Krieg im Jemen: Neue Artikel zum Nachlesen 78

Yemen Press Reader 78: Aussichten für den Jemen - Sunni-Shia-Gegensatz zerreißt das Land - USA und Naher Osten - Chaos in Hadis Südjemen - Saudis und Terror - Obamas außenpolitisches Erbe

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Schwerpunkte / Key aspects

Am wichtigsten / Most important

Allgemein / General

Humanitäre Lage / Humanitarian situation

Südjemen / Southern Yemen

Saudi-Arabien / Saudi Arabia

USA

Großbritannien / Great Britain

Iran

Söldner / Mercenaries

Wirtschaft / Economy

Terrorismus / Terrorism

Propaganda

Kriegsereignisse / Theater of War

Most important / Am wichtigsten

30.12.2015 – Vice News

This Was the Year Yemen Was Destroyed

"There has never been a moment in the history of Yemen this bad," said Farea al-Muslimi, a Yemeni activist and visiting scholar at the Carnegie Middle East Center. "Both sides are losing command and control. If at one point one side decides they do want peace, I don't think they will be able to control it — neither the Houthis nor the Saudis."

Much of Yemen has been laid to waste, perhaps most critically in the northern province of Sadaa, a Houthi stronghold that has borne the brunt of countless coalition strikes. Trond Jensen, the UN's humanitarian chief in the country, returned recently from Sadaa city, where he said "all the public buildings have literally been destroyed."

"We met with IDPs there, and one of the people I was introduced to was an 11-year-old girl," he said in an interview from Sanaa. "This 11-year-old girl was the head of her family after her father was killed in an airstrike. Her older sister was blinded, and the mother had fled, leaving her in charge of her 5 siblings." In Sadaa, the girl was lucky to be alive.

Radhya Almutawakel, co-director of the Sanaa-based Mwatana Organization for Human Rights: Speaking from the capital, where coalition jets buzz overhead daily, Almutawakel lamented how deeply the fighting has set back the political and social gains of recent years. Civil society has been particularly affected, as an increasingly paranoid Houthi leadership jails activists and journalists and shutters media outlets.

"At a certain time, people started to talk about the constitution. They used the courts, they went to the police station," said Almutawakel. "The situation was never good, but we still had these tools and we used them to a certain level, but now that's completely damaged, and we don't have these things."

"The Yemeni people didn't choose war, but they are suffering from it," she added. "If the war continues, then war will be the only thing that people can do. Most are still victims, civilians, but with time they will not be civilians anymore."

The worst outcome, she concluded, was the increased fragmentation andlocalizing of fighting forces. Like Muslimi, Almutawakel said the divisions after nine months of war are in some ways even worse than those during a 1994 civil war that resulted in the uniting of the Yemen's north and south under Saleh's rule.

Schmitz said, Saleh remains intent on preserving a role for his family and political dynasty in the country. The Houthis, he added, "want to normalize their dominant position in Yemeni politics" and "cash in on their military gains for a partnership stake in the future Yemeni state."

Until now, the Hadi government and its Saudi-coalition backers have insisted the Houthis comply with a UN Security Council resolution that ordered their retreat from all seized territory, including Sanaa, and for them to lay down arms. That, said Schmitz, is a non-starter for the Houthis and Saleh.

In the enduring conflict, fissures have begun to emerge along sectarian lines — a worrying sign, said Muslimi, who in a recent piece for Carnegie pointed to groups on both sides that have begun branding militias and brigades after sectarian or regional names.

Saudi Arabia accuses its regional rival Iran of backing the Houthis, though the level of that support remains unclear. Among many analysts, the conflict is often seen through a simplistic lens similar to that applied to the civil war in Syria, where Tehran has helped prop up the regime of President Bashar al-Assad while the Saudis and other Gulf nations have lent backing to Sunni rebel forces. Though the strife in each country is different in countless ways, views such as these, and regional powers acting on the fears they inspire, could lead to a self-fulfilling prophecy – by Samuel Oakford

https://news.vice.com/article/this-was-the-year-yemen-was-destroyed

Comment: A review at the Yemen War at the end of the year, speaking also of the perspective Yemen will have for the time to come. This article is worth reading in full at the original site

29.12.2015 – Carnegie Endowment

How Sunni-Shia Sectarianism Is Poisoning Yemen

[Yemen faces ] a growing sectarian polarization in Yemen that relies on language borrowed from the Sunni-Shia conflicts in Iraq, Syria, and Lebanon sponsored by Saudi Arabia and Iran, rather than drawing on Yemeni religious culture. This is a rapidly growing phenomenon.

With the outbreak of the most recent round of conflict after the 2011 Arab Spring, sectarian discourse has become more heated, reorganizing Yemeni society along sectarian lines and rearranging people’s relationships to one another on a non-nationalist basis. It seems that the trend of sectarian polarization that plagues the region, from Iraq to Syria and Lebanon, has finally arrived in Yemen.

The houthi movement was shaped by a local conflict with the Dar al-Hadith Center, a Sunni religious institute established in the early 1980s in Dammaj, a village in the otherwise mostly Zaydi-populated Saada Governorate. The center promoted the orthodox version of Sunni Islam known as Salafism and received backing from Saudi Arabia. Salafists and Houthis demonized each other and often skirmished. When war broke out between the Houthis and the Yemeni government in the early 2000s, the Salafists of Dammaj naturally sided with the state against their enemies.

With each new step toward the conflict the sectarian discourse intensified. It culminated last September, when the Houthis called their supporters in Sanaa to jihad in Taiz and Aden, framing the conflict as a holy war against religious enemies rather than political opponents. Typical in such conflicts, the other side did much of the same, as the Salafists and their supporters sought to mobilize their own adherents against the Houthis.

The influence of regional conflicts is clearly visible in the words and expressions used by sectarian actors on both sides in Yemen.

Indeed, the rise of sectarian conflict in Yemen is clearly linked to the wider regional sectarian conflict provoked by Saudi Arabia and Iran.

During the few stable periods in the history of modern Yemen, sectarian language has faded until it all but disappeared. This makes it clear that political differences and conflicts feed sectarian discourse and not vice versa.

Ending the current war in Yemen and restoring a political balance must therefore be the first steps toward combating sectarianism in the country, as well as ending regional financial support to sectarian militias.

But this will not be enough to end Yemeni civil conflict. Sectarianism did not start the war, but it has now taken on a power of its own. The fact that the Sunni-Shia divide does not have deep historical roots in Yemen does not mean that it cannot provoke further conflict in the future. In order to begin rolling back sectarian influence, both Tehran and Riyadh must therefore stop feeding their own sectarian politics into Yemen and they must stop sending weapons, money, and political and media support to the fronts of death in the region – by Farea Al-Muslimi

http://carnegieendowment.org/syriaincrisis/?fa=62375&reloadFlag=1

Comment: By one of my favourite Yemeni writers, the astute Farea Al Muslimi - and the subject is one after my own heart - how the Sunni-Shia split is being manufactured in Yemen, and spoiling the tolerance and generosity that to me was such a huge component of what Yemen is. How can wonderful Yemen, whose people cared not a fig about the religion of his neighbour, but only cared about his neighbour, now be subject to this vile way of thinking that is sweeping the Arab world, country by country.

https://www.facebook.com/yemennewstodayenglish/posts/1080301138789043

Comment: Here only small excerpts. The article enlights the background of the sectarian conflict now raging in Yemen, going back to the 1980s when Saudi Arabia supported an extremist Sunni school in the Zaidist north of Yemen. Please read in full at the original site. The article shows how the conflict was inflated to become a sectarian conflict between Shia and Sunni in Yemen. Anyway, I think the author exaggerates the Iranian influence on the situation in Yemen, as Iran is not present in Yemen at all, while Saudi Arabia as a direct neighbor has seen and treated Yemen as its backyard since 1934 and has intermingled since that date in various ways, including by warfare. Anyway, we see that also the Houthis are playing the sectarian card.

