Schwerpunkte / Key aspects
Klassifizierung / Classification
Am wichtigsten / Most important
Humanitäre Lage / Humanitarian situation
Kulturerbe / Cultural heritage
Nordjemen und Huthis / Northern Yemen and Houthis
Südjemen und Hadi-Regierung / Southern Yemen and Hadi-government
UNO / UN
Saudi-Arabien und Iran / Saudi Arabia and Iran
Saudi-Arabien / Saudi Arabia
USA
Großbritannien / Great Britain
Schweiz / Switzerland
Mercenaries / Söldner
Terrorismus / Terrorism
Propaganda
Saudische Luftangriffe / Saudi air raids
Kriegsereignisse / Theater of War
Die Saat des Wahabismus / The seed of Wahabism
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
6.1.2016 – Yemen fights back (** B P)
Iran-Backed Houthis: Fact or Fallacy?
The Western journalists have always chipped in adjectiving Houthis with ‘Iran-backed’ parroting Saudi’s media. It is disgraceful when journalists do not do their job properly. Why label the Houthis a name they never admitted to and there is no single proof of that preposterous allegation?
Let’s find out what they missed.
Iran has always supported all Islamic groups who are anti-Israel such as the Shiah Hezbollah in Lebanon and also the Sunni ones like Hamas and Jihad Movement in Palestine, with money and arms. On the other hand, Houthis did neither receive money nor arms from Iran. Yes, there have been frequent visits from Yemenis Zaidi scholars, such as Badr al Deen, the father of the current leader. Houthis were an isolated movements at war with the Saleh’s government, so naturally they would be eager to voice their opinions to whomever was willing to listen. Iran was! Since when non-official single-person visits means alliance, I ask!?
Few days before the Saudi aggression war against Yemen, dual ISIS suicidal explosions in two mosques killed at least 142 and injuring another 351 persons during the Friday prayer. Iran kindly treated a group of the injured, but so was Oman. Yemen, one of the poorest countries, would have welcomed any help it can get to treat the wounded. It was only those two countries who were willing to help. Other countries media didn’t even give near the coverage this incident deserves.
Due to the extreme blockade implemented by Saudi Arabia and its Egypt’s Sisi mercenary, Yemen couldn’t receive the food shipments it has already paid for. Iran scorned the blockade and sent a large ship with dire needs of medicine, fuel, food and water to Yemen. In the eve of the ship’s departure from its embarkation port, Iranian officials initiated threats that no one will dare to challenge the ship’s course. The ship was accompanied with by Iranian military ships to ensure its arrival to the Northern port of Hudaidah. Pro-Iran media cheered the move and everyone observed its ship’s 12 days journey. Two days before its arrival, the previous ballooned Iranian threats faded away as the ship started drifting to the Djibouti port per the Saudi demands. The ship never reached Yemen. What simply happed is that Iranians were bluffing and the Saudis called it. After that, no Iranian comments about the ship. The Houthis also didn’t comment. If they had been allies as the Saudis channeling, there would have been more insistence on the Iranian side; there would’ve been some admonishing from the Houthi side against their imaginary allies. That was months ago. Iranians has swallowed the defeat and didn’t try again. Wouldn’t an ally at least try again later to help its ally? There have been multiple shipments reached Yemen’s shores and airports. None of them were Iranians.
Declaring a help will arrive and then doesn’t, wasn’t too helpful to Yemen under the enforced blockade. Something else didn’t help Yemen. The nuclear negotiation between Iran and the West should have not affected the situation in Yemen. It did. Negatively. Akbar Shahid Ahmed from the Huffington Post said: “Iran has proclaimed its support for the Houthis’ rights and criticized the Saudi-led campaign regardless. Doing so is a cheap way for it to suggest it has great influence in the region — and a role in the Houthis’ success — without seriously losing money or manpower.” Iran doesn’t have influence over the Houthis. Prior to the Houthis’ takeover of the capital, Iran had warned them from doing so. The swift take over was as if the Houthis didn’t give any regards to the Iranians’ advice sent from over thousand miles away.
One might ask, where would the Houthis get all of those weapons then if it is not from Iran? This is the simplest allegation to refute. During their fight with Saleh’s government and the Wahhabi Islah party, the Houthis were surrounded within Yemen by Saleh’s forces and in their North by Saudi Arabia. Food couldn’t get to their territories, let alone weapons. When Saleh’s government and Saudis were defeated by the Houthis later, Saudis paid the Houthis billions of dollars in exchange of retreating from the 45 military posts they seized and the returning of territories and the captured Saudi soldiers. That money was enough to compensate the civilians in their territories and prepare them financially for what to come.
When they entered the capital on 2014, the army stood aside, but then joined Houthi forces to stabilize the capital and the returning of other Yemeni provinces. All the weapons Saleh had accumulated over the years in his reign became available to the Houthis aided by the expertise of the Yemeni army. The Houthis didn’t need from Iran, the money nor the weapons or even the expertise. Gareth Porter from Middle East Eye titled an article: Houthi arms bonanza came from Saleh, not Iran. That bonanza is increased daily in the current fights from the battle field against mercenaries and Saudi army. In a televised interview with the Kuwaiti military analyst Fahd alShilimi, he described the coalition’s mercenary army in Yemen: “these groups receive salaries and do nothing. You don’t know if they are with us or against us… their weapons were taken by the Houthis… this [pro-coalition] army is unworthy of life… their arms are taken by the [Houthi] militias and they just observe.” The Yemeni forces have been seizing weapons since the Saudi war began, a mountain of Saudi-stamped weapons, on top of what the tribes have and the Yemeni armed citizens! Youtube is full with clips of Houthis capturing Saudi arms in battlefield. The truth is that Houthis never needed arms from Iran or from anyone else. Journalist Safa Al Ahmad’s film, The Fight for Yemen, said: “The Houthis have local problems and local powers. They don’t need Iranians to bring them weapons. They’re awash in weapons.”
The Saudis accompanied their aggression waged war with massive murky media. The level of lies in the Saudi media has reached unprecedented level. For months it has been trying marginalize Houthis and their reach within the Yemeni people. How could Houthis fight in 12 fronts alone? Truth is that Yemenis are fighting alongside the Houthis against mercenaries in the inside and inside Saudi territory at the same time. The Houthis are also aided by the Yemeni tribes as well, the army and even non-Houthi people, many are Sunnis. This current fight is between the Yemeni people and its adversaries.
It has been Saleh and Saudi Arabia who first accused Iran of aiding the Houthis. On May 2007, the former Yemenis interior minister and prime minister deputy, Rashad alAlimi, in AlYaum Saudi newspaper, accused Iran of supporting the ‘rebels’ lead by Badr alDeen alHouthi.
This claim was echoed again in the fabricated story about the Iranian Mahan 1 ship that was supposedly supply Houthis with weapons. Gareth Porter from Truth-out.org said: “Diplomatic cables released by WikiLeaks reveal that the story of the arms onboard the ship had been concocted by the government,” and that “President Saleh had hoped to use the Mahan 1 ruse to get the political support of the US for a war to defeat the Houthis.” And after Saleh had stepped down, on 2013 another ship, Jihan 1, was accused of supplying Houthis with arms. While this one was indeed carrying weapons, but the expert panel tasked with the case found no evidence linking the ship to Iran.
Between 2007-10, Stephen Seche was the US ambassador to Yemen. He rode the Iran-backed Houthi claim. He affirmed that claim in his testimony to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee about Yemen: “that the Sunni Arab world, led by Saudi Arabia and the UAE, has chosen to draw a line in the sand and tell Iran that its interference in the region will no longer be tolerated.” Mr Seche seems to have forgotten that he himself doubted this claim. WikiLeaks revealed a memo from Seche’s office on December 9th, 2009, titled Who Are The Houthis Part Two: How Are They Fighting?, it reads: Contrary to [Republic Of Yemen Government] ROYGclaims that Iran is arming the Houthis, most analysts report that the Houthis obtain their weapons from the Yemeni black market and even from the ROYG military itself.”
Washington Institute: Assistant Secretary for Near Eastern Affairs Jeffrey Feltman told Al-Hayat that while Washington takes the accusations seriously, “we do not have evidence that the Iranian interference with the Houthis is as deep as is the case with Hezbollah.”
