Krieg im Jemen: Neue Artikel zum Nachlesen 36

Jemen Rolle der USA - Gesundheitsversorgung, humanitäre Lage katastrophal - Gefährdetes Kulturerbe - 30 Hadi-Soldaten von den Saudis versehentlich getötet - Friedensgespräche

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Yemen Press reader 36

Allgemein / General

18.10.2015 – Reuters

Yemen's abundant guns fuel its messy civil war

Yemenis often say there are three guns for every person, a boast that has become an urgent concern in a country where the United Nations says the humanitarian situation is "critical".

The precise number of weapons is impossible to verify, but the profusion of arms on display in Marib makes the three-to-one claim look not far off.

Easy access to weapons has enabled widely ranging groups to enter the fighting, including Islamist militants who have seized control of the port city of Mukalla, several hundred kilometers (miles) east of Marib in the Hadramawt region.

United Nations experts cited the abundance of arms in Yemen as a regional worry in 2013, when al Qaeda linked militants already had a major base in the south, but the war has given such worries even greater urgency.

At Marib's gun market, a Kalashnikov assault rifle sells for a few hundred dollars and a hand grenade for $30, said Yemeni soldiers who accompanied Reuters on a visit to the city last week, and who all bought their weapons locally.

Heavier weapons are also available, they said, including rocket propelled grenades, mortars and light artillery - popular items with local tribal leaders long before the war began and used as much to impress followers as for any martial value.

Wars in the 1960s, 1980s, 1990s and last decade, the involvement of a range of regional and international powers, the constant fighting in nearby countries like Somalia and the disintegration of the army have facilitated the influx of arms.

In this volatile environment, weapons are often customized: an assault rifle turned tommy gun via the addition of a big circular magazine, an anti-aircraft canon mounted in place of a machine gun on the back of a pick-up truck, three fighters sitting proudly behind.

Among groups of soldiers and irregular fighters in civilian clothes, the merits of, and problems with, their weapons is a frequent topic of conversation. While most are purchased from Marib's market, the guns of a lucky few who have been trained in Saudi Arabia to fight the Houthis were given them by Gulf states – by Angus McDowall

http://news.yahoo.com/yemens-abundant-guns-fuel-messy-civil-war-152844811.html

18.10.2015 – Kölner Stadtanzeiger

Interview zu Krise im Jemen: „Auch Deutschland liefert den Saudis Waffen“

Im Land herrscht eine der größten humanitären Katastrophe der Welt, warnt Nothelfer Tariq Riebl im Interview. Und fordert mehr Engagement von Deutschland

Einen Alltag gibt es nicht mehr. Bodenkämpfe vertreiben Hunderttausende. Außerdem bombardieren die Saudis ununterbrochen das ganze Land, die zivile Infrastruktur ist zunehmend zerstört.

Zahlenmäßig ist es sogar die zurzeit größte humanitäre Krise: Geschätzte 21 Millionen Menschen brauchen Hilfe, 13 Millionen davon haben nicht genug zu essen. Doch fliehen können sie kaum. Saudi-Arabien blockiert alle Luft- und Landwege und kontrolliert die Seewege.

[In Flüchtlingslager] trauen sich die meisten nicht mehr, seit die Saudis das größte Lager im Jemen bombardiert haben. Also werden die Ausgebombten und Fliehenden in den Dörfern untergebracht, oft unter verheerenden Umständen: 40 Leute in einem Haushalt, weil eine rund siebenköpfige Familie an die fünf Familien aufnimmt. Viele Vertriebene sind auch in Schulen untergebracht oder obdachlos und schlafen am Straßenrand.

Es sind nur noch wenige [Hilfsorganisationen] da, hauptsächlich Oxfam, das Rote Kreuz und Ärzte ohne Grenzen, und die Helfer leben natürlich in ähnlicher Gefahr wie die Menschen vor Ort. Aber ohnehin müssen wir betonen: Für 21 Millionen Menschen gibt es keine Lösung durch humanitäre Hilfe. Sondern die Bombardierungen und vor allem die Blockade durch Saudi-Arabien muss enden.

Deutschland kann seine guten Kontakte zu den Saudis nutzen, um ihnen klarzumachen, dass sie nicht länger nur aufs Militärische setzen dürfen. Auch im Jemen zeigt sich, dass mit Luftschlägen in der Region nichts zu gewinnen ist. – Steven Geyer interviewte Tariq Riebel von Oxfam

http://www.ksta.de/politik/interview-zu-krise-im-jemen--auch-deutschland-liefert-den-saudis-waffen-,15187246,32189994.html

17.10.2015 – Vice News

'All We Could Find Were Body Parts': America's Role in Yemen's Civilian Carnage

For their part, the Saudis often deny that airstrikes cited by human rights officials were even carried out by their coalition. With the exception of the longstanding US drone program targeting al Qaeda's Yemen affiliate — which is also believed to have killed dozens of civilians, some at wedding gatherings — the Saudi-led coalition is the only air power operating above Yemen. When asked, the Saudi Embassy in Washington, DC would not say how the Saudi government is investigating civilian casualties or working to prevent them.

In September, UN human rights chief Zeid Ra'ad al Hussein called for an independent international inquiry into possible crimes committed in Yemen over the past year. Soon after, the Netherlands proposed a resolution at the UN's Human Rights Council that would authorize a UN mission to gather evidence. Under intense pressure from the Saudis and other Gulf states, and with little support from the US, the Dutch folded. A Saudi-drafted text affirming UN assistance for the Riyadh-supported government of Yemeni President Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi was passed instead.

Human rights officials say that the existing inquiry established by Hadi's government, just like Saudi claims that they will investigate their own airstrikes, do not hold up to international standards of impartiality.

"One way to have settled who provided the targeting for the catastrophic attack on the wedding would have been an international inquiry, but sadly the US did not lift a finger to make that happen," said Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East and North Africa director at Human Rights Watch.

While CENTCOM officials insist that the American assistance program is "primarily an advisory one," experts counter that the coalition would have immense difficulty operating politically and militarily in its absence.

"Without US in-air refueling, combat search-and-rescue, a steady and expedited flow of weapons and ammunition, and contractor logistical support, the air campaign couldn't happen," said Micah Zenko, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations who has been closely studying the intervention.

Chis Jenks, a professor of international law at Southern Methodist University and a 20-year veteran of the US armed forces, said that while the US is not officially a member of the Saudi-led coalition, it is difficult to overestimate how essential it is to the campaign.

"The number of countries that are capable of aerial refueling is amazingly few," he said. "Even among our NATO allies, they rely on the US. The US remains uniquely equipped to provide logistical support and a wide range of kinds and types of intelligence, including signals intelligence on radio, cell and other forms of communication, and satellite imagery products."

"The White House may well be able to claim that the US is not making targeting decisions or launching airstrikes, and that it doesn't control the military forces of other countries which are — so as a matter of law, the US is not obligated to conduct an investigation into allegations of civilian casualties," he said. "It seems now that there is a tendency within coalition operations to not acknowledge which countries in the coalition are taking what action. Coalition operations are providing an effective way to deflect media inquiries and concerns about civilian casualties."

The dearth of information on coalition activities and the lack of an impartial investigation into civilian casualties has alarmed human rights monitors.

"If there were to be a proper investigation, first and foremost responsibility would have to be established as to who are the primary perpetrators of any attack," said Donatella Rovera, Amnesty International's senior crisis response advisor. "And then who might have provided assistance of some sort, be it logistical or intelligence or supplying weapons, even if those weapons might have been supplied some time ago."

A Yemen-based human rights official said that the US is driven to provide support in order to placate the Saudis after their opposition to the nuclear deal that the US and other world powers reached with Tehran this summer.

"It comes down to the Iran nuclear deal, and this is the price to be paid, the pound of flesh," said the official, who spoke to VICE News on condition of anonymity due to the official's ongoing work in the country. "The Saudis get to do whatever they want to do in Yemen."

Farea al-Muslimi, a visiting scholar and expert on Yemen at the Carnegie Middle East Center, said that the unconditional support that the US, the UK, and other Western countries provide to the coalition has "led the Saudis to be more destructive in their use of force."