Anyway, there is a point I think by reading this article you could get a wrong impression. It really is not true that both rivals on the hegemony in the Islamic world, Shiite Iran and Sunni Saudi Arabia, are stressing the sectarian differences. As Shia is the small minority, Iranian propaganda from the very beginning until today stresses the unity of all Muslims, while the Saudis reacted by stressing sectarian differences between Sunna and Shia for excluding Iran (and its effort to lead the Muslim world) in the opinion of the Sunna majority. Thus, from the beginning it has been Saudi Arabia which fired sectarian conflicts in the Muslim world of the 20. and 21. century. (For that, see for instance http://www.thetrentonline.com/the-article-everyone-must-read-to-understand-sunni-shiite-conflict-13-2/ )presented before in https://www.freitag.de/autoren/dklose/krieg-im-jemen-neue-artikel-zum-nachlesen-76-1). Thus, when we see the Houthis in Yemen in their struggle against the Saudi expansion now stressing sectarian differences themselves, they might think this to be of advantage for themselves (for which reason ever), but clearly is contradictory to the Iranian line and intention of propaganda. And that shows that the Houthis are acting quite independent from Iran and Iranian interests – which gives a clear hint at how limited Iranian influence at the Houthis must be.

28.12.2015 – Consortium News

The Misinformation Mess

As Americans approach Election Year 2016, the crisis of misinformation is growing more and more dangerous. On issues from foreign policy to the economy, almost none of the candidates in the race appears to be addressing the real world.

A rational approach to the Middle East would shift American alliances away from the reactionary Persian Gulf monarchies and Turkey and toward a more balanced approach that would invite greater involvement of Shiite-ruled Iran, which the Sunni-led monarchies view as their chief regional rival. There is little reason for the United States to take one side of a sectarian split within Islam that dates back to the Seventh Century.

By shedding its current pro-Saudi bias, the United States could finally get serious about resolving the Syrian crisis by shutting down the money and weapons going from Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkey to the extremists not just in the Islamic State but also in Al Qaeda’s Nusra Front and its various jihadist allies.

Since summer 2014, President Barack Obama and his “coalition” have been fighting a half-hearted war that has failed to face down the U.S. “allies” aiding the Sunni jihadists in Syria. Only when shamed by Russia in fall 2015 did the U.S. coalition join in bombing trucks carrying the Islamic State’s oil from Syria through Turkey’s open borders for resale in the black market. [See Consortiumnews.com’s “A Blind Eye Toward Turkey’s Crimes.”]

As for Syria’s political future, a reasonable approach would be to leave the selection of national leaders up to the Syrian people through internationally organized democratic elections. The voters would be the ones to decide Assad’s fate, not outsiders.

Yet, Official Washington finds itself in the crazy position of extending the bloody Syrian war – and the resulting chaos across the region and into Europe – because Obama and other Important People said “Assad must go!” and don’t want to lose face by dropping that demand. [See Consortiumnews.com’s “Neocons Object to Syrian Democracy.“]

A realistic approach to the Middle East also requires finally standing up to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, rather than letting him dance U.S. political leaders around the world stage like puppets on a marionette’s string. A balanced approach to the Middle East would allow for collaborating with Russia and Iran to apply pressure on the parties in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to make the necessary concessions for a peace deal, imperfect though it would surely be.

[But even] Sanders simply wants to postpone the U.S. removal of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and he encourages Saudi Arabia to throw its military weight around more across the region, not noticing that the Saudis are backing many of the Sunni jihadists who have helped turn the Middle East into a killing field. Nor does Sanders explain why one would expect the Saudis to turn away from their obsession with fighting Shiites as they are currently doing in pulverizing Yemen because a Shiite rebel group, the Houthis, gained power in that impoverished nation.

In a rational world, Saudi Arabia would be viewed as a major part of the problem, not part of any solution – by Robert Parry

https://consortiumnews.com/2015/12/28/the-misinformation-mess/

Allgemein / General

30.12.2015 – Beforeitsnews

Yemen update 12/30\2015.. Saudi Warplanes Vaporize Coca Cola Plant In Yemen

Several films. Events of the last week

http://beforeitsnews.com/politics/2015/12/yemen-update-12302015-saudi-warplanes-vaporize-coca-cola-plant-in-yemen-2767410.html

28.12.2015 – Oye Times

Saudi Arabia and Yemen Slipping Under the World's Radar

Overview article, stressing the destruction of schools as it had been reported by Amnesty International.

http://www.oyetimes.com/news/middle-east/89950-saudi-arabia-and-yemen-slipping-under-the-world-s-radar

Humanitäre Lage / Humanitarian situation

31.12.2015 – UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs

Yemen: Humanitarian Snapshot (29 December 2015)

Conflict continues to devastate the lives of men, women, and children in Yemen. Eighty-two per cent of Yemen's population requires some form of humanitarian assistance to meet their basic needs or protect their fundamental rights. After nine months of intensified conflict the severity of needs, among the most vulnerable populations, has deepened and the lack of a political solution will further exacerbate the humanitarian crisis. Parties to the conflict continue to show disregard for the lives of civilians and civilian infrastructure. Humanitarian organisations continue to deliver much needed assistance across the country. An increase in the number of check points, delays stemming from humanitarian movement notification procedures with the parties, on-going air strikes and conflict on the ground makes humanitarian activities, including the transportation of goods, difficult and, at times, dangerous.

http://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/yemen-humanitarian-snapshot-29-december-2015 and in full: http://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/Hum.%20Sanpshot_22122015_v.1.9.compressed.pdf

30.12.2015 - AFP (Film)

Main hospital in Yemen's Taez won't accept new patients

Taez's main hospital announces the closure of its emergency services because of the lack of medical supplies, especially oxygen cylinders, due to the city being under siege for several months, as the fighting between huthi rebels and pro-government forces rages on.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sSImL2gF80A

30.12.2015 – US Agency for International Development

Yemen Complex Emergency Fact Sheet #3 Fiscal Year (FY) 2016

UN-led peace talks adjourn; additional negotiations scheduled to begin in mid January

Humanitarian organizations increase operations during the ceasefire despite numerous violations

Displacement in Yemen increases, with more than 2.5 million IDPs countrywide

UN-sponsored peace negotiations between Republic of Yemen Government (RoYG) officials, Al Houthi leadership, and other stakeholders began in Biel, Switzerland, on December 15 and concluded on December 21 with UN Special Envoy Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed announcing another round of talks scheduled to begin January 14. According to the UN, the parties identified a framework for negotiations to move toward a comprehensive settlement and defined a set of confidence-building measures related to prisoner releases, social services, and humanitarian access and assistance. The ceasefire between the RoYG, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA)-led Coalition, and Al Houthi and allied forces that accompanied the talks experienced numerous and widespread violations. However, humanitarian organizations maintained operations and provided assistance to vulnerable conflict-affected populations across many Yemeni governorates despite ongoing hostilities.

