Schwerpunkte / Key aspects
Am wichtigsten / Most important
Allgemein / General
Humanitäre Lage / Humanitarian situation
Friedensgespräche / Peace talks
Ex-President Saleh
Armee der Hadi-Regierung / Army of Hadi government
Saudi-Arabien / Saudi Arabia
Kuwait
Oman
Großbritannien / Great Britain
Waffenhandel / Arms trade
Propaganda
Flüchtlinge / Refugees
Wirtschaft / Economy
Terrorismus / Terrorism
Kriegsereignisse / Theater of War
Am wichtigsten / Most important
28.12.2015 – Inspire to Change World
7,411 Yemeni civilians reportedly killed by Saudi Arabia this year
A local monitoring group called “Yemen Fights Back” has released a statistical report that documents the death of 7,411 Yemeni civilians as a result of the aggressive war waged by the Saudi-led Coalition of Arab countries.
The report detailed the death of 4,373 men, 1,309 women, and 1,729 children from the dates of March 26th, 2015 – December 12th, 2015; meanwhile, another 13,846 men, women and children were reportedly wounded by the Saudi-led Coalition.
Kommentar: Diese Zahlen sind sicherlich viel zu niedrig, viele Todesfälle werden nie gemeldet. Vor allem auf dem Land werden viele der Getöteten nicht in ein Krankenhaus gebracht, wo sie dann gezählt und gemeldet würden. Und wie allgemein in muslimischen Ländern werden Verstorbene sofort begraben – und alle Zeugnisse sind weg... Und es sind noch viel mehr Menschen, die an den Folgen des Krieges sterben: die saudische Blockade; Hungersnot; zerstörte Krankenhäuser und medizinische Einrichtungen. Im Allgemeinen wird angenommen, dass für eine Person, die unmittelbar im Krieg getötet wurde, weitere vier an den Folgen des Krieges sterben.* Wegen der Blockade dieses Landes, das für 90% seiner Lebensmittel und 100% seiner medizinischen Bedürfnisse auf Importe angewiesen ist, werden es im Jemen noch viel mehr als diese 4: 1 sein. So ist es kaum möglich, sich vorzustellen, wie viele Menschen dieser saudische Krieg bereits getötet hat.
Ich wage es trotzdem einmal:
Wie viele Tote mögen es dann sein? Die Dunkelziffer der direkt Getöteten wird auf 50 % geschätzt (was m. E. eine eher „konservative“ Schätzung ist). Dann wären wir bei etwa 11.116 Toten bis zum 12. Dezember 2015. Dazu die vierfache Zahl an Tote aufgrund von Kriegsfolgen, ergibt 55.582 Tote. Dazu kommen die Toten als direkte Folge der saudischen Hungerblockade. Für ebenfalls eher „konservativ“ halte ich weitere 50 % nur auf die 44.466 Folgetoten, das wären noch einmal 22.233 Tote, womit wir insgesamt auf 77.815 Tote bis zum 12. Dezember kommen. Bis zum jetzigen Zeitpunkt hätten wir dann sicher die 80.000 erreicht. Diese Toten gehen natürlich vor allem zu Lasten der Saudis. Aber sie wären ohne die Unterstützung des „Westens“ nicht möglich gewesen. Diese 80.000 Toten stehen damit auch in der Bilanz dieses Zerrbildes eines Friedensnobelpreisträgers namens Barack Obama, einer auf Waffenlieferungen an Saudis geradezu geilen Regierung Cameron in Großbritannien und auch der deutschen Bundesregierung, die von ihrem „Verständnis“ (O-Ton Steinmeier) für den saudischen Luftkrieg immer noch nicht abgerückt ist.
Comment: These figures certainly are much too low, as many deaths are never reported. Especially in the countryside, many killed never are brought to a hospital, where they are counted and reported. And as generally in Muslim countries, dead people have to be buried at once – and all the evidence is away… And there are still much more people dying from the consequences of the war: the Saudi blockade; famine; destroyed hospitals and medical facilities. Generally there is assumed that for one person who directly had been killed in the war another 4 are dying for the consequences of the war.* Because of the blockade of a country dependent on imports for 90 % of its foodstuff and 100 % of its medical supply in Yemen it still will be much more than these 4:1. So it is hardly impossible to imagine how many people this Saudi war already has killed.
Nevertheless, I will try.
How many deaths could it be? The underreporting of direct fatalities is estimated at 50% (which in my opinion is a quite "conservative" estimate). Thus we were at about 11,116 killed until December 12, 2015. Then we add four times the number of deaths due to war consequences, results in 55,582 deaths. To be added are those who died as a direct result of the Saudi hunger blockade. I think it also is a rather "conservative" estimate if adding another 50% to the 44,466 people who died because of further consequences of the war, which would again be 22,233 deaths, which leads us to a total of 77,815 deaths until December 12. To date, we would have certainly reached the 80,000. These deaths naturally mainly are the fault of the Saudis. But this would not have not have been possible without the support of the "West". Therefore these 80,000 killed people will appear also in the balance of this caricature of a Nobel Peace Prize named Barack Obama, as in the balance of Cameron government in Britain which is quite horny on arms sales to Saudi Arabia, and the same the German government, which still did not move away from its "understanding" (“Verständnis”: Foreign Minister Steinmeier) in favour of the Saudi aerial war.
* Milton Leitenberg, Deaths in Wars and Conflicts in the 20th Century, Cornell University Peace Studies Program, occasional Papers No. 29, 3d. edition 2006.
28.12.2015 – Middle East Eye
Schools of war: Yemen's education system seized to train new fighters
Exclusive: Pro-government forces are converting rural Taiz schools into military camps to boost war against the Houthis
Awadh al-Thobhani stands on a table as dozens of recruits gather round for their first lessons in war. The former Yemen army captain, with a pistol slung on his hip, has come to Taiz province to train the next generation of the 'popular resistance' to fight the Houthi movement.
But this building in rural of al-Turbah, 70km from Taiz city, was not always a military base. Before Thobhani and his men came it was school, and some of those around Thobani were students. Now they are preparing for war.
While training lasts for 10 hours a day, for which recruits are paid $5, the vast majority of men are raw and, by Thobhani's own admission, will not be professionals when they leave for battle.
And the drills at Abdulwahab are hardly an outlier - since November, 10 other schools in rural Taiz have been taken over by the 'popular resistance' for use as military camps, according to a source in the local education office.
It is a move that threatens to not only extend the fighting, but also engulf peaceful rural areas in the violence.
Last Thursday, the Houthis fired two Katyusha rockets at al-Ahd al-Gadid school, another in al-Turbah that is being used by the popular resistance. Two children and two women were injured as the missiles fell short and hit their houses.
Aden Fadhl al-Rabei, a political analyst and the head of Madar Strategic Studies Centre, told MEE that the warring sides usually use rural areas to recruit new fighters. "If the Houthis know the camps of the resistance, definitely they will target them."
But he added that schools were being taken over by both sides for use as military camps.
"Both sides use them for training, not only the resistance," he said. "The Houthis are using schools in rural areas of Imran province and other northern provinces, and have forced the students to join the war. MEE cannot verify if students were forced into service.
Such a strategy will also have a long-term effect on the youth of Yemen, as hundreds of students are forced out of education and school infrastructure is targeted.
Abdullah Saeed, another trainer at Abdulwahab school, said the war against the Houthis must take precedence over everything else.
"The resistance does not have another place for the recruits, but the students can study at other schools, so the education office should not bother us," he told MEE.
Many residents do not share his views – by Nasser Al-Sakkaf
http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/yemen-schools-used-military-camps-1232180707
Kommentar: Die Seite der Hadi-Regierung wirft den Huthis ständig vor, Schulen für militärische Zwecke zu missbrauchen. Vor allem der Vorwurf, sie würden als Waffenlager missbraucht, wurde erhoben. So hat man fast 500 Schulen bombardiert. Bei den vielen Fotos aus zerstörten Schulen weist nichts auf eine Verwendung als Waffenlager hin. Es ist kein Vorwand weit genug hergeholt, wenn Saudi und Co. zivile Ziele bombardieren wollen. Jetzt werden die Huthi-Gegner von ihrer eigenen Propaganda eingeholt.
