Krieg im Jemen: Neue Artikel zum Nachlesen 79

Yemen Press Reader 79: 4 Fakten zum Jemen - Iranische Waffen für Huthis? - 4 Millionen getötete Muslime durch Kriege des "Westens" - Saudisches Waffenarsenal - Al Kaida - Kämpfe u. Luftangriffe

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Schwerpunkte / Key aspects

Am wichtigsten / Most important

Allgemein / General

Humanitäre Lage / Humanitarian situation

Südjemen / Southern Yemen

Saudi-Arabien / Saudi Arabia

Großbritannien / Great Britain

Iran

Wirtschaft / Economy

Terrorismus / Terrorism

Propaganda

Kriegsereignisse / Theater of War

Am wichtigsten / Most important

31.12.2015 – UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs

4 facts on Yemen after 9 months of war

26m total population of Yemen

19.3m people with no access to safe water and sanitation

14.4m food insecure people

14.1m people without access to health care services

2.5m people internally displaced

83 UN entities and NGOs in country, assisting people in need

Over 8m people have received some form of humanitarian assistance in 2015

4 facts on Yemen after a disastrous year 2015:

Collapsing services:

Basic services across the country are on the verge of collapse. Nearly 600 health facilities have stopped functioning due to damage or lack of fuel, staff and supplies. Many public water and sewage corporations closed down, notably due to lack of fuel. Over 6m people in cities have had their water supply cut or disrupted. An additional 1.8m children have been out of school since March. In the north, relevant authorities are unable to pay salaries to doctors, nurses and teachers.

Internal displacement:

2.5 m people have been forced to flee their homes to seek safety and security. Most of the displaced families have sought shelter with relatives and friends, in schools, public or abandoned buildings, makeshift shelters or in the open. Many lack adequate protection from the elements.
Their most pressing needs are food, essential household items, water and sanitation services, improved shelter and protection.

Protection of Civilians:

All parties to the conflict show disregard for human life and the protection of civilians, indiscriminately targeting civilians and civilian infrastructure.
More than 2,700 civilians have been confirmed killed, including at least 637 children. An average of 44 human rights violations occur every day and reports of gender-based violence have increased by 70%. Parties to the conflict restrict humanitarian access to communities in need in much of the country and prevent people from accessing services and assistance.

Stalled Economy

The already fragile economy has ground to a near standstill, due to months of import restrictions, damage to roads and markets, and an overall economic decline. Hundreds of thousands of people have lost their jobs and families have used up their savings. This has exaceberated their vulnerability. The staple food, wheat, costs 57% more on average than pre-crisis and the price of cooking gas and other fuels has more than tripled.

http://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/4-facts-yemen-after-9-months-war

31.12.2015 – Truthout

How False Stories of Iran Arming the Houthis Were Used to Justify War in Yemen

The rationale for the Saudi-led war on Houthis in Yemen has been that the Houthis are merely proxies of Iran, and the main alleged evidence for that conclusion is that Iran has been arming the Houthis for years.

The allegation of Iranian arms shipments to the Houthis - an allegation that has often been mentioned in press coverage of the conflict but never proven - was reinforced by a report released last June by a panel of experts created by the UN Security Council: The report concluded that Iran had been shipping arms to the Houthi rebels in Yemen by sea since at least 2009. But an investigation of the two main allegations of such arms shipments made by the Yemeni government and cited by the expert panel shows that they were both crudely constructed ruses.

[The first incident is from 2009, the case of the vessel Mahan 1] President Saleh had hoped to use the Mahan 1 ruse to get the political support of the US for a war to defeat the Houthis, which he was calling "Operation Scorched Earth." But as a December 2009 cable noted, it was well known among Yemeni political observers that the Houthis were awash in modern arms and could obtain all they needed from the huge local arms market or directly from the Yemeni military itself.

Unlike the government's story of the Mahan 1 and its phantom weapons, the official claim that a ship called the Jihan 1, seized on January 23, 2013, had arms onboard was true. But the totality of the evidence shows that the story of an Iranian arms shipment to the Houthis was false. […]

The fact that the Jihan 1 was headed for Somalia indicates that the ship was engaged in a commercial smuggling operation - not a politically motivated delivery.

The Somalia and Eritrea Monitoring Group's report created an obvious problem for the official story of the Jihan 1, and the Yemeni government's anti-Iran, Western backers sought to give the story a new twist. Reuters quoted a "Western diplomat" as citing the Jihan 1 arms shipment as evidence that Iran had actually been involved in supplying arms to al-Shabaab terrorists in Somalia. The anonymous source noted that the cargo had included C-4 explosives such as were used by al-Shabaab for terrorist bombings, whereas the Houthis were not known to carry out such operations. But that claim was hardly credible, because al-Shabaab had close ties to al-Qaeda and was therefore an enemy of Iran. It has not been repeated except in pro-Saudi and pro-Israeli media outlets.

