Krieg im Jemen: Neue Artikel zum Nachlesen 95

Yemen Press Reader 95: Hintergrundberichte über Huthis und Islah-Partei - Saudis wollen ihre Kriegsverbrechen selbst untersuchen - Al Kaida erobert Stadt - Luftangriffe - Verluste der Saudis

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Schwerpunkte / Key aspects

Klassifizierung / Classification

Am wichtigsten / Most important

Allgemein / General

Humanitäre Lage / Humanitarian situation

Kulturerbe / Cultural heritage

Nordjemen und Huthis / Northern Yemen and Houthis

Südjemen und Hadi-Regierung / Southern Yemen and Hadi-government

Saudi-Arabien / Saudi Arabia

USA

Großbritannien / Great Britain

EU

Terrorismus / Terrorism

Propaganda

Saudische Luftangriffe / Saudi air raids

Kriegsereignisse / Theater of War

Klassifizierung / Classification

***

**

*

(Kein Stern / No star)

A = Aktuell / Current news

B = Hintergrund / Background

C = Chronik / Chronicle

D = Details

E = Wirtschaft / Economy

H = Humanitäre Fragen / Humanitarian questions

K = Krieg / War

P = Politik / Politics

PH = Pro-Houthi

PS = Pro-Saudi

T = Terrorismus / Terrorism

Am wichtigsten / Most important

Here, this time older background articles explaining the Houthi movement and its background

25.3.2015 – Al-Bab (*** B C P)

Yemen and Saudi Arabia: A historical review of relations

As political crisis turns into civil war, Yemen’s embattled president, Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, has appealed for international help. Yemen’s northern neighbour, Saudi Arabia has already said it will "take necessary measures if needed” and today the kingdom is reported to be moving artillery and other heavy military equipment close to the border.

Almost constantly since its foundation in 1932, Saudi Arabia has been involved in Yemen politically, and sometimes militarily – often with negative consequences for Yemen. The article below looks at the history of this relationship:
The Treaty of Taif, 1934
Yemen's civil war, 1962-1970
Yemeni unification, 1990
The Gulf War, 1990-91
Expulsions from Saudi Arabia
The oil factor

The border question
North-south war, 1994
The end of the border dispute
The Houthi rebellion
What next?

Yemen has long been the odd man out in the Arabian peninsula: poor, populous and republican in a region dominated by extraordinarily wealthy but less populated monarchies. Even without the presence of al-Qaeda, it has generally been viewed warily by its neighbours.

Relations with Saudi Arabia have always been a central feature of Yemeni foreign policy, not merely because the kingdom is the dominant state in the peninsula and Yemen’s most important neighbour, but also because the Saudis’ perception of their security needs is that they should seek to influence Yemen as much as possible in order to prevent it from becoming a threat.

According to this view, Saudi interests are best served by keeping Yemen “on the wobble” (as one western diplomat put it) – though not so wobbly that regional stability is jeopardised. Before the unification of north and south Yemen in 1990, this amounted to ensuring that both parts of the country focused their attentions on each other rather than on their non-Yemeni neighbours.

For that strategy to succeed, it was essential to maintain an equilibrium between both parts, so that neither became dominant. Thus Soviet support for the south was generally matched by Saudi support for the north, coupled with frequent meddling in the internal affairs of both parts. To some extent, the north exploited this policy to its own financial advantage, but even so there were drawbacks. Most importantly, it created dependence on the Saudis. Apart from official aid and unofficial aid (in the form of bribes to various tribal leaders), by the 1980s remittances from Yemenis working in Saudi Arabia had become the mainstay of the northern economy.

[Relations from the Treaty of Taif in 1934 to the Houthi rebellion; Chapters see above]

The Houthi rebellion

From 2004 onwards, the Yemeni government fought a series of wars aimed at crushing Zaidi rebels – popularly known as the Houthis – in the far north of the country, adjacent to the Saudi border.

The last of these campaigns under Saleh’s presidency, dubbed "Operation Scorched Earth" by the Yemeni government, began in August 2009 an ended with a ceasefire in February 2010. On that occasion Saudi Arabia also intervened militarily, bombing Houthi positions in Yemen in support of Saleh’s forces.

The Saudis were especially anxious to prevent the Houthi conflict overspilling into their southern provinces and came up with a drastic solution: to depopulate the kingdom’s border area. Thousands of people from some 400 villages were forcibly uprooted and transferred to makeshift camps.

The Saudis also seized this opportunity to tackled other border-related issues. In the first six months of 2009, more than 120,000 people were detained for trying to enter the kingdom illegally, according to a Border Guard report, and in one two-week period an astonishing total of 30,557 people were allegedly arrested for smuggling offences. The smuggling trade was said to include weapons, hashish, qat, “shamma” snuff and alcohol. A report in Okaz newspaper said:

“The villages on the border assist their Yemeni counterparts in smuggling, with Saudi homes and Yemeni homes sometimes separated by no more than a few metres.

“Smugglers and infiltrators use abandoned houses as hiding places before moving on to the main cities in the kingdom, and use donkeys at night, navigating their way along tracks that take them around checkpoints, and sometimes seeking the help of local shepherds to keep them aware of any police presence.”

The Houthi rebellion, though, was partly a result of Saudi missionary activities. A major factor leading up to the Houthi conflict was rivalry between the majority of Zaidi Shiites and a growing minority of men who had converted from Zaidism to the salafi or Wahhabi version of Sunni Islam, according to Shelagh Weir, a veteran Yemen watcher.

Though ostensibly religious, this rivalry also had a social dimension, Weir told a conference in London. Converts included men who occupied the bottom of the traditional status hierarchy and bitterly resented their social disadvantage, as well as youths who resented the power of the older generation or were attracted by the charisma of salafi leaders and their obvious financial resources. "Certain sheikhs openly or tacitly supported salafism for personal or anti-Zaidi reasons or because of the subsidies they received from Saudi Arabia."

Weir continued:

"During the 1990s the growth of socially-divisive salafism within the heartlands of Zaidi Islam was encouraged and funded by officials and business interests in Saudi Arabia and in Yemen – including President Ali Abdullah Saleh.

"Salafis increasingly mocked or questioned the beliefs and rituals of the Zaidi majority, threatening them in mosques and accusing them of wanting the return of the imam [i.e. the end of the republican system] – though this was publicly denied by the Zaidi clerics."

Inevitably, the aggressive salafi/Wahhabi proselytising triggered a response from the other side, with the Houthis seeking to defend Zaidi rights in the Saadah region.

Saudi Arabia’s successful campaign to eradicate al-Qaeda from the kingdom also had the effect of driving militants into Yemen and caused AQAP, the local branch of al-Qaeda, to focus its attention there. Since the Houthis and al-Qaeda are sworn enemies, that also exacerbated the problems in Yemen.

What next?

Given this historical background, it will be surprising if the Saudis do not become involved in the unfolding events in Yemen. What form this will take remains to be seen but the Saudis probably know Yemen well enough to avoid the folly of sending their own ground forces. They might engage in air strikes and, on past form, provide money and equipment. Even that would be dangerous though, because it would invite a response from Iran whose support for the Houthis has so far been verbal rather than tangible.

Also based on past form, the overall effect of any Saudi involvement is unlikely to be positive – by Brian Whitaker

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International Licence.

http://www.al-bab.com/blog/2015/march/yemen-saudi-relations.htm

Comment by Judith Brown: An interesting look at Saudi Yemen relations just before the war by journalist and Muddle East specialist Brian Whittaker, long a yemenophile like myself. It gives some background of the civil war in Yemen in the 1960s, the southern question, and the relationship if the Houthis with the Saudis and Yemen government. Worth a read.

https://www.facebook.com/yemennewstodayenglish/posts/1094633057355851

2.7.2015 – Aljazeera (** B C P)

The scars of North Yemen's wars

The northern region of Saada, on the Saudi border, bears the hallmarks of six years of conflict.

People in this war-torn northern region of Yemen, bordering Saudi Arabia, felt hopeful at the start of the 2011 revolution, believing that change would bring life back to their forgotten governorate. After six years of wars that devastated the region amid quasi-indifference from the international community and a media blackout, Saada still bears the scars of conflict.

In 2004, the region's Zaydi revivalist movement - a Shia school of thought with theological similarities to Sunni Islam - whose members in this region are known both as Ansar Allah, or "Houthis", after their first leader, Hussein Badr al-Din al-Houthi - denounced their marginalisation at the hands of then-president Ali Abdullah Saleh.

Government forces waged a war against the followers of their movement - the Masirah - accusing them of wanting to restore the rule of Islamic imams in Yemen, as had been the case under the Hashemite monarchy before the 1962 revolution. The Houthis' spokesperson, however, outright rejected these claims on numerous occasions.

Six rounds of on and off fighting continued, with the involvement of Saudi Arabia in the last war of 2009. During the wars, tens of thousands were killed, including women and children, and more than 340,000 people were displaced, according to the UN and the Internal Displacement Monitoring Center (IDMC).

A ceasefire was finally reached in February 2010 and, to date, it has been more or less respected.

While the official war between the government forces and the movement has ended, the aftermath is still far from over, and renewed violence is always a very real potential. Drones continue to hover over Saada city, and children say their sound reminds them of the past fighting, where wounded civilians filled the cities and homes were destroyed.

http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/inpictures/2012/06/2012630195727807952.html

Comment: History of the conflict in Northern Yemen, the Houthi movement and the wars of the Yemen government against them. These wars changed the Believing Youth Zaidi revivalist movement into the Houthi militias.

16.1.2014 – Middle East Institute (** B C P)

The Houthi Paradox

Beginning in the 1970s, Saudi Arabia, with an eye to increasing its influence in Yemen’s northern governorate of Sada, began to fund a Salafi Wahhabi group there to convert Shi`i Zaydi locals to Wahhabism. By the 1990s, the Salafis had become powerful in the area, which made then President Saleh fearful of their increasing influence. Saleh used the familiar strategy of playing factions off against each other in order to temper this influence. He countered the Salafis by supporting the Houthis, letting the group’s leader, Hussein al-Houthi, run for parliament under Saleh’s ruling party.

Saleh eventually regretted his encouragement of the Houthis, particularly after Hussein al-Houthi turned against him, and armed conflict broke out between the Yemeni government and the Houthis in Sada in 2004. In September of that year, Yemeni government forces killed Hussein al-Houthi. The violence escalated in 2009, when, in response to Houthi cross-border attacks and territory grabs, Saudi Arabia retaliated with its own attacks and air raids. Saudi Arabia ended its direct military involvement in the conflict in January 2010, after the Houthis ceded Saudi Arabian territory they had previously captured.

The violence has continued since then, mainly between Houthis and Salafis in the north of Yemen. In the last few months, the two have engaged in heavy battles that have led to tens of deaths and injuries on both sides.