28.12.2015 – Culture and Politics
The slow strangulation of Yemen
A Freedom of Information request revealed that a so-called ‘memorandum of understanding’ (MOU) between Home Secretary Theresa May and her Saudi counterpart Crown Prince Muhammad bin Nayef was signed secretly during the former’s visit to the kingdom last year. The purpose of the MOU is to ensure that, among other secret deals, the precise details of the arms sales between the two countries is kept under wraps.
To what extent does Britain’s arming of Saudi Arabia play in Yemen? In September, Saudi Arabia bombed a ceramics factory in Sana’a close to the Yemeni capital which Amnesty International and Human Rights Watchconfirmed was a civilian target. Fragments of a British made missile that had been built by Marconi in the 1990s had been recovered from the scene.
With the British providing technical and other support staff to the Saudi led coalition, and UK export licenses to Saudi Arabia said to be worth more than £1.7 bn up to the first six months of 2015, the UK government’s role in the conflict appears to be to augment the support the U.S is giving to the Saudi-led coalition.
The United States, alongside the UK, has bolstered the Saudi-led coalition’s airstrikes in Yemen through arms sales and direct military support. For example, last month, the State Department approved a billion-dollar deal to restock Saudi Arabia’s air force arsenal. The sale included thousands of air-to-ground munitions and “general purpose” bombs of the kind that, in October, the Saudi’s used to target an MSF hospital.
[…]
With a seven day ceasefire in Yemen broken on December 16, Saudi-led airstrikes have continued throughout the Christmas period as have British and American arms exports to Saudi Arabia that give rise to them. In a standard response to accusations of British complicity, the Foreign & Commonwealth Office blandly stated:
“The UK is satisfied that we are not in breach of our international obligations. We operate one of the most vigorous and transparent arms export control regimes in the world…
…We regularly raise with the Saudi Arabian-led coalition and the Houthis the need to comply with international humanitarian law…we monitor the situation carefully and have offered the Saudi authorities advice and training in this area.”
Oliver Sprague, Amnesty International’s arms trade director, added:
“There is a blatant rewriting of the rules inside the (Foreign Office). We are not supposed to supply weapons if there is a risk they could be used to violate humanitarian laws and the international arms trade treaty – which we championed. It is illogical for (Foreign Secretary) Philip Hammond to say there is no evidence of weapons supplied by the UK being misused, so we’ll keep selling them to the point where we learn they are being used.”
Journalist Iona Craig has investigated 20 Saudi-led airstrike sites in Yemen in which a total of around 150 civilians have been killed. In an interview on the December 16 edition of Channel 4 News, Craig asserted that during these strikes, which she said are a regular occurrence, the Saudi’s targeted public buses and a farmers market.
Remnants from a bomb that Craig pulled from a civilian home that killed an eighteen month old baby as well as a 4 year old and their uncle, were American made. Although Craig has admitted that she has not personally uncovered evidence of British made weapons, Amnesty International is nevertheless unequivocal in its damning assessment of the illegality of Britain’s role.
The fact that, as Craig stated, there are twice as many British made aircraft in the Saudi Royal air force then there are in the British Royal air force, and that the British train the Saudi air force as well as supplying it with its weapons, is by itself, tantamount to Britain being complicit in the deaths of innocent Yemeni civilians.
Craig emphasized that she has seen evidence which suggests that civilian casualties in Yemen were the result of deliberate targeting rather than “collateral damage”. Among the numerous cases the journalist has examined there have been no Houthi positions or military targets in the vicinity – a contention which she claims is supported by the pro-coalition side. The result of this policy for the civilian population within the poorest country in the region, have been catastrophic with an estimated 2 million people having been displaced from a nation that’s on the brink of completely falling apart – by Daniel Margrain
http://cultureandpolitics.org/2015/12/28/the-slow-strangulation-of-yemen/
Comment: Great Britain is only second to the US as Saudi Arabias greatest supplier in arms. More than the half of Saudi Arabias fighter jets are Eurofighters from BAE. Worth reading on this subject Andrew Feinstein’s book The Shadow World. Inside the Global Arms Trade (Deutsch: http://www.hoffmann-und-campe.de/buch-info/waffenhandel-buch-2635/). And all British governments since 1967 , whether headed by Wilson, Heath, Callaghan, Thather, Major, Blair or Cameron, have actively supported these deals with Saudi Arabia, even can be quoted as Arms dealers in chief.
Allgemein / General
28.12.2015 – Viable Opposition
Since the hostilities began in March 2015, 34 percent of Yemeni children have not gone to school and by October 2015, 1.8 million children were not in school because of the fear of Saudi airstrikes. As of October 30, 2015, the Sana'a-based Ministry of Education claimed that, throughout Yemen, 254 schools had been completely destroyed, 608 had been partially damaged and 421 were being used by displaced persons. In many cases, it appears that the only reason that students weren't killed was that the school year had not yet started. Had the schools been operating, the situation in all cases could have been far worse.
Although Saudi Arabia is a party to the principal instruments of international humanitarian law cited in the four Geneva Conventions of 1949 as well as the Additional Protocol for the Protection of Victims of Non-Interantional Armed Conflicts, it appears that the Saudi-led coalition is quite willing to indiscriminately attack non-military targets. They do not appear to be taking precautions to spare civilians or their infrastructure. Unfortunately for students, the Houthi side of this civil war have a record of occupying schools as you can read here. In addition, under international law, intentionally attacking schools in which there are no fighters, soldiers or military objectives constitute direct attacks on civilian objects and are war crimes. The Global Coalition to Protect Education from Attack notes the following:
"In the majority of countries with armed conflicts, armed forces or armed groups use schools and other education institutions. Between 2005 and 2015, they used education institutions in conflicts in at least 26 countries: Afghanistan, Burma / Myanmar, Central African Republic, Chad, Colombia, Côte d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Georgia, India, Iraq, Libya, Mali, Nepal, Nigeria, Occupied Palestinian Territory/Israel, Pakistan, Philippines, Somalia, South Sudan, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Syria, Thailand, Uganda, Ukraine, and Yemen."
The group's Safe Schools Declaration has been signed by 51 nations including coalition partners Jordan, Qatar and Sudan . Only time will tell whether or not this will have an impact on Yemen's educational system and its schools.
http://viableopposition.blogspot.de/2015/12/saudi-arabia-and-yemen-slipping-under.html
28.12.2015 – The Herald Sun
Yemen is the crisis that the world forgot
This article gives a short overview on the Yemen War.
I was recently in Jordan to assist with CARE’s response to the conflict.
There, I got to talk to aid workers like my friend Bushra who are determined to ensure the humanitarian response does not stop, despite the many risks involved.
Bushra’s team has been distributing emergency food and water, when aid deliveries are possible, and has been working to restore water sources.
Those are the kind of things that are taken for granted in Australia. In Yemen, they are in extremely short supply.
But amid these stories of despair Bushra did have some good news.
She told me about Khairia, a woman who started volunteering for CARE after her home was destroyed by air strikes. For cultural reasons, Khairia had never had a job outside the home. But through her work with CARE, Khairia became a leader in her community and was able to help them gain better representation at local meetings and aid distributions.
It’s examples like this that remind us of the importance of focusing on women’s needs and the benefit it can bring to the whole community.
But for organisations like CARE to continue to help Yemenis who are suffering, more funding is desperately needed. The UN’s appeal for Yemen is less than half funded and the Australian Government has provided no assistance to any organisation responding to the crisis. That must change and it must change quickly.
We also need the media to help increase the visibility of the conflict, which could generate public support and political pressure for a resolution.
Donate to CARE Australia’s Global Emergency Fund at care.org.au
25.12.2015 – Salon
America is complicit in a new Middle Eastern tragedy: Saudi Arabia is obliterating Yemen — with our help
Riyadh has ramped up its aerial assaults in recent months, and the U.S. government is supplying its weaponry – by Sharif Abdel Kouddous
http://www.salon.com/2015/12/27/saudi_arabia_is_obliterating_yemen_with_the_help_of_the_u_s_partner/
Comment: Very good article, already published in Global Post and presented earlier here: https://www.freitag.de/autoren/dklose/krieg-im-jemen-neue-artikel-zum-nachlesen-57 , worth reading!