Given the importance of a cessation of hostilities to the success of peace negotiations, the Special Envoy scheduled the next round of talks for mid-January to allow time for preparatory negotiations in Yemen and the region to ensure the sustainability of and adherence to a ceasefire, according to the UN.

Following the Special Envoy’s briefing to the UN Security Council on December 22, U.S. Ambassador to the UN Samantha Power also addressed the Council, emphasizing the importance of a de-escalation of hostilities and a lasting ceasefire. Ambassador Power reiterated that all parties to the conflict must fully adhere to international humanitarian law and urged all sides to refrain from indiscriminate attacks against civilians.

http://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/yemen-complex-emergency-fact-sheet-3-fiscal-year-fy-2016 and in full http://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/12.30.15%20-%20USG%20Yemen%20Complex%20Emergency%20Fact%20Sheet%20%233.pdf

Südjemen / Southern Yemen

31.12.2015 - Emirates 24 7 from AFP

Senior army commander survives bombing

A senior pro-government Yemeni army commander survived a car bombing in second city Aden on Thursday that left one of his bodyguards dead, a military official told AFP.

General Ahmed Saif Al Yafie, commander of the Fourth Military Region, escaped unharmed when an explosive device planted in his vehicle blew up killing a bodyguard, the source said.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack.

http://www.emirates247.com/news/senior-army-commander-survives-bombing-2015-12-31-1.615621 see also at http://www.thenational.ae/world/middle-east/yemeni-army-commander-survives-car-bombing-in-aden

Comment by Judith Brown: This is getting more than worrying - Aden is 'liberated' but there are secessionists who desperately want independence from the north and think they now deserve it having helped to oust the northern fighters - and Al Qaeda look-alikes are hanging around. The killing of Idrisi the leader of the local militias this morning was just after he unwillingly ceded power to the Hadi government, and this could have been retribution by die hard secessionists. But as well, two judges, one governor, and now nearly the commander of the Yemeni forces in Aden. Aden is far from a stable city.

https://www.facebook.com/yemennewstodayenglish/posts/1080755185410305

31.12.2015 – Reuters

Gunmen kill senior militia leader in Yemen's Aden: residents

Gunmen shot and killed a senior Yemeni militia leader and four people traveling in his convoy in the southern city of Aden, residents and militia sources said on Thursday.

Assailants in a car and on a motorcycle opened fire on the motorcade of Ahmed al-Idrisi, a top commander in the pro-government Popular Southern Resistance group, while it traveled on a main road in the Mansoura district late on Wednesday.

The attack underscoring security chaos in the city which is the embattled Yemeni government's temporary capital.

Idrisi's militia is a main ally of a mostly Gulf Arab coalition which has been bombing the Iran-allied Houthi movement based in the capital, Sanaa, in Yemen's north.

In a separate incident, gunmen abducted the dean of a department at Aden University on Thursday, faculty and eyewitnesses said, two days after armed militants stormed the campus and demanded men and women not mix in classes.

http://ca.reuters.com/article/topNews/idCAKBN0UE0D820151231

31.12.2015 – AP

Pro-Government Militia Leader Killed in Yemen's Aden

A drive-by shooting in Yemen killed a top pro-government militia leader and five of his companions in the southern city of Aden on Thursday, just hours after he reluctantly handed over control of the city's strategic port to government troops, Yemeni security officials said.

The officials said gunmen opened fire from a speeding car in the early morning hours, killing Ahmed al-Idrisi and five others as they were leaving a wedding party in the Mansoura neighborhood.

No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack. Yemen's al-Qaida and Islamic State affiliates have exploited the country's civil war to run lucrative smuggling operations through the Aden port.

The officials claimed that al-Idrisi publicly backed the internationally recognized government but maintained secret deals with extremists and anti-government forces – by Ahmed Al-Haj

http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/pro-government-militia-leader-assassinated-yemens-aden-36025107

29.12.2015 – Xinhua / IANS

Judge killed by al-Qaida suspects in Yemen's Aden

Unknown gunmen suspected of belonging to the Yemen-based al-Qaida branch shot and killed a prominent judge in Yemen's southern port city of Aden on Tuesday, a security official told Xinhua.

The security official said that unidentified gunmen riding a motorcycle opened fire from assault rifles and assassinated Judge Jalal Abdullah in Aden's neighborhood of Mansoura in Aden province.

"The prominent judge received several bullets in different parts of his body and died at the scene near Banda Supermarket in Mansoura neighborhood, " the security source said on condition of anonymity, adding that the masked gunmen manged to flee to unknown whereabouts.

The attack is the second of its kind in a month. Unknown gunmen assassinated the chief of the Aden-based anti-terrorism court along with four of his bodyguards in Aden's Mansoura neighborhood on early this month.

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2015-12/29/c_134962491.htm = http://www.business-standard.com/article/news-ians/judge-killed-by-al-qaida-suspects-in-yemen-s-aden-115123000057_1.html

29.12.2015 – Der Standard von APA / ntv von AFP

Extremisten schlossen Uni-Fakultäten im Jemen

Bewaffnete Islamisten haben in der südjemenitischen Hafenstadt Aden drei Universitätsfakultäten geschlossen, um nach Zeugenangaben eine Geschlechtertrennung zu erzwingen. Die teilweise maskierten Extremisten hätten Studenten aus den Fakultäten für Verwaltungswissenschaften, Jus und Ingenieurswissenschaften hinausgedrängt und die Eingänge verschlossen, berichteten Zeugen am Dienstag.

Zwei Studenten, die den Vorfall gefilmt hätten, seien in der Gewalt der Männer. Diese hätten gerufen: "Keine Mischung der Geschlechter! Wir haben euch gewarnt." Den Angaben zufolge gab es keinen Versuch der Behörden, die Islamisten aufzuhalten.

Zu der Aktion – der zweiten solcher Art in Aden in den vergangenen Wochen – bekannte sich zunächst niemand. Zeugen und Einwohner sagten jedoch, es handle sich bei den Jihadisten um Anhänger von Aiman Askar, einem örtlichen Milizenchef. Dieser ist für seine Verbindungen sowohl zum Terrornetzwerk Al-Kaida als auch zur Terrormiliz "Islamischer Staat" (IS) bekannt.

http://derstandard.at/2000028233371/Extremisten-liessen-drei-Fakultaeten-im-Jemen-schliessen = http://www.n-tv.de/ticker/Extremisten-wollen-Geschlechtertrennung-erzwingen-article16662391.html

29.12.2015 – Sunday Times from AFP

Gunmen shut University faculties in Yemen for mixing of sexes

Radical Islamist gunmen shut down three faculties at Yemen's University of Aden on Tuesday in an attempt to force students to observe segregation of the sexes on campus, witnesses said.

The incident was the second of its kind in recent weeks in Aden, Yemen's second city, where the presence of jihadist groups is growing as the embattled government struggles to spread control.

The gunmen, some of whom were masked, forced the students out of the faculties of administrative sciences, law, and engineering, before locking down the gates, students said.

"They dragged us out of the exam halls," said one of the students. "They detained two students who were filming the incident."

Students said the gunmen shouted: "No mixing. We have warned you before," and added that the authorities did not intervene to stop the extremists.

It was not immediately clear what group the gunmen belonged to but witnesses and local residents said they were loyalists of Ayman Askar, a local militia leader known for his links to both Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group.

Askar's militia is influential in Aden's district of Madinat Asha'ab where the faculties are located, according to residents.