[The Houthis in the 2011 uprising]

The Houthis became popular with the Yemeni public over the course of 2013, though their popularity was not due to their ideology. Rather, the Houthis’ influence grew because of a power vacuum. This was the result of the fact that their political enemies, particularly Islah, have lost popularity outside of their support base, and because the transitional government has failed to meaningfully respond to the people’s needs. The Islah Party has especially lost favor among the general public due to the perception of it as greedy and manipulative. The Houthis were also attractive to the public because of their contradictory path and ambiguous identity; their lack of a clear statement of purpose or ideology allowed them a certain nebulous appeal. However, their continued use of violence has shown them to simply be an armed group – by Farea al-Muslimi

http://www.mei.edu/content/houthi-paradox

2013 – Global Security (** B C P)

Hothi / Houthi / Huthi / Ansar Allah / al-Shabab al-Mum'en / Shabab al-Moumineen (Believing Youth)

One of the deepest root causes of the conflict in Sa'ada is religious. Over the past 20 years, Zaydis - who have historically made up the majority of the governorate's population - have felt increasingly threatened by the radical Sunni Salafism exported from Saudi Arabia (ref b). Sa'ada's unique Zaydi identity has been challenged by the establishment of Salafi schools and mosques in the governorate, and local residents founded a Zaydi revivalist group called the Believing Youth to teach young people about their Zaydi religion and history. A branch of the Believing Youth later produced the more extreme Houthi ideology and organization. The Houthis are fighting to preserve their unique identity, religious beliefs and practices by seeking to establish their own schools and university.

The government of Yemen argued at every turn that Iran and its surrogate, Hizballah, inspired, financed and trained the al-Houthi rebels. Meanwhile, various sources alleged that the Saudi government was providing significant financial support to the government in its fight against the Houthis.

Yemen was engaged in an intrastate conflict with Shia rebels loyal to Abdul Malik al-Houthi, also known as the Shabab Al-Mu'minin (Believing Youth), or even more recently as the Mujahedeen group, according to recent statements by the group's leader. In the early 1990s, in the face of what Zaydis perceived as religious persecution, Zaydis in Sa'ada founded a Zaydi revivalist group called the Believing Youth as well as the Zaydi-affiliated al-Haq opposition party. It was supposed to be a religious renewal for Zaydis, to teach our young people about the Zaydi religion and history.

This conflict began in mid-2004, and flared up again in the spring of 2005. In late December 2006, the conflict erupted again and has become more intense. There were a large number of violent clashes in Saa'da in Jan/Feb 2007. The conflict remained largely localized in the north until May 2008, when ROYG forces confronted al-Houthi rebels in Bani Hushaysh, an area approximately 12km from the US Embassy. The conflict in this area lasted approximately the entire month of June of 2008, and into early July. On 17 July 2008, the government announced an end to the conflict in Saa'da.

The Houthis are followers of cleric Hussein Badr Eddin al-Houti (Husain al-Huthi), who was killed in September 2004, after months of battles with Yemeni security forces. Sheik al-Houti, a one-time political aspirant in Yemen, had wide religious and tribal backing in Yemen, particularly in Yemen's northern mountains. Hussein al-Houthi was a former member of parliament for the pro-monarchy al-Haqq (Truth) Islamic party. The government of Yemen accused Hothi of setting up unlicensed religious centers.

The Houthis are a group of combatants associated with the Zaydi Revivalist movement in Yemen, which emerged as a result of deep-seated frustrations among those tribes who felt as though they had become marginalized after an Egyptian-backed revolution against the Zaydi Imam in 1962 brought an end to Hashemite domination. Led at first by Badr al-Din al-Houthi and later by his son Hussein al-Houthi, the revivalists that spawned the Houthi presence promoted religious and local identity over national priorities. There was a resentfulness of the central government’s tolerance of growing Sunni Wahabi influence and its policy of concentrating investment in infrastructure and services on Sana’a and areas with economic resources, to the exclusion of the rest of the country, and in particular the Sa’ada-Amran-Hajja area.

Sheik al-Houti, a Zaidi religious leader, headed an armed group called the Believing Youth. The group led protests against the United States and Israel at mosques. Al-Houti's followers said Yemen's government had become too closely allied with the United States. During the main weekly prayers each Friday, al-Houthi's followers used to chant slogans against Israel and the United States. Yemen's government said the group was modeled on the Lebanese Hizbollah, and that it sought to re-establish a monarchy in Yemen by force. Al-Houti was accused of trying to set himself up as Imam. Hizbollah in Lebanon denied any links with the rebels in Saddah, though some thought the Iranian-backed insurgents were linked.

The Houthis surprisingly avoided assuming a singular tribal identity, which is significant given the country is dominated by tribal allegiances. Instead, the group strategically drew support from tribes of the northern Bakil federation, rival to the Hashid federation which had been a traditional ally of the central government. The Houthis lacked both a political program and a centralised command structure, with varying degrees of coordination applying across four constituent groups: an ideological core with symbolic or political ties to Iran and an anti-Western posture; those driven by concern for Zaydi and Hashemite identity; groups of armed men whose main interest is money; and a majority, tribesmen defending their families and villages against state violence. These trends allowed them to generate immense support, as Yemenis from diverse backgrounds have joined their cause.

The Houthis' objectives have evolved since the first Sa'ada war began in June 2004, when the Houthis were a small group of fighters defending a member of their family, MP Hussein al-Houthi, from arrest. For almost three months Houthi and his supporters, who at that time claimed allegiance to the state, fought off government troops from his stronghold in the Marran Mountains, until he was killed on September 10, 2004.

In the years since, as the Houthis gained supporters and territories, the group's objectives have expanded while becoming even murkier. According to the International Crisis Group, there was no evidence of a coherent ideology or political program.

http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/para/shabab-al-moumineen.htm

2012 – Islamopedia (** B C P)

The Islah Party

Formation and Stances

After the unification of Yemen in May 1990 and before holding a popular referendum on a draft of the constitution, a broad coalition of northern-based conservatives declared the formation of the Yemeni Grouping for Reform, or Islah. While rivals, such as the Yemeni Socialist Party (YSP) and al-Haqq (Zaydi political party), and some journalists accuse it of being fundamentalist and extremist, the Islah Party is very different from other cohesive Islamist parties around the Muslim world such as Jordan’s Islamic Action Front, Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood, and Morocco’s Justice and Development Party. It is a complicated coalition with a complex agenda (Schwedler, 2004). In the words of two scholars of Yemen, the Islah Party forms a “broad church” that includes groups sharing a wide range of interests and opinions that run the gamut from rejection for all parliamentary forms of government to constitutional pluralism (Dresch & Haykel, 1995). It is an alliance of tribal personalities, moderate and radical Islamists, and businessmen. Scholars and observers discern two features that characterize the politics of Islah: strong links with the ruling party (the General People’s Congress, GPC) and conservative social objectives (Clark & Schwedler, 2003). One of its founders is Abdullah bin Hussein al-Ahmar, a former member of the GPC and a sheikh of the Hashid tribe, one of the largest tribal federations in Yemen. Prominent military figures like Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar were among the founders of Islah as well.

Islah’s origins are in a Muslim Brotherhood-affiliated group (the Islamic Front) created in the late 1970s in North Yemen with the support of the northern Yemen Arab Republic (then headed by Ali Abdullah Saleh) to combat a Marxist group (the National Democratic Front) patronized by the People’s Democratic Republic of Yemen in the south. The Islamic Front regrouped after the unification of Yemen in 1990 under the banner of the Islah Party with the backing of Wahhabi elements in Saudi Arabia. To this day, Islah maintains strong connections with Saudi Arabia. In its official website, Islah summarizes its foreign policy agenda; one of five major goals is “strengthening our country’s relations with sister Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council.” Several founding figures of Islah, such as Sheikh Abdullah al-Ahmar and Sheikh Abd al-Majid al-Zindani, were financially and ideologically influenced by the Saudi regime (Dresch & Haykel, 1995). Policy-wise, Islah has supported the Gulf Cooperation Council’s (GCC) initiative, headed by the Saudi King, to transfer power to a new leadership in Yemen while granting former President Saleh immunity from persecution. In characterizing its opponents, the Islah leadership has used the official Saudi line in accusing the Houthis in the north and the Southern separatist movement Harak of being an Iranian fifth-column implementing the “Iranian agenda.”

It should be noted that Islah is only one player in Yemeni politics supported by the Saudi regime. Ali Abdullah Saleh’s party, the General Popular Congress (GPC), and his regime have been supported by Saudi Arabia for a long time. Saudi influence has continued in Yemen with the coming of the new president, Abd Rabbuh Mansur al-Hadi, himself a member of the GPC.

On different occasions throughout its history, the Islah Party has pushed for an Islamist agenda.

Islah has benefited from the government’s weakness and inability to provide adequate basic services to its citizens and oversee all mosques and schools in Yemen. Through affiliated charitable organizations, Islamist NGOs, religious schools, imams, and preachers in many mosques around the country, Islah has been able to garner grassroots support behind its ideology and political agenda.

Nevertheless, the Salafi wing within Islah, led by Zindani, cannot determine the policy of the Islah Party as a whole.

Two important features that distinguish them [Muslim Brotherhood members in Islah party] from the Salafis are their tolerance for pluralism (within limits) and for a more prominent role for women in society. With regard to pluralism, Jillian Schwedler argues that the Muslim Brotherhood in Islah “is committed to working through democratic, legal channels to realize its goal of achieving political, social, and economic reform in line with the teachings of the Koran. For this group, democracy is a form of government completely in line with Islamic teachings” (Schwedler, 2002).

A sharp, absolute distinction between Salafis, tribal leaders, and Muslim Brotherhood members cannot be made. These are very fluid identities, and in many occasions they overlap and change. Nevertheless, social scientists in their work use such categorization, which is useful to understand backgrounds and commitments of the various groups within Islah.

http://www.islamopediaonline.org/country-profile/yemen/political-landscape/islah-party#.Vq7U5ruOz-Q.facebook

Comment: I think this is rarely written about - the Islah party of Yemen; their movement is centred on Taiz and it has a very aggressive militia wing that are fighting along with Taiz militias - their leader Mikhlafi I understand is now in Aden - and I also understand that the Islah militias are strongly opposed by UAE - who are fighting on the side of the Saudi coalition that are supporting Islah. So complex.

https://www.facebook.com/yemennewstodayenglish/posts/1094638734021950

Comment: A great part of those backing today’s president Hadi are supporters of Islah. The so-called “popular resistance” fighters largely are Islah as well.

Allgemein / General

1.2.2016 – Middle East Institute (** B P)

Yemen on a Road to Nowhere

Originally scheduled for January 14 and now delayed indefinitely, the [UN brokered] negotiations seem to have little purpose other than satisfying the demands of the international community for a mediated solution.

