Allgemein / General
15.10.2015 – Time (mit Fotoserie)
Bearing Witness to the Victims of Yemen’s ‘Forgotten War’
With much of the Middle East in turmoil, Russian photojournalist Maria Turchenkova might have taken her camera to any number of warzones. But the story she felt she needed to tell was in Yemen, where years of conflict have precipitated one of the worst humanitarian crises in the entire region.
Turchenkova’s photographs, which appear in the international edition of TIME this week, focus on the impact on civilians of what some are describing as a “forgotten war” in Yemen.
Turchenkova visited the country in August and travelled from the capital of Sana’a to the northern Hajjah governate, where the country’s largest camps for refugees and displaced people are located. Blockades of the southern ports by coalition forces have cut supplies to the north, meaning aid agencies now face a three-month fuel shortfall and shortages of staple food items. Conditions are getting desperate; in the Al Majoura camp a few miles from the Saudi Arabian border, a Medecins Sans Frontieres worker told her the camp was at a “food and humanitarian emergency” level, the last level before “food and humanitarian catastrophe.”
The experience of working in the camps was harrowing, she says. “There have been no food supplies since the beginning of the war. There are hundreds of women and children on the roads, going from house to house begging for what they can get to eat, or drink.” Arriving at the camps even from the city was a little like “coming down to hell,” she says. “You can hardly breathe. The temperature is more than 40 degrees celsius, it’s dusty…. I managed to work for 90 minutes and I was exhausted… I couldn’t allow myself to drink water or to send my driver for water because I was embarrassed to do this in front of people who hadn’t seen cold water for weeks or months. This is their everyday life.”
“I have no interest in the war stuff,” she says. “I just want to show the people-”
Turchenkova is one of very few journalists to document the humanitarian crisis in Yemen’s north, a distinction which she says bring special responsibilities. “It is one of the toughest stories I have ever covered,” she says. “I brought away a small, small part of this story, which can now be told.” – by Dan Stewart
http://time.com/4073796/yemen-warzone-houthi-refugee-camp-2/
14.10.2015 – Lobelog
Yemen: Tell Me How This Ends
A recent Voice of America piece by Barbara Slavin, entitled “Saudis Should Reveal a Political Endgame for Yemen,” assumes that the Saudis have a clear endgame for Yemen. That is not necessarily the case, for party political considerations at both the Yemeni end and at the Saudi end make a coherent—and realistic—Saudi-directed endgame unlikely. Indeed, apart from a hope for a return to the status quo ante (something Heraclitus noted was impossible 2,500 years ago), there seems to be little consensus in Saudi Arabia about what the endgame is. Further complicating the issue is alleged disagreement and “bitter rivalry” within the coalition as to the outcome.
In Saudi Arabia, responsibility for policy towards Yemen (the “Yemen File“) appears to remain divided, and thus presumably opinions about the “solution” are likely to be divided also. This issue is doubtless exacerbated by political machinations internal to Al Saud, with the conflict in Yemen appearing to be a major litmus test as to whether Prince Muhammad bin Salman in particular stands or falls. The ruling Saudi troika seems to have insisted on a maximalist “unconditional application” of UNSCR 2216, which appears to be the standard by which the troika will be judged (by their Al Saud rivals) to have won or lost.
Yet such conflicts are rarely so cut-and-dried. Although noting the need for a political solution to the issues driving the conflict, the UNSC resolution was surprisingly flawed for it represented—and was drafted by—one side in the conflict. As such, though it may form the basis of peace talks, the resolution will not likely be applied unconditionally.
A recent Guardian article claimed—albeit citing a warrant officer, who may not have had genuine knowledge—that one aim of the campaign is to ensure that Yemen remains dependent on Saudi Arabia. Presumably to that end, the terrorist-linked Salafi Abdulwahab al-Homayqani has been installed as Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi’s presidential advisor. His views echo the uncompromising stance of Saudi Arabia’s ruling faction: “Abdulwahab al-Homayqani said the rebels ‘did not announce their commitment to implement UN Resolution 2216’ demanding their withdrawal.” Such an attitude suggests that Saudi Arabia will not accept any political accommodation to various legitimate grievances. Yet without such political compromise and consensus—as multiple Houthi and Hiraki insurrections have shown before—the entire shooting match will likely start again soon.
Within Yemen, the war has not only brutalized and polarized society but also killed or socially damaged various key actors: the status quo ante no longer exists. To be even more accurate, the status quo under Ali Abdullah Saleh itself canted in favor of the Hashid tribal confederation after the 1960s civil war, and some of the actions ascribed to the Houthis were in fact the Bakil and Madhhaj confederations trying to redress the balance. What is needed now is another holistic Yemeni peace conference, both to agree a settlement of this conflict and to agree how to implement all the National Dialogue Conference outcomes. In many ways, it was the failure by the government to implement key concerns that precipitated the Houthi and Hiraki insurrections.
The experience of the Houthis, the Hirakis, and the Arab street of the counter-revolutionary GCC Initiative, and of the National Dialogue Conference (in particular the underhanded attempts to gerrymander the federal borders) has not been trust-forming. Similarly, the Houthis and Saleh himself have not made matters any easier by making and then breaching agreements. As a result, an impartial guarantor will be needed to ensure that all sides fulfill the terms of any eventual deal. None of the belligerents can play that role. The UN is the obvious candidate, although neutral, Ibadi Oman might be an alternative.
The coalition has begun to rehabilitate some of the infrastructure in those parts of Yemen that it controls but according to its priorities and schedule. Further, the damage done to communications infrastructure has been immense. There is serious doubt as to whether the Saudi-led coalition has the will or the means to reconstruct Yemen in its current straitened situation, while “Yemeni expectations are high and difficult to fulfill, Emirati officers acknowledged.” As for damage to cultural and historical sites, that is irreversible, reducing their attractiveness to tourists.
Equally worrying is the terrorist situation. The Saudi-led intervention has both greatly encouraged and empowered the Salafi jihadis who collaborated with the Saudi-led offensive. Reports of jihadis holding off from fighting and then seizing newly supplied advanced weapons systems are particularly worrying. Although the Saudi-led coalition made much of the threat to the international waterway through Bab al-Mandab, the Houthis did not seem interested in interrupting maritime trade. The same cannot be said of the Salafi jihadis, who mounted boat-borne attacks on the USS The Sullivans, the USS Cole, and MV Limburg. Yet now those same Salafi jihadis control the port of Mukalla, on the flank of the Gulf of Aden shipping lanes, and are pushing into Aden.
Although the UNSC Permanent Five members have thus far deferred to Saudi Arabia over what happens in Yemen, the Houthis and Ali Abdullah Saleh are not a threat to international peace and security. Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) and the Islamic State (IS) most certainly are. Saudi Arabia—in ironic contrast to the Houthis—seems to have come to a modus vivendi with AQAP, although the Saudis do not seem to have managed the same with IS. The Yemeni Armed Forces—whose success against AQAP was mixed—have been divided and heavily degraded by the civil war and will be in no fit state to counter the Salafi jihadis. Further, many will be garrisoned in Huthi areas to “pacify” them. There will thus need to be an impartial and capable force to prevent the Salafi jihadis from expanding any further. Given how far the terrorists have expanded since the Saudi-led coalition arrived, plainly the latter are not sufficient. Given the past and current UN role, some of the forces newly pledged to peacekeeping operations could be sent to Yemen to enforce the peace, enable reconstruction, and prevent Salafi jihadi expansion.
The Saudi-led war has left the political situation and physical infrastructure in Yemen dysfunctional and greatly degraded. Without rapid and impartial intervention, the circumstances are likely to fester. If that happens, further internecine fighting will likely happen, and the Salafi jihadis will increase their presence on the shores of a geostrategic maritime trade route. Hope is still “not a plan.” – by James Spencer
http://lobelog.com/yemen-tell-me-how-this-ends/
Kommentar: Sehr gute Analyse eines britischen Infanteriekommandeurs a.D. / Very good analysis by a retired British infantry commander
13.10.2015 – New York Times
Bitterness Abounds in Yemen’s North, a Houthi Stronghold
For a generation of Yemenis, the Saudis, once their country’s biggest benefactor, will be remembered for the destruction they left here, residents say.
But the Saudi adversary, the Yemeni rebel group known as the Houthis, also faces harsh scrutiny for its role in the war. With fury and zeal, Houthi fighters turned their heavy guns on cities and imprisoned opponents. The Houthis drew support from what many saw as a cynical wartime alliance with Yemen’s former leader, Ali Abdullah Saleh.
In Saada, the Houthi stronghold where the rebel movement was founded, frustration abounds with all the combatants in the war.
“The people of Saada and others are demanding an end to the arguments,” said Hussein Khowlan, 52.
Many fear that months of combat may have already hardened the tensions that led to war in the first place. The effect may be to postpone, rather than solve, arguments that have made Yemen chronically fragile. The battles widened the divisions among regions, political parties and tribes.
From their beginnings as a student movement called the Believing Youth in the early 1990s, the Houthis were rooted in faith and place, working for a revival of religious identity among Zaydi Shiites, a minority in Yemen. They sought an end to neglect by the central government of the Shiite-dominated north. From 2004 to 2010, the Houthis fought six wars against Mr. Saleh’s government, as well as against hard-line Sunni Islamists supported by the Saudis.
The suffering has put Houthi leaders on the defensive as they explain their part in the war. A Houthi official who escorted journalists around Saada asserted the movement had no choice but “to exercise power” in response to what he said was foreign meddling in Yemen.The 2011 uprising in Yemen against Mr. Saleh’s rule raised hopes that marginalized regions of the country would finally have a voice. The young Houthi leader, Abdel-Malik al-Houthi, expressed a willingness to engage in politics, but the movement turned to force as its frustrations grew with the government in Sana, the capital.
