Schwerpunkte / Key aspects
Klassifizierung / Classification
cp1 Am wichtigsten / Most important
cp2 Allgemein / General
cp3 Humanitäre Lage / Humanitarian situation
cp4 Kulturerbe / Cultural heritage
cp6 Südjemen und Hadi-Regierung / Southern Yemen and Hadi-government
cp8 Saudi-Arabien / Saudi Arabia
cp9 USA
cp10 Großbritannien / Great Britain
cp12 Andere Länder / Other countries
cp13 Mercenaries / Söldner
cp14 Terrorismus / Terrorism
cp15 Propaganda
cp16 Saudische Luftangriffe / Saudi air raids
cp17 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
cp1 Am wichtigsten / Most important
2.2016 – Poorworld.net (*** A K)
Die Luftschläge der saudischen Koalition, Tag für Tag The Saudi coalition air raids, day by day
Kurze Angaben mit Zahlen der gemeldeten Opfer für ca. 7 von 10 ½ Monaten Luftkrieg
Short information with figures of victims reported for about 7 of 10 ½ months of aerial war
http://poorworld.net/Yemen/SaudiAirRaidsDaybyDay.htm
9.2.2016 – International Crisis Group (** B P)
Yemen: Is Peace Possible?
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Nearly a year on, there is no end in sight to Yemen’s war. Ending the war requires negotiations leading to an interim settlement that must include security arrangements providing for militia withdrawal from cities, a return to the political process pursuant to UN Security Council Resolution 2216 and agreement on a transitional leadership. While these are matters for Yemeni parties to decide during UN-sponsored negotiations, Saudi Arabia’s buy-in will be essential, spooked as the kingdom is by what it perceives as an Iranian hand behind the Huthis and their attacks on Saudi territory. Reaching agreement will take time, a luxury Yemenis do not have. The immediate priority thus should be to secure agreement on delivering humanitarian aid and commercial goods to war-torn, besieged areas.
The descent into civil war has its roots in a post-2011 political transition that was overtaken by old-regime elite infighting, high-level corruption and inability of the National Dialogue Conference (a cornerstone of the 2011 transition roadmap) to produce consensus on power sharing and state structure, especially the status of south Yemen, where desire for independence is strong. The Huthis, a Zaydi (Shia) revivalist movement turned militia, thrived by framing itself as an uncorrupted outsider. They struck an opportunistic alliance with their old enemy, Saleh, against common domestic foes, including the Sunni Islamist party, Islah, the powerful Ahmar family and General Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar (no relation to the family), all of whom had turned against Saleh during the 2011 uprising. When the Huthis captured Sanaa, on a wave of popular resentment against the Hadi government in September 2014, a majority of Yemenis were already disillusioned with the transition. Yet, the Huthis overstretched: trying to forcibly expand their writ over the entire country, they alienated new supporters and confirmed critics’ worst fears.
In March 2015, the internal power struggle was eclipsed and reshaped by a Saudi-led military intervention. Saudi Arabia views the Huthis as part of an expanding Iranian threat in the region. Under the leadership of King Salman and his son Mohammed bin Salman, the defence minister and deputy crown prince, it decided to attempt to reverse Iran’s perceived gains by pushing back the Huthis and reinstating the Hadi government. It rallied a coalition of nine mostly Sunni Arab states, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) prime among these.
The intervention has layered a multidimensional, thus more intractable, regional conflict between Saudi Arabia and Iran onto an already complex civil war, significantly complicating prospects for peace. It has also solidified opposing domestic fronts that have little in common save for their position on the Saudi-led military campaign. On one side, the Huthis and Saleh have wrought a tactical alliance, despite their mutual distrust, against what they view as an existential threat. On the other, the anti-Huthi bloc is even more diverse, bringing together a range of Sunni Islamists, (mostly secular) southern separatists and tribally/regionally based fighters who reject Huthi/Saleh dominance but have radically different visions for the future of Yemen.
After nearly a year of combat, no side is close to a decisive military victory. Huthi/Saleh fighters are ensconced in the Zaydi northern highlands, while the Saudi-led coalition and its Yemeni allies are strongest in Shafei (Sunni) areas in the south and east. As the latter have pushed the Huthi/Saleh front out of southern territories, where they were largely viewed as northern invaders, a range of armed groups, including al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) and southern separatists, have moved in to take their place. If the Saudi-led coalition succeeds in capturing additional territory in the north, which it appears determined to do, the result is likely to be a protracted, bloody battle producing additional chaos and fragmentation. For its part, the Huthi/Saleh bloc is significantly complicating peace prospects by increasing cross-border attacks into Saudi Arabia, a move that makes it more difficult for the kingdom to halt the conflict when it cannot boast a clear military victory.
Each side’s commitment to UN-led peace talks is lukewarm. Neither is defeated or exhausted; both believe they can make additional military gains; and neither has been willing to make the compromises required to end the violence. The structure of talks, too, is problematic, with Saudi Arabia, a core belligerent, conspicuously absent. Prospects for a ceasefire and productive Yemeni talks would be helped by direct high-level consultations between the Huthi/Saleh bloc and Saudi Arabia over sensitive issues such as the border and the Huthis’ relationship with Iran. Moreover, to succeed, UN-led negotiations must be made more inclusive, expanding as soon as possible beyond the Yemeni government and Huthi/Saleh delegations to incorporate other Yemeni stakeholders.
The immediate future looks bleak. The war has devastated an already weak infrastructure, opened vast opportunities for AQAP and IS to expand and widened intra-Yemeni political, regional and confessional divides. The UN estimates that at least 6,000 people have been killed, including over 2,800 civilians, the majority by Saudi-led airstrikes. Even if the UN can broker an agreement to end major combat, the road to lasting peace will be long and difficult. The country is broken to a degree that requires significant time, resources and new political agreements to overcome. Without a breakthrough, it will continue descent into state disintegration, territorial fragmentation and sectarian violence. That trajectory would have calamitous consequences for Yemen’s population and severely undermine Gulf security, particularly Saudi Arabia’s, by fomenting a new refugee crisis and feeding radicalisation in the region to the benefit of violent jihadi groups.
Following: 18 recommendations to all parties of the war.
http://www.crisisgroup.org/en/regions/middle-east-north-africa/iraq-iran-gulf/yemen/167-yemen-is-peace-possible.aspx = https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=966634940056203&id=961126490607048
8.2.2016 – Aljazeera (** B P)
Yemen Revolution: 'Our dream was sold'
Yemen has had many conflicts but has also possessed exceptional survival skills.
In November 2011, the European Union delegation and the G10 diplomatic group, composed of the five permanent UN Security members and the Gulf Cooperation Council countries, sponsored a power-transfer deal.
The GCC initiative was signed by President Ali Abdullah Saleh at a ceremony in Riyadh. It involved the transfer of his powers to his vice-president Abd Rabu Mansour Hadi in return for immunity from prosecution.
In the name of pragmatism, our dream was sold. In the name of security, justice was forgotten.The people in the streets were excluded from the negotiations and hence this agreement fell short of the comprehensive changes they were demanding and mass protests continued.
The G10 countries informally assigned themselves the role of "facilitators of the GCC Initiative". For example, the French were to lead work on constitutional reform, and the Americans on security and military restructuring.
Some Yemenis expressed concern that "external actors taking on these roles might bring their own particular preconceptions to bear".
On paper, the UN-supervised National Dialogue Conference (NDC) was a good step, yet, the government appeared to be more concerned about winning the favours of the international actors than serving its own citizens.
Due to the insistence that the Yemen model was a success, NDC sponsors turned a blind eye to what was happening outside the conference halls.
After months of deliberations, Hadi extended his own tenure without an election and suddenly announced a federal system with six regions, with no consensus among NDC members or any decision in support of the move.
In July 2014, the government complied with the demands of the International Monetary Fund and lifted all fuel subsidies, increasing prices by between 60 and 90 percent overnight without notice and with no measures to ease the shock. Spontaneous protests erupted. Different groups, including the Houthis, capitalised on these grievances and recruited more members.
Houthi fighters extended their territorial control, and in September 2014 took over Sanaa after days of clashes. A new UN-sponsored agreement was not honoured leading to a series of escalations that culminated in Hadi's exile to Riyadh, the same city that once played host to Saleh.
Hadi, as well the international community, used the pretext of "legitimacy", just as Saleh had used the pretext of "constitutional legitimacy" in 2011, to attack protesters.
Today, war is being waged on Yemen by the same countries that protected Saleh and gave him his last life-line. The regional struggle between Saudi Arabia and Iran has also played out in the tussle for influential in Yemen. Given the complexity of countries and agendas involved, more conflict is likely to happen.
So, while parts of the country are ravaged by a civil war, the greater war is clearly not just between two Yemeni sides as the mainstream narrative suggests.
In Yemen, there is a side that is focused on winning battles, but there is also a side that is focused on winning life. Yemen has had many conflicts throughout its history, but it has also possessed exceptional political and social survival and negotiation skills. If left alone, we would thrive – by Atiaf Alwazir
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2016/01/yemen-revolution-dream-sold-160107100424963.html
Comment: PLEASE PLEASE READ THIS. This must be the best article I've read on Yemen during this bloody, disgusting and brutal war - a Yemeni clearly voicing the opinions of Yemenis. This voice is so rarely allowed to be heard. Mr Cameron, Mr Obama, and particularly the incompetent Saudi backer Tobias Ellwood Minister for Yemen affairs at the foreign office (who speaks as Hadi's deputy) should meet this man and listen very carefully indeed to what he has to say.
https://www.facebook.com/yemennewstodayenglish/posts/1097681423717681
9.2.2016 – Reuters (** B T)
Wave of Aden killings tests Gulf role in Yemen
The recapture of Aden by Gulf Arab coalition troops last summer has failed to provide any respite from Yemen's civil war, with residents facing a wave of bomb and gun attacks that is crippling efforts to stabilise the city.
Seven months after rebel fighters from the Iranian-allied Houthi militia were driven out of the strategic southern port, there are almost daily assassinations of judges, security officials and police.
Since July, the Gulf coalition and local security forces have struggled to impose order in Aden, opening the way for Islamic State, al Qaeda and other armed groups to operate there with impunity.
The challenges in Aden show how difficult it will be to restore order to a country gripped by months of conflict in which 6,000 have been killed and where Islamist militants have exploited widespread security weaknesses in what Saudi Arabia sees as its backyard.
Continuing violence in Aden, the biggest prize yet won by President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi in Yemen's 10-month-old civil war, threatens to undermine the campaign waged on his behalf by the coalition against the Houthis and army units loyal to former president Ali Abdullah Saleh.
A lot of people who oppose the Houthis would form their own militias, coalition spokesman Brigadier General Ahmed Asseri said, and Islamic State would also see an opportunity.
