Allgemein
28.9.2015 – NZZ
Konflikt in Jemen: Der geduldete Krieg
Es soll Menschen geben, die sich bereits gewöhnt haben an die sechsstelligen Opferzahlen und siebenstelligen Flüchtlingszahlen aus dem Syrien-Krieg. Entsprechend unbeeindruckt dürften sie von den Zahlen sein, die uns bisher aus Jemen erreicht haben: «Nur» 5000 Personen sollen dort ums Leben gekommen sein, seit Saudiarabien und seine Verbündeten am 26. März damit begannen, das Land mit Bomben zu übersäen, «nur» 25 000 Verwundete soll es geben, unter ihnen Tausende von Kindern. Gestützt werden diese Angaben, auf die sich auch die Vereinten Nationen berufen, von jemenitischen Behörden, die indes kaum noch effektiv arbeiten können. Die Zahl der Toten und Verwundeten dürfte also in Wirklichkeit weitaus höher liegen. Doch was sagen die Zahlen über das tatsächliche Elend des Jemen-Krieges aus?
Das Chaos in Jemen hat längst überregionale Auswirkungen, der Staatszerfall bedroht auch andere arabische Staaten und den Westen. So hat der Arm al-Kaidas auf der Arabischen Halbinsel den Südosten Jemens als sicheren Rückzugsort erkannt, und auch der Islamische Staat (IS) scheint sich auszubreiten. Die Saudi aber begreifen nicht die islamistischen Extremisten, sondern die Huthi-Rebellen als ihren wichtigsten Feind. Zerstört haben sie mit ihren Luftangriffen gegen die Huthi jene Infrastruktur, die auch zur Bekämpfung der Kaida eingesetzt wurde.
Für die Demokratiebewegung etwa, die 2011 auf die Strasse gegangen war, stellte Hadi nur ein Symbol der Korruption und der Kontinuität der alten Eliten dar. Gegen Hadi eingestellt waren aber auch die Loyalisten des abgesetzten Präsidenten Ali Abdallah Saleh, und so verbündeten sie sich mit den Huthi, obwohl Saleh die Rebellen selbst jahrelang bekämpft hatte.
In einer von Wikileaks 2010 veröffentlichten Depesche bezweifelten die Amerikaner nicht nur, dass die Iraner in Jemen aufrüsteten, sondern sogar, dass ein Stellvertreterkrieg in dem Land stattfinde. Während politische Kontakte und Sympathien der Huthi-Führung für Khomeinys Ideen gut dokumentiert sind, lassen sich für Riads These, die Rebellen seien Teherans Agenten, keine Belege finden. Klar ist hingegen, dass die Geschichte der Entstehung der Huthi eine sehr jemenitische ist – und ihr jüngster militärischer Patron kein externer, sondern ein interner ist: Ex-Präsident Saleh.
Religiös-politische Allianzen zur iranischen Schia aber bestanden nie, im Gegenteil: Bis in die 1970er Jahre wurden Nordjemens zaiditische Monarchisten ausgerechnet vom sunnitischen Saudiarabien unterstützt. Und gerade in Jemen, wo die Gläubigen beider Konfessionen in denselben Moscheen beten, sind die Trennlinien zwischen Sunniten und Schiiten so unscharf wie nirgends sonst. Als konfessionellen Konflikt inszeniert haben erst die Kaida- und IS-Extremisten die Gewalt im Land. Ihre Terroranschläge auf «ketzerische» Schiiten sind darauf angelegt, die beiden Gruppen gegeneinander aufzuhetzen – was auch dazu geführt hat, dass viele westliche Medien fälschlicherweise annehmen, in Jemen finde bloss ein weiterer Religionskrieg statt. Die saudische Kriegspropaganda befördert diese Sichtweise aus eigenem Interesse ebenso – von Daniel Steinvorth
http://www.nzz.ch/meinung/der-geduldete-krieg-1.18619941
28.9.2015 – Global Research
Time for UN to Shift Mission in Yemen. Long history of Saudi Military Intervention
Peace in Yemen will continue to be elusive unless the United Nations shifts its mission from sponsoring an inter-Yemeni dialogue to mediating ceasefire negotiations between the actual warring parties, namely Saudi Arabia& allies and the de facto representatives of Yemenis who are fighting to defend their country’s territorial integrity and independent free will, i.e. the Huthi – Saleh & allies.
the United Nations is unlikely to reconsider its stand on Yemen, but it must do, at least to provide a face – saving exit strategy for Saudi Arabia if not to stop a snowballing severe humanitarian crisis in the country.
The United Nations Mauritanian special envoy to Yemen Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed will sooner than later face the fate of his predecessor Jamal Benomar, who resigned his mission last March acknowledging its failure.
The Saudi insistence on dictating a fait accompli onYemenis undermining the UN efforts to bring about a political solution, which was made impossible by the Saudi – led war onYemen.
The UN sponsored Yemeni – Yemeni talks in the capital of the Sultanate of Oman,Muscat, and elsewhere will continue to be deadlocked. They are a non-starter. The Saudis have held their Yemeni allies captives of their dependence on Saudi financial, political and military support without which they could not survive internally.
The UN and Arab League recognition of them as the legitimate representatives ofYemenwas counterproductive. They are viewed by most Yemenis more as Saudi puppets than legitimate delegates of their people.
The Huthis are portrayed by the Saudi – led propaganda as a sectarian fanatic and violent intruders into the Yemeni society or as agents ofIranwho are waging a proxy war inYemen, but the Huthis are not aliens. Their ancestors ruledYemenfor some one thousand years. They represent more than one third of the country’s population. Their role could have been strengthened by Iranian support and weakened by their religious speech, but nonetheless they are uncontroversial native integral component ofYemen’s national history and society.
Similarly, their ally in fighting off the Saudi – led war on Yemen, ex – president Ali Abdullah Saleh, is part and parcel of Yemeni political infrastructure.
The “external” Iranian interference in Yemen and Iran’s sectarian support for “Shiite” Yemenis, in addition to a self – proclaimed role in defence of a controversial legitimacy of a Yemeni president, are the main raison d’être cited by Riyadh as the casus belli of the Saudi ongoing six – month old war on Yemen.
However history and realpolitik facts refute such Saudi claims and render them as merely thinly – veiled justification for installing a puppet regime in Sanaa by the brutal and inhumane force of an external invasion.
Long before there was an “Iranthreat” or a “Shiite threat,” the Saudi ruling family never hesitated to interfere inYemenmilitarily or otherwise whenever Yemenis showed signs of breaking away from Saudi hegemony towards a free will to determine their lives independently.
In the 1930s [long history of Saudi interventions in Yemen]
Launching the Saudi war on Yemen last March had regionalised a Yemeni internal conflict, undercut short a Yemeni successful national dialogue sponsored by the United Nations, undermined the territorial unity of the country, which was then compromised only by the al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) that was isolated in the far south eastern part of Yemen, destroyed the infrastructure of the Yemeni state, created a snowballing severe humanitarian crisis and rendered the possibility of a Yemeni – Yemeni political solution a mission made impossible by both the mutual bloodshed and the Saudi insistence on shaping by brutal force the future ruling regime in Yemen on Saudi terms.
The so – called “liberation” of Aden by Saudi and UAE military intervention could serve only as a recipe for a perpetuated civil war and regional capital of a dividedYemen. Hadi is unlikely to deliver in Aden what he failed to achieve when he was in Sana’a.
The presence now of reportedly between 5 – 10 thousand ground GCC troops in Yemen is proof that the aerial onslaught had failed and that the so-called pro-government forces are merely a Yemeni make – believe address for the thinly – veiled Saudi – led external invasion.
The introduction of GCC ground troops intoYemenis more a show of the failure of the so – called Yemeni pro – legitimacy and pro – Saudi forces than a display of GCC military prowess.