Meanwhile, the Saudi-led coalition senses that it is making progress on the ground and does not want a negotiated settlement until the military option is exhausted. Mohammed al-Maqdashi, Hadi’s top military commander, declared that the war will be over in six months and that Hadi’s forces will control all of Yemen’s governorates.

Saudi-backed Yemeni forces have indeed made some gains of late, but are far from total victory.

The Saudi-imposed blockade of Yemen seems to not have prevented Saleh and the Houthi from acquiring precious fuel and military supplies for the war effort.

Worse, Hadi’s forces cannot control the territory it has gained. Assassinations and attacks on infrastructure even plague Hadi’s seat of government in Aden.

Hadi’s political support in Yemen remains tenuous. Hadi’s main pillars of support are the archenemies of the Houthi—the Muslim Brotherhood-linked Islah Party, Salafis, and the southerners. Hadi also draws support from those civil society leaders who believed in the promise of the rule of law and the implementation of the outcomes of the National Dialogue Conference.

However, all these groups harbor serious mutual animosities.

To make matters worse, al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) retains its dominance of Mukulla, the major port of eastern Yemen.

While the Houthi and Saleh stubbornly retain control of the populous western highlands of Yemen, their harsh rule is not winning them many admirers. With no oil exports, the effective government in Sana’a lost its main source of revenue. The Houthi government has imposed new taxes, royalties, and fees on businesses, which are widely resented, and is urging citizens to donate to the war effort. The economy is in a tailspin with the Houthi having spent at least half of Yemen’s foreign reserves, and many larger private sector businesses deserting the war-ravaged country.

The Houthi takeover was accompanied by widespread expectations of perhaps a more effective government. The Houthi were quick to disappoint, revealing their true intentions of simply replacing the Sana’a government with their own – by Charles Schmitz

http://www.mei.edu/content/article/yemen-road-nowhere

1.2.2016 – The Guardian (A K P)

[Relates to the Saudi proposal which is labeled as “Propaganda” here, please see below]

Saudi inquiry into war crime claims in Yemen inadequate, say rights groups

Human Rights Watch and Amnesty call for independent commission to look into allegations of war crimes, such as bombing of Médecins Sans Frontières clinics

Saudi Arabia’s pledge to investigate allegations of civilian casualties caused by its bombing campaign in Yemen has been dismissed as inadequate by human rights groups, which insist an independent inquiry is needed to settle mounting controversy and provide accountability for possible war crimes.

Amnesty International said coalition members had a duty to investigate allegations of violations by their forces. “But there must be an international, independent, impartial commission of inquiry to look into all reported violations and abuses by all parties to the conflict, to establish the facts and identify the perpetrators … with a view to ensuring that those responsible are held accountable,” it said.

Human Rights Watch said its concerns would only be addressed if it had “guarantees that the committee will be taking real measures towards ensuring accountability”. The Campaign to Stop Bombing Yemen said a UN inquiry was necessary.

Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), whose facilities in Yemen have been hit three times, called the establishment of a ‎committee “a step in the right direction”. But independent and impartial international investigations were also needed, it said.

The Saudis repeatedly advertise the backing they are getting from the US and Britain. “Experts from the United States … [will] work on extensive reports and develop operating mechanisms, together with the British side,” said the coalition spokesman, Brig Gen Ahmed Asseri, adding that the advisers had held a workshop in recent days at coalition headquarters.

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/feb/01/saudi-inquiry-war-claims-yemen-inadequate-say-rights-groups

Comment: This certainly is one of the rare moments when Asseri is telling the truth.

On the same subject also:

1.2.2016 – Sputnik News (* A K P)

Saudis Swear to Curb Yemen Civilian Deaths, but Keep Same Bombing Tactics

While the Saudi government has indicated its concern for civilian casualties in Yemen, it has no plans of scaling down its military operations. Instead, Riyadh will rely on the US and UK for targeting accuracy – a move unlikely to have much effect, given that both nations have been assisting Saudi Arabia from the beginning.

On Sunday, Saudi coalition spokesman Brigadier General Ahmed Asseri told reporters Riyadh’s solution.

"Experts from the United States…(will) work on extensive reports and develop operating mechanisms, together with the British side," he said.

It’s hard to imagine these measures will have any effect, however. As Jason Ditz writes for AntiWar, the coalition has relied on targeting data from the West since the campaign began.

"The US has been involved in the Saudi war from the start, and has repeatedly been reported to be involved in targeting advice throughout," according to Ditz. "It is unclear, then, what will actually be changing, except the promise to get the toll down."

It’s also highly doubtful that the killing of civilians is accidental. A UN report that leaked last week found that the Saudi coalition was guilty of deliberately targeting civilian sites in a "widespread and systematic" manner.

The coalition has also relied on cluster bombs provided by the United States. This makes accurate targeting almost impossible.

Even if the coalition remains true to its word and works to reduce civilians deaths, that is only part of the problem. The Saudi naval blockade has left roughly 1 million people displaced, with as many as 20 million in need of food, water, and medical supplies.

A hollow effort to limit deaths won’t solve the humanitarian crisis on the ground.

http://sputniknews.com/middleeast/20160201/1034060979/saudi-yemen-bombing-tactics.html

1.2.2016 – from Channel 4 (* A B K)

Film: This is a report on Channel 4 news - they are often more sympathetic to critics of the government than other news channels. But this is a very good report.

https://www.facebook.com/yemennewstodayenglish/posts/1094803544005469

31.1.2016 – Greanville Post (A B K)

Bombers Without Borders: War Crimes Against Yemen

Overview article by Mike Kuhlenbeck

http://www.greanvillepost.com/2016/01/31/bombers-without-borders-war-crimes-yemen/

31.1.2016 – Judith Brown (** A P)

The west has not just associated itself with the Saudis, but the governments of the US and the UK have voiced their 100% support to the Saudi war on Yemen and have continually sold weapons to the Saudis to facilitate the war. Both governments have openly said they provide "logistic" support for the coalition's airstrikes and help in identifying targets. That means they are heavily involved in the war since most of the death and destruction are a direct result of the airstrikes. The only thing that Britain and the US have not done in this war so-far is to put British and American boots on the ground.... but they have participated in EVERYTHING else include imposing a deadly blockade on the country. They cannot be absolved of the war crimes associated with this brutal inhuman war. They are just as guilty as the Saudis and the other coalition members

https://www.facebook.com/SaudiArabia.war.crimes.against.Yemen/posts/1510676579228331

Comment: Just hitting the point in a few lines.

31.1.2016 – Der Freitag (** A P)

„Krieg mit Jemen, und keiner weiß Bescheid"

Jemen/UK/Saudi Arabien UN-Experten werfen der von den Saudis geführten Koalition grobe Menschenrechtsverletzungen vor. Die britische Regierung hält am Export von Bomben und Raketen fest

Dem Guardian liegt seit einigen Tagen ein noch unveröffentlichter Bericht vor, in dem vom UN beauftrage Jemen-Experten der von Saudi-Arabien geführten Koalition "umfassende und systematische" Menschenrechtsverletzungen bei der militärischen Intervention im Jemen vorwerfen. Der Bericht bestätigt die Anschuldigungen zahlreicher Menschenrechtsorganisationen.

Einige westliche Staaten sind Bündnispartner und unterstützen die Koalition logistisch, Premierminister David Cameron steht trotz der Lage zur bisherigen Linie. Großbritannien ist seit mehreren Jahren zusammen mit den USA der größte Waffenlieferant für Saudi-Arabien. Auch deutsche Teile gelangen scheinbar mit Umweg über das Vereinigte ins absolutistische Königreich. Eine Veränderung ist nicht in Sicht.

Der Bericht stützt sich hauptsächlich auf Satellitenbilder und Vorher-Nachher-Vergleiche - den Experten wurde eine Einreise nach Jemen nicht erlaubt. Einem britischen Minister zufolgekönnten "medienversierte" Rebellen hinter einigen Attacken stecken "um die Saudis zu diskreditieren."

aut einer Studie des schwedischen Sipri-Instituts war Großbritannien von 2009 bis 2014 mit Exporten im Wert von fast drei Milliarden Dollar noch vor den USA größter Lieferant der Saudis. Einer Mitte Januar veröffentlichtenRegierungsmitteilung zufolge belaufen sich die britischen Lizenzen für "ML4" nach Saudi-Arabien allein im dritten Quartal 2015 auf über eine Million Pfund - ML4 steht für "Bomben, Granaten, Raketen, Geschosse und weitere Geräte, Komponenten und Zubehöre." Die Lizenzen werden von den Ministern vergeben. Der Regierungsbericht listet unter anderem die Freigabe für folgende Exporte nach Saudi-Arabien auf:

Bestandteile für Luft-Boden-Raketen

Luft-Luft-Raketen

Schalldämpfer für Gewehre

Bestandteile für Kampfhubschrauber

Bestandteile für militärische Kampffahrzeuge

Bestandteile für Bomben

Bomben

Dem saudischen Außenminister Adel al-Jubeir zufolge wird das Militär zudem durch britische Ausbilder unterstützt. "Wir haben einige alliierte Länder gebeten, hierher zu kommen und Teil des Kontrollzentrums zu sein." Laut britischem Verteidigungsministerium wählen die militärischen Helfer die Ziele nicht direkt aus, helfen aber bei der Ausbildung ihrer arabischen Pendants.

"Großbritannien bewaffnet und unterstützt eine fundamentalistische Diktatur, die Zivilisten bebombt und tötet", konstatiert Guardian-Kolumnist Owen Jones. "Großbritannien ist im Krieg mit Jemen, aber warum weiß niemand darüber Bescheid?"

Immerhin schaffte es das Thema bis ins Parlament, wo sich vergangenen Mittwoch zwischen Jeremy Corbyn und David Cameron (hier im Video) folgendes Gespräch entwickelte:

Einen Tag nach diesem Gespräch setzte die Labour-Partei durch, dass das Komitee zur Überprüfung von Waffenexporten wieder eingesetzt wird. Ein Exportstopp fand nicht statt.

Was ist Deutschlands Rolle dabei?

Deutschlands Rüstungsexporte nach Saudi-Arabien belaufen sich im ersten Halbjahr 2015 auf etwa 178 Millionen Euro. Folgende Güter wurden exportiert:

Fahrgestelle für unbewaffnete Transporter [über Frankreich], Geländewagen mit Sonderschutz und Teile für gepanzerte Fahrzeuge, Geländefahrzeuge, sowie Teile für ballistischen Schutz (A0006/66,1 %); Zieldarstellungsdrohnen, Startgeräte, Bodengeräte, Steuerungsgeräte für Zieldarstellungsdrohnen und Teile für Kampfflugzeuge, Zieldarstellungsdrohnen, Luftbetankungsausrüstung(A0010/19,0 %).

