Allgemein
18.9.2015 – Christian Today
The 'forgotten' war in Yemen and how the West is fuelling it
Among the seemingly never-ending bad headlines coming out of the Middle East, it may not be a surprise that a brutal and spiralling conflict is passing unnoticed. But Yemen is a tragedy that should demand more of our attention. The dreadful news from Yemen of the awful consequences of this war are finally beginning to seep into western consciousness.
In the week that the world finally begins to pay attention to the awful situation, here in the UK we are selling weapons to repressive regimes from the Middle East and beyond.
The DSEI arms fair takes place biannually in London and is one of the largest such events in the world. Christian groups have been among those protesting against this giant festival of torture equipment, weaponry and ammunition. This shameful event brings into focus our complicity in what's happening in Yemen and other conflicts around the world.
Astonishingly, flags in London were flown at half-mast when the authoritarian ruler of Saudi Arabia died last year. His country regularly beheads people. The US is even more of a 'friend' to the draconian regime. This is the reality of war: we may not be directly involved but we facilitate it, through our silence, through our arms sales and through our acceptance of vile regimes in the name of realpolitik.
Of course there are two sides to every story. And at least two sides to every war. It would be foolish to think of the Houthis as innocent freedom fighters. There is evidence of their side carrying out human rights abuses. They may well be supported by the Iranian regime – which itself is implacably opposed to Saudi dominance of the region – and has its own dreadful human rights record.
But it's the Saudis who are our allies and friends. It is they (and the other authoritarian Sunni states such as Egypt, Morocco, Jordan, Sudan, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Bahrain) who are being given intelligence support by the US military.
Oxfam has acknowledged the £55 million of UK aid that has been given to help ease the situation but questions why we are still supplying the Saudis with arms: "Between January and March this year, the UK approved two orders for bombs or missiles for Saudi Arabia, valued at £17.19m... Since then, the Ministry of Defence has told Parliament that the UK has continued to supply 'precision guided weapons' to Saudi Arabia under its existing arrangements... The government has also confirmed that the UK is continuing its support and maintenance for UK-supplied equipment, with MoD military and civilian personnel, as well as BAE Systems personnel stationed in Saudi Arabia to support the Royal Saudi Air Force."
This epic crisis in Yemen has deep ethnic, religious and economic roots. There are no 'good guys.' But this conflict must be highlighted. Our role in its escalation cannot be ignored. The lives of millions of people are being damaged by the war with little hope of resolution. It's time the crisis in Yemen was no longer a 'forgotten war.' It's time this made the headlines. It's time for an immediate end to the bombing and a start to talks – by Andy Walton
18.9.2015 – NZZ
Der Krieg in Jemen weitet sich aus
Die Koalition der Golfstaaten hat ihre Offensive zur Vertreibung der Huthi aus Sanaa begonnen. Hilfe an die kriegsversehrte Bevölkerung wird immer schwieriger.
Die von Saudiarabien angeführte Allianz hat diese Woche ihren Vormarsch auf Jemens Hauptstadt begonnen und will bereits Marib, die Hauptstadt der gleichnamigen Provinz östlich von Sanaa, eingenommen haben. Zugleich bombardierten Flugzeuge der Allianz Sanaa und andere Städte unter der Kontrolle der Huthi, wobei erneut zivile Opfer zu beklagen waren. Der von den Huthi aus dem Land vertriebene Präsident Abedrabbu Mansur Hadi hat sich geweigert, an Friedensgesprächen teilzunehmen, die von der Uno angekündigt waren.
Neben Marib wird auch Jemens drittgrösste Stadt, das zwischen Aden und Sanaa gelegene Taiz, seit über drei Monaten von schweren Kämpfen erschüttert. Weite Teile der Stadt sind zerstört, und die öffentlichen Dienste sind weitgehend zusammengebrochen. Im Unterschied zu Marib haben die Huthi in Taiz starke lokale Verbündete und halten den Riegel aufrecht, der den Vormarsch auf Sanaa von Süden blockiert. Einige Beobachter glauben auch, dass die Gegner der Huthi in Taiz nur wenig Hilfe von der Allianz erhalten, weil sie grossenteils Islamisten sind, von denen vor allem die VAE nichts wissen wollen.
Vorstösse über Taiz und Marib hinaus dürften für die hochgerüsteten, aber wenig erfahrenen Truppen aus den Golfstaaten zum potenziell blutigen Unterfangen werden. Sie gelangen in bergiges Terrain, dessen Bewohner mit den Huthi sympathisieren und den Eindringlingen feindlich gesinnt sind. Die Kriegsführung der Anti-Huthi-Allianz, die kaum Rücksicht auf die Zivilbevölkerung und die zivile Infrastruktur nimmt, dürfte die Solidarisierung mit den Huthi eher noch verstärkt haben. Ein Ringen mit katastrophalen Folgen zeichnet sich ab – von Jürg Bischoff
18.9.2015 – Daily Times Pakistan
Condemnable actions of Saudi Arabia in Yemen
(After an introduction to the war and its background):
To consider what Saudi Arabia and the gulf Corporation Council (GCC) countries are doing in Yemen as ‘war’ is an over estimation. Morally, it is wrong to call it a war unless both sides are equal in their military prowess and are fighting a fair battle. Saudi Arabia asked for Pakistan’s assistance in its so called war with Yemen, which Pakistan rightly declined, much to the dismay of religious-political parties, which condemned Pakistan’s parliament for not doing enough to ‘protect’ the harmain al sharifain (holy houses in Mecca and Medina). Pakistan’s decline also caused a severe backlash from the GCC countries and warned of consequences. It was indeed one of the few instances where Pakistan took a fair stand, despite the fact that its military has its economic interests vested in Saudi Arabia.
Pakistan also withstood the pressure from religious parties that are still adamant about helping Saudi Arabia in its war. Little do they realise that the people in Yemen, which is a Sunni majority nation (if that is something that matters to religious parties here) are being made to suffer just because some countries want to contain Shia political space, which they attribute to Iranian influence. Yemen has become a tragic hub of proxy wars fought by various power players at the cost of human lives. The unjust embargos on sea transits to Yemen and stopping the supply of food and medicines to the displaced people there should be equaled to war crimes. With the uninvited interference of Saudi Arabia in cultural and social dynamics in Pakistan through the opening of sectarian madrassas (seminaries) that are causing hate and violence against Shias, it is time Pakistan puts a stop to this and officially condemns the Saudi-led coalition forces for their documented war crimes in Yemen – by Zeeba T Hashmi
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/opinion/18-Sep-2015/condemnable-actions-of-saudi-arabia-in-yemen
16.9.2015 – Radio New Zealand
Matthieu Aikins: Yemen and the Middle East
Matthieu Aikins reports from the Middle East and South Asia for a number of magazines and his investigative work exposing war crimes in Afghanistan won him the George Polk Award and the Medill Medal for Courage in Journalism. Currently he is a Schell Fellow at the Nation Institute. He talks with Kim Hill about the 'forgotten war' and escalating humanitarian crisis in Yemen.
Humanitäre Lage
18.9.2015 – Deseret News
Yemen, not Syria, is in greatest need of humanitarian aid
All eyes are on Syria — forced open by the war and destruction sending a steady stream of refugees into Europe. And yet Syria ranks second in terms of humanitarian need.
Yemen, which has also been engulfed in civil war for more than a decade, currently has 21 million people deprived of lifesaving commodities and basic services, according to the BBC. That's 5 million more than Syria.
The U.S. has carried out airstrikes in the country over the past decade, and now it's providing military aid to Saudi Arabia and its Gulf allies that have caused some of the highest levels of destruction. More attention to the plight of Yemeni civilians welcomes scrutiny of the origin of the violence — it's a lesson Russia is learning as the microscope on Syria has amped up criticism of Moscow support for Bashar al-Assad's regime.
The West has significant security concerns if Islamist rebels gain full control of Yemen. A fifth of the country is now controlled by an al-Qaida affiliate.
The U.N. has condemned the "virtual silence" on suffering in the Yemeni civil war and urged against the Gulf coalition's planned campaign to restore President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi to power. In a Tuesday statement, two human rights officials said "civilians will bear the brunt of this violence."
But that would mean conceding power of the nation to political forces that aren't friendly to the West or its allies in the Gulf. The nation’s capital, Sanaa, is controlled by the Houthis, a Zaidi Shiite Islam sect that bears the slogan "God is Great, Death to America, Death to Israel, Curse on the Jews, Victory to Islam."