It is high time that the UN moves to facilitate an exit strategy for Saudi Arabia from Yemen – by Nicola Nasser
28.9.2015 – Counterpunch
Turning a Blind Eye to War Crimes in Yemen: a Letter From Robert Burrows, Louise Cainkar, Steve Caton et al.
We renew our call made five months ago for the governments of the US and UK to cease turning a blind eye to war crimes and to the destruction of Yemen by aerial bombardment and blockade of food and fuel. Behind a virtual silence in the western media, the US and the UK have inexplicably acquiesced in the ruination of Yemen. We renew our call for a sharp change in policy: to work for an immediate ceasefire, to respect Yemeni sovereignty, and to foster political negotiations between the Yemeni parties in the neutral state of Oman, or elsewhere. We reject our countries’ unconscionable support for this war and urge a diplomatic solution.
28.9.2015 –i24 news
Hiding in sewers and other aspects of daily life in Yemen
Kids are the main victims. The ‘safe zones’ built cannot protect them from the horrors, residents tell i24news
All-Omeisy told i24news that the residents of the capital, which the coalition says it wants to liberate from the Huthis, are themselves mainly Huthis. “So when the Saudis say they want to liberate Sanaa from the Huthis, they want to eliminate Sanaa from itself.”
The Huthis, he says, came into Sanaa “on a wave of discontent,” and when they took control of the capital, the residents said “let’s see what they can do for us.” But, he adds, the hope that the Huthis would improve the quality of life quickly dissipated. “It’s only gotten worse. There’s no electricity, no gas, barely any fuel to pump our water and we are quickly running out of food.”
The people of Sanaa are also “choking” on the blockade imposed on Yemen by Saudi Arabia, al-Omeisy says. The hospitals in the capital are out of life-saving medication and have no fuel to run their backup generators. The foreigners who used to work as doctors and nurses have fled.
In Aden, says Alozebi, the Huthis tried to shut down hospitals when they took control of the town, including the AlJomhoria Hospital in the Khormaksar neighborhood where her friend Salwa was working as a volunteer nurse. “On the day the Huthi militia took control of Khormaksar, they entered the hospital kicking everyone out and went looking for wounded local fighters to kill,” she said.
Salwa is one of many Adeni women who have volunteered to cover the lack of healthcare workers in the city. “They stay for days, living in the hospitals, leaving their families and loved ones at home, so they can be there to help the wounded,” she said.
The women are not only helping in the hospitals, they are also cooking meals for those fighting, as well as helping to clean up the city.
The children are the main victims of the war. The war has closed all schools in the country.
Those above the age of 15 are fighting, the rest stay at home with their mothers, al-Omeisy said.
They have seen homes, orphanages, stadiums, hospitals and other civilian infrastructure targeted by both sides.
Mark Kaye, the Interim Advocacy and Communications Director and Emergency Response Personnel for Save the Children in Yemen, echoed al-Omeisy’s accusations. “Save the Children is seeing the indiscriminate nature of the war. Civilian infrastructure is being destroyed by both sides, with schools, hospitals and even water treatment plants being targeted,” he told i24news.
At least 10 million children rely on foreign humanitarian assistance to survive. Malnutrition rates have gone up 150%, and as much as 300% in some places, he said.
“Children aren’t eating enough and are therefore getting sick. But there are no health clinic to help them, 25% of all doctors before the crisis were foreign, and now they have all left,” he said.
The psychological impact the fighting has had on the children is immense. “Children have spent the last five months witnessing bombings, seeing their homes destroyed and losing their friends and family. We are seeing children become more introverted, more nervous, they look up towards the sky in silence whenever they hear a sound like a plane.” Teenagers have begun wetting their beds. Some wake in the middle of the night screaming from nightmares – by Anna Ahronheim
28.9.2015 – The American Conservative
Yemen and the Silence of “Humanitarian” Interventionists
Samantha Power was interviewed yesterday on ABC’s This Week program. Besides giving a laughable answer that Saudi Arabia’s new position as chair of the U.N. Human Rights Council is “not going to have bearing on human rights one way or the other,” Power’s interview was notable for what it didn’t include. While Raddatz asked her about Syria and U.S. dealings with Russia, her questioning about U.S. policy in the region never once touched on Yemen. Since the intervention in Yemen just passed the six-month mark, the lack of any mention of it was hard to miss. It is all the more remarkable when Raddatz made a point of pressing Power on Saudi Arabia’s human rights record, which is directly related to its ongoing campaign in Yemen and to the crimes it has committed against civilians over the last six months. The omission of Yemen from the conversation is even more glaring when one remembers that Power made a name for herself in the last two decades as a vocal critic of U.S. responses to mass killings and genocide and has been a vocal advocate for “humanitarian” intervention.
I point this out for a few reasons. The U.S. role in the war on Yemen is simply a non-issue in Washington. U.S. officials are almost never asked about it, and they certainly don’t volunteer their views about it unless they are asked. The negligible coverage that the war receives in the U.S. media reflects how little concern about it there is here. The administration is helping to carry out an outrageous, unnecessary, and cruel policy that is contrary to American interests without any significant scrutiny or criticism, which makes it that much easier for it to continue backing the Saudis and their allies as they wreck Yemen. The Obama administration’s role in Yemen makes a mockery of its past rhetoric about the “responsibility to protect,” and it utterly discredits the “humanitarian” interventionists both in and out of government that have been as silent as the grave as millions of Yemeni civilians have been made to starve. Nothing could better demonstrate that “humanitarian” interventionists want the government to “do something” about abuses and war crimes only when these are committed by hostile and pariah regimes. When U.S. clients are responsible for indiscriminate attacks on civilians and the starving of an entire country, they have nothing to say about any of it. That’s worth remembering for the next time that they insist that the U.S. has to “act” in response to some foreign crisis – by Daniel Larison
28.9.2015 – Mother Jones
The Human Cost of Saudi Arabia's Air War in Yemen, in Photos
Saudi Arabia, backed by the United States, the United Kingdom, and a coalition of Arab nations, has been bombing Yemen for several months in support of the Yemeni government. The Saudi-led coalition has been fighting since March, when Houthi rebels from northern Yemen ousted President Abd Rabu Mansour Hadi. While Saudi Arabia claims that it is targeting Houthi fighters and military installations, human rights groups and the United Nations have found the coalition's air campaign has mostly affected civilians. Since March, more than 2,000 civilians have died and another 4,000 have been injured, most of them killed in the air campaign, according to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. A new UN report states that 86 percent of casualties in the ongoing violence have been civilians.
The Saudi coalition has repeatedly targeted schools, hospitals, and religious buildings. Civilian infrastructure, including a camp for displaced people, water supplies, and power stations, have been destroyed. Civilian hospitals—overloaded with patients injured by airstrikes yet painfully under-supplied because of coalition blockades—are nearing collapse. In late June, the UN envoy to Yemen said the country was "one step away from famine." And in August, the UN's World Food Programme said the blockades were contributing to pushing 6 million of the country's inhabitants to the brink of starvation. Peter Maurer, the head of the International Committee of the Red Cross observed, "Yemen after five months looks like Syria after five years." Photos by Adam Bailes; text by Bryan Schatz
http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2015/09/yemen-saudi-arabia-bombing-war-civilians dazu älterer Artikel ebenda http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2015/07/saudi-arabia-yemen-civilian-casualties
26.9.2015 – Zeit Online
Die Golf-Koalition setzt auf Bodentruppen
Saudi-Arabien und seine Verbündeten haben im Kampf gegen die Huthis zuletzt schwere Verluste erlitten. Nun sollen Bodentruppen die Entscheidung bringen – von Martin Gehlen
http://www.zeit.de/politik/ausland/2015-09/luftkrieg-jemen-sanaa-bodentruppen-golfstaaten
Kommentar: Allgemeiner Bericht. Das aktuellste darin haben andere schon vor 2 Wochen berichtet. Da die Amerikaner sich langsam von den Saudis absetzen, darf jetzt auch die deutsche Maninstreampresse etwas mehr und saudi-kritischer berichten. Immerhin, ich sollte mich über einen solchen Artikel nicht aufregen, sondern zufrieden sein, aber wie wäre es denn schon vor einem halben Jahr damit gewesen? Die Amis werden wohl auch in Zukunft kaum erwähnt werden.