Daifallah al-Shami, a prominent member of the Houthis in a televised interview with alMayadeen channel before the war said about Iranian political analysts:
“A few political analysts, some Iranians, describe the Yemeni scene as accomplishments for Iran, as if we are Iranian toys. I can say from your channel that Yemen doesn’t accept the mandate by the U.S. Saudi or even Iranian… we are not followers of Iran… you [Iranian analysts] shouldn’t have said that… don’t become liars!”
Back to my dear journalists, can this help you stop insulting the Yemeni people by calling its resistance “Iran-backed”? Please, knock it off! Oh, by the way, their group has an official name, I let your journalism skills find it – by Khaled Sharafuddin
https://yemenfightsback.wordpress.com/2016/01/06/iran-backed-houthis-fact-or-fallacy/
1.9.2015 – Kym Robinson (** B C P)
The Trouble in Yemen
The crisis in Yemen that most in the West do not care to understand. (from August 2015)
The silent war in Yemen illustrates the perpetual hypocrisy and Machiavellan savagery that is Western hegemonic policy. The Saudi military, with US support in arms and advisors, continues to attack and ravage the Yemeni nation. It is a case of those in the poorest Persian Gulf state defending themselves from outright Imperialism from the most powerful of the Persian Gulf tyrannies, Saudi Arabia. It is a case of the Saudi regime attempting to reinstall the overthrown regime of President Hadi. The Yemeni regime that was overthrown earlier this year when Houthi tribesmen from the country’s North took the Yemeni capital in an attempt to set up a freer and less corrupt government.
Saudi Arabia has had an influence in Yemen both directly and indirectly for quite some time. The large Kingdom assuming custodian at times over this impoverished nation whenever it feels that Iran may in some way find influence through the minority Zaidi sect of Shia moslems in the nations North. Before the Saudi’s felt they had the right to control and manipulate Yemen as they so pleased, it was the British who left the region after fighting one of the last Colonial campaigns in the region in hopes of keeping the South Arabian peninsula inside the folds of the Empire. And now with such a history of external manipulations Yemen once again finds itself being ripped apart from both within and without.
Saudi Arabia, a nation with an impressive military, having needed the assistance of most of the World fifteen years ago now finds itself again invading and attacking insurgent elements inside of Yemen with support from its American allies. Yet despite this, and despite the confused battlegrounds as far as the many warring groups go, Saudi Arabia and its coalition falters in its bloody efforts.
Calamity and catastrophe savages Yemen as the continued attacks from Al Qaeda, the Saudi invasion as well as a decade long drone strike campaign from the US has destroyed much of the small and impoverished nation. Meanwhile the world ignores what is happening as starvation and disease spread, while military powers destroy the populace with an Imperial zeal. Yemen being the only republic in the region with ancient civilisations provides a paradox when compared to the oil rich recently created monarchies and sheikdoms which so dominate the region with their wealth and influence.
After the 1990 reunification of South and North Yemen, the country has been in a state of unease. The predominantly Zaidi Shi’a Muslims of the North, with some alleged support from Iran, have become known for the most part as Houthi. It is with a complex power struggle that they find themselves in conflict with most of the factions in Yemen, including the Saudi led Arab coalition with American aid now invading the nation.
In the South a secessionist movement made up of urbanised Sunni Muslims have formed a coalition which in itself fights other factions of the conflict in an attempt to leave the unified State to form their own South Yemen. Corruption and secular disharmony has led many into this decision. The Southern separatists are opposed to both the Hadi regime as well as the Houthi tribesmen from the country’s North.
Al Qaeda has a tremendous influence in Yemen and it is rumoured that most of the organisation is now situated in the region. Al Qaeda finds itself not only fighting the Houthi, but also the various Sunni factions, the Yemeni government as well as the United States military. This is however only when the US is not using the terror group as proxy allies against the Northern Shi’a Houthis.
The Popular Resistance Committee (PRC) in the South, itself another Sunni faction, focuses most of its efforts in combating Al Qaeda. They do this with some support from the failing Hadi regime. But for the most part the PRC has done this on its own and is having the greatest success against the terror group. Pushing Al Qaeda back as the PRC claims a great deal of what was once Al Qaeda dominated territory.
Though the main fight is between the Houthi and President Hadi’s regime, all factions oppose Al Qaeda in Yemen. The Houthi have claimed that they support a transparent government and democratic elections, with a dual power share of Shia and Sunni to be worked out once hostilities end. Many however fear that they are merely puppets of the Iranian Government who seek a proxy ally so close to their rivals, Saudi Arabia.
As the Arab spring in 2011 destabilised many of the corrupt and despotic governments in the region, Yemen too experienced its own form of the Spring. Though corrupt, the pro-US government was overthrown in a popular revolt to be replaced soon after by President Hadi, who was elected in an election in which he was the only candidate. Hadi held ties to the old regime of the pre-revolt era and his rule soon turned out to be corrupt and ineffectual for the people of Yemen. This combined with the fact that President Hadi, who was meant to have stood down in February of 2014 in accordance to the nation’s laws, continued to rule due to an amendment written for his benefit in January of that year. A new law which was invented to extend his rule due to the National crisis affecting the nation. This eventually led to not only the Houthi fighting the regime on charges of misconduct and corruption but also some of the other factions of non Shia origin. Though Iran has been accused of inciting the Houthi and supporting them, the Iranians deny this and in fact have both recognised and supported the Hadi government.
To further complicate issues, a variant of what is generically known as the Islamic State has emerged in an attempt to set up franchise in the troubled region to further tie up both Shia and Western resources in an effort to spread their form of global jihad. While the Islamic State elements have struggled to gain much footing it does however add another dangerous element to the crisis.
Though the Houthi are a minority group and have dissolved parliament they have claimed to seek a five member presidential council with a limiting two year leadership. Whether the Houthi’s are genuine in their aims for a freer and fairer government that observes the rule of law is ultimately unknown. Meanwhile President Hadi, having fled to Aden, has set up a de facto capital where he leads his somewhat split government in its multi-faceted fight to remain in power of Yemen.
Yemen has become a microcosm of regional politics. It has become in some ways a Persian Gulf Balkans with complicated relations and alliances being tested, events being manipulated from external forces and all the while it is the civil populace who suffer as food shortages and diseases are rampant. Not to mention the frequent deaths and injury caused by the regular fighting and shelling destroying human life across the country.
Yemen has been all but ignored for some time by those in the Western mainstream media. It has been a crucial battleground in the United States fight against Al Qaeda as drones target many suspects, killing more innocents than the intended ‘suspected terrorists’. As they had attempted in Iraq, Al Qaeda hoped to unite the various peoples of Yemen in a fight against American influence but instead they were brutalising the populace and soon found themselves in a many front war against those who do not want them there. This however does not give the US and the other members of the Gulf coalition (Jordan, Egypt, Morocco and Sudan) led by Saudi Arabia a warrant to manipulate and control this already suffering nation.
Like most political leaders in the region President Hadi is no doubt all of the things that the Houthi and his Sunni opponents have accused him of being. But when and if he is toppled completely, will the vacuum be filled with a worse regime or regimes? And, if so, will the US and its Arab allies allow this to happen or will they continue to manipulate Yemeni governance assuring that such proxy puppets stay in rule. Yemen is unfortunately a battleground of so many interested parties and the only certain outcome is that a lot of human beings will suffer but who will have ultimate ‘control’ is less certain. Innocents will die and find misery and all the while political elites and powerful men will seek to savage each other and those in their grasp all in the name of stability for themselves or some hegemonic power play.
As Syria and Iraq suffer their own multi-faceted and confused conflict caused by foreign interferences and interventions, so shall Yemen though on a ‘smaller scale’. The humanitarian crisis that is both of these conflicts is however far from slight. Just like Syria-Iraq the fighting factions battle one another, juggle alliances and the apathetic viewer seeks to simplify the conflict at the behest of a manipulative government above them. It is a conflict more about its many omissions than it is about its admissions. This can be said for all conflicts, but perhaps none more so than for such recent ones as we find burning up this region of the world. Just as is the case in Syria-Iraq much of the cacophony of calamity is directly related to US and Western presence, policy and interventions. Animosity and hate will billow from this region for some time and an ever perpetual war shall go on while many in the region fight each other with age old hatreds reinvigorated by modern circumstances interspersed with new players of violence.