"There will be a chaotic situation. So I think when we start something we have to finish it, by bringing back security and stability to Yemen," Asseri told Reuters.
Islamist militants from al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula have mounted operations in southern Yemen, including Aden, for years.
But the pace of attacks in Aden has accelerated since July, when local forces backed by Hadi's government and the Saudi-led alliance recaptured the city from the Houthis.
Regardless of who is behind the attacks, stabilising Aden is a priority for the Saudis, not only to counter Islamist militants, but to show that Riyadh's aggressive intervention to stop what it sees as Iranian expansionism is working – by Mohammed Ghobary and Yara Bayoumy
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-yemen-security-idUSKCN0VI0BT = http://in.reuters.com/article/yemen-security-idINKCN0VI0BR
Comment: Very interesting look at the situation at Aden, worth to be read in full at the original site.
Comment: Sanaa which is under Houthi-control is safer than Aden where armed militias from rival factions now roam the streets of southern Yemeni cities freely. This is what the coalition has "liberated" the south into! Hear it from an Adeni who has moved to Sanaa which he describes is safer than Aden, save for the Saudi-led air strikes. https://www.facebook.com/yemen.crisis/posts/562256893940551
8.2.2016 – Christian Science Monitor (** B P)
To counter Iranian rival, Saudi Arabia steps up Washington lobbying
[There is ] a widening PR and lobbying campaign by Saudi Arabia to influence lawmakers and US media outlets
There’s skepticism that its new barrage of lobbying in Washington – Saudi Arabia was the fourth largest spender among foreign nations in 2015 – will restore the close bilateral ties that Saudi rulers crave.
For much of the past century, Saudi kings had close, direct ties to US presidents, consummating a marriage of convenience between US arms sales and Saudi oil wealth. This has translated into Middle East policies closely aligned with Saudi interests.
But amid a cooling of ties with the Obama administration, Saudi Arabia is determined to build a PR and lobbying army to sway not only the White House – including the next occupant – but also Congress and the broader public.
Over the past 16 months, Saudi Arabia has signed on several high-profile PR firms and lobbyists from both sides of the aisle. Many boast strong ties to current lawmakers and presidential candidates.
They are promising to give Riyadh a media makeover and to shore up support in both the House and the Senate for its anti-Iran agenda. Another priority is keeping US arms flowing to Saudi forces embroiled in a protracted and ruinous war in Yemen.
Saudi Arabia committed $11 million in direct lobbying in 2015, according to the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) registry.
Much of this spending relates to Iran and trying to counter any détente between Washington and Tehran.
In March 2015, the Saudi embassy in Washington contracted to pay $50,000 a month to law firm DLA Piper to reach out to members of Congress and congressional staff to “advance mutual national security interests.”
“Yemen is a problem for Saudi Arabia that it has gotten away with so far in the Western media,” says Simon Henderson, Saudi Arabia specialist and director of the Gulf Energy and Policy Program at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.
In March 2015, just before it began bombing rebels in Yemen, Saudi Arabia and lobby firm Qorvis inked a deal with Targeted Victory, a digital strategy firm cofounded by Republican National Committee official Michael Beach, for “promotion of Saudi Arabia.” The campaign has targeted the media, Congress, and analysts and produced a web portal called Arabia Now that puts a positive spin on the Saudi war.
Last month Saudi Arabia also scored an apparent PR victory by depicting Iran as “hostile” in the row over the execution by Saudi Arabia of a leading Shiite cleric in January.
By bombarding US media outlets with interviews over the storming of its embassy in Tehran, observers say Riyadh largely succeeded in shifting the focus from its execution to Iran’s retaliation – by Taylor Luck
cp2 Allgemein / General
9.2.2016 – Before its News (A K)
Films: Yemen update 2/9/2016. Yemeni army hit Saudi military bases with domestically made ballistic missiles (and others)
9.2.2016 – L’uomo con la valigia (B K)
[An article in Italian with a personal perspective on the 10 months of war on #Yemen]
E in questo panorama apocalittico, rimane inspiegabile l’accanimento con cui la Coalizione capeggiata dall’Arabia Saudita abbia raso al suolo, o distrutto, o danneggiato il patrimonio culturale dello Yemen.
In una terra dove tutto è storia, dove il progresso o la tecnologia non sono mai arrivate, in quel piccolo mondo antico rimasto uguale a se stesso da migliaia di anni, si è voluto distruggere l’espressione artistica e religiosa dello Yemen.
Ogni singola bomba caduta sullo Yemen ha incrinato o danneggiato o distrutto.
Ogni singolo Scud o Cruise o Tomahawk, bomba al fosforo e all’uranio impoverito, missile, ha irreparabilmente piegato mura, sfondato soffitti, divelto porte, nebulizzato, fatto crollare. Per sempre.
Nell’ultima settimana su Sana’a sono state sganciate le infami cluster bombs, le bombe a grappolo, quasi a ribadire il concetto che l’arsenale è ben fornito e che i crimini contro l’umanità sono ciò con cui la popolazione deve fare i conti.
Chi sta perpetrando quest’infamia ha nome, cognome, indirizzo.
Non si tratta di ignoti col volto coperto, sventolanti bandiere nere.
E gli yemeniti sono stanchi. Soprattutto del silenzio del mondo e l’apatia delle Nazioni Unite – da Beatrice de Filippis
http://www.luomoconlavaligia.it/lettere-da-sanaa-yemen-6.html
9.2.2016 – WAM (A K)
Yemen needs $65 mn to rebuild damaged houses in Aden
Some 14 billion Yemeni Rial (US$ 65 million) are needed to rehabilitate and rebuild houses destroyed by war in Yemen, a senior Yemeni has said.
Yasser Al Serari, Director of Public Works Office, Governorate of Aden, made his remarks following a visit by Mohammed Shazli, Undersecretary of the Governorate, to the Office to review progress of work of a team assigned to assess and document damage caused by the barbaric war being waged by the rebel Houthi-Saleh militias.
He said the team has documented damage to 1090 houses up to the end of December 2015.
http://www.wam.ae/en/news/[Arab]/1395291344652.html
Comment: This figure sounds rather small to me. I think that factories, companies, public infrastructure, traffic will not be included here.
Comment by Judith Brown: And this is just one city. There are hundreds upon hundreds of cities. Who on earth is going to compensate the families whose homes are destroyed ?
https://www.facebook.com/yemennewstodayenglish/posts/1098049207014236
9.2.2016 – Indian Defence Review (B K P)
“Yemen on its Knees”: Viewing Houthi Insurgency through a Terror Prism
Introduction
In the past couple of months, a coalition led by Saudi Arabia, the richest country in the Arabian Peninsula, has been bombing major cities of Yemen, the poorest Gulf country. There is no shortage of conflict in the Middle East and Yemen has become its newest victim. The Saudis are receiving enormous pressure from West to decrease the aggressiveness in their attacks on the cities, which has consumed lives of over 4000 civilians at this time.
Understanding the Root Cause
The Ansar Allah (“Supporters of God” in English), now popularly known as Houthis by mainstream media, was initially a purely religious movement in the heart of Yemen. They preached tolerance, peace, and acceptance in the early 1990s and are followers of Zaidism branch of Shiite Islam. The Zaidis moderate Shiites.
The situation today
Today, Yemen plays host to some of the severe problems this nation has never experienced before, most prominent being the sectarian tensions, regionalism, and poor government. Although all these issues have played their part in the conflict, for us to understand is that these issues are all centric internally. What one has to understand is that these issues are flamed externally – by Anant Mishra
Comment: Staying at the surface of Saudi-Iran proxy war. He really cannot explain why the internal strife in Yemen between Houthis and Hadi government in 2014/early 2015 really should have been a real threat to Saudi Arabia itself, not referring to the Saudi paranoia in this conflict with Iran, the role of the deputy crown prince and minister of “defence” Prince Mohammed, and the efforts of Saudi Arabia to dominate Yemen as its back yard since more than 80 years.
10.2.2016 – Shafaqna (A P)
Open Letter – Yemen’s Forgotten Letter
Yemen is taking its fight against tyranny to the United Nations … As independent researchers and activists are putting together a file documenting the atrocities and villainies committed against the people of Yemen, by the Saudi-led coalition, many felt it was time to directly speak to those powers which have stood by as Yemen has cracked under Riyadh’s military pressure.
Abandoned to its fate, Yemen still has a voice … it speaks today: To the United States of America – by Catherine Skakdam
http://en.shafaqna.com/news/28027
8.2.2016 – Epictimes (*A P)
Yemen Is At War With Imperial Corporate Globalists
How Saudi Arabia has defiled and defied international law in Yemen
What is left to say when a nation has been allowed to burn under the fire of a tyrant for political cowardice, and greed has prevented world powers from speaking of justice?
What is left to say of a system which claims itself fair, and yet allows for truths to be buried under the boot of murderous legions, on account their coffers withhold vast wealth? What is left to say indeed …
Yemen has been at war with not one country but a world coalition. Behind the political veneer of a military intervention which presented itself as a democratic liberation, is the specter of implacable imperialism Yemen has struggled against and battled with since March 2015.
Atop the atrocities and unbearable hardships Yemenis have been made to withstand 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 Wahhabist patronage, the kingdom has now claimed its actions in Yemen stand resolutely within the rule of law, and that its coalition has refrained from targeting civilians.
This of course flies in the face of every statement, and testimony which have originated from Yemen since March 25, 2015. And while one can understand wars are never executed as well as they are planned, and that of course innocent lives will be caught in the cross-fire, there is much to say about the engineered annihilation of a nation’s civil infrastructures.
For well over 10 months Yemen has burnt, cracked, tumbled, stumbled, imploded, exploded and collapsed under the pressure of war, resigned to the blind hatred and destructive rage Riyadh has unleashed on a people on account of its resistance.
Yemen is paying dearly for its rebellion against Saudi Arabia’s theocratic imperialism.
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.
Answering experts’ scathing report, Riyadh offered to legislate over its crimes, standing both as judge and jury – a position the monarchy has long cherished.
“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.
Unfettered, Saudi Arabia’s imperialism has become a weapon of regional mass destruction and mass-destabilization.
Today Yemen is a country whose foundations have been reduced to rubble – orphaned, scarred, and institutionally crippled.
And still the global community remains silent. Only those capitals which abide by the rule of law have had the courage to speak up and stand up, but they are far too few in number – by Catherine Shakdam
Comment: I think Shakdam is too much glorifying the Houthi movement. They not just are a sort of glorious Islamic revolutionists fighting on behalf of the poor and suppressed, in the footsteps of Che Guevara. They have committed a lot of war crimes, violations of human rights, have suppressed opposition and freedom of speech. Well, a long time the Houthi movement had many elements of such a revolutionary movement, but under the conditions of permanent war it changed a lot to a more and more suppressive force just fighting for its own behalf, its own survival, by that losing a lot of its former attraction. It is difficult to say how the Houthi movement would have developed under different circumstances, having been given the chance to act or to rule in a more peaceful environment, being able to realize a political agenda. Thus, that movement has been changed and formed to what it is now by the circumstances it existed in.