"Now the Saudis are using Yemen as an experiment lab for violence, and this will have an extensive impact in the long term," he said – by Samuel Oakford

Enthält auch Augenzeugenaussagen von den beiden Luftschlägen auf die Hochzeitsgesellschaften am 28. Sept. und 7. Okt.

https://news.vice.com/article/the-us-wont-own-up-to-helping-the-saudi-led-coalition-kill-civilians-in-yemen

15.10.2015 – UNITAR

Karten zu Zerstörungen im Jemen – Maps on destructions in Yemen

15-Oct-2015 Damage Assessment of Sana'a City, Sana'a Governorate, Yemen

28-Aug-2015 Damage Assessment of Aden, Aden Governorate, Yemen

22-Jul-2015 Visible Light At Night Over Yemen as of 21 July 2015

03-Jul-2015 Damage Assessment of Taiz City, At Ta'Ziah District, Yemen

03-Jun-2015 Damage Assessment of Sana'a International Airport, Sana'a Governorate, Yemen

03-Jun-2015 Damage Assessment of Sana'a City, Sana'a Governorate, Yemen

20-May-2015 Damage Assessment of Sadah, Saada Governorate, Yemen

19-May-2015 Damage Assessment of Aden, Aden Governorate, Yemen

15-May-2015 Situation Update on the City of Aden, Yemen

13-May-2015 Visible Light At Night Over Yemen Using The Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS-Day/Night Band)

27-Apr-2015 Visible Light At Night Over Yemen Using TheVisible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite(VIIRS-Day/Night Band)

23-Apr-2015 Situation Update on the cities of Aden and Sadah, Yemen

17-Apr-2015 Visible Light At Night Over Yemen Using TheVisible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite(VIIRS-Day/Night Band)

http://www.unitar.org/unosat/maps/YEM

Humanitäre Lage / Humanitarian Situation

19.10.2015 – Reliefweb

Make do or die: healthcare in Yemen

The September 26th Hospital in Bani Matar, was bombed three times late last month. The coalition was apparently targeting the building next door.

A hospital guard at the September 26th – named for the day in 1962 when Yemen’s last monarch was deposed –was killed in one of the strikes, and some 10 staff members wounded.

The doors and windows of the hospital were blown out, hospital director Mohammed Abduladheem Zaid told IRIN. During the airstrikes, patients were left to fend for themselves as doctors abandoned their surgeries and sought shelter.

After the bombings, “the emergency room, X-ray department, and maternity wards stopped work completely until patients broke into the hospital,” Zaid said. “They forced the staff to return to work because [the patients] couldn't find another solution.”

It’s not the only hospital to be hit. Al-Thawra General Hospital in Sana’a, Yemen’s largest medical facility, suffered significant damage in May after an airstrike, believed to be meant for a Houthi weapons cache in nearby Noqoum mountain, apparently missed its intended target.

In Aden, one of the city’s largest hospitals, the Republic, also lies shattered and empty, its first floor badly damaged by shelling.

Anwar Mughalis, chairman of the board at Al-Thawrah, confirmed that his hospital was running a bare minimum of services and was regularly turning away patients.

"We've run out of many medical instruments and medications like dialysis solution, artificial valves [for heart surgery] and stents," he told IRIN. "It's impossible to get them from the local market because companies can't import them."

Until last week, Mughalis was able to perform dialysis thanks to solution salvaged from hospitals that had shuttered, but that supply too has dried up.

“Even those solutions have run out, and now I can only take cases of patients who are facing death.”

His cardiac unit has nearly ground to a halt as well, and he has 120 patients waiting for urgent heart surgery.

Mughalis blames the blockade. “Commercial ships are not allowed to come to Yemen, so the companies cannot provide medicines and medical equipment. Only the international organisations are allowed to import them, but [they] cannot import everything we had before the war.”

Many medications also require careful climate-controlled transport, simply not an option in the chaos of Yemen today, he noted.

At September 26th hospital, they’re flat out of medications to treat high blood pressure, diabetes, and psychiatric conditions.

Hassan Boucenine, head of mission for Médecins Sans Frontières in Yemen, confirmed the validity of the doctors’ complaints.

“Because of the embargo, the market cannot cover the needs of the hospitals and patients and the Ministry of Health have extreme difficulty in importing goods,” Boucenine told IRIN. MSF brings in the large majority of its medical supplies from abroad, 400 tonnes since March.

While hospitals can’t seem to get drugs into the country, they have the opposite problem with staff. Nearly all foreigners, including medical personnel, have left Yemen.

Mughalis said he had lost 400 staff members since the bombing began in March, including a lot of foreign expertise. “Nurses and doctors, [including] anaesthesiologists, heart and kidney specialists have left the country since the beginning of the [Saudi] aggression. This has caused a lot of confusion.”

Local staffers have left too, as they join the 2.3 million Yemenis internally displaced by the fighting. Hospitals have attempted to compensate by increasing doctors’ shifts from eight to as long as 24 hours. Those working long hours bunk in the quarters formerly occupied by foreign doctors. Medical students have even been drafted early to help keep hospitals running – by IRIN

http://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/make-do-or-die-healthcare-yemen

18.10.2015 – The American Conservative

Yemen’s Humanitarian Calamity

The main cause for these appalling conditions is the Saudi-led coalition’s blockade. It can’t be stressed enough that the blockade is largely responsible for the severity of Yemen’s humanitarian crisis, and it is doing even more widespread damage to the civilian population of the entire country than the bombing campaign. The U.S. enables and supports the Saudi-led war, and it approves of the coalition’s blockade and permits it to continue with no consequences for the U.S.-Saudi relationship. The starvation of Yemen with U.S. help is an enduring blot on the administration’s record and deeply shames the United States. Our government supported this war when it had no need to do so, and it is responsible for many of the war’s evil effects.

When sanctions on Iraq reportedly led to the deaths of hundreds of thousands of children in the 1990s, then-Secretary of State Albright said that she thought the suffering inflicted on Iraq’s civilian population was “worth it.” Albright’s statement was a perfect example of the monstrous indifference to the staggering human costs of our misguided policies. Today no administration official is forced to justify the cruel and indefensible policies of U.S.-backed clients in Yemen, because there is so little attention being paid to the war or the coalition’s actions. Secretary Kerry might or might not publicly endorse the starvation of Yemen that the Saudi-led coalition is carrying out right now, but then no one from a major media outlet would ask him the question that would put him in the position of having to endorse it. The administration has enjoyed the luxury of avoiding serious criticism or scrutiny for one of its most horrible policies, and in the meantime Yemen’s civilians endure an extraordinary humanitarian calamity – by Daniel Larison

http://www.theamericanconservative.com/larison/yemens-humanitarian-calamity/

17.10.2015 – Reliefweb

Yemen – Conflict: ETC Situation Report #5, Reporting period 15/09/15 to 14/10/15

In Sana’a, the ETC is continuing to provide back-up data connectivity and security telecommunications for United Nations (UN) agencies, and back-up data connectivity in the ETC hub in the premises of an International NGO.

In Al Hudaydah, the ETC is providing VHF radio coverage, radio programming and training on security telecommunications. Data connectivity is provided to UN agencies in an ETC hub hosted in temporary location.

The ETC provided internet connectivity on the ship used as temporary residence and back-up office for three inter-agency assessment missions in Aden.

ETC partners are prepositioning data connectivity equipment in Djibouti to be deployed to Aden

Due to delays in importing equipment and limitation of staff allowed to be in Yemen for security reasons, ETC operations are progressing at a slow pace. As mitigation measures to the operational constraints, ETC is exploring local markets, hiring local staff and rotating international staff across locations. The ETC is prioritizing operational areas and services, with inputs of the local ETC working group. Preliminary findings indicate that Ta’izz, Al Mukalla and Sa’ada remain priority areas for the humanitarian community. The conflict severely damaged the country’s infrastructures, including power plants and electricity grid, leading to frequent power black outs.

http://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/yemen-conflict-etc-situation-report-5-reporting-period-150915-141015 and full report http://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/2015%20-%2010%20-%2012%20-%20Yemen%20-%20ETC%20SitRep%20%235.pdf

Kulturerbe / Cultural Heritage

17.10.2015 – Human Rights Watch

Yemen: Sanaa’s Old City at Risk

All Sides Should Avoid Battle at UNESCO World Heritage Site

Parties to Yemen’s armed conflict should take all necessary measures to protect Sanaa’s Old City, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. International humanitarian law provides special protections to buildings and other structures that are part of humanity’s cultural heritage.

“Beyond the loss of civilian lives, it would be a terrible additional loss to humanity if Sanaa’s Old City, inhabited for 2,500 years, became a battlefield,” said Joe Stork, deputy Middle East director. “Both Houthi and coalition forces need to abide by international legal protections and keep the Old City out of any future fighting.”

The coalition air campaign has been responsible for most of the civilian deaths, accordingto the UN. Many of these airstrikes on Sanaa, the Houthi northern stronghold of Saada, and other cities have been indiscriminate or used cluster munitions, in violation of the laws of war. The Houthis too have committed abuses, including indiscriminate rocket attacks, the mistreatment of detainees, and enforced disappearances of political opponents.

