Krieg im Jemen: Neue Artikel zum Nachlesen 72

Yemen Press Reader 72: Wegen heftiger Kämpfe Friedensgespräche beendet, aber neue Gespräche für Mitte Januar vereinbart - Experten: Alle Waffenverkäufe von EU-Staaten an Saudi-Arabien illegal

Bei diesem Beitrag handelt es sich um ein Blog aus der Freitag-Community.
Ihre Freitag-Redaktion

Schwerpunkte / Key aspects

Am wichtigsten / Most important

Allgemein / General

Humanitäre Lage / Humanitarian situation

Friedensverhandlungen / Peace talks

Saudi-Arabien / Saudi Arabia

USA

Großbritannien / great Britain

Waffenexporte / Arms trade

Kriegsereignisse / Theater of War

Am wichtigsten / Most important

18.12.2015 – Safer World

EU arms exports to Saudi Arabia in the context of the war in Yemen are illegal

As Saferworld publishes a legal opinion from renowned firm Matrix Chambers, Kloe Tricot O’Farrell and Roy Isbister say EU Member States that are supplying arms to Saudi Arabia that could be used in Yemen are complicit in the catastrophe unfolding in the country.

A legal opinion from eminent international law experts from Matrix Chamberscommissioned by Saferworld and Amnesty International UK has concluded that the UK Government is breaking national, EU and international law by supplying weapons to Saudi Arabia in the context of its military intervention and bombing campaign in Yemen. Although it only assesses UK actions, the opinion’s damning findings are relevant to all EU Member States that have supplied arms that are at risk of being used in the conflict, or have allowed transit of other States’ arms through their territory. This is because all EU Member States are bound by the EU Common Position and almost all by the international Arms Trade Treaty (only Cyprus and Greece have yet to ratify the treaty, although they have signed it), both of which forbid the transfer of weapons if there is a clear risk that items might be used in the commission of serious violations of International Humanitarian Law (IHL) or International Human Rights Law (IHRL).

The UK has issued more than 100 licences for arms exports to Saudi Arabia since the State began bombing Yemen in March 2015. For the period January to June 2015, licences for exports to Saudi Arabia were worth more than £1 ¾ billion, the vast majority of which (by value) appear to be for combat aircraft and air-delivered bombs for the use of the Royal Saudi Air Force.

By continuing to authorise transfers of weapons and related items to Saudi Arabia capable of being used in Yemen, the legal opinion concludes that the UK Government is acting in breach of its obligations arising under the UK’s Consolidated Criteria on arms exports, the EU Common Position on Arms Exports and the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT). It concludes that “any authorisation by the UK of the transfer of weapons and related items to Saudi Arabia […] in circumstances where such weapons are capable of being used in the conflict in Yemen, including to support its blockade of Yemeni territory, and in circumstances where their end-use is not restricted, would constitute a breach by the UK of its obligations under domestic, European and international law.” It also notes that the UK Government can properly be deemed to have "actual knowledge [...] of the use by Saudi Arabia of weapons, including UK-supplied weapons, in attacks directed against civilians and civilians objects, in violation of international law", since at least May 2015 – by which time entire Yemeni cities had been designated as military targets and were subjected to aerial bombardments.

The case made by the legal opinion clearly has implications for other EU Member States. Indeed, whereas confirmed sales of equipment in 2015 are limited due to the retrospective nature of reporting on arms exports and licensing – typically the latest information currently available from Member States is for 2014 – some transfers, or decisions to approve transfers, by EU Member States have been identified.

Italy

There have been at least three shipments of Mark 80-series bombs to Saudi Arabia since their airstrikes on Yemen began in March. The last known shipment was sent in November 2015. At least some of these bombs have been used in Yemen.

Germany

The German Government reported in October that, in the first six months of 2015, Saudi Arabia was its third most valuable arms export market. Licences to a value of €178 million were authorised for arms and military goods, including military vehicles and parts therefor, target simulation drones, parts for combat aircraft and in-flight refuelling equipment.

Saudi Arabia has also produced HKG36 rifles under licence since 2008. Older models of HK rifles, the G3, have been diverted without permission from Saudi Arabia to Yemen where many rifles and their ammunition have fallen into the hands of Houthi fighters and to Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula. Alongside IHL and IHRL breaches, this diversion would be reason to refuse current and future supply under both the ATT and the EU Common Position.

France

On 15 October 2015, France announced that several contracts, notably in the maritime and armament sectors, had been signed with Saudi Arabia. These contracts are said to be valued at over €10 billion. The Government further announced that Saudi Arabia is expected to order fast patrol boats by the end of 2015, reportedly worth €600 million. These boats could be used in support of the blockade of Yemen – which the legal opinion identifies as a breach of IHL. It also worth noting that France signed in May 2015 a €6.3 billion contract for the sale of Rafale fighter jets with Qatar, which is among the members of the Saudi-led coalition engaged in Yemen.

In addition, transfers authorised in 2014 by different Member States may well remain relevant in terms of deliveries still taking place in 2015 (and beyond). For example, in 2014 the Walloon region of Belgium authorised the transfer of turrets and cannons for armoured vehicles valued at €3.2bn to Canada, with Saudi Arabia as the end-user. Deliveries against this contract are ongoing. This takes place in the context of a recently burgeoning arms-supply relationship between Wallonia and Saudi Arabia, with a 300 percent increase from 2013 to 2014 in the value of arms licences, primarily for small arms and light weapons and their ammunition. The Czech Republic is also reported as having recently intensified efforts to sell arms and military equipment to Saudi Arabia. In 2014, Saudi Arabia was a major market for Czech arms producers, with exports worth over €70 million, primarily for ground vehicles and components. This amounts to around 16 per cent of total Czech arms exports and constitutes a 520 percent increase from 2013. Czech company Tatra also signed a partnership agreement with the Saudi military in 2013 that includes the construction of an armament plant in the Kingdom.