You off course cannot just regret this telling that things would have been much better if the Houthis would have met less resistance, and to blame those who resisted them. That would be much too simple. Within a country, there always will be different interests and parties opposing each other. Who is to blame are those interfering from outside into such conflicts – in the case of Yemen the Saudis, the US and the British. They are to blame for what the Houthi movement is now. Just compare the revolution in Cuba in 1959 and the Castro movement. What was the way it went? The US interfered again and again, fighting against the Castro revolution to overthrow it. Thus, in the following years, Castro Cuba turned to more and more suppression, turned to the modus of fighting for survival, turned to the Soviet Union to get a strong ally against the US wanting to overthrow it, and ended as a communist dictatorship.
8.2.2016 – Almasdar News (A K P)
Al-Masdar Podcast 05 – Fernando Carvajal and Hisham al-Omeisy on Yemen
In this week’s podcast, Brad Blankenship speaks with Fernando Carvajal and Hisham al-Omeisy. Hisham is a Yemeni political and information analyst living in Sana’a; he has been involved in the conflict since it began and has worked for several NGOs and embassies. Fernando is a PhD candidate in Arab and Islamic Studies living in Los Angeles and has over 14 years of experience conducting field work in Yemen – by Brady Bernard
8.2.2016 – Al Araby (B P)
A silver lining in Yemen's tragedy
The war has torn Yemen apart, but its society will survive
We have reached a point where Yemenis can cope no longer. Life has reached rock bottom here. The misery is gradually brewing feelings of anger and rage, forcing us to start questioning and more, to start demanding a better life.
Momentum remains weak, and as there are no institutional organisational structures and a weak civil society, a solid and sustainable reaction will take time to brew up.
Those ones causing and benefiting from the armed conflict know this, and are therefore furiously craking down on agents of change, such as civil society leaders, journalists, activists and community mobilisers - because they know that these people can accelerate a society's awakening.
It's not a revolution or an uprising like the so-called Arab Spring. It will start on the very local level, with small communities organising themselves to replace the state - clustering economies to fill the void created by a falling macro-economy.
We will revert to our tribal and traditional norms for governance and the methods we know best as an ancient civilisation, a civilisation which is resilient and refuses to die.
Already, signs of this awakening are appearing across the country, regardless of who is in control of local areas. The war has torn us apart, and shredded the remains of our already tattered social fabric – by Nadia Al-Sakkaf
https://www.alaraby.co.uk/english/comment/2016/2/8/a-silver-lining-in-yemens-tragedy
Comment: I don’t know. That sounds rather optimistic. A society that treats women as 3. class and excludes them from all public life will have great difficulties to free itself in the way described here. You cannot form a new society excluding half of the population. And there is no change at all in sight. Sorry. And also the tribes will not be a nucleus of a real new society. They are ruled by the Sheiks who have their favorites and neglect others. Unless that changes, everything will stay as it is.
7.2.2016 – Rights is (A K P)
Yemen update 2/7/2016. Pro-Hadi forces advance north, al-Qaeda progresses south
cp3 Humanitäre Lage / Humanitarian situation
9.2.2016 – The Independent (* A H K)
Child soldiers make up a third of Yemeni fighters, says Unicef
UN children's programme warns of new wave of young recruits in Middle East and African conflicts
Yemen could become a new breeding ground for child soldiers, Unicef has warned, as the rise of extreme violence around the world undermines efforts to end the practice.
Around a third of combatants in Yemen’s civil war are children, Unicef estimates. Both the Houthi rebels and militias fighting on behalf of the internationally recognised President Abdullah Mansour Hadi have recruited children to fight on their behalf in the 11-month war.
Children as young as 14 are fighting on the front line, according to a Unicef report to be formally published today, which says that both the Houthis and the government have gone back on pledges to the UN that they would end the practice.
Meanwhile, the widespread destruction of schools and infrastructure in the Saudi-led bombardment of the country is further encouraging more children to pick up guns and fight, in exchange for pay of between £3 to £6 a day – by Emma Gatten
Comment by Judith Brown: This is so true - Yemen's schools are bombed or starved of water, electricity and textbooks. Children are living in poverty as their parents jobs have come to an end due to this terrible war. Children have no money and little prestige. So they are joining up in droves. The more bombs fall, the more children want to fight; they can't be immune from the hatred that is permeating Yemen because the gruesome effects of war permeate their whole lives - family members killed, friends killed, homes destroyed. There are so many motivators that make children want revenge - and if not revenge, the little money they earn from fighting helps their family to afford food.
https://www.facebook.com/judith.brown.794628/posts/10154089599173641
9.2.2016 – Amnesty International (* A H K)
Yemen: Huthi forces block vital hospital supplies fuelling humanitarian crisis in Ta’iz
The Huthi armed group and forces allied to it are endangering the lives of thousands of civilians in the southern city of Ta’iz by blocking the entry of crucial medical supplies and food over the past three months, in blatant violation of international humanitarian law, said Amnesty International.
Testimony gathered by the organization from 22 residents and medical staff living in Yemen’s third largest city paints an alarming picture of civilian suffering and hardship. Most of the city’s hospitals have shut down and the few that remain open are on the verge of collapse due to a lack of supplies. One resident’s new-born baby died hours after he was born because of severe oxygen shortages at the city’s hospitals.
“The Huthi forces appear to be deliberately barring the entry of civilian goods, including vital medical supplies and food, fuelling a humanitarian crisis with devastating consequences for residents of Ta’iz,” said James Lynch, Deputy Middle East and North Africa Director at Amnesty International.
“Blocking humanitarian aid is a serious violation of international humanitarian law. Residents are effectively trapped within an enclave of Ta’iz and depriving them of basic necessities amounts to collective punishment of the civilian population.”
All routes into and out of Ta’iz are controlled by the Huthi armed group and its allies. Restrictions on entering and leaving the city have tightened significantly since the conflict began. Only al-Duhi crossing to the west of the city has remained open on an intermittent basis, leaving residents largely trapped inside.
Residents told Amnesty International that members of the Huthi armed group and its allies have stopped civilians crossing checkpoints from bringing in fruit, vegetables, meat, clothes as well as gas cylinders for cooking and oxygen cylinders destined for hospitals, in some cases confiscating the goods. International humanitarian law absolutely prohibits the blocking of medical supplies.
All parties to the conflict must allow unimpeded passage of impartial humanitarian relief for civilians.
Amnesty International spoke to five doctors in Ta’iz who said they are desperately in need of more anaesthetics, oxygen and surgical instruments to treat patients injured during ongoing fighting between Huthi and anti-Huthi armed groups inside the city.
Only four local hospitals within the enclave remain functional. Even these open and close sporadically depending on whether they manage to get hold of medical supplies, which in most cases have been smuggled in via a smuggling route over a mountain south of the city around 3,000m high.
Around 80% of shops in the city are closed and the prices of smuggled goods have soared, with basic supplies now costing around four or five times the usual local rate. Many residents are struggling to afford food to feed themselves and their families. Even bread has doubled in price
Comment: Don’t forget that this is the smaller blockade within the larger one – the Saudis supported by the US having imposed a blockade on the whole country as far as it is Houthi-held.
Comment by Judith Brown: Last thing I heard from MSF was that medical supplies had been allowed into Taiz - but this report of today says it was insufficient and more aid is being blocked. Sadly that is also true in many other parts of Yemen where 58% of Yemenis have no access to health care due to the Saudi led blockade and the destruction of hospitals. When will this dreadful war end?
https://www.facebook.com/judith.brown.794628/posts/10154089517853641
8.2.2016 – Humanitarian Practise Network (* B K)
Protecting civilians from explosive weapons: time for a change of practice
Legitimate target? Accurately struck? Precision or unguided munitions? Does it matter at all for those on the ground? Whether in the towns, cities or villages of Syria, Ukraine, Yemen or elsewhere; whether in compliance with international humanitarian law (IHL) or not, the bottom line is often the same. Using explosive weapons in populated areas has a profoundly devastating impact on civilians. As conflicts are increasingly fought in populated areas, it’s a practice that must change.
The use of explosive weapons in populated areas may, in some circumstances, comply with IHL. Irrespective of this, however, mounting empirical evidence shows a predictable, widespread, short- and long-term pattern of harm to civilians. Data from Action on Armed Violence shows that in 2014, 41,847 people were killed or injured by explosive weapons. Of these, 78% were civilians (32,662). In populated areas, 92% of casualties were civilians.
The victims of explosive weapons often suffer complex injuries, which require emergency and specialist medical treatment, rehabilitation and psycho-social services that are often unavailable. For example, during the 2011 hostilities in Libya, an identified lack of training in dealing with such injuries led to many seriously injured civilians being sent abroad for treatment.
Access to healthcare may also be impossible because the use of explosive weapons has left hospitals and clinics damaged or destroyed, killed healthcare personnel or cut off supplies.
The use of explosive weapons in populated areas is a major driver of displacement within and across borders as people flee in fear of, or as a result of, attacks that damage or destroy their homes.
Explosive weapons frequently damage or destroy water, sanitation and electricity services with sometimes drastic consequences for civilians. The interdependencies between services mean that the destruction of a single electrical transformer, for example, can compromise safe drinking water supplies and the treatment and disposal of sewage, increasing the risk of disease – by Dr. Simon Bagshaw
http://odihpn.org/blog/protecting-civilians-from-explosive-weapons-time-for-a-change-of-practice/
cp4 Kulturerbe / Cultural heritage
9.2.2016 – Apollo Magazine (D)
Urgent Initiative to Save Yemen’s Heritage | Following last week’sdevastating reports on the wanton destruction of Yemen’s cultural heritage, Al Jazeera has published a report on an American professor’s attempts to digitise the war torn country’s unparalleled collection of around 50,000 rare manuscripts. ‘Within these manuscripts are inscribed the collective memory of a people,’ said David Hollenberg of the University of Oregon. ‘Once this memory is erased, an important chapter of the story of what it is to be human is no longer recoverable.’ The tomes in question are held in three private manuscript libraries in Sana’a, and represent the largest and most important collection of unexamined texts in the Arabic world. Hollenberg has been working on a project to safeguard the contents of the manuscripts since the 1990s. Last November, he set up Save Yemen’s Heritage, an organisation that aims to send digital equipment to the south Arabian nation so that local NGOs can record the priceless texts for posterity. At present, however, Americans sending funds to Yemen without clearance are liable for criminal charges, and SYH must obtain permission from the US Treasury before anything can be done. It is a sobering thought that the collective memory of an entire people may rest on whether the Treasury deems Hollenberg’s plan acceptable.
http://www.apollo-magazine.com/can-yemens-unparalleled-collection-of-manuscripts-be-saved/
cp6 Südjemen und Hadi-Regierung / Southern Yemen and Hadi-government
siehe auch: „Am wichtigsten“ / See also: „Most important“
9.2.2016 – AFP (A T)
Yemeni forces clash with Qaeda gunmen in Aden
Yemeni forces clashed Tuesday with Al-Qaeda militants in Aden as the Saudi-led coalition provided air cover, in a bid to drive the jihadists out of the city, security officials said.