26.9.2015 – International Policy Digest
Decentralizing Peace in Yemen
Perhaps the most significant outcome of the National Dialogue Conference (NDC) was an understanding that decentralizing Yemen is the only sensible way of maintaining Yemen’s broader unity. However, Hadi’s tough talk is unproductive. The implementation of decentralization processes requires local support and is often vulnerable to security crises and exploitation by corrupt political actors. Furthermore, such efforts require a confidence in the central government that Hadi fails to inspire.
Despite the deepening divisions across Yemen, virtually all factions have negative views of Hadi. Even among his supposed anti-Houthi allies—the separatist Southern Herak and the Islamist Islah party (Yemen’s Muslim Brotherhood branch)—Hadi is viewed with tremendous disdain. Undoubtedly, the Houthis and their allies, cronies of the former President Ali Abdullah Saleh, will act to secure their own interests, as they did in their bungled coup attempt. Yet, regardless of how the Yemeni crisis ends, Hadi’s enemies and their constituencies will have to be considered and accommodated in any successful federal project.
Hadi’s government has been supported fervently by the Saudis and other Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) members and quietly by Western powers. His lack of popularity within Yemen, however, is deeply problematic.
The closest attainable grand bargain to satisfy all of these disparate and aggrieved factions is the already existent outcomes of the NDC, yet championing the NDC alone will not build faith in Hadi. Instead, the government-in-exile should focus on attaining new micro-agreements based on local constituencies, while building the functional power-sharing bodies that can cultivate confidence in its national and subnational efforts. Territorial and political autonomy is necessary for securing participation in the many areas where trust in the central government is at an all-time low – by Adam Simpson
http://www.internationalpolicydigest.org/2015/09/26/decentralizing-peace-in-yemen/
Kommentar: Spiegelt wohl Überlegungen im US-Umfeld wider. Es dämmert, dass man in eine Sackgasse gefahren ist – dass es ohne die Huthis nicht geht und mit Hadi nicht geht. Die Föderalisationspläne der Versöhnungskonferenz (NDC9 von 2014-2015 sind freilich obsolet. Mit der Art der inländischen Grenzziehung hatte Hadi die Huthis austricksen wollen. Das war ein Punkt, der den Konflikt weiter angeheizt hat, dahin kann man nicht mehr zurück. US-Traumtänzereien.
09.2015 – Action on Armed Violence
State of Crisis: Explosive Weapons in Yemen
This report largely provides information pertaining to civilian casualties. It does not however address the underlying causes of the war, nor does it name the foreign powers which instigated the bombings.
Yemen is the worst country for civilian deaths and injuries from explosive weapon use in the first seven months of 2015, says a new publication produced by UK-based charity AOAV and UN OCHA.
In March 2015, a complex and long-running political crisis in Yemen rapidly escalated into all-out conflict. President Hadi fled the country after Houthi rebels took control of the capital city Sana’a, and on 26 March a coalition led by Saudi Arabia began an operation of air strikes in Yemen at the request of the Yemeni Government [in exile]. The fighting in the country since March has been characterised by the use of heavy explosive weapons in populated areas by all parties to the conflict, with civilians suffering from near-daily bombing and shelling in their towns and villages.
As of 10 September 2015, the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) had registered 2,204 civilian deaths and 4,711 civilian injuries from all forms of armed violence in Yemen. Millions more have suffered from additional devastating consequences in the country, including poverty, malnutrition, insecurity, and limited access to health and sanitation.
Much of this chaos is due to the use of explosive weapons with wide area impacts in populated areas across the country.
In State of Crisis, AOAV and OCHA investigate the humanitarian impacts of the use of explosive weapons in populated areas in Yemen during the conflict up to 31 July 2015.
Between 1 January and 31 July 2015 AOAV recorded:
124 incidents of explosive violence in Yemen resulting in 5,239 deaths and injuries;
86% of those killed and injured were civilians (4,493);
More civilian deaths and injuries from explosive weapons were recorded in Yemen during the first seven months of 2015 than in any other country in the world;
When explosive weapons were used in populated areas, civilians made up 95% of reported deaths and injuries;
13 separate incidents in Yemen each killed and injured more than 100 civilians. Eight of these incidents were air strikes;
Air strikes have killed and injured the most civilians, with 2,682 civilian deaths and injuries (60%).
The impact of explosive weapons in Yemen goes far beyond the immediate deaths and injuries recorded by AOAV. The report uses testimonies and experiences of victims and witnesses to illustrate some of the long-term impacts that can cause extensive suffering far into the future, even after the fighting ends.
Robert Perkins, author of the report, says: “Our findings show Yemen is the worst country in the world this year for civilians affected by explosive violence, more devastating even than the crisis in Syria and Iraq. An already vulnerable population is now faced with a country reduced o rubble by falling bombs and rockets. Their homes destroyed, their families torn apart, it will take a many years to recover from the last few terrible months in Yemen.
The crisis in Yemen shows exactly why explosive weapons with wide-area effects have no place being used in populated areas. All parties to this conflict must immediately stop the bombing of civilians and civilian areas.” – by Robert Perkins
https://aoav.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/State-of-Crisis-A4.pdf (Zusammenfassung wie oben: https://aoav.org.uk/2015/state-of-crisis-explosive-weapons-in-yemen/ = http://www.globalresearch.ca/state-of-crisis-explosive-weapons-in-yemen/5478360
Kriegsereignisse
28.9.2015 – Shiapost
Death toll from Saudi strike on Yemen wedding rises to 131
The death toll from a recent Saudi airstrike against a wedding party in Yemen’s southwestern province of Taiz has crossed the one-hundred mark as Riyadh presses ahead with an atrocious military campaign against its troubled southern neighbor.
Local sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, said at least 131 civilians lost their lives and many more sustained injuries as Saudi fighter jets hit the celebration in the Mokha port city, situated 346 kilometers (214 miles) south of the capital, Sana’a, on Monday, the Arabic-language al-Masirah satellite television network reported.
http://shiapost.com/2015/09/28/death-toll-from-saudi-strike-on-yemen-wedding-rises-to-131/
28.9.2015 – Deutsche Welle
Verheerende Luftangriffe im Jemen
Teilnehmer einer Hochzeit im Jemen sind durch Luftangriffe der von Saudi-Arabien geführten Militärallianz getötet worden. Viele Frauen und Kinder sind unter den Opfern. Die Tragödie ist kein Einzelfall.
Bei einem Luftangriff der arabischen Koalition gegen die Huthi-Rebellen im Jemen sind laut Augenzeugen zahlreiche Gäste einer Hochzeitsfeier getötet worden. Der Vorfall ereignete sich bei Mocha im Südwesten des Landes. Über die Ausmaße des Unglücks gibt es unterschiedliche Angaben: Ein Arzt sagte: "Die Leichen von mindestens 40 Menschen, darunter Kindern, wurden ins Krankenhaus gebracht." Viele Menschen seien zudem lebensgefährlich verletzt worden. Ein Sprecher des von den Huthi-Rebellen kontrollierten Gesundheitsministeriums sprach sogar von 76 Todesopfern. 55 Menschen seien verletzt worden.