The Jihan 1 story and the broader narrative of intercepted Iranian arms shipments to the Houthis, as recycled by the UN Security Council expert panel, have nevertheless become key pieces of the widely accepted history of the regional conflicts involving Iran – by Gareth Porter

http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/34240-how-false-stories-of-iran-arming-the-houthis-were-used-to-justify-war-in-yemen = http://www.irna.ir/en/News/81902564/

Comment by Judith Brown: This is a believable account - I have heard from a number of academics who have said that there is no credible evidence that the Houthis were or are armed by Iran - in fact, up until 2009 this was largely a war between the Houthis who were then from the Zaidi Bakils, and the Zaidi president Saleh with the army, he used regiments from his own tribe, the Hasheds, who were also almost all Zaidi, so there was no incentive for Iran to join in a Shia on Shia dispute - and anyway, Yemen was awash with weapons - at one point tribes were supplied by Saudi Arabia in order to weaken the power of the Yemeni government. And it was possible to buy arms from the corrupt army anyway, as well as arms markets - huge ones. After 2012 the Houthis seemed to have more weapons - it was rumoured that after Saleh was deposed that they had forged an unlikely alliance. There were some phone recordings between Houthi leaders and Saleh released at one point. The alliance was not confirmed until March this year, but by then everyone knew they were on the same side. The Yemen army had one of the biggest arsenals in the world and most of the army sided with the Houthis, so they had access to so many weapons. Many of those are destroyed now, but the Houthis have no money to buy more although Saleh does. There may have been some shipments but it is difficult because the Saudis and AQ are controlling all of the ports and coastlines. But I guess if people need weapons they get in somehow; but not sure who from.

https://www.facebook.com/judith.brown.794628/posts/10154002011348641

18.8.2015 – Mint Press News

4 Million Muslims Killed In Western Wars: Should We Call It Genocide?

Hearkening back to the Japanese interment camps of WWII, some Americans are now calling for Muslims to be placed in camps or even openly calling for genocide against the 1.6 billion practitioners of the faith.

It may never be possible to know the true death toll of the modern Western wars on the Middle East, but that figure could be 4 million or higher. Since the vast majority of those killed were of Arab descent, and mostly Muslim, when would it be fair to accuse the United States and its allies of genocide?

A March report by Physicians for Social Responsibility calculates the body count of the Iraq War at around 1.3 million, and possibly as many as 2 million. However, the numbers of those killed in Middle Eastern wars could be much higher. In April, investigative journalist Nafeez Ahmed argued that the actual death toll could reach as high as 4 million if one includes not just those killed in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, but also the victims of the sanctions against Iraq, which left about 1.7 million more dead, half of them children, according to figures from the United Nations.

A key phrase in the 1948 UN Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of Genocide is “acts committed with intent to destroy.” While the facts back up a massive death toll in Arab and Muslim lives, it might be more difficult to argue that the actions were carried out with the deliberate intent to destroy “a national, ethnic, racial or religious group.”

The authors of the convention were aware, however, that few of those who commit genocide are so bold as to put their policies in writing as brazenly as the Nazis did. Yet, as Genocide Watch noted in 2002: “Intent can be proven directly from statements or orders. But more often, it must be inferred from a systematic pattern of coordinated acts.”

In the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks, President George W. Bush employed a curious and controversial choice of words in one of his first speeches. He alarmed some by referencing historic, religious conflicts, as The Wall Street Journal staff writers Peter Waldman and Hugh Pope noted:

“President Bush vowed … to ‘rid the world of evil-doers,’ then cautioned: ‘This crusade, this war on terrorism, is going to take a while.’

Crusade? In strict usage, the word describes the Christian military expeditions a millennium ago to capture the Holy Land from Muslims. But in much of the Islamic world, where history and religion suffuse daily life in ways unfathomable to most Americans, it is shorthand for something else: a cultural and economic Western invasion that, Muslims fear, could subjugate them and desecrate Islam.”

In the wars that followed in Iraq and Afghanistan, the U.S. not only killed millions, but systematically destroyed the infrastructure necessary for healthy, prosperous life in those countries, then used rebuilding efforts as opportunities for profit, rather than to benefit the occupied populations. To further add to the genocidal pattern of behavior, there is ample evidence of torture and persistent rumors of sexual assault from the aftermath of Iraq’s fall. It appears likely the U.S. has contributed to further destabilization and death in the region by supporting the rise of the self-declared Islamic State of Iraq and Syria by arming rebel groups on all sides of the conflict.

After 9/11, the U.S. declared a global “War on Terror,” ensuring an endless cycle of destabilization and wars in the Middle East in the process. The vast majority of the victims of these wars, and of ISIS, are Muslims. And, as extremist terrorists created by the unrest increase tensions with their attacks on the West, some Americans are embracing Bush’s controversial language of religious warfare, calling for Muslims to be placed in camps or even openly calling for genocide – by Kit O'Connell

http://www.mintpressnews.com/4-million-muslims-killed-in-western-wars-should-we-call-it-genocide/208711/ = http://asheepnomore.net/2015/09/02/call-it-genocide-4-million-muslims-killed-by-the-us-and-nato/#arvlbdata

Allgemein / General

1.1.2016 – Xinhua

Spotlight: Amid war, Yemen struggles with acute humanitarian crisis, gloomy future

As the war rages, the Arab nation has to struggle with the growing number of the IDPs, which has now reached more than 2.5 million. Most of them face shortage in aid supply.

Abdul Wahab Sharafudin, head of the office of the executive unit of refugee camps in Sanaa, said there are 124,000 IDPs in the capital. "We are continuing to register more displaced people though there is no aid for them," he said.

"Few local relief organizations are making modest interventions as we still don't know why international aid organizations are not helping the displaced in Sanaa," he added.

Yemeni officials in Sanaa revealed that around 80 percent of the country's infrastructure has been damaged in air raids and ground fighting.

Nearly 300 hospitals and medical centers have been destroyed, damaged and shut down across Yemen, the officials said.