Humanitäre Lage / Humanitarian situation
28.12.2015 – Gulf News from AFP
Local NGOs say no aid reaching besieged Yemen city
The delivery of 22 tonnes of medical aid to health facilities in Taiz is ‘on hold due to access issues’
Relief groups in Yemen’s third city Taiz said Monday that humanitarian aid was not reaching the provincial capital under rebel siege.
“No aid has arrived in the besieged city,” a member of a local medical relief committee said.
“We heard there is aid entering areas outside the city... controlled by those besieging us,” Mohammad Al Qobati said.
The World Health Organisation said last week it had managed to deliver more than 100 tonnes of medical aid in Taiz province to benefit more than a third of “3 million people... in dire need of humanitarian assistance”.
But the delivery of 22 tonnes of medical aid to five health facilities in Taiz city was “on hold due to access issues,” it said.
http://gulfnews.com/news/gulf/yemen/local-ngos-say-no-aid-reaching-besieged-yemen-city-1.1644975
Comment: The Huthis do on Taiz what the Saudis do on the whole country as far as it is ruled by the Huthis.
28.12.2015 – The Guardian
Life under siege: inside Taiz, the Yemeni city being slowly strangled
In Yemen’s second most populated city, a Houthi blockade has brought residents previously barely subsisting to the brink of catastrophe
The Saudi coalition is imposing a crippling blockade on Yemen, punishing the civilian population in its attempts to weaken the Houthis and their allies.
The Houthis, meanwhile, have laid their own siege: on Taiz. The Guardian was able to visit the city earlier in December despite a blockade that has brought a population previously barely subsisting to the brink of catastrophe.
Since early April, when “the resistance” – an alliance of local forces dominated by the Muslim Brotherhood – fought off the Houthis’ attempt to control the city, the militia retaliated by cutting off roads, preventing food and medical aid from getting in. Access is only allowed through a single checkpoint, dubbed the Rafah crossing by the residents after its more famous namesake on the Egypt-Gaza border.
Every morning long queues form outside the crossing by those wanting to enter the city. Houthi militia search – and confiscate – medicine, cooking gas, cigarettes, bottled water or anything more than a small shopping bag of food.
In order to survive, this city has for months been relying on groups of young boys and long trains of donkeys to bring in supplies via a long and arduous journey through the mountains.
But the donkeys alone can hardly fulfil the needs of the city. Medicine and food have all but disappeared from the market and the prices of what are left have jumped in the last few months, pushing most of the population below the poverty line.
The siege is so tight that the Rawdha, one of the city’s two functioning hospitals, has run out of oxygen bottles. The other has only five left. “It’s a horrible situation,” says one of the doctors at the Rawdha. “We can’t do operations. We can’t put people in intensive care. We can only patch wounds and tell the patient: you are welcome to die here.” – by Ghaith Abdul-Ahad
Comment: Taiz is at the front line and it is one of the areas - the other being Saada - which has been affected most severely in a brutal and ferocious war. This is an account of what life is like living inside this bloody and disgusting war. Very moving and worth a read.
https://www.facebook.com/yemennewstodayenglish/posts/1079574958861661
28.12.2015 – Japan Times
Yemenis, donkeys ply mountain paths to bring aid to Houthi-besieged Taiz
Struggling under the weight of gas canisters, plastic sacks and cardboard crates stuffed with necessities, residents of Yemen’s Taiz have taken to treacherous mountain paths to bring essential goods into their besieged city.
Men and women, old and young, pick their way along a jagged path leading to Taiz, where a months-long siege by Shiite Houthi rebels has left even basic items in desperately short supply.
The weakest among them load their goods onto camels and donkeys. But even for sturdy beasts of burden the journey is a difficult one, as they trip and stumble over the rocks jutting out along the way.
Residents say humanitarian aid that the United Nations ordered to be distributed never reached them, so more are taking to the mountain paths to bring it in by foot.
“We are trying to deliver these food products to Taiz to lighten the suffering of the besieged residents,” said Adel al-Shabie, who lives in the city.
He blames the Houthis and their allies, troops who remained loyal to former president Ali Abdullah Saleh, for the residents’ suffering.
Even though they are used to the mountainous terrain around the city, the rocky path, surrounded by ravines, is hard going for the residents.
Additional remark: It was agreed that humanitarian aid could enter Taiz at the recent (failed) peace talks in Switzerland. But it didn't get to the centre of Taiz - instead it is in a village outside Taiz and people are having to carry it back into Taiz to feed 200,000 people many of whom are the innocent victims of the harsh militias from all sides, armies including mercenaries, and ferocious warfare.
https://www.facebook.com/yemennewstodayenglish/posts/1079500488869108
28.12.2015 – UN News Centre
UN delivers medicine for 1.2 million people in war-ravaged central Yemen
The United Nations health agency has delivered more than 100 tonnes of medicines and supplies for 1.2 million people in strife-torn Yemen’s central Taiz governorate, where over 3 million people, almost 400,000 of them internally displaced, are in dire need of humanitarian aid.
“We are calling on all parties to guarantee unrestricted, long-term delivery of humanitarian aid and unconditional movement of health workers,” the World Health Organization (WHO) Representative in Yemen, Dr. Ahmed Shadoul, said of the supplies, delivered last week, following the announcement of a ceasefire, which has only been partially observed.
The aid consists of urgently needed oxygen cylinders, medicines and medical devices, including surgical supplies and equipment for the management of trauma cases, and have been distributed to 13 hospitals and health centres as well as replenishing the local health department’s stocks for future needs.
“The health situation in Taiz has increasingly deteriorated. Shortages in health staff, medicines and fuel, as well as limited access by the humanitarian community due to the insecurity, have caused many health facilities in the governorate to shut down,” Dr. Shadoul said.
The distribution of an additional 22 tonnes of medical aid to five health facilities in Sala, Al-Qahera and Al-Mudhaffar districts of Taiz City is on hold due to access issues. WHO is negotiating with all parties to the conflict and advocating for unconditional access of medicines and supplies to these districts, where 400,000 people are in critical need of humanitarian aid.
“WHO is deeply concerned about the continuous lack of humanitarian access to Taiz City, depriving people from basic health care and violating their essential human rights,” Dr. Shadoul added.
“WHO re-emphasizes the crucial need for uninterrupted delivery of health services and calls upon all concerned parties to respect the basic rights of all Yemenis to access health care services.”
http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=52907#.VoIWTvnhCUl
Comment: Other parts of the country, where the medical situation is not any better, especially at Saada, are forgotten?
28.12.2015 – The National UAE
Yemen war sends city professionals back to the land
Qat grower Abdulhakim Ramzi was once a graphic designer in Sanaa.
But after war broke out between Yemen’s government and Houthi rebels in March, the company he worked for closed and the 39-year-old father of three could not find another job.
Like many Yemenis, the conflict forced him to move with his wife and children to his home village in June.
He struggled to get work and eventually found two options. He could either work as a construction labourer or help his cousin grow qat, the mildly narcotic leaf that is widely chewed in Yemen.
“I decided to work in agriculture,” he said.
Like Mr Ramzi, Shawiq Al Niwi, 33, was forced to leave Sanaa for his home village in Al Shimayateen because of the war.
Professor Fadhl Al Thobhani, an expert on Yemeni society at Taez University, said many people displaced from cities to rural areas by the war have been forced to take up more traditional jobs than they might have had previously.
“The displaced people will work in anything to get money, but this will harm their futures as many of them will lose their original profession and continue to work in their new jobs such as agriculture,” Mr Al Thobhani said.
However, jobs in agriculture and grazing are not easily available as there are more experienced people in the villages. This means that displaced people from the cities have only a small chance of finding such work, he said – by Mohammed Al-Qalisi
http://www.thenational.ae/world/middle-east/yemen-war-sends-city-professionals-back-to-the-land
Comment: Not only back to the land - off to other countries if they can find the means.
https://www.facebook.com/yemennewstodayenglish/posts/1079658612186629
28.12.2015 – UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
Yemen Humanitarian Pooled Fund (HPF) Factsheet (updated November 2015)
The Yemen Humanitarian Pooled Fund (HPF) is a country-based financing mechanism for humanitarian organisations under the oversight of the Humanitarian Coordinator (HC). The HPF mobilises and channels resources to humanitarian partners to respond to the critical needs of millions of people affected by the devastating humanitarian crisis in Yemen.