Given the unfolding tragedy in Yemen, the paucity of up-to-date information from EU Member States about their transfers into the conflict is simply not good enough. Member States need to go on record about what arms they have supplied or agreed to supply to Saudi Arabia and coalition partners, especially since the conflict began, that could have been used in Yemen and explain how these transfers are consistent with their legal obligations. Looking forward, EU Member States should immediately suspend arms shipments and military support to Saudi Arabia and its coalition partners which could be used in the bombing campaign on Yemen – at least until thorough and independent investigations into arms sales and reported war crimes in Yemen are carried out.

The Council of the EU, in its April 2015 conclusions on Yemen, recognised that only a political agreement could provide a sustainable solution and restore peace in Yemen. The Council should also issue an immediate suspension of all arms exports to Saudi Arabia. EU Member States must make every possible diplomatic effort to help bring the conflict to an end and continue to push for an end to the de factoblockade so that vital humanitarian and commercial supplies can freely enter Yemen and reach those most in need. Finally, they must fully implement the provisions of the EU Common Position and ATT, and encourage other arms exporters to do the same. The moral case has been obvious for months, and now the legal case is clear: EU Member States that are supplying arms to Saudi Arabia that could be used in Yemen are complicit in the catastrophe unfolding in the country, and they need to stop – by Kloe Tricot O'Farrell, Roy Isbister

http://www.saferworld.org.uk/news-and-views/comment/195-eu-arms-exports-to-saudi-arabia-in-the-context-of-the-war-in-yemen-are-illegal-

Kommentar: Endlich sagt das einmal jemand! / Finally someone tells that!! Und die Liste der Waffenexporteure nach Saudi-Arabien wächst weiter: Tschechien, Belgien...

Allgemein / General

19.12.2015 – Nation of Change

Yemen’s Forgotten War: The Complicated Conflict That Almost No One is Talking About

In keeping with the Orwellian trend of altering the language of war to drain words of their negative connotations (think “enhanced interrogation” as a euphemism for torture or “collateral damage” for civilian casualties), mercenaries are now generally included as part of the much larger category of “contractors”, who can be doing anything in a war zone from serving the troops food to mine removal.

Although the majority of contractors aren’t deployed in combat roles, they have become an integral part of the way many countries wage war. It’s a profitable business, and, seeing that the Colombian mercenaries in Yemen are paid up to five times as much as they would make serving at home, one can understand the economic incentive highly trained soldiers from poorer countries have to sell their services to the highest bidder.

It should probably come as no surprise that our despotic allies in the Middle East are unwilling to fight their own battles, preferring to bring in foreign nationals and local proxies as cannon fodder for their vicious war. When the Saudi National Guard, themselves trained by contractors from a company called Vinnell, a subsidiary of American defense contractor Northrup Grumman, invaded Bahrain in response to a request from the Sunni monarchy to suppress protests against them by the majority Shia population, the world let out a collective yawn.

This may have encouraged adventurism on the part of the Sunni Muslim Saudis in their ongoing rivalry with Shia Iran and they have brought Gulf allies like the UAE along with them in the folly of choosing sides in Yemen’s long running civil war.

Many commentators immediately accepted as fact that the Houthis are Iranian proxies because they follow a branch of Shia Islam but their Zaidi sect is said to be a Shia equivalent of the austere Sunni Wahhabism practiced in Saudi Arabia and quite different from the Shiism of Iran. This is not to say that Iran hasn’t given the Houthis support, just that experts on the region are unsure of the extent of their actual influence over them.

Air-forces, mainly provided by NATO country arms manufacturers (also mostly on their taxpayers’ dime), are being used to bomb what little infrastructure there is in the Middle East’s poorest nation.

Yemen has been torn by strife since the collapse of the Ottoman Empire at the end of the First World War. North Yemen became a country and South Yemen a British colony in 1918. The South Yemenis revolted against the British and the result throughout much of the Cold War was a NATO supported North Yemen and a much smaller South Yemen allied with the Soviet Union. The country was unified by former President Saleh in May of 1990.

In many ways Yemeni society is still ruled by ever shifting tribal allegiances, making it very difficult for Westerners to penetrate the intricacies of its politics. For an example of another nation that has become unbalanced in this regard following an intervention by foreign powers, one need only look at the chaos still unfolding in Libya. Regardless of what one thinks of him, Gaddafi was an expert at balancing, and buying off, competing factions in that country.

According to a UN report, since the Gulf states led by Saudi Arabia and the UAE began bombing Yemen, it has changed the traditional migration formula in the area. At least 120,000 Yemenis have fled their homes, undertaking the dangerous trek to African countries like Djibouti, Ethiopia and Somalia. This, despite the fact that chaos in the Horn of Africa has also brought upwards of 250,000 Somalis to Yemen in recent years.

It is somewhat ironic that the response of African nations, including those that already have or are producing displaced people themselves, has been much more generous than that of many European and other western nations. The efforts of these African nations are woefully underfunded by the international community but there is always enough money to subsidize military training and the purchase of weapons of war in both Africa and the Middle East, a practice that is certainly not limited to NATO countries and usually leads to yet more refugees in the long term.

It’s interesting that many respected mainstream commentators insist on portraying the battle between Saudi Arabia and its allies on one side and Iran and its allies on the other as a long term religious schism, seeing as how both states have their own cynical reasons for portraying it as such. Even if Iran is not as involved with the Houthis as some outlets are portraying it, it is in their interest to pretend that they are. The narrative of a sectarian battle is helpful to the leadership in both of these countries.

It is my belief that this larger struggle is more political, economic and based on mutual convenience than it is religious and unpacking the many reasons for the ongoing conflict would demand both a willingness to accept nuance and a grasp of the region’s history. It isn’t rocket science, but it does require more investigation than many mainstream commentators seem to be willing to make.

The secret to Iran’s success in the region is not a singular genius for evil but a willingness to pick up the pieces after their self-declared adversaries walk blindly into one disaster after another. To paraphrase one Middle Eastern prophet, the leadership and media of western countries need to remove the log from their own eye before they will ever be able to help the greater Middle East remove the splinter from its own. For the sake of the people of Yemen and the region as a whole, this can’t happen soon enough – by Derek Royden

http://www.nationofchange.org/news/2015/12/19/yemens-forgotten-war-the-complicated-conflict-that-almost-no-one-is-talking-about/

Comment: Worth to be read in full.