On October 2, the UN Human Rights Council adopted by consensus a deeply flawed resolution that ignored calls for an international inquiry into mounting abuses in the country. The Netherlands originally put forward a draft resolution that would have mandated a UN mission to document violations by all sides since September 2014. Several members of the Saudi-led coalition conducting military operations in Yemen – including Qatar, Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, and the United Arab Emirates – openly opposed the proposed UN inquiry.

The Houthis have been moving into Sanaa’s Old City since 2011, and placing any troops, weapons, or headquarters there would make them military targets. On June 12, an explosionin the Old City destroyed several buildings and killed five people. The coalition denied that the explosion was the result of an airstrike. On September 19, a coalition airstrike hit an apartment building in the Old City, killing nine members of a family, international mediareported.

After the June 12 explosion, UNESCO’s director general, Irina Bokova, urged all parties to protect Yemen’s cultural heritage. “I am profoundly distressed by the loss of human lives as well as by the damage inflicted on one of the world’s oldest jewels of Islamic urban landscape,” she said. “I am shocked by the images of these magnificent many-storied tower-houses and serene gardens reduced to rubble.”

The Houthis should be redeploying their forces away from and not into the Old City, Human Rights Watch said. Coalition forces have an obligation to take the Hague Convention protections into account if they attack any Houthi forces there. The US, the United Kingdom and other countries backing the coalition should raise their concerns about possible damage to the Old City and Yemen’s cultural heritage.

“The US and other coalition supporters should send a clear message to Saudi Arabia and others to do all they can to avoid fighting in Sanaa’s Old City,” Stork said. “In a year when so many of the Middle East’s greatest architectural wonders have been damaged and destroyed, it would be a terrible tragedy to add Sanaa to the list.”

https://www.hrw.org/news/2015/10/17/yemen-sanaas-old-city-risk siehe auch http://www.japantimes.co.jp/opinion/2015/10/18/commentary/world-commentary/humanitys-cultural-heritage-risk-yemen-war/#.ViPBV37hDcs

Kommentar: „The Houthis have been moving into Sanaa’s Old City since 2011,” was heißt das? Houthis sind eine Volksgruppe, die schon lange vor 2011 in der Altstadt gelebt hat. Sind Bewaffnete gemeint? Im Jemen gibt es seit je her in fast jedem Haus ein Gewehr. Soll also jedes Haus ein „militärisches Ziel“ für die Saudis sein???

Kriegsereignisse / Theater of War

18.10.2015 – Dispatchtimes

Yemen landmines kill 5 civilians, 12 anti-rebel fighters

http://www.dispatchtimes.com/yemen-landmines-kill-5-civilians-12-anti-rebel-fighters/139625/

18.10.2015 – 7 Daye AE

Photos: UAE and Saudi coalition naval fleet in Yemen

The Saudi-led coalition in Yemen is continuing to prevent supplies reaching Houthi rebels by sea.

UAE national news agency WAM released these photos of Marine helicopters, pilots and jets guarding the Yemen coast.

http://7days.ae/photos-uae-and-saudi-coalition-naval-fleet-in-yemen

18.10.2015 – Trend

Saudi fighter jets target north Yemen with cluster bombs (VIDEO)

Yemeni media have released a video showing the northern province of Sa’ada being targeted with banned cluster bombs by Saudi warplanes, Press TV reported.

The footage on Sunday showed Saudi fighter jets bombing the residential area of Maran village in Sa’ada Province with cluster bombs, al-Yemen al-Youm television network reported. Tens of civilians were reportedly killed in the attack and several houses were destroyed.

Meanwhile, Saudi bombs also hit a number of locations in Sanhan district in the capital city of Sana’a. Saudi warplanes also attacked the security forces headquarters in Haraz district in the northern Hajjah Province.

Reports also indicate that a number of Yemeni civilians were killed in Saudi bombings in al-Hazm district of the northern al-Jawf Province.

http://en.trend.az/world/arab/2445325.html

18.10.2015 – The Iran Project / Iran English Radio

Fresh Saudi airstrikes on Yemen kill 20, injure dozens

At least 20 people have lost their lives and scores of others have sustained injuries in the latest wave of Saudi airstrikes against Yemen.

On Saturday, Saudi fighter jets bombarded a mosque and a gas station in the Hajr area of the Qabbaytah district in Yemen’s southwestern province of Lahij, killing seven civilians and wounding seven others, Yemen’s Saba Net news agency reported.

Meanwhile, five Yemenis were killed and three more injured after Saudi bombers pounded the Saqayn district in the northern Yemeni province of Sa’ada.

Saudi warplanes also targeted a bank and a residential complex in the Mukha district of the southern province of Ta’izz, leaving four people dead and dozens more injured.

In the Khadir district of Ta’izz, Saudi missiles hit a gas station and killed four Yemenis. Several others were also wounded in the raid.

http://theiranproject.com/blog/2015/10/18/fresh-saudi-airstrikes-on-yemen-kill-20-injure-dozens/ = http://english.irib.ir/news/world/west-asia/item/217313-fresh-saudi-airstrikes-on-yemen-martyr-20-civilians

17.10.2015 – Saba

Saudi strikes kill four citizens in Saada

Saudi warplanes bombed a citizen's house in Haidan district of Saada province, killing four people and wounding ten others, a security source said on Saturday. The Saudi aggression directly targeted the citizen's house in Joma'at Bani Fadhl area and destroyed it, causing damage to the houses around, the source explained. The airstrikes also destroyed two houses and an ambulance car in Rahban area in Saada, which led to injuring of a citizen and damaging other houses, the source added.

http://www.sabanews.net/en/news406811.htm

18.10.2015 – Zeit Online von AFP

Arabische Militärallianz tötet regierungstreue Kämpfer in Jemen

Bei einem Luftangriff auf vermeintliche Stellungen von Huthi-Rebellen im Süden des Jemens hat die von Saudi-Arabien angeführte Militärallianz unbeabsichtigt mehrere regierungstreue Kämpfer getötet. Rettungskräfte und Augenzeugen berichteten am Samstag von mindestens 30 Toten und etwa 40 Verletzten. Abedrabbo al-Mehwali, Kommandeur der Kräfte in der betroffen Gegend, sprach hingegen von acht Todesopfern und 25 Verletzten. Der Angriff galt den Angaben zufolge der Region Wasija zwischen den Provinzen Taes und Lahdsch, wo seit September gekämpft wird.

http://www.zeit.de/news/2015-10/18/jemen-arabische-militaerallianz-toetet-regierungstreue-kaempfer-in-jemen-18022203

17.10.2015 – Deutsche Welle

Saudis bombardieren im Jemen falsche Truppen

Kampfflugzeuge der von Riad geführten Militärallianz griffen irrtümlich Stellungen regierungsfreundlicher Einheiten an: Mindestens 30 jemenitische Soldaten wurden getötet. Derweil schickt auch der Sudan Truppen.

"Die Koalition hat das falsche Ziel getroffen", so ein Sprecher der Sicherheitskräfte. Ärzte und Augenzeugen bestätigten den verheerenden Zwischenfall. Nach Gefechten mit den aufständischen Huthis gerieten die jemenitischen Einheiten unter massives Feuer von Kampfjets der verbündeten arabischen Militärallianz. Eigentliches Ziel der Luftschläge waren die schiitischen Huthi-Rebellen in einer Bergregion nahe der Stadt Tais. Getroffen wurde aber versehentlich ein Militärlager, mit dramatischen Folgen: Mindestens 30 Soldaten starben unter dem "friendly fire", weitere 40 wurden verletzt, wie örtliche Behörden berichteten.

Nach den arabischen Golfemiraten und zum Beispiel Ägypten entsandte jetzt auch Sudan Hunderte Soldaten an die Front gegen die Huthis. Nach Angaben aus Sicherheitskreisen landeten sie im südlichen Hafen Aden. Geplant war offenbar eine Verstärkung der Koalitionstruppen um bis zu 10.000 Mann. Wochenlang gab es Spekulationen über eine bevorstehende Bodenoffensive zur Rückeroberung Sanaas.

http://www.dw.com/de/saudis-bombardieren-im-jemen-falsche-truppen/a-18789183

17.10.2015 – AFP

30 Yemen loyalists 'mistakenly killed' in coalition air raid

A Saudi-led coalition air strike "mistakenly" hit a position held by pro-government forces in southern Yemen Saturday, causing casualties, officials, medics and witnesses said.

At least 30 were killed and 40 others were wounded in the strike on Waziya, an area between Taez and Lahj provinces where rival forces have been fighting since late September, the medics and witnesses said.

But Abedrabbo al-Mehwali, commander of forces in the area, told AFP only "eight fighters were killed and 25 wounded."

Pro-government forces retook Lahj as part of a southern offensive in mid-July that recaptured four other provinces.

But fighting has raged for months in the southwestern province of Taez, held by the rebels since last year and seen as a gateway to the capital, which they also control.