Friedensgespräche / Peace talks
28.12.2015 – Asharq Al Awsat
Yemen: the Problem of Political Prisoners Will be Solved Soon
Informed sources in Yemen yesterday confirmed that the problem of political prisoners held captive by the rebels will be solved soon, after the relative progress made by the Yemeni consultations in Switzerland earlier this month.
The sources believe that the Houthis will next week release those who are “alive” amongst the four main figures detained by them, the most important of whom is the Yemeni Defense Minister Major- General Mahmoud Salem Subaihi. The sources added that the Houthis will submit to Operation Decisive Storm and begin the implementation of the UN resolution 2216 as part of an operation to “build confidence” according to the term used by the UN’s Special Envoy for Yemen Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed in the agenda of the consultations.
Ex-President Saleh
28.12.2015 – AFP
Yemen ex-president calls for talks with Saudi
Yemen's pro-rebel ex-president Ali Abdullah Saleh has rejected further peace talks with the government, saying dialogue should instead take place with Saudi Arabia.
Riyadh has been leading a military campaign since March against Iran-backed Shiite Huthi rebels, who have also been supported by Saleh loyalists.
In a speech late Sunday during a meeting with members of his General People's Congress (GPC) party, UN-sanctioned Saleh said "we will not take part in (future) dialogue... unless the war ends."
GPC representatives attended UN-sponsored peace talks in Switzerland last week. There was no major breakthrough in the talks but the parties agreed to meet again on January 14.
"And if the war ends, we will hold talks with Saudi Arabia and not with the delegate of escapees," he said, in reference to the delegation of President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi's internationally recognised government, which was forced into months of exile before returning in September to main southern city Aden.
http://news.yahoo.com/yemen-ex-president-calls-talks-saudi-132952276.html = http://dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2015/Dec-28/329170-yemen-ex-leader-calls-for-talks-with-saudi.ashx
28.12.2015 – Siasat / China.com
War against Saudi Arabia has yet to begin
Yemen's former President Ali Abdullah Saleh said on Sunday that the war against Saudi Arabia has yet to begin, vowing his supporters to continue fight unless the Saudi-led coalition halts air and ground campaigns against his country.
Saleh made these remarks in a meeting with representatives of his General People's Party and Shiite Houthi group who took part in recent UN-sponsored peace talks in Switzerland.
He said Saudi Arabia should be ready for a long war that would began soon.
"Only if the war halts, we will go for a direct talks with Saudis themselves, not their mercenaries," he said, referring to the upcoming UN-sponsored peace talks that set to be held at mid January.
"War has not started yet, and it will begin if Saudis and their followers (Yemeni government) did not choose peace under the auspices of Russia or the United Nations," he added.
http://www.siasat.com/news/war-saudi-arabia-yet-begin-yemens-former-president-892850/ = http://www.china.org.cn/world/2015-12/28/content_37406407.htm
Kommentar: Er wird recht haben damit, dass die Friedensgespräche nur sinnvoll sind, wenn die Saudis dabei sind und die Kampfhandlungen tatsächlich beendet werden. Noch mehr Säbelrasseln à la Saleh wird freilich niemand brauchen. Und seine Person auch nicht.
Comment: This was the conclusion made by a journalist who reported the peace talks in Switzerland. The Hadi side had to keep referring back to ???? whoever and were unable to make decisions, and it was said in that case it should have been Saudi at the table doing the negotiating. One of the problems from my perspective - I am NOT a Saleh fan - is that the more common sense he talks, the more Yemeni supporters he wins - but he is a divisive love-him-or-hate-him figure and I can't see that there can be peace if Saleh was in charge again.
https://www.facebook.com/yemennewstodayenglish/posts/1079501638868993
Armee der Hadi-Regierung / Army of Hadi government
28.12.2015 – Gulf News
Former Saleh ally leading operations against him
The army general played a crucial role in crushing Al Houthi rebellions in the past
Major General Ali Mohsen Al Ahmar, a powerful pro-government army general, was assigned to command the current military operations in Yemen’s northern province of Hajja, a journalist close to Al Ahmar in the Saudi capital told Gulf News on Monday.
“General Ali Mohsen is currently leading Hajja frontline. He is a well-connected person who is able to convince military and tribal figures inside Yemen to defect from Al Houthis and Saleh,” the journalist said on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to brief reporters on Al Ahmar’s activities.
Al Ahmar was once a pillar of the regime of the former president Ali Abdullah Saleh and used to be in charge of the First Armoured Division that fought Al Houthis in six wars. “Al Ahmar is the right person for leading the fighting in the mountainous Hajja province. He has great military expertise from the six wars with Al Houthis. He even defeated them in the second war,” the journalist said. Al Ahmar defected from Saleh’s regime in 2011 when Saleh’ forces shot dead dozens of peaceful protesters who were demanding his departure – by Saeed Al Batati
http://gulfnews.com/news/gulf/yemen/former-saleh-ally-leading-operations-against-him-1.1645005
Comment: Ali Muhsin - a very familiar name in Yemen. He hoped to be the person who would take over the presidency in Yemen but when Saleh seemed to be grooming his son for that position, Ali Muhsin became disenchanted. He married into a aristocratic family in the south of Yemen and became a very conservative Sunni muslim - his brigages were the only ones in Yemen that were allowed to wear beards. He was the person who split the army at the time of the 2011 so called 'Arab Spring' but only a small part of the army moved with him, the rest stayed with Saleh - and still are with Saleh. There are some new brigades in the Yemeni army now that are trained in Saudi Arabia - they say 10,000 but I am not sure if that is right - and it may be that these too will be under Muhsin command.
https://www.facebook.com/yemennewstodayenglish/posts/1079571055528718
Saudi-Arabien / Saudi Arabia
28.12.2015 – Deutschland Today / Südkurier nach AFP
Saudiarabischer Staatshaushalt deutlich im Minus
Wegen des Preisverfalls beim Öl ist Saudi-Arabien dieses Jahr tief in die roten Zahlen gerutscht. Der Staatshaushalt werde das Jahr mit einem Rekordminus von 98 Milliarden Dollar (89,4 Milliarden Euro) abschließen, erklärte das Finanzministerium in Riad. Die Regierung zog umgehend Konsequenzen: Die Benzinpreise wurden drastisch erhöht und Subventionen auch für Wasser und Strom gekürzt.
Die Einnahmen Saudi-Arabiens beliefen sich dieses Jahr auf schätzungsweise 608 Milliarden Riyal (148 Milliarden Euro), etwa 15 Prozent weniger als erwartet und 42 Prozent weniger als im Vorjahr. Die Ausgaben summierten sich hingegen auf voraussichtlich 975 Milliarden Riyal, erklärten Vertreter des Finanzministeriums bei einer Pressekonferenz in Riad.
Es ist das zweite Jahr in Folge, dass der weltgrößte Ölexporteur ein Minus im Staatshaushalt verbuchen muss. Für 2016 rechnet das Finanzministerium ebenfalls mit einem deutlichen Defizit von 87 Milliarden Dollar (rund 79 Milliarden Euro).
Ein Viertel der Ausgaben im Haushalt im nächsten Jahr sind aber für Verteidigung und Sicherheit reserviert. Der Internationale Währungsfonds (IWF) hat Saudi-Arabien gewarnt, dass ohne Einsparungen und Reformen die Finanzreserven des Landes in nur fünf Jahren aufgebraucht sein würden.
http://www.dtoday.de/startseite/nachrichten_artikel,-Saudiarabischer-Staatshaushalt-deutlich-im-Minus-_arid,458853.html = http://www.suedkurier.de/nachrichten/wirtschaft/Oelpreisverfall-Saudiarabischer-Staatshaushalt-fast-hundert-Milliarden-Dollar-im-Minus;art416,8409107 siehe auch http://www.tagesschau.de/ausland/saudi-arabien-133.html
28.12.2015 – Bloomberg
A Breakdown of the 2016 Saudi Budget and Its Implications
The government forecasts the deficit will narrow to 326.2 billion riyals ($87 billion) in 2016, from 367 billion riyals this year.