The Houthis swept down from northern Yemen and stormed Sana in September 2014. They eventually forced the government of Mr. Saleh’s successor, President Abdu Rabbu Mansour Hadi, from power, and a political crisis devolved into war.
In Saada, as in the rest of the country, people were forced to take sides. Ahmed Saleh Ahmed, 50, a retired soldier who fought in the wars of the last decade against the Houthis, said that everyone in the province, regardless of affiliation, was fighting alongside the rebels now, “whether we like it or not.”
“The Saudis have left us no choice,” he said, blaming what he called an extremist Saudi religious ideology that had no tolerance for Shiites. “Their aggression has hit all of us.”
But even those who have defended the Houthis in the past have been alarmed at their conduct during the conflict, citing their blockade of major Yemeni cities, like Taiz, and their arrests of political opponents.
The rebels started arresting people, displaying a mistrust shaped by years of war and strident religious belief. “The majority of people who were jailed had pornography on their mobile phones,” Mr. Alfaqih said.
More recently, Mr. Alfaqih has been visiting prisons in Sana, trying to find hundreds of people, including political opponents and journalists, arrested by the Houthis. Most of the detainees are members of Islah, an Islamist political party that opposes to Houthis and has publicly supported the Saudi military offensive – by Kareem Fahim
13.10.2015 – Pakistan Defence / The Economist
"In Yemen, death surrounds you". Life is difficult under the rain of Saudi bombs
In Sana’a civilian life has disintegrated. People sleep and wake up to the sound of air raids. Nizam Nasher, a professor at the University of Science and Technology, says “death surrounds you, if not in your home, in the mosque or market”. Recently two weddings were bombed in the towns of Mokha and Dhamar, killing roughly 160 people. The Saudi-led coalition denied responsibility for the attacks.
Locals think life is returning to medieval ways, as jobs are few and much of the day time is spent stocking up on fuel, food, water and firewood. There is a shortage of cooking gas. Sana’a has electricity for just one hour every five days. Yemenis with money are buying solar panels, but they can cost thousands of dollars.
At one petrol station in the Haddah district of Sana’a, vehicle owners wait for days to buy fuel in queues that stretch for a kilometre or more. One of them, Abdul al-Harazi, who has been camping in his car for two weeks, says he has no idea how long the wait will go on. “We network, chew qat, there’s air strikes,” he jokes. Those without the patience, buy fuel on the black market at six times the official price. As a result of the high cost of travel, some residents like Mohammed Shohaibi, a receptionist at the Royal Crown Hotel, abandoned Eid celebrations with their families and stayed in Sana’a. Travelling is dangerous anyway.
At the Republican Palace in Sana’a, Muhammad Ali al-Houthi, the leader of the Houthi rebels, is calm as Saudi jets pound the capital. He blames Saudi blockades and bombing of ports, markets and warehouses for soaring prices and the misery that brings. “This is a war crime,” says Mr Houthi, denouncing America for aiding the coalition and meddling in Yemen’s affairs. The UN has come up with a peace plan, but so far only the Houthis have accepted it. The coalition has remained silent and Mr Houthi, the rebel leader, says he will reconsider his acceptance if the coalition does not agree. “We sacrificed our commander, Hussein Badreddin al-Houthi [who was killed by Yemeni forces in 2004 and gave his name to the movement], and many young people. We have nothing to lose now,” Mr Houthi says.
http://defence.pk/threads/in-yemen-death-surrounds-you.403007/ = http://www.economist.com/news/middle-east-and-africa/21673996-life-difficult-under-rain-saudi-bombs-yemen-death-surrounds-you
13.10.2015 – Al Araby
The weapons used in Yemen should spark international outrage
Comment: Explosive munitions make targets out of civilians by their very nature
Civilians often referred to as "collateral damage" in conflict have become increasingly inconsequential, as the rising use of explosive weapons appears to be a large cause of their deaths, as well as leaving thousands wounded.
A report from Action on Armed Violence and the UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs stated that the increasing use of explosive weapons has meant more civilians are being killed in Yemen than would otherwise die.
From data collected between 1 January and 31 July 2015, it found that 124 incidents of explosive weaponry led to 5,239 deaths and injuries, of which 86 percent were civilians. These numbers are higher than in any other country in the world - and the statistics increased even further when used in populated areas, in which civilians make up 95 percent of the dead and wounded.
When referring to "explosive weapons", the term usually applies to weapons that have a casing containing highly explosive material. The extent of damage caused by these weapons is usually as a result of the blast wave and fragmentation after detonation
Explosive weapons used in recent wars include mortars, artillery shells, rockets, missiles, aircraft bombs, cluster sub-munitions and improvised explosive devices. However, the law, framework or guidelines around explosive weapons specifically does not yet exist.
It is not just Yemen that has illustrated a worrying trend in the adoption of explosive weapons. Increasingly these types of weapons are being used in warfare among populated areas and urban settings
Such weapons, as stated by the Red Cross, were designed to be used on open battlefields. There will invariably be civilian fallout from their application - as their precision can hardly be guaranteed even if the stated object is a military one.
Most present and recent conflicts including Yemen, Syria and those in Gaza, Afghanistan, Ukraine and Libya, have all seen condemnable "collateral damage" arise from the use of explosive weapons.
This rising trend, which has been exhibited in its worst example through the conflict in Yemen is abominable and must be condemned by all states. The use of explosive weapons breaches the laws on armed conflict by not confining targets to those of a military nature.
The lasting and devastating effects these types of weapons have on their surroundings cause death, destruction and injury - multiple, complex and severe wounds; those left alive then may have lasting trauma and the damage to infrastructure extends beyond the walls of buildings whether military or non-military, to water, electricity and sewage systems, exacerbating the health crises that usually emanate in such conflicts – by Sophia Akram
09.2015 – Action on Armed Violence
STATE OF CRISIS: EXPLOSIVE WEAPONS IN YEMEN
This paper investigates the humanitarian impact of the use of explosive weapons in populated areas in Yemen during the conflict up to 31 July 2015.
Yemen has been torn apart by the use of explosive weapons in populated areas across the country in 2015. Explosive weapons have not only led directly to the deaths and injuries of thousands of civilians, but they have helped drag the country into crisis. The use of explosive weapons with wide-area effects in populated areas is having a devastating impact on civilians in Yemen. Hundreds of homes and civilian buildings have been destroyed or severely damaged. Hospitals, schools and life-saving humanitarian assistance have been hindered, blocked or closed down. Huge swathes of the civilian population have been driven from their homes, fuelling a displacement crisis in which more than 1.4 million people are currently displaced within Yemen. 55 The widespread bombing of towns and cities in Yemen will likely result in extensive contamination from explosive remnants of war (ERW), putting civilians at risk for years, perhaps even decades, to come. Yemen is not the only country to fall victim to this pattern of violence in recent years. From Afghanistan to Iraq, Libya to the occupied Palestinian territory, Syria to Ukraine, the use of explosive weapons in populated areas is a major cause of civilian suffering. This predictable and preventable pattern of harm is unacceptable.
https://aoav.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/State-of-Crisis-A4.pdf
13.10.2015 – n24 (Filmbericht)
Tödliche Einsätze von Streubomben in Syrien und Jemen
Humanitäre Lage / Humanitarian Situation
14.10.2015 – Rotes Kreuz
Memories of Yemen – Living and Working through Armed Conflict
Arshid Amin Khan, Communication Officer at the ICRC New Delhi delegation, was in Yemen earlier this year to support the team in Sana’a. In this video, he takes New Delhi blog through this journey – the difficult times and challenges at work as well as the motivation and inspiration shared with fellow aid workers amidst the enormous devastation in the country. The ICRC continues to provide life-saving assistance to people in Yemen.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9_EmzCMBLQ4
13.10.2015 – WHO
Health system in Yemen close to collapse
Since armed conflict erupted on 19 March, Yemen’s already fragile health system has come under enormous strain.
The emergency health-care needs of the population have now become so great that health workers are struggling to provide essential health care.
“The health system is on the brink of collapse,” says Dr Ahmed Shadoul, the World Health Organization (WHO) Representative for Yemen.
WHO is coordinating the humanitarian response to health issues with Yemen’s Ministry of Health and 20 partner humanitarian organizations in Yemen, including the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF).
Heavy bombardment and airstrikes combined with continuous fighting, with few ceasefires allowing for humanitarian activity, have hampered citizens’ access to health care and increased the pressure on the health facilities that are still functioning.
“Right now everybody – international and Yemeni health workers – is focusing on emergency health provision because of the massive numbers of war wounded,” says ICRC health coordinator for Yemen, Monica Arpagaus.
The fighting has reached 21 of the country’s 22 governorates (provinces) and more than 4000 people have been killed since March in this impoverished country at the tip of the Arabian Peninsula, according to the United Nations.
“WHO is committed to ensuring that all Yemenis continue to have access to health services, including those in the hardest-to-access areas,” says Shadoul, “through the provision of emergency life-saving medicines, trauma kits, interagency emergency health kits, diarrhoeal disease kits and blood bank supplies which are urgently needed.”
People in several governorates are suffering particularly from a lack of health care due to the fighting, such as Taiz in the south and Sa’ada in the north, Shadoul says.
Meanwhile access to health services is deteriorating in other parts of the country too, including Hodeida and Hajjah governorates, where most of the internally displaced have fled, as well as in most others including Hadramout, Aldhaleh, and Abyan, Shadoul notes.
In addition to restricted access to health facilities there is a severe shortage of medical supplies and equipment and Yemen’s health system is largely dependent on what WHO and its humanitarian partners can bring into the country, “but these supplies won’t be able to cover all the gaps,” Shadoul says.