Residents told AFP the rebels have sent reinforcements to Waziya in a bid to re-enter Lahj and once more control the strategic Al-Anad airbase.

http://news.yahoo.com/30-yemen-loyalists-mistakenly-killed-coalition-air-raid-182122688.html

17.10.2015 – BBC

Yemen conflict: Saudi-led strike 'hits wrong troops'

The Saudi-led air coalition targeting Shia Houthi rebels in Yemen has mistakenly hit a pro-government position, killing at least 20 troops, security officials and witnesses say.

At least another 20 people are thought to have been injured.

The strike occurred between the southern Taiz and Lahj provinces, which have seen fierce clashes recently.

"They thought the Houthis were still there," a pro-government security official told The Associated Press.

A separate coalition air strike on Saturday killed 13 Houthi rebels in the desert province of Jawf, AP reported, and three pro-government fighters were killed in rebel rocket shelling in Marib province east of Sanaa.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-34563528 siehe auch http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/yemen-sudan-houthi-1.3276586 und http://news.antiwar.com/2015/10/17/saudi-warplanes-kill-30-allies-in-yemen-friendly-fire-incident/ und http://www.dw.com/en/latest-incident-of-saudi-arabia-friendly-fire-leaves-30-dead-in-yemen/a-18789208

UNO und Friedensgespräche / UN and peace talks

19.10.2015 – Iran German Radio

Datum für Friedensverhandlungen in Jemen steht fest

Der UN-Sondergesandte für Jemen, Esmaeil Ould Scheich Ahmad, hat am gestrigen Sonntagabend Ende Oktober als das Datum für Friedensverhandlungen angekündigt.

Laut dem Nachrichtenportal Mareb Press, teilte Scheich Ahmad auf seiner Facebookseite mit, die Friedensverhandlungen werden voraussichtlich Ende Oktober stattfinden. Dabei bedankte er sich bei den Konfliktparteien und sagte: Die Vereinten Nationen rufen alle jemenitischen Konfliktparteien auf, mehr Flexibilität zu zeigen. Der Sprecher der resignierten jemenitischen Regierung gab am Sonntag das Einverständnis des zurückgetretenen und geflüchteten jemenitischen Präsidenten Abd Rabbo Mansour Hadi, zu politischen Verhandlungen mit der Volksbewegung Ansarollah unter der Aufsicht der UNO bekannt. Der Sprecher der Ansarollah-Bewegung, Mohammad Abdolsalam, sagte in diesem Zusammenhang: Wir begrüßen jede politische Gespräche unter den jemenitischen Gruppen und sehen in den Jemen-Jemen-Gesprächen die Grundlage für die Beendigung der Krise in diesem Land. Wir werden Friedensverhandlungen fortsetzen und dazu in Kürze nach Maskat reisen, und Verhandlungen für eine gerechte Lösung fortzusetzen, so Abdolsalam weiter.

http://german.irib.ir/nachrichten/item/291860-datum-f%C3%BCr-friedensverhandlungen-in-jemen-steht-fest

18.10.2015 – Antiwar

Yemen Govt Agrees to Attend UN Peace Talks

The Pro-Saudi Hadi government, which controls parts of southern Yemen, has agreed to attend a new round of UN-brokered peace talks, to be held with the Shi’ite Houthi faction and unspecified international factions.

The Hadi government has spurned several recent efforts at peace talks, most recently a high-profile September effort brokered by Oman. Hadi backed out of the talks a few days prior, insisting that any participation was conditional on the Houthis surrendering all cities and disarming.

The last time Hadi delegates actually attended talks was in June, when they refused to be in the same room with the Houthi delegates throughout. The only time they were in the same room was when Hadi delegates attacked a Houthi press conference, sparking a fistfight.

It’s unclear what sparked the Hadi side to agree to talks this time, though in recent days they’ve tried to spin Houthi comments supportive of the peace process as proof they’re close to surrendering outright. The Houthis, by contrast, have been saying they support a peace process all along, so they may be setting themselves up for disappointment – by Jason Ditz

http://news.antiwar.com/2015/10/18/yemen-govt-agrees-to-attend-un-peace-talks/

18.10.2015 – Al Arabiya

Yemen govt agrees to talks with Houthis, Saleh

Yemen’s government will attend U.N.-sponsored talks with the Houthis and supporters of deposed leader Ali Abdullah Saleh, a government spokesperson said on Sunday, in a fresh bid to end months of fighting that has killed more than 5,000 people.

“The decision has been taken to attend (the talks) and a letter will be sent to the U.N. secretary-general (about that),” Rajeh Badi, the government spokesman, told Reuters.

U.N. special envoy to Yemen Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed has been in Saudi Arabia for discussions with Yemeni President Abdrabbu Mansour Hadi and other senior Yemeni officials over the talks.

A previous round of U.N.-sponsored talks in Geneva between the Yemeni government and the Houthis in June failed to achieve a breakthrough.

http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2015/10/18/Yemeni-govt-agrees-to-talks-with-Houthis-Saleh.html siehe auch http://gulfnews.com/news/gulf/yemen/yemen-defence-minister-still-being-held-by-al-houthis-1.1603172

Kommentar: Einmal sehen, wann sie wieder die Friedensgespräche platzen lassen, indem sie wieder mit Berufung auf die UN Resolution 2216 die völlige Kapitulation der Huthis fordern.

Und tatsächlich:

17.10.2015 – Asharq Al Awsat

Dialogue is “pointless” without disarming Yemen’s Houthis: minister

Yemen’s human rights minister has called for “disarming” the Houthi group who controls large parts of the country, a step, he said, without which any dialogue between the rebel movement and the government would be “pointless.”

“No peace [agreement] can be reached with this extremist group unless it hands over its weapons [to the government],” Ezz Al-Din Al-Asbahi, Yemen’s Human Rights Minister, said in an interview with Asharq Al-Awsat on Friday, expressing hope that the Iran-allied group will return weapons depots and military bases it has seized from the government.

“We appreciate the great efforts [of the UN] for they are dealing with a party that does not know a thing about international law or … diplomatic rules,” Asbahi said of the Houthi movement that continues to occupy large parts of Yemen despite a UN Security Council resolution calling for its withdrawal.

Once disarmed, Asbahi argued, the Houthi group will lose its influence which he attributed to its seizure of weapons depots and military bases from Hadi’s government in coordination with Saleh’s forces.

He said: “The Houthi-Saleh alliance is incapable of building a country, society or institutions. It lacks a vision for the future and all it does is cause harm to innocent citizens.”

“We want from them two lines only saying: ‘We abide by the legitimacy and the UN resolution’; not just a letter addressed to the UN secretary-general,” Asbahi said.

http://english.aawsat.com/2015/10/article55345419/dialogue-is-pointless-without-disarming-yemens-houthis-minister = http://www.imra.org.il/story.php3?id=68714

Kommentar: Das hätte auch in die Rubrik Propaganda gepasst. Was Friedensgespräche sind, hat dieser Mann offenbar nicht verstanden. Er will die völlige Waffenaufgabe und Kapitulation der Gegenseite, das auch formell: „“We want from them two lines only saying: ‘We abide by the legitimacy and the UN resoluton’“. Und, als Folge davon, dass sie auch politisch marginalisiert ist („Once disarmed, the Houthi group will lose its influence“). – Gehen die Friedensgespräche also so aus wie bei den letzten Malen? Und täglich grüßt das Murmeltier die Hadi-Regierung.

Saudi-Arabien / Saudi Arabia

17.10.2015 – Beforeitnews

Among many wars in the Middle East, there is one that should interest us now. It concerns the process by which Yemen is attaining power and humiliating Saudi Arabia in its own territory.

Encircled from within, the Saudis are desperate to look serious about “cooperation” and “mutual understanding” with the international community in “eliminating” ISIL and other terrorist networks in Iraq and Syria. But in reality they don’t. They have made a pact with the Devil and for those who have paid close attention to the failed war on Syria, this shouldn’t come as a surprise.

Saudi Arabia is not serious about eliminating ISIL and other terrorist networks. Why, because it is supporting ISIL and Al-Qaeda in Yemen. The Saudis do not seem to have learnt any lesson from their failure in Syria either, as they are repeating the same silly mistake in Yemen. They are sending even more weapons and cash to their terrorist vassals in southern territories – with complete access to America’s mammoth intelligence reports.

Like ISIL’s objective, which are now presenting themselves as the credible alternative to Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, the stated goal of Saudis is “to avenge the Sunnis” in Yemen. It is in this sectarian perspective that ISIL and Saudi forces are bombing everything and everyone.