19.12.2015 – Wall of Controversy

Why the world has forsaken the people of Yemen

The situation in Yemen, based on articles already published and already presented in “Yemen Press Reader”

https://wallofcontroversy.wordpress.com/2015/12/19/why-the-world-has-forsaken-the-people-of-yemen/

Humanitäre Lage / Humanitarian situation

20.12.2015 – Belal Alhadae

Yemen Kids (Film)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fSBwhIeeoNk

20.12.2015 – German China

In Bildern: Wasserkrise im Jemen

http://german.china.org.cn/txt/2015-12/20/content_37358895.htm

18.12.2015 – UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs

Yemen: Cessation of Hostilities Flash Update 2 | 18 December 2015

Key messages

Despite reports of intermittent hostilities in parts of the country, the humanitarian community has seized the opportunity offered by the cessation of hostilities declared on 15 December 2015 to step up efforts to assist the most vulnerable.

A large number of trucks from the World Food Programme carrying essential food supplies have reached warehouses in Al Mudhaffar, Al Qahirah, and Salh, the most affected districts of Taizz city.

The UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Yemen announced on 17 December that agreement had been reached to allow for a full and immediate resumption of humanitarian assistance to the city of Taizz.

Humanitarian Response

On 15 December, the International Medical Corps (IMC) deployed six mobile clinics in Salh district in Taizz city. This district had been largely inaccessible for the last three months due to heavy fighting. The mobile teams provided health services to 545 people, 366 of them female and 181 children were treated for common illnesses such as acute respiratory tract infections (ARI), urinary tract infection (URI), diarrhoea, intestinal parasites, infected wounds, skin infections and fever. Another 111 children were screened for malnutrition, with 15 per cent presenting signs of acute malnutrition. Prenatal and antenatal care was also provided to pregnant and lactating women.

The World Food Programme (WFP) has dispatched 155 trucks to Taizz city carrying some 3,900 metric tons (MT) of food. As of 17 December, 102 trucks (2,600 MT) have arrived and off loaded in warehouses of the Ministry of Education in the four districts of Al Mudhaffar, Al Qahirah, Salh, and Al Taiziah. Another 53 trucks are expected to arrive 18 December. These supplies will be distributed through schools and provide food for 350,000 people in the coming days. The food basket includes wheat, pulses, oil and sugar.

The World Health Organization (WHO) distributed medicines and medical supplies in Taizz governorate, including in the districts of Al Mokha, and Mawiyah. A truck carrying diarrheal kits for 400 people reached Taizz city and will be provided to the paediatric wards of the main hospitals in Al Mudhaffar and Al Qahirah districts. In Aden, WHO provided assistance to 1,500 people suffering from malnutrition as well as consultations for various childhood illnesses through a local partner. Antenatal care for mothers and their children was also offered. In the capital Sana’a, WHO supplied hospitals with 5,000 vials of insulin and other desperately needed drugs for lifesaving interventions.

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) assisted displaced communities with non-food items necessary for daily survival in Al Turbah in southern Taizz Governorate. IOM also visited the village of Al Qaeda, near Ibb, to determine how to best assist 160 displaced families being hosted there.

WHO dispatched mobile teams to provide health services in the districts of Alluheyah, Al Monirah, Al Zuhrah and Hais – all districts in Hudaydah governorate that were affected by severe floods in December. On 15 and 16 December drugs provided by WHO reached the affected areas and were distributed to hospitals.

In Amran, Hajjah, Hudaydah, and Ibb governorates, UNICEF monitored programmes in education, health, nutrition and water, sanitation and hygiene. In Amran, UNICEF completed a delivery of 30,000 litres of diesel to the local water corporation that provides water to 50,000 people in the area. In Taizz city, 60,000 litres of diesel were delivered to Taizz Water Sanitation Local Company (TWSLC). UNICEF also installed seven water tanks in Al Qahirah district in partnership with a local organization.

http://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/yemen-cessation-hostilities-flash-update-2-18-december-2015-enar and full report: http://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/Yemen_Flash_Update_No2_18_Dec_2015.pdf

Friedensverhandlungen / Peace talks

20.12.2015 – Deutschlandfunk

Friedensgespräche werden Mitte Januar fortgesetzt

Die Friedensverhandlungen für den Jemen sind ohne Ergebnis vertagt worden.

Sie sollen am 14. Januar wieder aufgenommen werden, wie der UNO-Sondergesandte Cheikh Ahmed sagte. Der Ort stehe noch nicht fest.

http://www.deutschlandfunk.de/jemen-friedensgespraeche-werden-mitte-januar-fortgesetzt.447.de.html?drn:news_id=560425 Siehe auch http://www.stol.it/Artikel/Politik-im-Ueberblick/Politik/Jemen-Friedensgespraeche-auf-Jaenner-vertagt Demnach sollen die Gespräche in Äthiopien fortgesetzt werden.

20.12.2015 – Middle East Eye

Yemen peace talks end with no major breakthrough

UN special envoy is expected to announce a new round of meetings, likely starting in mid-January, to try to end Yemen conflict

Fighting raged on Sunday between Yemen's warring factions on the final day of UN-backed peace talks that have made no major breakthrough in the face of repeated ceasefire violations.

UN special envoy Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed was expected to announce a new round of meetings, likely starting in mid-January, to try to end the conflict, according to a source close to the Houthi delegation.

The sides, who have been meeting since Tuesday behind closed doors, agreed on Saturday to create "a neutral military committee" to monitor the collapsing ceasefire and another committee to oversee the delivery of humanitarian aid, sources from both sides said.

But delegates said substantial progress had proved elusive.

"The negotiations have basically failed," said a source with the delegation representing both the Iran-backed Houthi Shia militia and renegade troops still loyal to wealthy ex-president Ali Abdullah Saleh.

He told AFP that the ceasefire, which was meant to facilitate the delivery of desperately needed humanitarian aid, was "still-born".

"We have not achieved any results," agreed a source in President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi's government delegation.