Sigmar Gabriel äußerte sich Anfang des Jahres dazu: "Die Exportbestimmungen selber sind eigentlich klar", sagte der Wirtschaftsminister zur Funke-Mediengruppe. "Außerdem haben wir keine Offensivwaffen mehr an Länder wie Saudi-Arabien geliefert." Und weiter: "Wir müssen jetzt überprüfen, ob wir in Zukunft auch defensive Rüstungsgüter kritischer beurteilen müssen."

Nur defensive Rüstungsgüter? Das mag so stimmen - jedoch nur auf den ersten Blick. Die taz schreibt dazu folgendes: „Die Berichte der Bundesregierung verschleiern allerdings, dass die tatsächlichen Ausfuhren deutscher Rüstungsgüter nach Saudi-Arabien noch höher liegen“, kritisierte Jürgen Grässlin, Leiter des Freiburger Rüstungsinformationsbüros.

Zudem kommt: Deutsche Waffen sind schon längst in saudischem Besitz - denn in den vergangenen Jahren wurden unter anderem Exportlizenzen für Panzer, Kriegsschiffe und Gewehre erteilt.

Die von den Saudis geführte Koalition führt einen Angriffskrieg, zerstört Krankenhäuser und Moscheen, tötet Zivilisten. Was helfen die striktesten Regeln zum Waffenexport, wenn sie nicht eingehalten werden? Macht es einen Unterschied, woher die Waffen kommen, die dieses Leid verbreiten? Ob sie in Saudi-Arabien, Großbritannien oder sonst wo hergestellt wurden, spielt höchstens für dämliche Paragraphenreiter eine Rolle. Indem Cameron die Rüstungsexporte weiterhin billigt, bricht er Verträge und gleichzeitig mit sämtlichen Idealen, die die UN propagiert. Dieses Verhalten würde wohl eine größere mediale Debatte nach sich ziehen, wenn der Empfänger der Waffen kein mit dem Westen alliierter Staat wäre – von David Wünschel

https://www.freitag.de/autoren/davidwue/krieg-mit-jemen-und-keiner-weiss-bescheid

Humanitäre Lage / Humanitarian situation

31.1.2016 – ORF (A K)

Hilfslieferungen blockiert: Vorwurf gegen Rebellen im Jemen

Human Rights Watch (HRW) hat den Huthi-Rebellen im Jemen vorgeworfen, die humanitäre Hilfe für die rund 600.000 Einwohner der Stadt Tais zu blockieren. Lebensmittel und Medikamente würden aufgehalten, die Huthi-Rebellen begingen „schwerwiegende Verletzungen“ des internationalen humanitären Rechts, erklärte die Menschenrechtsorganisation heute.

Tais wird seit Monaten von den schiitischen Aufständischen belagert, im Zentrum der Stadt halten sich regierungstreue Truppen verschanzt.

Huthi-Wachposten hätten zwischen dem 13. Dezember und dem 9. Jänner 16-mal an den Stellungen um Tais Zivilisten daran gehindert, Obst und Gemüse, Brennstoff, Sauerstoffflaschen und Medikamente in die Stadt zu bringen, erklärte HRW. Wiederholt seien solche Güter beschlagnahmt worden.

Es sei ohnehin illegal, Privatbesitz von Zivilisten zu beschlagnahmen, ihnen aber Lebensmittel und Medikamente wegzunehmen sei „einfach grausam“, sagte der HRW-Regionalbeauftragte Joe Stork.

http://orf.at/stories/2321998/

31.1.2016 – AFP (A K)

HRW accuses Yemen rebels of confiscating aid

Human Rights Watch on Sunday accused Yemen's Huthi rebels of confiscating humanitarian aid sent into Taez, urging the Iran-backed insurgents to allow access into the besieged city.

The Huthis and their allies have for months tightened the noose on forces backing President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi in the centre of Yemen's third-largest city.

The rebels "should immediately end the unlawful confiscation of goods intended for the civilian population and permit full access by aid agencies," HRW said in a statement.

"Seizing property from civilians is already unlawful, but taking their food and medical supplies is simply cruel," its deputy director for the Middle East and North Africa, Joe Stork, said.

HRW said the population of the city had dropped from about 600,000 to no more than 200,000 civilians after many fled the fighting, according to UN figures.

http://www.france24.com/en/20160131-hrw-accuses-yemen-rebels-confiscating-aid see also DW: http://www.dw.com/en/human-rights-watch-urges-yemen-rebels-to-allow-aid-to-besieged-city/a-19014209 and from AP: https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/rights-group-says-yemen-rebels-blocking-aid-to-besieged-city/2016/01/31/df7a0ba0-c7ff-11e5-b9ab-26591104bb19_story.html

Kulturgüter / Cultural heritage

2015 – Qantara (* B K)

Treasures of humanity under threat

Ongoing airstrikes and the military conflict with the Houthi rebels bring the threat of further destruction of important historical buildings and cultural monuments in Yemen. By Amida Sholan

Yemen has been through many wars and conflicts, both political and armed, and each time the country's numerous historic monuments have suffered. They have been damaged or looted, and their artefacts have been smuggled out of the country. This is particularly the case for sites within conflict areas. Often the relics themselves become battlegrounds, when they are used strategically by the parties involved in the conflict, and then become a target for the enemy.

Even when Yemen was the scene of armed disputes between Al-Qaeda and the Yemeni army, the military had already started using historic sites, buildings and towns, or even museums as bases, which led to robbery and damage. And the wider the current conflict spreads, the more danger is posed to old towns and other historic locations where combat groups have entrenched themselves - with catastrophic consequences.

Since the current war, named the "Storm of Resolve", began raging in Yemen in late March, Yemeni cultural assets have been targeted by all warring parties: the Houthis, the "people's resistance", and fighter planes belonging to the Saudi-led Arab League.

According to Muhannad Al-Sayani, the head of the Yemeni authority for antiquities and museums, dozens of ancient sites have been affected by the current war. However, in many cases it is impossible to verify the damage on site.

Completely or partly destroyed: [in detail] – by Amida Sholan

http://en.qantara.de/content/the-destruction-of-yemens-cultural-heritage-treasures-of-humanity-under-threat

Nordjemen und Huthis / Northern Yemen and Houthis

1.2.2016 – Tasnim News (AP)

A spokesman for Yemen’s Ansarullah Houthi movement said the Saudi-led aggression against Yemen indeed serves the interests of the United States, which seeks to restore its hegemony over Yemen.

Mohammad Abdul-Salam told the Tasnim News Agency on Monday that the continuation of aggression against Yemen, which cannot be justified anymore, is only due to the US willingness to continue the war along with Riyadh.

“They claim they are fighting the expansion of Iran’s influence throughout the region, but in fact Americans have waged this war to bring Yemen under their mandate again and force it into accepting the US hegemony and domination.

The Yemeni nation now knows better than ever that the US is the main culprit behind the war against the Arab country, and that others are just US puppets, Abdul-Salam stressed.

Washington has clearly stated that it has helped Riyadh in identifying targets and bombing Yemen and that US warships have fired missiles on Yemen, he added.

http://www.tasnimnews.com/en/news/2016/02/01/988167/ansarullah-sees-us-behind-saudi-led-war-on-yemen

Comment: Propaganda or not? I think he overstresses the intentions of the USA regarding Yemen. In all regards, they do not care much for Yemen, Yemen just is a minor figure in a much greater game for them, ruling the whole region and therefore comforting the Saudis. A small poor country is of less interest, as off course are human lives – in that poor small country, the same as elsewhere in the world, especially if these lives are black or Latin American. The only real interest of the USA in Yemen is counterterrorism.

1.2.2016 – RT (A P)

Jemen: Gegen Saudi-Arabien und die USA - Riesiger Anti-Kriegsprotest in Saana (mit Film)

Tausende Menschen sind am Freitag auf die Straßen von Sanaa geströmt, um für ein Ende des Krieges zu demonstrieren, der seit zehn Monaten im Jemen herrscht. Außerdem richtete sich der Protest gegen die Kriegs-Allianz von Amerika und Saudi-Arabien in dem Konflikt. Der Protest kommt eine Woche nach dem Besuch von US-Außenminister John Kerry in Riad, bei dem er Saudi Arabien die Unterstützung der USA für die saudische Militärintervention im Jemen zusagte.

https://deutsch.rt.com/kurzclips/36571-jemen-gegen-saudi-arabien-und/

Südjemen und Hadi-Regierung / Southern Yemen and Hadi government

1.2.2016 – ORF (A T)

Al-Kaida erobert Stadt im Süden des Jemen zurück

Im Süden des Jemen hat die Extremistengruppe Al-Kaida nach Berichten von Anwohnern die Stadt Assan zurückerobert. Zahlreiche Kämpfer seien am frühen Morgen in den 70.000 Einwohner zählenden Ort in der Provinz Schabwa eingedrungen und hätten in den Straßen Kontrollposten errichtet, sagte ein Einwohner der Nachrichtenagentur Reuters heute am Telefon. „Sie sind nicht auf Widerstand gestoßen, es gab keine Gefechte.“

Assan ist ein wichtiges Handelszentrum in der ausgedörrten Bergregion und stand bereits ein Jahr lang unter Kontrolle von Al-Kaida, bevor 2012 eine Allianz mehrerer Stämme und bewaffnete Einwohner die Extremisten wieder vertrieben.

http://orf.at/stories/2322129/

1.2.2016 – Reuters (A T)

Al Qaeda militants seize southern Yemeni town - residents

Dozens of al Qaeda militants reclaimed the town of Azzan in Yemen's Shabwa province on Monday, residents said, exploiting a security vacuum in the country's south as a civil war rages.

Azzan is a major commercial hub of about 70,000 people in an arid and mountainous region and was controlled by al Qaeda for around a year until the group was ejected in 2012 by an alliance of tribesmen and armed residents loyal to Yemen's since ousted central government.

"Dozens of al Qaeda gunmen arrived in the early hours of the morning and set up checkpoints at the entrances to the town and in its streets. They planted their black flag on government buildings," one resident who declined to be named told Reuters by telephone.

"They faced no resistance or clashes," the resident said, adding that tribal militia forces quit the area as it was being taken over.

http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-yemen-security-idUKKCN0VA1XC

Comment: So Qaeda still widening its area of control in Yemen. This is an area that was 'liberated' bynthevsaudi led coalition and has been mainly in the hands of militias and criminals ever since. Such as AQ.

https://www.facebook.com/yemennewstodayenglish/posts/1094813417337815

1.2.2016 – National Yemen (A T)

Al-Qaida Controls Southern Town of Azzan

Local residents said that “many checkpoints were established in Azzan and al-Qaida members distributed leaflets asking people to abide by Islamic teachings.”

