979
cp18 Sonstiges / Other
25.5.2016 – Juskis Erdbebennews (A)
Tote und Verletzte bei Erdbeben im Jemen
Ein moderates Erdbeben hat am Dienstagabend (24. Mai) weite Teile des Landes auf der Arabischen Halbinsel erschüttert. Nach Angaben des United States Geological Survey (USGS) erreichte das Erdbeben Magnitude 4.8. Das Epizentrum lag demnach in der Provinz Al-Baida im Westen des Landes. Die Erschütterungen waren auch noch in der 200 Kilometer entfernten Hauptstadt Sana’a deutlich spürbar. Vielerorts verursachte das Beben Panik. Aufgrund des sandigen Untergrundes, auf dem viele Orte im Jemen gebaut sind, wurde die Erdbebenintensität verstärkt.
Nach vorläufigen Angaben lokaler Medien kam es infolge des Erdbebens zu einigen Verlusten. In der Provinz Shabwah wurden die Häuser von drei Familien zerstört. Vier Personen kamen dabei ums Leben. Sieben weitere Häuser in der Provinz Ibb wurden ebenfalls zerstört. Hier soll es eine Reihe von Verletzten gegeben haben. Weitere Informationen liegen noch nicht vor – von Jens
http://juskis-erdbebennews.de/2016/05/tote-und-verletzte-bei-erdbeben-im-jemen/
24.5.2016 – Earthquake USGS (A)
M4.8 - 10km NNE of Bani Bakr, Yemen
http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eventpage/us10005jn7#general
24.5.2016 – Fatik Al-Rodaini (A)
A house in Dhalaa Hamdan area of Sanaa was destroyed due to an earthquake hit the country tonight
https://twitter.com/Fatikr/status/735198065984962560
As a result of a 4.8 mag earthquake that hit #Yemen tonight,3 families in Shabwa province got killed. Yemenis expecting a bigger one to come
https://twitter.com/Fatikr/status/735197958992367616
Vorige / Previous:
https://www.freitag.de/autoren/dklose/krieg-im-jemen-neue-artikel-zum-nachlesen-148
Neue Artikel zum Nachlesen 1-148: / Yemen Press Reader 1-148:
https://www.freitag.de/autoren/dklose oder / or
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