By its own admission, Riyadh is depending upon the so-called Southern Fighters – another term stolen by the Saudis to escape accusations of complicity with ISIL terrorists – for ground operations, as Saudi forces have repeatedly failed to gain their desired objectives. In desperation, they have given ISIL the control of some southern territories – even though the terrorist network has committed mass atrocities and declared “jihad” against the kingdom itself. And mind you, they also share control of some parts with Al-Qaeda.

All this and more ignores the reality that the war on Yemen is an impossible war to win. Despite announced “victories”, the warmongers have reached a dead end. The Saudis need ISIL and Al-Qaeda to stay the course, as a long war risks damaging their leadership and unleashing domestic dissidence. What’s more, they cannot divide Yemen like a pie or turn it into a strife-torn failing state, all the more so, because in their desperation to avoid another defeat after Syria, not only are they willingly supporting hated terrorists and extremists, but also drawing reluctant allies into the war zone, including Egypt – at high costs.

Together, the future looks bleak. Very few intelligent people today would accept that the unholy alliance of Saudi Arabia possesses any basic goodness at all. The complexity of the situation and multiplicity of actors, coupled with the division among coalition members, will undoubtedly exhaust the Saudis’ ability to leave the Yemeni quagmire in one piece. They are coming apart at the seams and what makes this prophecy so certain is that it exists at a time when the battle-hardened people of Yemen remain united in facing foreign aggression and terror. In this yet another doomed adventure, the regime changers are leading lives of quiet desperation and will likely go to the grave with the song still in them. Truly has it been said; that evil men defeat themselves in battle as well as in life

http://beforeitsnews.com/politics/2015/10/yemen-update-10172015-humiliating-saudi-arabia-in-its-own-territory-2750242.html

USA

19.10.2015 – Epoch Times

Eine Handynummer reicht, um von Ramstein aus durch eine Drohne getötet zu werden

Für ihre geheime Kriegführung ist die US-Luftwaffe auf Unterstützung von deutschem Boden aus angewiesen. Die Luftwaffenbasis Ramstein ist die Signal-Ralais-Station für alle Ziele in Ländern des Nahen und Mittleren Ostens.

Dies bestätigte am Donnerstag nachmittag der frühere US-Drohnenpilot Brandon Bryant in seiner Vernehmung vor dem 1. Untersuchungsausschuss ("NSA"). Nach seinen Worten dient die Luftwaffenbasis im rheinland-pfälzischen Ramstein als Signal-Ralais-Station für alle Ziele in Ländern des Nahen und Mittleren Ostens.

"Alle Daten, jedes einzelne bisschen Dateninformation, das zu Fluggeräten oder Mannschaften übertragen wurde, lief über Ramstein", berichtetet Bryant. Seine Vorgesetzten hätten ihm versichert, die deutsche Regierung sei über diese Funktion der US-Basis im Bilde und damit einverstanden.

Deutschland sei der wichtigste Verbündete der USA. Ein Alliierter verdiene Respekt, trage aber auch Mitverantwortung für Fehlentwicklungen: "Deutschland hat Einfluss darauf, in welche Richtung mein Land geht."

Während seiner Dienstzeit flog Bryant Drohnen über dem Irak, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Somalia und dem Jemen. In diesen Einsatzgebieten hätten alle männlichen Personen im Alter von über zwölf Jahren als legitime Ziele gegolten.

Wenn ein Opfer jünger gewesen sei, sei das aber auch nicht besondern tragisch genommen worden. Man müsse das Gras mähen, bevor es wachse, habe es dann geheißen. Mit anderen Worten: Aus Kindern wären später ohnehin Terroristen geworden.

Bryant bestätigte, dass auch Mobilfunknummern wichtige Quellen der Zielerfassung seien. Sie könnten durchaus auch von fremden Geheimdiensten zugeliefert worden sein.

"Wenn die deutsche Regierung eine Mobilfunknummer kennt und an die USA weitergibt, kann man sie nutzen, um ein Individuum zu exekutierten."

In einem Fall habe die US-Luftwaffe die Handynummern zweier Neuseeländer, die Mittleren Osten unterwegs gewesen seien, von deren Regierung erhalten.

Ein tödlicher Luftschlag habe die beiden eliminiert. Es habe sich dann herausgestellt, dass es keine Dschihadisten, sondern harmlose Lehrer gewesen seien.

Bryant erklärte die technischen Aspekte bereits im April 2014 bei Heise: Da "man mit der Handynummer weiß, in welcher Funkzelle sich das Mobiltelefon der Zielperson befinde. Zur genaueren Ortung nutze man dann ein Gerät namens Gilgamesh."

Vor jedem Einsatz habe er in Ramstein anrufen müssen, um sich zu vergewissern, dass die Leitung zu den Fluggeräten stand. Die Signale seien über ein transatlantisches Glasfaserkabel aus Deutschland in die USA gelangt.

Seine Kenntnis über die Bedeutung des rheinland-pfälzischen Stützpunkts für die Drohnenkriegführung habe er dem Umstand zu verdanken, dass er es gewesen sei, der Besuchern die Anlage in Nevada habe zeigen und erklären müssen. (Pressemitteilung des Bundestag/ks)

http://www.epochtimes.de/politik/welt/eine-handynummer-reicht-um-von-ramstein-aus-durch-eine-drohne-getoetet-zu-werden-a1277536.html

16.10.2015 – Common Dreams

Study Reveals Corporate Media's Refusal to Acknowledge Civilian Victims of US Wars

New research finds, through their silence, mainstream news outlets are 'legitimating' U.S. military's burn pits on civilians in Iraq and Afghanistan.

When he surveyed major U.S. newspaper stories from 2007 to 2014, Bonds found that discussions of the negative health impacts of these burn pits overwhelmingly focused on the plight faced by U.S. military service members and veterans—but the actual civilians nearby were almost entirely missing from the picture.

According to Bonds, by failing to tell the stories of the Iraqi and Afghan people impacted, the media has a hand in the injustices committed against them.

"This echoes the other history of Agent Orange when the U.S. government turned its back on the people of Vietnam and walked away, cleaning up just a handful of contaminated places but never acknowledging harm done to Vietnamese civilians or compensating them for their suffering," Bonds told Common Dreams.

As in Vietnam, people in Iraq and Afghanistan are demanding acknowledgment of—and reparations for—the harm done by U.S. burn pits and toxic munitions – by Sarah Lazare

http://www.commondreams.org/news/2015/10/16/study-reveals-corporate-medias-refusal-acknowledge-civilian-victims-us-wars = http://www.blacklistednews.com/Study_Reveals_Corporate_Media%27s_Refusal_to_Acknowledge_Civilian_Victims_of_US_Wars/46728/0/38/38/Y/M.html/

16.10.2015 – Yahoo

Hillary moneyman highlights new Saudi connection

The Saudi government, under increasing criticism over civilian casualties from its airstrikes in Yemen and a harsh crackdown on political dissidents at home, has just hired a powerhouse Washington, D.C., lobbying firm headed by a top Hillary Clinton fundraiser — an arrangement that critics charge raises fresh questions about the influence that foreign government lobbyists could have on her campaign.

The Saudi contract with the Podesta Group, owned by veteran Washington lobbyist and Clinton campaign bundler Tony Podesta, calls for the firm to provide “public relations” and other services on behalf of the royal court of King Salman.

It included an initial “project fee” payment of $200,000 last month and unspecified further sums over the course of the next year, according to documents recently filed with the Justice Department Foreign Agents Registration Act office.

“They are very nervous about an American policy change, and so they are betting on the horse they think will win — Hillary Clinton,” said Ali Al-Ahmad, a Saudi analyst with the Institute for Gulf Affairs, and a frequent critic of the regime, about the hiring of the Podesta Group.

The Podesta Group is now on a roster of a half-dozen D.C. lobbyingfirms representing the Saudis, including the giant international law firm DLA Piper and the firm Hogan Lovells, whose principal on the Saudi account is former Minnesota Republican Sen. Norm Coleman, who chairs the Congressional Leadership Fund, a super-PAC that is a major source of House GOP campaign funds. (Former Texas congressman Tom Loeffler, a top bundler for Jeb Bush’s presidential campaign, for years represented the Saudis, but his current firm, Akin Gump, now lobbies for the United Arab Emirates, among other foreign clients.)

But the retention of the Podesta Group has gotten attention in Washington lobbying circles because of its unusually close ties to Hillary Clinton’s campaign: Tony Podesta is the brother and former business partner of Clinton’s campaign chairman, John Podesta. He is also a prolific Democratic Party fundraiser who is among 43 Washington lobbyists (many of whom also represent foreign governments) listed as Clinton campaign bundlers in reports filed by the campaign with the Federal Election Commission – by Michael Isikoff

https://www.yahoo.com/politics/hillary-moneyman-highlights-new-saudi-connection-194828485.html?soc_src=social-sh&soc_trk=tw

Großbritannien / Great Britain

17.10.2015 – The Guardian

Revealed: how UK targets Saudis for top contracts

Documents show that the controversial kingdom is seen as a ‘priority market’ for British companies

Government departments are intensifying efforts to win lucrative public contracts in Saudi Arabia, despite a growing human rights row that led the ministry of justice to pull out of a £6m prison contract in the kingdom last week.