And the UN lately revealed that over 170 schools have been destroyed, and more than 600 damaged, 58 schools occupied by armed groups and nearly 238 being used as shelters for IDPs – by Fuad Rajeh

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2016-01/01/c_134968926.htm

31.12.2015 – Middle East Monitor

Key areas in the Yemen conflict

The whole of Yemen has been affected over the past nine months, either by war or natural disasters. What, though, are the key strategic areas of Yemen and why are they so significant? The following is a brief guide:

Sanaa – Saada – Aden – Taiz – Mukalla – by Diana Alghoul

https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/articles/middle-east/23131-key-areas-in-the-yemen-conflict

Comment by Judith Brown: Well worth a read. This is a short easy summary of four of the main areas drawn into the conflict in Yemen - I would have added Marib to the list, which has far more war problems than Mukalla. You will see how interesting the background politics are - in Taiz for example, which was always less conservative than the north and more committed to education and in particular was known for encouraging strong women - it gives a little background into the past problematical relationships between Saleh and Taiz. Saada - Dammaj had a Salafist school, or maybe you could say a Wahhabi school funded by Saudi Arabia - and hence was against Al Qaeda which at that point was trying to bring down the monarchy in Saudi Arabia - the aim was to convert Zaidi to Wahhabi sect - and the reaction to that was the development of the Zaidi revivalist movement, Believing Youth; their military wing became known as the Houthis. The village and Salafist school, the Dar Al Hadith, were destroyed by the Houthis - which is one of the reasons why the Sunnis in the South fear them. Interestingly, on Al Jazeera there was an interview with someone from Al Qaeda a few months ago; he said that Saudi Arabia had paid them to hold the port of Mukalla. So the alliances in this war seem to be so fluid - enemies become allies, and allies become enemies.

https://www.facebook.com/yemennewstodayenglish/posts/1080717662080724

Humanitäre Lage / Humanitarian situation

31.12.2015 – UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Shelter Cluster

Yemen Shelter/CCCM/NFI Cluster Factsheet, November 2015

NEED ANALYSIS

The continuing escalation of the conflict, and its shift to new locations added further strain on the already precarious humanitarian situation. The Cluster estimates 2.5 million internally displaced people and other affected population require immediate assistance across 21 governorates.

In spite of the ongoing displacement in parts of the country, reports received from the south governorates indicate occurrence of spontaneous returns of some IDPs families to their place of origin and thus will need means to re-establish their lives including return kits and rehabilitation of their shelter.

RESPONSE

In November, 72,789 individuals received NFIs (in Shabwah, Hajjah, and Hadramaut, and six other governorates) and the cluster distributed emergency shelter kits to 17,717 individuals (primarily in Hajjah but also in Abyan and Shabwah). Also, 7,991 individuals assisted with tents (in Shabwah,
Hadramaut and AlMaharah) and 4,200 individuals in Hajjah received cash for rental subsidies.

GAPS / CHALLENGES

Lack of funding for the winterization plan.

Limited access to cooking fuel in the local market could increase the risks during the collection and consumption of firewood.

Shortage of fuel supply and commodities in the local market has led to a huge increase in commodity prices, including lifesaving materials, and the cost of transportation.

http://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/yemen-sheltercccmnfi-cluster-factsheet-november-2015 and in full: http://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/yemen_shelter_cccm_nfi_cluster_factsheet-31_dec._2015.pdf

1.1.2016 – UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs

Eine große Zahl Infografiken zur Lage im Jemen / A plenty of info graphs at the situation in Yemen

http://www.unocha.org/aggregator/sources/80

31.12.2015 – Famine Early Warning System Network

Yemen Food Security Outlook Update December 2015

Despite recent fall in staple food prices, food access remains very low

KEY MESSAGES

While important information gaps remain, a significant population in Yemen is in Emergency (IPC Phase 4), especially households trapped by the conflict or whose access to markets for food and for earning income from labor remains constrained. Although life-saving assistance is being provided by humanitarian agencies, the scale of current humanitarian needs remains far beyond response capacity.

As commercial imports and humanitarian imports have increased, including through increasing use of the port at Al Mukalla, trade has helped stabilize supply. As a result, staple food prices fell in many areas. For example, in Sana’a, the price of wheat flour fell 20 percent from mid-November to midDecember.
However, as most sources of income remain constrained, food access has not significantly increased.

In Ta’izz, despite some expanded humanitarian access in November and December, over half the population was displaced. The displaced and their hosts have limited income to purchase food at prices well above pre-conflict levels and little own-produced food. In both urban and rural areas, many households are unable to purchase adequate quantities of food and are in Emergency (IPC Phase 4).

http://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/yemen-food-security-outlook-update-december-2015 and in full: http://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/Yemen_FSOU_2015_12_0.pdf and also at http://www.fews.net/east-africa/yemen/food-security-outlook-update/december-2015?utm_source=FEWS%20NET%20Daily%20Digest&utm_campaign=e03144ac1e-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_02ee344349-e03144ac1e-84428741

31.12.2015 – UN News Centre

Yemen: UN agency appeals to all sides to allow food in for hundreds of thousands under siege

The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) today appealed to all parties to the conflict in Yemen to allow food in for hundreds of thousands of hungry people under siege in the central city of Taiz, who have been deprived of supplies for many weeks.

“WFP has delivered food assistance to Taiz governorate in the hope of reaching every person in need, but so far we have not been able to reach most of them,” WFP Regional Director Muhannad Hadi said of the governorate, where over 3 million people, almost 400,000 of them internally displaced, are in dire need of some kind of humanitarian aid.

Taiz is one of 10 governorates, out of a total of 22, where food insecurity has reached ‘Emergency’ level, one step below famine on the five-point Integrated Food Security Phase Classification scale, in a country where factional fighting this year has killed or wounded thousands of people and displaced 2.5 million others.