The 2015 deficit is about 16 percent of gross domestic product, according to Alp Eke, senior economist at National Bank of Abu Dhabi.
Seventy-three percent of this year’s 608 billion riyals in revenue came from oil, down 23 percent from 2014 and below the 715 billion riyal target. The government says it may resort to local and foreign borrowing to bridge the budget deficit.
The government plans to spend 840 billion riyals in 2016 compared with 975 billion riyals this year. The biggest ticket in the budget was 213 billion riyals allocated for military and security services.
Economy Minister Adel Fakeih said Monday that 20 billion riyals of this year’s spending overshoot was due to increased military and security spending related to the military operation against Shiite Houthi rebels in Yemen – by Mahmoud Habboush
Comment: Well, Saudi has a huge budget deficit and it will have to scale back on its spending... or maybe spend less on killing people.
https://www.facebook.com/yemennewstodayenglish/posts/1079655858853571
28.12.2015 – Vice News
Low Oil Prices and the War in Yemen Have Left a Huge Hole in Saudi Arabia's Budget
Simon Henderson, director of the Gulf and Energy Policy Program at the Washington Institute, added that the Saudi-led intervention in Yemen, entering its tenth month, was adding extra strain on the country's coffers. In its 2016 budget, Saudi Arabia allocated 213 billion riyals (around $57 billion) to defense and security.
"The Yemen war is certainly costing them a lot in terms of bombs and munitions being dropped, but the greatest concern is that Saudi Arabia is pursuing a policy in Yemen which doesn't appear to have an endgame to it other than a military victory," said Henderson.
"It is a very expensive war, and of course no one knows where it's going in 2016," said Anthony Cordesman, the Arleigh A. Burke Chair in Strategy at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. "Looking at the figures that have been released, it's uncertain that the defense budget includes all the costs of foreign arms purchases that are scheduled. The Saudis may be forced to choose between the war and the arms imports — you only have so much money." – by Samuel Oakford
Kuwait
29.12.2015 – Deutsche Welle
In der Luft machte Kuwait schon länger mit bei der von Saudi-Arabien geführten Allianz gegen die Huthi-Rebellen im Jemen. Jetzt entsendet die Golfmonarchie offenbar Bodentruppen in den Konflikt.
Laut einem Bericht der kuwaitischen Tageszeitung "Al-Qabas" vom Dienstag hat sich die Regierung des Golfstaates für eine direkte Beteiligung seiner Bodentruppen an der "Arabischen Koalition" entschieden. Demnach soll ein Artillerie-Batallion an die saudisch-jemenitische Grenze entsendet werden und dort Angriffe der Huthi-Rebellen abwehren. Es gelte "Agressionen" der Huthi gegen das Königreich Saudi-Arabien zurückzuschlagen, heißt es in dem Artikel. Die Zeitung beruft sich auf "informierte Kreise" im Kabinett. Das kuwaitische Außenministerium wollte die Meldung nicht kommentieren.
http://www.dw.com/de/kuwait-schickt-offenbar-truppen-gegen-huthis/a-18949203
29.12.2015 – Reuters
Kuwait to send troops to Saudi Arabia to fight Yemen rebels
Kuwait has decided to send troops to its neighbour Saudi Arabia to resist attacks by the Yemeni Houthi movement, the Kuwaiti daily al-Qabas reported on Tuesday citing an informed source.
"Kuwait decided on the participation of its ground forces, represented by an artillery battalion, in operations to strike at positions of Houthi aggression against the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia," the paper said.
Though a nominal member of a Saudi-led coalition that has bombed the Iran-allied Houthis for nine months, Kuwait has held off sending ground troops to the conflict
http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-kuwait-yemen-security-idUKKBN0UC0I520151229 and from AFP:
http://news.yahoo.com/kuwait-send-troops-saudi-yemen-war-report-065136420.html
Oman
27.12.2015 – Al Monitor
Can Oman help Saudis save face in Yemen?
Desperate for a dignified exit from Yemen, the kingdom has turned to its neighbor Oman for a political solution to the worsening crisis. Ultimately, this plan might be Riyadh’s most realistic means of saving face in Yemen.
Oman was the only GCC member that did not join Operation Decisive Storm. Oman’s mature and far-sighted response to the Houthi takeover of Sanaa underscored Muscat’s understanding of Yemeni history.
Since the launch of Operation Decisive Storm, Oman has hosted representatives from many factions in the civil war.
It is Oman’s own quest for long-term stability in neighboring Yemen, however, that motivates Muscat to further talks involving the relevant parties aimed at reaching a permanent cease-fire. From Oman’s vantage point, the Houthis and Saleh loyalists do not represent the same threat that Muscat’s fellow GCC members perceive from these actors. Instead, the Omani leadership is most unsettled by the threat that a prolonged conflict poses to the security of Oman’s Dhofar governorate, situated along the Gulf Arab nation’s 187-mile border with Yemen.
The Saudis would be wise to take advantage of the diplomatic avenue that Oman offers Riyadh at this difficult juncture. Surely, continuation of this conflict will not benefit the long-term interests of the Saudis, Yemenis or Omanis – by Giorgio Caffiero
http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2015/12/oman-yemen-saudi-isis-gcc-arms.html#
Großbritannien / Great Britain
Unter “Am wichtigsten” / At “Most important”
Waffenhandel / Arms Trade
29.12.2015 – La Nacion
Un argentino investiga el tráfico de armas en Yemen
El salteño Nicolás Dapena Fernández es el encargado de investigar el mercado ilegal en el país bicontinental como enviado del Consejo de Seguridad de la ONU
El salteño Nicolás Dapena Fernández es el encargado de investigar el tráfico de armas en Yemen como enviado del Consejo de Seguridad.
Se trata del único argentino que integra en estos momentos el grupo de expertos internacionales que reciben mandato del secretario general de la ONU, Ban Ki Moon, para investigar en el terreno diferentes conflictos que causan preocupación mundial.
"Mi trabajo se basa en investigar las redes de provisión de armas en Medio Oriente al grupo sancionado por la ONU (el Houtis-Saleh), como así también investigar todo apoyo dado por terceros países o grupos criminales a través de tecnología, logística, capacitación en inteligencia, eso incluye determinar si existe, por ejemplo, asistencia técnica, adiestramiento, asistencia financiera o de otro tipo incluido el suministro de mercenarios", agregó.
"En el caso de Yemen, por la guerra en marcha y dada la complejidad y necesidad de mantener la neutralidad y equilibrio en la composición del Grupo de Expertos, el procedimiento de selección fue a través de varias etapas observadas por el grupo de países permanentes del Consejo de Seguridad. En Yemen se da un teatro de operaciones de una guerra excesivamente compleja, que tiene elementos históricos, geopolíticos y militares muy diversos".
http://www.lanacion.com.ar/1857787-un-argentino-investiga-el-trafico-de-armas-en-yemen
Kommentar: Was soll dieser Mann eigentlich kontrollieren? UNO pervers: Die Waffenlieferungen an die Huthis werden untersucht [und gelten als illegal], die Waffenlieferungen an die Saudis, ihre Kriegskoalition, die Regierungskräfte, all die Milizen, die tatsächlich oder behauptetermaßen für die Hadi-Regierung kämpfen, allerdings nicht. Zu den offensichtlich von der UN inkriminierten Waffen gehören offensichtlich auch nicht all diejenigen, die die Flugzeuge der saudischen Koalition seit Kriegsbeginn in großem Umfang über dem Land für die auf ihrer Seite kämpfenden jemenitischen Milizen abwerfen. Diese Waffen fallen zu erheblichen Teilen dann auch den Huthis wie Al Kaida und dem IS in die Hände. All das schert die UN nicht, dank der von den USA durchgebrachten unseligen UN-Resolution 2216 vom April 2015, die ausschließlich die Huthis vom Waffennachschub abtrennen sollen, während die Gegenseite überhaupt nicht betroffen ist. Angesichts der riesigen Waffenkäufe der Saudis und ihrer Verbündeten sei folgende Schätzung gewagt: Die UN verfolgt mit all ihren Möglichkeiten 0,2 % der für den Jemenkrieg getätigten Waffenverkäufe, wohingegen sie 99,8 % der Waffenverkäufe für den Einsatz im Jemen überhaupt nicht interessieren.