Many in the region continue to feel that the Crusaders have never left and maybe never will. So while an observer in Australia may look on with confused interest and hope that the Australian military may in some way help to solve the conflicts in alliance with the US, as is the case in Iraq, bludgeoning foreigners on their home soil fighting a complex struggle has never and shall never resolve or attain anything other than to prove much of the condemnation being thrown at the West as being correct.
The Saudi Arabian and American track record for supporting dictators and vile regimes is ever apparent and well known. The notion that either are fighting for ‘democracy’ and a freer society is a fairy tale but, like most conflicts, one cannot seek to find heroes or villains. The people of Yemen have been subjugated to colonial rule, proxy despotic rule, terror, foreign imperialism and tribal plunder for a very long time. Much of this conflict has very deep roots which are only now being torn up as the tinder box that is the region has been ignited from so many conniving and careless matches. While the arsonists proclaim legitimacy and some moral intent it is the people on the ground who suffer the most as their world burns down around them – by Kym Robinson
https://robinson80blog.wordpress.com/2015/09/01/the-trouble-in-yemen/ = https://halfcaged.liberty.me/the-trouble-in-yemen/
04.2015 (?) – Wilson Center (** A P)
Yemen: The Tribal Islamists
Islamist politics have many faces in Yemen. But the tribe is still the core around which political, economic, and social lives are organized. So Islamist politics in the Arab world’s poorest country has always blended with tribal influence. For two decades, Islah, or the Yemeni Congregation for Reform, has been the largest Islamist party. It is predominantly Sunni, although tribal factors and figureheads often superseded Islam and its sheikhs in Islah. It has been a pragmatic party that has served as both the official opposition and an ally of the government.
The Islah Party was founded after the May 1990 merger of North Yemen and South Yemen. It was an amalgam that merged three strands of society: tribal forces, which were powerful in rural areas; the Muslim Brotherhood, which was strong in urban areas; and Salafi sheikhs, who ran a network of religious schools. Its political spectrum included traditionalists, pragmatic conservatives, and rigid ultraconservatives. Unlike Islamist parties elsewhere, however, Islah was effectively sponsored by the ruling General People’s Congress.
Islah has been a comparatively pragmatic Islamic party. Its political manifesto describes the group as “a popular political organization that seeks reform of all aspects of life on the basis of Islamic principles and teachings.” But the manifesto also states that policies must be “centered on the realities and events of their [people’s] experiences” as well as “appreciating the network of external and internal factors that influence the running of … [Yemen’s] affairs.”
President Saleh, who had only an elementary school education, fostered the party for his own political purposes.
The Muslim Brotherhood, which lacked any other political vehicle, became the third and largest strand to join Islah.
During its first seven years, Islah was dominated by its tribal and Salafi factions. But in 1996, during a party conference, the Muslim Brotherhood faction won control of the general secretariat.
The rise of the Brothers began the party’s drift away from cooperation with the ruling General People’s Congress. In 1997, Islah formally joined the opposition.
Islah also became increasingly pragmatic on issues, pushing back against ultraconservative measures. Its legislative priorities usually involved secular topics—electoral laws, economic policies or budget issues, parliamentary oversight, and constitutional questions about the distribution of local and regional power. It accepted the separation of mosque and state, rejecting an Islamic state or theocratic rule by religious sheikhs even as it promoted religious values based on Islamic law in politics.
[In 2011], As with Islamist movements elsewhere, Islah leaders were slow to recognize the protests and reluctant to participate in Yemen’s version of the Arab awakening. And when they did get involved, the party preferred to offer Saleh a negotiated exit rather than support the kind of coup that had toppled the leaders of Tunisia, Egypt, and Libya.
Islah played a key role in forcing Saleh’s departure, but the party experienced a series of setbacks after the uprising.
By mid-2014, Islah fighters were embroiled in a number of skirmishes with the Shia Houthi clan the ended in a decisive defeat in Amran, the defacto Islah capital and the heartland of the Hashid tribe and Al Ahmar family.
Key Positions
Democracy
In Islah’s official documents, religion is the backdrop, not the core, of a philosophy that often resembles classical liberalism more than theocracy. Its manifesto identifies seven basic principles: Islam as a belief and a life-governing law; justice; liberty; equality; shura (consultation) and democracy; a republican system; and republican unity.
Islamic law and Sharia, while invoked throughout the manifesto, are quickly qualified by references to democracy.
Women’s Rights
In its party constitution, Islah calls for measures to “rectify the inferior image of women” and to reform the “traditional” role of women, making them partners in all societal roles. In practice, however, its progressive-sounding policies have not been internalized by the grassroots. Many, if not most, male Islah members support a traditional housebound role for women.
“Good values and morals” in the family are described as a cornerstone of social cohesion, according to the party commands. Women should give priority to “their families by better upbringing of their children.” – by Leslie Campbell
https://www.wilsoncenter.org/yemen-the-tribal-islamists
Comment: Long article worth reading in full.
30.1.2016 – Hisham Al Omeisy (** B H K)
Smallest Coffins are the Heaviest - Child Soldiers
A bit quiet today in Sana'a. Fighter jets flew by a few times, but didn't drop any bombs as far as I can tell, and sky was clear for most of day. Knock on wood, please.
It was a beautiful day. A bit of clouds but with warm rays of sun shining through and making for a rather gorgeous weather. So saw no harm in standing with my eldest son by door of our house to chat with the neighbors.
One of the often cheerful and normally very social neighborhood guys straddled by without paying any attention to our now small mob of neighbors. Mob whom were a moment ago loud in sharing stories & cracking jokes but suddenly quiet when noticed him.
You could easily tell from way he carried himself now that he was broken. A big part of him died after he lost his son to an airstrike. He was a healthy man in his mid forties but seemed to have aged a decade since his loss just a few weeks ago.
Everyone knew him, everyone knew his story. The rowdy mob falling into a sudden pin drop silence was in a way an acknowledgment of the pain he had suffered but also a show of respect and solidarity by not disturbing and leaving him be.
The community had stood by him at the time of the incident and still do now. It's a closely knit community and they went the extra mile in supporting him as he mourned. But now was time to simply give him some space to deal with his own demons.
Now was the time for him to deal with the fact that his son's death is partly if not mainly his fault.
He didn't greet me or neighbors as he walked by but did quickly glance at my son for a second that seemed like an eternity. His sunken eyes spoke volumes of agonizing emotions, mostly of deep regret.
His son was only 14 years old when picked up an AK47 and boosted would "join battle font-lines to defend the honor of the nation". To which and for whatever temporary insanity, he cheered and encouraged, when as a father should've smacked the living lights out of his son and indefinitely grounded in his room.
His son was only 14. Not just a minor, but also barely a teen. He had no comprehension of what grave risk and horrors fighting in a real war would entail for a child his age. With neither his frail body nor his weak psychological state of mind prepared to bear brunt of brutal battles, he had no business fighting in a war that many adults wouldn't.
Now that it's too late, the father is torn between a whole host of "what if's" and "it was meant to be's" as he tries to come to terms with the fact that he did indeed foolishly lead his son to his own demise.
Pity the father having to go through that and fighting such demons now when no path for a recourse. But far more do so the poor child whose life was entrusted to such a father to protect and safeguard.
There are 10 million children in Yemen, that's almost 40% of the population, and where majority are food insecure, out of school & struggling to survive. 82% of the population need all sorts of urgent aid according to the UN. That's a humanitarian catastrophe.
According to the UNICEF, there have been at least 747 child deaths in past few months of a still raging war in Yemen. That's a conservative number considering not all deaths are registered and accounted for.
It is further estimated that 1/4 of fighters are underage. Information on and number of fighters killed in battles is scant. Now take that into account and add to all of the above, and you get a sense of the very ugly reality that is Child Soldiers and where the smallest coffins are the heaviest – by Hisham Al-Omeisy
http://yemenprism.blogspot.de/
Humanitäre Lage / Humanitarian situation
7.2.2016 – Middle East Eye (* B H)
Families torn apart by war in Yemen's Taiz
For every death in this conflict-ravaged city, there is a family trying to stay together and pick up the pieces of their shattered lives
Six local organisations in Taiz province reported last week that 1,251 civilians had died and 9,738 had been injured in Taiz since the start of the war in March, including 208 women and 285 children killed, and 1,129 women and 1,021 children injured.