Al-Qaeda controls part of the southern port city which has become the temporary headquarters of the government of President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi as it battles to retake large parts of Yemen from Shiite Huthi rebels.
Forces loyal to Hadi laid siege early Tuesday to Aden's central Mansura district and clashed with militants, while coalition Apache helicopters provided air cover, security officials in the city said.
At least two gunmen were killed in the fighting, the officials said.
Residents said warplanes also hovered overhead and that they feared for their lives.
"We live in terror... We got rid of the Huthis and now Al-Qaeda militants have come to turn our lives into hell," said one resident.
http://news.yahoo.com/yemeni-forces-clash-qaeda-gunmen-aden-080636146.html and from Middle East Eye: http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/aden-residents-live-terror-yemeni-forces-clash-qaeda-547803889
It’s more than only clashes between Al Kaida and government forces. Al Kaida also occupied a shopping center, shooting at shoppers there: Aden BURNING: Entire family killed, shopping center destroyed & homes on fire in heavy clashes
Photos: https://twitter.com/YemenPostNews/status/697060365423800320/photo/1 and https://twitter.com/narrabyee/status/697058920444071937 and https://twitter.com/Tribuneofyemen/status/697067231881076736 and film: https://www.youtube.com/embed/6A2lRqn99LA
9.2.2016 – Yemen Real News (A T)
ADEN: Armed clashes in Aden between competing factions in the south of the country among themselves. This is all happening at a time the Saudi-led coalition claims to have "liberated" Aden and other areas of South Yemen most of which has now fallen in the hands of Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula. This is what the coalition is now striving to achieve in the north of the country where fierce battles are raging to retain what remains of the country's sovereignty from the infiltration of terror groups and the invading coalition forces (with photos)
https://www.facebook.com/yemen.crisis/posts/562253053940935
7.2.2016 – Banjo (A P)
Separatists Protest In Aden, Yemen
http://ban.jo/Enterprise/Customer-Support/20160207/Separatists-Protest-In-Aden-Yemen-Al-Mualla/
cp8 Saudi-Arabien / Saudi Arabia
9.2.2016 – Telepolis (** B K P)
Die Saudis rüsten zur letzten Schlacht
Riad befindet sich in einer Zwickmühle: Einen direkten militärischen Konflikt mit Teheran kann es keinesfalls riskieren, aber Frieden ist auch keine Option. So droht eine Ausweitung der Stellvertreterkriege
Eine unmittelbare militärische Konfrontation zwischen Saudi-Arabien und Iran, mithin einen direkten Krieg um die Vorherrschaft in der Golfregion, wird es nicht geben. Der Grund ist einfach - Riad hätte nicht die geringste Chance, ein Waffengang käme für das Königreich einem Selbstmord gleich. Sicherlich haben die Saudis nach Jahren massivster Aufrüstung auf dem Papier die stärkere Armee mit den moderneren Waffen, und auch die Wirtschaftsleistung war in den letzten Jahren dank Ölreichtum deutlich höher.
Doch verfügt Irans Militär nicht nur über mehr praktische Erfahrung und besser ausgebildete Offiziere, sondern ist dem der Saudis dank Identifikation mit der Bevölkerung auch in punkto Motivation deutlich überlegen. Riads Soldaten kämpfen für Geld, Teherans hingegen für die Abwehr einer durchaus realen äußeren Bedrohung ihres Landes.
Auch die größere strategische Tiefe spricht für den Iran: Zuverlässige regionale Alliierte und Verbündete auf globaler Ebene machen einen Angriff auf das Land zum unkalkulierbaren strategischen Risiko mit Folgen weit über die Golfregion hinaus.
Die saudische Führung steht innen- wie außenpolitisch bereits jetzt unter starkem Druck. In Syrien und dem Irak befinden sich ihre Stellvertreter seit dem Eingreifen Russlands und dem Fall von Ramadi in der Defensive, und auch der eigene Krieg im Jemen kommt nicht von der Stelle. Das Abkommen mit dem Iran konnte Riad trotz intensiver Bemühungen nicht verhindern; nun muss es zusehen, wie Teheran politisch auf die Weltbühne zurückkehrt und mit Ost und West weitreichende Wirtschaftskooperationen vereinbart.
Um diesen unaufhaltsamen Abstieg zu verlangsamen, bleibt den al-Sauds nur noch eine einzige Chance: Sie müssen es schaffen, den Kampf um die regionale Hegemonie zwischen ihnen und der iranischen Elite als religiös-kulturelle Entscheidungsschlacht zwischen Sunniten und Schiiten erscheinen zu lassen. Wenn dieses irreführende Framing verfängt, können sie hoffen, sich - immerhin Beschützer der heiligen Stätten Mekka und Medina - als "legitime Führungsmacht aller Sunniten" zu präsentieren und so die gesamte sunnitische Welt für ihren Machterhalt einzuspannen.
Das Ziel der saudischen Führung wird es somit sein, nach Möglichkeit Andere für sich kämpfen zu lassen und den Krieg vom eigenen Staatsgebiet fernzuhalten. Um ein aussichtsloses direktes Kräftemessen zu vermeiden, muss sie sich bemühen, die Front so weit wie möglich auszudehnen und in zahlreichen Ländern Stellvertreterkonflikte zu inszenieren. Diese haben nicht zuletzt auch die Funktion, religiös Radikalisierte anzuziehen und zu "verbrauchen" - ein wichtiger stabilisierender Faktor für das Königreich, das für diesen "Aderlass zorniger junger Männer" auf permanente Kriege in der muslimischen Welt angewiesen ist.
Die Blockade der Syrien-Gespräche scheint diese Einschätzung ebenso zu bestätigen wie eine Reihe schwerer Anschläge im Irak, der Türkei, Indonesien, Pakistan, Syrien und nicht zuletzt in Saudi-Arabien selbst in den letzten Wochen. Es sollte niemanden überraschen, wenn diese Liste sich bald verlängerte: Der naheliegendste Kandidat dafür wäre wohl der Libanon, aber auch Bahrain, Ägypten und Oman böten sich an.
Somit ist zwar ein Angriff auf den eigentlichen Gegner nicht erst seit der jüngsten Aufwertung der iranisch-chinesischen Beziehungen quasi auszuschließen, eine weitere Ausbreitung lokaler Konflikte unterschiedlicher Intensität hingegen absehbar. Diese binden nicht nur Ressourcen, sondern stärken auch den Eindruck eines "Religionskrieges" zwischen den beiden Hauptströmungen des Islam.
Je stärker dieser Aspekt in der Öffentlichkeit betont wird, desto mehr wird er zur selbsterfüllenden Prophezeiung, und so kämpfen die Saudis und ihre Verbündeten immer auch um die Diskurshoheit: Jeder Medienbericht und jeder "Experte", der die Konflikte anhand religiöser Differenzen zu erklären sucht, stärkt somit bewusst oder unbewusst die Position Riads – von Urs Kleinert
http://www.heise.de/tp/artikel/47/47338/1.html
9.2.2016 – Southfront (* A P)
WHAT HAPPENS IF SAUDI ARABIA INVADES SYRIA ?
During this week NATO summit in Brussels, Saudi Arabia is expected to put the question of sending ground troops to Syria on the agenda. Saudi military’s representative, Brigade General Ahmed Assiri, already said that “Saudi Arabia intends to destroy the Islamic State,”
Such announcements were shortly after Turkey’s declaration it is considering launching a ground operation in Syria.
At first glance, the Saudi proposal follows the policy laid out by Washington. Barack Obama in his capacity as the head of anti-ISIS coalition, has refused to place ground troops in Syria for the longest time, stating that local armies ought to destroy ISIS and stabilize the conflict zone. SecDef Ash Carter recently complained that US coalition partners are insufficiently support of US efforts, and during the Davos forum in late January he said that “there will be no free riders.”
However, experts believe that placing Saudi forces in Syria would likely be a terrible move, leading to catastrophic consequences. They believe Riyadh does not want to stabilize the situation but exact vengeance on its main adversary, Iran.
Since starting operations in Syria in September of 2014, Saudi forces dropped relatively few bombs. Moreover, Saudi ground forces are utterly untested militarily, as they are mainly used to protect borders and fulfill police roles, not to wage large-scale operations.
Saudi Arabia is, moreover, pursuing objectives very different from those of the US or of most other participants in that conflict. The proposal to send troops is most likely an attempt to communicate to Iran that Saudi leadership will not allow it to conduct operations in support of Assad. Just as Saudi Arabia condemned Tehran’s involvement in the Yemeni civil war.
“Saudi strategic objectives are very different from ours. Any new foreign military contingent in Syria will only complicate the struggle against the main threat, namely ISIS. The Saudis know perfectly well what they want. They want to overthrow Assad,” Steven Kinzer, a senior researcher at the Watson Institute of International Studies at Brown University, believes.
Boston Globe published Kinzer’s article in which he describes what he calls “aggressive activities” of the Saudi government. As a result, the Saudis are considered to be less and less dependable, with Riyadh no longer able to count on full US support.
It’s not clear, according to Kinzer, how Saudi troops would cooperate with other ground forces in Syria, including the Kurds. In recent operations, the Saudis proved to be cruel and even criminal. UN has stated that the Saudi air campaign against the Houthis is in violation of international norms and should be investigated.
“I will consider any Saudi attempt to send troops to Syria an attempt to destabilize. It would result in Saudi forces drawing closer and closer to Iran.”
“Such a land operation would be guaranteed to undermine the already weak efforts to reach a peaceful settlement of the Syria conflict,” Kinzer sums up.
http://southfront.org/what-if-saudi-arabia-invades-syria/
7.2.2016 – Reuters (A P)
Saudi King Salman calls for others not to interfere in kingdom
Saudi Arabia's King Salman on Sunday called on other countries not to interfere in the kingdom's internal affairs in what appeared to be a rebuke to Riyadh's main foe Iran, which it accuses of attempting to stir unrest.
"It is our right to defend ourselves, without interfering in the affairs of others. We call on others to not interfere in our affairs," Salman said in a speech opening the annual Janadriya cultural festival in Riyadh, state news agency SPA reported.