Last month, radical gunmen also entered the faculty of administrative sciences in Aden and closed it down after threatening to use force against students if they did not observe segregation of the sexes.

http://www.timeslive.co.za/sundaytimes/stnews/international/2015/12/29/Gunmen-shut-University-faculties-in-Yemen-for-mixing-of-sexes

Comment: In the so called 'liberated' Aden, these militias are still trying to impose their rules. The secessionist movement in Aden wanted more independence because it had a more tolerant perspective than most of the rest of Yemen; the current situation means that they have moved backwards from their goal rather than towards it.

https://www.facebook.com/yemennewstodayenglish/posts/1080011878817969

Saudi-Arabien / Saudi Arabia

30.12.2015 – New Eastern Outlook

Saudi “Anti-Terror Coalition” a Facade to Hide Yet More Terrorism Behind

A recently announced Saudi-led “anti-terror” coalition was met with great skepticism recently. This is not because of doubts over Saudi Arabia’s sincerity alone, but because of the fact that much of the terrorism the “coalition” is allegedly to fight is an intentional creation of Saudi Arabian foreign policy to begin with.

Decades of documented evidence reveal that the Saudis are the primary conduit through which Western cash, weapons, support, and directives flow into mercenary armies of extremists, indoctrinated by Saudi Wahhabism – a politically-motivated perversion of Islam – and sent to execute joint Western-Saudi geopolitical ambitions in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region and beyond.

In fact, over the decades, one can see a direct relation to the increasing impotence of Western conventional forces and their ability to project power across the planet, and the rise of unconventional terrorist forces that reach into otherwise inaccessible regions in their stead.

This does more than the West’s feigned ignorance and surprise to explain why, after a year of allegedly battling the so-called “Islamic State” (ISIS, ISIL, or Daesh) in Syria, the United States made little progress and only after Russia’s recent intervention, has the terrorist organization’s existence been put in jeopardy.

The rise of ISIS, turns out to be the premeditated machinations of the West and its regional partners. A Department of Intelligence Agency (DIA) report drafted in 2012 (.pdf) makes it clear that Saudi Arabia’s “coalition” is the source of all terrorism, not the solution, and that there already exists a coalition sincerely committed to exterminating the scourge of militant extremism in the MENA region – Russia, China, Iran, and of course Syria itself.

Likely what Saudi Arabia is doing, is attempting to reboot a narrative that, as of late, is increasingly implicating it and many of the members of its “coalition” as the very source of global terrorism. Additionally, Saudi Arabia has become increasingly involved directly with military operations beyond its borders. Its forces are fighting in neighboring Yemen, and military forces from Saudi Arabia and its Persian Gulf neighbors have been fighting covertly and semi-covertly in operations stretching from Libya to Syria.

Creating a “coalition” to fight “terrorism,” would give the Saudis another rhetorical ploy to hide their increasingly direct role in supporting militarily the terrorist proxies they have deployed and who are now being defeated across the MENA region. Just as the US has done in Syria, using ISIS as a pretext to involve itself directly and militarily in the Syrian conflict without ever actually fighting ISIS, Saudi Arabia is seeking to create a plausible cover story to do the same.

For those interested in truly defeating terrorism globally – recognizing the state sponsors of terrorism and excluding them categorically from solving the problem until they are held responsible for creating it in the first place is essential. Saudi Arabia’s announcement was met with skepticism, even ridicule for this very reason. Second, to defeat terrorism globally, those truly interested in investing in such a battle, should do so with those demonstrating a sincere desire to eradicate this scourge.

Thanks to the US DIA, a list of nations leading the fight has already been provided – by Tony Cartalucci

http://journal-neo.org/2015/12/30/saudi-anti-terror-coalition-a-facade-to-hide-yet-more-terrorism-behind/

30.12.2015 – Neues Deutschland

Ölfässer voll - Kassen leer

Saudi-arabischer Staatshaushalt rund 90 Milliarden Dollar im Minus

Stark gestiegene Rüstungsausgaben und ein gesunkener Ölpreis haben Saudi-Arabiens Staatsetat ins Minus gebracht. Gespart werden soll nun bei Subventionen für die Bevölkerung

Schon jetzt wird im Internet für saudische Verhältnisse unüblich deutliche Kritik am Königshaus geäußert. Kritisiert werden dabei vor allem die hohen Rüstungsausgaben des Landes. Saudi-Arabien führt, offiziell als leitende Kraft in einer internationalen Militärallianz, seit Monaten Krieg in Jemen, und auch im Syrien-Konflikt spielt die Regierung unter Führung von König Salman eine große Rolle. Zu Monatsbeginn rief man dafür eine internationale Anti-Terror-Koalition ins Leben, wobei die Einzelheiten nach wie vor vage sind. Die Militärausgaben sind durch die beiden Kriege seit 2014 stark gestiegen, während der Ölpreis um 60 Prozent einbrach und nun bei knapp 40 Dollar pro 159-Liter-Fass liegt.

Saudi-Arabiens Regierung rechnet deshalb nun verstärkt auch mit Unruhe im eigenen Land: Schon jetzt kommt es immer wieder zu Bombenanschlägen Urheber sollen der Islamische Staat, jemenitische Huthi-Milizen und militante Angehörige von Minderheiten im Land selbst sein.

Jeder, der die staatliche Ordnung angreife, werde die »ganze Härte des Gesetzes« zu spüren bekommen, ließ König Salman Anfang der Woche über die saudische Nachrichtenagentur SPA drohen. Die Zahl der Hinrichtungen ist seit seinem Amtsantritt im Januar massiv gestiegen, und saudische Regierungsvertreter sagen offen, dass man damit »eine Warnung aussprechen« wolle.

Denn dass Saudi-Arabien würde sparen müssen, zeichnete sich schon vor Monaten ab. Dennoch begann man, in Jemen Krieg zu führen. Der Grund in beiden Fällen: der Kampf mit Iran um die regionale Vormacht. Durch einen niedrigen Ölpreis hofft man noch immer, die Rückkehr des Erzrivalen auf den Weltölmarkt zu verhindern zu können – von Oliver Eberhardt

http://www.neues-deutschland.de/artikel/996458.oelfaesser-voll-kassen-leer.html

USA

29.12.2015 – Huffington Post

Why does the world's only superpower tolerate a major ally supporting potential U.S. enemies (the U.S. has the same toleration for Pakistan doing a similar thing)?

The reason dates back to World War II, when Saudi King Abdel Aziz bin Saud traded U.S. access to Saudi oil for U.S. protection of that oil. Yet although Saudi Arabia is the anchor of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) oil cartel, the country does not have the control over the world's oil market that both policy makers and the public believe. OPEC, like most cartels, has failed to achieve long-term control over the price of its commodity. […]

But once upon a time--in 1973--didn't Arab oil producers launch an embargo and production cutback that brought U.S. economic ruin and lines at gas stations? No, subsequent economic studies of the 1970s have shown that U.S. stagflation (inflation plus slow economic growth) was caused by poor U.S. government economic polices rather than by the Arab oil embargo and production limits. […]

Contrary to official and popular belief, oil is only strategic when needed to power military forces in a war. Fortunately, as I note in my book No War for Oil: U.S. Dependency and the Middle East, the United States produces enough oil domestically to supply its military in a fairly large war several times over; this ability is rising as the U.S. substantially increases oil production via fracking. As for getting oil supplies to the United States during a war somewhere in the Middle East, if oil production is reduced from one or more countries in conflict, increased prices will cause non-affected producers to produce more oil. Moreover, in the past, valuable oil exports have traveled around and even through wars.

