Allgemeine Artikel
30.7.2015 – Mint Press
Saudi Arabia Weaponizes Humanitarian Aid In Yemen
Saudi Arabia opened its checkbook in response to a U.N. appeal for funds to cover the most urgent humanitarian aid to Yemen. But that aid would come at a steep price and with more than a few strings attached.
Its institutions in tatters, its military apparatus reduced to rubbles, and with no economy to speak of, Yemen’s imminent collapse has been foretold time and time again by experts and state officials. Yet these predictions have not quite come to fruition.
With fierce battles raging across Yemen, and as warplanes continue to rain lead onto heavily populated areas, Saudi Arabia has been looking for innovative ways to exert pressure onto the resistance movement. It is now withholding humanitarian aid to Yemen’s civilians to tame the growing insurrection movement against its rule and thus secure victory in the face of international law — all under the guise of the United Nations.
The kingdom is holding hostage not just Yemen but to some extent the international community, using the United Nations’ humanitarian institutions to wage war. It’s using institutions meant to offer relief as a means of weaponizing aid.
Hassan Jayache, a senior leader of the Houthi movement, which took control of Yemen earlier this year, told MintPress News that local NGOs have found themselves caught in a political web, forced to surrender their neutrality to secure not just funding but access to areas where aid is needed.
“The Saudis have exerted political pressures onto local NGOs and international aid organizations, demanding that aid be restricted to pre-approved segments of the population, based on political affiliations and according to religious criteria,” Jayache said.
“In other words, Al Saud has decided to starve the Shias of Yemen, hoping to break the Houthis’ momentum.”
Mohammed Al-Emad, a Yemen-based journalist and political commentator, says Saudi Arabia called on several media organizations in the Middle East, the United States and Europe, demanding that “coverage on Yemen be sanitized and in keeping with Riyadh’s chosen political narrative.”
While Al-Emad’s claims could be considered bias, WikiLeaks published a series of confidential cables pointing to systematic media/PR manipulation on the part of the Saudis.
But if the international community had been standing silent before Saudi Arabia’s war crimes, exploiting what Al-Emad describes as a convenient media blackout to avoid addressing some sticky legal points, Riyadh’s move against the U.N. might prove one indiscretion too many for anyone to ignore.
The work of King Salman and his allies to sabotage U.N.-organized aid to Yemen started on April 17 in the wake of a U.N. emergency flash appeal for $274 million to respond to the most pressing humanitarian needs over the following three months.
Vice News reported in June that Saudi officials leaned on U.N. officials to sabotage aid deliveries, threatening to close the kingdom’s checkbook should U.N. agencies deny Riyadh’s requests.
Based on a U.N. memo obtained by Vice, the media outlet reported that the Saudi government imposed unprecedented conditions on aid agencies, demanding that assistance be limited to Saudi-approved areas and confined to strictly Sunni civilian populations.
“If such despicable logic can somehow be expected from a power which has wielded sectarianism to sow discord and from chaos rise a tyrant, what of the UN, an institution which claims itself impartial and fair?” Hasan Sufyani, a leading political analyst at the Sana’a Institute for Arabic Studies, asked MintPress.
He added: “If humanitarian organizations are to be subjected to the rules of realpolitik then truly the world has reached a dark chapter in its history and reverted back to organized barbarism.
Still, no well-thinking Western powers has thought to challenge Saudi Arabia’s war crimes in Yemen. In a world system where capitalism reigns king, the rich and haughty stand above the pettiness of the rule of law.”
“Interestingly few media outlets picked up on this Orwellian development! After unilaterally and, let’s be frank, after illegally declaring war on Yemen, the Saudi government wants also to dictate how humanitarian relief is distributed in the very country it is attacking,” Sheikh al-Matari, the head of Yemen’s Rasoul Akram Foundation, an aid organization, told MintPress.
Al-Matari: By accepting Saudi Arabia’s conditions on aid distribution and aid funding in relation to Yemen, the U.N. de facto institutionalized aid segregation by allowing humanitarian relief to be conditional to certain criteria: political affiliation and religious orientation.
With Yemen set as a precedent, who’s to say that a similar setup will not be replicated in other countries in the region — mainly, Syria, Iraq, Bahrain and Libya?”
“From the onset of this conflict King Salman has walked outside international law. There is nothing remotely legal about attacking a sovereign nation. The argument Saudi Arabia aimed to preemptively strike Yemen in order to stop the so-called ‘Shia crescent’ from further strengthening its hold on the region is both legally erroneous and redundant. What is troubling is the speed at which the kingdom is institutionalizing war crimes,” Al-Emad, the journalist and political commentator based in Yemen, told MintPress.
Al-Emad added: “It is one thing to declare war against a country and another to select a segment of population for annihilation. How long before Saudi Arabia’s ill intentions against all Zaidis and Shias in Yemen are understood for what they are? Genocidal.” – by Catherine Shakdam
http://www.mintpressnews.com/saudi-arabia-weaponizes-humanitarian-aid-in-yemen/208081/ = http://www.infowars.com/saudi-arabia-weaponizes-humanitarian-aid-in-yemen/
30.7.2015 – Rolling Stone
Yemen's Hidden War: A journey into one of the most remote and dangerous countries in the world
"This war overall has less to do with Yemen and more to do with Saudi Arabia's obsession with Iran's rise in the region," says Farea al-Muslimi, a Yemeni political analyst and a visiting scholar at the Carnegie Middle East Center. "It has to do with a regional message, especially from the Saudis to the U.S.: We don't need you, we can take the lead in our own war."