The ICRC and WHO are delivering water in many parts of Yemen. WHO is supplying fuel to hospitals across the country to keep electricity generators functioning for operating theatres and for the country’s blood banks and labs, as well as petrol for ambulances. Shadoul says: “WHO has provided the entire fleet of ambulances with geographic positioning systems and is sponsoring the operational cost of more than 15 ambulances.”
Since the crisis in Yemen escalated in March, health facilities have been hit by bombs and health and humanitarian workers are increasingly targeted.
“Almost 23% of the health facilities in Yemen are no longer functional either because they were hit, they were already in poor condition or they happened to be close to military targets,” Shadoul says, adding that many health workers and patients are too afraid to come to the health facilities.
Recent outbreaks of malaria and dengue were unusually large, health officials say, because tap-water supplies have been disrupted and people are collecting water in containers, creating breeding grounds for mosquitoes. The distribution of mosquito nets and insecticide sprays has been hampered due to the lack of security.
After more than 6000 cases of dengue fever were reported in Aden, Hodeida and other governorates in June, the outbreak was brought under control, while a sharp increase in dengue cases was reported in Taiz early last month, Shadoul says.
WHO recently launched a nationwide campaign against polio and measles with the United Nations Children’s Fund and the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization. About 4.5 million children under the age of five were immunized against polio and 6 million children under 15 years against measles.
A second campaign is needed but has not been possible due to the fighting.
WHO estimates that about US$ 151 million is needed in funding for the health cluster’s work until December 2015, including US$ 105 million for WHO’s activities. So far only a fraction of that, US$ 20 million, has been received.
http://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/health-system-yemen-close-collapse
Kommentar: Eine Schande sind auch die geringen Summen, die die WHO bisher bekommen hat, angesichts der vielen Milliarden, die die Beteiligten (du Huthis hier ausgenommen) für Rüstung ausgegeben haben.
12.10.2015 – Voice of America
Yemeni Blacks Ravaged by Poverty, War
Among the poorest of the poor in Yemen are Yemeni blacks, the “Muhamasheen” — or the “marginalized ones – set aside from society in what lingers of an ancient, now-defunct caste system.
After more than six months of bombings, aid workers say Yemeni blacks — who number roughly 20,000 people in the capital alone — have become invisible victims of a war in which they have no side.
Their community, according to the United Nations children’s agency, is among those hardest hit by Saudi airstrikes in the ongoing civil war. “UNICEF believes that Muhamasheen communities have been severely impacted by the conflict due to their very poor living conditions and lack of tribal and social support mechanisms,” said Buthaina al-Iryani, the agency’s social policy chief in Yemen, by email.
Many families across Yemen are gathering in traditional villages, trying to avoid the airstrikes and battles in the cities. Muhamasheen families often live in a kind of permanent state of semi-homelessness, however, settling on government lands in makeshift homes made of found material, like blankets and tires. When an airstrike hits them, they have nowhere to run, and no way to recover.
Among Yemen’s poorest, the death toll is often higher after an attack because of dangerous living conditions, including lack of sanitation and protection from bad weather. Lack of access to what’s left of Yemen’s decimated health care system also makes recovery more difficult – by Almigdad Mojalli, Heather Murdoc
http://www.voanews.com/content/yemeni-blacks-devastated-by-poverty-war/3002587.html
2.10.2015 – UNICEF
Six months of violence in Yemen leave more than 500 children dead, some 1.7 million at risk of malnutrition
Across the country, nearly 10 million children – 80 per cent of the country’s under-18 population – need urgent humanitarian assistance. More than 1.4 million people have been forced to flee their homes.
“With every day that passes, children see their hopes and dreams for the future shattered,” said UNICEF Representative in Yemen Julien Harneis. “Their homes, schools and communities are being destroyed, and their own lives are increasingly threatened by disease and malnutrition.”
Even before the conflict, the nutrition situation was dire as Yemen produces less than 10 per cent of its food needs and relies heavily on imported foodstuffs. But the escalation of the fighting has caused food insecurity to spiral and malnutrition to spike. The consequences for children are dramatic:
The number of children under 5 at risk of severe acute malnutrition has tripled in 2015, with 537,000 children now at risk, compared to 160,000 children before the conflict.
Almost twice as many children under 5, a total of 1.2 million children, are projected to suffer from moderate acute malnutrition this year, compared to 690,000 before the crisis.
Food shortages and poor access to markets caused by the conflict, reduced access to health facilities and sanitation, and the disruption of livelihood opportunities are the main causes for the deterioration. The scarcity of fuel, electricity, gas, water and other services and utilities is further exacerbating the situation.
Meanwhile, the last six months have seen a growing number of attacks on civilians and vital infrastructure. Since the escalation of the conflict in March 2015, UNICEF has verified attacks on or damage to 41 schools and 61 hospitals as a result of the fighting.
Finding safe water has become a daily struggle for survival for over 20.4 million people. More than 15 million people have lost access to basic health care; the education of over 1.8 million children has been interrupted by school closures; and more than 20 million people are struggling to get the safe water and sanitation they need.
Despite these extremely challenging conditions, UNICEF and its partners have been at the centre of humanitarian operations since the beginning of the conflict. The response has focused on providing drinking water and sanitation, education and child protection services as well as treatment of children with malnutrition, diarrhoea, measles and pneumonia
UNICEF and partners have provided 3 million people with access to safe water, while mobile health teams have helped deliver measles and polio vaccinations to over 5 million children. Some 93,500 children were treated for severe acute malnutrition and over 520,000 were able to take their delayed school exams.
Since the beginning of the year, the United Nations children’s agency has also provided psychological support to help nearly 240,000 children cope with the horrors of the conflict. Some 360,000 people were reached with education material on avoiding unexploded ordnances and mines.
http://www.unicef.org/media/media_85714.html and UNICEF photos / Und UNICEF-Fotos: http://weshare.unicef.org/C.aspx?VP3=SearchResult&ALID=2AM40805FSQX&PBC=:2AM40805FSQX
6.10.2015 – UNCHR
On 30 September, a boat from Puntland en route to Yemen carrying 68 migrants and refugees capsized in the Arabian Sea. Only 33 survived: 32 were rescued by a passing boat and one managed to swim to shore.
On 4 October, schools in Aden have officially reopened and students started the new school year.
On 5 October, the Yemen Humanitarian Coordinator, the Regional Humanitarian Coordinator, UNHCR Head of Sub-Office Aden and UNHCR and DSS Field Safety Advisors arrived on mission in Aden to meet authorities and institute the security arrangements required to support deployment of UN international personnel in the south.
http://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/yemen-unhcr-regional-update-yemen-situation-26-28-september-6-october-2015 and full report: http://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/UNHCR%20Yemen%20Situation%20Update%20%2326%20-%2028SEPT-6OCT15.pdf
08.2015 – Food security cluster
Yemen Food security Update
Escalation of conflict and civil insecurity, disruptions of markets and trade activities and poor Agriculture Season worsens the prevailing Humanitarian Crisis
Kriegsereignisse / Theater of War
15.10.2015 – Fars News
Yemeni Forces Down Saudi Warplane in Sa'ada
The Yemeni forces fired rockets at the warplanes, and brought it down in Ghamr district in Sa'ada.
Reports identified the downed warplane as a Saudi F-16.
http://muhitelyemen.net/en/news/23799.html
Kommentar: Yemeni forces: Huthis und Verbündete
15.10.2015 – Reuters
Yemen Houthis say fire missile in retaliation for Saudi 'war crimes'
Yemen's Houthi forces fired a ballistic missile on Thursday in retaliation for attacks by a Saudi-led coalition, a source in the Iranian-allied group said, and a Houthi-linked television station said a Scud missile had been fired at a Saudi air base.
Al-Masirah television reported that the Scud, a powerful Cold War-era weapon, had been fired at a military base near the city of Khamees Mushait in the kingdom's southwest.
The area is home to the King Khaled air base, the largest air force base in southern Saudi Arabia, the world's top oil exporter, but there are no oil facilities in the vicinity.
Brigadier General Sharaf Luqman, a spokesman for Yemen's armed forces allies with Houthi fighters, says the missile hit the base and caused "widespread destruction". There was no immediate comment from the Saudi side.
Residents in Yemen's capital reported hearing a roar as what they said was a Scud was launched from near the city.
"The army and people's committees at dawn today fired a ballistic missile in response to the continuation of the Saudi aggression in the commission of war crimes against the Yemeni people," the source said.
http://news.yahoo.com/yemeni-forces-launch-scud-missile-toward-saudi-arabia-053132829.html siehe auch http://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2015/10/15/433508/Yemen-Scud-missile-Saudi-base--Khamis-Mushait
Kommentar: Das ist ausgesprochen dumm. Mit so etwas wird der nächste tödliche Luftangriff auf Sanaa herausgefordert. Dieses Geschoss sollte vor allem eine propagandistische Wirkung haben, ob wirklich so viel Schaden damit angerichtet wurde, wird sich zeigen. Umso schlimmer für die Einwohner von Sanaa. Mit einem Wort, dumm.
14.10.2015 – War in the World
Yemen: 40 Houthi militants killed by Arab coalition airstrikes in Taiz governorate
Thirteen Houthi militants and forces loyal to deposed Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh were killed and 27 others injured in clashes with fighters of the Popular Resistance Committees (PRC) and airstrikes waged by Arab coalition aircraft on their positions in the southern Yemeni governorate of Taiz.
A PRC source in the governorate said coalition aircraft waged a number of airstrikes targeting positions and groupings of Houthi militants and Saleh forces in Al Suweida’a , Al-Oshaqa areas, Al Gheel in Al Wazi’iya districts, west of the city and Al Jund and Sharman areas in eastern Taiz.