Compared with Syria, Yemenis have much less ability to escape the country and its sectarian violence. Reporting from Sana’a, The Guardian’s Mark Kaye wrote that the civilians there feel ignored by a world that is struggling to come up with a political solution – by D. Bendtsen
18.9.2015 – UNICEF
Statement Attributable to Jeremy Hopkins, Acting UNICEF Representative in Yemen on increased attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure
Vital water supplies intended to help 11,000 people in the worst conflict-affected areas of Yemen were destroyed yesterday in the bombing of a warehouse used by the agency for humanitarian supplies in Dhamar, south of Yemen’s capital, Sana’a.
“UNICEF is appalled by the destruction of these humanitarian supplies – which included jerry cans, water filters and water tanks. Such attacks only harm civilians, and cannot be justified.
16.9.2015 – Rotes Kreuz
Yemen: The safety net above the chasm below
The regionalization of the Yemen conflict has made matters more complex, and the humanitarian situation more precarious. Essential services like health, electricity and water, which had been hanging by the slenderest of threads, are now disintegrating. Solutions to the conflict ebb away with every fresh round of fighting.
But Yemen is just one of several Middle Eastern countries undergoing violent convulsion: we have all seen the destruction and chaos that is Syria and Iraq today. Beyond the Middle East, Africa is reeling from terrible bloodshed, from Mali to Libya, from northeast Nigeria to South Sudan. Conflict continues in Ukraine.
The suffering is intense and on an enormous scale. Peoples are on the move like never before, fleeing uncertainty and fear.
Against this backdrop, the UN is launching the Sustainable Development Goals. These set out targets in areas such as health, education, poverty and improving life in our cities. They are the successors to the Millennium Development Goals which ran until this year.
These goals, which admirably vow to 'leave no-one behind', aim to set the international development agenda for the next 15 years.
But what do these goals mean in practice for a place like Yemen or Syria or Libya or South Sudan when daily survival is top, middle and bottom of the agenda? How can such places develop when, today, the very fabric of their societies is being torn apart?
They say that 'truth' is the first casualty of war. But there is another casualty as well: trust. As conflict escalates, trust crumbles away as surely as night follows day. A vacuum is created. Shells land, people die, trust is gone.
In these environments, humanitarian organisations play a vital role; providing the aid that keeps people alive. But as conflicts become more protracted and complex, and as the ability of states to maintain the fabric of their societies dwindles, so the role of humanitarian organisations - particularly the ICRC – is changing. And in a fundamental way. Shot-termism is no longer an option – by Peter Maurer, President of ICRC
https://www.icrc.org/en/document/yemen-safety-net-above-chasm-below
16.9.2015 – New York Times
In Yemen, Death From Above, Grief Below
LEWZA was my sister-in-law. She was a good person, one of the kindest I have ever known.
At about 6 a.m. on Saturday a missile hit her house here.
Working in the house for the next three hours, we collected small pieces of Lewza’s flesh, bones and hair, all mixed with blood and body fluids. Some got sick and vomited. We found the remainder of her body under stacks of concrete and furniture. We pried it out. One of her legs was missing. Half her face and head were gone. She was beyond recognition. I knew right there and then that I would not fulfill my promise to my wife. I was not going to let her see her sister. Better that she remember Lewza’s beautiful face as she knew it.
In the few days before the bombing, we had all visited and spoken with Lewza. As usual, she received us with tenderness and love. We talked about Wasim’s coming marriage celebration. We talked about the future, a future that has now been taken away.
On Sunday, after the burial, we went to Lewza’s house with laborers to continue clearing it. There we found the missing half of her head. We took it to the burial place and dug again, about three feet deep, and laid it there, along with the rest of her remains.
This is the first time in my life I’ve had to bury one human being twice – by Nasser M. Kutabish
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/16/opinion/in-yemen-death-from-above-grief-below.html?_r=0
23.10.2010
Jemen: Jeder Tropfen zählt (Film von ARTE)
Schon in fünf Jahren könnte das Wasser die dringendste Alltagssorge der Menschen in Sanaa sein. Alles spricht dafür, dass die Stadt die erste Hauptstadt der Welt sein wird, die keinen Tropfen Wasser mehr hat.
http://www.podcast.de/episode/2207346/Jemen%3A+Jeder+Tropfen+z%C3%A4hlt/
Kommentar: Schon vor dem Krieg war die Situation beim Wasser katastrophal. Der Krieg, die Bombardierung der Wasserstellen, hat die Lage noch weiter verschlimmert.
Kulturerbe
8.9.2015 – NZZ
Jemens Kulturerbe in Gefahr
Zerstörte Vergangenheit, verlorene Zukunft
Luftangriffe und Bodenkämpfe, Raubgrabungen, illegaler Kulturgüterhandel sowie religiöser Fanatismus bedrohen – fast unbemerkt von der Weltöffentlichkeit – das einzigartige kulturelle Erbe Jemens.
Jemen zählt in der Tat zu den vielfältigsten Kulturlandschaften auf der Arabischen Halbinsel. Sein kulturelles Erbe reicht Tausende von Jahren zurück. Seine Kulturschätze wie etwa die Tempel- und Palastanlagen der einstigen Karawanenreiche, aber auch die jahrhundertealten Moscheen und «Hochhäuser» der zum Unesco-Weltkulturerbe zählenden Städte Sanaa, Shibam und Zabid zogen Besucher aus aller Welt an.
Daneben betrifft der Konflikt auch die einzigartigen Kulturschätze des Landes. Vor allem Kollateralschäden durch Luftangriffe, aber auch schwere Bodenkämpfe, Terroranschläge und religiöser Vandalismus führen in den verschiedenen Provinzen des Landes zu verheerenden Zerstörungen des kulturellen Erbes. Zudem mehren sich die Berichte über Museumsplünderungen und systematisch durchgeführte Raubgrabungen.
Aufgrund der eingeschränkten Zugänglichkeit der verschiedenen Kampfregionen ist es schwierig, das volle Ausmass der kulturellen Katastrophe in Jemen zu erfassen. Die bisher bestätigten Fälle lassen aber das Schlimmste befürchten.
[Es werden zahlreiche Fälle aufgeführt]
Jede Zerstörung kulturellen Erbes ist unwiederbringlich und betrifft die gesamte Menschheit. Jemen verliert bei diesem Krieg Teile seiner eigenen kulturellen Identität, Symbole und Träger eines gemeinsamen kulturellen Gedächtnisses gehen für immer verloren. Gleichzeitig beraubt die Verwüstung archäologischer Fundplätze, die Zerstörung historischer Monumente das Land einer gerade in der Zukunft dringend notwendigen Einnahmequelle: Kulturtourismus zählte trotz allen Rückschlägen zu den wichtigsten Wirtschaftszweigen. Notwendig ist eine Sensibilisierung der Öffentlichkeit über diese auch in Jemen täglich stattfindenden Zerstörungen, blickte man doch bisher fassungslos vor allem in Richtung Irak und Syrien. Sollte sich die Situation in Jemen erst in gleichem Mass verschlechtern müssen, um internationale Aufmerksamkeit zu wecken, dann wird es auch im einstigen «Glücklichen Arabien» für einen nicht unerheblichen Teil des kulturellen Erbes keine Rettung mehr geben – von Iris Gerlach
http://www.nzz.ch/feuilleton/kunst_architektur/zerstoerte-vergangenheit-verlorene-zukunft-1.18609127
Kriegsereignisse
19.9.2015 – Christian Today
Warplanes pound Yemen's capital in latest raid
Aircraft from a Saudi-led coalition attacked Yemen's interior ministry in the capital, Sanaa, late on Friday and launched several other raids on sites in the heart of the city, residents and other sources said.
The air raids by the coalition have intensified in recent weeks as a Gulf Arab ground force and fighters loyal to exiled President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi prepare a campaign to recapture Sanaa, seized by Houthi fighters in September 2014.
Residents said about 10 air strikes were launched on the ministry building in the north of the capital, a police camp close to it and a military building.
Air raids also targeted the Fulaihi area of Old Sanaa early on Saturday morning, destroying several houses.
The Omani foreign affairs ministry said the residence of its ambassador in Sanaa was hit by a strike on Friday and denounced the act.
http://www.christiantoday.com/article/warplanes.pound.yemens.capital.in.latest.raid/65198.htm
19.9.2015 – Press TV Iran
Saudi jets kill 74 in fresh raids on Yemen
Unabated Saudi airstrikes have claimed the lives of at least 74 people, injuring around 130 others across the kingdom’s impoverished southern neighbor, Yemen.
Saudi jets pummeled the Yemeni capital Sana’a over Friday and Saturday, killing 35 people and injuring more than 120 others. Yemen's Saba Net news agency said the number of the victims could rise due to the intensity of the attacks.
The aircraft targeted the Yemeni Interior Ministry building, public services facilities and residential buildings in the city.