Many mid-level commanders of the al-Qaida group were moved to Azzan and took government buildings there, according to the residents.

http://nationalyemen.com/2016/02/01/al-qaida-controls-southern-town-of-azzan/

1.2.2016 – Almasdar (A T)

Al-Qaeda seizes strategic town in southern Yemen
Monday morning, militants belonging to Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula’s (AQAP) local affiliate Ansar al-Shariah have taken control of a town in southern Yemen, which is located along a major road linking two provincial capitals. According to local officials and tribal witnesses, dozens of Ansar al-Shariah’s militants with pick-up trucks arrived in the early hours of morning in Azzan to setup checkpoints at the entrances to the town and in its streets without facing any resistance, raising their black flag on government buildings. Tribal chiefs said most of the militants who seized Azzan came from the surrounding area.

The town of Azzan lies on the highway linking the Shabwah province’s capital of Ataq and the city of Mukalla, the capital of the Hadramout province, which was overrun by jihadists in April 2015. It’s the second largest commercial town in the Shabwah province

http://www.almasdarnews.com/article/26684/

31.1.2016 – Aljazeera (A T)

Yemen’s top Salafi cleric abducted and killed

Cleric's body was found disfigured hours after he gave sermon against groups like Al-Qaeda and ISIL branches in Yemen

The lifeless body of Yemen's top Salafi cleric in the southern port city of Aden was found disfigured on Sunday hours after he was abducted following a sermon against groups like the affiliates of Al-Qaeda and Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in Yemen, security officials told The Associated Press.

The influential cleric, Samahan Abdel-Aziz, also known as Sheikh Rawi, had delivered a fiery sermon against the Al-Qaeda and ISIL branches on Friday, the officials said. His body was found bloodied and bearing signs of torture in Sheikh Othman, an area largely controlled by armed groups, they added.

Abdel-Aziz was kidnapped by gunmen outside his mosque late Saturday in the pro-government neighborhood of Bureiqa, they said.

http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2016/1/31/yemens-top-salafi-cleric-abducted-and-killed.html and quite the same by AP: http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/rights-group-yemen-rebels-blocking-aid-besieged-city-36624182

31.1.2016 – Al Arabiya / Saudi Gazette (A T)

Yemeni resistance commander assassinated in Aden

The body of Sheikh Samhan Abdul Aziz Al-Rawi, a commander of the Popular Resistance, was found in Yemen’s southern port city of Aden on Sunday, Al Arabiya has reported.

According to a Yemeni security source, Al-Rawi was assassinated and his body was found in Aden’s neighborhood known as Mansoura.

Al-Rawi, who was one of the leaders of the Popular Resistance in Aden, was reportedly fighting with the resistance during recent clashes with Houthi militias two weeks ago.

A security official said Al-Rawi was likely to have been kidnapped in the Mansoura neighborhood.

http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2016/01/31/Yemeni-resistance-commander-assassinated-in-Aden.html = http://saudigazette.com.sa/world/mena/yemeni-resistance-commander-assassinated-in-aden/

Saudi-Arabien / Saudi Arabia

31.1.2016 – Middle East Monitor (* B P)

In Saudi Arabia, Britain arms a regime following 'same thought' as Islamic State

[First half of the article: Overview at the British debate on arms trade]

On Wednesday, a London think tank published a translated clip from Emirati TV of a recent interview with a top Saudi cleric talking frankly about the similarities between the Saudi regime and the "Islamic State" regime in Syria and Iraq.

Sheikh Adel al-Kalbani told the presenter that "we follow the same thought [as Islamic State] but apply it in a refined way." He said "they draw their ideas from what is written in our own books, from our own principles"

He said that the one who criticises Islamic State "the most does not criticise their thought, but their actions … the way people are executed … is brutal … it ruins our image in front of the world; if we execute them in a way that does not show us in a bad light, then that's fine."

"When some journalists were killed, it was as a result of specific religious rulings," he explained.

Islamic State has executed many journalists, often releasing hideous and graphic videos of the event taking place on camera in public. These have included Iraqi cameraman Raad Mohamed al-Azaoui, in October 2014. Al-Azaoui had allegedly refused the group's demand that he send all his reports to their media department for pre-approval. More widely publicised killings of western journalists such as Jim Foley and Steven Sotloff have often been announced ingrimly slick video productions.

Saudi Arabia is one of the world's biggest perpetrators of the death penalty, carrying out more than 90 executions in 2014, according to Amnesty International (behind only Iran, with 289 and China, which carries out more than the rest of the world put together). Figures released in August suggest the rate had increased to an average of one person every two days.

Saudi executions are often carried out for alleged crimes such as drug smuggling or "sorcery". Much like in areas occupied by Islamic State, Saudi executions are is administered with beheading.

The frank admission by the Saudi cleric confirms something I mentioned in a column back in November 2014. The dissident Saudi researcher and activist Faud al-Ibrahim showed in an important essay, that "Islamic State" and Saudi Arabia share much the same ideology, and that books widely promoted by the Saudis are similarly pushed in Islamic State controlled areas.

The writings of co-founder of the Saudi state "Mohammed bin Abdel Wahhab such as The Book of the Unity of God, Clarification of the Doubts, Nullifiers of Islam and others are distributed in the areas under ISIS' control and are taught and explained in private religious classes that the organization's educational department holds."

How can it be that even at the same time the British government says it is fighting the extremist group in Syria and Iraq (with a counter-productive bombing campaign), that it is selling billions in arms to a more "refined" version of exactly the same hideous ideology? – by Asa Winstanley

https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/articles/inquiry/23655-in-saudi-arabia-britain-arms-a-regime-following-qsame-thoughtq-as-islamic-state

Refers to this:

27.1.2016 – Integrity on youtube (B P)

Video: Former Imam of the Grand Mosque in Mecca, Adel Kalbani: Daesh ISIS have the same beliefs as we do

In a TV appearance, Sheikh Adel AlKilbani, former Imam of the Grand Mosque in Mecca, is asked to comment about some of his statements about Daesh. Explaining how it is a result of Islamic revivalism, he adds that Daesh follows the same Salafist approach that is adopted in Saudi Arabia, and that there are only some differences regarding how to punish those who contravene the Shari'a

https://www.facebook.com/yemennewstodayenglish/posts/1094398854045938

31.1.2015 – Noto Wahabism (B P)

Film: Watch how Wahhabism teaches Cannibalism!
Wahhabis are allowed to kill and eat Shia & unbelievers!

https://www.facebook.com/NotoWahabism/videos/829709370490980/

29.1.2016 – Middle East Monitor (* B P)

King Salman’s marriage of convenience with the Brotherhood

[The anti-Muslim Brotherhood policy of king Abdullah]

Since Salman succeeded Abdullah, the Saudi royals have hosted both the political leadership of Hamas and Brotherhood luminaries such as Tunisia’s Rachid Ghannouchi. While such visits would have been unimaginable a few short years ago, Saudi Arabia is now too preoccupied with Iran to be able to afford to alienate Middle Eastern Shia, transnational jihadists and the Arab world’s most deeply-rooted political organisation all at the same time.

Whether or not Salman and his top officials are privately in favour of this rapprochement, the state of affairs in the post-2011 Arab world has made this policy reversal much easier. The sheer brutality of Syria's civil war and the failure of most of the other revolutions (especially in Egypt and Yemen) has cooled the fervour for change to the point where the Muslim Brotherhood now seems a much less existential threat than Iran's "Shia Crescent". The execution of Saudi Arabian Shia Shaikh Nimr Al-Nimr, the deepening Saudi intervention against the Houthis in Yemen and the fragmentation of Iraq have all contributed to a new calculus on the part of the House of Saud; so long as the Shia are on the rise, no Sunni (outside of transnational jihadists) can be taken for granted as a potential partner.

This re-alignment of Saudi interests has had some foreseeable repercussions, with the most virulent of the anti-Brotherhood forces backed by Abdullah now understandably concerned about Salman's priorities. Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi, for one, needs Saudi support (and, more critically, Saudi funding) to keep his regime afloat. Together with Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates and Oman, Saudi Arabia pledged a combined $12.5 billion in aid to Egypt in March 2015. More recently, the Saudis provided Egypt with $3 billion in additional funding to invest in development projects.

Salman's reversal of Abdullah's stance toward the Muslim Brotherhood almost certainly has more to do with events in the region than it does a personal change of heart within the palace. Nonetheless, Saudi Arabia's recently anointed monarch must tread more carefully if he hopes to assemble a stable coalition against Iran. Riyadh needs the support of Cairo and its other neighbours in order to prosecute its war in Yemen successfully. The Brotherhood (and its backers in Qatar and Turkey) might be good partners to have in Syria and Palestine, but the kingdom's fortunes in the current sectarian cold war between itself and the Iranians will depend in large part on whether it can position itself as the unchallenged leader of the Sunni Arab world. As the Saudis should have learnt by now, cash in and of itself will not be enough – by Malik Ibrahim

https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/articles/middle-east/23631-king-salmans-marriage-of-convenience-with-the-brotherhood

USA

1.2.2016 – Cato Institute (A P)

What the President Should Do: End U.S. Support for the War in Yemen

Possibly the strangest foreign policy decision the Obama administration has made was their decision to support the Saudi-led war in Yemen. The White House has made quiet counterterrorism operations a key plank of its foreign policy agenda, and the administration includes a number of officials best known for their work on human rights issues, most notably Samantha Power. As such, the President’s decision to supply logistical, intelligence and targeting support for the Saudi-led coalition’s military campaign – a campaign which has been horrifically damaging to human rights inside Yemen, as well as detrimental to U.S. counterterrorism goals – was deeply surprising.

So what should the president do? In his last few months in office, President Obama should take advantage of his executive power to end U.S. support for the war in Yemen, and direct America’s diplomats to aggressively pursue a diplomatic settlement. This war is humanitarian disaster and a strategic failure; ending our support for it should be a no-brainer – by Emma Ashford

This work by Cato Institute is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.

http://www.cato.org/blog/president-obama-can-end-war-yemen

30.1.2016 – Oped News (* B K)

Obama's drone war is immoral and counter-productive

[Overview articke]

Facts such as these contradict the official White House policy statement (5/23/13) that lethal drone attacks will not be authorized unless there is "1. Near certainty that the terrorist target is present; [and] 2. Near certainty that non-combatants will not be injured or killed."

We must use our moral imagination to consider not just the slaughter of innocents, but also what it is like to live in areas under threat of drone attack. Law school clinics at Stanford and New York University have jointly published a study of the effects of drone warfare on communities (Living Under Drones, 9/12). The study describes how "Drones hover twenty-four hours a day over communities in northwest Pakistan, striking homes, vehicles, and public spaces without warning. Their presence terrorizes men, women, and children, giving rise to anxiety and psychological trauma among civilian communities." – by Brian Cooney

http://www.opednews.com/articles/Obama-s-drone-war-is-immor-by-Brian-Cooney-Drone_Drone-Bombing-Of-Chidlren_Drone-Strike_Drone-Wars-160130-564.html

Großbritannien / Great Britain

1.2.2016 – Neopresse (*A K P)

Britische Bomben unterstützen die Saudis beim Krieg im Jemen

Zum Erreichen ihrer Ziele im Jemen, wurde Saudi-Arabien seit 2012 überwiegend mit Waffen, aus dem Vereinigten Königreich beliefert. Großbritannien steigerte allein den Verkauf von Raketensystemen an die Saudis, in den letzten Monaten, um mehr als 11000 %. Aber auch Militärberater entsenden die Briten, um die saudische Koalition bei ihren Angriffen zu unterstützen. Aus diesem Grund warnten Ende des letzten Jahres, führende britische Diplomaten und Juristen David Cameron, dass er Gefahr läuft, vor einem internationalen Tribunal für Kriegsverbrechen angeklagt zu werden, da die Waffensysteme, die seine Regierung liefert, von den Saudis, zu einem erheblichen Anteil, für den Einsatz gegen zivile Ziele im Jemen verwendet werden.