The same source added that resistance men repulsed attacks waged by Houthi militants and Saleh forces on their positions in Tha’bat, the presidential palace circumference, Saleh house in eastern Taiz and Al Ba’rara neighbourhood in the west.
It said that 13 Houthi militants were killed and 27 others injured and military equipment destroyed in the airstrikes. Meanwhile local sources in the governorate said 18 civilians including 5 children were wounded in a Houthi militants heavy artillery shelling on residential neighbourhood in downtown Taiz.
14.10.2015 – Fox News
Yemen landmines kill 5 civilians, 12 anti-rebel fighters in central Marib state
Yemeni officials say five civilians and 12 fighters from the forces fighting Shiite rebels known as Houthis were killed this month by rebel-planted mines in a central province.
The officials, medical and security officials from the anti-rebel side, say Wednesday that the Houthis planted the mines before they were pushed out from their last outpost in Marib province last week.
In Taiz province, medical and security officials say 13 Houthis and allied fighters were killed in airstrikes by a Saudi-led coalition, while fierce clashes were ongoing near the provincial capital's airport.
http://www.foxnews.com/world/2015/10/14/yemen-landmines-kill-5-civilians-12-anti-rebel-fighters-in-central-marib-state/ see also http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/M/ML_YEMEN?SITE=AP
14.10.2015 – Mersad News (Übersetzung mit Goggle Translator)
Terrorist cell linked to Saudi coalition in Hodeida
Managed security services and people's committees in Hodeidah adjust linked to the forces of the Saudi aggression against Yemen a terrorist cell.
Security sources in Hodeidah confirmed that the terrorist cell that have been seized Wednesday has a direct correlation aggression alliance has carried out terrorist operations targeting security and government headquarters and a police patrol in Al Hudaydah.
Security sources indicated that these cell members are paid large sums of money from countries aggression against the implementation of assassinations and planting containers in roads and public facilities and targeting, social, security, military and national figures.
The sources added that security forces seized large quantities of arms and ammunition in the possession of a cell in one of the houses that take a den where her home was raided after monitoring and tracking of the cell.
The source pointed out that during the investigation it became clear that these criminal elements carried out numerous bombings and planting improvised explosive devices resulted in the loss of life of innocent citizens.
It is worth mentioning that the media outlets affiliated to the alliance of aggression reported that what it called "militia" abducted 13 people and raided several. Homes in Hodeidah to clear so that they are linked to the alliance of aggression terrorist cells.
http://www.mersadnews.net/archives/5938 see also https://www.facebook.com/yemenipress/posts/879629042090309
Kommentar: Offensichtlich rüsten die Saudis Terrorzellen in den von den Huthis gehaltenen Landesteilen aus.
14.10.2015 – Ahlul Bayt News Agency
Saudi wareplanes kill five more people in Yemen
Saudi Arabian warplanes have targeted Yemen’s Sa’ada and Ta’izz provinces, respectively in the northwest and southwest of the impoverished country, taking the lives of five people.
On Wednesday, the aircraft bombarded the Saghein district in Sa’ada, causing one fatality and injuring three women. Striking the Razeh district in the same province also injured a Yemeni citizen, while destroying residential houses.
Saudi jets also struck Ta’izz International Airport, killing four more people. Amateur footage integrated below features the site of the attack
The strikes come only a day after Saudi air raids reportedly took the lives of five people, including four women, and injured 10 others in the Khawkhah district of the country’s western Hudaydah Province.
Also on Tuesday, Saudi warplanes launched three air raids against the Baqim district and four assaults against the Hidan district, both located in Sa’ada Province. The attacks killed a woman and a child.
http://en.abna24.com/service/middle-east-west-asia/archive/2015/10/14/715120/story.html
14.10.2015 – Tehran Times
Saudi airstrikes leave seven people dead in Yemen
The latest wave of Saudi air raids against Yemen has claimed the lives of seven people, including a child, in Yemen. According to reports, five people, including four
women, lost their lives and 10 others sustained injuries in the Saudi air raids on the Khawkhah district of Yemen’s western Hudaydah Province on Tuesday.
Saudi warplanes also launched three air raids against the Baqim district and four assaults against the Hidan district, both located in the northwestern Yemen Sa’ada Province. The attacks killed a woman and a child. Elsewhere in the west, Saudi aircraft launched two airstrikes against Sana’a Province.
http://www.tehrantimes.com/PDF/12391/12391-11.pdf
13.10.2015 – AP
Saudi airstrikes pound rebel supply lines in Yemen’s south
Security officials say airstrikes from a Saudi-led coalition targeting Yemen’s Shiite rebels have killed eight rebel fighters in a renewed attempt to cut their supply lines to the country’s third largest city.
The officials, who remain neutral in the conflict that has splintered Yemen’s armed forces, said Tuesday’s strikes hit the Red Sea port city of Hodeida, which lies on a major rebel supply line to the heavily contested city of Taiz.
Taiz is in government hands, but is besieged by the rebels. Securing Taiz would allow pro-government forces to push north toward the rebel-held capital, Sanaa.
All officials requested anonymity because they are not authorized to brief reporters – by Ali Al-Haj
13.10.2015 – News Rescue
‘Saudi Arabia Using Chemical Weapons In Yemen’
Military officials in Yemen say Saudi Arabia has carried out a chemical attack in eastern Yemen, as Riyadh continues its military aggression against the impoverished Arab country.
Yemen’s army spokesman Sharaf Luqman said on Tuesday that Saudi warplanes have bombarded areas in Ma’rib Province using chemical and biological agents.
Luqman, who was speaking to Lebanon’s al-Mayadin TV, would not elaborate on further details, but said the attacks have failed to assist “terrorists” and militants loyal to the fugitive former Yemeni president, Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi, to retake territory in Ma’rib and advance toward the capital, Sana’a. The provincial capital city of Ma’rib is located about 195 kilometers (121 miles) east of the capital.
http://newsrescue.com/saudi-arabia-using-chemical-weapons-in-yemen/#axzz3oXiWPC5W
Kommentar: Pro-Huthi-Quelle, d. h. Yemen army hier der Teil der Armee, der die Huthis unterstützt. Der Vorwurf ist noch nicht belegt.
Houthis
15.10.2015 – International Federation of Journalists
End Oppression and Incitement against Yemen Journalists
The safety of journalists in Yemen has deteriorated since the start of 2015 amid fighting between the Houthi rebels and the Saudi-led coalition.
Already in April it was clear that urgent measures needed to be taken following the Houthis’ occupation of media houses in the capital, Sana'a, forcing journalists to either leave or to follow the Houthi's editorial line. Most reporters have since fled Sana'a as the increasingly precarious and hostile atmosphere towards independent journalists grew.
The IFJ’s affiliate in the country, the Yemeni Journalists’ Syndicate (YJS), has recently launched a report which records around 200 cases of violations against press freedom this year, including 10 journalists killed, 9 imprisoned who have been badly tortured, most of Yemeni media outlets banned, shut, blocked or taken over by rebels.
Furthermore, the leader of Ansar Allah Movement, Abdul-Malik al-Houthi, recently published a video message in which he described journalists and intellectuals as “traitors who are more dangerous to the country than the mercenary fighters,” adding that “something must be done to face them.” The video which was broadcast on Almasirah TV on 19 September represents an incitement to the group’s followers to harass critical voices in Yemen.
The IFJ is highly concerned about the safety of kidnapped and tortured journalists but also about the wellbeing of their colleagues who struggle to leave the country, are prevented from working and consequently not getting paid, all of whom now face violence following the video.
Therefore, the IFJ launched last month the End Oppression and Incitement against Yemen Journalists campaign, see http://ifj.org/index.php?id=283
Südjemen
15.10.2015 – Middle East Eye
Aden protesters call for secession of southern Yemen
After helping to drive Houthi fighters out of Aden, protesters say Southern forces do not want to continue fighting with the government
Thousands of Southern Yemenis demonstrated on Wednesday in Aden demanding the secession of their formerly independent region, three months after Shia Houthi fighters were driven out.
The demonstration was the first open call for secession since Southern forces allied with the government and backed by a Saudi-led coalition pushed the rebels out of Aden and other provinces.
But now that the rebel threat has eased in the area, protesters said they do not want to continue the fight against the insurgents in the north and demanded their own state.
"Taking the Southerners into the war in the north cements the unity of Yemen, which we reject," said a banner carried at the rally in Aden's main square of al-Arood.
The Southerners have other ambitions. [than the Hadi government].
"After achieving victory in the battle, the people of the south adhere to their political demand voiced in 1994, which is reinstating the Southern state," said Omar al-Subeihi, the head of the rally organising committee.
http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/aden-protesters-call-reinstatement-south-yemen-1931127392
15.10.2015 – Times Kuwait
Thousands celebrate Al Houthi defeat in Aden
Three months after pushing Al Houthi militants and forces loyal to Yemeni ex-president Ali Abdullah Saleh out of southern Yemen, thousands gathered in Aden to celebrate victory.
The rally was the largest open gathering in the war-torn city since resistance fighters backed by an Arab coalition drove the militants out in mid-July.
“We are here to thank coalition forces for helping us kick Al Houthis out,” Ahmad Al Roubaizi, a leading figure in the separatist Southern Movement and an aide to the former South Yemen president Ali Salem Al Baidh told Gulf News.
For the first time since the separatist sentiment emerged a decade ago, southerners organised a military parade in the city’s public square or Al Ouroudh Square in which armed men who took part in battles against Al Houthis marched in front of spectators.