25.12.2015 – The New York Times
U.S. Foreign Arms Deals Increased Nearly $10 Billion in 2014
Foreign arms sales by the United States jumped by almost $10 billion in 2014, about 35 percent, even as the global weapons market remained flat and competition among suppliers increased, a new congressional study has found.
American weapons receipts rose to $36.2 billion in 2014 from $26.7 billion the year before, bolstered by multibillion-dollar agreements with Qatar,Saudi Arabia and South Korea. Those deals and others ensured that the United States remained the single largest provider of arms around the world last year, controlling just over 50 percent of the market – by Nicholas Fandos
23.12.2015 – Middle East Eye
Bulgaria sells arms to Saudi and UAE, likely for use in Syria war
Former military official says the weapons were transported to Syria by plane with some possibly destined for Yemen – by Mariya Petkova
http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/bulgaria-sells-arms-saudi-and-uae-likely-use-syria-war-1612827818
This is a shorter version of the article http://www.balkaninsight.com/en/article/war-gains-bulgarian-arms-add-fuel-to-middle-east-conflicts-12-16-2015 already presented earlier here: https://www.freitag.de/autoren/dklose/krieg-im-jemen-neue-artikel-zum-nachlesen-73
Propaganda
27.12.2015 – WAM
UAE to repair 154 schools in YemenEmirates Red Crescent begins first phase of project
Emirates Red Crescent (ERC) has begun the first phase of its project to renovate and repair 154 schools and educational institutions in Yemen.
During this phase, around 123 education institutions will be repaired as part of the ERC's continuing efforts to promote services in the educational sector, which has badly hit by the ongoing strife in Yemen
The renovation work is currently underway in another 31 schools, as part of the second phase of the rehabilitation of schools, which are expected to open soon.
http://www.emirates247.com/news/region/uae-to-repair-154-schools-in-yemen-2015-12-27-1.615220
Kommentar: Das ist natürlich löblich, und die Emirate scheinen sich im Jemen mit Hilfen wesentlich mehr zu engagieren als die Saudis. Dennoch habe ich diesen Artikel hier unter Propaganda eingeordnet – weil die saudische Koalition und damit auch die Emirate durch ihren Luftkrieg selbst eine große Zahl von Schulen im Jemen zerstört haben.
27.12.2015 – Middle East Eye
Yemen's exiled government controls 70 percent of country: Minister
Deputy PM says he has had 'assurances' from allies on the US Security Council that the Houthis will abide by trust-building measures
A member of Yemen’s internationally recognised government has said his forces are now in control of 70 percent of the country.
Abdel Malik al-Mikhlafi, who serves as foreign minister in the exiled government of President Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi, gave a lengthy interview on Sunday ahead of a new round of peace talks scheduled to start in Geneva on 14 January.
"The situation on the ground is now under the authority of the legitimate government," Mikhlafi said, referring to Hadi's exiled government, which has been operating mainly from the Saudi capital Riyadh since it was forced to leave Yemen months ago.
Mikhlafi, who is also deputy prime minister, said he had received “assurances” from Yemen’s allies on the UN Security Council that they would ensure that the Houthis abide by trust-building measures to allow the talks to go ahead.
These measures include abiding to a ceasefire, “stopping media incitement” and releasing all political prisoners including Defence Minister Mahmoud Salim al-Sabihi and Hadi’s brother, who are both prisoners of the Houthis.
In an exclusive published this weekend, MEE's Nawal Al-Maghafi, who covered the latest six-day talks between the government and the Houthis in Switzerland, said that during those talks the government tried to portray the Houthis as not talking negotiations seriously while simultaneously escalating fighting on the ground.
Yemeni sources last week told local news site al-Mashhad that the Houthis had already handed over about 280 fighters from the other side who were captured during the Houthi advance in southern Yemen last spring.
An advisor to Hadi, Yassin Makawi, also said on Sunday that deposed president Ali Abdullah Saleh, an ally of the Houthis, is prepared to accept all his opponents’ demands in return for safe passage out of Yemen.
Saleh, who was toppled in 2012 after Yemen’s Arab Spring-style protests, became the only former ruler deposed during a region-wide string of uprisings to remain in the country he used to rule.
http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/yemens-exiled-government-controls-70-country-minister-517301772 see also http://english.aawsat.com/2015/12/article55346025/yemen-70-percent-under-legitimate-control
Comment: Well, I think this is a bit of an exaggeration. Hadi government controls nothing. In effect, the government of Yemen never has had very effective control of Yemen, even at the best of times. But most of Yemen is in the control of militias at this moment in time, with no prospect of the actual government controlling anything in the near future.
https://www.facebook.com/yemennewstodayenglish/posts/1079136942238796
Kommentar: Die Hadi-Regierung kontrolliert tatsächlich nur wenige Prozent des Landes – selbst in ihrer provisorischen Hauptstadt Aden machen ihnen Al Kaida, der IS und Separatisten, die einen unabhängigen Südjemen wollen, die Macht streitig. Da hat sich der Minister wohl an Landkarten orientiert wie dieser: http://www.almasdarnews.com/article/latest-battle-map-of-yemen-december-update/ und dabei das dort Al Kaida zugeschlagene Gebiet auch gleich für seine Regierung vereinnahmt. Dass es vor allem seine Seite war und ist, die zu Friedensgesprächen genötigt werden musste, dreht der Minister auch geschickt ins Gegenteil. Hierzu siehe auch:
26.12.2015 – Middle East Eye
Behind the scenes at Yemen's peace talks in Switzerland
[After the ceasefire had been broken, the pro-government forces had mounted a surprise offensive on the northern region, near Al Jawf, and the Huthi and Saleh delegates did not turn up for the talks in protest], pro-government journalists and analysts were busy conducting back-to-back interviews with Arab media outlets, including Al Jazeera and Al-Arabiya, and domestic Saudi channels. Indeed, several of them came up to me with "offers" to interview them. Of course, everyone seemed to read from the same pro-government script and trot out the same talking points – that the Houthis were creating "obstacles" and were refusing to attend the talks, and so on. Al-Arabiya went as far as to break the “news” that a member of the Houthi delegation had physically assaulted the UN envoy.
Meanwhile, the UK, US and EU ambassadors to Yemen, who were also staying at the hotel, desperately tried to rein in the media circus, fearing the government’s manoeuvre might irretrievably ruin any real prospects for peace.
It seemed obvious to me that the whole episode was, in essence, a theatrical gesture orchestrated by the government to show its allies, who had been laying the pressure on, that it was taking the talks seriously while its rivals were not. Worse, the no-show by the Houthi delegation was then portrayed as proof of bad faith, even though it was the direct and presumably intended result of a deliberate escalation on the ground by the Hadi government and its Saudi patrons – by Nawal Al-Maghafi
http://www.middleeasteye.net/columns/behind-scenes-yemens-peace-talks-switzerland-506308571
Flüchtlinge / Refugees
29.12.2015 – International Organization for Migration, UN High Commissioner for Refugees
Regional refugee and Migrant Response: Impact of the Yemen Crisis, 15 December 2015
Humanitarian actors involved in the response to the outflow of civilians from Yemen due to the current conflict are committed to providing life-saving assistance and protection to those fleeing Yemen, pending durable solutions.
KEY FIGURES AS OF AS OF 1 DECEMBER 2015
168,129 Total out of Yemen; 77,249 Arrivals in Djibouti, Ethiopia, Somalia, Sudan; 23,741 Total evacuated (as of 29 October, IOM)
Recent developments:
Yemeni arrivals to Djibouti in November remain steady and in line with anticipated planning figures, while Somali arrivals to Somalia remains extremely low since the change of context in Aden from mid-August.
In early December, UNHCR Yemen conducted four focus group discussions with 61 Somalis in Aden, Yemen. In general, Somalis reported no major obstacles to go to Somalia, with support available from charities, IOM and the Somali consul in Aden.