The bombing did succeed in destroying much of Yemen's military and government infrastructure that the Houthis had captured. The Yemeni air force was wiped out, and the results of the U.S.'s train-and-equip program — worth $500 million since 2007 — vanished as security forces abandoned their posts or joined warring militias.
By the time we arrive, however, the Saudis have been targeting individual houses in and around the densely packed capital, which, no matter how exact American precision-guided technology might be, leads inevitably to civilian death.
Meanwhile, as civilian casualties mount and Al Qaeda thrives on the chaos, the Obama administration is facing a dilemma of its own. American officials have warned that the U.S. counterterrorism strategy has suffered a setback in Yemen. "Al Qaeda is controlling an important port city, and their safe haven is unmolested by coalition airstrikes," says Alley of the Crisis Group. "It's quite clear that in many Western governments, there's a growing discomfort with the war."
For now, the American government continues to support the campaign by providing aerial refueling, intelligence support and targeting assistance. Four of the wealthy Gulf states involved — Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain and the UAE — are home to key U.S. military bases and are participating in the campaign against ISIS in Iraq and Syria. "For the U.S., Yemen is just not that important, especially when you have bigger issues like wrapping up the Iranian nuclear negotiations," says Alley. "The Saudis have brought significant weight to bear on pressuring their allies to support them. Why cross them and create tension?"
In Western media, the conflict has been cast in sectarian tones, with the shorthand reference, as the same newspaper's editorial board put it in early July, to "an indigenous Shiite group allied with Iran." The truth is far more complex and grounded in Yemen's highly diverse society and tangled politics.
The Houthis see themselves as the only party in Yemen that has been truly committed to and effective in battling Al Qaeda. Bukhaiti points out that both the former Saleh regime and the Saudis have had ambiguous relationships with Sunni jihadists, seeking to use them for their own ends. He tries to portray Ansar Allah's takeover as defensive in nature: "If we withdraw from the South now, Al Qaeda will fill the vacuum."
Mwatana had documented the abuses that the Houthis had suffered under Saleh's counterinsurgency war; now, the tables are turned, with Amnesty International accusing the militia of torturing protesters in an attempt to suppress any opposition. "Once the Houthis took power, they became the main source of violations," says Mutawakel. "They are doing extrajudicial detentions and attacking media and civil society."
Once we reach the border of Saada Province, every few miles we encounter a charred hulk by the side of the road, or a massive crater that forces us to divert into the fields around it. Saudi jets have been targeting vehicles traveling the highway. Most of the recognizable wrecks are oil tankers or heavy trucks, but others are clearly ordinary vehicles. … When we arrive in Saada City, the devastation becomes apparent.
The MSF team has set up two big overflow tents in the courtyard outside the ER; the week before we arrived, they had treated around 200 patients. "I've never seen what I've seen here," says Maria Green, an Argentine nurse who was the medical team's leader. … The hospital is short on nearly everything, especially anesthetic. Even if they can get to Sana'a, medical supplies are drying up as the blockade wears on.
Fatehi Behal: "Saada is different from other cities in Yemen," he says. "They target any gathering. We can't even pray in the mosque." … Almost all the gas stations in Saada have been hit… According to a U.N. satellite analysis, 1,171 structures in Saada City had been damaged or destroyed by airstrikes as of May 17th. The pattern of targets suggests that Saudi Arabia was focusing on Saada's infrastructure in an attempt to destroy its economy and flush out its civilian population.
I am told by the hospital staff that things are even worse in the rural border areas – by Mathieu Aikins
http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/yemens-hidden-war-20150730
Humanitäre Lage
30.7.2015 – The Guardian
Civilians and hospitals targeted in Yemen air strikes, warns medical charity
Médecins Sans Frontières chief says bombing of medical facilities is denying thousands treatment, while naval blockade obstructs vital supplies
The ongoing air strikes and deliberate targeting of civilians and healthworkers inYemen are jeopardising humanitarian operations in the country, denying thousands of people basic medical care, the head of Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) has warned.
Dr Joanne Liu, MSF’s international president, said the bombing by the Saudi-led coalition and the shelling by the Shia Houthi rebels were increasingly targeting densely populated civilian areas and making it more difficult for her staff to do their jobs.
30.7.2015 – The Guardian
6.5 Million People at Risk of Starvation in Yemen
Six and a half million people in Yemen are on the brink of starvation, with 13 million—over half the population—suffering from food shortages, according to a leading UK charity.
The figures were released by Oxfam on Tuesday, just days after Saudi-led forces announced a unilateral five-day ceasefire to allow aid to reach people cut off from supplies across Yemen on July 26.
http://europe.newsweek.com/6-5-million-people-risk-starvation-yemen-330968
30.7.2015 – Junge Welt
Vor dem Verhungern: Humanitäre Katastrophe durch Krieg im Jemen
er Jemen steht vor einer humanitären Katastrophe. »Seit im März 2015 der Konflikt eskalierte, ist die ohnehin schon hohe Zahl der Hungernden täglich um 25.000 gestiegen und hat mittlerweile 13 Millionen erreicht – die Hälfte der Gesamtbevölkerung«, schlug die Hilfsorganisation Oxfam am Mittwoch in einer Presseerklärung Alarm. Jeder zweite »könnte verhungern, wenn sich die Versorgungslage nicht entscheidend verbessert«. Die Organisation fordert die Vereinten Nationen auf, ihre Anstrengungen um eine Waffenruhe zu verstärken. Nur dann können dringend benötigte Hilfsgüter die Menschen erreichen – von Gerrit Hoekman
https://www.jungewelt.de/2015/07-30/013.php
29.7.2015 – Kurier
Jemen: Millionen sind am Rande des Verhungern.