"We cooperate with our Arab and Muslim brothers in all areas in defending our lands and ensuring their independence and guarding their government systems as sanctioned by their peoples," he added.
http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-saudi-security-idUKKCN0VG0S4
Comment on Twitter: Yemen calls on this Wahhabi terrorist financing monkey not to interfere with our country. Thanks
https://twitter.com/Arabellastory/status/696454076045926400
Comment: Well, it’s not only Yemen. Looking at the fact to which countries Saudi Arabia is spreading its Wahabite ideology – having spent $ 100 billion since the 1960s just on that purpose – Salmans demand is rather odd. These countries range from Germany to Indonesia. Not to forget the billions Saudi Arabia spent for terrorists worldwide, beginning with fueling Osama bin Laden and all sorts of islamists in Afghanistan from the 1980ies onwards. Did you forget the Saudi interference in Bahrain in 2012, and now the interference in Syria. Now, the Saudis even want to send troops to Syria, that would be no interference in your mind, Salman, or what??
Comment by Judith Brown: Wow this is so outrageous! This is a country that long interfered in Yemen - building Wahhabi institutions for indoctrination of Yemeni children, arming and funding one group against another, taking sides in internal Yemeni conflicts, (and in fact not on one occasion had the side Saudi backed ever won), manipulating the Yemen leadership, funding the arming of tribes so that they were more powerful than the Yemen government, the list goes on. And every time Yemen has come near to a democratic system that is worthy of the name, Saudi has stepped in big time - like for example when the UN in March had got all parties to agree to a system based on a fairly elected system, Saudi backed the unpopular despot Hadi who knew he could never get fairly elected and asked Saudi to kill the Yemeni people - which they obligingly did. And Saudi has also interfered in Bahrain and Syria to foment despair. So, Saudi Arabia, before you start telling other people that you have a right to rule as you want to - just look at yourselves.
https://www.facebook.com/judith.brown.794628/posts/10154088018643641
cp9 USA
siehe auch „Am wichtigsten“ / Also see „Most important“
8.2.2016 – Huffington Post (* A P)
A Senator Is Questioning The U.S.-Saudi Relationship At Just The Right Moment
More and more people in Washington are unhappy with the kingdom, and it's running out of ways to respond.
When Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) recently gave a speechchallenging the United States' long-standing indulgent relationship with Saudi Arabia, he did it in New York, where experimentation and radical thinking are more common than in stodgy D.C.
But the nation’s capital was listening closely. And some of its most influential players liked what they heard.
Murphy later told The Huffington Post that many of his fellow lawmakers have for some time been privately expressing the criticisms he made of Saudi Arabia -- namely, that it has encouraged the spread of a fundamentalist, intolerant strain of Islamic thought, and that the war it is fighting with U.S. support in Yemen has achieved little besides giving al Qaeda more room to flourish.
“For whatever reason, even Congress, without these personal relationships [with Saudi officials], hasn’t been willing to say some of the things that I’ve been saying publicly over the last week,” Murphy told the HuffPost Politics podcast "So, That Happened." But, he said, none of his colleagues in the Senate have told him anything that suggests they disagreed with his speech.
Asked if he had received any pushback from Saudi representatives in the U.S., Murphy said he had not spoken to any of them in person since the address.
“I’m sure there are those in the embassy who aren’t happy with it,” the senator said.
Murphy's remarks might seem startling, given how close the U.S. has been to the kingdom and how often the Saudis have helped achieve American goals across the Middle East. But recent shifting attitudes in Washington have made this the right moment for Murphy to announce his skepticism of the Saudis -- and he's framed his argument in a way that makes it difficult to challenge.
Two current Obama administration officials, and one who recently departed, have praised Murphy's address in separate conversations with HuffPost, each one saying they are glad an influential figure is publicly asking questions about the U.S.-Saudi bond.
Such thinking has become popular in Washington over the past few years as the administration has prioritized the goal of a nuclear agreement with Iran, Saudi Arabia’s top competitor for influence in the Middle East.
Washington, which has gotten over serious frustrations with the Saudis before, is probably not going to walk away from the relationship any time soon.
Still, the days that Murphy cautioned against in his remarks -- those of the U.S. reflexively supporting any Saudi endeavor or misstep -- just may be numbered – by Akbar Shahid Ahmed
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/chris-murphy-saudi-arabia_us_56b63058e4b01d80b24683ba?axde7b9=
cp10 Großbritannien / Great Britain
9.2.2016 – Colonel Richard Kemp (A P)
Britain must back its ally over Yemen conflict
In fighting the global war on terrorism, our preferred policy is to support and advise the indigenous forces of countries where violent jihad is taking a hold in a way that threatens our interests and those of our allies. This is preferable to deploying our own combat forces to deal directly with the problem, especially in the wake of long and costly campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Such support, sometimes including military trainers and advisers in headquarters or at the front, not only helps to defeat the threat but also buys vital political influence.
It is vital to Britain and the West that the Iranian-backed Houthi insurgency against Yemen’s legitimate government is defeated. Yemen is of major global strategic importance, including for the stability of the Gulf and the security of oil supplies. We saw the rise there, due to instability, of one of the most dangerous terrorist groups in the world, al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, responsible for many of the most devastating attacks in the region as well as in the US and Europe. Islamic State (Isis) also has a growing presence in Yemen.
The Saudi-led coalition cannot hope to bring stability to Yemen without the military intervention it has been carrying out. But do their actions cross our red lines? Despite the UN’s accusations it is unlikely that Saudi operations have involved deliberate, systematic targeting of the civilian population.
The Saudis are fighting a legal war in Yemen. If they are doing all they can to avoid killing civilians, inadequate military capability and experience does not make their action criminal.
As we saw with Hamas in the 2014 Gaza conflict, there is evidence that the Houthis have been falsifying imagery and distorting casualty statistics to mislead the UN, human rights groups and the media. Like their jihadist bedfellows everywhere, they have been killing civilians deliberately and without restraint.
The UN’s unsubstantiated accusations of war crimes plays into the hands of the Houthi insurgents and encourages their continued violence, including use of human shields. This flawed report is part of a growing trend of politically motivated activism that makes it more difficult for western nations, sensitive to allegations of collusion in war crimes, to act effectively in this type of conflict. It contributes to a new form of asymmetry in warfare, tilted in favour of the terrorists, who seek to exploit their opponents’ adherence to the laws of war while themselves totally ignoring them – by Colonel Richard Kemp
http://richard-kemp.com/britain-must-back-its-ally-over-yemen-conflict/
Comment: This is included here as a remarkable piece of neo-colonial thought in a quite primitive way, thus fitting quite well to this colonels government. The only thing that counts are the own geostrategic and economic interests, and nothing else. Therefor we make use of others, to avoid own deaths and making dirty our own hands. Brown, Arab, Third-World lives don’t matter, they are not worth a word. And to stay on the line, the easiest thing is just to deny reality: “It is unlikely that Saudi operations have involved deliberate, systematic targeting of the civilian population”. And, still this: “The Saudis are fighting a legal war in Yemen”. Where should this legitimacy come from? There is no legitimacy in this war. Keeping a “legitimate” government in office, even if that means to bomb the whole country to ruins? Don’t forget, the term of president Hadi and his government finally ended at February 25, 2015, one month before the Saudi aerial war started. He has less legitimacy than president Yanukovich of Ukraine had when he was overthrown by the Maidan coup in February 2014. Russia bombing Kiew, Lviv, the whole Ukraine into ruins just to bring back Yanukovich would have been a legal war?
9.2.2016 – We work for you (A P)
Members of parliament ask the government
Nick Brown, Chair, Finance Committee
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the human rights situation in Yemen.
Tobias Ellwood, The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs
We continue to remain deeply concerned about the human rights situation in Yemen. The UK supported a UN Human Rights Council resolution in October 2015, which called on the UN to provide technical assistance to the Government of Yemen, assist the Yemeni National Independent Commission of Inquiry, and report back to the next session of the Human Rights Council. We continue to raise the importance of respect for human rights with all sides to the conflict.
http://www.theyworkforyou.com/wrans/?id=2016-01-29.24886.h&p=11437
Comment: This answer is ridiculous. “We continue to remain deeply concerned about the human rights situation in Yemen” is mere hypocrisy when he still supports selling arms to Saudi Arabia. And he thinks to do anything for Human Rights when saying Britain supports an “investigation” on human rights abuses and war crimes committed by the Yemen government of president Hadi, which is little more than s Saudi propaganda department: those who commit the war crimes are those who also investigate them. The whole matter is ridiculous. There exists no independent investigation, Britain had done its best to prevent it.
8.2.2016 – The Telegraph (* A K P)
UK refuses to sign UN document protecting schools in war
Philip Hammond, Foreign Secretary, said to have blocked attempts to get Britain to lead way on preventing killing of children
Philip Hammond, the Foreign Secretary, has been accused of vetoing a request for Britain to sign up to a UN initiative to prevent schools and schoolchildren from becoming victims of war.
Unicef, the United Nations children’s fund, along with children’s charities, is promoting a “safe schools declaration”, setting out guidelines for how armed forces can avoid targeting schools in war.
The initiative, which has been signed by 51 countries already, is being launched in Britain as gruesome pictures emerge from Syria, Yemen and elsewhere of children bombed and maimed in conflicts there.
But Britain has refused to join up, even though it was drafted by a former British naval officer, Steven Haines, now a professor of international law – by Richard Spencer
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/defence/12147209/UK-refuses-to-sign-UN-document-protecting-schools-in-war.html and from RT: https://www.rt.com/uk/331847-un-schools-war-yemen/
Comment: In the field of military, arms trade, war and neo-colonial foreign policy the British government day by day tops its own ruthlessness. This very well also refers to the Yemen war. Until January 19, 2016, Saudi air raids had destroyed and damaged 569 schools and institutes. And see the photo at this article as well, labeled as “Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond with refugee children and teenagers at the UNICEF Makani Centre in Jordan, near the Syrian border”. Posing with children, is always nice for politicians’ PR. Caring for poor children, even more. With Hammond, it’s mere hypocrisy.
Comment by Judith Brown: Would you believe it. Look at this. Who does our government think it is? They all went to Eton. Is that what our public school system teaches - we are alright and damn the rest. Especially the poor. After all, we sell them the weapons that destroy schools. They obviously think that is more important.
https://www.facebook.com/yemennewstodayenglish/posts/1098154230337067
cp12 Andere Länder / Other countries
8.2.2016 – Reuters (A K)
UAE says ready to support anti-IS coalition with troops
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) said on Sunday it was ready to supply ground troops to help support and train an international military coalition against Islamic State in Syria provided such efforts were led by the United States.