Striking the Sirwah district in the Ma’rib province in west-central Yemen, Saudi planes killed four civilians and left a number of people wounded.
The kingdom’s warplanes attacked the Al Bayda province in southern Yemen, slaying a child and wounding two of the victim’s family members.
As many as 21 people were killed and two others wounded after the planes attacked a village in the northwestern Yemeni province of Sa’ada. Saudi attacks also claimed the lives of 13 Yemeni citizens and injured four others elsewhere in the province.
http://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2015/09/19/429819/Yemen-Saudi-Sanaa-Marib-Saada
19.9.2015 – Oman Daily Observer
Video: Oman condemns attack on its envoy’s residence in Yemen
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Oman has strongly condemned the Friday attack on the premises of its Ambassador to Yemen, saying the incident violated international conventions by attacking diplomatic premises. It urged United Nations to end the war immediately as it posed a serious threat to the security of this region. The statement released urged all stakeholders Yemen to end their differences and the return of stability and security to the Yemen at the earliest.
http://omanobserver.om/oman-condemns-attack-on-its-envoys-residence-in-yemen/
Kommentar: Als die Huthis die Botschaft der vereinigten Arabischen Emirate in Sanaa besetzt haben, waren die Proteste in der Arabischen Welt, im Westen und seitens der UNO groß. Das jetzt ist wohl etwas schlimmer. Was wird passieren: WAHRSCHEINLICH GAR NICHTS. Und so dürften wir an diesem Beispiel wieder eine Lehrstunde an Heuchelei und Doppelmoral des Westens samt UNO erleben.
19.9.2015 – Reuters
Saudi-led warplanes pound Yemen's interior ministry in Sanaa
Aircraft from a Saudi-led coalition attacked Yemen's interior ministry in the capital, Sanaa, late on Friday and launched several other raids on sites in the heart of the city, residents and other sources there said.
The air raids by the coalition have intensified in recent weeks as a Gulf Arab ground force and fighters loyal to exiled President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi prepare a campaign to recapture Sanaa, seized by Houthi fighters in September 2014.
Residents said about 10 air strikes were launched on the ministry building in the north of the capital, a police camp close to it and a military building.
The raids also targeted the presidential complex and a party building of former president Ali Abdullah Saleh which had already been destroyed in 2011, they said.
In Saada province, about 30 people were killed in various strikes in various strikes on Friday, a news agency controlled by the Houthis said.
http://uk.reuters.com/article/2015/09/19/uk-yemen-security-idUKKCN0RJ03T20150919
18.9.2015 – EFE
At least 38 civilians killed in airstrikes by Arab coalition in Yemen
At least 38 Yemeni civilians were killed, including women and children, in airstrikes carried out by fighter jets of the Saudi-led Arab coalition in northern Yemen on Friday, Houthi rebels-run Saba news agency reported.
The news agency reported that 21 people were killed, including women and children, when an airstrike targeted a house where two families lived in the province of Saada, the main stronghold of Houthi rebels in northern Yemen.
18.9.2015 – Robin Westen
One million Yemeni fighters prepare to invade Saudi Arabia
A million Yemeni tribal fighters are gathering near the border with Saudi Arabia in preparation to invade the Kingdom, Iran’s Kayhan newspaper has reported.
The newspaper quoted what it described as “informed sources” in Sanaa as saying that “the political forces and the tribes of Yemen announced a general alarm to mobilise one million Yemeni fighters near the border with Saudi Arabia to invade its territory and curb its aggression on Yemen.”
The paper quoted a spokesman for the Yemeni army, Brigadier General Sharaf Ghalib Luqman, as claiming that his army has captured Saudi, Emirati, Bahraini and Qatari fighters in the province of Marib and will present them to the media in the coming days.
http://robinwestenra.blogspot.de/2015/09/war-in-yemen-09182015.html
Kommentar: Auch das kann nur Propaganda sein. Selbst wenn die Huthis 1 Million Kämpfer aufbringen könnten: Womit wollen sie sie bewaffnen, und wie sollen sie innerhalb des Landes transportiert werden?
18.9.2015 – AFP
Push toward Yemen capital 'slow but sure': Arab coalition
A Saudi-led coalition is making slow but steady progress five days into a major offensive towards the rebel-held capital of Yemen, a coalition source said Friday.
Giving a rare update on the fighting in Marib province, east of Sanaa, the source told AFP "things are going slowly but surely."
Taking Marib, in central Yemen, would allow the coalition to move on Sanaa, which the Huthis seized last year.
"The battle will not enter its decisive phase yet," because the coalition seeks to minimise its casualties, the source said.
The bulk of coalition troops are massed about 50 kilometres (31 miles) from Marib city waiting for "zero hour," when they will move on the provincial capital, he said.
In the meantime, the coalition is targeting rebel supply lines to Sanaa and the Huthi stronghold of Saada in the far north.
http://news.yahoo.com/push-toward-yemen-capital-slow-sure-arab-coalition-151741930.html
Kommentar: Sehen Sie sich die neuesten Fotos auf http://poorworld.net/YemenWar.htm an (nichts für Sensible!!), dann wissen Sie, was „targeting rebel supply lines to Sanaa and the Huthi stronghold of Saada“ tatsächlich ist.
18.9.2015 – Zeit Online
Koalition tötet irrtümlich 14 regierungstreue Kämpfer im Jemen
Bei einem Luftangriff der arabischen Koalition auf eine vermeintliche Rebellenstellung im Jemen sind irrtümlich 14 regierungstreue Kämpfer getötet worden. "Die Luftwaffe bombardierte eine Ansammlung von Kämpfern in der Region von Harib im Glauben, es handle sich um Huthi-Rebellen", verlautete am Freitag aus jemenitischen Militärquellen. Bei den Opfern habe es sich aber um örtliche Stammeskrieger gehandelt, die an der Seite der Regierungstruppen des nach Saudi-Arabien geflohenen Präsidenten Abd Rabbo Mansur Hadi gekämpft hätten, sagte ein Stammesführer. Das Militär bestätigte den "Fehler".
18.9.2015 – Al Araby
14 pro-government troops die in Yemen friendly fire incident
At least 14 pro-government troops were killed when a Saudi-led coalition air raid targeted their position "by mistake", tribal and military sources said Friday. "The air force bombed a gathering of fighters in the region of Harib believing them to be Houthi rebels," a military source said. A tribal chief confirmed the overnight strike, saying that those killed appeared to be local tribesmen fighting on the side of the forces supporting exiled President Abd-Rabbo Mansour Hadi. –
18.9.2015 – Press TV Iran
Yemen army enters Saudi military bases in Asir region
The Yemeni army, backed by popular committees, has entered Saudi military bases in the kingdom’s southwestern region of Asir.
The video footage released by Yemen's al-Masirah television network on Friday showed Yemeni forces advancing into Saudi military bases in the region, destroying the vehicles and equipment of the Saudi army.
The Saudi soldiers, who could not resist the Yemeni offensive, fled the area, reports added.
The attack was part of Yemen’s retaliatory measures against Saudi Arabia over Riyadh's unabated military campaign in the impoverished Arab country.
Earlier in the day, Saudi Arabia’s aerial aggression claimed the lives of 18 civilians from two Yemeni families in Sa’ada Province in the northwest of the war-ridden country.
Saudi fighter jets pounded residential areas and a stadium in the Yemeni capital city of Sana’a, killing more than ten people, including several women and children.
The airstrikes also targeted a military base in the east and a broadcaster building in the north of the capital.
Saudi airborne assaults further struck positions in the central Yemeni province of Ibb, killing and injuring several civilians.
The Saudi attacks also left one dead and three others injured in Kamaran island located at the southern end of the Red Sea.
Meanwhile, reports say that the areas surrounding the presidential palace in the southwestern province of Ta’izz are the scene of fierce clashes between the Ansarullah fighters of the Houthi movement and militants loyal to Yemen’s fugitive former president Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi.
The foreign-backed militants have so far failed to take control of the palace despite aerial support provided by Saudi warplanes.
Kommentar: Hier eine iranische Quelle: Yemen Army hier: Armeeeinheiten auf Seiten der Huthis. In prosaudischen Quellen dagegen: Yemen Army: Jemenitische Armeeeinheiten auf Seiten der Saudis und VAE, die gegen Yemen Army (iranischer Definition) kämpfen. Alles klar? Sprache ist Propaganda.
18.9.2015 – The Daily Star from AFP
Shelling from Yemen kills 3 in Saudi border region
Shelling from across the border in Yemen killed three people in Saudi Arabia Friday and wounded 28, the civil defense agency said.
The agency described the deceased as residents of the Saudi border district of Jazan, while Saudi news channel Al-Ekhbaria said they were foreigners.