Scheikh Abdullah al-Fadhli, ein Mitglied des Stadtrats in Mocha, sagte der Nachrichtenagentur dpa, dass sowohl der Pavillon für männliche Hochzeitsgäste als auch der für Frauen und Kinder getroffen worden seien. Es gebe in der Umgebung keine Huthi-Kämpfer und keine Truppenstandorte. Es ist unklar, warum die Koalition die Feier bombardierte, bisher gab es keine Stellungnahme. Ein jemenitischer Regierungsbeamter sprach von einem Fehler.
http://www.dw.com/de/verheerende-luftangriffe-im-jemen/a-18746590 siehe auch http://orf.at/stories/2301135/
Kommentar: Nur zur Klarstellung: „Ein jemenitischer Regierungsbeamter“ ist ein Vertreter der Hadi-Regierung. Diese Aussage zeigt, wie sehr diese „Regierung“ zu Marionetten der Saudis verkommen ist.
28.9.2015 – Middle East Eye
At least 70 killed at Yemen wedding following Saudi-led coalition raid
A Saudi-led coalition airstrike hit a wedding in southwest Yemen on Monday, killing at least 70 people including children, medics and witnesses said.
"The bodies of 31 people, including children, have been taken to a hospital in Mokha city," a medical source said, adding that dozens more were wounded in the bombardment of a wedding hall in the Red Sea city.
Most of the wounded are in serious conditions, the medic said.
Witnesses reported that warplanes struck the wedding hall in Mokha, which is controlled by Houthis. Social media users said air strikes hit the women's tent at the celebration, a claim that could not be immediately verified.
The attack on the wedding comes a day after residents in two villages - Bani Zela and Zaylaa - near Yemen's border with Saudi Arabi said coalition strikes on Sunday had killed more than 50 people.
A local in Bani Zela told Reuters that civilians were pursued by coalition helicopters as they fled their homes.
An anonymous Saudi source in the New York Times was quoted on Monday, saying they denied their involvement in the attacks.
http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/saudi-led-coalition-raid-kills-least-31-yemen-wedding-1330950115
28.9.2015 – France 24
Two airstrikes by a Saudi-led coalition that has been targeting Yemen's Shiite rebels mistakenly struck a wedding party on Monday, killing 70 people and wounding dozens, a source told France 24.
28.9.2015 – FOCUS
Zeugen: Dutzende Tote bei Bombardement von Hochzeitsfeier im Jemen
Die Koalition gegen die Huthi-Rebellen im Jemen hat bei einem Luftangriff Augenzeugen und Ärzten zufolge mindestens 31 Gäste einer Hochzeitsfeier getötet, darunter auch mehrere Kinder.
Ein Arzt bestätigte der Nachrichtenagentur AFP am Montag, dass es bei Mocha im Südwesten des Landes ein "Bombardement" der von Saudi-Arabien angeführten Koalition gegeben habe. "Die Leichen von 31 Menschen, darunter Kinder, wurden ins Krankenhaus gebracht", dutzende weitere Menschen seien verletzt worden, sagt der Mediziner.
28.9.2015 – AP
Death toll from Saudi strike at Yemen wedding rises to 38
The Saudi-led coalition targeting Yemen's Shiite rebels mistakenly struck a wedding party on Monday, killing at least 38 people, Yemeni security officials said.
The strikes hit the celebration in al-Wahga, a village near the strategic Strait of Bab al-Mandab, said the officials, who remain neutral in the conflict that has splintered Yemen.
At least 40 people were wounded in the two airstrikes, they said. The strikes, a senior government official said, were "a mistake." Many of the victims were women and children, according to several villagers.
Further details and circumstances that led to the wedding party being mistakenly hit were not immediately known, but the village in which it took place lies in the battered Taiz province, where civilians routinely fall victim to daily Saudi airstrikes as well as rebel mortar shells.
Only seven of Taiz's 21 hospitals are currently open but they are "totally overwhelmed" and have run out of essential medication, Hassan Boucenine of the Geneva-based aid group Doctors Without Borders, also known as Medecins Sans Frontieres or MSF, said earlier this week – by Ahmed Al-Haj
http://news.yahoo.com/saudi-airstrikes-hit-yemen-wedding-party-killing-28-121813454.html = http://www.cbsnews.com/news/saudi-coalition-mistake-bombing-yemen-wedding-party/
Kommentar: Jemenitische Quellen sprechen schon von über 130 Toten.
27.9.2015 – Zeit Online
Saudiarabischer General an Grenze zum Jemen getötet
Ein saudiarabischer General ist nahe der Grenze zum Jemen "bei der Verteidigung des Landes" getötet worden. Brigadegeneral Ibrahim Hamsi sei in einem Krankenhaus der südlichen Region Dschasan seinen Verletzungen erlegen, berichtete die amtliche saudiarabische Nachrichtenagentur. Angaben zu den Umständen, unter denen der Vizekommandeur der 8. Brigade von Dschasan verletzt wurde, wurden nicht gemacht. Bereits am Freitagabend waren ein Oberst und ein weiterer Grenzschützer an der Grenze zum Jemen bei einem Feuergefecht nach einer Minenexplosion getötet worden.
http://www.zeit.de/news/2015-09/27/saudi-saudiarabischer-general-an-grenze-zum-jemen-getoetet-27073604 siehe auch http://www.salzburg24.at/saudiarabischer-general-an-grenze-zum-jemen-getoetet/apa-s24_1425713704
27.9.2015 – Guardian
Saudi general killed on Yemen border while 'defending country', army says
Brigadier General Ibrahim Hamzi the second high-ranking military official to have been announced killed on the frontier at the weekend
Brigadier General Ibrahim Hamzi, deputy commander of the 8th brigade in Jazan, died from his injuries after being taken to hospital, Saudi Arabia’s official news agency said, without giving the date or exact circumstances of the engagement.
He is the second high-ranking Saudi military official to have been announced killed on the Yemen border at the weekend. A colonel and another border guard were killed late Friday in a gun battle after a landmine blast along the frontier with Yemen, according to the interior ministry.
27.9.2015 – Der Standard
25 Tote bei Luftangriff auf Dorf im Jemen
Großteil der Opfer sind Frauen und Kinder
Bei einem Luftangriff auf ein Dorf im Nordwesten des Bürgerkriegslandes Jemen sind nach Zeugenaussagen 25 Zivilisten getötet worden. Die meisten Opfer seien Frauen und Kinder, erfuhr die Nachrichtenagentur Reuters am Sonntag telefonisch von Einwohnern des Dorfes Bani Sela und von Sanitätern. Die Einwohner machte die von Saudi-Arabiengeführte Militärallianz dafür verantwortlich.
Die Menschen seien aus ihren Häusern geflohen als sich Kampfhubschrauber genähert hätten, berichtete einer von ihnen, der sich Khaled nannte. "Sie haben ohne jeden Grund ein Massaker angerichtet." Saudi-Arabien wies die Vorwürfe zurück. Die Streitkräfte der Koalition seien nicht beteiligt gewesen, sagte ein saudiarabischer Behördenvertreter.
http://derstandard.at/2000022867050/25-Tote-bei-Luftangriff-auf-Dorf-im-Jemen siehe auch http://www.dw.com/de/mindestens-19-zivilisten-bei-saudischen-luftangriffen-im-jemen-get%C3%B6tet/a-18744862
Kommentar: Solche Dementis gibt Saudi-Arabien grundsätzlich ab. In dieser Gegend schließt niemand sonst auf Ortschaften. Die Huthis haben auch keine Hubschrauber. Die Bilder aus dem Dorf sprechen eine deutliche Sprache.
27.9.2015 – Reuters
Helicopter attack kills 30 civilians in Yemen village: residents, medics
Residents and medics said air strikes by helicopters flying from Saudi Arabia killed 30 civilians in a Yemeni village on Sunday, but Saudi authorities dismissed the accounts as "totally false".
Apache helicopters fired rockets at the village of Bani Zela in Hajjah province, 10 km (6.5 miles) from the Saudi border, killing at least 25 civilians, including women and children, the residents and medics said.
The helicopters returned for a second strike as residents and medical teams were trying to evacuate casualties, killing three medics and two more civilians, they said.