If the United States had a truly vital interest in holding its nose and supporting an autocracy like Saudi Arabia, that would be one thing. However, ignoring the despotic kingdom's domestic oppression and likely international war crimes--in the erroneous belief that Saudi Arabia can successfully trump global market forces to manipulate long-run oil prices--is unnecessary, ethically questionable, and only increases the likelihood of blowback terrorism against the United States from the victims of Saudi aggression – by Ivan Eland

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ivan-eland/us-should-stop-supporting_b_8885872.html =

http://www.independent.org/newsroom/article.asp?id=8635 = http://ronpaulinstitute.org/archives/featured-articles/2016/january/03/us-should-stop-supporting-likely-saudi-war-crimes/

29.12.2015 – The American Conservative

Obama’s Foreign Policy Legacy

As we get closer to the start of Obama’s final year in office, the inevitable commentary on Obama’s “legacy” has already started.

Any assessment of Obama’s foreign legacy has to include the intervention in Libya. Once touted as a “model” intervention and an example of the “responsibility to protect” in action, the Libyan war is now widely recognized to be a significant blunder that destabilized the region, provided an opening for jihadist gains, and contributed to the flow of refugees across the Mediterranean. Obama’s decision to intervene is that much harder to justify when one remembers how abruptly and arbitrarily Obama changed his position to favoring intervention at the last minute. Unlike the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Libyan war is one wholly owned by Obama and his administration, and judged by almost any standard it has to be considered a serious failure. The Libyan war also confirmed that Obama would violate U.S. law without consequence (while pretending to be fastidious in respecting it) and reinforce the executive’s habit of ignoring Congress in matters of war. That has been further reinforced with the war on ISIS, which Obama continues to wage without legal authority after sixteen months. The war on Afghanistan that Obama escalated early in his first term will outlast the end of his second.
If Obama wanted his legacy to be that of a president who presided over the conclusion of foreign wars, he will instead be remembered as a president responsible for starting at least two wars, escalating a third, and abetting a fourth. Though Obama likes to claim that he does not favor perpetual war, no one has done more to normalize the constant, unauthorized use of force overseas than Obama has. The fact that he has done so while cultivating a reputation for using force “reluctantly” has only made things worse. Perversely, the one time that Obama considered using force and then decided against it–the so-called “red line” episode–has been turned into a justification for not consulting Congress about military action and another shoddy argument for backing up vague threats with bombing for the sake of “credibility.”

The war on Yemen that the U.S. has supported over the last nine months has to be the largest black mark on Obama’s record, and unlike some of the others this has been an entirely unforced error. Like the war itself, Obama’s support for the war on Yemen will probably be ignored in most accounts of Obama’s foreign policy legacy, but over time I suspect it will loom very large as the most shameful and indefensible episode in Obama’s presidency – by Daniel Larison

http://www.theamericanconservative.com/larison/obamas-foreign-policy-legacy/

Großbritannien / Great Britain

30.12.2015 – They work for you

Yemen: Armed Conflict

Foreign and Commonwealth Office written question – answered on 30th December 2015.

Questions of Members of Parliament to the British government. The questions relating to Yemen are answered by Baroness Anelay of St Johns Minister of State, Deputy Speaker (Lords). Lord Ahmed really wants to know and asks several similar questions to wrench out the phrasemongering of the minister. Here only a few examples given, more at the link quoted. These answers really are unmasking as far as hypocrisy is concerned. Britain, the best ally of the Saudis (together with the US), giving itself the appearance of philanthropist and peace bringer. Disgusting.

Lord Ahmed: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the analysis commissioned by Amnesty and Saferworld which concludes that the transfer of weapons capable of being used in the conflict in Yemen to Saudi Arabia constitutes a breach by the UK of its obligations under domestic and international law.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: We are aware of reports on alleged violations of international humanitarian law in Yemen by the Saudi Arabian-led Coalition and take these very seriously. We have regularly raised with Saudi Arabia the need to comply with international humanitarian law in Yemen, and continue to engage with them on this. We have offered advice and training to demonstrate best practice and to help ensure continued compliance with international humanitarian law. The UK is satisfied that we are not in breach of our international obligations. The UK operates one of the most rigorous and transparent export control regimes in the world. All exports of arms and controlled military goods are assessed on a case-by-case basis against the Consolidated EU and National Arms Export Licensing Criteria, taking account of all relevant information at the time of the application, to ensure compliance with our legal obligations. A licence will not be issued, for any country, if to do so would be inconsistent with any provision of the UK Licensing Criteria, including where we assess there is a clear risk that it might be used in the commission of a serious violation of international humanitarian law.

http://www.theyworkforyou.com/wrans/?id=2015-12-17.HL4684.h

Lord Ahmed: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of whether the assurances by the government of Saudi Arabia that it is complying with international humanitarian law in its military intervention in Yemen suffice for the UK to meet its obligations under Article 6(3) of the Arms Trade Treaty.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: The UK supports the Saudi Arabian-led Coalition military intervention, which came at the request of legitimate President Hadi. We have been clear with all parties that military action should be taken in accordance with international humanitarian law. We are aware of reports on alleged violations of international humanitarian law in Yemen by the Saudi Arabian-led Coalition and take these very seriously. We have regularly raised with Saudi Arabia the need to comply with international humanitarian law in Yemen, and continue to engage with them on this. We have offered advice and training to demonstrate best practice and to help ensure continued compliance with international humanitarian law. The Ministry of Defence monitors alleged international humanitarian law violations, using available information, which in turn informs our overall assessment of international humanitarian law compliance in Yemen. We consider a range of evidence from government sources, foreign governments, the media and international non-governmental organisations. The UK is satisfied that we are not in breach of our international obligations. The UK operates one of the most rigorous and transparent export control regimes in the world. All exports of arms and controlled military goods to Saudi Arabia are assessed on a case-by-case basis against the Consolidated EU and National Arms Export Licensing Criteria, taking account of all relevant information at the time of the application, to ensure compliance with our legal obligations. A licence will not be issued, for any country, if to do so would be inconsistent with any provision of the UK Licensing Criteria, including where we assess there is a clear risk that it might be used in the commission of a serious violation of international humanitarian law.

http://www.theyworkforyou.com/wrans/?d=2015-12-30 , cited here http://www.theyworkforyou.com/wrans/?id=2015-12-17.HL4684.h and http://www.theyworkforyou.com/wrans/?id=2015-12-17.HL4686.h

Iran

29.12.2015 – Yemen News Today

I think people who describe Yemen as a battle between Iran and Saudi don't know much and just listen to propaganda. This was initially an internal struggle between two men, Saleh and Hadi, one an ex-President and one elected in an uncontested election for a two year term in 2012, extended for one year, that had term had already expired. At that time neither men were very popular. The Saudis stepped in on one side, that of Hadi, blaming the risk of Iranian influence, though they must have known full well that was not true. In fact Iran has had minimal input into the war except as a cheerleader, and it's own plans of using Yemen as a bargaining chip to suit its own ends - it is too tied up elsewhere - and I guess it suits Iran to see Saudi weakening itself in a battle that can only be expensive and long. The gainers in this war - Al Qaeda, that now controls much of the old South, and oddly, Saleh - a man I personally don't like, has increased his popularity in the old North Yemen as he is seen to be standing up to foreign invaders and military occupiers.

https://www.facebook.com/yemennewstodayenglish/posts/1080008318818325

Söldner / Mercenaries

31.12.2015 – Washington Post

Recruiting Mercenaries for Middle East Fuels Rancor in Colombia

Colombia’s government is frustrated at having its top soldiers lured to the Middle East as mercenaries for Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates when they are still needed to fight insurgents and drug traffickers, Defense Minister Luis Carlos Villegas said.