Every one of those deaths has dramatic social consequences on those left behind. Human Rights Watch said on Sunday that Taiz city's population had dropped from about 600,000 to no more than 200,000.
Abdul Kareem Shamsan, the head of the Humanitarian Relief Coalition in Taiz province, said the hardships Taha and the Mansoubs faced were not uncommon - war has broken up hundreds of families in Taiz, and the conditions worsen daily as the war rages on.
"Most of the families were not poor. Many were relatively wealthy but after the heads of their households were killed, the families have been dispersed," Shamsan added.
According to Fadhl al-Thobhani, a professor of sociology in Taiz University, many of those families have fled to rural areas, as there are houses in the villages and work is easier to find, and the locals "pull together" to help others out.
Nevertheless, Thobhani said the war was fraying the very social fabric that binds the province.
"Many people will be able to work again after the war, but the families that lost the head of their household cannot, so the government has to pay for them," he said.
He agreed with Shamsan that locals needed to come together to help those left destitute by the fighting – by Nasser Al-Sakkaf
http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/taiz-homeless-yemen-war-1713560563
Comment by Judith Brown: It's not just in Taiz that people are torn apart. It's everywhere. Even seeking education for those whose courses are terminated due to the war makes families seek different countries for education - whoever will offer them a chance to rebuild their lives. The current situation in Yemen reminds me so much of the plight of Palestinians in 1948.
https://www.facebook.com/yemennewstodayenglish/posts/1097336640418826
Nordjemen und Huthis / Northern Yemen and Houthis
7.2.2017 – Gulf News (A P)
Another Yemeni journalist viciously assaulted
Attacks on journalists critical of Iran-backed Al Houthi occupation of country have been on the rise
In the latest series of attacks on Yemeni journalists inside Al Houthi-controlled territories, several unidentified men savagely beat a well-known journalist in the heart of Sana’a while another journalist managed to escape.
Nayef Hassan, the editor of Al Sharye newspaper, was assaulted on Saturday as he was leaving his house, according to Nabeel Al Osaidi, the head of the Training Committee at Yemen Journalist Syndicate, an NGO that advocates for journalists rights, told Gulf News on Sunday.
It was unclear why Hassan was targeted since he is not known to be a vocal critic of politicians in Yemen and his newspaper has halted printing since August last year.
In the wake of the attack on Hassan, another journalist said that he had escaped a kidnapping bid by unknown men on Saturday as he was walking on the streets of Sana’a on Saturday.
Fatehi Abu Al Nasser, assistant managing editor of the socialist Al Thawri newspaper, said on his Facebook that the men approached him in an unregistered black car and asked him to get into or they “would break his leg”.
Al Nasser said he managed to run away and flag down a taxi that drove him away from the area.
No group has claimed responsibility for the attacks but, as with previous attacks, the syndicate believes that the Al Houthis are behind the attacks. Since taking over the capital in September 2014, they have launched a campaign against dissent.
http://gulfnews.com/news/gulf/yemen/another-yemeni-journalist-viciously-assaulted-1.1667678
Comment by Judith Brown: Journalists are being attacked on all sides - the Houthis closed down several newspapers when they moved to Yemen and have arrested some journalists, and stopped others from working - here we have another example of a journalist suffering assault. Al Qaeda in the south and southwest have also have done their share of killing, torture and imprisonment, whilst particularly the 'double tap' exercise of the Saudi led coalition has led to many journalists being killed.
https://www.facebook.com/yemennewstodayenglish/posts/1097343173751506
Comment by Judith Brown: Now this is true in parts. Houthis do not indiscriminately kidnap civilians, but they do target journalists and also people active on social media against them. Remember that although many in Yemen don't like the Houthis, they do have many supporters especially in the old North Yemen, where this war has increased their popularity amongst sections of the population who see them as protecting Yemen against foreign invasion.
https://www.facebook.com/yemennewstodayenglish/posts/1097348583750965
Südjemen und Hadi-Regierung / Southern Yemen and Hadi government
6.2.2016 – AFP (A T)
Qaeda tightens its grip on south Yemen coast
Al-Qaeda overran a police headquarters in a south Yemen provincial capital on Saturday, strengthening their grip on the coast road overlooking the Gulf of Aden, security sources said.
The jihadists, who hold parts of the lawless south of the war-torn country, seized the headquarters in Zinjibar unopposed by pro-government forces who fled the capital of Abyan province, the sources told AFP.
The militants have controlled other government buildings in Zinjibar for weeks and also have a large presence in the nearby town of Jaar.
Earlier this week, they seized the town of Azzan in neighbouring Shabwa province.
They have also seized the towns of Shoqra and Ahwar, giving them complete control of the coast road between their stronghold city of Mukalla in the southeast and Zinjibar.
http://news.yahoo.com/qaeda-tightens-grip-south-yemen-coast-160107330.html and by Press TV Iran: http://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2016/02/06/448991/Yemen-Aden-AlQaeda-Zinjibar-AQAP-Saudi-Arabia
Saudi-Arabien / Saudi Arabia
6.2.2016 – Orient News (* A P)
Looking behind Riyadh’s desire for a more active role in the Syrian conflict
Some analysts have suggested that the presence of Saudi ground forces might send a message to Russia, currently carrying out airstrikes in support of Assad, and force them back to the negotiating table (the latest round of UN-brokered talks collapsed with little progress towards resolving the conflict). In recent days, Russian airstrikes have enabled regime forces to take back several key areas of Syria.
The US has long refused to send its own ground troops into Syria, calling instead for a regional army to stabilize the region. Yet questions must be asked about Saudi Arabia’s motivations. It is impossible to view the conflict in Syria in isolation from the regional tussle between Saudi Arabia and Iran. Iran, like Russia, supports the regime, providing not just financial backing but also military personnel. The Saudi intervention in Yemen was partly due to anxiety regarding Iran establishing a foothold in a neighboring country. Saudi action in Syria will, to a large extent, be motivated by the desire to send a message to its rival.
This is nothing new; the Gulf states and Turkey have long seen the Syrian conflict as one part of a wider regional struggle with Iran. Until now, they have armed opposition groups rather than going for full scale military intervention – partly because so many resources have been tied up in Yemen, but perhaps also in recognition of the dangers of continuing to escalate the conflict – by Samira Shackle
3.2.2016 – Social in DC (** B P)
Arab Winter — Shifting Sands in the House of Saud
Since Fahd ibn ‘Abd al-’Azīz Āl Sa’ūd ascended to the throne of Saudi Arabia in 1982, relations between the West and Saudi Arabia have been fairly stable, if somewhat complicated. The Saudi government has remained consistently willing to maintain close diplomatic, business, and military ties with the US and other Western nations. At the same time, it has supported Wahhabi religious leaders in maintaining extremely conservative Sunni religious dominance over Saudi citizens. While the West enabled technological and business modernizations in Saudi Arabia, the Saudi government to a great extent allowed the Wahhabi religious leaders to define culture in their country.
Saudi Arabia’s dichotomy of petroleum-fueled modernization versus conservative Wahhabi cultural control has been somewhat baffling to Westerners from democratic nations.
In spite of these constantly conflicting forces, King Fahd managed to maintain a stable balance. From the US point of view, the Saudi Arabian government was one of two allies in the region, Israel being the other. Yet while relations between Riyadh and Washington remained warm, not all Saudis felt that warmth toward the US or the West. In fact, Saudi Arabia, thanks to Wahhabi influence, remained a breeding ground for violent jihadism.
Fifteen of the nineteen 9/11 attackers hailed from Saudi Arabia, and wealthy Saudi Arabians have consistently been a leading source for terrorist funding. Yet the oil flowed to the West while Western cash fueled the extended Royal family’s lavish lifestyle. That oil wealth also fueled vast social programs and a bloated civil government that makes our US government seem almost efficient by comparison.
In 2011 the Arab Spring swept across North Africa and the Mid-East. When it reached Saudi Arabia, it was quickly stifled by police action.
To outsiders, it may have appeared to be simple oppression, but inside the kingdom, there was genuine fear that Al Qaeda and their many clones would hijack any Arab Spring. There was also concern that Iranian-backed Shia minorities in Saudi Arabia would agitate on behalf of the Iranian Ayatollahs. King Abdullah responded by announcing increases in social welfare programs in the hope of appeasing many of the potential “Springers.”
