Dies ist die Fortsetzung von Jemenkrieg-Mosaik 787, Teil 1 / This is the sequel of Yemen War Mosaic 787, part 1:
https://www.freitag.de/autoren/dklose/jemenkrieg-mosaik-787-yemen-war-mosaic-787
Schwerpunkte / Key aspects
Kursiv: Siehe Teil 1 / In Italics: Look in part 1
Klassifizierung / Classification
Für wen das Thema ganz neu ist / Who is new to the subject
cp1 Am wichtigsten / Most important
cp1a Am wichtigsten: Coronavirus und Seuchen / Most important: Coronavirus and epidemics
cp2 Allgemein / General
cp2a Allgemein: Saudische Blockade / General: Saudi blockade
cp3 Humanitäre Lage / Humanitarian situation
cp4 Flüchtlinge / Refugees
cp5 Nordjemen und Huthis / Northern Yemen and Houthis
cp6 Separatisten und Hadi-Regierung im Südjemen / Separatists and Hadi government in Southern Yemen
cp7 UNO und Friedensgespräche / UN and peace talks
cp8 Saudi-Arabien / Saudi Arabia
cp9 USA
cp9a USA-Iran Krise: Spannungen am Golf / US-Iran crisis: Tensions at the Gulf
cp10 Großbritannien / Great Britain
cp11 Deutschland / Germany
cp12 Andere Länder / Other countries
cp12b Sudan
cp13a Waffenhandel / Arms trade
cp13c Wirtschaft / Economy
cp15 Propaganda
cp16 Saudische Luftangriffe / Saudi air raids
cp17 Kriegsereignisse / Theater of War
cp18 Kampf um Hodeidah / Hodeidah battle
cp19 Sonstiges / Other
Klassifizierung / Classification
***
**
*
(Kein Stern / No star)
? = Keine Einschatzung / No rating
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
cp7 UNO und Friedensgespräche / UN and peace talks
Siehe / Look at cp1
(A P)
[Sanaa gov.] Head of negotiating delegation meets UN envoy in Muscat
Head of the national negotiating delegation Mohammed Abdulsalam met on Thursday in Oman with UN envoy to Yemen Hans Grundberg.
During the meeting, they discussed the worsening humanitarian situation in Yemen, and the importance of lifting the siege imposed on the Yemeni people, all the way to stop the aggression and address its effects, especially the file of prisoners and missing persons.
https://www.saba.ye/en/news3174160.htm
and also https://en.ypagency.net/252050/ = https://hodhodyemennews.net/en_US/2022/02/03/yemeni-diplomats-meet-with-un-envoy-in-oman/
(A P)
Audio: Oxfam urges UN Security Council to act on Yemen
The call follows airstrikes that have killed and injured hundreds of civilians recently and led to the suspension of humanitarian aid in parts of the country. At the same time people are struggling with spiralling prices for food, fuel and basic essentials in what was already one of the world’s largest humanitarian crises. ABC NewsRadio's Thomas Oriti spoke to Abdulwasea Mohammed, Oxfam's Policy and Advocacy Manager in Yemen.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-02-02/oxfam-urges-un-security-council-to-act-on-yemen/13737336
cp8 Saudi-Arabien / Saudi Arabia
(* B P)
The ascent of MBS: How Saudi Arabia will pass power to its crown prince when his ailing father dies
Here's how a royal transition would happen, and how it could pose problems for the US.
The true nature of his ill health is unknown, but 86-year-old Salman — who spent much of the pandemic isolating in his desert palace — has appeared in public looking increasingly frail.
The transition from Salman to his son will be unlike any before it: MBS, 36, is set to secure the throne at an unusually young age.
"That's one of the reasons he is so important," Christopher Henzel, former chargé d'affaires at the US embassy in Riyadh, told Insider. "He will probably be in that position for a long, long time."
Here's how MBS becomes king and how the world may respond.
The transition between a Saudi ruler and an heir after a death, even if sudden, is usually swift, seamless, and uncontested — at least in public.
When Salman dies, a series of established protocols grind into action, according to former diplomats and precedents set by previous royal deaths.