The civil defense added that four Saudis were among the wounded, without giving the nationalities of the others.
Al-Ekhbaria showed pictures of blast-damaged cars and shrapnel-punctured walls.
The attack brings to at least 64 the number of people killed in Saudi Arabia from border shelling and skirmishes since a Saudi-led coalition began a campaign against Iran-backed Huthi rebels in Yemen six months ago.
Most of the border casualties have been soldiers.
https://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2015/Sep-18/315775-shelling-from-yemen-kills-3-in-saudi-border-region.ashx siehe auch http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/incoming-fire-yemen-kills-people-saudi-arabia-33857479
18.9.2015 – AFP
Yemen rebels claim capture of Saudi troops, show one on TV
Shiite Huthi rebels in Yemen claim to have captured several troops from Saudi Arabia, which is leading a coalition against the insurgents, parading one of the soldiers on television.
The Iran-backed rebels' Al-Masirah television late on Wednesday showed footage of a man dressed in military fatigues who identified himself as Sergeant Ibrahim Hakmi of a Saudi brigade based in the Jazan border area.
The man said he was being held along with several other Saudi soldiers, but did not specify how many. He also did not say how, when or where he was allegedly captured.
AFP could not verify if the man was indeed a Saudi soldier and Riyadh had yet to comment on the claim.
http://news.yahoo.com/yemen-rebels-claim-capture-saudi-troops-show-one-095354516.html
17.9.2015 – AP
Saudi-led coalition pounds Yemen rebels near central city
The Saudi-led coalition targeting Yemen's Shiite rebels pounded the insurgents' positions Thursday with heavy artillery fire on the outskirts of the central city of Marib, part of their push to retake the capital, Sanaa.
The heavy bombardment came hours after the rebels, known as Houthis, aired footage on their satellite television channel purporting to show a Saudi soldier held as a prisoner of war. A top al-Qaida leader in Yemen meanwhile praised the campaign against the Houthis and called for Islamic rule in the Arab world's poorest country.
The dull thud of artillery fire rumbled across Marib but its residents, many carrying Kalashnikov assault rifles, appeared unperturbed by the nearby fighting. Shops downtown were open for business, and residents crowded a market to buy qat leaves, a mild narcotic widely consumed in Yemen – by Adam Schreck
http://news.yahoo.com/saudi-led-coalition-pounds-yemen-rebels-near-city-130239942.html
17.9.2015 – Sudan Tribune
Sudan preparing to send army brigade to Yemen at request of Hadi
The Sudanese 1st Vice President Bakri Hassan Saleh confirmed that his government is poised to send ground troops to support forces loyal to Yemeni President Abd-Rabbuh Mansour Hadi in its battle with Houthi rebels and their ally former President Ali Abdullah Saleh.
n an interview with the London-based Asharq al-Awsat newspaper, Saleh said that Sudan did not think twice about joining the Saudi-led Arab military coalition formed last March to reinstate Hadi and flush out Houthi fighters from cities they overran.
“The reality is that what is happening in Yemen is very unfortunate and has exhausted the Yemeni society and posed a threat to the security of the country of the Two Holy Mosques and therefore Sudan had no choice but to announce its actual participation on the ground to protect the people of Yemen and their resources from the futility of the Houthis and outlaw politicians,” the Sudanese VP said.
Saleh said that the security of Sudan and Saudi Arabia is interconnected and as such protecting it “did not require a lot of thinking so we were the first participants in the sorties and our planes arrived there [in Saudi Arabia] early on”.
“Now there are preparations we are working on now at the level of ground forces to send the equivalent of a full brigade to confront the Houthis in Yemen,” he added.
http://www.sudantribune.com/spip.php?article56424
Kommentar: Fortsetzung des Spieles: Wie kaufe ich mir einen Verbündeten? Ansonsten: Propagandasprüche des sudanesischen Vizepräsidenten. Dass die heiligen Moscheen in Mekka und Medina durch die Huthis in Gefahr seien, scheint die neuste Propagandmasche der Saudis zu sein, die hier gleich mal wiedergekäut wird. In Mekka zerstören nur die Saudis. Einer ihrer unzähligen Baukräne, die das Gelände der Kaaba regelrecht umzingeln, stürzte um (über 100 tote Pilger). Das Haus, das der Überlieferung nach das Haus von Mohammeds erster Frau Chadidscha war, wurde abgerissen und an der Stelle eine Toilette gebaut. usw.
Politik der USA
siehe auch unter "Terrorismus"
17.9.2015 – Sputnik News
Obama, Saudi King Salman Discuss Urgency of Peace Talks in Yemen
US President Barack Obama and Saudi Arabia’s King Salman spoke over the telephone and underscored the need to promptly resume peace talks in Yemen, the White House said in a press release on Thursday.
"Both leaders agreed on the urgency of the full resumption of UN-facilitated Yemeni peace talks without preconditions," the press release read.
During the call, President Obama and King Salman reaffirmed their commitment "to work expeditiously to allow for unfettered access to all forms of humanitarian assistance, including fuel, into Yemen, and the opening of Red Sea ports."
http://sputniknews.com/politics/20150917/1027163925.html
Kommentar: Eine unglaublich dumme Propaganda. Die Saudis machen genau das Gegenteil von dem, was sie hier angeblich tun wollen: Sie blockieren die Friedensgespräche bzw. lassen ihren Hadi blockieren (indem er die de facto Kapitulation der Huthis als Bedingung für seine Teilnahme fordert). Sie behindern den Zugang für humanitäre Hilfe und Treibstoff, und was doch ins Land gekommen ist, versuchen sie zu zerstören (Luftangriffe auf LKWs, Straßen, Märkte, Lebensmittellager etc.). Sie blockieren selber die Häfen. Und die USA lassen alles zu, was sie auch wieder damit zeigen, dass sie derartigen Propaganda-Seich verbreiten.
17.9.2015 – Sputnik News
Saudi Arabia Should Probe Into Civilian Deaths Reports in Yemen
Saudi Arabia should investigate the reports of civilian deaths by the Saudi-led coalition airstrikes in Yemen, and take measures to minimize the threat to civilians, a US State Department official told Sputnik.
"We have asked the Saudi government to investigate all credible reports of civilian casualties resulting from coalition-led airstrikes and, if confirmed, to address the factors that led to them," the official said on Wednesday.
"Civilians deaths in any conflict are tragic. We take all accounts of civilian deaths due to the ongoing hostilities in Yemen very seriously," the official stated. "We urge all sides to exercise restraint, comply with international humanitarian law, and take all feasible measures to minimize harm to civilians."
The official said that a solution to the Yemeni conflict must be a political one, and called on all sides to the conflict to urgently return to the negotiation table.
"We continue to support the United Nations-led political transition and the UN Special Envoy. We urge all parties to de-escalate hostilities and return to the political transition process," the official concluded.
http://sputniknews.com/middleeast/20150917/1027112630.html
Kommentar: Wer der Ereignisse auch nur ein wenig verfolgt hat, erkennt das als eine heuchlerische Propaganda.
17.9.2015 – APA/dpa
USA dringen auf Jemen-Gespräche
Die USA haben sich enttäuscht über die Verzögerung der von der UNO geförderten Friedensgespräche für den Jemen geäußert und neue humanitäre Hilfen für das arme arabische Land zugesagt. Alle Parteien sollten "ohne jede Vorbedingung an diesen Friedensgesprächen teilnehmen", mahnte der Sprecher des Nationalen Sicherheitsrates der USA, Ned Price, am Mittwochabend.
Die Äußerungen können als Seitenhieb auf Jemens Regierung verstanden werden, die einen Rückzug der aufständischen Huthi-Rebellen zur Bedingung von Verhandlungen macht.
http://www.salzburg.com/nachrichten/welt/politik/sn/artikel/usa-dringen-auf-jemen-gespraeche-166106/ = http://www.t-online.de/nachrichten/ausland/id_75464664/konflikte-usa-dringen-auf-jemen-gespraeche-ohne-vorbedingungen-.html
Kommentar: Das sollte man als Kritik an den Saudis und der Hadi-Regierung lesen. Das wäre etwas Neues. Wahrscheinlich handelt es sich aber nur um völlig sinnfreie Sprechblasen, wie sie im Westen immer abgesondert werden, wenn man selber als Guter, als nicht am Konflikt direkt Beteiligter und als möglicher Vermittler dastehen will. Ergo: Propaganda.
17.9.2015 – The American Conservative
The U.S. and Yemen’s Humanitarian Catastrophe
The U.S. is finally offering some new humanitarian assistance for the country it is helping to ruin:
The U.S. will provide $89 million in additional humanitarian aid to war-torn Yemen, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) announced Wednesday.