The protesters flocked into the city from all provinces of the former Democratic Republic of Yemen, a Marxist state that unified with the tribal dominated Yemen Arab Republic in 1990.
Flags and posters of the leaders of Saudi Arabia, the UAE and other members of the Arab coalition were widely seen at the parade.
“We appreciate the coalition for assisting us in confronting a second invasion of the south,” Al Roubaizi added.
More than eight years ago, a pro-secessionist movement rose up against the regime of Saleh. Thousands of public servants and military officers went to the streets to demand equal wages with their counterparts in the north.
The movement picked up momentum after huge failures of the Saleh regime to address their grievances quickly.
The southerners say that after the bloody civil war between the two former states in 1994, the northerners punished them by cutting them off from wealth and power.
Months after taking power by force in late 2014, Al Houthi militants invaded the southern city of Aden, where the president Abd Rabbo Mansour Hadi was ruling after being kicked out of the capital, Sana’a.
The militant advance brought the southerners into an alliance with Yemeni forces supporting Hadi.
http://www.timeskuwait.com/Times_-Thousands-celebrate-Al-Houthi-defeat-in-Aden
Kommentar: Dasselbe Ereignis wie im vorigen Artikel. Hier wird der Separatismus kleingeredet.
UNO und Friedensgespräche / UN and peace talks
15.10.2015 – UNO
“Strong logic” for Yemen talks amid terrorist gains
Talks to decide the future of Yemen could take place before the end of October despite the "deep mistrust" between those involved, the United Nations Deputy Secretary-General, Jan Eliasson, said Thursday.
Insisting that there's a "strong logic" for the talks to start now, Mr Eliasson highlighted how recent advances by terrorist groups threatened to destabilize the region further unless the fighting stops.
The UN Deputy Secretary-General also stressed the need for an end to the war in Syria, adding that the recent Russian military intervention could, paradoxically, be a spur to political negotiations.
15.10.2015 – Islamic Invitation Turkey
UN in talks to lift Saudi blockade on Yemen
The United Nations (UN)’s Deputy Secretary General Jan Eliasson says the world body has been engaged in talks to end the blockade that Saudi Arabia has imposed on impoverished Yemen.
The official made the comments during a Thursday news conference in Geneva, adding that the talks are aimed at opening more ports in Yemen to allow in fuel and other supplies.
He did not specify, however, what individuals, groups or governments the UN has been in talks with over the Saudi blockade.
http://www.islamicinvitationturkey.com/2015/10/15/un-in-talks-to-lift-saudi-blockade-on-yemen/
15.10.2015 – Saudi Gazette
UN hopes Yemen peace talks can start by month-end
UN Deputy Secretary General Jan Eliasson said on Thursday he hoped UN-backed peace talks to end the conflict in Yemen could start by the end of October.
Eliasson, speaking to a Geneva news conference after talks in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Iran, called for both Houthi fighters and the exiled Yemen government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi to attend the talks without pre-conditions.
“We have been disappointed before, Geneva talks started but not much came out of it,” he added.
Eliasson, noting that a UN verification mechanism to inspect commercial ships heading to Yemen was in place, said the United Nations was in talks on ending the Saudi-led blockade of Yemen and opening more ports in Yemen to allow in fuel and other supplies.
http://saudigazette.com.sa/world/un-hopes-yemen-peace-talks-can-start-by-month-end/
Kommentar: Selbst die UN und diese saudische Seite sprechen von der „Saudi-led blockade of Yemen“. Das sind halt die Fakten, trotz der Sketcheinlagen von „Comical Achmed“ Assiri.
14.10.2015 – WAM
President of Yemen calls for unconditional implementation of resolution 2216
President of Yemen, Abd Rabu Mansour Hadi, received today in Riyadh ambassadors of the G18, made up of the GCC countries, permanent Security Council members, in addition to Germany, the Netherlands, Turkey, Japan and Egypt.
The official Yemeni News Agency said Mansour applauded the efforts of the G18 countries in putting an end to the conflict in Yemen in 2011 through a mechanism for national dialogue.
"The dialogue covered all issues and was conducted in a transparent manner, but the Houthis and (former President Ali Abdullah) Saleh staged a military coup against the will of the Yemeni people and the outcome of the national dialogue," he said.
President Hadi called on the rebel forces to accept implementation of the UN resolution 2216 unconditionally and urged the international community to mount the pressure on that direction.
He also said that he issued directives to authorities in Yemen to allow access to all imports of fuel and humanitarian relief materials through Yemeni ports.
The ambassadors praised the efforts being made to guarantee a peaceful and prosperous future for Yemen and renewed their support to the legitimacy in Yemen under President Hadi.
https://www.wam.ae/en/news/emirates/1395286728414.html
Kommentar: Einmal mehr wird die Resolution 2216, von den USA lanciert und völlig parteiisch für die eine Seite im Jemenkonflikt, sich als verhängnisvoll erweisen und jede Friedenslösung blockieren: Denn sie gibt der einen Seite alles und der anderen nichts.
Saudi-Arabien / Saudi Arabia
14.10.2015 – AP
New tally shows at least 1,621 killed in Saudi hajj tragedy
The toll in the deadliest tragedy to ever strike the annual hajj pilgrimage rose Wednesday to at least 1,621 people killed, a new tally showed, as hundreds still reportedly remain missing.
The AP figure comes from state media reports and officials' comments from 19 of the over 180 countries that sent citizens to the five-day annual pilgrimage.
Iran says it had 465 pilgrims killed, while Egypt lost 182, Nigeria 168 and Indonesia 126.
Others include India with 114, Pakistan with 100, Bangladesh with 92, Mali with 70, Senegal with 54, Benin with 51, Cameroon with 42, Morocco with 33, Ethiopia with 31, Sudan with 30, Algeria with 25, Ghana with 12, Chad with 11, Kenya with eight and Turkey with seven – By JON GAMBRELL and AYA BATRAW
Kommentar: Es sind noch wesentlich mehr, wie Augenzeugen berichten (siehe frühere Nachrichtenüberblicke).
11.9.2015 – Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington
Saudi Arabia: A War on All Fronts?
Saudi Arabia is directly and indirectly waging a war on practically all fronts, whether declared or not. In doing so it has the moral and practical backing of many of its fellow Gulf Arab governments and of its principal defense and security ally, the United States.
Saudi Arabia argues that it is waging an existential struggle, not so much for its own survival, but on behalf of the Arabs against Iran. From the Saudi viewpoint Iran is the common denominator on all fronts. Iran is fighting for President Bashar al-Assad in Syria and therefore, reasons the kingdom, by hurting Sunni Arabs it enables ISIL to violently assume their representation. Iran is propping up the Shia-dominated Iraqi government that similarly breeds Sunni Arab disaffection upon which ISIL also capitalizes, in both cases to the detriment of Saudi security. The Saudis allege that Iran is still aiding the Bahraini Shia opposition, despite the current low level of revolt. And crucially, from a Saudi perspective, Iran is aiding the Houthis in Yemen.
So what is to be made of Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz and U.S. President Barack Obama’s perfectly amicable early September chat about regional issues and business opportunities during which the Saudi monarch let it be known that Riyadh is actually okay with the U.S.-led nuclear deal with Iran?
Partly this is Saudi realpolitik. The deal is done and is internationally popular. The United States appears serious about wanting the nuclear agreement enforced and has recently reaffirmed that it will be onside in tackling any malign Iranian actions in the region, not to mention any direct territorial threat to the Saudis or other Gulf states. The Saudis could not wage war in Yemen without the assistance of U.S. intelligence and logistical support. Furthermore, Saudi airstrikes against ISIL in Iraq, while currently dormant, were conducted as part of a U.S.-led coalition, while Saudi support for rebel groups in Syria is on a largely agreed basis with Washington, which has long-standing and close connections with the kingdom’s Interior and Defense Ministries.
So what’s the problem? For one thing the kingdom remains angry with the United States, and to some extent Europe, that Assad is still in office.
In Yemen, the sudden increase of troops from Gulf Arab states and Egypt (in addition to Egypt’s Red Sea naval contribution) is intended to assist the Yemeni “anti-rebel” factions in retaking relatively oil-rich Marib, Taiz, and the capital Sanaa. However, it also suggests a future in which the Gulf Cooperation Council countries, including Saudi Arabia, are sucked into another irresolvable Yemen conflict as the United States, Britain, Egypt, and Russia have all been at various times before. If the Houthis are obliged to redeploy further north, possibly divorced from their tactical, pro-Ali Abdullah Saleh allies, they may increasingly hit out against their Saudi enemies across the border.
The Saudis are in a double bind: The Yemeni fighters need more than Saudi aerial support and the training provided inside the kingdom. Armored vehicles sent across the Saudi-Yemeni border have helped, but the Yemeni forces the Gulf states are backing are not a coherent, disciplined fighting force. Saudi Arabia’s inexperience in ground combat, and its political neuralgia about deploying Saudi infantry units to garner such experience, means that the Emiratis and now seemingly the Qataris are gaining more kudos with anti-Houthi Yemenis as a result. The Saudis have lost some soldiers but their role on the ground is largely special forces and periodic border penetration by their National Guard. Their air role has aided the anti-Houthi struggle but at a high price for Yemeni infrastructure and lives – by Neil Partrick
http://www.agsiw.org/saudi-arabia-a-war-on-all-fronts/#
USA und Drohnenkrieg / US and drone war
15.10.2015 – Truth Out
The US Could End Saudi War Crimes in Yemen - It Just Doesn't Want to
(the article begins with a long survey of Saudi war crimes as reported by Amnesty International)
The Obama administration knows very well that the reckless Saudi war in Yemen has serious consequences for US political and security interests in the Middle East. The war is not only disintegrating Yemeni society, but also is creating more opportunities for al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula - the most dangerous affiliate of the terrorist organization - to recruit, train and plan jihadist operations against the United States.