Per the Basic Law of Governance, part of the rite sees the new king receive a pledge of loyalty from the Allegiance Council, a collection of 34 people representing the families of Abdulaziz's children.
MBS received 31 of those 34 votes when he was put forward as crown prince in 2017. "There was discussion at the time if whether the allegiance to him as crown prince is enough to guarantee the allegiance for when he becomes king," Dennis Horak, Canada's ambassador to Saudi Arabia between 2015 and 2018, told Insider.
Though the inner dynamics of the Saudi royal family are opaque, the consensus among experts is that MBS will easily carry the room. "I expect he would have at least as much support now, and probably more, as he's had several years to consolidate his situation," Henzel said.
Haykel said: "I don't expect there to be any resistance. If there is resistance it may be one or two people, and that's happened before,
How would the US respond this time?
Historical precedence suggests that once there is a new Saudi king, regional and world leaders will fly into Riyadh to pay their respects.
However, with MBS, it is likely that the US and UK will have to think harder about their responses than in 2015.
"It will be curious to see how much high-profile representation there is from the US or UK because of Jamal Khashoggi and all that," Horak said.
Notwithstanding, Washington will be ready to act. Salman's death would be "of immediate concern to senior levels of the US government," Henzel said.
The Saudis would also be "on top of this," he said. "They have the interest in ensuring everything goes smoothly. I'm sure they would be proactive in engaging immediately with key partner countries — probably their Gulf partners first, but then immediately after that, the US and other Western partners. I would expect they would hope for senior attention right away."
Since becoming crown prince, MBS has been eliminating threats and creating alliances to cement his power. The millennial prince appointed a series of deputy provincial governors from his generation and also gave his friend, Prince Faisal bin Farhan al-Saud, the job as foreign minister.
"He was starting to build bridges with other wings so he would have support going forward," Horak said.
'Barring accidents, it's a done deal'
Experts agree there is little chance that MBS won't be king, though Saudi history is full of unexpected twists and turns.
Despite rumors of Salman's ill health and MBS success in centralizing power, it may be in MBS' interests for Salman to stay alive.
MBS is an open target for opposition and, as king, he would be standing alone without his father's protection.
"As long as the king is there, MBS has cover," Haykel said.
https://www.businessinsider.com/saudi-king-salman-death-plan-how-mbs-becomes-king-2022-1?r=US&IR=T
(A P)
Saudi Arabia Accused of Stealing Yemeni Culture, Again!
A recent announcement made by the Saudi Ministry of Commerce has decided to change the commercial name of Arabic Coffee to "Saudi coffee," stirring up a debate over whether or not Saudis are appropriating the product historically attributed and linked to neighboring Yemen.
The new decision which celebrates coffee sold in Saudi markets and coffee houses as an element of Saudi cultural heritage has been challenged by some online people, who argued that coffee is originally Yemeni and that it has been known as such for many centuries.
Social media users who expressed their anger at what they considered "stealing Yemeni culture by Saudi Arabia" accused Saudi of a pattern of claiming Yemeni cultural elements for the country, including traditional attire and music styles.
Some commentators also went on to post screenshots of research studies which concluded that the origins of Arabic coffee beans come from Yemen.
https://www.albawaba.com/node/saudi-arabia-accused-stealing-yemeni-culture-again-1464717
and
(A P)
‘Arabic coffee’ to be officially renamed ‘Saudi coffee’ to strengthen local culture
The commercial name of Arabic coffee will be officially changed to Saudi coffee in the Kingdom’s restaurants, cafes, stores, and roasters, following a Ministry of Commerce announcement on Sunday.
The announcement, from ministry spokesman Abdulrahman Al-Hussein, is in conjunction with a Culture Ministry initiative in naming 2022 as the “Year of Saudi Coffee” as a way to strengthen the identity and culture of Saudi Arabia.
Culture Minister Prince Badr bin Abdullah bin Farhan tweeted: “This is the year of Saudi Coffee.”
The initiatives aim to distinguish the flavor and preparation methods of Saudi coffee from other regional coffee.