However, they considered socio-economic conditions, security and the cost of living to be better in Aden relative to Somalia. 54% of the Somalis would consider return to Somalia if there were greater opportunities and support for self-reliance and reintegration.
http://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/regional-refugee-and-migrant-response-impact-yemen-crisis-15-december-2015-enar and in full http://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/YemenSituationfactsheet20151215.pdf
28.12.2015 – Sigma Live
Refugees from Yemen, Bahrain join EU's relocation programme
Yemen, Bahrain and Swaziland have been added to the EU relocation programme. The citizens of the three countries have the right to submit a request for relocation from Greece to other European countries. Only people from Syria, Iraq, Eritrea and the Central African Republic have so far had that right.
Comment: What makes me feel utterly nauseated is not the restriction on nationality - but the very small numbers that so-called civilised nations in the West are prepared to accept in the relocation plan
https://www.facebook.com/yemennewstodayenglish/posts/1079593418859815
Wirtschaft / Economy
29.12.2015 – AzVizion
Total quitte définitivement le Yémen
La compagnie pétrolière française Total a annoncé, lundi, quitter définitivement le Yémen, à la fin du mois de décembre courant.
La compagnie, qui a libéré tous ses employés et son personnel, dans le pays en proie à une guerre civile depuis neuf mois, quitte ainsi le Yémen après 29 d’activités d’exploration.
Dans un message adressé à son personnel, et dont Anadolu a eu copie, Total a dit qu’elle « remettra le bloc 10 (Hadramaout) au ministère yéménite du Pétrole, le 31 décembre courant »
« Tous les contrats de travail des employés de la société ‘Total Yémen’ expireront à cette date », poursuit la compagnie, sans besoin d’une autre notification.
La compagnie a précisé que la fin des contrats de travail sera faite conformément à « l’article 8 du règlement du personnel de la société Total Yémen et du droit de travail de ce pays ».
La compagnie « Total » est le premier investisseur étranger dans le secteur des hydrocarbures au Yémen et conduit un consortium international pour la mise en fonction du projet du gaz naturel.
La production de la compagnie au Yémen a baissé à 10 mille barils par jour après avoir atteint les 80 mille barils, il y a de cela quelques années.
http://fr.azvision.az/Total_quitte_d%C3%A9finitivement_le_-6045-xeber.html
Terrorismus / Terrorism
28.12.2015 – The Long War Journal
More Islamic State members reject governor of Yemen Province
The Islamic State’s Yemen Province continues to suffer from a leadership dispute that emerged two weeks ago [See LWJ report, Divisions emerge within the Islamic State’s Yemen ‘province’.]. More than a week after 70 members of the Islamic State rejected the emir for its Yemen Province on Dec. 15, another 31 members – including three senior leaders – backed them up and refused to follow the group’s regional leader.
In total, 101 Islamic State leaders and fighters – all of whom have been named – have now denounced the group’s emir for Yemen. But all said that they remain loyal to Abu Bakr al Baghdadi, the overall caliph of the Islamic State.
It is unclear as to how the current dispute within the Islamic State in Yemen will impact the group and its operations. While the size of the Yemen-based contingent is not publicly known, some estimates indicate that it has several hundred fighters in its ranks. Therefore, the defection of 18 senior leaders and 83 fighters is no small fissure – by Bill Roggio and Thomas Joscelyn
28.12.2015 – The Independent
Bin Laden's former bodyguard dies in Yemen as conflict rages on
The bodyguard who renounced al-Qaeda in later years predicted chaos in Yemen
In a 2010 interview to the BBC's Newsnight programme, he warned that national political motivations were becoming "mixed up" with the terrorist group's extremist violence.
"This latest generation is motivated by anger at the government," al-Bahri told BBC Newsnight.
"This is very dangerous because most of south Yemen wants independence, and their ideas are mixed up with that. It's more difficult to reason with them.
"They're more ignorant than previous generations."
He also warned that al-Qaeda was determined to draw American soldiers into Yemen – by Jess Staufenberg
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/bin-ladens-former-bodyguard-dies-in-yemen-as-conflict-rages-on-a6788071.html and the 2010 interview: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/newsnight/9264425.stm
27.12.2015 – Yemen Media
Ansar Al-Sharia in Yemen's Abyan call for fighting president Hadi
Ansar Al-Sharia, an offshoot of Al-Qaeda in Abyan governorate to the south of Yemen, announced Saturday Takfir of president Abd Rabu Mansour Hadi, calling for combating him, local sources said.
Emirati Erem News Agency quoted local sources as saying Al-Qaeda gathered for a sermon in the Old Mosque of Zunjibar city where Abi Abas Alhadrami, a leading member of the group, said president Hadi is an "infidel," urging followers to fight him.
http://yemen-media.com/news_details.php?lang=english&sid=13041
Comment: Takfir = refers to the practice of excommunication, one Muslim declaring another Muslim as kafr (infidel to Islam), see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Takfir. islamists of all sorts widely use declarating others “takfir” more or less arbitrary, just as a means of political fight. Those declared takfir can be deliberately killed, robbed, their women can be raped, their property can be taken.
Kriegsereignisse / Theater of War
28.12.2015 – Alalam
VIDEO: Yemeni Forces Sank Saudi Warship, Kill Dozens Saudi Forces in Taiz
In a retaliatory attack Yemeni Forces have targeted and destroyed a Saudi warship in the waters near Bab al-Mandab Strait also The Yemeni missiles hit the Saudi military positions in al-Amri district of Zobab town in Ta'iz province.
The Saudi warship was targeted with Yemeni missiles in the Al-Mukha coastal waters in the province of Ta'iz today.
The sunken ship had repeatedly fired rockets at the residential areas in Ta'iz province, inflicting casualties and destruction there.
This is the ninth time that a Saudi warship is sent deep into the waters of Bab al-Mandab Strait by the Yemeni forces.
Other Saudi battleships that were approaching Yemen's coasts retreated fast following the attack.
The coast of Al-Mukha is located in Bab al-Mandab strait and the Saudi-led forces have been trying hard for several months now to win control over the coastal regions near the waterway.
The Yemeni missiles hit the Saudi military positions in al-Amri district of Zobab town in Ta'iz province, killing tens of the Saudi-led aggressors.
A large volume of the Saudi forces' military equipment and vehicles were also destroyed during the attacks. The town of Zobab is located 40 kilometers to the North of Bab al-Mandeb and is of strategic importance
http://en.alalam.ir/news/1773661 see also http://ag.irna.ir/en/News/81897655/
28.12.2015 – Faes News
Yemeni Forces Hunt Dozens of Saudi Troops in Ambush Operation in Ma'rib
Tens of Saudi-led aggressors were killed and dozens more were injured in a successful ambush attack by the Yemeni forces in the province of Ma'rib, Central Yemen, on Monday.
The Yemeni army and the popular forces also took scores of Saudi troops into captivity in Ma'rib province.
Meantime, the Yemeni forces cleared Al-Awa military base and Al-Karba region in the province of Ta'iz earlier today.
Al-Karba was the biggest stronghold of the pro-Saudi troops in Jbal al-Habashi (Habashi Mountain) in Ta'iz province.
On Sunday, the Yemeni army and popular forces laid siege on a large number of Saudi and Emirati forces in Jawf province, Eastern Yemen, the country's defense ministry announced on Saturday.
Hundreds of Saudi and UAE military men are now surrounded by the Yemeni forces in the town of al-Jabal al-Aswad in al-Jawf province.
The Yemeni forces captured 130 military troops from the Saudi-led coalition, including at least 39 Emirati soldiers and 9 officers during a series of clashes in Jawf province yesterday.
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13941007001260
28.12.2015 – Sputnik News
Saudi-Led Coalition Сonducts Over 30 Airstrikes in Yemen, Killing 10 People
A Saudi-led coalition has carried out more than 30 airstrikes in different areas in the north and west of Yemen, killing at least 10 people, a source in the Yemeni Defense Ministry told Sputnik on Monday.
According to the source, five people were killed following the coalition's airstrike in the Saada province, another three were killed in Marib city and two in Al Maha.
28.12.2015 – Saba Net
Five citizens killed in Saudi airstrike in Sa'ada
The Saudi aggression warplanes targeted a citizen's car in al-Safra'a district in Sa'ada province, killing five citizens, a security official said on Monday.