Overall, 7.6 million Yemenis, more than a third of the total population, do not have enough food to lead a healthy life, have lost their livelihoods and face life-threatening rates of acute malnutrition, WFP stressed in a news release.

Last week, the UN Security Council voiced “deep concern about the dire humanitarian situation in Yemen, which continues to worsen,” stressing that more than 80 per cent of its 21 million people require some form of humanitarian aid.

“WFP appeals to all parties to the conflict to allow the safe passage of food to all civilians in need in all areas in Taiz,” Mr. Hadi said. “The precarious situation in Taiz has hampered WFP’s efforts to reach impoverished people, especially in besieged parts of the city, who have not had access to food for many weeks.

“WFP has delivered food assistance to Taiz governorate in the hope of reaching every person in need, but so far we have not been able to reach most of them.”

In the past month, WFP has dispatched to delivery points or warehouses in Taiz governorate 225 trucks loaded with 6,600 metric tons of food. Some food was delivered to Al Mudhafer, Al Qahira, Al Taizah and Salah districts where WFP aims to feed nearly 350,000 destitute people with wheat, pulses, vegetable oil and sugar.

Difficulty obtaining clearances from different parties, fighting and insecurity threaten the delivery to distribution points in many areas of the governorate, especially in Taiz city, WFP said.

Earlier this week, the UN World Health Organization (WHO) reported that it had delivered more than 100 tonnes of medicines and supplies for 1.2 million people in Taiz governorate, but had been unable to reach some 400,000 people in the city itself.

http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=52923#.VoYWLfnhCUl

Comment by Judith Brown: This article to me seems a reasonable description of what is happening in Taiz. The WFP has distributed food in Taiz governate, but due to intense fighting in Taiz City, they have not been able to deliver aid there. However, I have seen lots of pictures of courageous Taizi people trekking over the mountains to fetch food for the city, this is an amazing and admirable effort; the spirit of Yemenis, they are so resilient and seem find ingenious ways though difficult times. There is also a shortage of medical supplies which cannot be delivered for the same reason - the on-going war. Unfortunately the MSF Clinic was attacked and destroyed by the Saudi-led coalition by aerial assault - my question is, if they can drop bombs on a hospital, why can't they drop medical supplies? MSF treats everyone regardless of their political stance, whereas it is likely that other hospitals in Taiz would be unsafe for any on the anti-Houthi 'side', but all people caught up in this disgusting war are victims - even all the fighters on all sides are poor people fighting other poor people on behalf of rich people, who are the only ones who will benefit. Let's hope that the next round of peace talks - due to resume on 14th January - bring some relief and direction towards a solution as the situation in all of Yemen is horrible, with people dying from starvation and disease due to the Saudi-led blockade of Hodeida - which is assisted by my UK government, amongst others.

https://www.facebook.com/yemennewstodayenglish/posts/1080697985416025

Comment: Apparently, there are approximately 124,000 displaced people living in tents in Sanaa, with no humanitarian aid reaching them from international agencies. A Yemeni who is trying to assist them broke down and cried on Arabic television, because he has no means of offering a blanket or a tent to new arrivals. Many of these people are fleeing from the two worst affected cities, Taiz which suffers a ground war as well as aerial bombardment, and Saada, which in reality does not exist any more having received 42,500 air to ground missiles in the first 250 days of war.

https://www.facebook.com/yemennewstodayenglish/posts/1081341252018365

30.12.2015 – USAID

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

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

Kommentar: Das sieht man mit sehr gemischten Gefühlen. Die USA gerieren sich hier wieder als der große humanitäre Spender und Friedensfreund.Die (angebliche) Hilfsorganisation USAID ist ein wichtiges Mittel der US-Außenpolitik, wenn es um „Regime change“ geht. Googeln Sie einmal USAID und „Regime change“ zusammen. Siehe etwa https://www.westminster.ac.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0011/20009/006WPCC-Vol5-No3-Gerald_Sussman_Sascha_Krader.pdf und hier: http://www.globalresearch.ca/washington-wants-regime-change-in-ecuador-what-is-the-cia-planning-before-ecuadors-2017-elections/5476107 und hier: https://www.change.org/p/president-of-the-united-states-end-usaid-s-dangerous-wasteful-and-counterproductive-regime-change-program-in-cuba?recruiter=false&utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=copylink und hier: http://fff.org/2014/04/04/the-u-s-governments-regime-change-obsession-rears-its-ugly-head-again/ . USAID als Unterdrücker sozialer Bewegungen etwa hier: http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/32731-usaid-and-the-criminalization-of-social-movements-in-paraguay

Südjemen / Southern Yemen

1.1.2016 – AFP

Six dead as Yemen loyalists, Qaeda suspects clash

Six people were killed in a firefight Friday between Yemeni pro-government forces and Al-Qaeda suspects who were travelling in a weapons-laden vehicle toward second city Aden, security officials said.

Militiamen at a checkpoint in the southern Abyan province stopped the suspected jihadists, prompting an argument that sparked a gun battle, the sources said.

Three Al-Qaeda suspects and the same number of loyalists were killed.

Among the dead was the head of a court set up by Al-Qaeda in the southeastern city of Mukalla, which has been under their control since April, the sources said.

http://news.yahoo.com/six-dead-yemen-loyalists-qaeda-suspects-clash-145036481.html

1.1.2016 – Xinhua

Al-Qaida gunmen kill 3 pro-gov't soldiers in Yemen's south

About three pro-government soldiers were killed and three others injured when suspected al-Qaida gunmen attacked a checkpoint in Yemen's southern province of Abyan on Friday, a military official told Xinhua.