Hilferuf aus dem Kriegsgebiet: Eine Krankenschwester berichtet dem KURIER von der Lage im Jemen.
29.7.2015 – Ärzte ohne Grenzen
Yemen: War Crimes and Severe Shortages
Since the fighting began at the end of March between Houthi rebels and Saudi Arabia led-coalition forces, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) has provided medical assistance to close to 7,000 war casualties.
MSF teams working in Yemen have witnessed pregnant women and children dying after arriving too late at the health centre because of petrol shortages or having to hole up for days on end while waiting for a lull in the fighting. People requiring emergency medical treatment have also died after being held up at roadblocks guarded by combatants.
Throughout the country, the population is suffering from severe shortages as food, drugs and petrol become increasingly rare, threatening the survival of the most vulnerable. With fuel lacking for generators and pumping stations, some hospitals are no longer able to function and obtaining clean water is increasingly problematic. People queue for petrol for hours, or even days, in the hope of being able to flee the combat zone or transport a casualty or somebody sick to the nearest hospital.
The malaria season has begun and suspected cases of haemorrhagic fever are rising. While MSF has managed to obtain the necessary authorisations to bring over 100 tons of drugs and medical supplies into the country, ministry of health facilities and private clinics have not so they are receiving no supplies whatsoever. As in Aden, the price of flour has increased by 70% in some areas and meat is all but non-existent. Data collected by MSF in Khamir and Saada show that 15% of children are under-nourished.
War crimes and severe shortages result in the population being subjected to double the suffering, caused not only by the different parties to the conflict but also Resolution 2216 (2015) adopted by the United Nations Security Council in April. Proposed by Jordan and actively supported by theUnited States, Great Britain and France, the declared purpose of the Resolution under Chapter VII of the Charter was to put an end to the violence in Yemen, by imposing, among others, an arms embargo on the Houthis. The military coalition was thus presented with a blank check to bomb all infrastructure such as roads, airports, ports and petrol stations that could afford a military advantage to the rebels and impose restrictions on air and maritime trade which have rapidly resulted in isolating the entire country from the outside world. It is abundantly clear that the Resolution chose the wrong target as, far from “putting an end to violence”, it has fuelled the warring appetites of the various parties to the conflict and tightened the stranglehold on the population.
In view of what we are witnessing in Aden, we fear that the coalition-led offensives seeking to regain territory from the Houthis will, in the short-term, inflict yet more violence on civilians caught between the warring parties and expose them to armed reprisals. Furthermore, we also fear that those countries who support the coalition in its quest “to liberate” Yemen – whatever the cost – will view such violence as acceptable collateral damage. A collateral damage that may be of little concern to governments – as we have come to understand in recent months during our attempts to rally diplomats in Paris, Geneva and Washington on the need to put pressure on the warring parties to spare civilian lives – by Mégo Terzian, President of MSF France
http://www.msf.org/article/yemen-war-crimes-and-severe-shortages
29.7.2015 – CB Radio
Millions of people in Yemen are on the brink of starvation
Thirteen million people in Yemen are struggling to find enough to eat. Half that number is on the brink of starvation.
Tariq Riebl, the head of programs for Oxfam in Yemen, tells As It Happens guest host Laura Lynch that "due to the economic blockade that's been put in place by the Saudi-led coalition…imports are no longer coming in to Yemen, and imports are responsible for about 90 per cent of the food and fuel for the country."
Reacting to the news about Saudi plans for a new ground offensive, Riebl says, "I don't know what to tell you. I've been in many of the worst disasters in the last years including Congo, Chad, Darfur, South Sudan…and what I'm seeing here is unbelievable. So now, just to consider that we could have an addition of ground troops is really quite frightening to be honest. We really call on all parties to the conflict to cease immediately and look to non-military solutions…because this country is about to collapse at every single level."
29.7.2015 – Spiegel Online
Vergessener Krieg: Saudi-Arabien bombt den Jemen ins Elend
Saudi-Arabien führt Krieg im Jemen, seit vier Monaten schon - angeblich, um das Land zu stabilisieren. Doch die Militäroperation erreicht das Gegenteil: Tausende Zivilisten wurden getötet, 13 Millionen Menschen hungern.
Die USA unterstützen die Militärkampagne Saudi-Arabiens - und machen sich damit mitschuldig am Tod Unbeteiligter. Einerseits sieht Washington einen Jemen, der von den proiranischen Huthis regiert wird, mit Sorge. Wichtiger aber noch ist, dass US-Präsident Obama die Unterstützung der Saudis im Kampf gegen die Terrororganisation "Islamischer Staat" (IS) braucht. Deshalb lässt er König Salman im Jemen weitgehend freie Hand.
Leidtragende dieses Kriegs sind die Zivilisten im Jemen. Nach Schätzungen der britischen Hilfsorganisation Oxfam hungern derzeit 13 Millionen Jemeniten, also etwa die Hälfte der Bevölkerung. Seit der saudi-arabischen Intervention sei die Zahl der Hungernden täglich um rund 25.000 gestiegen.