The talks have among other things stumbled on the question of prisoners, with the militiamen demanding swaps, while the government wants the Houthis to first liberate a number of its captives, including the president's brother, several sources said.

- See more at: http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/yemen-peace-talks-end-no-major-

http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/yemen-peace-talks-end-no-major-breakthrough-1032937083

20.12.2015 – Zeit Online

UN erklären Jemen-Friedensverhandlungen für gescheitert

Nach neuen Kämpfen im Jemen sind die Gespräche zwischen Huthi-Rebellen und der Regierung gescheitert. Ein Ende des Bürgerkriegs ist damit weiter in die Ferne gerückt.

Die Friedensverhandlungen für ein Ende des Bürgerkrieges im Jemensind wegen der neu aufgeflammten Kämpfe gescheitert. Die Vereinten Nationen teilten mit, die Gespräche in der Schweiz zwischen den Konfliktparteien seien beendet worden. Der UN-Sondergesandte für den Jemen, Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed, werde sich auf einer Pressekonferenz zu dem Thema äußern.

Am Samstag kam es in der Nähe der Stadt Harad im Nordwesten des Landes zu heftigen Gefechten, die regierungstreue Kräfte am Donnerstag von den schiitischen Aufständischen zurückerobert hatten. Regierungseinheiten versuchten zugleich, auf die Hauptstadt Sanaa vorzurücken. In den vergangenen drei Tagen sollen mehr als 40 Rebellen und 35 Regierungssoldaten getötet worden sein. Auf beiden Seiten gab es nach Berichten von Augenzeugen Dutzende Verletzte.

http://www.zeit.de/politik/ausland/2015-12/jemen-buergerkrieg-friedensverhandlungen-schweiz-gescheitert siehe auch NZZ http://www.nzz.ch/international/naher-osten-und-nordafrika/jemen-gespraeche-in-magglingen-bringen-keinen-frieden-1.18666133

20.12.2015 – AP

UN Announces End of Yemen Peace Talks Amid New Fighting

The United Nations says peace talks between warring sides in Yemen have ended amid severe new fighting in the country.

The U.N. office in Geneva says the special envoy for Yemen, Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed, will hold a press conference later Sunday. The peace talks between pro-government fighters and Shiite rebels began Tuesday in the Swiss village of Macolin.

Fierce fighting and airstrikes by a Saudi-led coalition pounded northern Yemen on Saturday, as the two main parties in the country's conflict continued to violate a cease-fire.

Clashes in Hajjah Province near the Saudi border between rebel-allied units and pro-government Yemeni forces have killed more than 75 people over the past three days, according to Yemeni security officials and witnesses said.

Yemen's fighting pits the internationally recognized government backed by a Saudi-led, U.S.-supported coalition against the rebels

http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/announces-end-yemen-peace-talks-due-fighting-35871522 = http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2015/12/20/world/europe/ap-eu-yemen-peace-talks.html?_r=0 see at Al Aeaby: http://www.alaraby.co.uk/english/news/2015/12/20/un-announces-end-of-yemen-peace-talks-amid-fighting

20.12.2015 – Zeit Online

Rebellen sagen Freilassung ranghoher Geiseln ab

Die Huthi-Rebellen haben die Freilassung von Verteidigungsminister Subaihi und vier weiteren Geiseln abgesagt. Sie fordern von der UN, die Waffenruhe durchzusetzen.

Als Reaktion auf die anhaltenden Kämpfe im Jemen haben die schiitischen Huthi-Rebellen die geplante Freilassung von fünf ranghohen Geiseln abgesagt. Die Gefangenen - darunter Verteidigungsminister Mahmud Subaihi und General Nasser Mansur Hadi, der Bruder von Präsident Abed Rabbo Mansur Hadi - hätten eigentlich am Samstag als Zeichen des guten Willens dem Roten Kreuz übergeben werden sollen. Doch Delegierte der Huthis bei Friedensgesprächen im schweizerischen Magglingen erklärten am Abend, die Geiseln würden erst dann freigelassen, wenn die Vereinten Nationen die brüchige Waffenruhe festigten.

Zudem sahen die Rebellen von ihrer Einwilligung ab, Hilfslieferungen nach Haddscha zuzulassen, die Hauptstadt der gleichnamigen Provinz im Norden Jemens, in der nun gekämpft wurde. Bei Gefechten wurden in den vergangenen drei Tagen dort mehr als 40 Rebellen und 35 Regierungssoldaten getötet.

http://www.zeit.de/politik/ausland/2015-12/jemen-buergerkrieg-rebellen-geiseln

20.12.2015 – Reuters

Yemen negotiators to form ceasefire committee as U.N. peace talks resume

Yemeni negotiators at U.N.-sponsored peace talks agreed on Saturday to form a committee to oversee a fragile ceasefire but the day ended without further progress being amid strong mutual distrust, sources close to the talks told Reuters.

http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-yemen-security-idUKKBN0U20AC20151220

Kommentar: Schön ware es gewesen…

19.12.2015 – AP

Fierce Fighting in Northern Yemen Kills at Least 75

By late Saturday night, the continued combat was already impacting the negotiations. The Houthis had earlier agreed to permit humanitarian aid deliveries into the besieged city of Taiz as well as the cities of Saada and also Hajjah, the capital of the province where the fresh fighting was taking place.

But the rebels then canceled a planned release of five high-profile prisoners they had agreed to earlier in the day as a measure of good will, as well as their decision to lift the siege of Taix, Houthi and pro-government officials at the talks said.

The five prisoners, including Defense Minister Mahmoud Subaihi and Gen. Nasser Mansour Hadi, brother of President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi, were to have been handed over to the Red Cross on Saturday.

But officials at the talks from the Houthi delegation as well as from the government side said the Houthis would not release the prisoners unless the U.N. consolidates the cease-fire. The participants spoke anonymously since they were not authorized to brief reporters – by Ahmed Al-Haj

http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/yemen-rebels-release-high-ranking-prisoners-35859888 = http://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2015-12-19/yemen-rebels-to-release-5-high-ranking-prisoners = http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2015/12/19/world/middleeast/ap-ml-yemen.html?_r=0

19.12.2015 – AP

Fierce Fighting in Northern Yemen Kills at Least 75

Fierce fighting and airstrikes by a Saudi-led coalition pounded northern Yemen on Saturday, as the two main parties in the country's conflict continued to violate a ceasefire agreement and undermine already tenuous peace talks in Switzerland.