Obviously, Yemen can use all the assistance it can get, so this is a welcome move, albeit one that is long overdue. The U.S. has previously provided roughly the same amount before, and its total contribution now amounts to approximately $170 million, but this is still far less than what Yemen needs. One of Yemen’s many problems is that pledges of aid have been coming in very slowly and some of the governments that have made pledges (chiefly Saudi Arabia) have been in no hurry to deliver on their promises. Omer Karasapan summed up the problem in a recent review of Yemen’s humanitarian catastrophe:
Here unfortunately, the situation is dire: only 19 percent, $298 million, of the $1.6 billion requested by humanitarian agencies has been funded. There have been contributions of $252 million outside of this humanitarian appeal but the shortfall is still above $1 billion.
The announcement of the U.S. contribution is a reminder that the aid Yemen needs is not being provided to the country, and even if all requests were filled they would not be able to replace the loss of commercial imports caused by the blockade. What makes the relatively small U.S. contribution even less impressive is the fact that the U.S. is daily aiding in the campaign that is battering and starving Yemeni civilians. The administration is applying a small band-aid to a gaping wound that it continues to help inflict on Yemen. The U.S. could do far more to remedy the humanitarian disaster in Yemen if it would press for an end to the blockade and a halt to the Saudi-led coalition’s offensive, but we know that isn’t going to happen – by Daniel Larison
http://www.theamericanconservative.com/larison/the-u-s-and-yemens-humanitarian-catastrophe/
Kommentar: In der Tat. Aber noch viel mehr könnte die USA für den Jemen tun, wenn sie gar nichts täten: Keine Waffen an Saudi-Arabien geben, keine logistische und aufklärerische Hilfe für Saudi-Arabien geben, keine politische Unterstützung in Form einseitiger UN-Resolutionen, ihre Schiffe aus den Gewässern um Arabien abziehen. Einfach verschwinden und die Klappe halten.
16.9.2015 – USAID
U.S. Announces Additional Humanitarian Aid for Yemen
The United States announced today more than $89 million in additional humanitarian aid to help people affected by the ongoing conflict in Yemen. This brings the total U.S. humanitarian assistance for this crisis to nearly $170 million in fiscal year 2015.
U.S. assistance will be delivered by our implementing partners through Yemen's sea and airports and through distribution networks inside the country. To that end, we look forward to all parties allowing unfettered access to Yemen's ports and airports, respecting the neutrality of humanitarian workers, and allowing them to travel safely in all parts of the country and cross battle-lines in order to meet the urgent needs of the Yemeni people. King Salman committed to enabling the reopening of Yemen's Red Sea ports to humanitarian and commercial traffic; this will be one critical element of restoring the vital imports that provide the bulk of the country's food, fuel, and other life-sustaining supplies.
Escalating violence in Yemen, which already faced years of instability and poverty, has left 80 percent of the country's entire population in need of urgent humanitarian aid. This new funding will provide emergency food assistance, safe drinking water, improved sanitation, emergency shelter, life-saving medical care, nutrition services, and protection for vulnerable populations.
The food security situation in Yemen is at a critical crossroads. Nearly 13 million people are facing food shortages, and if current conditions persist, more people will struggle to meet their food needs over the coming months. USAID remains the largest donor of food assistance to Yemen. Today's announcement includes nearly $32 million in food assistance.
The United States stands by the people of Yemen and remains committed to helping the millions of men, women, and children affected by this crisis.
Kommentar: Angesichts der Toten und Verletzten und der Schäden, der der von den USA mitbetriebene und unterstützte Krieg angerichtet hat, nicht mehr als ein Propaganda-Feigenblatt.
9.2015 – Westendverlag
Leseprobe aus dem Buch von James Risen, Krieg um jeden Preis. Gier, Machtmissbrauch und das Milliardengeschäft mit dem Kampf gegen den Terror
Der neue industrielle Heimatschutzkomplex besteht zum großen Teil aus einem Netz von Geheimdienstbehörden
und ihren privatwirtschaftlichen Kooperationsfirmen: Unternehmen, die vor allem geheime Dienste bereitstellen statt große Waffensysteme und Ausrüstung. Diese externen Auftragsnehmer werden angeheuert, um Washington dabei zu helfen, Umfang und Ausmaß terroristischer Bedrohungen zu beurteilen; sie verdienen ein Geld, wenn sie zu dem Schluss kommen, dass die Bedrohung übertrieben wird oder, Gott bewahre, der Krieg gegen den Terror jemals ein Ende findet.
Das Wachstum des industriellen Heimatschutzkomplexes ereignet sich just zu einer Zeit, in der Schlagwörter wie Auslagerung von Dienstleistungen und Privatisierung den Ton angeben, ausgestreut von Unternehmensberatern, die sowohl für die Wirtschaft wie den Staat tätig sind. Heute erfüllen externe Auftragsfirmen in den Vereinigten Staaten Funktionen, die einst als ureigenstes Refugium des Staates angesehen wurden, besonders im Nachrichtendienst- und Verteidigungssektor.
So hat die Schaffung eines Heimatschutzkomplexes in Zeiten endlosenKriegs den Amerikanern eine Realität beschert, die als zentrales Narrativ den Krieg gegen den Terror unterfüttert – moderne Geschichten
von Gier gepaart mit Machtmissbrauch. Es konnte nicht ausbleiben, dass die Findigen und Gewieften nach Washington strömen würden, um in diesem Goldrausch des Kriegs gegen den Terror ordentlich Kasse zu machen. Und das haben sie. In diesem Buch finden sich lediglich einige ihrer Geschichten. Aber diejenigen, die aus Amerikas Terrorobsession Kapital schlagen wollen, sind nicht die Einzigen, die danach streben, die Attentate vom 11. September für sich auszuschlachten.
Amerika hat sich an einen permanenten Kriegszustand gewöhnt. Nur eine kleine Schicht der Gesellschaft – darunter viele arme Jugendliche vom Land, die zur Armee gehen – kämpft und stirbt, während eine fest etablierte nationale Sicherheitselite zwischen hohen Posten in Staatsapparat, Auftragsfirmen, Denkfabriken und Fernsehstudios rotiert, Karrierechancen, mit denen es vorbei wäre, wenn die Vereinigten Staaten plötzlich im Frieden lebten. Für einen Großteil Amerikas ist der Krieg nicht nur erträglich, sondern profitabel geworden, und daher gibt es keinen großen Anreiz mehr, ihn zu beenden.
http://www.westendverlag.de/fileadmin/media/pdfs/Leseproben/Leseprobe_Risen.pdf
15.4.2015 – Michael Lüders in SWF Teleakademie (Vortrag)
Wer den Wind sät… Was westliche Politik im Orient anrichtet
(ungeschnittene Orginalversion) Beginnend mit dem inszenierten Putsch gegen die Regierung von Mossadegh 1953 analysiert Michael Lüders die Folgen westlicher Politik in der arabisch-islamischen Welt.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=syygOaRlwNE
Politik von Großbritannien
17.9.2015 – The Guardian
Yemen and the scandal of UK arms sales to Saudi Arabia
Your leader on Yemen’s forgotten and brutal conflict is very welcome (Editorial, 14 September). You are right to highlight the scandal of “western complacency and silence”, but the reality is much worse. While generously giving aid on the one hand, the UK is fuelling this bitter conflict by selling arms and giving technical support to a Saudi Arabia-led coalition bombing campaign in Yemen in full knowledge of the risk of potential war crimes. Since the conflict escalated in March the UK has issued 37 arms export licences for arms transfers to Saudi Arabia. The government has declined to tell parliament the details of these deals. It justifies the continued fuelling of the crisis on the grounds it has assurances from the Saudi government that its bombing campaign is in accordance with international law.
In December, the government adopted in law the UN’s arms trade treaty, which binds governments to stop arms transfers if there is a risk of breaches of international humanitarian law or human rights law. There is ample and credible evidence that all sides – including the Houthis the Saudis are fighting – have failed to distinguish adequately between combatants and civilians. The UK boasts that it has “one of the most rigorous and transparent export control regimes in the world”. If this really is the case, the government needs to immediately suspend all arms transfers to the conflict and launch an investigation into how these weapons have been used – by Penny Lawrence, Oxfam
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/sep/17/yemen-and-the-scandal-of-uk-arms-sales-to-saudi-arabia
Politik von Deutschland
17.9.2015 – Zeit Online
Scheichs mit Streubomben
Es gibt für Berlin keinen Grund mehr, Saudi-Arabien als Partner zu sehen
Die saudi-arabische Regierung scheint sich an zivilen Opfern ihrer Kampagne nicht zu stören. Die Kampfpiloten des Wüstenkönigreichs sind entweder erbärmlich ausgebildet oder erschütternd ruchlos.