Oxfam macht dafür vor allem die von Saudi-Arabien und Ägypten durchgesetzte Seeblockade verantwortlich. Der Jemen müsse 80 Prozent der benötigten Nahrungsmittel importieren, doch seien seit März nur 20 Prozent ins Land gekommen. Der Oxfam-Direktor für den Jemen, Philippe Clerc, warnt: "Im Jemen droht eine humanitäre Katastrophe riesigen Ausmaßes." – von Christoph Sydow
28.7.2015 – Daily Mail
Heartbreaking images reveal the human face of hunger in Yemen: SIX MILLION people are on the brink of starvation as war ravages the desperate country
28.7.2015 – The Guardian
13 million people in Yemen struggling to find enough to eat, Oxfam says
Charity reports 6.5 million people on brink of starvation with medicines scarce and disease a growing threat, as five-day ceasefire shows signs of collapsing
Jonathan Bartolozzi, director of programmes for Mercy Corps, said it would take decades to rebuild after this “tragic” destruction. “Certainly the physical growth and development that was done before has been destroyed, and that will take years, if not decades, to rebuild. Certain parts of the country have been decimated – cities, bridges, infrastructure,” said Bartolozzi.
28.7.2015 – PBS
In Yemen, people ‘begging’ for food amid bombings and blockades
A new Oxfam report says fighting and economic blockades in Yemen are making food prices soar and causing an additional 25,000 people to go hungry each day.
Even before the current conflict between government supporters and Houthi rebels began in March, about 41 percent of Yemen’s 26.7 million population didn’t have enough to eat, according to the U.N. World Food Program.
The fighting has made the situation even worse. People now are waiting in long lines at fuel stations, sometimes for days, and swarming supply trucks for scarce supplies that are priced increasingly higher, said Oxfam’s head of program in Yemen Tariq Riebl in the capital Sana’a. “The prime coping strategy is to reduce meals to one a day or even less,” he said. “Many of the displaced population are sleeping out in the open by the sides of main highways and begging for food. They don’t even have tents.”
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/yemen-people-begging-food-amid-bombings-blockades/
28.7.2015 – Oxfam
Blockade and violence in Yemen pushing an additional 25,000 people into hunger daily
Since the start of the conflict, nearly 25,000 additional people are going hungry each day in Yemen as the blockade and fighting restrict food, fuel and other vital supplies, Oxfam warned today.
One in two people - nearly 13 million people - are now struggling to find enough to eat, and half of them are on the brink of starvation. This is an increase of 2.3 million people since the escalation in fighting and beginning of the blockade imposed by the Saudi-led coalition in March 2015. In a country that has historically faced food shortages, this is the highest ever recorded number of people living in hunger.
Saada governorate in the north is the most affected in the country: nearly 80 percent of its people are going hungry, 50 percent at a critical level.
The scarcity of food is pushing prices beyond the reach of millions - many have been without income for months now. Data collected through Oxfam assessments in Hajjah governorate show that families displaced by the conflict have few possessions, mainly livestock that they are forced to sell at prices well below the market value to buy food and other basic needs. This is a tell-tale sign that people are starting to face a serious food crisis.
During interviews with displaced families in Sanaa, 60 percent of participants told Oxfam that they cope with the lack of food and cash by begging, polishing shoes and hoping for charity. The only source of food for people at two of the three surveyed locations was one cooked meal a day provided by a local organization.
Availability of food in the south-western governorates is alarmingly low, in particular, Aden, Abyan, Ad-daleh, Lahj, and Shabwa, based on the World Food Programme’s weekly market monitoring reports. This is largely due to the difficulties of moving food supplies through conflict areas.
Before the recent violence, Yemen had the second highest malnutrition rate in the world. Since March, only 20 percent of domestic food needs have entered the country and an additional 650,000 children, pregnant and lactating mothers have become malnourished bringing the number up to a staggering 1.5 million.
dazu auch http://www.n-tv.de/politik/Jemen-steht-kurz-vorm-Zusammenbruch-article15609601.html
27.7.2015 – Yemen Post
UNICEF concerned over child education in Yemen
UNICEF has urged the warring parties in Yemen to avoid attacks on schools as it affirmed that the months-long bombardments by the Saudi-led coalition and street fighting forced 3.600 schools to shut down. In a recent statement, UNICEF said the conflict has disrupted education to around 1.8 million children across the country after students and their families were displaced. At least 248 schools have been directly damaged; 270 others are hosting internally displaced people (IDPs) and 68 are occupied by armed groups, it said, while expressing deep concerns over child education in Yemen.
http://yemenpost.net/Detail123456789.aspx?ID=3&SubID=8118&MainCat=3
24.7.2015 – Red Cross
Yemen: Intensified ground fighting heightens civilian suffering
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is alarmed by the recent spike in hostilities, including intense ground fighting, which has increased the suffering of civilians.
"The suffering of the civilian population has reached unprecedented levels. More than 100 days into the crisis, severe shortages of water, food and fuel continue across the country, together with airstrikes and fighting on the ground," explained Antoine Grand, head of the ICRC delegation in Yemen.
"The last two weeks have seen an intensification of fighting in the southern governorates of Aden and Taiz where it is becoming increasingly difficult for us to reach affected areas, to evacuate the dead and the wounded and to provide life-saving assistance," he continued.
https://www.icrc.org/en/document/yemen-intensified-ground-fighting-heightens-civilian-suffering
Kriegsereignisse
30.7.2015 – AP
AL-QAIDA KILLS 6 CAPTURED YEMENI REBELS NORTH OF ADEN
30.7.2015 – Reuters
Regierungstreue Truppen im Jemen erobern Huthi-Stellungen bei Aden
Im Jemen haben regierungstreue Truppen Stellungen der Huthi-Rebellen in der Nähe der Hafenstadt Aden eingenommen. Örtliche Behörden erklärten am Donnerstag, die Kämpfer hätten mit Unterstützung durch Luftangriffe der von Saudi-Arabien geführtenAllianz Muthalath al-Ilm unter ihre Kontrolle gebracht. uch mehrere Ortschaften nördlich von Aden seien von den Milizen, die sich Südliche Widerstandskräfte nennen, zurückerobert worden.