The military official said that scores of al-Qaida gunmen launched an armed attack on pro-government soldiers positioned at a checkpoint in the entrance of Ahwar area in southern Abyan province, former al-Qaida main stronghold.

"But, the attack was successfully foiled and about three soldiers were killed and three others injured, " the local military official said on condition of anonymity.

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2016-01/01/c_134970329.htm

Comment: Must more news of chaos in Aden. The militias - mainly Al Qaeda and local militias - have been controlling Aden since the Houthi-Saleh alliance were driven out. i guess that as Hadi tries to take control things are getting worse rather than better.

https://www.facebook.com/yemennewstodayenglish/posts/1080945162057974

Saudi Arabien / Saudi Arabia

2.1.2015 - Al Arabiya

Saudi Arabia executes 47 terrorism convicts

The Saudi interior ministry on Saturday said 47 people convicted of plotting and carrying out terrorist attacks, targeting civilians and security forces, were executed.

Prominent Shiite cleric Nimr al-Nimr was among those executed, the Interior Ministry said in a statement.

Most of those executed were involved in a series of attacks carried out by al-Qaeda from 2003-06, the statement added.

Also, the majority of those executed were of Saudi nationality. The 47 men were based across 12 regions in the kingdom.

They were convicted of plotting and carrying out terrorist attacks targeting civilians and security forces in Saudi Arabia and neighboring countries.

http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2016/01/02/Saudi-interior-ministry.html

Kommentar: Das Gesetz von 2014 weitet die Definition von "Terrorismus" extrem weit aus. Siehe hierzu https://www.hrw.org/news/2014/02/06/saudi-arabia-terrorism-law-tramples-rights. Der Begriff wird mittlerweile so weit ausgelegt, dass jeder Widerstand gegen das Saudi-Regime darunter fallen kann. Ein Beispiel dafür der genannte schiitische Geistliche Nimr, der mit Terrorismus überhaupt nichts zu tun hat. Oder etwa hier: http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/saudi-writer-arrested-insulting-king-175970668

31.12.2015 – Business Insider

Saudi Arabia spends 25% of its budget on its military — here's what it has for the money

The kingdom spends 25% of its budget, or about $80 billion, on its military. That is about double what it spends on health and social development.

It has been throwing its weight around recently, engaging in a war in Yemen and joining forces with Turkey against Syrian President Bashar Assad.

So here's what all that money has bought it.

Saudi Arabia is strong in the air. Its air force contains more than 300 fighter jets and 15 active airfields. This includes dozens of US-made F-15s, with another 80 on order.

The Saudi fleet is also stocked with Eurofighter Typhoons, which are a joint project among European Union members. The country has an option to buy another 72 of the fighters.

In terms of manpower, Saudi Arabia has about 440,000 active personnel in its military, with 225,000 army troops.

On the ground the Saudi military has 442 M1A2 Abrams tanks, produced in the US.

Saudi Arabia has about 82 AH64D Apache helicopters — the most advanced multirole attack helicopter, according to its manufacturer, Boeing. The helicopter can classify and prioritise 128 targets in less than a minute.

The Royal Saudi Strategic Missile Services is equipped with the Chinese-made DF-21 and DF-3 Dongfeng missile-delivery systems, designed for long-distance, high-explosive warheads.

The Saudi military has a strong artillery, with more than 750 Howitzers including 50 American-made M270 armoured rocket launchers, which can hit targets 300 kilometers away – by Ben Moshinsky

http://www.businessinsider.de/saudi-arabia-spends-25-of-its-budget-on-its-military-2015-12?r=US&IR=T

Kommentar: Vergleichen Sie dieses ganz überwiegend vom Westen gelieferte Waffenarsenal mit dem enormen Aufheben, das um Waffenlieferungen des Iran an die Huthis gemacht wurde… Unter „Iran“ hier ein Artikel zu den am meisten hochgespielten Fällen von 2009 und 2013, bei denen sich zudem herausstellte, dass es sich kaum um iranische Waffenlieferungen an die Huthis gehandelt haben kann. Aus der Zeit des Jemenkrieges 2015 ist mir nur ein einziger weiterer Fall bekannt. Die Saudis hatten vor der Küste von Oman in internationalen Gewässern ein Schiff aufgebracht, das angeblich Waffen aus dem Iran an die Huthis liefern sollte. Aber auch das ist zweifelhaft, es kann sich ebenso gut an einen Waffenschmuggel mit Ziel Somalia gehandelt haben. Reuters war m. E. der einzige, der auch ein Foto dieses Schiffes brachte. Vom Format her entsprach das etwa einem der kleineren Krabben- oder Fischkutter, wie diejenigen, mit denen einzelne Fischer in die Nordsee fahren. Mit einem Wort: Völlig lächerlich im Vergleich zu dem Waffenarsenal, das der Westen wie selbstverständlich seit Jahrzehnten an die Saudis liefert. Hier von einer Verschiebung der Maßstäbe zu sprechen, wäre noch mehr als eine freundliche Untertreibung.

Comment: Well, Haykal Banafa says "Despite this impressive arsenal, Saudi Arabia's armed forces cannot protect it from angry Yemenis. Go figure. Hint : The missing Saudi elements are balls and brains. I will not mention the "monkeys with Macbooks" line this time."

I think spending 25% of your budget on a war you can't win seems rather foolish...

https://www.facebook.com/yemennewstodayenglish/posts/1080567195429104

Großbritannien / Great Britain

The Express

Seven reasons why Saudi Arabia shouldn't be our friend - and one why it is

SAUDI Arabia is one of Britain's key international allies with ministers and even Royals making every effort to keep the hardline Middle East kingdom on side.