"People were fleeing their homes as the helicopters pursued," a resident who identified himself as Khaled, told Reuters by telephone. "They committed a massacre for no reason."
Yemen's Saba news agency, run by the Houthi group now in control of much of the country and under attack by a Saudi-led coalition of Arab states, put the death toll at 28 and said 17 others were injured, some seriously.
"Rescue teams and medics are still working on transfering the casualties to safety," the agency said, quoting an official in the province.
A Saudi official said the coalition had played no role in any attack in the area.
"This is totally false news. We deny it," the official, who declined to be identified, told Reuters, adding that no coalition helicopters operated so far from the border.
The target of Sunday's strikes was unclear, but the border area has recently been the scene of clashes between Yemen's Houthis and Saudi forces. Last week, the Saudi-owned al-Arabiya channel reported that 40 Houthis were killed during an attack on al-Hathera village in Saudi Arabia's Jizan province.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/09/27/us-yemen-security-airstrike-idUSKCN0RR0IW20150927 = http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2015/9/27/helicopter-attack-kills-30-civilians-in-yemen-village-residents-medics.html siehe auch http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/28/world/middleeast/saudi-officials-deny-killing-civilians-in-yemen.html?_r=0
27.9.2015 – Middle East Eye
Saudi-led airstrike kills 25 Yemeni civilians near border
Attack is the latest airstrike to kill large numbers of civilians in a war that has taken the greatest toll on ordinary Yemeni citizens
Airstrikes launched by the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen have killed 25 civilians, according to medics.
The village of Bani Zela, in north-western Yemen near the border with Saudi Arabia, saw a sustained attack by helicopters on Sunday.
“People were fleeing their homes as the helicopters pursued,” a village resident who called himself Khaled told Reuters.
“They committed a massacre for no reason,” he said.
Medical officials in the village told Reuters that most of the dead were women and children.
http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/saudi-led-airstrike-kills-25-yemeni-civilians-near-border-1951983980 siehe auch http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/09/27/yemen-security-airstrike-idUSL5N11X0BR20150927
26.9.2015 – France24 / Geo TV
20 Yemen rebels killed as loyalists press offensive
Loyalist forces in Yemen backed by a Saudi-led coalition killed at least 20 Iran-backed insurgents Saturday, the military said, as they pressed their offensive on the rebel-held capital Sanaa.
Twelve other rebels were captured in the operation launched on the northwestern edge of Marib province, a key battleground in the fight for control of the capital, said a military official
"Loyalist forces, supported by coalition aircraft, have made a slight advance" in the northwest of Marib, Abda al-Subei, of the provincial security forces, told AFP.
Subei said Saturday's operation came a day after coalition air strikes on rebel positions.
He did not elaborate on the overall progress of the offensive.
But another Yemeni officer, Murad Turiq, said ground forces came across land mines planted by rebels and were also having difficulty moving through the mountainous region.
http://www.france24.com/en/20150926-20-yemen-rebels-killed-loyalists-press-offensive = http://www.geo.tv/article-198752-20-Yemen-rebels-killed-as-loyalists-press-offensive
27.9.2015 – Antiwar
Saudi Forces Again Claim Gains in Central Yemen, But Victory Elusive
Officials Confirm Only 'Slight Advance' in Maarib Province
Two weeks into their “major offensive” against Yemen’s Maarib Province, the Saudi-led forces are once again claiming gains, saying they killed 20 Houthi rebels in a major setback for the Shi’ite movement that controls northern Yemen, a battle they’ve been predicting imminent victory in virtually since it started.
Despite the bragging about death tolls and the continued talk of an imminent breakthrough, local officials said that the pro-Saudi forces only managed a “slight advance” on the ground, and still don’t have that straight shot to the capital city of Sanaa they’ve been talking up since the offensive began.
26.9.2015 – AP
Yemeni pro-government forces stall in push toward capital
In Yemen's Marib province, a key battleground in the fighting against Shiite rebels, frustration is growing in the ranks of troops backing the country's president-in-exile after more than a week without gains on the ground.
The pro-government forces' advance on the capital, Sanaa, has stalled as Iran-backed Houthi rebels put up heavy resistance and despite an airstrikes' campaign by a Saudi-led coalition that has relentlessly pounded rebel positions.
The difficulty highlights the stark challenges facing the diverse set of fighters that make up the pro-government forces as they set their goal on Sanaa, about 165 kilometers (103 miles) to the west of Marib.
Ground commanders from the Yemeni army complain of poor logistical coordination, along with slow communication and decision-making between the Marib front-lines and the military leadership in Riyadh. Troops have grown nervous, commanders say, after two incidents when Saudi-led airstrikes hit and killed allied fighters.
In Yemen's war, the coalition against the Houthis is a shaky combination of local and tribal militias, southern separatists, Sunni Islamic militants and army units loyal to President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi.
Fighters also face difficult terrain, with rugged mountains obstructing a westward push on Sanaa. Also, the Houthis and their allies have worked for months to make the terrain even less hospitable to the enemy, building fortifications, digging ditches, and planting land mines, security officials and independent tribesmen said.
Emirati Brig. Gen. Ali Saif al-Kaabi, who is with UAE troops in Marib, cited land mines as a major threat to the advancing forces and compared the province's mountainous terrain to that of Afghanistan. An Emirati soldier was killed in a land mine blast last week, the country's 54th fatality this month.
Yemeni Lt. Gen. Sherif Hussein said the various anti-Houthi forces are only loosely coordinated. There is unified decision-making, he said, but the groups on the ground fight independently.
As a result, the battlefield is disorganized, said Col. Ahmed Salem, another pro-Hadi officer. "If the situation continues this way on the front lines, then it won't be possible to achieve victory on the ground," he said – by Ahmed Al-Haj
http://www.foxcarolina.com/story/30084339/yemeni-pro-government-forces-stall-in-push-toward-capital
26.9.2015 – Al Jazeera
Saudi army loses troops in Yemen border incident
Gunfight and landmine explosion leave colonel and deputy sergeant dead in Saudi Arabia's Jizan district.
A senior Saudi officer and another border guard have been killed in a gunfight after a landmine blast along the frontier with Yemen, the Saudi interior ministry has said.
Colonel Hassan Ghasoum Ageeli and a deputy sergeant died late on Friday in the Jizan district, and four other guards were lightly wounded, the ministry said in a statement.
The landmine blast damaged vehicles patrolling the border district, the ministry said.
After back-up arrived, "they were subject to heavy shooting from several locations inside the Yemeni border," sparking a firefight, it said.
Ageeli is one of the most senior Saudi officers killed since March when the kingdom formed an Arab coalition to fight Shia Houthi rebels in Yemen.
Meanwhile, the coalition air strikes killed three children and fighting on the ground between the rebels and the pro-government fighters in the southern province of Taiz killed at least 10 people, Yemen's medical officials said on Friday.
22.9.2015 – RT
Saudi-led forces’ airstrike on houses kills at least 20, mostly civilians - Reuters
An airstrike by Saudi-led forces on houses in Yemen's capital, Sanaa, has killed at least 20 people, mostly civilians, according to medics and officials cited by Reuters.
It was previously reported that officials had identified the target as the Marina hotel in Sanaa's southern al-Asbahi district.
http://www.rt.com/news/316165-yemen-airstrike-hotel-killed/
Kriegsverbrechen
27.9.2015 – Emirates 247
War crimes by Houthi militia documented
Between September 2014 and August 2015, 3,074 people were murdered
The Yemeni Coalition to Monitor Human Rights Violations (YCMHRV) has issued a report documenting a series of crimes committed by the Houthi militia and Saleh group.
The report is a product of one year of hard work by the YCMHR field monitors who worked in a very difficult and challenging environment, sometimes risking their own lives to document gross violations to international human rights law from September 21, 2014 – August 15, 2015.
The report covers the atrocities committed in Sana’a, the capital, Aden, Taiz, Lahej, Hodiedah, Addali’e, Abyan, Dhamar and Shabwa, governorates.