Colombia’s efforts to negotiate with Middle East governments over the hiring of mercenaries have so far failed, Villegas said in a Dec. 22 interview in Bogota. While Colombia has reached a tentative peace accord with the country’s biggest rebel group, its special forces are targeting new mafia groups seeking to fill a void left by a planned demobilization.

Colombian troops are among the most battle-hardened in the Americas, having fought in jungles and mountains for five decades against a guerrilla insurgency – by Matthew Bristow and Nafeesa Syee

http://washpost.bloomberg.com/Story?docId=1376-NZS4F5SYF01Y01-70BFB24GI0LB0Q16DO2A0FTSRU

Comment: There have been several articles on the subject of these mercenaries from Colombia, see earlier Yemen Press Readers.

Wirtschaft / Economy

29.12.2015 – World Bank

Yemen, Republic of - Mocha Wind Park Project : P146055 - Implementation Status Results Report : Sequence 04

Components Name Physical Investment (US$121 million): The proposed component will support the construction of a wind farm at Mocha of approximately 60 MW generation capacity.:(Cost $121.00 M) Consulting Services, Capacity Building and Market Development (US$7.0 million): The proposed component consists of the following su bcomponents.:(Cost $7.00 M)

The Project was approved by the Board of Directors on March 7, 2014. Grant agreement was signed on April 11, 2014. Implementation of the IDA and Trust Fund financed projects have been greatly affected by the situation prevailing in Yemen since January 19, 2015. As a precautionary measure, the Bank suspended all missions to Yemen as of January 23, 2015, closed the Sana’a office as of February 18th. The power struggle between Houthi forces and those loyal to President Hadi further escalated in March 2015 amid deepening political tensions and an uptick in sectarian violence. Following the Houthi advance towards crucial installations in Taiz and Aden, a coalition of ten countries, led by Saudi Arabia, launched a military campaign on March, 26, 2015, with airstrikes aimed at stopping the Houthis from taking more territory. In response to further deterioration of the security environment, on March 26, 2015, management initiated the next level of security plans and arrangements for remaining Sana’a-based staff, including staff relocation within Yemen or evacuation to Cairo. The current political/security situation in Yemen has greatly affected the implementation of the projects, and our portfolio more generally. On February 10, the Bank initiated an assessment under OP7.30 on Bank’s “Dealings with de facto Governments”, which concluded that the security situation had deteriorated to the degree that the Bank was unable to exercise effective management over its projects. Specifically, the Bank’s ability to communicate and coordinate with government counterparts has declined significantly; government counterparts cannot perform their obligations as agreed under the relevant legal agreements; project implementation areas are not accessible; the security environment is inadequate for Bank presence and supervision, making fiduciary monitoring and oversight extremely difficult. In light of this assessment, and pursuant to the legal agreements of IDA credits and grants, and trust fund grants, read together with the relevant provisions of the applicable General Conditions, and Standard Conditions, the Bank has suspended disbursements under the Yemen portfolio, including all IDA Credits and Grants and Grants administered under the Trust Funds as of March 11, 2015. The situation also adversely impacted the implementation progress of this project. Specifically, the bid documents for supply and installation of the wind farm were issued in February in 2015, but had to be cancelled. It is not possible to start the technical assistance component as it is extremely unlikely that any consultant would be able to visit the country and participate in the bidding process under the prevailing adverse conditions. The situation during the last six months (July-December 2015 period) had been practically the same and the Bank had to continue with the status of project's suspension.

http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2015/12/25723406/yemen-republic-mocha-wind-park-project-p146055-implementation-status-results-report-sequence-04 and full document: http://www-wds.worldbank.org/external/default/WDSContentServer/WDSP/MNA/2015/12/29/090224b083ff8968/1_0/Rendered/PDF/Yemen00Republi0Report000Sequence004.pdf

Kommentar: Interessantes Projekt von vor dem Krieg. Heute Kampfgebiet. Jeder Krieg blockiert die wirtschaftliche Entwicklung.

Terrorismus / Terrorism

27.12.2015 – Middle East Eye

Al-Qaeda in Yemen launches a 'hearts and minds' campaign

Locals told MEE that al-Qaeda's Yemen branch has rebranded itself as more populist

Three years after they were kicked out of several cities in south Yemen, al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) has come back and overrun two cities in the province of Abyan, local government officials and residents told Middle East Eye. But people who lived through al-Qaeda’s reign of Abyan in 2011 now talk about new “tolerant and friendly” militants.

Many provinces in southern Yemen have been in a state of anarchy since the Saudi-backed forces supporting President Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi and local tribesmen drove out rebel Houthis. Then separatists and Islamists aligned with the Saudi-backed forces failed to fill the vacuum left by Yemeni soldiers who headed north to fight the Houthis. So al-Qaeda came in and took the place of the former government-run security agencies.

According to the government official, an alliance of convenience emerged between the militants and local fighters when Houthis seized many districts in Abyan. The two armed parties agreed to halt hostilities and collectively fight their common enemy, the Houthis before the Saudi-led coalition kicked them out.

The official said that al-Qaeda militants who are running his city now are less radical and less pushy about enforcing Sharia laws than those who controlled it in 2011.

Nowadays, instead of spending their days chasing intelligence officers or those who play music, al-Qaeda in Zinjibar has embarked on a “hearts and minds” campaign to convince people to embrace their rule. They have arranged social gatherings to inform residents about their movement and why they decided to surface in the city.

“They are acting like election campaigns,” the official said.

On Sunday, Hadhrami said, the militants are not visible in the streets or in public offices. There is no sign of their presence in the city except their station inside the ruins of a former military site that they made into a base of operations.

“It is difficult to tell for sure whether they are al-Qaeda militants or another group,” Hadhrami said.

Despite their friendly approach with the public, some residents said the militants have chased senior leaders of the Popular Committees, a gathering of tribesmen who backed government army troops who drove al-Qaeda out Abyan and Shabwa in 2012. – by Saeed Al-Batati

http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/al-qaeda-yemen-launches-hearts-and-minds-campaign-386564271 On the comeback of Al Kaida elsewhere read also http://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/30/us/politics/as-us-focuses-on-isis-and-the-taliban-al-qaeda-re-emerges.html?_r=0

Propaganda

31.12.2015 – WAM

Right decision by Kuwait against Houthis: paper

A UAE newspaper has said that Kuwait’s decision to send troops to Saudi Arabia to resist cross-border attacks by the Yemeni Al Houthi movement is a valiant move that will immensely help in the efforts to restore Yemen’s legitimacy.

"The common people in Yemen have suffered for too long owing to unprecedented crimes and rights violations by Al Houthi militants. It is good that Kuwait’s cabinet has approved sending the troops to Saudi Arabia as early as next week," said The Gulf Today in an editorial on Thursday.

"Kuwait’s participation in the Yemen war has so far been limited to the air force. 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. Now the country will be represented by an artillery battalion, in operations to strike at positions of Houthi aggression against the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

"The common resolve of the coalition is to restore security and stability throughout the brotherly nation of Yemen. There can be no doubt that the UAE and the Saudi-led Arab coalition will spare no effort in the quest to achieve these goals. The UAE Armed Forces have been playing a very prominent role since the first day of the incursion of the Houthi militias into the city of Aden and have been participating in the military operations as part of the Arab coalition right since its inception.