But while Britain imposes tough sanctions on countries like Russia for their war with Ukraine, the Government often falls silent amid claims of human rights abuses and war crimes by Saudi Arabia.

Here are seven reasons why Britain shouldn't be friends with Saudi - and one multi-billion pound reason why it is…

Punishment – Death penalty – Censorship – Treatment of women – War crimes – (overview, read in detail)

Islamic extremism

The fanatical 'Wahhabi' strain of Islam, which is centred in Saudi Arabia, is now said to be closest ideology to that of ISIS - with some claiming the views espoused by Saudi's Wahhabist clerics inspired the growth of the terror group.

Saudi has also faced accusations it has tried to export puritanical Wahhabism abroad over the last three decades, at a cost of £67billion ($100bn).

The cash is spent on building mosques or establishing madrassas - religious schools - i

Funding ISIS

Saudi money and weapons for anti-regime forces have poured into Syria soon after the country plunged into civil war.

The kingdom's wealthy Sunni Muslims saw an opportunity to end Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad's rule - a key ally of fellow Shia Muslim-ruled state Iran.

But as ISIS captured vast swathes of Syria and Iraq, there is little doubt these weapons and cash may have ended up in hands of the brutal terror group.

AND THIS IS WHY THE BRITISH GOVERNMENT IS FRIENDS WITH SAUDI ARABIA: ARMS SALES

Between May 2010 and March 2015 the Coalition government licensed almost £4billion of arms to Saudi Arabia, according to the Campaign Against Arms Trade (CAAT). These included fighter jets, tear gas and military vehicles.

Earlier this year the Tory Government invited the kingdom's military chiefs to world's leading arms fair, hosted in London.

Many British defence firms make huge profits from Saudi weapons deals, including BAE systems who secured a multi-billion pound contract to supply Euro fighters to the kingdom.

Saudi Arabia has twice as many British-made warplane as the entire RAF, while Government figures show two-thirds of British-made arms go to the Middle East with Saudi by far the biggest buyer.

Commenting on British licensing of arms sales to Saudi, CAAT's Andrew Smith said: "The message it sends to Saudi people is their human rights are a lesser priority than the profits of BAE systems.

"Not only does Saudi lock up bloggers and behead opponents, it has also used UK arms to create a humanitarian catastrophe in Yemen.

"What more will it take before our Government finally says enough is enough?" – by Greg Heffer

http://www.express.co.uk/news/politics/629153/Saudi-Arabia-relationship-Britain-human-rights-women-war-crimes-ISIS-terrorism

Iran

Siehe unter “Am wichtigsten” / See at “Most important”

Wirtschaft / Economy

1.1.2016 – Gulf News

A script to rebuild Yemen’s economic base

A staggered development model can even now help create a sustainable economy

Yemen is still in the agricultural era and seems to be stuck because it is not being put to the best of use.

I had done a study a while ago assessing the agricultural progress and outcome for different countries. Strikingly, Yemen shows huge potential though it does not seem to have progressed much. This could be attributed to minimal investments in agriculture and the economy being more focused on exporting Yemen’s natural resources of oil and gas.

The requirement of better infrastructure through new roads, cargo airports and ports with high handling capacities would ensure the money destined for Yemen would be put to its most efficient use. And ensure the creation of more jobs that could be sustained via more infrastructure targeted at improving overall connectivity.

And as Yemen is strategically located between East and West, there is no doubt that it is at quite an advantage to manage a huge manufacturing and exporting sector as well as a re-exporting one.

In a nutshell, and once a peace settlement is reached, the water problem needs to be fixed in Yemen. Then, projects should be sanctioned to improve land fertility and guarantee that Yemen is on a long-term path to be among the top 10 coffee producers.

Though it would be hard to establish a name for itself in a certain manufacturing sector, Yemen could still host many industrial and economic zones where GCC states could invest and to which they can outsource a significant portion of their manufacturing – by Abdulnasser Alshaali

http://gulfnews.com/business/sectors/features/a-script-to-rebuild-yemen-s-economic-base-1.1646669#.VoZ4ykZQ9g4.facebook

Comment: Might-be this has been a good study – before Saudis aerial war. But now, it is just unrealistic and bizarre to argue as if it not would have happened at all.

Comment: Well, this is a bit rich. So much of Yemen's infrastructure is destroyed, and even educated people are getting work where they can back in their villages - if there is any work there, most of them have no water. I speak everyday to Yemenis who have lost everything, and in particular, lost their education. For example, Mohammed who was due to start a scholarship in science in Czech republic, but they have cancelled his scholarship - just when he needs it - because of the war situation in Yemen. So may people have had their university courses terminated. This is no way to build a new Yemen. Just like in Iraq, the war destroyed homes, roads, businesses, bridges, schools, hospitals, factories, shops, markets, university colleges, ports, airports - just the sort of things that are needed to help build an economy. The bill for this would be billions of billions of pound, and who is going to invest in Yemen now, with a belligerent neighbour that they know can return to do a bit more destruction whenever it seems Yemen is likely to get back on its feet?

https://www.facebook.com/yemennewstodayenglish/posts/1080961818722975

Terrorismus / Terrorism

1.1.2015 – AP

Regierungstreue Kämpfer haben im Jemen einen hochrangigen Führer des Terrornetzwerks al-Kaida und drei seiner Begleiter getötet. Die Extremisten wurden am Freitag in der im Süden des Landes gelegenen Provinz Abyan angegriffen, wie jemenitische Behörden mitteilten. Sie waren in einem Konvoi Richtung Aden unterwegs. Der getötete Anführer sei der Chefrichter der Extremisten in der grössten Provinz des Landes, Hadramawt, gewesen, die al-Kaida grösstenteils kontrolliert.

http://www.nzz.ch/international/al-kaida-anfuehrer-im-jemen-getoetet-1.18670876

1.1.2015 – AP

YEMEN PRO-GOVERNMENT FIGHTERS KILL AL-QAIDA LEADER IN SOUTH

Pro-government fighters in Yemen attacked and killed a senior al-Qaida leader and three people traveling in his convoy near a security checkpoint in the southern Abyan province on Friday, Yemeni officials said.