http://de.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idDEKCN0Q420Z20150730 = http://www.onvista.de/news/regierungstreue-truppen-im-jemen-erobern-huthi-stellungen-bei-aden-9789591
29.7.2015 – Strategy Page
Yemen: Iran Backed Rebels In Retreat
In Lahj province (just north of the port of Aden) the pro-government offensive has reached and surrounded the rebel controlled al Anad airbase. Pro-government forces are also fighting their way into the nearby town of Sabr, which controls a road the rebels rely on for supplying their forces in Lahj province. The pro-government tribal militias have become more skilled at calling in air strikes. In part this is because some tribesmen have received military training from the Saudis and returned to their tribal militias. Thus the combination of coalition air strikes, tribal militias and troops loyal to president Hadi are a more effective force than they were a few months ago and that has resulted in growing battlefield losses for the Shia rebels.
The Saudi led coalition is ignoring international criticism over civilian losses from the bombing. As far as the Arab air force commanders are concerned civilian losses are to be expected when the enemy (Shia rebels) base themselves, and their supplies, in residential areas [wofür es in den moisten Fällen keine Belege gibt; ein Vorwand bzw. Eine Rechtfertigung für das Töten von Zivilisten in Wohngebieten, wie man es auch schon in der Ukraine, als es um den Beschuss der “Separatisten”gebiete ging, standing gehört hat].
In the southeast (Hadramawt province), AQAP (Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula) rebels continue to control the port city of Mukalla and most of the province. The only ones fighting AQAP there are the Americans, via UAV missile attacks.
https://www.strategypage.com/%5Cqnd%5Cyemen%5Carticles%5C20150729.aspx
29.7.2015 – AFP
Yemen to merge 'resistance' fighters with army
Yemen's exiled government has issued an order for militiamen fighting alongside loyalist troops against Shiite rebels to be merged into the armed forces, as clashes raged Wednesday in the south.
http://news.yahoo.com/yemen-merge-resistance-fighters-army-114152299.html
29.7.2015 – Washington Post
Saudi-led coalition plans ground attacks in Yemen after taking key city
After four months of setbacks, fighters backed by Saudi Arabia have seized the offensive in Yemen’s war, taking control of a major city and pressing to expand ground operations against rebel forces.
The shift in momentum after the Saudi-led coalition failed to make headway appears to be due to the arrival since mid-July of hundreds of Yemeni fighters who had been secretly trained in Saudi Arabia. The contingent could help turn the tide in the war, which pits Shiite Houthi rebels from the north against largely Sunni forces aligned with exiled President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi.
This week, Saudi-backed fighters attacked areas north of the southern port city of Aden in an apparent effort to enlarge recent gains there against the Houthis. Residents said the fighters are preparing to assault the rebel-held al-Anad base, Yemen’s biggest military airfield, 30 miles north of Aden.
If the Saudi-backed militiamen can consolidate control beyond Aden, they could bring the rebels to the negotiating table [das ist absurd, weil die saudische Seite absolut nicht verhandlungsbereit ist] or at least carve out a foothold in the south for the Saudi-trained force to gather strength for future assaults.
Meanwhile, al-Qaeda-linked extremists appear to be taking advantage of the chaos to boost their presence. Residents in Aden say the extremists are participating in the assaults by the Saudi-led coalition, perhaps seeking to win local support.
The Saudis feel they need to be able to get a foothold back in Yemen again before Iran starts to mobilize and get more committed to this war,” said Christopher Davidson, an expert on Persian Gulf countries at Durham University in Britain.
Rumors of the coalition’s training program have circulated for several months, although few details have been disclosed. Coalition countries have refrained from sending their own armies to fight in Yemen, fearing high casualties in a protracted conflict.
A former Saudi diplomat who is familiar with the program confirmed that several thousand Yemeni nationals are undergoing boot-camp-like training in at least two military facilities in southern Saudi Arabia. The training began as the air war started, he said, speaking on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the issue.
Dozens of military advisers from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, a coalition member, are also in Aden to assist the force, according to Dubaish and the former Saudi diplomat.
Despite the coalition’s disavowals, its strategy also appears to be drawing support from radical Islamists. Militants with suspected ties to AQAP are taking part in the anti-Houthi fight in Aden, residents and some fighters in the city said.
There are other signs of trouble, such as anti-Houthi militias with agendas that are at odds with the coalition’s objectives. Prominent among the militants in Aden are southern separatists who call for a split with the north and oppose Hadi’s exiled government.
“Those forces are not loyal to Hadi, and they are not loyal to Saudi Arabia,” said Katherine Zimmerman, an expert on Yemen at the American Enterprise Institute. But for now, the disparate groups are united against the Houthis, who appear overextended and vulnerable to attack, she said – by Hugh Naylor
dazu http://yemenpost.net/Detail123456789.aspx?ID=3&SubID=8122&MainCat=3
29.7.2015 – Human Rights Watch
Yemen: Houthi Artillery Kills Dozens in Aden
Pro-Houthi forces have repeatedly fired mortar shells and rockets indiscriminately into populated areas in the southern Yemeni port city of Aden in violation of the laws of war. In the deadliest attack, on July 19 in Dar Saad district, mortar fire killed several dozen civilians, including children.
“Pro-Houthi forces have been raining mortar shells and rockets onto populated areas of Aden with no apparent regard for the civilians remaining there,” said Ole Solvang, senior emergencies researcher. “These unlawful attacks take a terrible human toll and should stop immediately.”
Human Rights Watch visited four areas in Aden controlled by southern resistance forces that had come under fire from Houthi rockets and mortars since July 1. Human Rights Watch also interviewed four Aden residents by phone and reviewed photographic evidence and video footage of the attacks and their aftermath published on social media.