The United States thus has strong policy and legal reasons for pressuring Saudi Arabia to end the carnage in Yemen, as well as very significant leverage on the Saudis. But the Obama administration has been unwilling to do anything consequential in response to Saudi defiance toward the UN-mediated cease-fire and political negotiations.
After they defeated the Houthis in Aden in July, the Saudis began to signal their intention to achieve a complete military victory in Yemen. The Saudi client government, led by President Abdu Rabbu Mansour Hadi, rejected any negotiations with the Houthis - even after the Houthis had accepted UN Security Council resolution 2216, including the return of the Saudi-backed government to Yemen for a period of 60 days while a new government was to be formed.
That was the situation in mid-August when the Obama administration quietly notified Congress informally of its intention to resupply thousands of "Joint Direct Attack Munitions" as the Saudis requested, according to a September 3 Bloomberg News report. That move came as the White House contemplated the visit of Saudi King Salman to meet President Obama on September 4. The White House hoped to use the king's visit to persuade him of the importance that the administration attached to an "endgame" - meaning a negotiated settlement - in Yemen, according to a former US official who had been briefed on the visit.
But Salman came and went without the slightest hint that the administration had pressed him on the issue, either through leaks to the press or through the issuing of an official statement. And in the days following the meeting, the Saudi-sponsored Hadi government reiterated its refusal to negotiate with the Houthis. UN Special Envoy Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed conveyed to the Hadi government that the Houthis accepted the entire Security Council resolution, except for one article on sanctions. In response, the Hadi government spokesman demanded that the Houthis accept every one of the 24 articles in the resolution.
The White House then publicly stated on September 16 that it was "disappointed" by "recent statements" suggesting that the peace process "might be delayed" and called on "all parties to participate in these peace talks without any preconditions." That was a big step forward from its previous silence, but the message was buried in the last paragraph of a statement on humanitarian assistance to Yemen, as if to convey that the administration did not want to draw too much attention to it. It is hardly surprising that not a single news outlet reported on the statement.
The Obama administration shows no sign that it intends to use the Amnesty report on Saudi war crimes to force the war issue. In response to a request from Truthout for a comment on the Amnesty report's findings and the apparent illegality of resupplying further munitions to the Saudis, a senior administration official did not respond except to acknowledge that the administration is "studying" the report.
The official then repeated word for word an anodyne statement that a State Department official had given to Sputnik News on September 17: "We have asked the Saudi government to investigate all credible reports of casualties resulting from coalition-led airstrikes and, if confirmed, to address the factors that led to them."
Unfortunately, major US news media have supported the administration's evasion of the issue by choosing not to report on Amnesty's explosive report on war crimes – by Gareth Porter
15.10.2015 – Tagesschau
Drohnenpilot Bryant im Interview : "Deutsches Vertrauen ausgenutzt"
Die USA fliegen zahlreiche Drohnenattacken, auch von der Airbase Ramstein aus. Das sagt zumindest der Air-Force-Aussteiger Bryant im Interview. Am Donnerstag wird der ehemalige Drohnenpilot vor dem NSA-Untersuchungsausschuss aussagen.
An Drohnenoperationen sind weit mehr Menschen beteiligt als viele denken. Während eines Drohnenangriffs schauen sich bis zu 100 Leute die Live-Videobilder an. Der Pilot der Drohne und der Sensor Operator sind nur die letzten Glieder in der Kette. Sie sind diejenigen die die Drohne fliegen und den Abzug ziehen. Die Entscheidungen treffen aber andere.
Ramstein ist absolut zentral im US-Drohnenprogramm. Alle Informationen und alle Daten gehen durch Ramstein. Für alle Operationen weltweit. Auch für die CIA-Einsätze.
Die Lage von Ramstein ist ideal. Das Video der Drohnenkamera und die Kontrollsignale werden per Satellit nach Ramstein geschickt, da es in die meisten Krisengebiete keine stabile Verbindung per Erdkabel gibt. Von Ramstein aus werden die Signale dann per Unterseekabel in die USA geleitet.
Bevor wir von unserer Bodenkontrollstation in den Vereinigten Staaten eine Verbindung zu einer Drohne aufbauen konnten, mussten wir in Ramstein anrufen und bitten, dass uns die Leute dort mit einem bestimmten Satellitenkanal verbinden. Wir hoben einfach den Hörer ab, drücken einen Knopf und wurden sofort nach Ramstein verbunden.
Es wird Sie überraschen: das Militär fliegt alle Geheimdienst-Drohneneinsätze, sogar die der CIA. Selbst in Pakistan und Somalia, wo die USA offiziell nicht mal ein Drohnenprogramm haben.
http://www.tagesschau.de/ausland/drohnenpilot-101.html
15.10.2015 – T-Online
Ex-Drohnen-Pilot: Ramstein spielt zentrale Rolle im US-Drohnenkrieg
Im weltweiten Drohnenkrieg des US-Militärs hat der in Deutschland gelegene Luftwaffenstützpunkt Ramstein einem ehemaligen Drohnen-Piloten zufolge eine zentrale Rolle gespielt. "Alle Daten, jedes einzelne bisschen an Dateninformation, das übertragen wurde zwischen dem Flugzeug und der Mannschaft, das lief über den Luftwaffenstützpunkt Ramstein", sagte der 29-jährige Brandon Bryant am Donnerstag als Zeuge im NSA-Untersuchungsausschuss in Berlin. Zugleich fügte er hinzu, eine direkte Steuerung der Kampfdrohnen aus Ramstein finde nicht statt.
Bryant hat mehr als fünf Jahre für die Luftwaffe als "Sensor Operator" - einer Mischung aus Co-Pilot und Bildanalyst - von den USA aus Kampfdrohnen gesteuert. Die Angriffe, an denen er beteiligt war, spielten sich nach seinen Angaben im Irak, in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Somalia und im Jemen ab.
15.10.2015 – ORF
Geheimdokumente geben Einblick in US-Drohnenkrieg
Neue Geheimdokumente eines anonymen Whistleblowers geben Einblick in die umstrittenen Drohnenangriffe der US-Regierung im Kampf gegen Terroristen.
Die heute vom Internetportal The Intercept veröffentlichten Details legen offen, wie die tödlichen Attacken aus der Luft ablaufen und welche Schwächen das von Menschenrechtlern kritisierte Programm hat. Neben der Befehlskette kommt auch ans Licht, unter welchen Kriterien mutmaßliche Terroristen auf die „Todeslisten“ gesetzt werden.
The Intercept beruft sich auf eine namentlich nicht genannte Quelle innerhalb amerikanischer Sicherheitskreise. Das Enthüllungsportal hatte zuvor bereits streng geheime Dokumente öffentlich gemacht, die die Abhörskandale um den Geheimdienst NSA ins Rollen brachten. Der Whistleblower habe um Anonymität gebeten, da die Dokumente vertraulich sind und die USA mit äußerster Härte gegen Enthüller geheimer Informationen vorgehen.
http://orf.at/stories/2304345/
15.10.2015 – Common Dreams
‘A Phenomenal Gamble’: Classified ‘Drone Papers’ Leaked to The Intercept Give Unprecedented Look at Secret U.S. Assassination Program, Reveal Systemic Flaws in Intelligence Gathering
Documents Provided by Intelligence Source Provide New Details on ‘Kill Chain’; Strikes Missing Intended Targets and Killing Bystanders in Afghanistan; Problems with Drone Operations in Yemen and Somalia
Classified documents leaked to The Intercept by an intelligence source published Thursday provide an unprecedented look at a secret drone-based assassination program of the U.S. military that has spanned four presidential terms and two commanders-in-chief. “The Drone Papers” offer the public rare primary source documents detailing the kill/capture program, giving a never-before-seen look into the military’s secret drone war in Yemen and Somalia and providing new details on a controversial campaign in Afghanistan.
The leaked documents show that operations in Yemen and Somalia have relied on dubious intelligence, that the number of people killed is far greater than the number of people on the target list, and that overreliance on drone attacks hampers the ability of U.S. forces to extract potentially valuable evidence from terror suspects.
An intelligence community source that worked on the drone program provided the classified slides to The Intercept, which granted the source’s request for anonymity because the material is classified and the U.S. government has aggressively persecuted whistleblowers. A team of reporters and researchers spent months analyzing the documents, and Thursday published a multimedia package of eight stories that presents an extensive overview of the so-called “targeted killing” program. Among the key revelations in the series:
Assassinations have depended on unreliable intelligence. More than half the intelligence used to track potential kills in Yemen and Somalia was based on electronic communications data from phones, computers, and targeted intercepts (know as signals intelligence) which, the government admits, it has “poor” and “limited” capability to collect. By the military’s own admission, it was lacking in reliable information from human sources.
The documents contradict Administration claims that its operations against high-value terrorists are limited and precise. Contrary to claims that these campaigns narrowly target specific individuals, the documents show that air strikes under the Obama administration have killed significant numbers of unnamed bystanders. Documents detailing a 14-month kill/capture campaign in Afghanistan, for example, show that while the U.S. military killed 35 of its direct targets with air strikes, 219 other individuals also died in the attacks.
In Afghanistan, the military has designated unknown men it kills as “Enemies Killed in Action.” According to The Intercept’s source, the military has a practice of labeling individuals killed in air strikes this way unless evidence emerges to prove otherwise.
Assassinations hurt intelligence gathering. The Pentagon study finds that killing suspected terrorists, even if they are legitimate targets, “significantly reduce[s]” the information available and further hampers intelligence gathering.