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2014981/saudi-arabia
My comment: Well, the Saudi clan trying to demonstrate nationalism just demonstrates that “Saudi” isn’t real “Arab” but that “Saudi” Arabia just is prey to a family clan.
(A P)
Dawood al-Marhoon has been released. He was sentenced to death in Saudi Arabia after allegedly attending an anti-government protest when he was only 17. He was given a blank document and tortured into signing it. After over nine years, this is him on his way home.
https://twitter.com/Reprieve/status/1488899865157324805
(A P)
Saudi Arabia moves to redefine Islam-bearing green flag
Saudi Arabia is inching toward changes that govern its national anthem and green flag, which is emblazoned with a sword and inscribed with Islam’s creed as the birthplace of the faith.
Late on Monday, the kingdom’s un-elected consultative Shura Council voted in favor of changes, state-run media reported. It comes as the country’s young crown prince emphasizes Saudi nationality and national pride. While decisions by the council have no bearing on existing laws or structures, the vote is significant because its members are appointed by the king and their decisions often move in lockstep with leadership.
Other state-linked media reported that the changes favor amending the system governing the flag, the slogan and the national anthem, but not its contents. The council has not disclosed further details.
Local media outlets also reported the proposed changes aim to more clearly define the proper uses of the state emblem, raise awareness about the importance of the flag and anthem and protect the flag from infringement or neglect.
A few proposals: https://twitter.com/A7medJa7af/status/1488302305539760128
https://twitter.com/A7medJa7af/status/1488302177147928580
https://twitter.com/A7medJa7af/status/1488302772168630277
https://twitter.com/A7medJa7af/status/1488301940702334977
(* B P)
Firm Led By Crown Prince Leads Mass Jeddah Demolition, Expels Tens Of Thousands
A company led by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is expelling over half a million people after abruptly razing dozens of neighborhoods in the Saudi port city of Jeddah over the last few weeks, according to information gathered by the Institute for Gulf Affairs.
Online videos and photos have emerged since the start of the mass demolition of over 63 neighborhoods in the southern part of the western metropolis, which is the second largest Saudi city, according to a government list of planned demolitions.
“It feels like Jeddah was hit by a nuclear bomb,” said stunned local resident Alaa, who spoke to IGA in an online event on condition of anonymity for fear of government reprisals.
Drone video footage posted online showed huge swathes of Jeddah reduced to mountains of rubble. “This looks like footage from the Syrian civil war,” said one resident, “the devastation is so huge.”
The ongoing demolition of apartment buildings, schools, mosques and even hospitals, has already reached an area of 169 square miles according to approximate calculations by IGA. This is an area two and half times the size of Washington, DC.
The demolitions are being done by the Jeddah Development and Urban Regeneration Company (JDURC). Large parts of Jeddah are facing an uncertain future after abrupt and large-scale demolitions left more than half a million people displaced over the past few weeks.
The Saudi government is justifying the demolition of these neighborhoods by claiming that they are undeveloped and have become slums populated by illegal aliens. But some observers believe that the crown prince and his allies have their eye on prime real estate in Jeddah, and are using the eviction of inhabitants of these areas as a way to redevelop these neighborhoods and in the process make a handsome profit. The truth is that these neighborhoods have been neglected by the government for decades, and have been populated by both working-class Saudis and foreigners.
Inhabitants complained that they were given only 14 days to move out of their homes, and that no written document was given to them ordering the expropriation of their property. Instead, officials from the JDURC have appeared at people’s doorsteps to inform them of the expropriation, or have just spray painted the outside of buildings indicating that they will be demolished. No one has received financial compensation yet from the government.
JDURC is owned by the Saudi Public Investment Fund. MBS, as the crown prince is commonly referred to, is the chairman of both entities. Saudi opposition figure Abdurahman Al-Suhaimy, said the decision to start the demolition was ordered by MBS after a private meeting with his aides a few weeks ago.
Another company involved in the demolition is Saudi-based Manarah Al-Jubail Contracting Company (MCCL), a subsidiary of the Indian AMARANZ Group.