The fear in the house of Saud is showing.
The new anti-terrorism laws are being rigorously enforced. Executions are at a two-decade high. There were 150 public beheadings in 2015. In the first week of 2016 alone, there were 47 executions by beheading or firing squad.
So where will the young Royals take Saudi Arabia?
Mohammed bin Salman is planning major economic reforms. He will have to implement those reforms while dealing with Saudi Arabia’s expensive support for Sunni (non-ISIL) rebels in Yemen, the war in Yemen, and the brewing opposition at home – by Piper Bayard and Jay Holmes
http://socialindc.com/arab-winter-shifting-sands-in-the-house-of-saud/
28.11.2015 – The Independent (* A P)
Saudi Arabia’s threat to 'sue people who compare them to Isis', prompts huge reaction from Twitter
The hashtag #SueMeSaudi accompanies messages from Twitter users taunting the country's government to sue them
Hundreds are inviting Saudi Arabia to sue them after the state reportedly threatened legal action against any Twitter user who compares its decision to execute a poet to punishments carried out by Isis.
A source in the country’s justice ministry told the newspaper Al-Riyadh, the department would "sue the person who described… the sentencing of a man to death for apostasy as being 'Isis-like'".
The announcement was prompted by someone on Twitter who compared the Kingdom’s decision to sentence 35-year-old Palestinian poet, Ashraf Fayadh, for apostasy, or renouncing one’s faith, to the punishments handed out by Isis, according to documents seen by Human Rights Watch.
"Questioning the fairness of the courts is to question the justice of the Kingdom and its judicial system based on Islamic law, which guarantees rights and ensures human dignity," the source told the pro-government newspaper.
They claimed the Kingdom’s courts would not hesitate to put on trial "any media that slandered the religious judiciary of the Kingdom".
Saudi Arabia has not yet identified the alleged Twitter user.
The threat has not deterred people from defying the Saudi government, with many taking to the social media site to further liken the Arab country to Isis’s regime.
The hashtag #SueMeSaudi accompanies many messages taunting the government to sue them for supposed libel – by Alexandra Sims
Comment: Shooting into one’s own knee, a German expression very well here. Already that Saudi behavior tells that the “=” between Saudi and ISIS will have its reasons.
USA
7.2.2016 – Sputnik News (B K)
Build in Your Country, Destroy in Others - America’s Idea of Democracy?
The Pentagon press secretary, Rear Adm. John Kirby, has said that the US military takes concerns regarding civilian casualties more seriously than any other military on Earth. But recent research into civilian deaths caused by US airstrikes in Syria and Iraq proves all the more reason to doubt the assertion.
A report published on February 4 by USA Today suggests that statements made by US authorities contradict the actual state of affairs. It cites several episodes involving aerial strikes conducted by the US in the Middle East which killed dozens of civilians. Those killings were never officially acknowledged by the US, according to the newspaper.
http://sputniknews.com/middleeast/20160207/1034352381/americas-idea-of-democracy.html
Großbritannien / GreatBritain
5.2.2016 – They work for you (AP)
Members of parliament ask the government
Brendan O'Hara, Shadow SNP Westminster Group Leader (Defence)
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether British military advisers have been present in control rooms of the Saudi-led coalition engaged in conflict in Yemen.
Penny Mordaunt, Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
We have deployed a small number of military personnel serving as liaison officers in Saudi headquarters to provide insight into Saudi operations. They remain under UK command and control. These liaison officers are not involved in the targeting process - whether it be the selection, decision making or directing.
British personnel are not involved in carrying out strikes, directing or conducting operations in Yemen or selecting targets and are not involved in the Saudi targeting decision-making process.
http://www.theyworkforyou.com/wrans/?id=2016-02-02.25327.h&p=24938
4.2.2016 – Parliament Live TV (A P)
International Development Committee
Wednesday 27 January 2016 Meeting started at 1.01pm, ended 3.00pm
http://parliamentlive.tv/event/index/30e4ac1f-8643-4482-a1ce-189cc2a385f3
Comment: This was the Yemen debate in parliament last week - I had submitted evidence and would have attended the meeting had I not been out of the country. The people who have been to Yemen recently all spoke passionately and gave an accurate picture of what it is like to live in Yemen today. The government minister with the Yemen portfolio does not impress me at all - I personally think he knows little about Yemen except what Hadi tells him. And he knows very little about war except what his master Cameron has told him to say. This is the committee that recommended that UK did not sell any more weapons to Yemen until there has been an independent enquiry. Looking at Ellwood 's weasel words, not too much hope they will follow it up.
https://www.facebook.com/judith.brown.794628/posts/10154084041213641
4.2.2016 – Diane Abbott in Parliament (A P)
In parliament this week, Shadow international development secretary Diane Abbott asked why the government rejected warnings from UNICEF, Oxfam, Save the Children and Saferworld that UK arms sales to Saudi Arabia undermine DFID's development work.
DFiD minister Desmond Swayne's risible response was that the UK arms to Saudi Arabia did not undermine its aid to Yemen, even though Saudi Arabia has bought buy £3 billion of British arms in first six months of its intervention in Yemen's civil war. Does this not contribute to the "humanitarian catastrophe" in the Arab world's poorest country?
Mr Swayne's earlier testimony to the International Development Committee did little to persuade them either. This week, the committee recommended suspending UK arms sales to Saudi Arabia
https://www.facebook.com/yemennewstodayenglish/posts/1097349743750849
Comment: The unique, honest and sincere Diane Abbott MP, currently Shadow International Development Secretary, who seems to have taken the fate of Yemen and Yemenis to heart. Vote labour next time folks.
https://www.facebook.com/yemennewstodayenglish/posts/1097349743750849
Schweiz / Switzerland
6.2.2016 – NZZ (A P)
Waffenexporte in den Nahen Osten
Das bundesrätliche Moratorium wankt
Rüstungsgeschäfte mit Staaten wie Saudiarabien sind wegen des Jemen-Konflikts seit Monaten blockiert. Der Wirtschaftsminister will die Praxis offenbar lockern, trifft im Bundesrat aber auf Widerstand.
Sollen Schweizer Firmen Kriegsmaterial in Länder wie Saudiarabien, Katar oder die Vereinigten Arabischen Emirate exportieren dürfen, obwohl diese in den bewaffneten Jemen-Konflikt involviert sind? Nein, hat der Bundesrat im vergangenen März entschieden und ein entsprechendes Export-Moratorium verhängt. Gemäss Recherchen der NZZ steht dieser Beschluss im Bundesrat nun wieder zur Disposition – er hätte bereits am Mittwoch faktisch fallen können.
Sollen Schweizer Firmen Kriegsmaterial in Länder wie Saudiarabien, Katar oder die Vereinigten Arabischen Emirate exportieren dürfen, obwohl diese in den bewaffneten Jemen-Konflikt involviert sind? Nein, hat der Bundesrat im vergangenen März entschieden und ein entsprechendes Export-Moratorium verhängt. Gemäss Recherchen der NZZ steht dieser Beschluss im Bundesrat nun wieder zur Disposition – er hätte bereits am Mittwoch faktisch fallen können – von Heidi Gmür
http://www.nzz.ch/schweiz/das-bundesraetliche-moratorium-wankt-1.18690656
Söldner / Mercenaries
5.2.2016 – Sudan Tribune (A K PS)
Sudanese army participates in regional military maneuvers in Saudi Arabia
Sudanese army on Friday, announced its participation in joint military manoeuvres to be held in Saudi Arabia, including Arab and Muslim countries participating in the campaign against Houti militants in Yemen.
The military exercise which is the first of its kind in the region include Saudi and Gulf countries, Egypt, Jordanian, Pakistani , and Sudanese armies. Several others countries attend the drill as observers.
Sudan’s participation in the regional exercice comes within the framework of its gradual reintegration in the regional alliances, as Khartoum distanced itself from Tehran.
Last week, President Bashir for the first time accused Iran of seeking to spread its Shiite ideology in Sudan, saying it would cause more fragmentations in the already divided east African nation.
http://www.sudantribune.com/spip.php?article57925
Comment: It wasn't so long ago that all the news was about the massacre and alleged genocide of Darfurians in Sudan and the President of Sudan was wanted in The Hague for prosecution for war crimes. Now that same president and army are working with Saudi Arabians to kill Yemenis without a squeak of protest from the rest of the world. Come on George Clooney lets have a bit of publicity for the suffering in Yemen.
https://www.facebook.com/judith.brown.794628/posts/10154084911043641
Comment: Well, just another piece of Western hypocrisy. We always turn it just the way as we need it in the moment – if tomorrow or at another place this is just the other way round, than we make it the other way round.