Documents seen by the Observer show the government identifying Saudi Arabia as a “priority market” and encouraging UK businesses to bid for contracts in health, security, defence and justice.

“It’s becoming increasingly clear that ministers are bent on ever-closer ties with the world’s most notorious human rights abusers,” said Maya Foa, director of Reprieve’s death penalty team. “Ministers must urgently come clean about the true extent of our agreements with Saudi Arabia and other repressive regimes.”

The UK has licensed £4bn of arms sales to the Saudis since the Conservatives came to power in 2010, according to research by Campaign Against Arms Trade. Around 240 ministry of defence civil servants and military personnel work in the UK and Saudi Arabia to support the contracts, which will next year include delivery of 22 Hawk jets in a deal worth £1.6bn. And research by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute shows that the UK is now the kingdom’s largest arms supplier, responsible for 36% of all Saudi arms imports.

UK business want to capitalise on the fragile situation in the Middle East. A 2013 document, written by an official at UK Trade and Investment, the body charged with promoting business interests,, outlines how the region’s “global policing and security market has ballooned”. Freedom of information requests show that the UK Trade and Investment Defence and Security Organisation (UKTI) is courting the Saudis and that civil servants met Saudi military delegations at the UK’s Security and Policing arms fair this year and last summer at the Farnborough airshow. Civil servants were also due to meet Saudi representatives at the major arms expo in London’s Docklands last month, just as the regime upheld a ruling that al-Nimr was to be executed and his body crucified and left in public view for three days.

The UKTI is offering grants to support businesses, including those selling security equipment, to take part in overseas exhibitions aimed at specific emerging markets, notably Saudi Arabia.

There are questions about other UK-Saudi deals. One is with the UK’s National College of Policing, which signed a secret memorandum of understanding to help modernise the Saudi ministry of the interior. The UK also signed a 2011 memorandum of understanding with the regime on healthcare – by Jamie Doward

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/oct/17/uk-courts-saudi-arabia-arms-sales

Kommentar: Das steht in alter Tradition. Siehe http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/libertycentral/2012/jan/13/david-cameron-saudi-arabia-visit und http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2015/jul/16/margaret-thatcher-lobbying-saudi-royals-arms-deal und http://www.theguardian.com/business/2005/dec/22/saudiarabia.arms

Deutschland / Germany

18.10.2015 – Augsburger Allgemeine

Krieg: Jemenhilfe sagt Feier ab

Seit 15 Jahren besteht der Aichacher Förderverein, der Menschen und vor allem Kindern im Jemen hilft. Jetzt hat die Vorsitzende bekannt gegeben, dass es kein Fest geben wird.

Die Vereinsvorsitzende Aenne Rappel erklärt: „So lange im Jemen Menschen sterben, können wir hier nicht feiern.“

Der Verein hätte gute Gründe, stolz auf das bisher Geleistete zu sein. Die Jemenhilfe hat dafür gesorgt, dass in Al Mihlaf im Jemen ein Krankenhaus errichtet werden konnte. Außerdem haben etwa 20 jemenitische Kinder dank der Jemenhilfe ein Dach über dem Kopf und Verpflegung. Sie konnten bislang auch zur Schule gehen oder studieren.

Die Kinder, die von der Jemenhilfe betreut werden, sitzen in der Stadt Taizz fest. Das hat Aenne Rappel in Telefonaten erfahren. „Wir sind hier eingekesselt“, hieß es da. Zuletzt hörte Aenne Rappel, dass fast alle Kinder krank gewesen seien. Gestank, Schmutz und Fliegen überziehen die Stadt. Leichen unter den Trümmern tun das Übrige. Es gibt kein Gas mehr in der Stadt. Die Kinder haben sich aus Trümmern einen Ofen im Hof des Hauses gebaut. Der wird mit selbst gesammeltem Holz befeuert, damit gekocht werden kann. Sobald das Stromnetz eine Weile funktioniert, versuchen alle, ihre Handys und Laptops aufzuladen.

Lebensmittel gibt es so gut wie gar nicht mehr in Taizz. Einige Männer schlagen sich offenbar durch und besorgen Kartoffeln und Gemüse aus einem kleinen Dorf. Das lassen sie sich freilich teuer bezahlen. Aenne Rappel vermutet, das Al-Qaida und IS die Schulen und Universitäten zerstören und alles andere, das im Jemen einst mit ausländischer Hilfe entstanden war.

Im Krankenhaus in Al Mihlaf läuft der Betrieb aber weiterhin reibungslos. Wie Aenne Rappel erzählt, sind Ärzte und ein Laborant vor Ort. Die Medikamente könnten allerdings bald aber knapp werden. Den Angestellten müsse nun etwas mehr Lohn gezahlt werden.

Aenne Rappel hat Angst um die Kinder. „Ich hoffe, dass sie überleben.“ Zusammen mit anderen Fördervereinen hat sie jetzt eine Petition verfasst. Darin fordert sie das Auswärtige Amt und das Ministerium für wirtschaftliche Zusammenarbeit und Entwicklung auf, sich für einen dauerhaften Waffenstillstand im Jemen einzusetzen, eine politische Lösung für das Land zu finden und die Infrastruktur unter der Leitung der Vereinten Nationen wieder aufzubauen. Die Online-Petition ist im Internet unter www.jemenhilfe-deutschland.de zu finden.

Außerdem sammelt der Verein weiter fleißig Spenden. „Wir brauchen Geld“, sagt Aenne Rappel angesichts der steigenden Preise im Kriegsgebiet.

Spendenkonto: Aktion Jemenhilfe, Volksbank Raiffeisenbank Aichach, Bankleitzahl BLZ 720 900 00, Kontonummer 5582105.

http://www.augsburger-allgemeine.de/aichach/Krieg-Jemenhilfe-sagt-Feier-ab-id35811402.html

16.10.2015 – Jung und Naiv (Film)

Warum ist die Bundesregierung mit US-Drohnenmorden einverstanden?

Warum ist die Bundesregierung mit US-Drohnenmorden via Ramstein einverstanden? Ex-Drohnenpilot Brandon Bryant hat gestern im Bundestag ausgesagt, dass die Bundesregierung nicht nur von den Drohnenmorden via Ramstein weiß, sondern auch damit einverstanden sei. Seibert will dazu nix sagen und betont: Wir haben die Amerikaner gefragt und sie haben gesagt: Nö, machen wir nicht! Dem vertraue man. Warum... gilt für die Bundesregierung bei Drohnenmorden nicht das Prinzip "Vertrauen ist gut, Kontrolle ist besser"?

https://www.facebook.com/jungundnaiv/videos/1116845064994107/

Irland / Ireland

18.10.2015 – Shannonwatch

More Questions for the Irish Government - this Time about Yemen

Over the years there have been regular movements of US military refuelling planes through Shannon. The government won't tell us why they land there however. Are they refuelling US military planes just outside Irish airspace? Are they collecting cheap fuel? Are they on their way to warzones to re-fuel fighter jets?

These type of planes are currently engaged in ongoing aerial refuelling sorties in support of the Saudi-led bombing campaign in Yemen. They began this in April, linking up with F-16s from the United Arab Emirates and with Saudi F-15s somewhere outside Yemeni airspace.

Might the US refuellers that have been landing at Shannon since April be connected with this?

If so, then we (Ireland) have blood on our hands. There have been thousands of civilian deaths in Yemen since March as a result of the war. According to Rupert Colville, spokesman for the U.N.'s High Commissioner for Human Rights, both sides in the conflict share blame but the Saudi-led air campaign has been responsible for most of the deaths.

Aerial refuelling is a process of transferring aviation fuel from one military aircraft (the tanker) to another (the receiver) during flight. The procedure allows the receiving aircraft to remain airborne longer and because it can be topped up with extra fuel in the air, air refuelling can allow the Saudi and UAE fighter planes to take off with a greater payload i.e. with more bombs to wreak havoc on the ground in Yemen.

Given the very serious nature of the war crimes being committed there with US support, it is vital that our Irish Minister for Foreign Affairs immediately ascertain whether any of the refuellers supporting the Saudi and UAE bombers, or their crews, passed through Shannon.

Another concern from an Irish point of view is that in April the Pentagon said the US would expedite delivery of ammunition to the Saudis and other members of the coalition who are bombing targets in Yemen. While we have not yet got 2015 data for the transportation of munitions through Shannon and Irish airspace (the Department of Transport insists that we pay for this data), we know that in 2014 the US brought class 1 explosives and rockets through Irish airspace to Saudi Arabia. Another coalition ally, Bahrain, has also had weapons supplied through Irish airspace.