Der „Independent“ berichtete dazu:

„Es haben sich rechtliche Hinweise verstärkt, dass der Verkauf von Spezial-Raketen und Streubomben an die Saudis, die in den letzten neun Monaten fast tägliche Bombenangriffe im Jemen zur Folge hatten, möglicherweise gegen das internationale, humanitäre Recht verstoßen…

…Tausende von jemenitischen Zivilisten wurden getötet. Schulen, Krankenhäuser und nicht-militärischen Infrastruktur wurde getroffen. Kraftstoff- und Nahrungsmittelknappheit, haben nach Angaben der Vereinten Nationen Versorgungsengpässe und Hungersnöte in vielen Teilen des Landes ausgelöst.

Der „Guardian“ stellte fest, dass „Saferworld“ und „Amnesty“ ein Rechtsgutachten von Professor Philippe Sands und einer Reihe andere Juristen in Auftrag gegeben haben, nach denen der Verkauf der britischen Waffen an Saudi-Arabien, im Lichte seiner militärischen Interventionen und Bombardierung von Jemen, verletze sowohl die nationalen, europäischen und internationalen Gesetze. Die Juristen wiesen darauf hin, dass für den Zeitraum von 9 Monaten, vor Juli 2015, das Vereinigte Königreich, Bomben und Raketen im Wert von etwa 9 Millionen Pfund verkaufte, während in den nächsten drei Monaten diese Zahl auf 1 Milliarde Pfund anstieg. Außerdem gibt es klare Beweise, dass diese Waffen gegen Krankenhäuser, Schulen, Märkte, Lagerhäuser, Häfen und Camps für Vertriebene eingesetzt wurden. Die „Saferworld Human Rights Organisation“ ist davon überzeugt, dass es einen direkten Zusammenhang zwischen der Zunahme der Verkäufe von Waffen und Munition und den Bombardierungen im Jemen gibt.

Viele britische Beobachter, einschließlich denen des Guardian, fiel auf, dass einige Tage nach David Cameron’s Aussagen über seinen Versuch, einer „Einleitung eines politischen Prozesses im Jemen“ und der Bemerkung, dass „da kann es keine militärische Lösung im Jemen geben“, die von der Regierung veröffentlichten Daten zeigten, dass die britische Regierung weitere Verkäufe von Waffen und Bomben nach Saudi Arabien genehmigte – von Martin Podlasly

http://www.neopresse.com/politik/naherosten/britische-bomben-unterstuetzen-die-saudis-beim-krieg-im-jemen/

Kommentar: Die sog. „Mainstreampresse“ in Deutschland schweigt sich weiter zu diesem Thema aus. Einer der ganz wenigen Artikel, abseits des „Mainstream“.

1.2016 – The Iran Project (* A P)

Britain’s bloody hands observable in Yemen’s war

Saudi Arabia’s aggression against Yemen has led to one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises. Millions of people in Yemen are living under the blockades, famine, the civil war and air raids as nearly 10 months have passed since the launching of the offensive. Meanwhile, the British government, led by David Cameron, not only has chosen to turn a blind eye to all these crimes but also, according to the published reports, it has directly and indirectly been assisting Al Saud and is considered an accomplice in the Saudi crimes [Overview article]

http://theiranproject.com/blog/2016/02/01/britains-bloody-hands-observable-in-yemens-war/

Comment: Another Iranian report - in Iran UK has always been seen as something of the background agitator - a flashback from our colonial history in the region I guess. So they must be enjoying David Cameron's discomfort in this Saudi weapons scandal.

https://www.facebook.com/yemennewstodayenglish/posts/1094789044006919

31.1.2016 – RT (A P)

Video: Illegal Saudi arms deals, Cameron’s bunch of migrants & Does the law protect child abusers? (E300)

Afshin Rattansi goes underground on the illegal bombing of civilians in Yemen, institutional abuse at G4S & David Cameron attacking Jeremy Corbyn about his disgraceful predecessors. Amnesty International UK’s arms programme director Oliver Sprague asks whether Saudi Arabia is blackmailing the British government. And why is it not mandatory in the UK for people to report child abuse? Tom Perry, founder of Mandate Now, criticizes government cuts that have led to victims of abuse not having access to proper therapy. Plus Afshin discusses this week’s PMQs & the PM's outburst against refugees.

https://www.rt.com/shows/going-underground/330695-illegal-bombing-civilians-yemen/#.Vq25VqT9d7d.facebook

EU

30.1.2016 – The National Scot (A P)

EU to probe Saudi arms trade

OFFICIALS for the EU’s top diplomatic chief yesterday confirmed they are to “look into” calls by a Scots MEP to investigate UK arms sales to Saudi Arabia.

Alyn Smith wrote to High Representative Federica Mogherini asking for an official probe into the trade with the absolute monarchy by EU member states, including the UK.

The call comes in light of a UN report which claims to have identified almost 120 instances of Saudi-led raids on Yemen in breach of international humanitarian law.

According to the EU’s own rules, member states cannot provide weapons to countries where there is “a clear risk that the military technology or equipment to be exported might be used in the commission of serious violations of international humanitarian law”.

The UK made £1 billion in arms sales to Saudi Arabia in just three months last year, with France, Italy, Belgium and Spain also involved in the trade.

Yesterday an EU spokesperson said the union’s common position on arms sales is “binding for all members states and implemented under their responsibility” – by Kirsteen Paterson

http://www.thenational.scot/news/eu-to-probe-saudi-arms-trade.13087

27.1.2016 – EU-Parlament (A P)

Entschließungsantrag

eingereicht im Anschluss an eine Erklärung der Vizepräsidentin der Kommission und Hohen Vertreterin der Union für Außen- und Sicherheitspolitik

gemäß Artikel 123 Absatz 2 der Geschäftsordnung

zur humanitären Lage im Jemen (2016/2515(RSP))

Das Europäische Parlament […]

7. bedauert zutiefst, dass die internationale Gemeinschaft und die Massenmedien dem Konflikt im Jemen keine Aufmerksamkeit schenken;

8. verurteilt jegliche ausländische Militärintervention in dem Land, ob sie nun von Saudi-Arabien oder dem Iran, von arabischen Ländern oder dem Westen ausgeht; warnt vor den Risiken, die die Anbahnung eines Religionskriegs mit sich bringt; betont, dass es sich bei dem Krieg im Jemen nicht einfach nur um einen Konflikt zwischen Schiiten und Sunniten handelt; verurteilt den Umstand, dass religiöse Unterschiede herangezogen werden, um politische Krisen und Konfessionskriege herbeizuführen;

9. erinnert alle Parteien an ihre Verantwortung, dafür zu sorgen, dass das humanitäre Völkerrecht und die internationalen Menschenrechtsnormen eingehalten werden, wonach Zivilisten geschützt werden müssen, die zivile Infrastruktur nicht angegriffen werden darf und humanitären Organisationen sicherer und ungehinderter Zutritt in das Land gewährt werden muss; ist zutiefst besorgt über Berichte, denen zufolge von den Huthi-Kräften, von Ansar al-Scharia und den Regierungstruppen Kindersoldaten eingesetzt werden; fordert, dass diejenigen, die für Verletzungen und Missbrauch der Menschenrechte und des humanitären Völkerrechts verantwortlich sind, für ihre Taten zur Rechenschaft gezogen werden;

10. verurteilt die stillschweigende Duldung der Diktaturen in der Region sowie die Mittäterschaft der EU; betrachtet die Rolle, die die verschiedenen Interventionen des Westens in den letzten Jahren bei der weiteren Verschärfung der Konflikte in der Region gespielt haben, äußerst kritisch; erklärt, dass es für die Konflikte in der Region keine militärische Lösung geben kann; lehnt die Verwendung des Begriffs der „Schutzverpflichtung“ ab, da er gegen das Völkerrecht verstößt und keine angemessene Rechtsgrundlage dafür bietet, den einseitigen Einsatz von Gewalt zu rechtfertigen;

11. kritisiert nachdrücklich den intensiven Waffenhandel von Mitgliedstaaten der EU mit verschiedenen Ländern in der Region, wie im Falle des Vereinigten Königreichs, Spaniens, Frankreichs und Deutschlands; fordert eine unverzügliche Aussetzung sämtlicher Waffenlieferungen und jedweder militärischer Unterstützung für Saudi-Arabien und dessen Koalitionspartner; fordert in diesem Zusammenhang den Rat auf, zu prüfen, ob gegen den EU-Verhaltenskodex für Waffenausfuhren verstoßen wurde, und Maßnahmen zu beschließen, damit dieser Kodex von allen Mitgliedstaaten strikt eingehalten wird;

12. ist strikt gegen den Einsatz von Drohen im Rahmen von außergerichtlichen Tötungen im Ausland; fordert, diesen Einsatz von Drohen gemäß seiner Entschließung vom 27. Februar 2014 zum Einsatz von bewaffneten Drohen zu verbieten, in der in Ziffer 2 Buchstaben a und b gefordert wird, „sich gegen die Praxis gezielter außergerichtlicher Tötungen auszusprechen und diese Praxis zu verbieten“ und „dafür zu sorgen, dass die Mitgliedstaaten im Einklang mit ihren rechtlichen Verpflichtungen keine rechtswidrigen gezielten Tötungen verüben oder solche Tötungen durch andere Staaten begünstigen“;

http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?type=MOTION&reference=B8-2016-0151&format=XML&language=DE

Kommentar: Sicher keine Chance...

Terrorismus / Terrorism

See also: „Southern Yemen and Hadi-government“

31.1.2016 – Asian Defence (A T)

Photos: Yemen - Ansar Al Sharia/AQAP Destroyed Old Shrine

http://asian-defence-news.blogspot.de/2016/01/yemen-ansar-al-shariaaqap-destroyed-old.html

Propaganda

1.2.2016 – The National AR (A P)

Extremism must not prevail in Yemen

how badly the Houthi rebels and their nefarious alliance with ex-president Ali Abdullah Saleh have affected the country.