Terrorismus / Terrorism
7.2.2016 – Almasdar News (A T)
Saudi Air Force refuses to bomb Al-Qaeda and ISIS in southern Yemen
The Saudi Air Force has deliberately refused to bomb the Yemeni Al-Qaeda faction “Ansar Al-Shariah” and the so-called “Islamic State of Iraq and Al-Sham” (ISIS) in southern Yemen, despite their recent gains and exponential growth across the country. Al-Masdar News has recently monitored the concentration of the Saudi-led Coalition airstrikes in Yemen and found that the Yemeni Army and the Houthis have been the only targets for these warplanes, which begs the question as to “why” they don’t target ISIS and Al-Qaeda. In fact, if it wasn’t for the U.S. drone strike in southern Yemen this week, Ansar Al-Shariah would have been relatively untouched this entire war – by Leith Fadel
http://www.almasdarnews.com/article/saudi-air-force-refuses-to-bomb-al-qaeda-in-southern-yemen/
6.2.2016 – Reuters (A T)
Al Qaeda mourns death of top commander in Yemen
Al Qaeda's branch in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) mourned the killing of a senior commander in southern Yemen, a statement distributed on social media showed, after he was reported dead in a suspected U.S. drone strike last week.
Jalal Baleedi was killed by a drone strike as he was travelling in a car with two others in coastal Abyan province, residents said on Thursday. He had run al Qaeda's combat operations and had a $5 million U.S. bounty on his head.
http://news.yahoo.com/al-qaeda-mourns-death-top-commander-yemen-074948091.html
5.2.2016 – Al Araby (A T)
Al-Qaeda declares rival 'Islamic State' based in Zinjibar
Al-Qaeda's strongest regional franchise, al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), has officially declared an "Islamic State" in Yemen's southern Zinjibar region, according to local sources.
Residents say dozens of armed militants flooded the streets in what has been seen as a show of force by the group.
The militant group, known locally as Ansar al-Sharia, was forced out of neighbouring Jaar by police on Wednesday after blowing up the residence of the head of a tribal militia.
The group withdrew and headed back to Zinjibar in the province of Abyan - a renowned stronghold of AQAP since the 2011 uprising - where they declared their latest state following the establishment of "the Islamic State of Hadramut" in 2014.
However, Saudi-led coalition military operations in Yemen have not had much of an impact according to Haykal Bafana, Yemeni lawyer and analyst.
Only a few miles down the coast, holed up in Aden, President Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi - himself recently the target of a failed IS attack that killed six - has made little progress in the fight against AQAP and the IS group.
Aden, Yemen's second city, has been the scene of a number of attacks and increasing chaos in recent months.
"Silence from Hadi, [while] Vice-President Bahah considers AQ-controlled areas such as Al-Mukalla and Abyan as 'liberated' Yemeni territories," noted Bafana. "Repeated statements by him to say al-Qaeda will be combated soon - but no action so far."
Residents of the newly declared "Islamic State of Zinjibar" confirmed the militants were mostly local tribesmen who had previously resisted Houthi advances in their region.
Bafana said this was not an unusual observation. "[Before the] Aden liberation, al-Qaeda, IS militias and separatist militias were working hand-in-hand to fight against Houthi and Saleh forces," he said.
"However, post-Aden liberation in August; AQAP and IS appear to work in tandem" countering militias armed by Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
Propaganda
6.2.2016 – The National AR (A P)
Yemen gives its highest honour to nine UAE officers
Nine Emirati officers were handed Yemen’s highest military honour on Saturday for their bravery in helping restore the country’s internationally recognised government.
President Abdrabu Mansur Hadi passed the awards to the commander of the UAE forces in Aden, Brigadier General Rashed Bin Saeed Al Ghafly during a ceremony at the city’s presidential palace.
Among those honoured was Colonel Sultan Al Katbi, who was killed in a rocket strike on a Red Sea army camp near Taez.
The coalition forces in Yemen “will forever be in the minds and hearts of the Yemeni people,” Mr Hadi said during the ceremony. The president thanked the Saudi-led coalition for its role in the conflict and said he appreciated the role played by each and every soldier, including those from the Emirates, for their sacrifice in supporting his government.
Comment: “The coalition forces in Yemen will forever be in the minds and hearts of the Yemeni people,” certainly they will, but in a quite opposite way than this odd propaganda is suggesting. You never will forget those who have killed your wife, husband, children, father, mother, those who have destroyed your house, you business, your working place. That’s it.
3.2.2016 – Spiegel Online (* A P)
Neuer Algorithmus: Schreibt uns Twitter bald vor, was wir lesen?
Twitter will Nachrichten künftig nicht mehr in chronologischer Reihenfolge anzeigen. Stattdessen soll die Abfolge der Tweets, die ein User sieht, von Algorithmen berechnet werden, meldet die US-Website "Buzzfeed". Demnach soll die Änderung schon in der kommenden Woche eingeführt werden.
Mit einer algorithmisch sortierten Timeline würde Twitter dem Beispiel von Facebook folgen. Dort werden Nachrichten den Anwendern schon lange in einer Reihenfolge präsentiert, die von Maschinen berechnet wurde. Laut "Buzzfeed" erhofft sich Twitter von einer solchen computergenerierten Reihung die Möglichkeit, beliebte Tweets und Themen noch stärker in den Vordergrund zu heben.
[…], reagieren jetzt etliche Twitter-User bestürzt auf die Nachricht. Seit Veröffentlichung der "Buzzfeed"-Meldung ist der Hashtag #RIPTwitter - Ruhe in Frieden, Twitter - zum Trending Topic geworden.
[Nutzerstimmen]
„Wenn Tweets nach #Relevanz gelistet werden und nicht nach Zeit - wer sucht aus, was relevant ist? Das ist Nonsense“
„Algorithms are a form of censorship. I look to Twitter for unfiltered news in real time” – von Matthias Kremp
Kommentar: Die Aufregung der Nutzer ist in der Tat groß. Mit dem Jemenkrieg hat das auf den ersten Blick wenig zu tun. Meldungen auf Twitter sind freilich eine der wichtigen unabhängigen Quellen für diesen Krieg, Echtzeitmeldungen und Fotos direkt von Augenzeugen vor Ort. Die zwei zitierten Nutzer haben das Wesentliche dazu gesagt. Dazu noch drei Nutzerstimmen:
„Twitter doesn't want you seeing tweets that expand your awareness of the real world. It wants you focused on celebrities & MSM.“
https://twitter.com/lex_looper/status/696069505366282242
https://twitter.com/CherguiaMbark/status/696070663736582144 zeigt uns, was wir dann bevorzugt auf Twitter sehen werden, einen Film von einem kleinen süßen Kätzchen
„With Saudi Prince being @twitter´s second-largest shareholder,tweets by "relevance" will look like this“, als Beispiel für einen solchen Tweet nach „Relevanz“ auf das Agitpropstückchen des saudischen Außenministers, das ich sonst nie gefunden hätte, hier im folgenden, danke! https://twitter.com/RenieriArts/status/696045874577809409
Twitter wiegelt ab. Sehen wir mal. Meistens stimmt es ja dann doch. Auf jeden Fall würde damit eine wichtige Quelle für Kriegsverbrechen auf dieser Welt (nicht nur im Jemen) mit kleinen Kätzchen und Eliten-Propaganda geflutet und damit mehr oder weniger unbenutzbar. D. h. auch auf Twitter Mainstream, Elite, während die „kleinen Leute“ und ihre besonderen Botschaften nicht mehr gehört werden sollen. Das mit dem saudischen Prinzen bei Twitter war mir auch neu.
6.2.2016 – Market Watch (* A P)
Twitter will change its timeline to use algorithm, BuzzFeed says
Twitter fans respond to talk of change with #RIPTwitter, say it will become more like Facebook
Twitter Inc. will soon introduce an algorithms that reorder timelines to highlight what the social network company thinks users want to see, according to a report published in BuzzFeed.