New details about the ‘kill chain’ reveal a bureaucratic structure headed by President Obama, by which U.S. government officials select and authorize targets for assassination outside traditional legal and justice systems, and with little transparency. The system included creating a portrait of a potential target in a condensed format known as a ‘Baseball Card,’ which was passed to the White House for approval, while individual drone strikes were often authorized by other officials.
Inconsistencies with publicly available White House statements about targeted killings. Administration policy standards issued in 2013 state that lethal force will be launched only against targets that pose a “continuing, imminent threat to U.S. persons,” however documents from the same time reveal much more vague criteria, including that a person only need present “a threat to U.S. interest or personnel.”
New details of high-profile drone kills, including the 2012 killing in Somalia of Bilal al-Berjawi, which raise questions about whether the British government revoked his citizenship to facilitate the strike.
Information about a largely covert effort to extend the U.S. military’s footprint across the African continent, including through a network of mostly small and low-profile airfields in Djibouti and other African countries.
15.10.2015 – The Intercept
The Drone Papers
The Intercept has obtained a cache of secret documents detailing the inner workings of the U.S. military’s assassination program in Afghanistan, Yemen, and Somalia. The documents, provided by a whistleblower, offer an unprecedented glimpse into Obama’s drone wars.
From his first days as commander in chief, the drone has been President Barack Obama’s weapon of choice, used by the military and the CIA to hunt down and kill the people his administration has deemed — through secretive processes, without indictment or trial — worthy of execution. There has been intense focus on the technology of remote killing, but that often serves as a surrogate for what should be a broader examination of the state’s power over life and death.
This is a labyrinth with 12 entrances and no exit. It is built on a cache of documents provided to The Intercept by a source within the intelligence community.
Secret military documents obtained by The Intercept offer rare documentary evidence of the process by which the Obama administration creates and acts on its kill list of terror suspects in Yemen and Somalia. The documents offer an unusual glimpse into the decision-making process behind the drone strikes and other operations of the largely covert war, outlining the selection and vetting of targets through the ranks of the military and the White House, culminating in the president’s approval of a 60-day window for lethal action.
Soon after he was elected president, Barack Obama was strongly urged by Michael Hayden, the outgoing CIA director, and his new top counterterrorism adviser, John Brennan, to adopt the way of the scalpel — small footprint counterterrorism operations and drone strikes. In one briefing, Hayden bluntly told Obama that covert action was the only way to confront al Qaeda and other terrorist groups plotting attacks against the U.S.
From 2011 to 2013, the most elite forces in the U.S. military, supported by the CIA and other elements of the intelligence community, set out to destroy the Taliban and al Qaeda forces that remained hidden among the soaring peaks and plunging valleys of the Hindu Kush, along Afghanistan’s northeastern border with Pakistan. Dubbed Operation Haymaker, the campaign has been described as a potential model for the future of American warfare: special operations units, partnered with embedded intelligence elements running a network of informants, pinpointing members of violent organizations, then drawing up plans to eliminate those targets from the battlefield, either by capturing or killing them.
The Obama administration has portrayed drones as an effective and efficient weapon in the ongoing war with al Qaeda and other radical groups. Yet classified Pentagon documents obtained by The Intercept reveal that the U.S. military has faced “critical shortfalls” in the technology and intelligence it uses to find and kill suspected terrorists in Yemen and Somalia.
As he walked through the busy streets of London, Bilal el-Berjawi was glancing over his shoulder. Everywhere he went, he suspected he was being followed. Within a few years — 4,000 miles away in remote Somalia — he would be dead, killed by a secret U.S. drone strike.
https://theintercept.com/drone-papers
Propaganda
14.10.2015 – Gulf News
Saleh using Al Qaida to foment chaos in Aden
Ali Abdullah Saleh, Yemen’s ex-president, is working with Al Qaida and Daesh to carry out terrorist operations in Aden, according to Yemeni foreign minister Riyad Yassin.
He said Saleh, who has been working closely with Iran-backed Al Houthi militants to foment chaos in Yemen, is quickly running out of options after a string of territorial losses to Yemeni forces backed by a Saudi-led coalition.
“He is using his last card with Al Qaida to shake the stability of Yemen’s liberated cities,” Yassin said.
He warned that his attempt will fail ‘as it has failed in the past.’
http://gulfnews.com/news/gulf/yemen/saleh-using-al-qaida-to-foment-chaos-in-aden-1.1600792
Kommentar: Saleh ist für vieles verantwortlich, gleichzeitig mit den Huthis und Al Kaida / Isis kann wohl auch er nicht tanzen. Es bleibt so, dass an dem Erstarken von Al Kaida und ISIS im Jemen vor LLEM DIE Saudis die Schuld tragen.
14.10.2015 – Emirates 24 7
'Victories of Arab Coalition in Yemen prove it is on right path'
'Arab Coalition responded out of its moral duty'
Dr. Sultan bin Ahmed Sultan Al Jaber, Minister of State and Chairman of the Board of the National Media Council, has stated that the victories achieved by the Arab Coalition in Yemen led by Saudi Arabia confirmed that it took the right decision when responding to the call of the legitimate government to save the Yemeni people from the Houthi militias and ousted Saleh Group.
Under the title ‘On the liberation of Bab Al Mandab’, Al Jaber said in an article published by Asharq Al Awsat newspaper, that when the Houthi militia backed by Iran ignored the political choices of the Yemeni people and tried to remove the legitimate government, which is internationally recognised, through a military coup, the Arab Coalition, in which the UAE is participating, responded out of its moral duty and historical and religious constants shared with the Arab brothers in Yemen.
He added that the move was based on the international legitimacy represented by the Security Council Resolution No. 2216, which called for Houthi militia to withdraw troops immediately and unconditionally from the various areas that have been seized by force, as well as for recognition of the legitimate government of Yemen.
Kommentar: Witzig, wenn hier der Hadi-Regierung eine demokratische Legitimation zugeschrieben wird. Hadi war bei der Wahl 2012 einziger Kandidat, „siegte“ mit über 99 %, war für zwei Jahre gewählt. Und weder in den Vereinigten Arabischen Emiraten noch in Saudi-Arabien kann von Demokratie die Rede sein. Da kann man auch gleich einen Zuhälter zum Direktor eines Mädchenpensionats machen. Und ein „military coup“ war die Machtergreifung der Huthis in Sanaa auch nicht.
5.10.2015 – The National UAE
Fighting to free Yemen is the ‘right decision’, says UAE Minister of State
ABU DHABI // Dr Sultan Al Jaber, Minister of State, said the decision to fight the Houthi militias in Yemen was the right one.
Under the title, “On the liberation of Bab Al Mandeb”, Mr Al Jaber said in an article published by Asharq Al Awsat newspaper that the UAE responded when the Iranian-backed Houthi militia ignored the political choices of the Yemeni people and tried to remove the legitimate government.
He said that the UAE was part of the Arab coalition to help the Yemeni people because of their ties to the country.
The move, he said, was based on the international legitimacy represented by the Security Council Resolution No 2216, which called for Houthi militia to withdraw troops immediately and unconditionally from the various areas that they had seized by force.
He said the Arab coalition had achieved three important goals: the liberation of Aden; regaining control of Marib; and the liberation of Bab Al Mandeb.
Bab Al Mandeb, he said, was an outstanding military achievement because the offensive took just six hours to regain control of the strategic area.
Kommentar: Aus derselben Rede wie Artikel zuvor. Immer das Gleiche…
13.10.2015 – AFP
Yemen's Huthis only ones who can end war: Saudi FM
Huthi rebels and their allies in Yemen are the only ones who can bring an end to the seven-month-old war there, Saudi Arabia's foreign minister said on Tuesday.
"I believe that the matter of the end of hostilities lies entirely with the Huthis and with Saleh," Adel al-Jubeir said, referring to former Yemeni president Ali Abdullah Saleh.
"They are the ones who started this, and they are the ones who continue this," he told a joint news conference with his French counterpart Laurent Fabius.
http://news.yahoo.com/yemens-huthis-only-ones-end-war-saudi-fm-191447898.html
Kommentar: "They are the ones who started this, and they are the ones who continue this," nein, die Saudis haben im Jemen überhaupt nichts angefangen.
12.10.2015 – Khaleej Times
Yemen needs a political revival and the legitimate government of President Hadi should be back in the saddle. The war and vandalism in Yemen has led to serious human rights violations. Houthi terrorists and former president Saleh\'s supporters have targeted their opponents with impunity and are getting away with it. Child soldiers are being used in the war by the rebels, and more than 500 children have been killed in the strife-torn country since March when the fighting escalated, the UN children\'s agency said. GCC and Arab forces have brought the abuses to the fore and it is important that the UN take note of them and act against the perpetrators who are prolonging the war.
The United Nations has repeatedly called on all sides to renounce violence and ensure immediate access to humanitarian assistance in conflict areas. There is hardly any civil order left in the strife-torn country, except in the south where the GCC-Arab coalition and Yemeni forces have taken over the port of Aden and areas close to it, including the Bad Al Mandab strait. In recent weeks, the Houthis and militias loyal to former president Ali Abdullah Saleh have gone on a killing spree, resulting in the massacre of hundreds of innocent families.
The world body has documented such violations as \'\'killing of civilians, arbitrary detentions, the recruitment of children and the targeting of schools, hospitals and private property by combatants\'\'. The conflict has led to a large exodus of people; millions have fled the country. Moreover, the damage to infrastructure will take years to fix. Yemen cannot progress without external help. The UAE has led the way in rebuilding the country. Humanitarian assistance has been increased by Dh300 million. Military gains of the GCC Arab coalition should pave the way to a UN-sponsored dialogue, wherein all the militias should be disarmed and a national government set up. Yemen needs a political revival and the legitimate government of President Hadi should be back in the saddle. Human rights violations should be probed and the violators prosecuted under international law.