Sicher, auch die Huthi-Rebellen verstoßen gegen humanitäre Regeln. Aber Saudi-Arabien ist mit anderen Maßstäben zu messen, denn es ist ein erklärter "Partner" der Bundesrepublik Deutschland. Das Regime gilt als Stabilitätsanker, als Garant für Sicherheit in der Region. So haben deutsche Regierungen es immer wieder bekräftigt. Deshalb liefert Deutschland Waffen nach Riad, über die Jahre im Wert von vielen Milliarden Euro.
Aber welche Stabilität bitte schützt Saudi-Arabien gerade? Zwar engagiert sich Saudi-Arabien gegen die Dschihadisten des "Islamischen Staates", doch der Krieg gegen die Huthi ist dem Königshaus ungleich wichtiger, weil Saudi-Arabien in seiner Paranoia gegen den schiitischen Rivalen Iran gefangen ist. Anfang April warfen die Saudis übrigens deutsche G3-Sturmgewehre im Jemen ab, um lokale Verbündete zu unterstützen. Ob es Gewehre aus deutscher Produktion oder saudischer Lizenzherstellung sind, ist egal. Saudi-Arabien hat die vereinbarten Regeln gebrochen – das Land ist also nicht einmal verlässlich.
Bis vor ungefähr 15 Jahren hatte die saudische Außenpolitik einen Mehrwert für den Westen. Riad verhinderte eine Ausweitung des Iran-Irak-Krieges, stand mit dem Westen auf der Seite Kuwaits und gegen den Irak, versuchte 2002 den Nahost-Konflikt zu deeskalieren. In Kombination mit einer zuverlässigen Ölpolitik reichte das, um über die Innenpolitik und die Menschenrechtsdefizite hinwegzusehen. Warum das aber heute noch gelten soll, ist unersichtlich. Denn wie der Jemenkrieg ja gerade zeigt: Nicht einmal als berechenbares Gegengewicht zum Iran taugt Riad noch.
Im Gegenteil: Saudi-Arabien ist ein Risikofaktor geworden. Barbarische Kriegsführung sollte ein Ausschlusskriterium für Partnerschaft sein. Wenn es je einen anderen Grund als den Import von Öl und den Export von Waffen gegeben hat, der uns Saudi-Arabien politisch so hat ans Herz wachsen lassen: Jetzt ist die Zeit, die Beziehung zu Riad zu hinterfragen. Und wenn es nie einen anderen Grund gegeben hat: dann erst recht – von Yassin Musharbash
http://www.zeit.de/2015/36/jemen-saudi-arabien-krieg-partner
Kommentar: Ein Kritikpunkt: Weniger die saudischen Kampfpiloten sind ruchlos, als diejenigen, die sie fliegen lassen, also ihre politische und militärische Führung. Und ebenso diejenigen, die für sie die Zielkoordinaten vorgeben. d. h. die USA, und hier auch wieder die politische Führung. Im Gegenteil: Der saudische Kampfpilot, der Selbstmord beging, nachdem er die Kinder, die er bei einem Angriff getötet hatte, im Internet gesehen hatte, steht moralisch um so vieles über einem Barack Obama, der immer noch zusammen mit einem saudischen König in die Kameras grinsen und ihm für eine Milliarde Dollar neue Bomben verkaufen kann.
17.9.2015 – German Foreign Policy
In Flammen (III)
Mit deutschen Waffen starten enge arabische Verbündete der Bundesrepublik eine mörderische Offensive auf die Hauptstadt des Jemen. Saudi-Arabien führt seit knapp einem halben Jahr in dem Land Krieg, um die Huthi-Rebellen aus Sanaa zu vertreiben, die als Parteigänger Irans gelten. Dabei nutzen seine Streitkräfte deutsche Waffen; ihre Verbündeten, die Vereinigten Arabischen Emirate und Qatar, sind ebenfalls von deutschen Rüstungsfirmen ausgestattet worden. Die Luftstreitkräfte der drei Golfdiktaturen haben zudem gemeinsam mit der Bundeswehr den Luftkrieg trainiert und sich dabei Fähigkeiten angeeignet, die sie jetzt bei ihren Attacken auf Sanaa anwenden können. Dies ist auch deshalb von Bedeutung, weil Beobachter ihrer Kriegführung äußerste Brutalität bescheinigen. Mehr als 5.000 Menschen, mindestens die Hälfte davon Zivilisten, sind bislang ums Leben gekommen, zahllose weitere sind auf der Flucht. Die meisten von ihnen können jedoch das Land nicht verlassen - auch weil Technologie aus Deutschland ihnen an der Grenze den Weg versperrt. Wegen einer Blockade durch Saudi-Arabien kommen nicht genügend Hilfstransporte ins Land; mehr als ein Viertel der Bevölkerung leidet inzwischen akut Hunger. Dessen ungeachtet setzt die Bundesrepublik ihre Waffenlieferungen an die saudische Kriegskoalition fort.
Das von Saudi-Arabien geführte Bündnis führt seinen Krieg im Jemen unter anderem mit deutschen Waffen. So werden die Luftangriffe auch mit Maschinen vom Typ Panavia Tornado geflogen, an deren Produktion bundesdeutsche Firmen ebenso beteiligt waren wie an der Herstellung des Eurofighter Typhoon; von diesem wiederum befinden sich 48 Stück im Besitz der saudischen Luftwaffe. "Der Tornado kommt bei den Luftoperationen der saudischen Luftstreitkräfte im Jemen zum Einsatz", bestätigt die Bundesregierung. Laut saudischen Presseberichten wird der Eurofighter ebenfalls für Angriffe im Jemen genutzt.
Nicht bekannt ist bislang, ob auch die Vereinigten Arabischen Emirate und Qatar bei ihrer Kriegführung im Jemen deutsche Waffen nutzen. Die Bundesregierung hat seit dem Jahr 2005 die Lieferung von Rüstungsgütern im Wert von über 2,1 Milliarden Euro an die emiratischen Streitkräfte genehmigt, darunter ein Gefechtsübungszentrum, gepanzerte Fahrzeuge und Munition. Zudem hat sie im Jahr 2013 der Lieferung von 62 Leopard-Kampfpanzern, 24 Panzerhaubitzen 2000 und sechs Bergefahrzeugen an Qatar zugestimmt. Das Geschäft wird auf einen Wert von 1,9 Milliarden Euro beziffert; die Auslieferung soll noch dieses Jahr beginnen - unter Umständen rechtzeitig für den Jemen-Krieg.
Zusätzlich zu den Rüstungsexporten unterhält die Bundeswehr eine militärische Kooperation mit den Streitkräften der saudisch geführten sunnitischen Koalition. Im Rahmen ihrer "Strategischen Partnerschaft" mit den Vereinigten Arabischen Emiraten hat die Bundesregierung 2005 eine "Vereinbarung über die Zusammenarbeit im militärischen Bereich" unterzeichnet, die sich unter anderem auf gemeinsame Ausbildungsmaßnahmen erstreckt. So trainierte die deutsche Luftwaffe im April 2009 gemeinsam mit den Luftstreitkräften der Emirate und Saudi-Arabiens
Dass bislang kaum Flüchtlinge aus dem Jemen nach Europa kommen und ihre katastrophale Lage deshalb hierzulande ignoriert werden kann, hat seine Ursachen in der Geographie und in deutscher Technologie
Der Flucht auf dem Landweg nach Saudi-Arabien steht hingegen die Hochrüstung der Grenze im Wege. Die deutsch-französische EADS - heute "Airbus Military and Space" - hat 2009 den Auftrag zur Abschottung der saudischen Grenze erhalten. Wie die aus Saudi-Arabien finanzierte Zeitung Al Sharq al Awsat im Januar berichtete, war der Bau eines "Grenzzauns" zum Jemen damals bereits abgeschlossen; die Ergänzung der Anlage um modernste Kontrolltechnologie war in Vorbereitung. Für EADS/"Airbus Military and Space" handelt es sich um ein Milliardengeschäft.
http://www.german-foreign-policy.com/de/fulltext/59202
16.9.2015 – Jung und Naiv
Bundesregierung für Desinteressierte: BPK vom 16. September 2015. Fragen an die Sprecherin des Auswärtigen Amtes, Sawsan Chebli.
FRAGE JUNG: An das Auswärtige Amt zum Krieg im Jemen. Da werden jetzt immer mehr Kriegsverbrechen der saudischen Seite offenbar. Mich würde einmal von Ihrer Seite interessieren, welche Kriegsverbrechen die Bundesregierung auf Seiten Ihres Alliierten Saudi-Arabiens im Jemen bisher festgestellt hat.