Twitter timelines currently show the latest tweet first, so a change to an algorithm — something Facebook Inc. FB, -5.81% uses — would be a bold step away how the site has operated from inception. Chief Executive Jack Dorsey has been seeking ways to monetize the social-media platform and make it easier to understand for new users. the company also could move away from its 140-character limit on tweets.
The change could happen as soon as next week, BuzzFeed said. It said it’s unclear would be able to choose between the algorithm and the traditional Twitter feed.
Perhaps not surprisingly, a group of users took to Twitter to express their unhappiness with the idea of an algorithmic timeline. Some feared the change would make Twitter more like Facebook — and even kill it off. Some vented under the hashtag #RIPTwitter:
„One of the great rewards of being an adult is deciding ON YOUR OWN who (and what) you should be interested in.”
Comment: Indirectly, that will be a new, “soft” form of censorship pushing little sweet cats and mainstream media propaganda forward and many other subjects backward. That will hit also all tweets on the Yemen war. Up to now, these tweets, many of them directly from Yemenis tweeting what is happening in the moments, with photos and films of the Saudi aerial war, were an important source for those who want information about that. Now, twitter will be flooded by these little cats and stuff like this, for that it will be much more difficult to find other things, like the Yemen war.
There exist be several methods to bring down alternate media. From Edward Snowden we learnt of infiltration. I remind an article nearly 2 years old:
25.2.2014 – 21st. Century Wire (*** B P)
Snowden: ‘Training Guide’ for GCHQ, NSA Agents Infiltrating and Disrupting Alternative Media Online
This is Britain’s GCHQ how-to guide for Online Covert Action which, according to Glenn Greenwald (see links below) has been shared with US agencies like the NSA. Upon review, it can only be described as government-sponsored subterfuge of domestic society.
According to these latest documents, there are paid government agent/contractor persons on social media posing as someone they are not, whilst on the payroll of the government. Their job is to befriend members of the alternative media, embed themselves in the ebb and flow of day-to-day communications, and then to engage in elaborate subterfuge – by any means necessary.
Government targets in this malicious operation appear to be bloggers, activists, journalists, social event organisers and anyone else deemed to be a ’emerging leader’ or voice in the public sphere, or alternative media online.
This obviously extends way beyond the practice of employing paid ‘trolls’ to pollute comment sections and redirect forum threads – which still exists under both government and corporate umbrellas.
Thanks to whistleblower Edward Snowden, the public – as well as moral individuals within government and the judiciary, might fully realise just how these sort of underhanded, and unlawful operations have sunk to the lowest possible levels.
3.2.2016 – Newsweek (A P)
THE SAUDIS ARE FIGHTING TERRORISM, DON’T BELIEVE OTHERWISE
Those who accuse Saudi Arabia of supporting violent extremism not only fail to acknowledge the kingdom’s leadership in combating terrorism around the world but also do not see that it is illogical and irrational for Saudi Arabia to be anything less than at the forefront of nations combatting this scourge.
Multiple actors—each with their own motives—have targeted the kingdom, seeking to destabilize the country and terrorize the Saudi people. So it is in our national interest to defeat terrorism—and a national priority.
[…]
Some try to malign Saudi Arabia by reciting that “15 of the 19” 9/11 hijackers were Saudi. They should know that the mastermind of the 9/11 attacks, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, told U.S. interrogators that the initial plan was to have 20 hijackers from different nationalities, but late in the planning Osama bin Laden directed him to use as many Saudis as possible to give the attack a Saudi face.
This was likely designed to drive a wedge between the kingdom and the U.S. If this was Osama bin Laden’s plan, it almost succeeded, as we saw from the wave of criticism the kingdom experienced after 9/11.
[…]
Faced with such diverse and dangerous adversaries, Saudi Arabia has spared no effort or expense to combat terrorism. The kingdom is committed to uprooting extremism at the source and draining militant groups of resources.
Saudi Arabia has arrested extremists within its borders, tried them before specialized courts and imposed the ultimate penalties on those convicted. […]
In 2005, the kingdom launched a national public awareness campaign against extremism that is still ongoing to counter the extremist narrative and educate our public about the dangers of violent extremism. In 2008, it launched a global interfaith dialogue to promote harmony among the world’s religions and cultures. A global center was established in Vienna to continue this effort.
[…]
Saudi Arabia has established “fusion cells” where law enforcement and intelligence officials from Saudi Arabia, the United States and other partners work closely together to investigate and interdict terrorism plots and finances.
Saudi Air Force planes were one of the first to fly sorties over Syria as part of the military actions against ISIS, and Saudi Arabia is leading a coalition of 38 Islamic countries to fight terrorism and extremism – by Adel al-Jubeir, the foreign minister of Saudi Arabia. This is distributed by Qorvis MSL Group on behalf of the Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia. Additional information is available at the Department of Justice, Washington, D.C.
Comment: That would be a very long comment. A niece propaganda piece. It is interesting who is spreading this propaganda – Qorvis MSL Group – and the fact that Newsweek printed it without any remarks. That is mainstream “journalism” at its best.
Saudischer Luftkrieg / Saudi aerial war
7.2.2016 – Saba Net (A K PH)
Saudi airstrike kills four people in Baqem
Four citizens were killed in a Saudi bombing on Baqem border district of Sa'ada province, a security official said Sunday. The Saudi war jets waged an air raid on the main road in Baqem, killing four people and injuring others, the official explained.
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news418539.htm
6.2.2016 – Saba News (A K PH)
Saudi aggression renews its bombing on capital Sana'a
The Saudi aggression warplanes renewed on Saturday their criminal bombardment on the capital Sana'a and targeted several areas in al-Sabeen district.
The aggression bombing caused severe damage to citizens' houses and public and private property.
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news418402.htm
6.2.2016 – Press TV Iran (A K PH)
Saudi airstrikes kill six Yemeni civilians
At least six more civilians have lost their lives in two separate Saudi aerial attacks against residential neighborhoods in Yemen’s southwestern province of Ta’izz.
Saudi warplanes bombed a number of houses in the Mawiyah district south of Sana’a on Saturday, leaving a woman and her three daughters dead, Arabic-language al-Masirah television reported.
Two more civilians were killed and three others injured when Saudi jets struck the Dhubab district of the same Yemeni province.
http://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2016/02/06/448933/Yemen-Saudi-airstrikes-Mawiyah
Kriegsereignisse / Theater of War
7.2.2016 – Saba Net (A K PH)
Armed gang captured in Amran
The Security services and popular committees arrested on Sunday an armed gang of the Saudi aggression hirelings in Raida district of Amran province. A security official said Saudi arms were found in the possession of the gang individuals and they are currently being interrogated and will be referred to the concerned authorities according to the law.
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news418530.htm
7.2.2016 – Der Standard (A K)
Zwei Menschen in Saudi-Arabien durch Geschoße aus dem Jemen getötet
Im Süden von Saudi-Arabien sind zwei Menschen durch Geschoße aus dem Jemen getötet worden. Wie die saudi-arabischen Behörden am späten Samstagabend mitteilten, starben ein Soldat und ein Zivilist. Demnach wurde am Samstagmorgen zunächst eine saudi-arabische Grenzschutzpatrouille in der Region Assir aus dem Norden des Jemen unter Beschuss genommen. Dabei wurde ein Soldat getötet, wie die Nachrichtenagentur Spa unter Berufung auf das Innenministerium berichtete. Zivilist getötet Am Samstagabend schlug zudem ein Geschoß in der südlichen Stadt Najran ein, wie der örtliche Zivilschutz mitteilte. Dabei starb ein ausländischer Zivilist
http://derstandard.at/2000030524102/Zwei-Menschen-in-Saudi-Arabien-durch-Geschosse-aus-dem-Jemen
7.2.2016 – AF P (A K)
Cross-border Yemeni shelling kills two in Saudi
A Saudi soldier and a civilian have been killed in cross-border shelling from rebel-controlled northern Yemen, authorities said.
A Saudi patrol was hit on Saturday morning in the southwestern region of Assir, killing the soldier, the interior ministry said in a statement carried by state news agency SPA.
Later in the day, the southwestern city of Najran was struck, leaving dead a foreign resident, a civil defence spokesman said in a statement on SPA.