Ali Abed al-Rab bin Talab, better known as Abu Anwar, was the extremist group's chief judge in Yemen's largest province, Hadramawt, which al-Qaida largely controls. He survived a suspected U.S. drone attack in 201 – by Ahmed Al-Haj

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/M/ML_YEMEN?SITE=AP = http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20160101/world/al-qaida-leader-abu-anwar-killed-in-south-yemen.597411 https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/yemen-pro-government-fighters-kill-al-qaida-leader-in-south/2016/01/01/c11e3046-b0b2-11e5-b281-43c0b56f61fa_story.html

1.1.2016 – Nasser Arabyee

Yemen Qaeda/ISIS lashed in public place in Qaeda-held city of Mukalla 10 men, 80 lashes each, for drinking alcohol

https://twitter.com/narrabyee/status/682970154674831360

Yemen Qaeda/ISIS killed a woman in front of her husband in Tawahi of Aden south for allegedly being magician

https://twitter.com/narrabyee/status/682967364309282816

Propaganda

1.1.2016 – Morocco World News

Yemen Thanks Morocco’s Military Participation With Street Billboards

Yemen expressed its gratitude toward Morocco and King Mohammed VI for having participated in the Saudi-led coalition against Shiite Houthi rebels, by placing giant street billboards in Aden.

The billboards, which are visible all across the Yemeni city, include portraits of Morocco’s King, the Moroccan flag and a message in Arabic that reads, “Thanks to Morocco”, a Yemeni website reported.

According to the same source, the campaign was launched by non-governmental organization (NGO) close to Yemeni President Abdrabbou Mansour Hadi.

“We want to thank Morocco for its participation in operation ‘Decisive Storm’ of the Arab coalition against the Shiite Houthi rebels, and for giving hope to our country and affirmed its legitimacy,” Director of the NGO, Feras Al Yafai said.

Last March, Rabat declared “total solidarity with Saudi Arabia” and “support to preserve the legitimacy in Yemen,” according to a statement by the Moroccan Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

http://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2016/01/176511/yemen-thanks-moroccos-military-participation-with-street-billboards/

Kommentar: In Anbetracht der Lage in Aden reichlich bizarr.

Kriegsereignisse / Theater of War

1.1.2016 Beforeitsnews

Yemen update 1/1/2016..Yemeni Fighters Break Into Montazah Military Post in Jizan

Overview of reports with films, pro-Houthi.

http://beforeitsnews.com/politics/2016/01/yemen-update-112016-yemeni-fighters-break-into-montazah-military-post-in-jizan-2767702.html

1.1.2015 – Qatar News Agency

Air Strikes in Yemen Kill 33 Houthi Militias

Air strikes made Friday by the Arabi coalition against Houthi militias in Yemen led to the killing of 33 militants.
A source from the coalition said that they embarked on a series of air raids of locations known to be strongholds of Houthi militias in the South of Taiz city. Dozens more were injured according to the source

http://www.qna.org.qa/en-us/News/16010122010025/Air-Strikes-in-Yemen-Kill-33-Houthi-Militias

1.1.2016 – Iran English Radio

Fresh Saudi airstrikes leave17 civilians dead in Yemen

At least 17 Yemeni civilians, including women and children, have been killed and a number of others wounded in the fresh wave of Saudi air raids against its impoverished neighbor.

According to the reports, about 15 civilians were killed when Saudi warplanes bombed two residential buildings in the town of Khayran al-Muharraq in Yemen's northwestern province of Hajjah.

A Yemeni civilian was killed and three others wounded in airstrikes against a beverage producing factory in the western province of Hudaydah, causing heavy property damage on the compound.

The Saudi military had carried out a similar attack against another beverage producing factory in the capital Sana'a a day earlier.

A Yemeni child also lost her life as Saudi bombers targeted the Saqin district of the northwestern province of Sa'ada.

Saudi airstrikes also hit residential areas in the city of Sirwah in Marib Province, causing damages to buildings.

http://english.irib.ir/news/world/west-asia/item/220821-fresh-saudi-airstrikes-leave17-civilians-dead-in-yemen

1.1.2016 – Reseau National

Yémen: l’armée abat un F-16 bahreïni

La DCA de l’armée yéménite a abattu ce mercredi un F16 de la coalition au dessus d’une région frontalière entre le Yémen et l’Arabie.

Selon une source militaire citée par l’agence Khabar, l’appareil qui a été abattu, menait plusieurs raids sur des positions militaires contrôlés par l’armée yéménite dans la ville de Khoba, à Jizane (sud de l’Arabie). Et d’ajouter : le pilote est sorti indemne.

Cette version contredit celle avancée par la coalition sous commandement saoudien qui a prétendu que l’avion de combat F-16 de l’armée de l’air bahreïnie s’est écrasé mercredi en Arabie saoudite en raison d’un problème « technique ».

Le pilote de l’avion qui s’est écrasé dans la région de Jizane (sud-ouest de l’Arabie saoudite), près de la frontière yéménite, est sain et sauf, a ajouté une déclaration de la coalition, relayée par l’agence officielle saoudienne SPA.