It was precisely to stop this sort of collapse that the Saudi-led coalition went to Yemen. The chaos that the Houthi rebels have sown has ensured that the central government cannot control large parts of the country – and certainly cannot focus on anything other than restoring stability.

This is the real crime of the Houthis. Seeking power for themselves and their Iranian backers, they have happily allowed a situation where the worst elements of radicalism can flourish. Al Qaeda and ISIL are both expanding their presence in the country, to the obvious, demonstrable detriment of Yemenis and Yemeni society.

The mission is far from over, neither in the country nor in Aden itself. Even though government forces and Emirati troops seized Aden from Houthi rebels last July, Al Qaeda and ISIL continue to carry out bombings and assassinations in the city and endanger the lives of civilians.

The war in Yemen will have to continue until the country is free and secure from terrorism. The Yemeni people are currently in the crossfire between Al Qaeda and ISIL in one hand and the Iran-backed Houthis, who, in addition to their serious violations of international humanitarian law, have been even accused by Human Rights Watch of confiscating humanitarian aid intended to help civilians in the besieged city of Taez. This is clear proof of their ruthless approach and their disregard of the lives of civilians. A look at the tortured body of Sheikh Rawi should provide an answer to the question: what type of Yemen do the Houthis want?

http://www.thenational.ae/opinion/editorial/extremism-must-not-prevail-in-yemen

Comment: Always trying to draw a line between Houthis and AQAP / ISIS where there cannot be any because of bilateral hatred. Off course, Iran is not allowed to be missed here, neither the grandiose “mission” of the coalition forces.

31.1.2016 – Der Standard (A P)

Saudi-Arabien prüft eigene Menschenrechtsverletzungen im Jemen

Militärkoalition: "Unabhängige Experten" sollen mögliche Verbrechen klären Riad – Die von Saudi-Arabien angeführte Militärallianz gegen die Houthi-Rebellen im Jemen hat eine Untersuchung möglicher Menschenrechtsverletzungen in dem Konflikt angekündigt. Eine Kommission "unabhängiger Experten für Waffen und internationales Menschenrecht" werde einen "deutlichen und vollständigen Bericht" mit "Schlussfolgerungen, den daraus zu ziehenden Lehren, Forderungen und Maßnahmen" vorlegen, wie Zivilisten geschützt werden können, hieß es in einer von der amtlichen saudiarabischen Nachrichtenagentur SPA am Sonntag veröffentlichten Erklärung der Koalition.

http://derstandard.at/2000030121886/Saudi-Arabien-prueft-eigene-Menschenrechtsverletzungen-im-Jemen

31.1.2016 – Aljazeera (A P)

Coalition battling rebels in Yemen to probe abuses

Coalition says a commission of inquiry is to investigate possible abuses against civilians in the Yemen conflict

The command of Arab coalition, battling Houthi rebels in Yemen, has announced the creation of an independent commission of inquiry to examine charges of possible abuses against civilians in the conflict.

In a brief statement published by the official Saudi SPA news agency on Sunday, the coalition command said it had formed "an independent team of experts in international humanitarian law and weapons to assess the incidents and investigate the rules of engagement".

The coalition said the objective was to "develop a clear and comprehensive report on each incident with the conclusions, lessons learned, recommendations and measures that should be taken" to spare civilians.

The statement followed a UN report which concluded that civilian targets were part of the coalition air strikes in Yemen.

Meanwhile, the spokesman for the coalition said on Sunday that American and British military experts were advising its forces on how to improve aerial targeting and reduce civilian casualties. "Experts from the United States ... (will) work on extensive reports and develop operating mechanisms, together with the British side," Saudi coalition spokesman Brigadier General Ahmed Asseri told journalists in Riyadh.

He said the advisers held a workshop in recent days at the coalition headquarters.

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2016/01/coalition-battling-rebels-yemen-probe-abuses-160131175307510.html and from Arab News: http://www.arabnews.com/news/873341

and from Reuters http://news.yahoo.com/saudi-led-coalition-says-does-not-target-yemeni-173928439.html = http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-yemen-security-saudi-idUKKCN0V90UV where is also stated: Asseri said the coalition was responsible for the bombing of a Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) hospital in northern Yemen on Oct. 27 which it had denied at the time, explaining to reporters that planes had targeted Houthi fighters near the facility.

31.1.2016 – New York Times (A P)

Saudi Coalition in Yemen Announces Inquiry Into Bombings

Responding to criticism of its rampant bombings in Yemen, including a toughly worded appraisal from a United Nations panel that was leaked last week, the Saudi-led military coalition fighting there announced on Sunday the formation of a “high-level independent committee” to investigate the bombardments, which rights groups have called war crimes.

In an announcement reported by Saudi news outlets, the coalition, which has been battling the rebel Houthi movement in Yemen for nearly a year, said the committee’s objective would be to “develop a clear and comprehensive report on each incident with the conclusions, lessons learned, recommendations and measures that should be taken” to avoid killing civilians and to respect international law. The coalition also said it was establishing a hotline with Doctors Without Borders, the medical charity, which has expressed outrage over repeated aerial attacks that have hit at least three of its facilities in Yemen in recent months.

Brig. Gen. Ahmed Asseri, a spokesman for the coalition in Riyadh, the Saudi capital, told reporters at a news conference, “We seriously deal with the United Nations and its agencies.” He also said British and American military experts were advising the Saudis on how to improve aerial targeting to minimize risks to civilians.

The announcement did not specify who would be part of the independent committee or the time frame for its work, but it did say committee members would be “tasked with assessing the coalition’s rules of engagement involving citizens during this conflict.” – by Rick Gladstone

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/01/world/middleeast/saudi-coalition-in-yemen-announces-inquiry-into-bombings.html?_r=0

Comment: This is rather ridiculous. An “independent” commission installed by the Saudis? This whole proposal just is to prevent a real independent investigation team to look at Yemen war crimes. This is just repeating what happened when the Netherlands in the UN Human Rights Council had required an independent commission to investigate the war crimes in Yemen. The Saudis intervened and countered by their own proposal that their Yemeni puppet government should “examine” war crimes in Yemen. This proposal unanimous accepted by a quite ridiculous Human Rights Council, nothing happened at all. Do the Saudis think they could repeat this mockery again? – And Asiri’s claim the Saudis would care to “to minimize risks to civilians” is just a lie when looking at what has happened up to now.

Comment: After 10 months of flat denial : ‪#‎Saudi Arabia says it "regrets" civilian deaths in ‪#‎Yemen, which were "unintended".

Saudi Arabia now says it has formed an "independent team of experts in international humanitarian law" to assess Yemen civilian deaths.

I say : No Saudi "team of experts" will tell the truth. Let the United Nations convene a Yemen war crimes inquiry.

https://www.facebook.com/yemennewstodayenglish/posts/1094462664039557

Comment:

If bombing, maiming, destroying and starving were not enough, Saudi Arabia has now added legal parodying to its ever-extending list of abominations, uncovering yet another perversion to its pallet.

Unabashed by its abysmal human rights records and defiant promotion of terror through its patronage of Wahhabism, the kingdom has now claimed its actions in Yemen stand resolutely within the rule of law, and that its coalition has in fact refrained from targeting civilians.

A tyrant powered by dizzying wealth and powerful friendships, the kingdom is now making a parody of international law, positioning itself as THE ultimate authority – both the judge and the jury.

Days after a panel of UN experts issued a scathing report against Riyadh over its overt targeting of civilians and criminal methods of war, al-Saud came back with an offer at self-legislation …. Dystopian hardly begins to cut it!

“The Arab coalition announces the formation of a high-level independent committee … to evaluate the events, identification and targeting mechanisms and developing them,” the Saudi mission’s statement to the UN read.

What Saudi Arabia is in fact offering is to whitewash its own crimes through the exploitation of its UN connections and financial clout. What Saudi Arabia would have you, the public believe is that the burden of guilt lies not with its officials or its brutal regime but on the victims of its military campaign.

World allows for Saudi Arabia to control the narrative; still the UN is offering cover for those criminals of war, who have sentenced Yemen to a thousand tortures.

https://www.facebook.com/rachy.colly/posts/1034668343238167

31.1.2016 – Alekhbariya (A P)

Spokesman of the Coalition Forces provides details of the war in Yemen

The spokesman of the Coalition Forces in support for the legitimacy in Yemen, Brig. Gen. Staff Ahmed bin Hasan Asiri, explained to reporters on Sunday night the regulations and tactics of monitoring and attacking hostile targets in a modern wars.

Asiri spoke at a press conference and addressed in detail the steps required to pinpoint a military target. He stated that, even though targets are located in residential areas or civil facility, they are first evaluated and are only hit if there are no human or material losses incurred on non-military subjects.

He also provided an account of the sources of information about the enemy and their tactics, citing the intelligence, drones, reconnaissance, humans on the ground.

This press conference came following the announcement of the Coalition Command supporting the legitimacy in Yemen. They also formed high-level independent teams in the field of weapons and humanitarian international law to evaluate the military targeting mechanisms and incidents taking place in civil locations.

Asiri said that the impartial committee formed by the Yemeni government to verify all claims has visited the relevant military authorities, including the Command of the Joint Forces and the air forces operations center.

During meetings with senior officers in Yemen, the committee was convinced that the military task they were performing was never done at random or blindly. However, human errors were not ruled out.

He revealed that the committee is currently based in Aden, but having daily contact through an appointed liaison officer with the command and the center.

He added that all accusations and claims reaching the Coalition Command were investigated by the committee and none was neglected.

Asiri stated the hitting of a hospital belonging to doctors without borders organisation, which took place at Haidan province in northern Yemen on October 25, 2015 as follows:

“High-value movable military target was pinpointed by the front observer of the Command with the pilot making the first trial, but when he was about to reach the target, it has changed its location to the vicinity of the hospital, which was invisible for the pilot who, solely, decided at the moment to make his second trial and hit his previous target, demolishing a large part of the hospital.”

http://alekhbariya.net/en/node/4977

Comment: What else than again using the word “ridiculous” when comparing that to what really happens day by day?

Saudischer Luftkrieg / Saudi aerial war

1.2.2016 – Press TV Iran (A K PH)

Saudi Arabia pounds major airport in western Yemen

Saudi Arabia has carried out several rounds of airstrikes on a civilian airport west of Yemen as it seeks to cut off the impoverished nation from the outside world.

Yemeni's al-Masirah TV said on Monday that Saudi warplanes pounded the port city of al-Hudaydah’s international airport, inflicting huge losses on the facility.

The attack is the latest in a series of operations by Riyadh to destroy Yemen’s civilian infrastructure including the channels it can use for receiving humanitarian aid it badly needs.

Saudi warplanes on Monday targeted residential areas in northern provinces of Sa’ada, Hajjah and Ma’rib, with no immediate information available on the casualties. The harshest attacks have been reported in a market in Sa’ada where three days of incessant airstrikes have inflicted huge damage on civilian properties while a major health facility has also been destroyed in the area.