Asked whether the UAE could be expected to send ground troops to Syria, and if so under what circumstances, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Anwar Gargash said:
"I think that this has been our position throughout ... that a real campaign against Daesh has to include ground elements," he said, referring to Islamic State's name using the Arabic acronym.
Saudi Arabia, one of several Sunni Muslim Gulf Arab states, including the UAE, who are opposed to Islamic State, said last week it was ready to participate in any ground operations in Syria if the U.S.-led coalition fighting Islamic State militants decided to start such operations.
Gargash said that any potential supply of troops would not be particularly large.
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-mideast-crisis-emirates-idUSKCN0VG0DQ
Comment: They obediently follow the example of their Saudi overlords. Seeso from AP: http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20160208/NEWS02/160209321
cp13 Mercenaries / Söldner
8.2.2016 – ABC Net (A K)
Retired Australian Major General Mike Hindmarsh faces questions about knowledge of civilian attacks in Yemen
One of Australia's most decorated military soldiers, who is now serving as a senior advisor for the United Arab Emirates forces, is facing questions about his knowledge of civilian attacks in Yemen.
In 2010, the retired Major General was recruited by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to set up the country's first elite fighting force.
Rori Donaghy is the founder of the Emirates Centre for Human Rights.
"He reports directly to the Crown Prince, Mohammad bin Zayed of Abu Dhabi, he's obviously right at the top," he told 7.30.
"Mike Hindmarsh has brought in a lot of his own men.
"There are dozens, we don't know exactly how many, but there are dozens of Australians that are involved in command positions within the Presidential Guard."
The UAE Presidential Guard, the unit that General Hindmarsh is listed as commanding, is reported to be operating on the ground in Yemen.
"I'd imagine it's not quite what the Australians had in mind when they moved to Abu Dhabi on a tax free salary," Mr Donaghy said.
"But unfortunately now for them I can imagine it's a difficult situation because the war in Yemen is the most difficult, dirty and ongoing of wars that will not end anytime soon." – by Sophie McNeill
6.2.2016 – The Guardian (* B P)
The return of the dogs of war: what's it like to be a soldier for hire?
It’s one thing to pull the trigger for your country – quite another for a corporation. As a new report reveals how private military contractors have changed the face of conflict, they reveal how conflict has changed them
Comment: A look into the world of mercenaries. Topic unfortunately close to the war on Yemen
cp14 Terrorismus / Terrorism
9.2.2016 – RT (B T)
Grafik des Tages: Saudische Invasion im Jemen deckt sich fast 1:1 mit Al-Qaida Einfluss-Zone
Nach Angaben des Centre for Research on Globalization konnte AQAP ihre militärischen Kapazitäten durch den Angriff Saudi-Arabiens auf den Jemen massiv ausweiten.
https://deutsch.rt.com/der-nahe-osten/36702-grafik-tages-saudische-invasion-im/
9.2.2016 – Rachy Colly (* A T)
Saudi kingdom of ISIS with its forces of darkness: Destroying historical sites and Islamic heritage.
Al Qaeda knows no shame: its militants, have destroyed Islamic dome in Eastern Hadramawth province.
On Monday, Feb 8, local sources said that the elements of "Ansar Al-sharia ", (the name of Al-Qaida in Yemen) have destroyed and damaged antique dome and shrine of Sheikh Saeed alatishi Bawazir .
In addition, it was demolished the dome of Shikh alkotishi, one of the oldest historical monuments of the Islamic heritage.
The militants are said to have distributed leaflets in the area, calling for the demolition of the domes on the pretext they are "manifestations of polytheism".
A-Qaida, in recent months, demolished a number of tombs and domes and Islamic historical monuments in the city of Al-Mukalla, including "shielded dome", an extension of similar operations for extremist elements in Aden and Lahj and Taiz Shabwa fall under the name of "resistance" backed by the Saudi-led coalition forces in Yemen.
Al-Qaida have been controlling the city of Al-Mukalla, capital of Hadramaut province since late April, Khaber news agency reported (with photos)
https://www.facebook.com/groups/822619271108212/permalink/955526137817524/ = https://www.facebook.com/yemennewstodayenglish/posts/1098071410345349
8.2.2016 – AP (A T)
Al-Qaida militants battle each other in southern Yemen
Al-Qaida militants battled each other on Monday in a southern Yemeni city controlled by the group, in what appeared to be an internal power struggle that erupted after a senior militant was killed in a U.S. drone strike.
The clashes broke out in the southern city of Zinjibar late Sunday, leaving at least seven militants dead and another nine wounded
The rival factions are led by local commander known as Abu Anas al-Sanani and another known as Ossan Baliedy, the brother of Jalal Baliedy, the leader who was killed along with three others in a drone strike on Thursday – by Ahmed Al-Haj
8.2.2016 – TASS (A T)
Russian ambassador accuses extremists in Yemen of trying to devise oil export schemes
The extremist groups that have sprung up in the vast territories of the eastern and southern part of Yemen, including the major port cities of Aden and al Mukalla, are trying to use the experience of Syrian smugglers for illegal export of oil and oil products from the country, Russian Ambassador to Yemen Vladimir Dedushkin told TASS on Monday.
"The war in Yemen has created fertile ground for the growth of activity of terrorist groups of every stripe and color," the diplomat said. "According to incoming reports, the extremist groups that have mushroomed on the vast areas of the country’s eastern and southern parts are not only replenished with gunmen from Syria. They are even trying to use the experience of Syrian smugglers to illegally export oil and oil products from Yemen." "We believe that this information requires serious attention and needs to be carefully verified," he said.
"Incredible as it may seem, currently only detachments of the Ansar Allah movement are fighting with extremists who declared an uncompromising war against them," Dedushkin said. "It is pretty difficult to speak about the effectiveness of this struggle, since the Houthis have to fight a two-front war - against the coalition and the resistance units supporting the government and against terrorist groups."
According to him, "without any doubt, the struggle against terrorists would be far more successful, if Yemenis, putting an end to civil strife, joined forces in fighting the common enemy personified by the Islamic State (IS) terrorist group (banned in Russia) and al-Qaeda." "So far this is something one can only dream about," the ambassador added.
http://tass.ru/en/politics/855285 = http://www.therussophile.org/russian-diplomat-sees-no-prospects-for-swift-settlement-of-yemeni-crisis.html/
Comment: History repeating. The same as in Syria… And again, the role of the Saudis and of the “West” is a quite strange one.
8.2.2016 – Living in Yemen on the Edge (* A T)
Destroying historical sites and Islamic heritage (with photos).
Al Qaeda knows no shame: its militants, have destroyed Islamic dome in Eastern Hadramawth province.
On Monday, Feb 8, local sources said that the elements of "Ansar Al-sharia ", (the name of Al-Qaida in Yemen) have destroyed and damaged antique dome and shrine of Sheikh Saeed alatishi Bawazir.
In addition, it was demolished the dome of Shikh alkotishi, one of the oldest historical monuments of the Islamic heritage.
The militants are said to have distributed leaflets in the area, calling for the demolition of the domes on the pretext they are "manifestations of polytheism".
A-Qaida, in recent months, demolished a number of tombs and domes and Islamic historical monuments in the city of Al-Mukalla, including "shielded dome", an extension of similar operations for extremist elements in Aden and Lahj and Taiz Shabwa fall under the name of "resistance" backed by the Saudi-led coalition forces in Yemen.
Al-Qaida have been controlling the city of Al-Mukalla, capital of Hadramaut province since late April, Khaber news agency reported.
https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=966236453429385&id=961126490607048
cp15 Propaganda
9.2.2016 The National AR (A P)
Yemen PM tells Dubai summit military intervention was ‘necessary
Saudi-led military intervention in Yemen was necessary to help the country and the entire Arab region, according to Yemen’s vice president and prime minister.
Khaled Bahah said at the World Government Summit on Tuesday that the intervention was vital and that any hesitation would have led to dire consequences for the country.
“If you go back to 2011, when change started in Yemen, we sought help from our friends in the GCC for them to prepare an initiative to help us find a solution to our crisis,” he said. “Our friends from the GCC helped us prepare a new draft for our constitution and amend it.
“Our brothers in the GCC stood by us since then and our partners in the coalition provide us with all the assistance we need to bring Yemen back to its previous state.”
“We waited a long time. We turned to the United Nations more than once and it seems the militias we are dealing with are not very ethical nor cooperative. It is our responsibility as citizens of Yemen to ensure Taez is liberated and we will use all means to ensure it happens.”
“The conditions in Yemen are very difficult,” he said. “We are now working in this post-liberation period, we have implemented a new strategy and stayed as a government in Sanaa. We came under attack when a hotel was bombarded and we were in a lot of danger but now, our strategy is to ensure our presence throughout Yemen.”
Mr Bahah said that strategy aimed at putting an end to all terrorist attacks and ensuring Aden was liberated with no remaining militia, such as Ansar Al Sharia.
“We have learnt from history that when there is conflict, we involve tribes, but now, this is a different case. The Iranian intervention is very clear. It is making decisions on behalf of other parties and the game being played by Iran is unfortunate.”
Those loyal to former president Ali Abdullah Saleh have weakened the army.
“[Some] military men are not working the way they should be,” he said. “Twenty thousand men were unable to take on 6,000 from Daesh and they were probably followers of Saleh.
Yemen has a vision to reconstruct after the war. “It will not be easy,” he said. “The West had a marshal plan and we hope to have our own Gulf plan to develop Yemen. We have had many wars but our country is alive and we will be able to create prosperity.”
http://www.thenational.ae/uae/yemen-pm-tells-dubai-summit-military-intervention-was-necessary
9.2.2016 – Emirates 24 7 (A P)
#WorldGovSummit: Yemen will be a good GCC neighbour, says Bahah
Yemen's Vice President and Prime Minister Khaled Bahah addressed the World Government Summit in Dubai today.
He said, in 2011, Yemen sought help of GCC to resolve their political problem and they were the first to help the country.
He said the Houthis cheated and grabbed power, 'which is why we had to ask for help.'
“There were many kinds of help from our brothers. Any hesitation from GCC to help would have put the whole region in trouble.”
Below are a few questions and answers from the session.
Question: Who stands behind Houthis?
Answer: We took over Mukalaf city in Hathramout. In this place we had 20,000-strong army who cooperated with Houthis and helped them. This is a proof that they are supported by ex-president Saleh.
Question: We hear a lot about fights on the borders of San'aa?
Answer: We want peace talks but they don't want peace. Iran is behind this and they are encouraging the conflict and supporting it to continue. It is very clear that Iran is behind it.
Question: Why Houthi militia is so stubborn?
They are being controlled from outside Yemen and once this control is over, this conflict will be over and we will have peace. We are in control of more than 80% of the land in Yemen.