CHEBLI: Das sind jetzt Ihre Worte, nicht meine. Aber in der Tat ist die Lage im Jemen tragisch. Sie ist dramatisch. Wir verfolgen die militärische Eskalation mit Sorge. Wir bedauern, dass es nicht gelungen ist, dass sich die Konfliktparteien auf einen Ausweg zur Krise verständigen. Da gab es erste Schritte und dann wieder Rückschritte.
Jetzt sind wir wieder in einer Situation, in der wir weiter von einer Lösung der Jemen-Krise entfernt sind. Unsere Haltung ist ganz klar das wissen Sie; das haben Herr Schäfer und ich hier mehrfach klargestellt:
Im Jemen gibt es keine militärische Lösung. Im Jemen müssen sich die Konfliktparteien auf einen Ausweg verständigen, um die Not der Menschen nicht noch weiter zu verschärfen. Ich habe hier auch mehrfach gesagt, dass wir dazu mit der saudischen Regierung, mit unseren saudischen Partnern, in engem Kontakt stehen und unsere Sorge über die militärische Eskalation zum Ausdruck bringen. Es ist auch aus unserer Sicht so auch das sagen wir in offenen Worten , dass mit jedem Tag, an dem es nicht gelingt, einen Ausweg aus dieser Krise zu schaffen, noch mehr Menschen leiden. Die Lage im Jemen ist nicht erst seit der Eskalation für viele Menschen schlecht, sondern sie hat sich durch die Eskalation noch einmal dramatisch verschlechtert. Deswegen muss ein Weg gefunden werden, der vor allem auch von der arabischen Koalition geführt wird, gemeinsam mit den Konfliktparteien, die vor Ort sind, einen Weg zu finden, um den Jemen-Konflikt zu lösen.
ZUSATZFRAGE JUNG: Frau Chebli, ich hatte nicht nach der Haltung gefragt, sondern nach Kriegsverbrechen der saudischen Seite. Habe ich Sie da richtig verstanden, dass die Bundesregierung bisher keine Erkenntnisse hat, dass es da Kriegsverbrechen der Saudis gibt?
CHEBLI: Das sind Ihre Worte. Ich habe das, was ich zu Jemen zu sagen habe, gerade zum Ausdruck gebracht.
Kommentar: Man sollte ihr einen Satz Eierbecher schenken, so sehr eiert die gute Frau herum, um nur nichts zu Kriegsverbrechen und Saudi-Arabien sagen zu müssen, ja um das Un-Wort „Kriegsverbrechen“ (Pfui aber auch) wenigstens im Zusammenhang mit Saudi-Arabien nicht einmal in den Mund nehmen zu müssen. Also: Frage nicht beantwortet. Stattdessen der übliche „westliche“ Seich von alle müssen miteinander reden etc., dann steht man selbst gut das als abgeklärt über dem Konflikt, wobei man selbst aber heftig beteiligt ist, durch Waffenlieferungen und politische Unterstützung für eben jene Saudis bzw. die ebenfalls beteiligten Amerikaner. Da sich Washington (noch) nicht in Richtung saudische Kriegsverbrechen geäußert hat, darf das eine Frau Chebli natürlich auch nicht.
Terrorismus
19.9.2015 – Strategic Culture
West’s Proxy Jihadist Terror Network Uncovered in Yemen
Significantly, Yemeni sources report that alongside the fallen troops from the Gulf states are allied mercenaries belonging to Al Qaeda-linked Islamist militia. The mercenaries are believed to have been infiltrated into Yemen after receiving receiving training in set up in Saudi Arabia.
Given that the United States and Britain are openly supplying the Saudi-led Gulf coalition with fighter jets, bombs and logistics, the array of forces makes for a stark conclusion: the Western states are working in Yemen in direct alliance with jihadist mercenaries. Why this alarming reality is not more readily recognised is simply because Western news media are obfuscating the situation in Yemen.
Yemen can therefore be seen as illustrating the fullest expression yet of the covert relation between Washington and its Western allies and the proxy role of Islamist terror groups.
In the cases of Libya and Syria, the Western nexus with the jihadists is vicarious and diffuse, allowing for a degree of official denial of any such collusion.
However, what is emerging in Yemen is that the Western states and their Arab client regimes are openly being seen as on the side of the Al Qaeda-linked terror network.
The Western media have barely reported on the escalating violence in Yemen and the involvement of their governments alongside Saudi and other Arab forces in an increasingly bloody war of dubious legality against a sovereign country. The Western-backed coalition does not have a UN Security Council mandate for its actions, which therefore constitute foreign aggression.
Virtually blacked out, too, from the Western media coverage is the fact that serving alongside the Western, Saudi-led forces are jihadist mercenaries. This aspect has, however, been reliably reported by Saba news agency, Al Manar and Press TV, among others.
Occasional Western media reports claim that Islamist extremists are gaining ground in Yemen amid the chaos of Western-backed Arab coalition forces fighting against Houthi rebels. A New York Times report in April headlined: ‘War In Yemen Is Allowing Qaeda Group To Expand’. While the Reuters news agency reportedat the end of June that: ‘In Yemen chaos, Islamic State grows to rival al Qaeda’.
However, rather than this development being a mere accidental consequence, Yemeni sources claim a very different scenario. They say that the Islamist groups are being activated and supplied by the Western-backed Saudi coalition to help prosecute the counterinsurgency war against the rebels. The rebel Popular Committees are calling for a pluralist democratic government in Yemen, which would mark a dramatic change from decades of Western and Saudi-backed dictatorships in the country.
Western media reports have obliquely acknowledged at least a tacit relationship between the Western-backed coalition and the jihadist mercenaries. Both the Washington Post and the New York Times have noted how during the past six months the Western-assisted bombing coalition has not once targeted Al Qaeda in the Arab Peninsula (AQAP) or the Islamic State (IS) group.
Such collaboration fits with a bigger pattern seen elsewhere in Yemen, where Western-backed air forces are reported by Yemeni sources to have dropped off munitions and other supplies to Al Qaeda groups.
That Washington should go a step further in Yemen and actually be in direct military alliance with al Qaeda-linked jihadists should be of no surprise. Especially in light of the revelation by former US Defence Intelligence Agency director Lieutenant General Michael Flynn. In an interview with Al Jazeera news channel on July 29, Flynn said that Washington took the “wilful decision” to promote Islamist jihadists as a way of prosecuting regime change in Syria as far back as 2012. In other words, what later evolved into the IS terror group is a creation of Washington for its illicit geopolitical scheming in the Middle East.
The murky history of American collusion with Islamist terror groups is well documented, going back to the instigation of the international Mujahideen brigades in Afghanistan as proxies against the Soviet Union during the late 1970s.
What we are witnessing in Yemen with the invasion of troops from Western client Arab regimes is the full-blown relationship between the Western powers and the Islamist proxies being made manifest. The Islamic State appears to be the proxy of choice for the West and its clients over the former cats paw incarnation, Al Qaeda. Yemen is bringing the clandestine contradictions to a new and terrible light – by Finian Cunningham
16.9.2015 – Al Araby
Al-Qaeda's opportunities in Yemen
US drone strikes combined with Saudi bombing raids provides a fertile mix for recruitment to the local al-Qaeda franchise
One of the most dangerous outcomes of the war has been the deepened sectarian tension in Yemen. In March, the International Crisis Group noted that the "previously absent Shite-Sunni narrative is creeping into how Yemenis describe their fight".
The earlier war in Yemen between the Houthis and the government pitted the former against a president who was himself - like the Houthis - a Zaydi Shia.
Sectarianism did not define that war. The new battlefield has become - in an alarmingly short time - rapidly sectarian. Saudi claims that the Houthis are an Iranian proxy seek to make this conflict part of a wider geo-political tussle.
In no time at all, the complex political problems of Yemen that have plagued the country since unification in 1990 have been reduced to the inexplicable language of sectarianism. So much more has been at stake, but now so little is considered on the table. Sectarianism is precisely the language of al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group.
AQAP has taken advantage of Operation Decisive Storm to send its hardened fighters to fight the Houthis and Saleh alongside the Hirak movement and pro-Hadi forces - supplied and trained by the Saudis and the UAE. The general mood in Aden is that there is only one front in the battle - against the Houthis.
To attack both the Houthis and AQAP would be disorienting.
This has allowed AQAP to make great gains among the population. In August, Ansar al-Sharia's Jalal Baleidi called upon all Yemeni Sunnis to fight the Houthis - bringing the geo-political sectarianism right into Yemen's political war.
The current conflict in Yemen - with no outcome in sight - will possibly draw ordinary Yemeni Sunnis to consider AQAP a positive influence on the country.