A woman and her little girl were also killed Monday when Saudis bombarded the district of Mara’an in Sa’ada.

http://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2016/02/01/448296/Yemen-Saudi-airport-Hudaydah

31.1.2016 – Saba News (A K PH)

Six citizens martyred, seven injured in Sana’a

Six citizens were killed and seven others were wounded on Sunday in an initial toll of Saudi raids on Bani al-Harith district of the capital Sana’a.

A security official explained to Saba that the aggression warplanes targeted a residential building in al-Rahba area in Bani al-Harith district, which led to the killing of three women and three children and injuring seven others.

The hostile war jets bombarded Farah Land Park in Aser area in the west of the capital and the September 26 Park in Ma’een district, causing severe damage to the nearby houses and buildings, the official said.

He added that the aggression bombed Queen Arwa University in the 60th Street, which led to large devastation in the building.

http://www.sabanews.net/en/news417773.htm

31.1.2016 – People.cn (A K)

Images: 6 killed, 7 injured in Saudi-led airstrike in Sanaa, Yemen

http://en.people.cn/n3/2016/0201/c90777-9011838.html

28.1.2016 – on Youtube

The Saudis bombed their own town of Rabuah in Asir province, occupied by Huthi forces:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XwAdvw8nNh4

Kriegsereignisse / Theater of War

1.2.2016 – Dubai News (A K PS)

In victory for Yemen government, forces storm enemy camp in Sanaa province

Pro-government forces stormed a military camp close to Sanaa on Monday in a victory that takes them a step closer to recapturing the capital.

Clashes continued into the evening inside the sprawling complex located on a large site in Fardhat Nihm district, 40km from the city.

The camp is used by Yemen’s Republican Guards, an elite force of soldiers who stayed loyal to the former president Ali Abdullah Saleh, after he was forced from power by a popular uprising in 2011.

With the help of the anti-Houthi popular resistance, Yemeni army forces loyal to Mr Hadi seized several mountains in Nihm district to the East of Sanaa during the last few days. By Monday afternoon, the forces were able to storm the camp, Yemeni commander Brigadier Murad Turaiq told The National.

The troops were backed by air strikes from the Saudi-led coalition including raids by Emirati Mirage jets, which helped them advance swiftly on ground.

“The clashes are still continuing inside the camp, while the air strikes support the ground forces to advance inside the camp,” Brig Turaiq added.

He said pro-government forces recaptured most of the camp, but there are still some Houthi fighters inside it. “We cut the supplies from the rest of the Houthi fighters inside the camp, and I think that they will surrender soon.”

http://dubai-news.co/in-victory-for-yemen-government-forces-storm-enemy-camp-in-sanaa-province/

1.2.2016 – Reuters (A K)

Saudi Arabia says 375 civilians killed on its border in Yemen war

Mortars and rockets fired at Saudi Arabian towns and villages have killed 375 civilians, including 63 children, since the start of the Saudi-led military campaign in Yemen in late March, Riyadh said on Monday.

Brigadier General Ahmed Asseri, spokesman for the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen, told Reuters that the Houthi militia and army forces loyal to former president Ali Abdullah Saleh had fired more than 40,000 projectiles across the border since the war began.

"Now our rules of engagement are: you are close to the border, you are killed," he said.

In a measure of how fierce the fighting on the frontier continues to be, nearly 130 mortars and 15 missiles were fired by the Houthis and Saleh's forces at Saudi border positions on Monday alone, Asseri said in an interview in Riyadh.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/wires/reuters/article-3426918/Saudi-Arabia-says-375-civilians-killed-border-Yemen-war.html

1.2.2016 – Fars News (A K PH)

Yemeni Missiles Hit Power Station in Southern Saudi Arabia

The Yemeni army and popular forces targeted a power plant in Jizan province, Southern Saudi Arabia, with several missiles.

There are yet no reports on the damage or death toll of the attack which was carried out last night.

According to al-Masirah, the Yemeni forces also fired several missiles at a Saudi military base in Riyalain region in the Southern province of Najran.

http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13941112000435

1.2.2016 – Gulf News (A K PS)

Yemen rocket fire kills child in Saudi Arabia

9 members of family wounded in attack amid surge in Al Houthi strikes

An 11-year-old child was killed and nine members of his family were wounded on Sunday when a rocket fired from Yemen hit their house in a border region of Saudi Arabia, civil defence authorities said.

http://gulfnews.com/news/gulf/saudi-arabia/yemen-rocket-fire-kills-child-in-saudi-arabia-1.1663597

31.1.2016 – Iran German Radio (A K PH)

Blackwater-Kommandant bei Raketenangriff jemenitischer Armee getötet

Bei einem Raketenangriff der jemenitischen Armee und des Volkskomitees auf den saudischen Stützpunkt Al-Aned sind 200 sudanische Soldaten, darunter der neue Kommandant vom US-Sicherheitsunternehmen Blackwater,Niokolaus Petros, getötet worden.

Bei dem Angriff wurden außerdem einige Apache-Hubschrauber sowie Brennstoff-Tankfahrzeuge der unter Saudi-Arabien geführten arabischen Militärkoalition explodiert, berichetete der jemenitische Nachrichtensender al-Massira am Sonntag.

http://german.irib.ir/nachrichten/nahost/item/296548-blackwater-kommandant-bei-raketenangriff-jemenitischer-armee-get%C3%B6tet

31.1.2016 – Politeia (A K)

Jemen: Schwere Verluste der Saudis

Die Armee und die Volksmilizen des Jemen starteten eine neue Runde von Angriffen auf Stellungen der saudischen Kräfte in der südwestlichen Provinz Lahij. Dabei wurden 200 Blackwater-Söldner zusammen mit ihrem US-Kommandeur Nicolas Petrasgetötet, als jemenitische Tochka-Raketen in der al-Anad-Militärbasis einschlugen.

Mehrere Apache- und Typhon-Helikopter sowie mehrere Öltanker-LKW wurden ebenfalls bei dem Raketenangriff zerstört.

http://www.politaia.org/kriege/26789/

31.1.2016 – Sputnik News (A K)

Houthis' Ballistic Missile Attack Kills Dozens of Saudi Coalition Personnel

Houthi rebels struck the Al Anad air base with a ballistic missile, killing dozens of people and inflicting damage.

Yemen's Houthi rebels carried out a rocket attack on Saudi-led coalition forces stationed at the Al Anad air base in the Lahij governorate, killing and injuring dozens of service personnel, a Yemeni military source told Sputnik on Sunday.

"Ambulances took those killed and injured to Al Houta and Aden. Most of those killed were Yemenis newly conscripted into the government's army and Sudanese servicemen belonging to coalition forces, their positions were hit directly," the source said.

The Al Anad air base, which contains an airport and Yemen's largest training camp, is currently controlled by forces loyal to President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi after being captured from Houthi fighters in August 2015.

The air base was struck by a Tochka tactical ballistic missile, the source said, adding that coalition forces' military equipment suffered significant damage as a result of the attack.
http://sputniknews.com/middleeast/20160131/1034001043/houthis-ballistic-missile-yemen.html

31.1.2016 – Fars News (A K PH)

100s of Saudi Coalition Forces Killed in Missile Attack on Al-Anad Military Base in Yemen

The Yemeni army and popular forces inflicted heavy losses on the Saudi-led coalition forces in Southwestern Yemen on Sunday, a senior military official announced.

"The Saudi forces sustained a great human loss in Yemen's Tochka missile attacks on Al-Anad military base in Lahij province today," Yemeni Army Spokesman Sharaf Luqman said on Sunday.

He reiterated that hundreds of Saudi-led forces, including over 200 Sudanese Blackwater mercenaries, have been killed in the Saudi missile attack.

The Yemeni forces' attacks on the Saudi forces' positions in Lahij killed tens of Blackwater mercenaries, including their US commander, and destroyed several Apache and Typhoon helicopters.

The Tochka missiles hit a gathering of the Saudi forces at al-Anad military base, killing 200 Sudanese Blackwater mercenaries and their new commander US Colonel Nicolas Petras.

The Blackwater forces' military operations room and the houses of the Blackwater forces were also destroyed in Yemen's attack.

http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13941111001587

31.1.2016 – Press TV Iran (A K PH)

Blackwater commander in Yemen killed in missile attack

The commander of the infamous US security firm, formerly known as Blackwater, in Yemen and dozens of Riyadh’s mercenaries were killed Saturday in a missile attack by Yemeni forces in Lahij Province.

The Yemeni military backed by fighters of the Houthi Ansarullah movement launched a Tochka ballistic missile on the al-Anad military base in the southern Yemeni province.

Colonel Nicholas Petros was killed along with a group of mercenaries fighting for the Saudi regime in its war on Yemen.

Lebanon's al-Ahed news website reported that Apache helicopters, Typhoon fighter jets and armories belonging to the mercenaries were destroyed in the missile strike.

A spokesman for anti-Ansarullah militants loyal to Yemen’s former fugitive president, Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi, claimed the missile had been intercepted and did not hit the target.

http://217.218.67.231/Detail/2016/01/31/448073/Yemen-Ansarullah-Houthis-Blackwater-mercenaries-Lahij/ see also http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13941111000620

31.1.2016 – Almasdar News (A K PH)

Lebanese American mercenary killed in Yemen

The Yemeni Army’s Republican Guard forces reportedly killed another foreign Blackwater operative in southern Yemen on Saturday after a Toshka missile struck the Al-Anad Airbase in the Lahij Governorate. According to battlefield correspondents from the Yemeni Army, Nicholas Boutros – a Lebanese American Blackwater operative – was identified among the several casualties of the Toshka missile strike on Saturday.
http://www.almasdarnews.com/article/lebanese-american-mercenary-killed-in-yemen/

31.1.2016 – on Twitter (A K PH)

Overnight : Tochka missile strike by Houthi/Saleh forces on Hadi forces in Al Anad airbase in Lahj, Yemen, 120 Sudanese mercenaries dead out of the 145 killed (Infograph with figures)

https://www.facebook.com/haykal.bafana/posts/946204705459540?fref=nf

Abna has one more interesting detail:

31.1.2016 – ABNA (A K PH)

Yemeni forces kill Blackwater commander 'Colonel Nicholas Petros'

A spokesman for anti-Ansarullah militants loyal to Yemen’s former fugitive president, Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi, claimed the missile had been intercepted and did not hit the target.

https://www.facebook.com/yemennewstodayenglish/posts/1094387327380424

Comment: So what??

Comment: And now we have the Iran perspective on who has been killed by the Houthi-Saleh alliance. Note the language - 'Yemeni forces'. In the Saudi article the leader of a militia in Aden was leading 'popular resistance'. They all give positive labels to those fighting on 'their' side.

https://www.facebook.com/yemennewstodayenglish/posts/1094387327380424

Neue Artikel zum Nachlesen 1-94: / Yemen Press Reader 1-94:

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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