Investigation of the impact sites and weapons remnants shows the use of multiple rockets and mortar rounds with blast and fragmentation effects that can cause injuries and damage over a wide area. These weapons, in particular unguided rockets, are difficult to target with accuracy, and when directed toward populated areas are indiscriminate. Indiscriminate attacks violate the laws of war and amount to war crimes when carried out deliberately or recklessly
Human Rights Watch investigated attacks that struck areas under the control of the southern resistance committees. The areas were attacked repeatedly over several days, excluding the possibility of misdirected fire. Impact marks on buildings and walls indicated that the munitions had come from the direction of the front lines, and the impact areas were within range of pro-Houthi forces.
https://www.hrw.org/news/2015/07/29/yemen-houthi-artillery-kills-dozens-aden
27.7.2015 – Zeit Online
Saudi-Arabien bombardiert versehentlich Verbündete
Die saudische Koalition bricht die eigene Waffenruhe, fliegt wieder einen Luftangriff – und trifft verbündete Milizen. 15 Menschen sterben, 40 werden verletzt
26.7.2015 – Sächsische Zeitung
Mehr als 140 Tote bei schwerstem Luftschlag im Jemen
Vor Beginn einer einseitig verkündeten Feuerpause hat ein von Saudi-Arabien geführtes Militärbündnis die bislang heftigsten Luftangriffe auf das Nachbarland Jemen geflogen. Mindestens 141 Menschen wurden bei den etwa elf Bombardements am Samstag auf die Hafenstadt Mocha im Süden Jemens getötet, wie lokale medizinische Helfer und Rettungskräfte am Sonntag berichteten. Zudem gebe es weitere 200 Verletzte.
Demnach wurden außer einem Elektrizitätswerk auch Wohngegenden getroffen. Deshalb seien unter den Opfern vor allem Zivilisten - unter ihnen Frauen und Kinder, sagten die Helfer. Wegen des kritischen Zustandes vieler Verletzter werde mit einer steigenden Zahl von Todesopfern gerechnet.
Der Angriff auf Mocha ist das schwerste Bombardement seit dem Beginn der Luftschläge Ende März.
26.7.2015 – NTV
Nächster Anlauf für FeuerpauseLuftschlag tötet 141 Menschen im Jemen
Saudi-Arabien fliegt einen schweren Luftangriff im Jemen und tötet über 140 Menschen. Nun verkündet das Land eine Waffenruhe - der Bevölkerung fehlen Nahrung und Medizin. Die Feuerpause könnte ein Ablenkungsmanöver sein, mutmaßen Experten.
http://www.n-tv.de/politik/Luftschlag-toetet-141-Menschen-im-Jemen-article15596126.html
27.7.2015 – ZDF (Film)
Doku: Drohnenkrieg. Tod aus der Luft
"Gezielte Tötungen" durch Kampfdrohnen - gesteuert von Soldaten, die zehntausende Kilometer entfernt sitzen. Auch die Bundesrepublik plant, bewaffnete Drohnen zu beschaffen.
Unter Präsident Obama bauten die USA ein Netz von Stützpunkten aus, von denen Drohnen in Krisengebiete starten und Terrorverdächtige angeblich gezielt töten. Eine Schlüsselfunktion soll dabei auch die US-Airbase im rheinland-pfälzischen Ramstein spielen.
http://www.zdf.de/zdfzeit/drohnenkrieg-tod-aus-der-luft-39402694.html
27.7.2015 – Aljazeera
Fighting rages despite Yemen humanitarian pause
At least 15 fighters die in "friendly-fire" incident as coalition jets attack Houthis in at least two provinces
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2015/07/fighting-rages-yemen-humanitarian-pause-150727195109179.html
27.7.2015 – Human Rights Watch
Yemen: Coalition Strikes on Residence Apparent War Crime
Need UN Inquiry Into Unlawful Attacks by Warring Parties
Saudi-led coalition airstrikes that killed at least 65 civilians, including 10 children, and wounded dozens in the Yemeni port city of Mokha on July 24, 2015, are an apparent war crime. Starting between 9:30 and 10 p.m., coalition airplanes repeatedly struck two residential compounds of the Mokha Steam Power Plant, which housed plant workers and their family members.
Human Rights Watch visited the area of the attack a day-and-a-half later. Craters and building damage showed that six bombs had struck the plant’s main residential compound, which housed at least 200 families, according to the plant’s managers. One bomb had struck a separate compound for short-term workers about a kilometer north of the main compound, destroying the water tank for the compounds, and two bombs had struck the beach and an intersection nearby.
“Again and again, we see coalition airstrikes killing large numbers of civilians, but no signs of any investigation into possible violations,” Solvang said. “If coalition members won’t investigate, the UN should.”
http://www.hrw.org/news/2015/07/27/yemen-coalition-strikes-residence-apparent-war-crime
26.7.2015 – Yemen Post
Civilian toll rises to 120 from Yemen strikes
The death toll from misdirected Saudi-led airstrikes on residential areas in Yemen's Taiz city has increased to around 120, medical sources said on Sunday.
The number is expected to increase further as many were injured badly, they said, while adding that dozens were wounded from the strikes in the Mokha town two days ago.
http://yemenpost.net/Detail123456789.aspx?ID=3&SubID=8117&MainCat=3
25.7.2015 – Associated Press
Saudi-led airstrikes kill 120; deadliest in Yemen conflict
The airstrikes late Friday hit workers' housing for a power plant in Mokha, flattening some of the buildings to the ground, the officials said. A fire erupted in the area, charring many of the corpses, including children, women and elderly people.