Avant la chute du F-16, Bahreïn avait annoncé mardi la mort de trois de ses militaires, deux capitaines et un sergent, dans « un incident à la frontière sud de l’Arabie saoudite ».

Le communiqué militaire bahreïni ne donnait aucune autre précision.

http://reseauinternational.net/yemen-larmee-abat-un-f-16-bahreini/

Kommentar: Mal wieder: Unterschiedliche Varianten derselben Geschichte.

1.1.2016 – Tasnim News

Dozens of Saudi-Led Forces Killed in Southwestern Yemen

The Yemeni army backed by the popular committees of the Arabian Peninsula country killed dozens of the Saudi-led coalition forces in the southwestern province of Taiz, local reports said.

According to a report by Yemen’s al-Masirah TV, the Yemeni army and the popular committees mounted several “unique” operations in Taiz on Thursday, killing dozens of the Saudi-led forces.

A Yemeni military source said the army’s missile unit pounded positions held by the aggressors, firing Katyusha missiles in Dhubab District in Taiz province, near the Bab-el-Mandeb, a strait between the Arabian Peninsula and the Horn of Africa.

According to the report, the army’s artillery unit also bombarded a military base in the Saudi city of Jizan forcing Saudi forces to escape from the base.

http://www.tasnimnews.com/en/news/2016/01/01/958922/dozens-of-saudi-led-forces-killed-in-southwestern-yemen

1.1.2016 – AFP

Saudi says 3 civilians killed in missile fire from Yemen

Three civilians including two children have been killed in cross-border missile attacks from Yemen on a residential area in southwestern Saudi Arabia, civil defence authorities said.

Eleven others were wounded, among them nine children, when several missiles hit residential districts in the Jazan region on Thursday, civil defence spokesman Major Yehia al-Qahtani said in a statement.

http://news.yahoo.com/saudi-says-3-civilians-killed-missile-fire-yemen-111327870.html

1.1.2016 – Al Arabiya

Saudi intercepts missile fired from Yemen

Saudi Arabia’s Air Defense Forces on Thursday intercepted a ballistic missile that was reportedly launched from Yemen where the kingdom has been leading a months-long operation to quell Houthi influence, an official statement said.

The missile was launched towards the city of Jizan and was destroyed without causing any damage, the Saudi Press Agency reported.

http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2016/01/01/Saudi-intercepts-missile-fired-from-Yemen.html

Kommentar: Wie passt das zur Meldung davor? / How does rhis fit with the report stated above?

31.12.2015 – Beforeitsnews

Yemen update 12/31\2015.. Saudi Arabia and Yemen attack each other’s airports

http://beforeitsnews.com/politics/2015/12/yemen-update-12312015-saudi-arabia-and-yemen-attack-each-others-airports-2767592.html

31.12.2015 – Alalam

Saudi Warplanes Pound International Airport in Sana’a 3 Times in a Day

Saudi warplanes have bombarded the international airport in Yemen’s capital, Sana’a, as Riyadh continues its deadly campaign against the impoverished southern neighbor.

Yemen’s al-Masirah news channel said on Thursday Saudi warplanes pounded the capital city airport three times. The bomber aircraft also targeted a military base in the Yemeni province of Omran.

http://en.alalam.ir/news/1774487 see also film https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3jkte11451g

31.12.2015 – Iran English Radio

Saudi Arabia's strategic airport in Asir comes under Yemen's ballistic missile attack

The Yemeni army and popular forces targeted Saudi Arabia's strategic Abha Airport in the southern province of Asir with a Qaher-I ballistic missile.

Military sources said that the missile hit the target with high precision and "caused heavy damage to the airport".

It was the tenth Qaher-I ballistic missile fired at the Saudi targets in the past 20 days, meaning that Yemen targeted its enemy with one ballistic missile every other day, they added.

http://english.irib.ir/news/world/west-asia/item/220785-saudi-arabia-s-strategic-airport-in-asir-comes-under-yemen-s-ballistic-missile-attack

31.12.2015 – Alalam

VIDEO: Yemeni Missiles Pound Saudi Bases in Jizan, Najran, Asir

The Yemeni army backed by popular forces launched a fresh round of attacks on the Saudi forces’ positions in the province of Jizan in the Southern part of the kingdom with their upgraded ballistic missiles.

Yemen’s Qaher-I ballistic missile precisely hit Saudi Arabia's military bases in Jizan province, 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.

On Tuesday, the Yemeni army and popular forces targeted Saudi Arabia's Aramco Oil Company in Jizan with Qaher-I ballistic missiles for a second time in less than two weeks.

"The (Qaher-I) missile precisely hit Aramco oil company on Monday night," the Arabic-language media outlets quoted an unnamed Yemeni army official as saying.

He reiterated that the missile attack came in retaliation for the Saudi-led aggressors' violation of the UN-sponsored ceasefire.

Yet, the source did not give further details about the damage incurred on Aramco Company.

http://en.alalam.ir/news/1774449

Comment: This is the other side of the 'tit-for-tat' warfare in which neither side can win, and both sides are trapped in a stalemate - and civilians in both countries lose.

https://www.facebook.com/yemennewstodayenglish/posts/1080568168762340

Neue Artikel zum Nachlesen 1-78: / Yemen Press reader 1-78:

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

http://poorworld.net/YemenWar.htm

Fotos von saudischem Luftangriff / Photos of Saudi air attack

29. Dez.: Coca-Cola-Fabrik in Sanaa / Dec. 29.: Coca Cola factory at Sanaa:

http://poorworld.net/Yemen/YemenImages2015-12-29-Sanaa.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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