Following online outrage about the sudden demolitions, the Makkah Region Governor’s Office, that includes Jeddah, issued a statement on Friday asking people to submit applications to receive compensation for their homes and buildings. The statement, issued during the weekend, confirmed the widespread complaint that home and building owners were forced out without being compensated for their homes and property.
The Saudi press has been largely silent about these mass demolitions of entire neighborhoods, even though they have uprooted hundreds of thousands of people living in these neighborhoods. Many government and private schools in these areas have been torn down, forcing thousands of students to relocate to other schools and consequently overloading them. “My children are attending classes only two days a week because of the overcrowding,” said Abu Rose, one of the displaced residents.
Foreign Role in Other Redevelopment Project
In a separate area of Jeddah, the British architecture firm of Wilkinson Eyre is providing plans for a redevelopment initiative called the Central Jeddah Project.
According to the company’s website and a statement by its CEO Ahmed Al-Sulaim, the Central Jeddah Project has three stages, with the first one reaching completion in 2027, the second one in 2030 and the third and last one after 2030.
Al-Sulaim told AlArabiya TV in December of last year that the project will build 17,000 housing units, 2,700 hotel rooms, an opera house, a marina, a sports stadium, gardens and tourist destinations. Al-Sulaim added the plan will raze all buildings in an area of Jeddah measuring 5.7 million square meters, including historical districts, and will cost US$20 billion.
cp9 USA
(* B P)
WASHINGTON’S WAR ON YEMEN
For America’s gold-plated Princeling and the Sheikh, one good retaliation deserves another. So al Saud- bin Zayed launched their F15’s against Sana’a, downing Yemen’s internet access for one week, also killing an unknown number of civilians. Saud-UAE jets destroyed a facility near Saada, variably called a prison or refugee camp. The Saudi-Emirati attack on that prison barely made any news in the west, where the fiefdom’s Sheikh and his bone saw-wielding friend have a very strong hold over Wall Street’s Vanguard Group, and its Fed-funded henchmen, who collectively own and operate the western media.
The chemistry of Salafist aggression in Yemen is quite interesting, where a supposed rift between deadly Prince bin Salman and the corrupt golden Sheikh (both US allies) has been theorized about, but is fiction prima facie. Washington of course prefers its front for takfiri terror in Asia, and the Middle East, to be portrayed as a united front, a policy developed and evolved by US State and its overlords over many decades.
As such, greater al Saud-UAE cooperation to destroy Yemen must be inspired by Washington dollars defacto, because it makes no sense to transfer UAE Southern Council “Giants Brigade” takfiri terrorists from Hodeidah (west) to the North Shabwah/Mareb — at great cost and only to Saudi advantage — unless Washington’s dollar manufacturing machine is somehow engaged.
Washington’s goal is to reinforce the failing Saudi-bought Sudan-African mercenaries only motivated by riyals to fight (at times) for the Princelings in the north, versus the people of Yemen. Link: https://www.theamericanconservative.com/articles/saudi-arabias-blood-pact-with-a-genocidal-strongman-houthis-bashir-sudan-yemen-uae/
The atrocity of western aggression in Yemen is supported by the vassal states who supply the west with their oil, and host US military bases locally, whether Prince Sultan base in the Kingdom, or Air base Al-Zafar (al Dhafra air base) in the fiefdom. The current US regime needs Saudi oil more than ever and pressure for US aggression to protect the brutal monarchies of the Gulf is greater than ever… as domestic US oil supplies falter and fade. The foregoing has caused, in part, the former United States to supply new and advanced weaponry to the Saudi-UAE terror regimes, including a missile destroyer on patrol.
Of course coloring the entire picture is Washington’s hatred for Iran. (How else to put it?) Washington is as convinced that Iran substantially backs Ansarullah, as it is convinced that Russia is about to invade Ukraine. And along with the Bad Actors the US has traditionally supported, Washington’s hegemonic cocktail is now more than toxic. Yes, America’s foreign policy psychosis has been on full view for seventy plus years, from Korea then Cuba to Vietnam; to Lebanon, Iraq, Libya and Syria and Gaza, with Yemen just another atrocity inspired by the global hegemon, a hegemon that was never prepared to be or deserved to be.