This is the danger of sectarian wars that have no endgame. They will not end with a utopian outcome. They can only end where life becomes evil by Vijay Prashad
http://www.alaraby.co.uk/english/comment/2015/9/16/al-qaedas-opportunities-in-yemen
Drohnenkrieg
14.9.2015 – The Conservation
What Drone-Strike Data from Yemen and Pakistan Says about the ISIS Fight
I offer an additional, simpler critique, based on 14 years of experience analyzing and working with programs designed to reduce conflict, insurgency and violent extremism worldwide: there’s no evidence that drone strikes work.
On the contrary, ample evidence shows drone strikes have not made Americans safer or reduced the overall level of terrorist capability. The strikes amount to little more than a waste of life, political capital and resources.
There are two countries with a sustained history of lethal U.S.drone strikes to draw on for data: Yemen and Pakistan.
In Yemen, not only did overall numbers of attacks increase each year, but the number of attacks by the al-Qaeda affiliates the U.S. primarily targets kept increasing as well.
The impossibility of winning a war through airstrikes alone is taken as fact within the military.
Civilian casualties of US drone strikes have decreased over time, largely by making a shift and carrying out strikes only away from populated centers. The nature of al-Qaeda targets allowed us to do that, but ISIL’s command and control is located in urban areas, where the idea of “surgical strikes” is pure fiction. Although the targeting systems on our missiles are extremely precise, the blast radius (between 15-20 meters for Hellfire missiles) is not.
Nowhere could I find a way of crunching the numbers so the drone strikes worked. The program thus far has resulted in a great deal of blood and money spent with nothing to show for it. Lacking the political strategy, more of the same in Syria promises no better – by David Alpher
https://theconversation.com/data-show-drone-attacks-doomed-to-fail-against-isis-in-syria-47014 = http://www.defenseone.com/ideas/2015/09/what-yemen-and-pakistan-say-about-drones-vs-isis/120878/
Seeblockade
17.9.2015 – Indian Express
70 Gujarat sailors make way out of Yemen port
After fending off bombardment for around two weeks, 70 Indian sailors sneaked out of Khokha port in Yemen on board their five vessels on Wednesday, industry associations in Gujarat claimed.
However, 14 other Gujarati crew remained stranded in the country, with their vessels destroyed in the bombing of September 8. “There was no bombing on the port over the last two days. This morning, sailors found the weather fair and departed from Khokha,” Adam Thain, president of Kutch Vahanvata Owners Association (KVOA), said.
Of the five country vessels stranded at the Yemeni port for over two weeks, two are from Mandavi in Kutch, one from Salaya in Devbhoomi Dwarka.
However, the fate of 14 other Gujarati sailors continued to remain uncertain. While the Ministry of External Affairs is trying to evacuate them, the seamen said they were living under threat. “Officers of Indian embassy in Djibouti have established contact with us. But we have not been informed about the possible evacuation plan,” Ravi Duttani, one of the crew, said. These sailors have been put up in Al Hudaydah in Yemen, about 80 km from Khokha port, by their shipping agents. Four of them are in hospital.
http://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-others/70-gujarat-sailors-make-way-out-of-yemen-port/
Flüchtlinge
18.9.2015 – Infowars
IS YEMEN EUROPE’S NEXT MIGRATION CRISIS?
Suddenly everyone knows about Syria as hundreds of thousands of refugees flee across Europe. But further south, another Middle Eastern country is also imploding, arguably at an even faster rate. Will refugees from Yemen now also start to flee to Europe? The ticket office in Sana’a is crowded with people, bustling to get to the front of the queue. These are Yemen’s upper- and middle-classes, jostling for a spot on the next plane out of the country.
There is only one commercial route open: a once-daily flight to the Jordanian capital Amman. If you book today, the earliest you’ll be able to leave will be in six weeks.
The UN’s refugee agency, UNHCR, says more than 100,000 people have fled Yemen since a Saudi Arabian-led coalition began bombing the country in March to drive pro-Iranian Houthi rebels from power.
Of these, only around 40,000 are Yemenis. The rest are foreign nationals, mostly from the Horn of Africa, who have returned home.
At the ticket office, few people wanted to stay in Jordan once they got there. The United States, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Malaysia were among a jumble of countries mentioned as desirable destinations.
Will Yemenis, then, become the next wave of migrants heading for Europe’s shores? The short answer is probably not yet. There are a number of reasons why.
The first is visas. Getting a European visa is nigh-on impossible for Yemenis. And, unlike Syrians, they don’t get automatic visas to Turkey – from where the majority of refugees and migrants travelling to Europe leave. So, for them just to get to the beginning of the illegal smuggling route is extremely difficult.
Yemen is also a lot poorer than Syria and the costs of flights are out of reach for most people. “To a large extent, Yemenis are trapped – few have the resources to leave and, just owing to sheer geography, the trip to Europe is far more difficult than it would be for, say, a Syrian or a Libyan,” said Adam Baron, a visiting fellow and Yemen expert at the European Council on Foreign Relations. “That being said, a number of Yemenis I know are at least pondering making the journey on a theoretical level.”
Others are leaving overland, particularly through the northern border to Saudi Arabia, but they are unlikely to try to get to Europe from there, as that would mean going through Syria.
Abiy Worku, from the Norwegian Refugee Council, said he was worried about the level of desperation. “The reason why people are not moving is because they can’t. If there were safe routes, they definitely would,” he said, adding that once a few more Yemenis made it to Europe the floodgates might open.
“Up to now, we don’t have a group of people who have made it to Europe. Once people hear these stories – a group of people who have made it – that will be encouragement for others.
“It can happen any day. If this news arrives back home people will start taking that route.” – by ALMIGDAD MOJALLI AND JOE DYKE
http://www.infowars.com/is-yemen-europes-next-migration-crisis/
17.9.2015 – International Organisation for Migration
Yemen Crisis Regional Response
Langer Bericht über die Lage im Land, die eigene Arbeit, die Flüchtlinge, die den Jemen Richrung Afrika verlassen haben. Auszug:
Since the beginning of the crisis, 25,219 persons have arrived in Djibouti from Yemen including 1,865 Djiboutian nationals, 12,172 Yemenis, and 11,182 migrants. Out of these, 3,811 migrants from 29 countries have benefitted from IOM’s assistance. In the past week, 370 individuals (4 Djiboutians, 288 Yemenis, and 78 migrants) fleeing the conflict in Yemen arrived in Djibouti.
6.9.2015 – Ein Parteibuch
KRIEGE VERURSACHEN FLÜCHTLINGSSTRÖME
Und außerdem läuft die Herstellung der Grundlagen für weitere große Ströme an Kriegsflüchtlingen durch die aggressive Politik der westlichen Wertegemeinschaft von NATO und GCC weiter auf vollen Touren. Im Jemen etwa legen die GCC-Staaten unterstützt von den USA gegenwärtig mit einer intensiven Bombenkampagne die Grundlage für einen Millionen hoffnungslose und arme Menschen umfassenden Flüchtlingsstrom, in der Ukraine ermuntern EU und USA eine rechtsradikale Regierung weiter zu Provokationen, während die wirtschaftliche Lage immer schlimmer wird, und der NATO-Staat Türkei hat gerade offenbar einen neuen umfassenden Krieg gegen den kurdischen Bevölkerungsteil des eigenen Landes eröffnet, woraus sich auch ein millionenstarkes Potential für neue Flüchtlingsströme ergibt.
Wer die Ströme an Kriegsflüchtlingen nicht will, muss den Kriegstreibern, insbesondere den heimischen, in die Hand fallen und die Beendigung der hyperaggressiven Politik der sogenannten westlichen Wertegemeinschaft verlangen. Von Kriegen Abstand zu nehmen ist zwar ohnehin ein Gebot der Mitmenschlichkeit und die Kardinalpflicht des Völkerrechtes, aber mit den Flüchtlingsströmen gibt es nun ein Argument mehr dafür, das auch manche erreicht, die man mit Argumenten von Völkerrecht und Mitmenschlichkeit nicht ereichen kann.
Frühere Linküberblicke 1 bis 21:
http://poorworld.net/YemenWar.htm oder
https://www.freitag.de/autoren/dklose
Bilder von einigen der letzten saudischen Luftangriffen (nichts für Sensible!!)
http://poorworld.net/Yemen/YemenImages254.htm
http://poorworld.net/Yemen/YemenImages255.htm
http://poorworld.net/Yemen/YemenImages256.htm
http://poorworld.net/Yemen/YemenImages259.htm
http://poorworld.net/Yemen/YemenImages260.htm
http://poorworld.net/Yemen/YemenImages261.htm
http://poorworld.net/Yemen/YemenImages263.htm
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