The findings show that between September 2014 and August 2015, 3,074 people were murdered, about 20 per cent of whom were women and children; 7,347 civilians were wounded due to random shelling, at least 25 per cent of whom were women and children; a total of 5,894 people were arbitrarily detained and forcibly disappeared, 4,640 of them were released and 1,254 people remain in captivity.
According to this report, the toppling of Yemen's legitimate government by Houthi militia and Saleh group coup has so far posed a serious threat to the human rights situation in Yemen.
Hence, 21st September 2014 represents a substantial downturn in the human rights course in Yemen.
Since then, human rights violations have reached an unprecedented peak in Yemen’s history.
The Houthis – Saleh's unconstitutional overthrow of the legitimate government was associated with, and resulted in, many forms of human rights violations that have afflicted men, women, children, property and the environment.
The report monitors and documents many heinous crimes and violations to human rights perpetuated by Houthi-Saleh militia from 21st September 2014 – 15th August 2015
It establishes accurate and unbiased data gathered through scientific monitoring and documenting process and methodology by a group of qualified and trained monitors.
It is important to mention that the report is not inclusive with respect to time and place of violations, simply because of the ongoing war and insecurity that endangers the monitors’ lives and exposes them to serious violations.
However, it is believed that what has been monitored and documented is certainly sufficient to reflect and reveal the seriousness and gravity of the human rights situation in Yemen during the specified period and beyond.
The report is organised into a preface and two chapters. The first chapter provides background to the events that include major human rights violations, and the legal framework which explains international legal frameworks that govern human rights in the country.
The second chapter illustrates human rights violations, particularly violations of the right to life and protection from arbitrary detention and forcible disappearance, torture and inhuman treatment, denial of freedom of expression and peaceful gathering in addition to many other violations.
The report also focusses on arbitrary detention, forcible disappearances and hostage taking violations which are carried out regularly by the rebel militia against politicians, journalists, human rights and political activities.
Detainees are frequently mistreated and deprived of basic needs, such as food, water and proper hygiene and sanitation conditions.
To add insult to injury, some are used as human shields at military sites that are targeted by the Coalition airstrikes.
This is a clear violation of both national and international legislation.
However, the de facto forces, the Houthis, failed to observe their commitment towards human rights and humanitarian law, being the power in control that practices the state’s functions. Rather, the Houthis – Saleh showed total recklessness towards human rights and human suffering.
The report concludes with recommendations, calling on the Houthi-Saleh militia, Yemeni government and the international community to implement relevant UN Security Council resolutions. It also calls on the international community to support the newly established National Commission to Investigate alleged Human Rights Violations with all needed technical assistance, as well as capacity building.
Kommentar: Es ist keine Frage, dass die Huthis zahlreiche Kriegsverbrechen und Verbrechen gegen die Menschlichkeit (das wird hier nicht unterschieden) begangen haben. Eine Untersuchung der Huthi-Gegner dann als objektive Wahrheit zu nehmen, wird ja nicht gehen, um so wichtiger ist jetzt die internationale UN-Untersuchung, genau so wie sie die Niederlande gefordert haben. Der Bericht der YCMHRV bleibt ja, was die einzelnen Verbrechen angeht, aus denen sich dann die Zahl der Toten etc. ergibt, sehr im Allgemeinen. Und wie sehen eigentlich ihre Erkenntnisse über die Opfer der saudischen Luftangriffe aus? Blindheit auf dem einen Auge kann man natürlich auch den Huthis vorwerfen, umso dringender ist, noch einmal, die internationale UN-Untersuchung, genau so wie sie die Niederlande gefordert haben, und nicht die von den Saudis geforderte eigene Untersuchung bzw. die der Hadi-Regierung – das ist eben das hier – mit 0 Toten durch die saudischen Luftangriffe.
“Präsident” Hadi
27.9.2015 – AFP
Yemen's Hadi urges rebels to lay down arms
President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi on Sunday urged Shiite rebels to lay down their arms and resume dialogue to end Yemen's conflict, as he left for the UN General Assembly.
The embattled leader, who returned Wednesday to the southern city of Aden after a nearly six-month exile, headed to New York where he is to address the General Assembly.
"I am open to all efforts seeking a political solution," Hadi said in a letter addressed to King Salman of Saudi Arabia, where the Yemeni leader took shelter in March after rebels advanced on Aden, his last refuge at the time after having escaped house arrest in Huthi-controlled Sanaa.
Hadi also called on rebels "to end their coup, surrender weapons ... and return to the dialogue table, to implement the UN Security Council Resolution 2216," which demands the insurgents withdraw from territories they have occupied.
http://news.yahoo.com/yemens-hadi-urges-rebels-lay-down-arms-145011045.html
Kommentar: Er scheint die letzten 6 Monate verschlafen zu haben. Weiter fernab von der Realität ist kaum vorstellbar.
27.9.2015 – Asharq Al-Awsat
Yemen FM slams UN Security Council response to country’s crisis
Yemen’s Foreign Minister Riyadh Yassin on Saturday criticized the UN Security Council for its response to the crisis that has plunged the country into turmoil for over a year.
Speaking to Asharq Al-Awsat via telephone from New York—where he is attending the UN General Assembly—Yassin said the Security Council had not put enough pressure on the Houthi rebels currently in control of large parts of Yemen to comply with Security Council Resolution 2216.
The resolution, adopted in April, stipulates the withdrawal of the Iran-backed Houthis from areas under their control and handing over their weapons to the government.
“The Houthis, even up to this point, refuse to acknowledge the resolution and [their representatives] are staying at Omani hotels, without making any positive efforts towards implementing the resolution,” Yassin said, making reference to the meetings which Houthi delegations have held over the past months in the Omani capital Muscat with the UN’s special envoy to Yemen and Omani officials.
He said the internationally recognized Yemeni government was facing pressure from numerous sides—though he declined to specify whom—to “acquiesce to the reality of the situation and hold direct meetings with those who use arms against the Yemeni people,” in reference to the Houthis and followers of ousted former president Ali Abdullah Saleh, who alongside Iran is the Houthis’ main ally – by Heba Qudsi
Kommentar: Man möchte unter dem Vorwand der verhängnisvollen, von den USA durchgedrückten einseitigen Resolution 2216 weiter auf Totalblockade Machen, egal, wieviele Zerstörungen und Menschenleben es noch kostet. Diese Resolution liefert den Vorwand, sich jeder Verhandlungslösung und jedem Arrangement mit den Gegnern zu verweigern.
Saudi-Arabien
24.9.2015 – Huffington Post
10 Reasons to Oppose the Saudi Monarchy
1. Saudi Arabia is governed as an absolutist monarchy by a huge clan, the Saud family, and the throne passes from one king to another.
2. Criticizing the monarchy, or defending human rights, can bring down severe and cruel punishments in addition to imprisonment.
3. Saudi Arabia has one of the highest execution rates in the world, killing scores of people each year for a range of offenses
4. Saudi women are second-class citizens. The religious police enforce a policy of gender segregation and often harass women, using physical punishment to enforce a strict dress code. Women need the approval of a male guardian to marry, travel, enroll in a university, or obtain a passport and they're prohibited from driving. According to interpretations of Sharia law, daughters generally receive half the inheritance awarded to their brothers, and the testimony of one man is equal to that of two women.
5. There is no freedom of religious. Islam is the official religion, and all Saudis are required by law to be Muslims. The government prohibits the public practice of any religion other than Islam and restricts the religious practices of the Shiite and Sufi Muslim minority sects.
6. The Saudis export an extremist interpretation of Islam, Wahhabism, around the globe. Over the past three decades, Saudi Arabia spent $4 billion per year on mosques, madrassas, preachers, students, and textbooks to spread Wahhabism and anti-Western sentiment.