The clashes in Hajjah Province near the Saudi border between rebel-allied units and pro-government Yemeni forces have killed more than 75 over the past three days, Yemeni security officials and witnesses said. The dead included more than 40 rebels and 35 government troops, with 50 wounded on the rebel side and dozens wounded on the government side. Dozens of tanks and armored vehicles were destroyed, according to the witnesses and security officials, who remain neutral in the conflict that has splintered the Arab world's poorest country.

The government troops advanced across the border from Saudi territory after training there for months, the officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to brief reporters.

Yemen's fighting pits the internationally recognized government backed by a Saudi-led, U.S.-supported coalition against the rebels, known as Houthis – by Ahmed Al-Haj

http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/yemen-rebels-release-high-ranking-prisoners-35859888 = http://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2015-12-19/yemen-rebels-to-release-5-high-ranking-prisoners = http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2015/12/19/world/middleeast/ap-ml-yemen.html?_r=0

Saudi-Arabien / Saudi Arabia

19.12.2015 – Telepolis

Saudi-Arabien: Todesstrafe für Jugendlichen wegen Teilnahme an einer Demonstration

Das vom Westen unterstützte und mit Waffen belieferte saudische Regime vollzieht wie der IS die Todesstrafe mit Köpfungen und Kreuzigungen

Saudi-Arabien verhängt die Todesstrafe auch gegen Minderjährige oder gegen Menschen, die noch minderjährig die Tat begangen haben, derer sie beschuldigt werden. So wurden neben Ali al-Nimr auch Abdullah Hasan al-Zaher und Dawood Hussein al-Marhoon im Oktober 2014 zum Tode verurteilt, die Strafe wurde noch nicht vollstreckt. Seit 5. Oktober dieses Jahres befinden sich die beiden in Isolationshaft. Die Angehörigen der schiitischen Minderheit in Saudi-Arabien wurden in einem Prozess ohne Vertretung durch einen Verteidiger und nach Folter schuldig befunden, 2012 im Alter von 15 bzw. 17 Jahren an Demonstrationen von Schiiten teilgenommen, Parolen gegen den Staat mit der Absicht, diesen zu destabilisieren, skandiert, und Molotow-Cocktails verwendet zu haben, um Polizisten zu töten.

Der Staatsanwalt hatte gefordert, al-Zaher zu kreuzigen. Geblieben ist die Todesstrafe durch Enthauptung. Ebenso wie die beiden anderen kann das Todesurteil jederzeit vollzogen werden,berichtet die Menschenrechtsorganisation Reprieve. Ali al-Nimr, der 17 Jahre alt war, als er das Vergehen begangen hat, an Protesten der schiitischen Minderheit teilzunehmen.

Die Todesstrafe für eine Teilnahme eines Minderjährigen an Demonstrationen gleicht den Todesstrafen, die der IS verhängt. Dazu machen die Strafen deutlich, dass Saudi-Arabien mit aller Härte gegen die schiitische Minderheit im eigenen Land vorgeht, um jede Opposition zu unterdrücken. Reprieve fordert vor allem Großbritannien und die USA auf, alles daran zu setzen, den bevorstehenden Vollzug der Todesstrafe an den drei jungen Männer zu verhindern. Reprieve sieht es als Erfolg an, dass Proteste an die britische Regierung immerhin erst einmal erreicht haben, dass diese angekündigt hat, ein Gebot zur Ausbildung von Gefängniswärtern zurückzuziehen – von Florian Rötzer

http://www.heise.de/tp/artikel/46/46913/1.html

17.12.2015 – Inspire to Change World

Saudi Arabia Can’t Just Declare War on the Terror They Themselves Created

Commenting on Saudi Arabia’s announcement that they would be forming a 34-nation ‘Islamic anti-terrorism coalition’, prominent Pakistani columnist and political analyst Wajahat Masood warned that Riyadh might have a hard time fighting against a phenomenon which they themselves have done so much to support over the past thirty years.

“First of all,” Masood explained, “it is necessary to clearly define the concept of terrorism – of who the terrorists are in our understanding (the people of the world, including Pakistanis), and that of the leadership of Saudi Arabia.”

“In our understanding,” the journalist noted, “a terrorist is a person who, raising his weapon in order to force others to submit to his will – political or religious. He is one who kills for this purpose, who is ready to commit any crime. This is our definition.”

“But Saudi authorities,” according to Masood, “think of the concept of terrorism differently. To them, a terrorist is anyone who presents or may present a threat to the order which exists in that state. No other understanding exists.”

“For this reason,” the journalist says, “it is necessary to first determine for ourselves who is a terrorist and, accordingly, which groups may be considered terrorists.”

Ultimately, Masood says that he doesn’t “believe that Saudi Arabia will fight against terrorism in our understanding of the word. Moreover, it shouldn’t be forgotten that this is a government which has done a great deal to support the wave of terror which has swept the world over the past thirty years.”

http://www.inspiretochangeworld.com/2015/12/saudi-arabia-cant-just-declare-war-on-the-terror-they-themselves-created/ = http://sputniknews.com/politics/20151216/1031858653/saudi-coalition-pakistan-commentary.html

USA

19.1.2015 – Common Dreams

Noam Chomsky: Obama's Drone Program 'The Most Extreme Terrorist Campaign of Modern Times'

Famed linguist takes aim at western hypocrisy on terrorism.

World-renowned linguist and scholar Noam Chomsky has criticized what he sees as Western hypocrisy following the recent terror attacks in Paris and the idea that there are two kinds of terrorism: "theirs versus ours."

In an op-ed published Monday at CNN.com, Chomsky notes how the deadly attacks onCharlie Hebdo and a supermarket last week sparked millions to demonstrate under the banner "I am Charlie" and prompted inquiries "into the roots of these shocking assaults in Islamic culture and exploring ways to counter the murderous wave of Islamic terrorism without sacrificing our values."