Our priority is military, but people are in need of healthcare and this is what we are doing, and GCC is helping us a lot in all these fields. Hopefully, Yemen will return to peace and will be a happy Yemen like before, and it will be a good neighbour to the GCC countries.
Are you in conflict with the Yemen president?
I am like a son of the president, and because of the current situation which is difficult, we have some issues, but they are neither conflicts nor problems.
http://www.emirates247.com/worldgovsummit-yemen-will-be-a-good-gcc-neighbour-says-bahah-2016-02-09-1.620415 see also from WAM http://www.fananews.com/en/uae/297504/ and also http://www.gconew.com/military/148236/military-progress-to-continue-until-peace-is-achieved-in-yemen-bahah-says.html
Comment: These two articles complement each other quite well to show what Bahah had said. This is a combination of nearly all elements of Saudi propaganda (the UAE and Hadi government propaganda being quite the same).
Comment: Well Bahah is already seeing himself as the next President of Yemen in waiting. It is said that his relationship with Hadi is very tense ; Hadi after all wants to be president himself. As for the Yemeni people - well their views are secondary to that of King Salman and his unruly son Mohammed and anyway they can't be trusted to vote for the right people. Meanwhile Bahah has arrived in Aden three times 'permanently' and had to leave because it was unsafe for him. So how on earth is he controlling 80% of Yemen as claimed, when it is even too unsafe for him to stay in its only 'liberated' city - let alone stay in the rest of Yemen that is either controlled by militias or is in a state of active warfare.
https://www.facebook.com/yemennewstodayenglish/posts/1098355453650278
Comment: I have to say I don't understand the headline - the wording is confusing. But it is true that this Saudi led attack in Yemen has always had US approval - of course it has, otherwise they would never have started it - US is still the world's hegemon - for now. And like all such attacks that are out of proportion to any 'crime' and also the circumstances leading up to the war subject to many interpretations - there is widespread world concern - especially as Saudi is hardly noted for its human rights record. They have 'sold' the war to Washington a long time ago, and with it 'sold' the dreams of ordinary Yemenis who want nothing more than to get on with their lives. Or maybe, it might be truer to say that Saudi fell for US manipulation and took on the Yemenis at the U.S. behest. Such is politics and war today.
https://www.facebook.com/yemennewstodayenglish/posts/1098352843650539
9.2.2016 – Hit 967 (A P)
GCC Secretary General says resolving Yemen conflict top priority
The Secretary General of the GCC says resolving the Yemen conflict is a top priority.
Speaking at the World Government Summit, Dr Abdul Latif Al Zayani said that the GCC is preparing for the first day of peace to start the reconstruction process.
Al Zayani also highlighted the importance of ensuring that the international community respects UN resolutions and international treaties, calling for all human rights violations in Yemen to be documented.
He also praised the UAE’s role in restoring Yemen’s legitimate government and said that the rebuilding process will ensure that Yemen’s economy is integrated with the Gulf’s economy.
http://hit967.ae/gcc-secretary-general-says-resolving-yemen-conflict-top-priority/
Comment: No new elements of propaganda also here. And again the joke “calling for all human rights violations in Yemen to be documented”, a joke because the air raids of the Saudi coalition off course are no “human rights violations” at all if you ask those who spread this Saudi-linked propaganda.
8.2.2016 – Huffington Post (* B K P)
Saudis Try To Sell Washington On Controversial Obama-Backed War In Yemen
Brig. Gen. Ahmad Asiri, spokesman for the Saudi-led coalition, emphasized the Saudi reasoning for intervening in Yemen.
Asiri's briefing, delivered via Skype to a small audience at the Center for a New American Security, was the first time a coalition representative has answered questions about the U.S.-supported war at a Washington event.
"It is not in the interest of one of the countries in the region if Yemen becomes another Somalia or another Libya," Asiri said. "So we decided to go and to give help in a military manner to the government."
Asiri didn't indicate when the coalition might conclude the operation, saying the Saudis were waiting for U.N. negotiations between the Houthis and the government of Saudi-backed President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi. Asiri blamed members of the U.N. Security Council for failing to help the process and the media for offering too little coverage of U.N. mediation efforts.
Asked about the increasing unpopularity of the war in Washington, Asiri said that the U.S.-Saudi relationship was about "more than weapons sales" and that the White House understood the Saudi focus on Yemen, given its long border with the kingdom.
"We need to defend ourselves," Asiri said. He noted that the Saudis on Monday used a U.S.-provided defense system to intercept a scud missile fired at a Saudi city from within Yemen.
The Saudis see Yemen a key arena for their regional competition with Iran. They and the U.S. both say Iran has supported the Houthis as a thorn in Saudi Arabia's side. Asiri mentioned Iranian misdeeds repeatedly during his comments.
But Iran's links to the Houthis -- whether they involve control or just occasional limited support -- remain opaque.
Saudi Arabia believes the Houthis will eventually surrender the Yemen capital, Asiri said, and the coalition does not wish to fight within the crowded, populous city.
Asiri's talk failed to allay some concerns raised by his audience of foreign policy analysts and reporters.
Two experts asked about the Saudi plan for al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, or AQAP, the Yemeni branch of the armed extremist group.
Asiri said the Houthis and their prime patron, former Yemeni president and one-time Saudi ally Ali Abdullah Saleh, are inseparable from al Qaeda. Both, he argued, are signs of the chaos in the "nongoverned space" of Yemen. The Saudis believe they are weakening AQAP by weakening the Houthis, he added.
David Weinberg, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, asked Asiri if even one of the airstrikes in the 11-month campaign have hit any al Qaeda or Islamic State target in Yemen. Asiri couldn't name an example – by Akbar Shahid Ahmed
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/saudi-arabia-defend-yemen_us_56b9163de4b08069c7a87da0
Comment: Asiris best propaganda plots are:
"It is not in the interest of one of the countries in the region if Yemen becomes another Somalia or another Libya. So we decided to go and to give help in a military manner to the government." Well, by this “help”, you finally turned Yemen into another Somalia or Libya, not to forget Syria.
"We need to defend ourselves", just forgets that Houthi missiles to Saudi Arabia just are a – in comparison very weak – response to the Saudi air raids at Yemen.
“The Saudis believe they are weakening AQAP by weakening the Houthis”, turns upside down. By fighting the Houthis, deadly enemies of AQAP, while leaving AQAP in the cold, the Saudis just let AQAP grow and grow.
8.2.2016 – Gulf Business (A P)
UAE will "extinguish fire in Yemen" - deputy PM
Sheikh Saif says UAE made a "sound decision" to get involved in Yemen
The United Arab Emirates' decision to take part in the Saudi Arabia-led coalition in Yemen was a "sound" one, asserted the country's deputy Prime Minister and minister of Interior.
Addressing the World Government Summit in Dubai on Monday, Sheikh Saif Bin Zayed Al Nahyan praised the role played by UAE troops in assisting Yemen.
"The UAE rushed to protect our brothers in Yemen to restore hope and give back the rights to its people," he said.
Comparing the problem in Yemen with the recent Address Hotel fire in Dubai, he said: "Had we not intervened in Yemen, the fire would have spilled over into the adjacent countries and into our own homes.
"We have no doubt that we will be able to extinguish the fire in Yemen just like we did the Address fire," he added.
http://www.gulfbusiness.com/articles/country/yemen/uae-will-extinguish-fire-in-yemen-deputy-pm/
Comment: It is even possible to talk more nonsense than Asiri does.
8.2.2016 – Sputnik News (A P)
US, Saudi Arabia May Start Talks on Yemeni Settlement in Few Weeks
Washington and Riyadh hope to start negotiations on the Yemeni crisis settlement in the next few weeks, US Secretary of State John Kerry said Monday at a joint press conference with Saudi Foreign Minister Adel Jubeir.
At a meeting earlier in the day, Kerry and Jubeir discussed a number of issues regarding peace and stability in the Middle East, including resolution of Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Syrian crisis settlement and fight against terrorism in the region.
"We also talked about Yemen and the hope that perhaps over the course of these next weeks it may become possible to try to engage in some productive conversations about how to bring that conflict to a close," Kerry said.
http://sputniknews.com/politics/20160208/1034425260/us-saudis-may-soon-start-yemen-talks.html and by Reuters: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-saudi-yemen-idUSKCN0VH1RC
Comment: Saudi Arabia and the US join to “conversations about how to bring that conflict to a close”, that does not have anything to do with any sort of “peace talks”, as there are just two allies fighting on one side are speaking. “Bring that conflict to a close” could also mean to double or to triple the bombing of Yemen. Thus, labeled as mere propaganda here.
7.2.2016 – WAM (A P)
President of Yemen praises UAE, Saudi support
Yemeni President Abd Rabo Mansour Hadi has applauded Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates for providing support to the Yemeni population in the liberated parts of the country.
Hadi made the remarks today while presiding over a meeting with senior Yemeni officials in Aden.
"Months of war has had a devastating effect on the citizens of Yemen. We, as a government, should seriously evaluate urgent needs, including water and electricity, and provide solutions, in collaboration with our brothers in the Arab Coalition, led by Saudi Arabia and the UAE," he said.
The President of Yemen also lauded the victories achieved by the national Yemeni army and the popular resistance in their fight against the Houthi militias and their allied forces of deposed president Saleh.
https://www.wam.ae/en/news/emirates/1395291294598.html
Comment: No word on who is responsible of 90 % of these destructions.
cp16 Saudische Luftangriffe / Saudi air raids
10.2.2016 – AFP (A K)
Family of 5 killed in coalition strike on Yemen capital
Five members of the same family were killed when a Saudi-led coalition airstrike hit their home in Yemen's rebel-held capital Sanaa, rescuers and neighbors said Wednesday.
The bodies of a father and two of his children were still under the rubble of the destroyed building while rescue workers managed to pull out the dead bodies of a woman and young girl, according to an AFP photographer at the site.
It was not immediately clear if there were any other people in the building when it was hit.
The dead father was identified by neighbors as Mounir al-Hakimi, a program director at the Yemen Today television channel, which is owned by former president Ali Abdullah Saleh.
9.2.2016 – Saba News (A K PH)
Aggression hits YECO's Hamdan warehouses again
The Saudi warplanes launched on Tuesday an air raid on warehouses of the Yemen Economic Corporation (YECO) in Hamdan district of Sana'a province.
The Saudi war jets targeted the warehouses at al-Madwer area in Hamdan and caused heavy damage to them, a local official said.
Last month, the aggression struck the same warehouses with four raids in addition to three air raids targeted the YECO's warehouses in al-Subaha area in Bani Matar.
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news418795.htm
9.2.2016 – Press TV Iran (A K PH)
Saudi air raids claim more lives in Yemen
Saudi warplanes have targeted several areas across Yemen in the ongoing campaign against the country, leaving at least five people dead.