A series of heinous crimes and gross human rights violations have been committed by the Houthi militia/Saleh group.

"While the coalition is on track to usher in a new phase of security, peace and reconstruction in Yemen, the international community should make the Houthi militia/Saleh group accountable for various gross misdeeds," concluded the Sharjah-based daily.

http://www.wam.ae/en/news/general/1395289809131.html

Kommentar: Immer wieder bis in die Formuliereungen genau dasselbe…

30.12.2015 – WAM

Yemeni President visits Arab Coalition Command Centre in Aden, urges utmost caution to foil Houthi-Saleh multi-agenda plot

Yemeni President Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi has lauded the highly valued fraternal, and honourable stances and efforts being shown by the Saudi led-Arab Coalition to support legitimacy in Yemen.

''The United Arab Emirates has offered ultimate sacrifices and shown bravery while standing beside the Yemeni people in their fight against the rebel Houthi militias which declared war on the Yemeni people, ran amok across governorates and cities and wanted to dictate an alien agenda on the Yemeni people's faith and culture, while antagonising our Gulf and Arab environs and depth,'' President Hadi said following a visit to the command of the Arab Coalition in Aden

As he reviewed the political and military developments, President Hadi urged utmost caution and vigilance to stand against predator forces which will never let Yemen live in peace and harmony as they deliberately employ their cheap tactics to stir tensions, create obstacles, and underestimate the victories by the national army and the popular resistance.

''Tremendous missions and challenges are awaiting us in thwarting the rebels’ multi-roles and agenda of Al Houthi and Saleh and whoever stands behind them,'' he added.

http://www.wam.ae/en/news/[Emirates]/1395289803794.html

Kommentar: Eigentlich überflüssig. Die Propaganda wird immer bizarrer. Etwa: “Hadi urged utmost caution and vigilance to stand against predator forces which will never let Yemen live in peace”: Das trifft auf die Saudis genau zu. Oder: “fraternal, and honourable stances and efforts being shown by the Saudi led-Arab Coalition to support legitimacy in Yemen.” Brüderlicher, ehrenwerter Bombenkrieg. Legitimität erreichen: Durch Kriegsverbrechen in einem einen illegalen Bombenkrieg? Aber die „predator forces“ für die Huthis, das war wirklich neu, wie gesagt, Hadi wird immer besser – als Propagandakarikatur.

Comment: Well - what plot is this? It seems all sides have plots - none more than Hadi who knowing he would not ever be elected president of Yemen again, decided to ask his mates in Saudi to destroy Yemen and kill many in the population - nasty little plot that.

https://www.facebook.com/yemennewstodayenglish/posts/1080377975448026

30.12.2015 – Reuters

Bahraini jet taking part in Yemen war crashes in Saudi Arabia - coalition

A Bahraini F-16 jet taking part in a mostly Gulf Arab military campaign in Yemen crashed in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday, according to a coalition statement on the Saudi state news agency.

The pilot survived after the plane suffered a technical fault and came down in the southern Jizan region, the statement said, without giving further details.

http://uk.reuters.com/article/2015/12/30/uk-yemen-security-bahrain-idUKKBN0UD0L820151230

Comment: This is what really annoys me about the news coverage of Yemen. This is a minor event - one plane shot down and the pilot managed to survive. It is reported on ALL the news agencies as if it is the only thing happening in Yemen. For months NOTHING whatsoever about then bombs raining down on Yemen killing women and children and even babies in our twisted media. Then people wonder why journalists are killed. I'm not advocating the deaths of journalists - far from it. But if ordinary people had a voice they would not need to resort to war - the world opinion would stop their oppressors from destroying their lives.

https://www.facebook.com/yemennewstodayenglish/posts/1080146532137837

Comment by me: This labeled here among propaganda. The story and the comment make clear how our media make propaganda: Just by neglecting and omitting facts and incidents that do not fit to the scheme. And the general scheme is a general acceptance of the US foreign policy – what also up to a large degree includes acceptance or at least concealment of US allies crimes. Still more crazy one day later: This is the most reported thing from Yemen the day after (Dec. 30 in the evening). So it’s even more extreme than it could be imagined before.

29.12.2015 – Gulf News

Yemeni politicians ridicule Saleh’s ‘farewell speech’

Speech was an attempt to show that ‘he is still in control’ amid concern about loss of support

A number of Yemeni officials and analysts scorned at recent statements by former President Ali Abdullah Saleh and his threats to Saudi Arabia and its Arab military alliance to restore the rule of President Abd Rabbo Mansour Hadi.

Yemeni politicians said Saleh was “hallucinating” and that his speech was more of a “farewell speech” than a real threat, pointing out his weakening position with the advancement of the Saudi-led Arab alliance towards the Yemeni capital Sana’a.

“Saleh’s hallucination in front of supporters who betrayed God, their country and the revolution, is evidence that he has lost his mind and is in a pathetic situation,” said Yassin Mekkawi, adviser to the Yemeni president Abd Rabbo Mansour Hadi.

“The repeated defeats to his armed militias around Sana’a is the main reason behind this satanic man’s diversion from the path of logic,” added Mekkawi in statements published in the Saudi newspaper of Okaz on Tuesday.

http://gulfnews.com/news/gulf/yemen/yemeni-politicians-ridicule-saleh-s-farewell-speech-1.1645535

Comment: Despite what this article says, Saleh is more popular than he has been for years, as ordinary Yemenis see him as staying in Yemen in spite of the war, and fighting off foreign invaders and a military occupation. Not that I am pleased - I personally see Saleh as a divisive figure, people love him or hate him and he and his family cannot unite Yemen and bring peace. And I'm not sure who can. Certainly not Hadi- although there is a lot of unity against him.

https://www.facebook.com/yemennewstodayenglish/posts/1079898105496013

Kriegsereignisse / Theater of War

31.12.2015 - Faes News

11 Saudi Forces Killed by Yemen's Artillery Fire in Jizan

The Yemeni army and popular forces killed 11 Saudi forces in the province of Jizan in the Southern part of the kingdom with their artillery fire.

The artillery shells were fired at the Southern parts of al-Sawabetah region in Jizan, field sources said on Thursday.

They added that the attack also injured dozens of Saudi forces.

The attack was launched after the Yemeni forces fired their upgraded ballistic missiles on the Saudi forces' positions in Jizan.

Yemen's Qaher-I ballistic missile precisely hit Saudi Arabia's military bases in Jizan province on Wednesday, inflicting heavy losses on them.

Tens of Saudi troops were killed and dozens more were injured in the missile attack.