The United States military has assisted the Saudi-led bombing campaign in Yemen with logistical support and billions of dollars in equipment and weaponry. Have any of these been passing over Ireland, with or without our government's permission, in the last few months?

These are questions that should trouble our government politicians. Not only are they the ones charged with protecting our neutrality, they also have a moral responsibility to ensure we're not facilitating the death of thousands of civilians. Surely upholding that responsibility is not too much to ask of them.

Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, Syria ... now Yemen. Civilian life has disintegrated there and yet our government pretends it's got nothing to do with us.

http://www.shannonwatch.org/blog/more-questions-irish-government-time-about-yemen

China

19.10.2015 – Rubincenter

CHINA’S MIDDLE EAST FOREIGN POLICY AND THE YEMEN CRISIS: CHALLENGES AND IMPLICATIONS

This article examines the broad implications of the 2015 Yemeni civil war on Chinese foreign policy in the Middle East. The findings show that the ongoing crisis in Yemen presents a challenge to the key element of non-intervention guiding Chinese foreign policy in the region and may force Beijing to gradually abandon its low-key strategy in managing its relations with the countries in the region.

Generally, Chinese foreign policy in the Middle East is driven by broader national interests, namely, to continue its economic growth, preserve its political system ruled by a communist party, defend its sovereignty from foreign threat and other interferences into its internal affairs, and expand its global influence as a rising global economic and political power.

However, China’s engagement with Middle East countries is driven primarily by its efforts to achieve energy security.These wider national interests are reflected in China’s main objectives in the region: enhancing economic ties; supporting its efforts to achieve energy security; fostering friendly relations with all the Middle Eastern countries; and promoting regional stability that supports its own economic, political, and security interests.

From the beginning, Beijing has been neutral over the Saudi military action against the Houthi rebels, calling for a ceasefire and urging the international community to resolve the Yemeni civil war through diplomacy. Both Iran and Saudi Arabia are Beijing’s most important regional economic partners, and particularly important sources of oil for its energy security. Thus, Beijing’s official attitude is cautious and is essentially a balancing act in order for it to remain neutral and avoid antagonizing any of the parties.

On the one hand, Beijing refuses to condemn the Saudi-led intervention in Yemen and supports UN resolution 2216 on Yemen, which bans arms sales to the Houthi fighters. On the other hand, China has called for a ceasefire and supports the UN Security Council playing a constructive role in resolving the conflict through political means.

China’s most difficult future balancing act will be trying to maintain good relations with both Riyadh and Tehran amid escalating regional and sectarian competition.

The complexity of the Yemeni sectarian conflict has manifested itself fully in the way Chinese non-interference policy attempts to balance the aforementioned interests. On the one hand, China continues to side with Iran and its allies in the region to contain Washington and its allies’ influences in the Middle East. On the other hand, it is employing a cautious balancing act to avoid a fragmented and unstable Yemen, which would intensify conflict and terrorism in the region.

The escalating crisis in Yemen poses challenges for China’s interests and the core principle of its foreign policy in the Middle East. For a long time, Beijing did not perceive conflicts in the region as having a direct impact on its interests, but due to its emergence as a dominant trading partner and its desire to build a sphere of influence, it has become a responsible stakeholder in the Middle East. As such, China acknowledges that it shares the great burden of ensuring Middle East peace and stability.

One practical step in this direction was already taken when China acted to prevent Pakistan from joining the Saudi-led military coalition fighting the Houthi rebels, which inevitably would have led to an escalation in the Yemen conflict. According to Pakistani officials, Chinese President Xi assured his Pakistani counterpart that China would stand behind Islamabad in the event of its ties unraveling with the Arab world. China’s assurance of $46 billion in economic investment and assistance to Pakistan was one of the factors that persuaded Islamabad turn down the Saudi request for military support for its campaign against Houthi rebels, despite immense pressure from Riyadh. Therefore, it is almost inevitable that China must forgo strict compliance with its non-intervention policy and become proactively involved in the region – by Mordechai Chaziza

http://www.rubincenter.org/2015/10/chinas-middle-east-foreign-policy-and-the-yemen-crisis-challenges-and-implications/

Sudan

19.10.2015 – Der Standard

Keine Kubaner in Syrien, aber Sudanesen im Jemen

Die Entsendung von sudanesischen Soldaten besiegelt die Versöhnung Saudi-Arabiens mit dem Sudan von Omar al-Bashir. Der kranke, eigentlich amtsmüde Präsident, 1989 durch einen Putsch ins Amt gekommen, ließ sich erst im April wieder neu wählen, wohl ein trauriger Nebeneffekt des Haftbefehls des Internationalen Strafgerichtshof (ICC) wegen der Kriegsverbrechen in Darfur. Anders als der junge Bashar al-Assad, der nach seinem Amtsantritt im Jahr 2000 den saudischen Kronprinzen und (ab 2005) König Abdullah bin Abdulaziz an der Nase herumführte – Assad signalisierte den Willen, in die arabische Umarmung zurückzukehren, dachte aber nie daran, seine Allianz mit dem Iran aufzugeben –, hat Bashir letztlich dem saudischen Druck nachgegeben.

Dass der Sudan bei der iranischen Unterstützung der Hamas im Gazastreifen Hilfe leistete, indem er sein Territorium zur Verfügung stellte – man erinnere sich an diverse israelische Luftangriffe –, war die eine Sache. Energisch wurden die Saudis aber, als der Verdacht aufkam, dass iranische Unterstützung für die Rebellen im Jemen ebenfalls über den Sudan kam. Da wurden Bashir wohl einige saudische Ruten ins Fenster gestellt – aber auch Anreize geschaffen. Beide Seiten dementierten zwar, dass einige Milliarden Dollar in der Zentralbank in Khartoum deponiert wurden, stattdessen war von saudischen Investitionen die Rede. Und die sudanesische Regierung ließ prompt iranische Kultureinrichtungen überall im Land schließen – angeblich, weil sie schiitische Mission betrieben hatten – von Gudrun Harrer

http://derstandard.at/2000024109650/Keine-Kubaner-in-Syrien-sondern-Sudanesen-im-Jemen

18.10.2015 – Gegenfrage

Sudanesische Truppen im Jemen eingetroffen

Der Sudan unterstützt die saudische Offensive im Jemen und hat Bodentruppen ins Kriegsgebiet entsandt. Dies wurde gestern Abend von der Regierung in Saudi-Arabien bestätigt.

Saudi-Arabien bestätigte am Samstag, dass sudanesische Soldaten im Jemen eingetroffen sind, um die von Saudi-Arabien geführte Militäroperation gegen den Jemen zu unterstützen. „Die sudanesischen Kräfte bedeuten einen stellen für die Koalitionsstreitkräfte am Boden einen Mehrwert dar“, sagte Saudi-Arabiens Verteidigungsminister Ahmad Assiri laut dem Sudan Tribune.

Der Fernsehsender zeigte Bilder sudanesischen Truppen im Hafen von Aden. Auch gepanzerte Fahrzeuge wurden angeschifft. Anhänger der gestürzten Regierung begrüßten die sudanesischen Streitkräfte. Was ist davon zu halten? Ein Zeichen der Stärke Saudi-Arabiens oder ein eklatantes Eingeständnis einer Niederlage?

http://www.gegenfrage.com/sudanesische-truppen-im-jemen-eingetroffen/

18.10.2015 – Reuters

Sudan sends ground troops to Yemen to boost Saudi-led coalition

A battalion of Sudanese troops arrived in Yemen’s southern port city of Aden on Saturday, military officials said, bolstering Saudi-led Arab forces trying to keep out the Iran-backed Houthis and curb the growing presence of Islamist militants.

A military source in Aden said that 300 Sudanese soldiers and officers arrived by sea on Saturday. Their purpose was to “help maintain security for the city against the Houthis and Saleh,” the source said, referring to former President Ali Abdullah Saleh, whose supporters have sided with the Houthis.
“Our troops in Yemen are ready to do their military task under the command of the alliance military leadership,” Sudanese army spokesman Brigadier General Ahmed Khalifa Alshami said. “Sudan is committed to restore legitimacy in Yemen.”
The Arab coalition spokesman confirmed the arrival of the Sudanese troops to Arab television channels. They will join contingents from the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain on the ground.

http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2015/10/18/Sudan-sends-ground-troops-to-Yemen-to-boost-Saudi-led-coalition.html

17.10.2015 – Bloomberg

Troops Join Saudi-Led Campaign in Yemen

Hundreds of Sudanese troops arrived in Yemen to bolster Saudi Arabia’s campaign against Shiite Houthi rebels there who forced its president into exile.