7. The country is built and runs thanks to foreigner laborers, but the more than six million foreign workers have virtually no legal protections.
8. The Saudis are funding terrorism worldwide. A Wikileaks-revealed 2009 cablequotes then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton saying "Donors in Saudi Arabia constitute the most significant source of funding to Sunni terrorist groups worldwide....More needs to be done since Saudi Arabia remains a critical financial support base for al-Qaeda, the Taliban, Lashkar e-Tayyiba and other terrorist groups."
9. The Saudis have used their massive military apparatus to invade neighboring countries and quash democratic uprisings. I
10. The Saudis backed a coup in Egypt that killed over 1,000 people and saw over 40,000 political dissidents thrown into squalid prisons.
The cozy US relationship with the Saudis has to do with oil, weapons sales and joint opposition to Iran. But with extremism spreading through the globe, a reduced US need for Saudi oil, and a thawing of US relations with Iran, now is the time to start calling for the US government to sever its ties with the Saudi monarchs – by Medea Benjamin
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/medea-benjamin/ten-reasons-to-oppose-the_b_8190240.html
22.9.2015 – Middle East Eye
Senior Saudi royal urges leadership change for fear of monarchy collapse
A senior Saudi prince has called for an emergency meeting to discuss replacing King Salman and his son Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed
A senior member of Saudi Arabia’s royal family has circulated a letter expressing fear that the monarchy may collapse unless the king is urgently replaced and the position of deputy crown prince scrapped, Middle East Eye can reveal.
On 4 September, a grandson of the late King Abdulaziz Ibn Saud wrote a four-page letter calling on the royal family to hold an emergency meeting to address concerns that the House of Saud may be losing its grip on power.
“We [have] got closer and closer to the fall of the state and the loss of power,” the letter read.
“We appeal to all the sons of King Abdulaziz – from the eldest Prince Bandar to the youngest Prince Muqrin – to summon an emergency meeting with all the family to discuss the situation and do everything that is need to save the country.”
The letter was signed “a descendant of the King Abdulaziz of the House of Saud”. MEE spoke to the letter’s author, who confirmed he is a grandson of Abdulaziz, but asked not to be named for fear of negative repercussions.
The document has been carefully circulated among princes, using secure means of mobile communication, because royal family members are under surveillance by those in power, the letter’s author said.
The letter partly represents a generational conflict within al-Saud and comes after powerful wings of the family battled for supremacy in the aftermath of the late King Abdullah’s death this January.
The zero-sum game of Saudi politics was exemplified then by the newly anointed King Salman replacing his predecessor’s men with his own people – including the powerful head of the royal court Khalid al-Tuwaijri who was switched for his Salman's inexperienced 30-year-old son Mohammed bin Salman.
It later emerged that during Abdullah’s final hours, Tuwaijri tried to secure his own position and the second generation of Saudi’s rulers by contriving to have Abdullah’s son Prince Meteb made deputy crown prince – the position now enjoyed by Salman’s son Mohammed. This attempt failed, but not before Tuwaijri also tried to have Salman declared mentally unfit to rule.
The letter, which is set in this context of internal House of Saud power struggles, claims problems began 10 years ago under Abdullah. It argues the need to bring back older members of the Saud dynasty by criticising “totally miscalculated” military decisions in Yemen, Syria and Iraq, claiming that these choices have "weakened the trust of our people and [incited] other peoples against us".
There have been a series of sharp changes in Saudi Arabia’s foreign policy since Salman took over from Abdullah. Under the late king, Riyadh was understood to view the Muslim Brotherhood and its various offshoots as being enemy number one in the region.
This policy led to Saudi advisors reportedly being in touch with Houthi militiamen in Yemen, who they viewed as a being a bulwark against the local Brotherhood affiliate al-Islah. Under Salman, however, countering Iranian influence is viewed as a key policy priority, and, as such, his defence minister son in March launched a regional coalition against the Houthis, a group viewed by Arab Gulf states as being backed by regional rival Iran.
The war in Yemen, whilst gaining some achievements in pushing the Houthis out of southern areas of the country, has not been a shining success for Saudi Arabia. Dozens of Saudi soldiers have been killed amid an ongoing air and ground campaign, and the Houthis remain in control of the capital Sanaa, while there are reports of skirmishes inside Saudi Arabia by invading Houthis.
The royal letter penned by a grandson of Abdulaziz also pointed to financial challenges facing al-Saud, referencing a collapse in oil prices that over the past 12 months has seen the price of a barrel plummet from $120 to less than $50.
“We will not be able to stop the draining of money, the political adolescence, and the military risks unless we change the methods of decision making, even if that implied changing the king himself,” the letter read.
The source said the royal family broadly falls into two camps when considering how to deal with their problems. On one side there are those who do not wish to raise any problems as they fear open disagreement may weaken themselves in the eyes of the public. On the other side there are royals who believe silence will lead to total collapse.
The letter suggested a solution for al-Saud to strengthen their position by returning power to older members of the family who have been side-lined under King Salman. The new ruler has favoured new, younger members of the family close to him – with Interior Minister Mohammed bin Nayef replacing the youngest of Abdulaziz’s sons Muqrin as crown prince, and his own son Mohammed becoming deputy crown prince.
“[We have neglected] the marginalisation of the elders and the carriers of experience, as well as the surrender of command to the new generations of foolish dreamers who are acting behind the façade of an incapable king,” the letter read.
“How could we accept the marginalisation of King Abdulaziz’s sons both in power and in the processes of policy making?”
Mohammed bin Salman has been roundly criticised for his role in leading the country’s troublesome war in Yemen. The London-based Saudi dissident said that the letter is part of an effort to side-line Mohammed, who is criticised in the text as being a “rotten thief,” and push forward a replacement king.
“The real story behind this letter is that it is preparation for [King Salman's brother] Ahmed bin Abdulaziz to be pushed towards power,” the source said.
The grandson of Abdulaziz said in his letter that he will support royal family members being promoted “with meritocracy” by collecting signatures from princes to implement changes for the “common good”.
The letter also said that it is the responsibility of princes including Ahmed bin Abdulaziz “to collect the views and gather the ranks” of the royal family.
“They should isolate the incapable King Salman, the extravagant and vain Crown Prince Mohammed bin Nayef, and the rotten thief Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who has been devastating for the state, so that the greatest and most pious assume the control of the affairs of the state and of its people.”
“We also ask for a new king and a new crown prince to be invested and take over everyone and for the abolition of the peculiar office of the deputy crown prince.”
Another regional expert said it was highly likely family members will gather to discuss changes but expressed doubt Mohammed bin Salman will be side-lined in the near future – by Rori Donaghi
Politik der USA
28.9.2015 – AP
US backs Dutch resolution seeking probe of Yemen conflict
The U.S. ambassador to a United Nations human rights body says his country supports Dutch efforts to create an international fact-finding mission in war-torn Yemen.
Keith Harper told The Associated Press on Monday, however, that the U.S. ultimately hopes for a compromise at the U.N. Human Rights Council. The Dutch draft resolution follows one co-sponsored by Saudi Arabia and Yemen's government that does not seek an international investigation.
The Dutch proposal wants U.N. Human Rights chief Zeid Raad al-Hussein's office to send a mission to report on possible abuses and conflict-related crimes in Yemen.
http://www.wlox.com/story/30131240/us-backs-dutch-resolution-seeking-probe-of-yemen-conflict
Kommentar: Das wäre bemerkenswert und ein weiteres Zeichen davon, dass die USA zumindest nach außen hin von den Saudis abrücken. Die Erwähnung des US-Botschafters, er hoffe auf einen „Kompromiss“ im UN-Menschenrechtsrat, lässt aber nichts Gutes ahnen. Wollen die USA mit einem faulen Kompromiss die Saudis (und damit sich selbst) aus der Schusslinie nehmen?