No such inquiry into western culture and Christianity came from Anders Breivik's 2011 attack in Norway that killed scores of people.

Nor did NATO's 1999 missile strike on Serbian state television headquarters that killed 16 journalists spark "Je Suis Charlie"-like demonstrations. In fact, Chomsky writes, that attack was lauded by U.S. officials.

That civil rights lawyer Floyd Abrams described the Charlie Hebdo attack as "the most threatening assault on journalism in living memory," is not surprising, Chomsky writes, when one understands "'living memory,' a category carefully constructed to include Theircrimes against us while scrupulously excluding Our crimes against them—the latter not crimes but noble defense of the highest values, sometimes inadvertently flawed."

Other omissions of attacks on journalists noted by Chomsky: Israel's assault on Gaza this summer whose casualties included many journalists, and the dozens of journalists in Honduras that have been killed since the coup in 2009.

Offering further proof of what he describes as western hypocrisy towards terrorism, Chomsky takes at aim at Obama's drone program, which he describes as "the most extreme terrorist campaign of modern times."

It "target[s] people suspected of perhaps intending to harm us some day, and any unfortunates who happen to be nearby," he writes.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 License

http://www.commondreams.org/news/2015/01/19/noam-chomsky-obamas-drone-program-most-extreme-terrorist-campaign-modern-times and Chomsky on CNN: http://edition.cnn.com/2015/01/19/opinion/charlie-hebdo-noam-chomsky/index.html

Großbritannien / Great Britain

19.12.2015 – The Independent

Britain: Saudi Arabia’s silent partner in Yemen’s civil war

For the past nine months, British-supplied planes and British-made missiles have been part of near-daily air raids in Yemen carried out by a nine-country, Saudi Arabian-led coalition.

In this conveniently hidden campaign, thousands have died. Bombardments by the Saudi coalition accounted for 60 per cent of the 4,493 civilian casualties in the first seven months of this year. Saudi Arabia waded into what began as a domestic political power struggle between the country’s incumbent president, Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi, and his predecessor of 33 years’ standing, Ali Abdullah Saleh. The marginalised, predominantly Shia Houthi militiamen, viewed as an Iranian proxy by the Sunni kingdom, joined forces with Saleh’s loyalists in the military to seize swathes of territory over the past 18 months, eventually forcing Hadi into self-imposed exile in Riyadh earlier this year.

While our government appears more than happy to sell our collective morality along with bombs and fighter jets to the Saudi kingdom, we should not be. We are playing a significant role. The Foreign Office insists that it has “assurances” from the Saudi-led coalition that its bombing campaign is adhering to international law. These are of little comfort to now orphaned four-year-old Rashid Othman. I saw his father’s ashen body wedged underneath the bus he was travelling in to find food after it was hit by at least two air strikes in the sands of Lahij province. At least 30 passengers died. There were no conceivable military targets in the vicinity.

Similarly, the Saudis assured me – after I had spoken to half a dozen witnesses about the double-tap strike – that the coalition was not responsible for the death of at least 50 civilians killed at a goat market in July, even though no one else is carrying out air strikes in Yemen. Equally, they say they had nothing to do with the bombing in October of a Médecins sans Frontières hospital.

Saudi promises are one thing. But, last week, a group of eminent lawyers determined that British arms sales to Saudi are unlawful and called for an immediate halt. The Government invites us to admire the £98m in overseas aid for Yemen in the current financial year. It is small change compared with the £1.7bn worth of UK export licences to Saudi in the first six months of 2015.

David Cameron’s compulsion to keep supporting Saudi’s war can, in addition to the arms trade benefits, be put down to a previous warning given by the Saudi royals.

The British government may choose to stay silent and ignore the evidence against it, even when raised by lawyers. We, too, may wish to claim ignorance, but Yemenis will not. As long as the UK keeps sponsoring Saudi’s war, civilians are going to continue to die from bombs, bullets and a blockade, doing so in the full knowledge that we are supporting their suffering. If we fail to ask the Government questions about British involvement, our inertia makes all of us complicit – by Iona Craig

http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/britain-saudi-arabia-s-silent-partner-in-yemen-s-civil-war-a6780186.html

Waffenexporte / Arm trade

18.12.2015 – Safer World

EU arms exports to Saudi Arabia in the context of the war in Yemen are illegal

(see above at “Most important”)

http://www.saferworld.org.uk/news-and-views/comment/195-eu-arms-exports-to-saudi-arabia-in-the-context-of-the-war-in-yemen-are-illegal-

18.12.2015 – Defence Blog

Saudi Arabia Wants to Buy 30 Ukrainian An-178 Military Transport Aircraft

Royal Saudi Arabian Air Force wants to buy 30 Ukrainian An-178 military transport aircraft.

The State Enterprise “Antonov” and the company Taqnia Aeronautics, a member of the state structure of the Saudi Company for Development and Investment Taqnia, December 17 signed a memorandum for the supply of 30 multi-purpose military transport aircraft An-178 for the needs of the Royal Air Force in Saudi Arabia.

The Antonov An-178 is a short-range medium-airlift military transport aircraft designed by the Ukrainian Antonov company and based on the Antonov An-158 (An-148-200). It was announced on 5 February 2010, rolled out on 16 April 2015 and the first flight was on 7 May 2015.

Earlier Ukraine’s Antonov aviation consortium signed an agreement for the joint design of a new aircraft and the construction of a series-production plant in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA).

http://defence-blog.com/news/saudi-arabia-wants-to-buy-30-ukrainian-an-178-military-transport-aircraft.html see also https://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/royal-saudi-air-force-to-acquire-30-an-178-transport-420208/ and http://www.janes.com/article/56753/saudi-arabia-to-acquire-an-178-airlifter

Kommentar: Jetzt kommt die Ukraine noch in die lange Liste der Staaten hinzu, die den Saudis militärische Ausrüstung verkaufen.

Kriegsereignisse / Theater of War

20.12.2015 – Reuters

Yemen talks end, to resume on January 14: government source

Yemeni peace talks concluded in Switzerland on Sunday without an agreement to end nine months of civil war and foreign intervention, but rival factions will resume negotiations on Jan. 14, a government delegation source told Reuters.