About 90 civilians and soldiers have died from shelling and skirmishes along the border since March
http://news.yahoo.com/cross-border-yemeni-shelling-kills-two-saudi-080751465.html
6.2.2016 – Gulf News (A K PS)
Yemeni government forces close in on capital
Yemeni government forces on Saturday announced new gains on battlefields in Sana’a province as Iran-backed Al Houthi militants retreat to fortify positions around the capital, military officials and tribal leaders said.
Colonel Arraf Mohsin Al Obaidi, a member of Sana’a Resistance Council, told Gulf News on Saturday that resistance fighters pushed Al Houthis out of all rugged mountains in Nehim district and the militants “lost tens of their fighters in the battles”.
“We are in control of all the mountainous area and military positions in Nehim including the headquarter of Brigade 312 and Al Goroud mountain,” he said.
Al Obaidi said that the Al Houthis fled after the brigade positions were overrun and resorted to planting landmines and deploying snipers in higher areas nearby to roll back the resistance advance.
“We are defusing landmines and chasing the snipers,” he added.
Government territorial gains in the province have accelerated in recent weeks, bringing them closer to the capital for the first time since the beginning of military operations in March.
Al Obaidi said that the next target of the government forces is Arhab, the district from which Mansour Al Hanaq, the leader of the Sana’a Resistance, hails.
“Clearing Arhab is a matter of time. I expect that the assault would stop at one point before reaching the capital. Liberating the capital requires big decisions and more troops,” he said.
In the capital, residents say coalition warplanes on Saturday increased strikes on Al Houthi-controlled military installations.
On the country’s western coastline, government forces recaptured the entire city of Midi on Friday after a massive assault on Al Houthis’ military positions.
A military source from the 5th Military Region that includes Hajja province told Al Masder Online, an independent news site, that government forces killed dozens of Al Houthi militants and captured seven others including three landmine experts.
The official said that the assault was aimed at clearing the Al Houthi presence in Midi and the neighbouring Abes.
Comment: 'Yemeni forces' what on earth does that mean? There are two Yemen armies who are opposed to each other; these are the lot trained by UAE and paid by KSA. And where exactly is 'close'? Is Sanaa going to be the subject of ground war as well? Why don't they just talk peace - cheaper and more effective and in case they hadn't noticed - people don't actually die from peace.
https://www.facebook.com/yemennewstodayenglish/posts/1096862823799541
6.2.2016 – Fars News (A K PH)
Yemen: Over 100 Saudi-Led Coalition Forces Killed in Ballistic Missile Attack
At least 104 Saudi-led forces, including 8 senior Saudi and UAE officers, were killed in Yemen's ballistic missile attack on Ma'as military base in Ma'rib province in Central Yemen.
On Friday, a Commander of Yemen's Ansarullah Movement confirmed the the missile attack at the Ma'as military base in Ma'rib in Central Yemen.
In a relevant development on Wednesday, the Yemeni army and popular forces rained down a barrage of missiles at the Saudi forces' military tower in Al-Dokhan region in Jizan province in Southern Saudi Arabia.
Al-Dokhan tower was reportedly destroyed in the Yemeni missile attacks in Jizan as eyewitnesses said that they had seen smoke rising from it.
The Yemeni army and popular forces regained control of Al-Khurma region in Asir province after they destroyed two arms depots and other military hardware of the Yemeni forces in the region.
Meantime, the Yemeni army's artillery units pounded Malhama military base in Jizan province. The Saudi troops started fleeing their base as soon as they came under the missile attack.
Also on Tuesday, the Yemeni army and popular forces raided Saudi Arabia's military bases and military positions in the Southern part of the kingdom and destroyed their military equipment and hardware.
Informed military sources in the Northern parts of Yemen confirmed that the Yemeni Army alongside the popular forces raided Saudi Arabia's military bases and positions near the borders with Yemen, and destroyed 11 Saudi tanks and armored vehicles.
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13941117000319
Comment: I don't know if thsee numbers are accurate; this has been widely circulated in Facebook and also,in the Iranian news agencies; not sure if they are exaggerated claims or not. What Yemen needs is for all sides to get together and talk peace, instead of killing people.
https://www.facebook.com/yemennewstodayenglish/posts/1096860400466450
Die Saat des Wahabismus / The seed of Wahabism
4.2.2016 – Shia Rights Watch (** A)
Incidents of Anti-Shiism in January 2016
This report will analyze the data compiled on Shia deaths, injuries, and arrests that occurred between January 1st and January 31st. This month there were 140 known deaths within the Shia community. Compared with past months, the death rate has decreased a lot, which is a very good sign for this minority. The only event which concurred in a large death rate were ISIS bombings outside Syria which left seventy-one known deaths. However, news released from the Zaria massacre showed 705 people have been declared missing. The data for this report was gathered from a variety of different sources. The most well-known incidents of anti-Shiism were retrieved from stories that are reported to Shia Rights Watch by eyewitnesses. Each incident is thoroughly evaluated for both authenticity and relevance. For an incident to be included in this report it has to show clear intent to target Shia Muslims on the basis of religious beliefs. The subsequent sections will present and analyze the data gathered by Shia Rights Watch for January.
http://shiarightswatch.org/incidents-of-anti-shiism-in-january-2016/
3.2.2016 – Before its News (** A T)
Nigerian Islamists Burning 86 Children Alive Met with Obama Silence
While the U.S. news media applaud President Barack Obama’s plan to visit a mosque in Baltimore, Maryland, on Wednesday to discuss Muslims’ historical contributions to America, Obama and his sycophants failed to even mention how Islamic terrorists in Nigeria torched and burned to death more than 80 children over the weekend.
According to a police counterterrorism expert, John McHugh, members of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria’s (ISIS’s) Nigerian affiliate known as Boko Haram used firebombs on a village’s homes and laughed as they heard the screams of children, some of them infants, burning to death in their huts.
Another charred and abandoned village left by Islamic terrorists in Nigeria.
When police and soldiers finally arrived, they were met with a crime scene filled with charred corpses as well as bullet-riddled bodies littering the streets of Dalori Village and two nearby refugee camps that housed more than 20,000 refugees. The village and refugee camp are only a few miles from the original Boko Haram stronghold which is biggest city in the northeast section of the African country that is predominately Christian.
The shooting, torching and and bomb blasts — some of them perpetrated by suicide bombers — continued for nearly four hours. The attack included three female suicide bombers running with people who managed to escape to neighboring Gamori village. The female children detonated their bomb vests killing many people, according to Nigerian media.
The first of the military troops to arrive failed to beat back the jihadist attackers who were better armed, said a military commander, who complained about the U.S. turning down a request for arms and equipment to fight the treacherous Muslim terrorists. He told Nigerian reporters that Boko Haram terrorists only retreated from the devastated village after reinforcements arrived with heavier weapons – by Jim Kouri
30.1.2016 – The Economic Times (** A P)
'Tsunami of money' from Saudi Arabia funding 24,000 Pakistan madrassas
About 24,000 'madrassas' in Pakistan are funded by Saudi Arabia which has unleashed a "tsunami of money" to "export intolerance", a top American senator has said adding that the US needs to end its effective acquiescence to the Saudi sponsorship of radical Islamism.
Senator Chris Murphy said Pakistan is the best example of where money coming from Saudi Arabia is funnelled to religious schools that nurture hatred and terrorism.
"In 1956, there were 244 madrassas in Pakistan. Today, there are 24,000. These schools are multiplying all over the globe. These schools, by and large, don't teach violence. They aren't the minor leagues for al-Qaeda or ISIS. But they do teach a version of Islam that leads very nicely into an anti-Shia, anti-Western militancy.
"Those 24,000 religious schools in Pakistan - thousands of them are funded with money that originates in Saudi Arabia," Murphy said in an address yesterday to the Council on Foreign Relations, a top American think-tank.
According to some estimates, since the 1960s, the Saudis have funnelled over USD 100 billion into fundingschools and mosques all over the world with the mission of spreading puritanical Wahhabi Islam.
As a point of comparison, researchers estimate that the former Soviet Union spent about USD 7 billion exporting its communist ideology from 1920-1991.
"Less-well-funded governments and other strains of Islam can hardly keep up with the tsunami of money behind this export of intolerance," Murphy said.
The vicious terrorist groups that Americans know by name are Sunni in derivation, and greatly influenced by Wahhabi and Salafist teachings, Murphy said.
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Neue Artikel zum Nachlesen 1-97: / Yemen Press Reader 1-97:
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