27.9.2015 – ZDF Heute
UN und USA wollen Iran als Konfliktlöser
Aus dem jüngst abgeschlossenen Atomdeal geht Teheran offenbar als ernstzunehmender politischer Partner des Westens hervor. Der regionale Einfluss der iranischen Regierung soll nun helfen, die Konflikte in Bürgerkriegsländern wie Syrien und dem Jemen beizulegen.
Die US-Regierung und die Vereinten Nationen dringen auf eine stärkere Vermittlerrolle des Irans bei Konflikten in der Region. Teheran solle besonders zu politischen Lösungen in den Bürgerkriegsländern Syrien und Jemen beitragen, sagte UN-Generalsekretär Ban Ki Moon nach Angaben seines Sprechers in einer Unterredung mit dem iranischen Präsidenten Hassan Ruhani in New York. Die gleichen Konflikte beschäftigten auch US-Außenminister John Kerry und seinen iranischen Kollegen Mohammed Dschwad Sarif.
"Ich erachte diese Woche als eine große Gelegenheit für die verschiedensten Länder, ein wichtige Rolle zu spielen, bei dem Versuch, einige der sehr schwierigen Fragen in Nahost zu lösen", sagte Kerry bei dem Treffen mit seinem iranischen Kollegen. Es müsse Fortschritte hin zu Frieden in Syrien, im Jemen und in der gesamten Region geben. Kerry betonte nach dem Treffen mit Sarif, dass es in den kommenden Tagen noch weitere Beratungen geben werde, die entscheidend für eine Beilegung der Konflikte sein könnten.
Seit der Einigung auf das Atomabkommens schließen die USA auch auf anderen Ebenen eine Zusammenarbeit mit Iran nicht mehr aus. Am Freitag sagte Staatssekretärin Wendy Sherman, im derzeitigen Umfeld würde es Sinn machen, mit Teheran über Syrien zu sprechen.
Kommentar: Erstaunlich. Der Iran fordert das für den Jemen schon seit 6 Monaten. Die USA hatten sich dem stets verweigert und den Iran gerade auch im Hinblick auf dessen angebliches Hegemonialstreben im Jemen, man muss es schon so nennen, verteufelt. Was hat jetzt diese Kehrtwende ausgelöst? Ja, die USA scheinen sich langsam klar zu werden, dass es in eine Sackgasse führen kann, nur auf Saudi-Arabien und die von ihm abhängigen Golfstaaten zu setzen. In den 6 Monaten konnten tausende von Menschen durch Luftangriffe getötet und ein Land völlig ruiniert werden, den geostrategischen Interessen der USA sei dank.
26.9.2015 – AP
US acts to open dialogue with Iran about Syria, Yemen crises
The U.S. took steps Saturday to open a dialogue with Iran and others about the crises in Syria and Yemen
Secretary of State John Kerry met with Iran's foreign minister, Javad Zarif, on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly, and told reporters there would be discussions in the week ahead that could prove critical to resolving the conflicts.
"I view this week as a major opportunity for any number of countries to play an important role in trying to resolve some of the very difficult issues (of) the Middle East," Kerry said. "We need to achieve peace and a way forward in Syria, in Yemen ... in the region itself (and) I think there are opportunities this week, through these discussions, to make some progress."
On Friday, the Obama administration's top Iran negotiator, Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs Wendy Sherman, said discussing Syria with Iranian officials would "make sense" in the context of current developments – by Matthew Lee
http://news.yahoo.com/obama-administration-wants-talk-iran-syria-065830538.html
16.9.2015 – Der Freitag
Riad & Washington - BFF no more?
Das Verhältnis zwischen den lange Zeit unzertrennlichen Verbündeten ändert sich zusehends. Wohin das führen wird ist unsicher, aber ein Blick in die Historie lehrreich.
In den letzten Wochen häufen sich nach Monaten fast totaler Funkstille die Medienberichte über die Kriegsverbrechen der Saudis und ihrer Verbündeten im Jemen. Und nicht nur das: Viele einflußreiche Medien kritisieren plötzlich offen den saudischen Wahhabismus und seine zerstörerische Wirkung auf die dortige Gesellschaft sowie die gesamte Region.
Neben den offensichtlichen Kriegsverbrechen beim Bombardement der zivilen Infrastruktur geht es in vielen Artikeln auch um den Ursprung der Waffen, die die Angreifer benutzen: Die GCC-Staaten wurden seit vielen Jahren vom Westen beliefert, insofern kann es eigentlich niemanden überraschen, dass die Bomben, die bereits zahlreiche ZivilistInnen töteten, “Made in USA” oder “Made in EU” sind. Daraus wird nun in der Huffington Post der nicht sonderlich originelle Schluss gezogen, dass dies die Jemeniten dazu bringt, sich nicht nur gegen die Saudis, sondern auch gegen die USA zu wenden. Wenig überraschend - aber von diesem Punkt ist es nur noch ein kleiner Schritt zur Feststellung, dass Riads Krieg “den Interessen Washingtons in der Region schadet”. Braucht es noch deutlichere Hinweise darauf, dass ein weitreichender Strategiewechsel der US-Regierung im Gange ist?
In Washington scheint es derzeit zwei völlig gegenläufige Strömungen zu geben: Natürlich haben sich die zumeist republikanischen “Neocons” und ihre Verbündeten in Militär, Medien und Think Tanks (sowie in diversen Hauptstädten des Mittleren Ostens) nicht plötzlich in Luft aufgelöst, und nicht wenige von ihnen setzen vermutlich weiterhin auf das traditionelle bedingungslose Bündnis mit Riad sowie eine Schwächung Assads und des Iran durch den Dauerkonflikt mit dem IS. Das entspricht aber eben nicht (mehr) der Linie der Regierung, und dieser tendenziell nahestehende Medien vollziehen diesen Schwenk offensichtlich in zunehmendem Maße nach. So scheint tatsächlich gerade etwas für unmöglich Gehaltenes zu passieren: Die Saudis werden medial vor unseren Augen von über jede Kritik erhabenen Alliierten zu den neuen "Bösen Buben" des Mittleren Ostens.
Wenn das zu unrealistisch klingen sollte, lohnt vielleicht ein Blick in die Geschichtsbücher – von Smukster
https://www.freitag.de/autoren/smukster/riad-washington-bff-no-more
Drohnenkrieg
09.2015 – The Atlantic
How America’s Drone War in Yemen Strengthens al-Qaeda
The U.S. must “stop pursuing policies bound to enrage and embitter Yemenis who might otherwise be neutral,” an expert on the country argues.
Some people in Yemen who once opposed attacks on foreign countries like the United States are becoming more willing to give terrorists like al-Qaeda space to operate.
Jillian Schwedler, a political-science professor in New York, – In her expert opinion, America’s drone war is largely responsible for that shift.
President Bush began the drone war. President Obama radically expanded it. Both have defended its legitimacy. Whether one believes the war to be moral or not, Schwedler points out, “the reality for Yemenis is that the United States uses drone strikes regularly to run roughshod over Yemeni sovereignty in an effort to stop a handful of attacks—most of them failed—against U.S. targets. The fact that corrupt Yemeni leaders consent to the attacks makes little difference to public opinion.”
Attacks in the country carried out by Saudi Arabia––perhaps America’s least defensible ally––only add to U.S. image problems. “Alongside the often indiscriminate Saudi-led bombing, American drones continue their campaign of targeted assassination.”
Schwedler concludes that even drone strikes that kill carefully identified targets in Yemen are counterproductive, strengthening the very groups the United States is trying to destroy: “It provides evidence that al-Qaida’s claims and strategies are justified and that Yemenis cannot count on the state to protect them from threats foreign and domestic.” If America wants to weaken al-Qaeda in Yemen, she writes, it at least needs “to stop pursuing policies that are bound to enrage and embitter Yemenis who might otherwise be neutral.” – by Conor Friedersdorf
http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2015/09/drone-war-yemen-al-qaeda/407599/
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