Analysts believe the latest round of talks represented the best chance yet to end the conflict given months of stalemate in ground combat and the rise of Islamic State militants, who threaten both sides.

"The first round of Yemeni discussions ended with an agreement for them to be revived ... in Ethiopia on the 14th of January," the source told Reuters.

It remains unclear whether the two sides have agreed to renew a troubled ceasefire which coincided with the start of the United Nations-backed talks on Dec. 15.

Though Saudi Arabia and the Houthis have accused each other of many violations of the ceasefire, it did significantly reduce the fighting and allowed for deliveries of small amounts of badly-needed aid to the war zones.

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-yemen-security-idUSKBN0U30JD20151220 see from AFP http://news.yahoo.com/final-day-yemen-peace-talks-ceasefire-crumbles-005556455.html

20.12.2015 – Middle East Eye

Yemen peace talks end with no major breakthrough. No end to violence

Loyalists on Sunday attacked rebel positions in the northern Jawf province after seizing the provincial capital two days earlier from the Houthi militia, pro-government sources said.

Coalition air strikes hit a militial rocket launch pad in Jawf, rebel positions in the north of the western Hodeida province and an army camp in the Houthi-held capital Sanaa.

The Houthis meanwhile claimed to have caused casualties and equipment damage in a rocket attack on a coalition military base in Marib province east of Sanaa, their sabanews.net website reported.

The coalition did not immediately confirm this.

Military sources said that pro-government forces attacked militia positions in southern Shabwa province, most of which is under loyalist control.

They reported casualties as the troops sought to retake the oil-rich Usaylan region from the Houthis.

Saudi Arabia meanwhile said a missile fired from Yemen on Saturday struck the border city of Najran, killing three civilians -- a Saudi and two Indian workers.

Pro-government forces kept up pressure in Sanaa province's Nihm district this weekend after significant gains in Marib province east of the capital.

Forces loyal to Hadi, and allied tribes in the area, laid siege to Nihm's Fardha military base northeast of the capital.

Despite the proximity, the roughly 40 kilometres (around 25 miles) separating Nihm from Sanaa is mostly rugged mountainous terrain.

http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/yemen-peace-talks-end-no-major-breakthrough-1032937083

20.12.2015 – Die Welt / Der Stern

Drei Tote bei Raketenangriff aus Jemen in Saudi-Arabien

Bei einem Raketenangriff aus dem Jemen sind in Saudi-Arabien einem Bericht zufolge drei Zivilisten getötet worden. Das Geschoss habe am Samstag die Grenzstadt Nadschran getroffen, berichtete die amtliche saudiarabische Nachrichtenagentur SPA unter Berufung auf örtliche Behörden. Bei den Toten handle es sich um einen Einwohner der Stadt und zwei Arbeiter aus Indien.

http://www.welt.de/newsticker/news1/article150156676/Bericht-Drei-Tote-bei-Raketenangriff-aus-Jemen-in-Saudi-Arabien.html = http://www.stern.de/news2/bericht--drei-tote-bei-raketenangriff-aus-jemen-in-saudi-arabien-6613476.html

20.12.2015 – NDTV from AP

2 Indians and A Saudi Killed In Yemen Shelling

A Saudi civil defence official says shelling from Yemen has killed a Saudi Arabian citizen and two Indian workers. The shelling took place Saturday evening.

http://www.ndtv.com/world-news/shelling-from-yemen-kills-saudi-2-indians-1256991

20.12.2015 – Nachrichten.at

Fast 70 Tote bei Gefechten im Jemen

Ungeachtet der Friedensgespräche in der Schweiz sind bei Kämpfen im Jemen zwischen regierungstreuen Einheiten und Rebellen am Wochenende mindestens 68 Menschen getötet worden.

Heftige Gefechte gab es am Samstag in der Nähe der Stadt Harad in Nordwesten des Landes, die regierungstreue Kräfte am Donnerstag von den schiitischen Aufständischen zurückerobert hatten.

Regierungseinheiten versuchten zugleich, auf die Hauptstadt Sanaa vorzurücken. Aus Militär- und Stammeskreisen hieß es, dass Soldaten und Stammeskämpfer den von Rebellen kontrollierten Militärstützpunkt Nihm belagerten. Dieser befindet sich 40 Kilometer nordöstlich von Sanaa.

http://www.nachrichten.at/nachrichten/weltspiegel/Fast-70-Tote-bei-Gefechten-im-Jemen;art17,2064025

20.12.2015 – International Business Times

Yemen: Scores of Houthi rebels and government troops killed in fresh fighting near Saudi border

At least 40 Houthi rebels and 35 pro-Yemen government troops were killed after fighting broke out between the two sides, despite a ceasefire and peace talks which began on 15 December in Switzerland. Around 50 rebels and 40 troops were wounded. The fighting took place in the town of Harad in Hajjah Province near the Saudi Arabian border, which was captured by government forces just three days ago.

"The government troops advanced across the border from Saudi territory after training there for months," an official said.

The fighting escalated on 19 December, after the Saudi-led coalition, which supports the Yemen government, advanced towards the Red Sea port of Midi. The Houthi rebels have blamed the pro-government troops for the repeated ceasefire violations. Dozens of tanks and armoured vehicles were destroyed, witnesses said – by Jigmey Buthia

http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/yemen-scores-houthi-rebels-government-troops-killed-fresh-fighting-near-saudi-border-1534191

19.12.2015 – Tagesschau

Dutzende Tote bei Kämpfen im Jemen

Trotz einer vereinbarten Waffenruhe und Friedensverhandlungen wird im Jemen weiter gekämpft. In den vergangen drei Tagen wurden insgesamt mindestens 68 Menschen getötet. Saudi-Arabien unterstützt Regierungstruppen offenbar mit Luftangriffen.