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/editorials-columns/stop-houthi-abuses-in-yemen = http://www.thefrontierpost.com/article/343198/stop-houthi-abuses-in-yemen/
Kommentar: Das, was hier hervorgehoben ist, zu schreiben, ohne auch nur mit einem Wort die saudischen Luftangriffe zu erwähnen, ist lupenreine Propaganda. Seltsam ist auch die Behauptung, nur in den "befreiten" Gebieten gäbe es eine funktionierende Regierungsautorität und Verwaltung. Al Kaida und Separatisten zeigen etwas anderes. Al Kaida und ISIS bewegen sich weitgehend frei, selbst in Hadis Hauptstadt Aden, die "Regierung" kann nur in einem von den Saudis und den Truppen der VAR streng gesicherten Ghetto existieren, ähnlich dem der Amerikaner in Bagdad. Und selbst das Bedienungspersonal für die Hadi-Truppe wurde aus dem Ausland hergebracht, wie die philippinischen Kellner in dem als Regierungsquartier dienenden Hotel.
Seeblockade / Naval blockade
14.10.2015 – Voice of America
US Navy Report: Arab Coalition Slowing Aid Efforts in Yemen
Aid to Yemen is being slowed by a Saudi-led coalition which has warned commercial vessels to stay away from areas hit by fighting, a U.S. Navy report said.
The Arab coalition, fighting to end control of much of Yemen by the Iran-allied Houthi movement, denied the allegation and said it was keen for ships to take in relief.
A report published on Tuesday by the U.S. Navy and seen by Reuters said coalition warships off the Red Sea port of Hodeida were "broadcasting a warning to commercial vessels to stay clear of operational areas.
"Only vessels with valid permit/clearance numbers will be granted entry into the port areas, all others will be turned away," the document reported the message as saying.
It said the Yemeni government had permitted the vessels to enter but the coalition was preventing this, indicating a possible "gap" between the government and its Arab allies.
However, coalition spokesman Brigadier General Ahmed al-Asseri denied warships had sent any messages aimed at deterring vessels from docking.
He said the coalition was asking vessels to submit to inspection by its warships to check for possible attempts to smuggle weapons to Houthi forces.
"There are a lot of ships that want to go to the port without clearance, he said, adding from the start of the campaign in March "'I made it clear that vessels had to contact us for inspection in line with our maritime interdiction'.
"We are saying to the ships, please go through the process ... for sure they will have a clearance."
Ships heading to Yemen must submit a request to the Yemeni government, but inspections are carried out by the coalition.
Contacted by Reuters, Hodeidah officials said two cargo ships entered the port on Wednesday, one carrying rice and cement and the other carrying cars.
http://www.voanews.com/content/us-navy-says-arab-coalition-slowing-aid-efforts/3005478.html
14.10.2015 – World Maritime News
Yemeni Hodeidah Port Closed
Yemen’s port of Hodeidah has been officially announced as part of a military operations area and is closed to ships, GAC reports.
Operations at Hodeidah stopped at 16.30 hours local time on Sunday, October 11, and this Red Sea port will be closed until further notice.
The port authority has ordered all ships at berth to leave port and stay at anchorage until advised differently.
Hodeidah is controlled by the Houthi militias and allied army units loyal to Yemen’s former president Ali Abdullah Saleh.
http://worldmaritimenews.com/archives/173910/yemeni-hodeidah-port-closed/
13.10.2015 – NDTV
Yemen's Red Sea Port of Hodeidah Says First Ship in Weeks Arrives
Officials at Yemen's Red Sea port of Hodeidah said the first ship to dock there in three weeks arrived today, carrying desperately needed fuel, as Saudi Arabia denied it was obstructing aid supplies heading for Yemen by sea.
Yemen is suffering what the United Nations has designated as one of its highest-level humanitarian crises but aid efforts have been severely hampered by ongoing fighting and air and sea ports being blocked for long periods.
Hodeidah port officials said that two cargo ships, one carrying wheat and the other timber, were the last vessels to enter the facility about three weeks ago.
The tanker that arrived today had been waiting in international waters for two months, they said, adding that nine other vessels were anchored about 60 miles away from the port awaiting permission to enter.
International aid officials say imports to Yemen have slowed to a trickle because of inspections of vessels by a Saudi-led coalition looking for smuggled weapons.
However, coalition spokesman Brigadier General Ahmed al-Asseri said there had been no attempts to prevent ships from reaching Hodeidah, adding that six ships had arrived at Hodeidah two days ago and 12 more to the southern port city of Aden, which is controlled by Hadi's government.
"The ships are still operating," Asseri told Reuters.
"We told the crude oil to go to Aden, to the refinery there. But for the rest, the refined fuel, plus the food and humanitarian aid, they can go to Hodeidah. We want this to go to the population. That is where our concern is."
Asseri said ships sent by humanitarian bodies such as the Red Crescent, and the United Nations, are not searched, nor are ships from member countries of the coalition. Only those ships coming from third countries are searched, he added.
He appeared to be referring to a new inspection regime backed by United Nations and announced in September to increase the flow of commercial goods into Yemen.
Shipping sources said that the fuel tanker's cargo of diesel was destined for a flour mill that was forced to close early October due to lack of fuel.
http://www.ndtv.com/world-news/yemeni-port-says-first-ship-in-weeks-arrives-saudi-arabia-denies-hampering-aid-by-sea-1231753
Öl im Jemen / Oil in Yemen
14.10.2015 – Albawaba
Öl im Jemen / Oil in Yemen
Yemen's Marib Governate to withhold oil revenues from Houthis
A local government-run oil company in Marib has been asked by the governor to continue to withhold oil revenues and not send them to the Al Houthi-controlled capital.
Ali Al Ghoulais, governor Sultan Al Aradeh’s media secretary, told Gulf News on Tuesday that the governor alerted President Abd Rabbo Mansour Hadi about his decision and said that he would transfer the revenue to any branch of the central bank that is not controlled by the Iran-backed Al Houthis.
The Marib province has generated revenue by selling oil in the local market.
The media secretary said the governor’s decision prompted Al Houthis to cut salaries for the army in Marib.
“I expect they will stop paying public servants in Marib next year, if this continues,” Ali Al Ghoulais said.Riyadh has promised to step in to pay the salaries for the army if this happens. Local tribes in Marib have fiercely resisted Al Houthis’ advance and managed to keep them on the outskirts of the province. Local army forces and tribal leaders have been able to gain ground since a Saudi-led coalition stepped in with well-trained forces equipped with sophisticated arms. Al Ghoulais said government forces have approached the town of Serwah, an area which is still under Al Houthi control.
Residents in Marib accuse retreating Al Houthi militants of planting landmines that have claimed the lives of innocent civilians.
So far, 17 civilians have been killed by Al Houthi landmines and 21 others injured.
“Al Houthis carpeted Marib with landmines,” he said.
Meanwhile, in the neighbouring Shabwa province, local authorities are trying to get oil and gas companies to share their revenues to help finance the electricity and security sectors.
http://www.albawaba.com/business/yemens-marib-governate-withhold-oil-revenues-houthis-755010
Terrorismus / Terrorism
14.10.2015 – National Union of Journalists
Al-Qaida in Yemen must release media workers immediately
14 October 2015
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has today joined its affiliate, the Yemen Journalists´ Syndicate (YJS), in calling for the immediate release of three media workers kidnapped by Al-Qaida on Monday 12 October 2015.
According to the YJS´s reports, Amir Bou Owaydan, a correspondent from Al Azal TV, Mohamed Al Makri, a correspondent from Yemen Al Yamw, and cameraman Akram al-Yamani were kidnapped in Mukalla city (in the Hadramout region) whilst they were covering a protest against the presence of al-Qaida in the city.
The IFJ has backed the local union in its condemnation of the incident and both organisations are demanding the immediate release of our colleagues as well as the protection of their lives.
Jim Boumelha, IFJ president, said:
"These latest kidnappings remind us that journalists have sadly become pawns in wider geopolitical fights.
"Once again, we stand by our Yemeni colleagues and their families in their daily suffering in their duty to report. We urge their captors to immediate release them and, in the meantime, to ensure their physical safety."
This is the first time that al-Qaida has taken reporters hostages in the country since 2013 when they kidnapped US photographer Luke Somers, who sadly lost his life last December during a failed attempt by the US Special Forces to release him.
Al-Qaida have not kidnapped any local journalist before.
https://www.nuj.org.uk/news/al-qaida-in-yemen-must-release-media-workers-immediately/
14.10.2015 – News Fulton County
Al-Qaeda seizes gov’t complex in Yemen’s Abyan
Al-Qaeda militants on Wednesday took over a local government headquarters in Zinjibar, regional capital of Yemen’s southern Abyan province, according to local sources.
Residents told Anadolu Agency that Al-Qaeda militants had overrun the government complex after driving out pro-government elements stationed inside.
Four years ago, Al-Qaeda wrested control of Abyan and waged a yearlong war with the Yemeni army before eventually withdrawing to the nearby Hadhramaut province.
Abyan province is located roughly 45 kilometers from Aden, Yemen’s economic and commercial capital – by Shukri Hussein
Neue Artikel zum Nachlesen 1-33:
https://www.freitag.de/autoren/dklose oder
http://poorworld.net/YemenWar.htm
Fotos von saudischen Luftangriffen auf Ibb am 27. September Sanaa am 15. Oktober / Photos of saudi air raids at Ibb, Sept. 27, and Sanaa, Oct. 15:
(18 +, nichts für Sensible, graphic!!!)
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