About 700 Sudanese soldiers came by sea Saturday to Yemen’s southern port city of Aden, which is under coalition control, the al-Masdar news website reported. Abdullah Hamud, a witness and resident, said by phone that he saw Sudanese troops in armored and military vehicles driving in the city.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-10-18/hundreds-of-sudanese-troops-join-saudi-led-campaign-in-yemen

17.10.2015 – CBC News from AP

Sudanese troops arrive in Yemen to battle Houthi rebels

Hundreds of Sudanese troops arrived in Yemen's southern port city of Aden on Saturday, the first batch of an expected 10,000 reinforcements for the Saudi-led coalition fighting the country's Shia Houthi rebels, security officials said.

Their mission is to secure Aden, which has seen an uptick in drive-by shootings of pro-government troop leaders and officials as extremists became more entrenched in the city in recent weeks, the pro-government security officials said.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/yemen-sudan-houthi-1.3276586

Propaganda

19.10.2015 – WAM

Coalition fighting for Arab goals in Yemen: paper

The Gulf-led coalition against Al Houthi rebels in Yemen is fighting on behalf of the Arab world to restore Yemen’s legitimate government and stop the Iranian-backed rebels from imposing their own narrow vision on the country, commented a UAE daily.

It is important that the Gulf forces are about to be joined by other Arab forces, in particular by a large contingent from the Sudanese armed forces. The Saudi-led coalition has done exceptionally well so far, in particular the large contingent from the UAE, along with their Saudi and Bahraini allies. From a military perspective, the Sudanese forces will be a welcome addition to the coalition forces in Yemen, as their skills and numbers will be important as the fighting moves into the well-defended centre and north of the country.

The arrival of the Sudanese forces also has a political impact, as it makes clear that the aims of the coalition are shared by all Arab states, not just Yemen’s immediate neighbours in the Gulf.

The Dubai-based daily concluded by saying, "The restoration of the legitimate government of Yemen and the stability of Yemen as a nation state with secure borders and an effective government, is an Arab aspiration that takes into account the importance of Yemen’s strategic location and the necessity of stopping terrorists and other renegades taking advantage of the confusion to establish themselves in Yemeni territory."

http://www.wam.ae/en/news/arab/1395286873643.html

18.10.2015 – Gulf Today AE

Emirati think tank explains UAE’s role in Yemen

The Emirates Centre for Strategic Studies and Research has organised a lecture to educate students about the United Arab Emirates’ role in the efforts that the Saudi-led Arab Coalition is making to restore legitimacy in Yemen.

The lecture is one in a series of meetings co-organised by the ECSSR and the Ministry of Education to engage students in a national dialogue about the priorities of the UAE’s national security.

In the lecture at the Al Mualla Girls’ High School, Acting Director of Public Relations at the ECSSR, Nermin Qanbar, explained that the UAE’s participation in the Coalition’s operations in Yemen to restore stability and security to Yemen were mandated by a number of factors.

Citing close connection between the security of the UAE and the security of Yemen, the lecturer said, “By defending Yemen’s territory, the UAE is defending its own security and the prosperity and stability of its people.

“Military intervention was the last resort for the Arab Coalition. The UAE sought to avoid military confrontation in Yemen and presented several initiatives for peaceful settlement of the Yemeni crisis, but because of the intransigence of the Houthis, their disrespect for all agreements and their plans to seize control of all Yemen, military action had to be taken to curtail their danger.”

The lecturer also cited defending pan-Arab national security, putting an end to the dangerous Iranian expansion in the region, preventing Iran from destroying Yemen after it destroyed Iraq and Lebanon, defending Islamic sanctuaries and backing Saudi Arabia to protect it from the threats of the Houthis, as other main reasons why the UAE is participating in the Arab Coalition’s operations in Yemen.

“Whatever threatens Saudi Arabia is treated as a direct threat to the United Arab Emirates because Saudi Arabia is the first frontline for fending off any dangers to the security of the United Arab Emirates and other members of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC),” the lecturer added.

http://gulftoday.ae/portal/5d02b3df-9fa0-4c0c-8ac0-29dccc6195b3.aspx

Kommentar (auch zum vorhergehenden Artikel): Teilweise wortwörtlich schon oft gehört. Holzhammerartige Propaganda lebt von Wiederholung Wiederholung Wiederholung. Alles dabei, was dazugehört.

18.10.2015 – Emirates 24 7

UAE is being reborn and will win: Gargash

People back decision to fight in Yemen

The UAE is being reborn with its “sublime” role in restoring legitimacy in Yemen and its people full support such a decision, the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs has said.

In fresh comments on his Twitter page, Anwar Gargash said the UAE would win by joining an Arab coalition to end the Iranian-backed coup in Yemen, adding that its decision has angered supporters of Iran and the Muslim Brotherhood.

“We will emerge victorious because we took a sublime decision to support Yemen.

“Yes, the UAE is being reborn and its people’s support of the leadership’s decision is very clear like the sun in the middle of the day,” Gargash said.

He said the Muslim Brotherhood and the “fanatics and sectarians” would not achieve anything by fishing in troubled waters.

“The Arab coalition in Yemen will win. My country will be soon standing on the platform of honour and history will write this down with letters of pride,” he said.

“The UAE has courageously shouldered its responsibilities and duties and its sons have sacrificed their lives. This is an historical position against those who have sectarian plans against the Arab nation.

http://www.emirates247.com/news/emirates/uae-is-being-reborn-and-will-win-gargash-2015-10-18-1.607061 siehe auch http://www.khaleejtimes.com/region/mena/more-countries-to-join-arab-coalition-forces-in-yemen

Kommentar: Propaganda der klassischen Sorte. Von „we will win“ bis “My country will be soon standing on the platform of honour and history will write this down with letters of pride” ist seit gut 200 Jahren abgelutscht. Wieder geht es dann um den Uran, mit dem alles begründet wird, es wird mit dem “Opfer” (wofür?) der eigenen Gefallenen hausieren gegangen (dürfte zumindest ab 1870 ebenfalls abgelutscht sein, hält man offenbar aber immer noch für wirksam), natürlich muss die Zustimmung des Volkes herausgestellt werden, und dann darf es auch nicht kleiner sein als dass durch diesen Krieg „the UAE is being reborn“. Auch das kennen wir schon von 1870. Oder gar schon von 1813: Die Wiedergeburt Deutschlands nach der Völkerschlacht von Leipzig. Und ausgerechnet die Huthis als „sectarians“ (religiöse Sektierer) zu beschimpfen, ist selbstentlarvend: Damit zeigt sich nur die eigene religiöse Intoleranz, die andere religiöse Bekenntnisse nicht dulden will.

Terrorismus / Terrorism

17.10.2015 – AP

The latest assassination was of an Emirati officer in Aden's Mansoura neighbourhood on Friday, killed by gunmen on a motorcycle, officials said. The United Arab Emirates is part of the Saudi-led coalition, which has been pounding rebel positions since March.

Although the attack, like several others, went unclaimed, the officials said they suspect Sunni extremists, who they say have made land grabs, exploiting the chaos engulfing the Arab world's poorest country. Yemen's al-Qaeda, viewed by Washington as the terror network's most dangerous affiliate, is known to have used motorcycles in previous assassinations.

Earlier Saturday, al-Qaeda militants set up security checkpoints and began enforcing sex segregation at the sole college in Zinjibar, the provincial capital of Abyan, neutral and pro-government security officials there said.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/yemen-sudan-houthi-1.3276586

17.10.2015 – Twitter

Yemen Qaeda/ISIS storming university in Aden to separate females from male students by forces today!

https://twitter.com/narrabyee/status/655366472294912001

17.10.2015 – Twitter

#AlQeada branch n #Aden 2day announces the responsibility 4 shooting 2 death the #UAE Red Crescent employee n #Aden

https://twitter.com/nationalyemen/status/655336258131095552

Kommentar: Wie war das mit der schönen Propaganda, die einzige Regierungsautorität im Jemen hätte die Hadi-Regierung in den "befreiten" Gebieten im Süden? Sie haben nicht einmal die eigene Hauptstadt unter Kontrolle.

Neue Artikel zum Nachlesen 1-35: / Yemen Press reader 1-35:

https://www.freitag.de/autoren/dklose oder / or

http://poorworld.net/YemenWar.htm

Dieser Beitrag gibt die Meinung des Autors wieder, nicht notwendigerweise die der Redaktion des Freitag.
Geschrieben von

Dietrich Klose

Vielfältig interessiert am aktuellen Geschehen, zur Zeit besonders: Ukraine, Russland, Jemen, Rolle der USA, Neoliberalismus, Ausbeutung der 3. Welt

Dietrich Klose

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