Qaher-I is an updated version of a Russian-made surface-to-surface missile.

http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13941010000653

31.12.2015 – Asian Defence Blog

Yemen - Rocket Attack Kills 19 Sudanese, Other Nationalities in Taiz Camp (with film)

On Wednesday evening, a number of Sudanese soldiers along with Arab and foreign mercenaries fighting alongside Saudi-led Coalition were killed by a missile attack while they were gathering near Omari Camp (Brigade 17) located between Dhubab and Bab al-Mandab in Taiz province. Speaking to the Yemen-based Khabar Agency, a field military source said that Yemeni armed forces targeted a gathering of Saudi-led Coalition whom included Sudanese troops, Arab nationals, and foreign mercenaries at the western side of Omari Camp using rocket.

http://asian-defence-news.blogspot.de/2015/12/yemen-rocket-attack-kills-19-sudanese.html

30.12.2015 – Mail Online

Coke is hit: Coca-Cola’s Yemen factory is obliterated in a fireball after being struck by a missile (with photos / mit Fotos)

The factory in the Yemeni capital of Sanaa was targeted in Saudi-led strike

The Coca Cola plant burned to the ground after the massive explosion

Later workers were seen picking their way through the rubble of factory

Drinks bottles, which had been packed, were seen strewn across debris

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3378665/Coke-hit-Coca-Cola-s-Yemen-factory-obliterated-fireball-struck-missile.html see also http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-12-30/caught-tape-saudi-warplanes-vaporize-coca-cola-plant-yemen

Comment: The film showing the hit is older from another raid.

30.12.2015 – Morning Star

Coca-Cola Plant in Yemen Heavily Damaged From Airstrikes; No Casualties Reported

A Coca-Cola plant in war-torn Yemen was heavily damaged from recent airstrikes, the beverage giant confirmed Wednesday.

The facility in the capital of Sana'a was closed for maintenance when it was hit and there are no reports of casualties, a Coca-Cola Co. spokesman said.

A spokesman at Saudi Arabia's embassy in Washington, D.C., said he had no information about a Coke plant being damaged by airstrikes – by Mike Esterl

http://www.morningstar.com/news/dow-jones/TDJNDN_201512307429/cocacola-plant-in-yemen-heavily-damaged-from-airstrikes-no-casualties-reported.html

Comment: How stupid the Saudi spokespersons think the public will be? Just take a look at the photos of the Coca Cola factory, more are here: http://newsofyemen.net/2015/12/in-pictures-coca-cola-company-destroyed-by-saudi-strikes-in-sanaa-yemen/ and here: http://en.gmw.cn/2015-12/31/content_18311426.htm and film: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DOOHanUY5ZY

29.12.2015 – Alalam

VIDEO: Yemeni Fighters Shoot down Saudi Arabia Drone in Ta’izz

Yemeni forces have shot down a Saudi spy drone flying over the southwestern province of Ta’izz.

The unmanned aerial vehicle was shot down by Yemeni forces backed by fighters from the popular committees in the area of Jahmaliyeh, local media reported on Monday.

The high-tech spy drone was used to gather intelligence on troop arrangements as well as other military purposes, Yemen's al-Masirah TV quoted a Yemeni army source as saying.

Yemeni forces have targeted several Saudi drones over Yemen since the start of the northern neighbor’s aggression.

http://en.alalam.ir/news/1773838

29.12.2015 – Fars News

Yemeni Forces Destroy Saudi-Led Coalition's Arms Depot in Ma'rib Province

The Yemeni army and volunteer forces destroyed the central arms depots of the Saudi-led coalition in the province of Ma'rib, in Central Yemen.

The Saudi-led forces' logistic and weaponry depots were destroyed in Sahn al-Jen region in Ma'rib province.

The arms depot in Ma'rib was the first missile target of the Yemeni army and popular forces in Al-Tadavin military base in Sahn al-Jen region that was successfully razed down.

Huge explosions could be heard from al-Tadavin military base as heavy smoke was rising from Sahn al-Jen region.

On Monday, 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.

Al-Karba was the biggest stronghold of the pro-Saudi troops in Jbal al-Habashi (Habashi Mountain) in Ta'iz province.

http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13941008000565

Comment: So much news of death and destruction - it is so sad. All pushing now for 14th January, to do as much damage and to capture as much land as they can to be in a better position for the next round of talks. How I wish for successful peace negotiations.

https://www.facebook.com/yemennewstodayenglish/posts/1079895218829635

29.12.2015 – Alalam

VIDEO: Yemeni Army Kills Saudi, Blackwater Mercenaries in Asir, Tai’zz

At least two Saudi troops and an unknown number of mercenaries with an infamous US security firm, formerly known as Blackwater, have been killed in Yemeni attacks, the al-Masirah TV says.

The Yemeni army fired rockets at the Asir region in southwestern Saudi Arabia on Monday, killing two troops and destroying their armored vehicles, the television said.

Artillery fire also struck Saudi military outposts in the Jizan region in the kingdom’s southwest, destroying a US-made M1 Abrams tank, it added.

Further in their counterattacks, Yemeni forces launched a rocket attack on Saudi military positions in the Dhubab district of the southwestern Tai’zz province, killing a number of foreign mercenaries, including Blackwater employees.

http://en.alalam.ir/news/1773910

29.12.2015 – AFP

Bahrain says three soldiers in Yemen coalition killed

Bahrain announced on Tuesday the death of three of its soldiers while they were serving in the Saudi-led military campaign against Iran-backed rebels in Yemen.

Captain Ahmed Mohammed Ameen, Captain Mubarak Sa'ad al-Rumaihi and Sergeant Major Hasan Ali Skandar died "in an incident on the southern borders of Saudi Arabia," the Bahrain Defence Force general command said in a statement.

But the statement published on the official Bahrain News Agency did not say whether the three had died in an accident or an attack, and did not say when the incident took place.

The latest deaths raise to eight the total number of Bahraini troops killed since March as part of the coalition.

http://news.yahoo.com/bahrain-says-three-soliders-yemen-coalition-killed-180449289.html

Comment: In this war of many nations, there are casualties from so many countries - this time Bahrain. What a waste of life. Whatever one thinks of this war, each of the foreign fighters dying in this war are part of someone's family, and have been persuaded, paid, or forced to fight in a war that was not their own. Why on earth were they asked to come here and give their lives for a cause that is difficult to define. It would have been cheaper if they had stayed at home.

https://www.facebook.com/yemennewstodayenglish/posts/1080012838817873

29.12.2015 – ABNA / Kayhan

New Saudi airstrikes kill dozens of Yemenis

Dozens of civilians have been killed and several others injured in the latest Saudi airstrikes across Yemen, a Yemeni television says.

Saudi warplanes attacked the al-Safra district of Yemen’s Sa’ada province on Tuesday morning, killing five people and injuring scores of others.

The television said Saudi military aircraft dropped cluster bombs on villages and residential areas elsewhere in the province, leaving scores of people dead or injured

Seven people also died and a number of others were injured when Saudi warplanes bombarded Mount al-Dhin region of Yemen’s northwestern province of Amran.

Moreover, four civilians were injured after Saudi warplanes struck a number of areas in the western Yemeni province of al-Hudaydah. Two of the injured are reportedly in critical condition.

Separately, Saudi jets pounded the Saqin district of the northwestern Yemeni province of Sa’ada, leaving a couple dead and three women injured.

http://en.abna24.com/service/middle-east-west-asia/archive/2015/12/29/727471/story.html = http://kayhan.ir/en/news/22084

Comment: The trouble with making gains in Saudi Arabia is that airstrikes are launched on the civilian population in retribution

https://www.facebook.com/yemennewstodayenglish/posts/1079831092169381

29.12.2015 – Hamed Ghaleb

Saudi airstrikes targeted Sanaa international school which is owned by #US department of state.

https://twitter.com/HamedGhaleb/status/681902499666767872

Neue Artikel zum Nachlesen 1-77: / Yemen Press reader 1-77:

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

http://poorworld.net/YemenWar.htm

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

Dietrich Klose

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

Dietrich Klose

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