The car was targeted on Akwan bridge in al-Safra'a district, which led to the killing of five citizens were in the car and the destruction of the bridge and cutting the public road, the official explained. The aggression war jets waged also two raids on the areas of al-Mahather and al-Azqol in Sahar district, he added.
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news414157.htm
27.12.2015 – The National UAE
Yemen’s loyalist push closer towards capital
Yemen’s pro-government forces moved closer to the capital Sanaa on Sunday, while Saudi Arabia shot down a ballistic missile fired from across the border by Houthi rebels.
The resistance fighters and troops fighting in Sanaa province took control of more areas in Nihm district, taking them to within 30 kilometres of the capital, said Mohammed Al Gadasi, a journalist based in neighbouring Marib province, citing military sources.
He said they were now preparing to advance into Bani Hoshaish district, which borders the capital city.
Pro-government forces entered Nihm district from Marib on December 19. Al Gadasi said that as they made their latest gains, the Houthis began firing Katyusha rockets at Marib city, the provincial capital that was liberated from the rebels along with most of the province in October.
The rebels also lost ground in Al Bayda on Sunday, a northern province they largely control, in an offensive launched by resistance fighters a day earlier.
The resistance seized the centre of Thi Naem district, killing six Houthis, but has not yet taken control of government buildings there, said Fahd Al Taweel, a journalist in Al Bayda.
He said the resistance decided to attack the Houthis after the rebels intensified security measures in the area and imposed a 9pm curfew on residents.
“The residents of Al Bayda are tribal people and they do not like to be under the control of any group. For this reason I think the resistance will continue forcing the Houthis from the province,” he said.
http://www.thenational.ae/world/middle-east/yemens-loyalist-push-closer-towards-capital
27.12.2015 – Alalam / Press TV Iran
VIDEO: Yemeni Forces Pound Saudi Arabia Military Base in Najran
The Yemeni army supported by Popular Committees loyal to the Houthi Ansarullah movement, has hit a military base in Saudi Arabia’s southwestern border city of Najran with a ballistic missile.
Yemen’s al-Masirah news channel reported on Sunday that the Qaher 1 missile caused huge explosions by hitting armories of the base, located in the al-Arissah district of Najran.
Yemeni forces also launched missile attacks on a convoy of Saudi mercenaries moving from Yemen’s central province of Ma’rib to the northern province of Jawf. Three vehicles were destroyed in the attacks.
Military forces of Yemen also fired over 80 Katyusha rockets at Saudi bases in Najran in retaliation for Riyadh’s incessant strikes against Yemen.
Dozens of mercenaries fighting for the regime in Riyadh were killed after Yemeni fighters fired missiles at a presidential palace in Ma’rib and the al-Amri district of the southwestern province of Ta’izz.
According to the latest reports, heavy clashes continue between Ansarullah fighters and Saudi-backed militants loyal to the fugitive former Yemeni president, Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi, in the Dhubab district of Ta’izz.
Similar clashes are underway in the northeastern part of the Yemeni capital, Sana’a.
In a separate development on Sunday, Saudi warplanes repeatedly bombarded Yemen’s border regions. The jets also pounded the Kataf district in the northern province of Sa’ada.
http://en.alalam.ir/news/1773341 = http://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2015/12/27/443407/Yemen-Ansarullah-Saudi-Arabia-Najran-Taizz/
Kommentar: Diese Meldung und die folgende widersprechen sich jetzt um 100 % / This report and the following contradict themselves by 100%:
28.12.2015 – Asharq Al Awsat
“The coalition” counteracts “Scud” missile in Najran, and its launcher is destroyed in Sana’a
Arab coalition forces hastened to support legitimacy in Yemen by destroying a rocket launcher in the centre of Sana’a after intercepting a “Scud” missile fired by the rebels from this launcher. The missile then landed in a citizen’s farm in the city of Najran in southern Saudi Arabia.
The Saudi citizen, Hasan bin Mani’ Al-Yaami, told Asharq Al-Awsat that he was on the farm with friends, and after they heard a noise, they went out to see what had happened and saw the missile that had fallen on the farm, 100m away from where they had been sitting. He added that he immediately informed the security authorities so that they could take necessary action. Al-Yaami confirmed that the rocket did not damage the farm in any way and that agricultural activity continues to take place as usual.
Comment: I doubt whether this missile really had been fired from Sanaa which is quite far away from Najran. Normally, these Houthi missiles at targets in Saudi Arabia are fired from near the border. I presume, the claim that this missile was fired from Sanaa just should give an apology for bombing Sanaa again.
27.12.2015 – Middle East Eye
Saudi intercepts missile fired from Yemen capital
The Houthis have intensified their rocket attacks across the Saudi border following failed peace talks
Saudi Arabia intercepted a missile fired on its territory from Yemen's capital, held by the Houthis, the Saudi-led coalition announced on Sunday.
Saudi air defence forces intercepted "a Scud missile fired from Sanaa in Yemen towards the city of Najran" late on Saturday, just nine-months after the start of the Saudi-led military campaign against the Houthis.
http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/saudi-intercepts-missile-fired-yemen-capital-881965694 see also from Reuters http://www.reuters.com/article/us-yemen-security-saudi-idUSKBN0UA04T20151227 and by AFP http://www.defencetalk.com/saudi-arabia-intercepts-missile-fired-from-yemen-capital-66180/
27.12.2015 – Aljazeera
Saudi Arabia 'intercepts' scud missile fired from Yemen
Saudi Arabia has intercepted a missile fired from Yemeni capital Sanaa towards the kingdom's southern city of Najran, in the latest cross-border attack on the kingdom, the Saudi-led coalition battling rebels in Yemen has said in a statement.
The coalition statement said on Sunday that the Saudi Air Force reacted immediately and destroyed the launching pad inside Yemen.
Yemen's state news agency said the target was a Saudi national guard base.
In a statement published on their sabanews.net website, the rebels said they fired rockets at Jizan and Najran on the Saudi side of the border on Saturday, causing "losses in life and equipment".
They also said they fired another ballistic missile on Najran on Sunday, but Saudi Arabia has not yet confirmed this attack.
27.12.2015 – Almasdar News
Yemeni Army advances inside of Saudi Arabia as Coalition Forces struggle to maintain ground
The Yemeni Army’s Republican Guard and the Houthis have been on a roll inside of Saudi Arabia as of late, capturing several sites belonging to the Saudi Royal Army and their allies from the Arab Coalition Forces that are made-up of several impoverished nations and western mercenaries hired by the Saudi and Emirati royal families.
On Saturday afternoon in Saudi Arabia’s southern countryside, the Yemeni Army’s Republican Guard and the Houthis carried out several attacks on the city of Najran, killing a number of Saudi National Guardsmen while also advancing north towards the latter’s final line of defense. If the Yemeni Army’s Republican Guard and the Houthis capture Najran from the Saudi-led Coalition Forces; this would become the 3rd Saudi city under their control and perhaps the most embarrassing defeat for the Saudi Royal Army since the loss of Al-Rabuah in October of this year.
In addition to their advance in Saudi Arabia’s southern countryside, the Houthis and the Yemeni Army’s Republican Guard repelled the massive assault launched by the Saudi-led Coalition Forces at the Al-Jawf Governorate in southern Yemen. Making matters worse for the Saudi-led Coalition Forces, the commander of one of the Hadi Loyalist militias – Hafezh Ahmad Humayd Al-Habari – was reportedly killed in the Mareb Governorate after clashing with the Houthis.
Comment: This is how Al Masdar News - sympathetic to the Houthi cause - reports the news. I know something is happening in the southwest corner of Saudi, but I'm not 100% convinced that all the claims are correct, but there is a basis of truth at least.
https://www.facebook.com/yemennewstodayenglish/posts/1079499705535853
Neue Artikel zum Nachlesen 1-76: / Yemen Press reader 1-76:
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/YemenImages2015-12-14-Hajjah.htm (Dec. 14)
http://poorworld.net/Yemen/YemenImages2015-12-23-Mokha.htm (Dec. 23)
http://poorworld.net/Yemen/YemenImages2015-12-21-Hodeida.htm (Dec. 21, 24)
http://poorworld.net/Yemen/YemenImages2015-12-28-Sanaa.htm (Dec. 28)
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