A Saudi airstrike hit a truck loaded with cereal in the Hidan district of the province of Sa’ada on Tuesday, killing at least two people, according to a Press TV correspondent.
Media reports also said the kingdom’s fighter jets pounded the districts of Sahar and Saqin in Sa’ada.
In the Ibb province, at least three people were killed in Saudi air raids.
The Yemeni army fired a domestically-built ballistic missile at Jizan Regional Airport inside Saudi Arabia early on Tuesday, the al-Masirah television said.
Yemeni forces have fired three missiles at Saudi Arabia in the last 24 hours, it added.
Saudi media confirmed the Yemeni missile attacks, but said the kingdom had intercepted them before impact.
http://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2016/02/09/449357/Yemen-Saudi-jets-Saada-ballistic-missile
8.2.2016 – Press TV Iran (A K PH)
Saudi jets bombard Yemen reservoir, dam
Saudi Arabia's fighter jets totally destroyed a reservoir in al-Nahdin district in the Yemeni capital Sana'a on Sunday evening, Yemen's Arabic-language Saba news agency reported.
According to the report, the reservoir, which supplied water to at least 30,000 people in the densely populated area, could store up to 5,000 cubic meters of water and had cost Yemenis $4 million.
Since the beginning of the Saudi aggression on Yemen, the reservoir had been targeted by warplanes some 20 times and sustained partial damage but on Sunday it was completely destroyed.
Saudi jets also bombarded a hospital in the province and seriously wounded a physician and a nurse. The airstrike also inflicted damage to the building and some medical devices.
Meanwhile, Saudi war machine conducted three airstrikes on a dam in the Sirwah district in the central Ma’rib Province and caused heavy damage to its structure. They also carried out attacks on some areas in the western province of Hudaydah.
cp17 Kriegsereignisse / Theater of War
10.2.2016 – Haber (A K)
Pro-Hadi Vigilantes Kill 6 Houthis İn Yemen's Aden
Armed vigilantes loyal to embattled President ABD Rabbuh Mansour Hadi killed six Houthi militants in an ambush in Yemen's southern city of Aden, eyewitnesses have said.
A group of Houthi militants had been heading to Mansoura city in the Aden province when they came under fire from vigilantes, witnesses told The Anadolu Agency
Six Houthis were killed and a number of others injured, they added, without saying whether there had been any casualties among the vigilantes.
http://en.haberler.com/pro-hadi-vigilantes-kill-6-houthis-in-yemen-s-aden-696061/ and from Anadolu (in French) http://aa.com.tr/fr/monde/y%C3%A9men-six-houthis-tu%C3%A9s-dans-une-embuscade-de-la-r%C3%A9sistance-%C3%A0-al-jawf-nord-/518915
9.2.2016 – News of Yemen (A K PH)
44 picture of #Houthi #Yemen-i army advance east #Saudi town of Al Raboah S #Asir
New footages have been released of Houthis and Yemeni army fight and advance yesterday in large area east Saudi town of Al Raboah South Asir province. According to security sourceAfter hours of fight, “Saudi army was easily defeated and withdraws from its bases and check points in several villages east of Al Raboah town”.
Houthis and Yemeni army have seized the town months ago.
9.2.2016 – Almadar News (A K PH)
Yemen Army kills several foreign mercenaries
The Yemeni Army’s missile battalion fired two ballistic missiles towards a Saudi military base in the Asir province, resulting in a direct hit that killed several Coalition soldiers from the Saudi and Emirati armies. According to Yemeni Army sources, the battalion fired two Qahir-1 ballistic missiles towards the Khamis Mushayt Military Base in southern Saudi Arabia; this attack resulted in severe damage to this military installation on Monday. Meanwhile, inside of Yemen, the Yemeni Forces and the Houthis reportedly killed several enemy combatants in the Thubab District of the Ta’iz Governorate.
10.2.2016 – Hidayat TV (A K PH)
The Yemen’s army and popular committees have fired two rockets of Qahir-I type at the Saudi Khamis Mushayt Air Base in Asir province.
In a statement to Yemen News Agency, a military official said the two missiles were launched at the same time on Monday night and hit their target accurately, causing large losses in the air base.
It is the fourth time to pound the air base, which has been hit previously with two Scud missiles and a Qahir-I rocket, the official added.
He pointed out that Khamis Mushayt Air Base has been used recently as a station for the Saudi and American warplanes to bombard Yemen, destroy its infrastructure and kill women and children in a number of the provinces.
http://hidayat.tv/two-yemenis-qahir-i-rockets-hit-saudi-khamis-mushayt-base/
9.2.2016 – Southfront (A K PH)
YEMEN’S ATTACKS ON ASIR, JIZAN PROVINCES KILLED 10 SAUDI SOLDIERS
The Yemeni forces hit the Khamis Mushait military base in Asir province with two Qaher-I ballistic missiles which killed at least 10 Saudi soldiers and officers.
On Tuesday, according to the report, the Yemeni forces hit the Khamis Mushait military base in Asir province with two Qaher-I ballistic missiles which killed at least 10 Saudi soldiers and officers.
The Yemeni army and popular forces also fired two Qaher-I ballistic missiles at Jizan Airport on Tuesday.
It was reported on Saturday that 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 Central Yemen.
http://southfront.org/yemens-attacks-on-asir-jizan-provinces-killed-10-saudi-soldiers/
9.2.2016 – Jafrian News (A K PH)
2 Saudi Soldiers Killed , 4 Boats & a Tank Destroyed by Yemeni Forces
At least two Saudi soldiers have reportedly been killed in separate retaliatory attacks by Yemeni forces against the kingdom’s southwestern border regions of Najran and Asir.
Meanwhile, the spokesman for Saudi Arabia’s military operation in Yemen, Brigadier General Ahmed al-Asiri, has dismissed media reports that more than 100 Saudi-backed mercenaries had been killed and 150 others wounded in an attack by Yemenis.
According to the media reports, the fatalities came after Yemeni soldiers fired an OTR-21 Tochka ballistic missile at Mass military camp in the al-Jada’an district of the central Yemeni province of Ma’rib.
A Yemeni military source, requesting anonymity, had said eight officers from the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and nationals from other Arab countries were among the slain mercenaries.
Yemeni army forces, backed by fighters from allied Popular Committees, have destroyed four Saudi military boats in the country’s southwestern waters in retaliation to the relentless Saudi bombardment of the impoverished nation.
Yemen’s Arabic-language al-Masirah news website reported that Yemeni forces targeted the vessels with surface-to-surface missiles in the early hours of Thursday, when the boats were approaching the port city of Mocha, located in the country’s southwestern province of Tai’z.
Saudi Arabia has deployed its vessels around the coasts of Yemen in an attempt to support its airstrikes and to maintain a crippling blockade on the poorest nation of the Arabian Peninsula.
The Yemeni forces also managed to shoot down a Saudi spy aircraft in the Harad district of the northwestern province of Hajjah earlier on Wednesday.
http://jafrianews.com/2016/02/09/2-saudi-soldiers-killed-4-boats-a-tank-destroyed-by-yemeni-forces/
9.2.2016 – Al Arabiya ( K PS)
Saudi downs second missile fired from Yemen in 48 hours
The Saudi air defense forces destroyed a ballistic missile at dawn that was fired by the Houthi and the ousted Saleh militia. Al-Arabiya's correspondent reported that the missile was destroyed over the city of Jazan, one day after the air defense forces intercepted a ballistic missile that was fired by the militias towards the region of Asir, in addition to destroying a rocket launcher after determining its location in Yemen (with film)
8.2.2016 – Dubai Eye (A K PS)
Yemen’s Midi district liberated in a blow to Houthi rebels
Leaders of the fifth military region in Yemen have announced the liberation of Midi district in Hajjah province.
Military officials confirmed that Yemeni government forces have regained control of the district from the Houthi militia, and have cleared the area of mines and explosives overnight.
The recapturing of Midi, north-west of the capital, is seen as a major blow to Houthi rebels and forces loyal to deposed president Ali Abdullah Saleh.
http://dubaieye1038.com/yemens-midi-district-liberated-in-a-blow-to-houthi-rebels/
8.2.2016 – Iran German Radio (A K PH)
Blackwater-Söldner im Jemen getötet
Anzahl von Blackwater-Söldnern ist in Jemen getötet worden.
Einige Blackwater-Söldner, u.a. einige Kolumbianer und Australier, wurden gestern im Gebiet al-Omri in der jemenitischen Provinz Taez getötet.
Seit Beginn der Anggression der von Saudi-Arabien geführten Militärkoalition in Jemen wurden Dutzende Blackwater-Söldner bei Kämpfen mit der jemenitischen Armee getötet bzw. verletzt.
http://german.irib.ir/nachrichten/nahost/item/296800-blackwater-s%C3%B6ldner-im-jemen-get%C3%B6tet
8.2.2016 – AFP (A K PS)
Saudi intercepts scud missile from Yemen
Saudi air defenses on Monday intercepted a Scud missile fired at Khamis Mushait city where a major airbase is located, the coalition fighting in Yemen said.
The interception occurred “this morning at about three o’clock,” Brigadier General Ahmed al-Assiri, spokesman for the Saudi-led coalition, told AFP.
8.2.2016 – WAM (A K PS)
Yemen's army advances towards Sanaa
After having tightened its grip over the Ghailama region, located in Mahali valley, the Yemeni army, assisted by the popular resistance, is advancing towards the capital, Sanaa, officers said today.
The Saudi Press Agency, SPA, quoted a statement from the state-run Yemen News Agency, as saying that according to a military source, the army and the popular resistance have thwarted a counter-attack by the Houthi militias in the Masoura region following fierce battles during which a rebel leader and a number of soldiers were killed.
https://www.wam.ae/en/news/international/1395291309308.html
7.2.2016 – Al Jazeera (A K PS)
Film: Pro-government forces make gains in Yemen
Pro-government forces in Yemen have made territorial gains in the capital Sanaa and Hajja province.
7.2.2016 – Saba Net (A K PH)
Army, committees control mountains of al-Amri area in Taiz
The army and popular committees managed to control the mountainous range in al-Amri area in Thubab district of Taiz province, a military official said on Sunday
The army and popular committees forces purged the mountainous range of the aggression mercenaries and invaders after they occupied it during the past days, the official explained. The mercenaries and invaders incurred large losses in lives and fled the area, leaving behind
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news418508.htm
Kommentar: Mal wieder sich widersprechende Erfolgsmeldungen beider Seiten.
Vorige / Previous:
https://www.freitag.de/autoren/dklose/krieg-im-jemen-neue-artikel-zum-nachlesen-98
Neue Artikel zum Nachlesen 1-98: / Yemen Press Reader 1-98:
https://www.freitag.de/autoren/dklose oder / or
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