Die Kämpfe im Jemen gehen ungeachtet der Waffenruhe und der Friedensverhandlungen der Konfliktparteien in unverminderter Härte weiter. Im Norden des Landes an der Grenze zu Saudi-Arabien sind in den vergangenen drei Tagen mehr als 40 Rebellen und mindestens 28 Regierungssoldaten getötet worden. Das berichtet die Nachrichtenagentur AFP. Andere Agenturen berichten von mindestens 75 Toten. Auf beiden Seiten gab es demnach auch Dutzende Verletzte.

Die Regierungstruppen rückten den Angaben zufolge von einem Lager in Saudi-Arabien, in dem sie monatelang trainiert hatten, über die Grenze in die jemenitische Provinz Haddscha vor. Kampfflugzeuge des von Saudi-Arabien angeführten Militärbündnisses unterstützten sie aus der Luft. Deren Bomben seien für die meisten Todesopfer verantwortlich gewesen, sagten die Augenzeugen und Sicherheitsbeamten.

http://www.tagesschau.de/ausland/jemen-453.html

19.12.2015 – Swissinfo

Tote bei Gefechten trotz Waffenstillstand im Jemen

Die Waffenruhe im Jemen ist brüchig. Am Samstag wurden bei Gefechten mindestens 68 Kämpfer getötet. Die Teilnehmer der Friedensverhandlungen in Magglingen BE wollen eine Kommission zur Überwachung der Waffenruhe einsetzen.

Die Kommission werde durch einen libanesischen General geleitet und bestehe aus Vertretern der Regierung von Präsident Abed Rabbo Mansur Hadi und der Huthi-Rebellen, verlautete am Samstag aus Verhandlungskreisen. Die Waffenruhe in Jemen war am Dienstag in Kraft getreten.

Am Samstag ereigneten sich Gefechte zwischen jemenitischen Soldaten und schiitischen Rebellen in der Nähe der Stadt Harad, die regierungstreue Kräfte am Donnerstag von den Rebellen zurückerobert hatten. Demnach gab es auf Seiten der Armee mindestens 28 Tote, bei den Aufständischen mindestens 40, wie aus Militär- und Stammeskreisen verlautete.

http://www.swissinfo.ch/ger/uno-sondergesandter-ruft-zu-einhaltung-der-waffenruhe-im-jemen-auf/41849886 = http://www.blick.ch/news/schweiz/jemen-einigung-auf-ueberwachung-des-waffenstillstandes-fuer-jemen-id4479466.html Siehe auch http://derstandard.at/2000027818271/Fast-70-Tote-bei-Gefechten-im-Jemen

19.12.2015 – BBC

Yemen crisis: Deadly clashes in north despite ceasefire

At least 68 people are reported to have been killed in fresh clashes between government troops and Houthi rebels in north-west Yemen near the Saudi border.

Fighting is said to have erupted near the town of Harad which was captured by government forces two days ago.

Military sources said 28 troops were killed while Houthi rebels said they had lost 40 fighters.

Clashes have continued despite a UN-backed ceasefire and peace talks in Switzerland which began on Tuesday.

As well as those killed on Saturday, at least another 50 rebels and 40 pro-government troops were reported to have been wounded.

Tribal sources said there was an upsurge in fighting early on Saturday as government forces - which are being backed by a Saudi-led coalition - advanced towards the Red Sea port of Midi and rebels brought in reinforcements.

Rebels have accused Yemeni and Saudi-led coalition forces of repeatedly breaching the ceasefire, which is meant to last for a week.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-35142741

19.12.2015 – Aljazeera

Clashes leave scores dead in northern Yemen

At least 75 people have been killed in fighting between troops and Houthi fighters in northern Yemen, military and tribal sources say, amid concern over the ceasefire violations.

The casualties included 28 troops, according to military sources, while tribal officials added that Houthi fighters lost 40 men in heavy clashes on Saturday near the northwestern town of Haradh, which was overrun on Thursday by government forces.

Around 50 Houthi fighters and 40 loyalists were wounded in the clashes, sources said.

"We're now at a government complex in Hazm," a military official said. "Some other forces have gone to areas in the northwest.

"We'll continue to progress until we've reached Saada, Amran and Sanaa. We'll liberate all Yemeni cities from the Persians and those who want to attack our land, our religion and our dignity."

Clashes intensified early on Saturday as government forces attempted to advance towards the Red Sea port of Midi and the opposition fighters brought in reinforcements, tribal sources said.

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2015/12/clashes-leave-scores-dead-northern-yemen-151219181932601.html

Kommentar: Der “Waffenstillstand” ist keiner mehr. Regierungstruppen und ihre saudisch-emiratischen Verbündeten sind auf dem Vormarsch an verschiedenen Fronten. Die Ankündigung, den ganzen Jemen zu erobern bzw. zu „befreien“, passt auch nicht gerade zu einem „Waffenstillstand“.

19.12.2015 – International Business Times

Houthi Rebel Leader Killed In Yemen Amid Fragile Ceasefire

Mohammed Badreddin al-Houthi, a key leader in Yemen’s Houthi rebel movement, was killed near northern Sadaa province, the Suhail News website reported Saturday. The report could not be independently verified.

News of the reported death came as representatives from the Yemeni government and the Houthi rebel group agreed during U.N.-brokered peace talks Saturday to form a committee to oversee an increasingly fragile ceasefire after fresh fighting derailed their efforts to end nearly nine months of conflict in the country. A source close to the talks told Gulf News the committee will be headed by a Lebanese army general – by Morgan Winsor

http://www.ibtimes.com/houthi-rebel-leader-killed-yemen-amid-fragile-ceasefire-report-2233396

Neue Artikel zum Nachlesen 1-71: / Yemen Press reader 1-71:

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

http://poorworld.net/YemenWar.htm

Fotos von saudischen Luftangriffen / Photos of Saudi air attacks

(18 +, Nichts für Sensible; Graphic!)

http://poorworld.net/Yemen/YemenImages2015-12-13-Hajjah.htm (13. Dez.)

http://poorworld.net/Yemen/YemenImages2015-12-13-Lahj.htm (13. Dez.)

http://poorworld.net/Yemen/YemenImages2015-12-18-Kitaf.htm (18. Dez.)

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

Was ist Ihre Meinung?
Diskutieren Sie mit.

Kommentare einblenden