Wahib Mohammed, an eyewitness and area resident, said some of the bodies were torn apart by the force of the blast and buried in a mass grave on Saturday. Some of the strikes also hit nearby livestock pens, he said. Human and animal blood pooled on the ground of the surrounding area.
The deadly strike highlights growing concerns that the Saudi-led coalition's airstrikes are increasingly killing civilians as they continue to target Shiite rebels known as Houthis.
"It just shows what is the trend now of the airstrikes from the coalition," said Hassan Boucenine of the Geneva-based Doctors Without Borders. "Now, it's a house, it's a market, it's anything."
He added that many of the workers had families visiting for the Eid al-Fitr holiday at the end of the holy month of Ramadan. Mokha, populated largely by fisherman, had a reputation as one of the safest places in the country embroiled in war, said Boucenine.
It is not clear why the workers' housing was hit. Yemeni security officials said the closest Houthi outpost to Friday evening's strike is at least 5 kilometers (3 miles) away. Four airstrikes hit the residence after Saudi-led coalition planes launched dozens of missiles on positions of Shiite Houthi rebels and their allies in the surrounding area. The strikes in the area continued Saturday as dozens of families fled, security officials and eyewitnesses said.
Boucenine, of Doctors Without Borders, said the hospital in Mokha had closed weeks prior due to a lack of medical supplies and staff. Some of the injured died en route to the hospital in the city of Hodeida, 180 kilometers (112 miles) north. The provincial capital of Taiz was inaccessible due to ongoing fighting. Boucenine said the hospital confirmed 44 fatalities, though he expected the actual toll was significantly higher.
http://accesswdun.com/article/2015/7/325346
26.7.2015 – Reuters
Houthis, Saudi-led forces battle for Yemen's biggest air base
Yemeni forces allied with a Saudi-led coalition fought Houthi militia for control of the country's largest air base north of Aden on Sunday, hours before a humanitarian truce declared by the coalition was meant to start, residents said.
The al-Anad base, 50 km (30 miles) from the southern port city, has been held by the Iranian-allied Houthi movement for much of a fourth-month-old civil war and commands the approaches to Aden – by Mohammed Mukhashef and Mohammed Ghobari
http://news.yahoo.com/warplanes-attack-targets-near-yemen-capital-residents-055904950.html
25.7.2015 – Reuters
The battle for Aden is a tipping point in Yemen’s war
The tide is turning against the Houthis and troops loyal to former President Ali Abdullah Saleh in the south of Yemen. But they and their adversaries now face a tipping point in the four-month-old civil war. Both can recognize that neither side can win outright, and choose peace. Or they can condemn the country to another bout of even more devastating conflict.
The first major win against the northern Houthi-Saleh alliance has shifted the psychology of Yemen’s war, providing new hope to the wide array of groups that have been resisting their attempts to consolidate control over the country since last September. The total loss of Aden would be a significant blow to the Houthi-Saleh bloc, reminding them of their military and political vulnerabilities outside of their traditional base in Yemen’s northern highlands.
A victory for the anti-Houthi front in Aden could also help to address a structural challenge of current negotiations. The UN strategy for ending Yemen’s war has been built around a plan to broker a deal between Yemen’s government-in-exile, led by ousted president Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi, and the Sana’a-based Houthi-Saleh alliance. But the Hadi government’s main role in the conflict to date has been to publicly back an aerial campaign and naval blockade of Yemen by a coalition of Arab states led by Saudi Arabia. The real fighting on the ground has been done by local groups defending their home turf with few links and little, if any, fealty to the Hadi government.
Continuing along the current road will only lead to protracted, internationalized conflict along the lines of Syria or Libya. The default option of letting the war continue will guarantee this outcome, with more grave human suffering, growing radicalization and deepening instability for the whole Arabian peninsula – by April Longley Alley and Peter Salisbury
24.7.2015 – Associated Press
Death toll from Yemen rebel shelling doubles to nearly 100
The death toll in Yemen from the Shiite rebel shelling of a town near the southern port city of Aden rose Monday to nearly 100, the head of an international aid group said, describing it as "the worst day" for the city and its surroundings in over three months of fighting – by AHMED AL-HAJ and NOUR YOUSSEF
http://www.wdrb.com/story/29584859/death-toll-from-yemen-rebel-shelling-doubles-to-nearly-100
US-Politik
31.7.2015 – Press-tv Iran
Saudis rely on US support in Yemen war: Analyst
Press TV has conducted an interview with Mark Weber, director of the Institute for Historical Review from Santa Ana, to get his take on Saudi Arabia’s relentless aerial attacks against Yemen.
This military campaign is only the latest in a continuing campaign by Saudi Arabia that is made possible by the backing that the Saudis are getting from the United States. It’s important to keep in mind that this overall Saudi campaign in Yemen, which has already taken many lives, would not be possible without the continuing support of the US. Saudi Arabia is after all the most important Arab ally of the United States in this conflict, and unfortunately these strikes by Saudi Arabia have the effect of not only prolonging but also escalating an already very very terrible conflict.
Part of the reason [of the US support for Saudi-Arabia] right now, it has to do with the great debate about Iran and the Obama administration and especially Republicans in the Senate want to portray the United States as supposedly strong in opposing what are portrayed in American media as proxies of Iran in Yemen. That is part of the reason why especially now the United States is supporting Saudi Arabia in this campaign. The US media has been very very reluctant to focus much attention on the conflict in Yemen, it has received very little attention from the media and from the politicians. It’s been overshadowed by the debate over the deal with Iran, which is portrayed even by supporters of the nuclear deal as a very dangerous country and that the United States has to be alert and supportive in opposing Iran.
http://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2015/07/31/422637/Saudi-Arabia-Yemen-USA--Iran-Weber
30.7.2015 – Reuters
Drone kills four suspected militants in Yemen: residents
An attack by an unmanned aircraft on a car in southern Yemen overnight killed four suspected al Qaeda militants, residents and local officials said on Thursday.
http://news.yahoo.com/drone-kills-four-suspected-militants-yemen-residents-103015723.html
29.7.2015 – Huffington Post
U.S.-backed Assault on Yemen Putting Over 20 Million Lives At Risk: Where Is The Outrage?
The unfolding human rights catastrophe in Yemen is but another example of the U.S.'s brutal and equally inexplicable foreign policy, its cynical posture towards human rights, and the main stream media's utter failure to hold the U.S. accountable on such questions. A recent Amnesty International blog, appropriately named, "Yemen: The Humanitarian Crisis in The Shadows," summarized the situation well: Despite more than 100 days of heavy fighting, the impoverished country of Yemen is facing a humanitarian crisis that you most likely haven't heard of. …
And, of course, "the Saudi-led coalition" which is violating international law, including the Geneva Conventions, by putting millions of Yemeni civilians at risk, is itself being given crucial logistical and material support for its Yemeni campaign by the United States (as well as the UK). As Human Rights Watch (HRW) has explained, "The United States announced on March 25 that it was providing 'logistical and intelligence support' to the coalition's military operations. Agence France-Presse reported on April 2 that a senior US military official said that the US would provide refueling tankers to assist Saudi warplanes. The US would also provide intelligence to "help[] the Saudis understand what's happening on their border . . . ." In but another report, HRW made it clear that "[p]roviding direct support to military operations, such as information on targets, would make the US and the UK parties to the armed conflict, and bound to apply the laws of war."
In short, there is no question that the U.S. is responsible for aiding and abetting coalition forces in gross human rights abuses in Yemen, up to and including the attempted genocide of 20 million civilians. Incredibly, this is happening even as Samantha Power -- most famous for decrying genocide as the great scourge of humanity and for calling for armed intervention to stop it -- is positioned as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations.
Of course, the painful truth is that for the U.S., human rights, and even threatened genocide, are only of concern when they can be used to justify U.S. military intervention; not when they are the product of U.S. intervention. And indeed, Samantha Power herself has been rightly criticized for maintaining such double standards. However, there is almost total silence in the U.S. mainstream press about such hypocrisy and Orwellian double-speak, demonstrating the sorry state of our ostensible democratic system – by Dan Kovalik
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dan-kovalik/us-backed-assault-on-yeme_b_7897020.html
23.7.2015 – Tampa Bay Times
Fact-checking Jon Stewart's last Daily Show interview with Barack Obama
Stewart tried to press Obama for serious answers about the Iran nuclear deal and Middle East relations. "Let me ask you a question about Iran. Whose team are we on in the Middle East?" Stewart said. "So we're fighting with Iraqis to defeat ISIS along with Iran. But in Yemen we're fighting Iran with Iraqis and Saudis." – "That’s not quite right," Obama laughed, "but that’s okay."
[…]
Now for the other arrangement Stewart described: Is the U.S. fighting against Iran in Yemen? Not directly.
The United States continues to "provide logistical and intelligence support" to a Saudi Arabia-led coalition of the Gulf Cooperation Council fighting the Houthi militia in Yemen, Baskey said. The coalition includes Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Kuwait, and Qatar. (Oman is not a member of the coalition, although it is a member of the GCC.)
Analysts said Iran is suspected of arming, training and equipping Houthi militia. According to a Defense News article, the United States was "monitoring" Iranian ships that may have been delivering weapons to Houthi military. The Iranian government has officially denied helping Houthi forces, according to a BBC article.
However, neither Iran nor the United States is doing the actual fighting in Yemen.
" ‘We’ are not fighting in Yemen – though U.S. Special Forces may be involved," said Theodore R. Bromund, a senior research fellow at the Davis Institute for National Security and Foreign Policy at the Heritage Foundation. "It is the Saudis who are doing the fighting."
Several experts also pointed out that Stewart was wrong about Iraq’s participation in Yemen.
"We are not aware of any Iraqi involvement in the Yemen conflict," Baskey confirmed.
Stewart said the United States is "fighting with Iraqis to defeat ISIS along with Iran. But in Yemen we're fighting Iran with Iraqis and Saudis."
As Obama pointed out, Stewart's claim is off on a few points — Iran is not an official ally of the United States against ISIS even though both countries are fighting the terrorist group; the United States is not directly fighting Iran in Yemen; and Iraqi soldiers are not involved in the Yemen conflict.
But Stewart's overall perspective that the United States and Iran are in the unusual position of fighting against the same enemy in one country and working against each other in another is not too far off the mark.
His statement is partially accurate but lacking in some details. So we rate his claim Half True – by By Anna Bruzgulis
Am Freitag Abend flogen die saudischen Bomber (unterstützt von Amerikanern und Briten) den bisher tödlichsten Fliegerangriff, auf die Siedlung der Mitarbeiter des Kraftwerks con Mokha an der Westküste, mit ca. 120 Toten. Hier einige Bilder (Achtung: nichts für Sensible!):
http://poorworld.net/Yemen/YemenImages158.htm
http://poorworld.net/Yemen/YemenImages162.htm
http://poorworld.net/Yemen/YemenImages163.htm
http://poorworld.net/Yemen/YemenImages164.htm
http://poorworld.net/Yemen/YemenImages165.htm
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