Whether by megalomania or by doddering but dangerous old fool, US terror and aggression is as extant and lethal in the world now as it has ever been, regardless of false dilemma regime in power. Whether “left wing” or right. And where Neo-corporatism State Capture is complete.
*Emirati dictator bin Zayed has supported Salafi terrorists in Yemen for many years; just as al Saud has supported takfiri terror all over the world for decades.
https://southfront.org/washingtons-war-on-yemen/
(* A P)
Press Release: One year anniversary of Biden’s purported policy shift on Yemen
“While we applauded Biden’s declaration last year, we have been deeply disappointed in the administration’s maintenance of status quo and continued support for the Saudi-UAE-led war on Yemen.
The administration continues to provide maintenance, spare parts, and logistical support for the Royal Saudi Air Force, which allows it to prosecute a deadly aerial campaign on Yemen — a campaign that has accelerated in recent months, killing dozens of civilians and causing a nation-wide internet blackout.
Additionally, the Biden administration has not used the US’s extraordinary leverage to demand an end to the Saudi air and naval blockade of Yemen, which has significantly exacerbated the devastating humanitarian crisis and has been cited by the Houthis as a main stepping stone for a negotiated ceasefire. Furthermore, there have been no significant US diplomatic efforts to forward a realistic replacement to the faulty UN Security Council Resolution 2216.
To the contrary, the Biden administration has continued to approve large, unconditional weapons and military contracts with Saudi Arabia and the UAE. While claimed to be ‘defensive’ in nature by the administration, these sales send key signals of political support and impunity for the coalition while bolstering its capabilities to prolong its offensive campaign. Yesterday, the administration approved yet another round of military sales to Saudi Arabia and UAE, and earlier this week deployed US fighter jets and the USS Cole in support of the UAE.
As the Biden Administration has failed to gain congressional authorization for US support for hostilities in Yemen, it is currently in violation of the War Powers Resolution of 1973. Congress must reclaim its constitutional authority over war and peace and introduce a War Powers Resolution to end US participation in the war.”
https://demandprogress.org/press-release-one-year-anniversary-bidens-purported-policy-shift-yemen/ = https://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2022/02/04/one-year-anniversary-bidens-purported-policy-shift-yemen
(* A P)
House Democrats seek to halt remaining U.S. support to Saudi air war in Yemen
The bill from Reps. Tom Malinowski (D-N.J.) and Jim McGovern (D-Mass.), chairman of the House Rules Committee, would prohibit the State Department for a period of two years from granting licenses to American companies that maintain aircraft “belonging to military units that carried out offensive airstrikes inside Yemen over the last year,” according to a copy of the measure obtained by The Washington Post. The bill would also suspend current licenses during that time.
Malinowski said the Biden administration, even as it attempts to advance a peaceful end to the war that has pitted Yemen’s Houthi rebels against a Saudi-led coalition, must do more to live up to its commitment to halt support for coalition air operations that have killed scores of innocent Yemenis.
“When you’ve got Saudi aircraft … killing dozens and dozens of civilians in strikes that appear to be completely unjustifiable, using planes that are kept in the air under a contract approved by the U.S. government, I think we have an obligation to look at what we’re doing,” he said.
The proposal coincides with the anniversary of President Biden’s vow to cut off aid to offensive flights, a reflection of his administration’s attempt to put human rights at the center of its foreign policy.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2022/02/04/saudi-air-force-yemen/
and
(* A P)
Yemen war: Democrats introduce bill to stop US support for Saudi air force
Legislation would prohibit US companies from providing maintenance services for the Saudi jets conducting air strikes in Yemen
Two prominent House Democrats have introduced legislation that would prohibit US companies from providing maintenance services to the Saudi air force, the latest attempt by lawmakers to reduce Washington's involvement in the devastating seven-year war in Yemen.
The bill, introduced by Congressmen Tom Malinowski and Jim McGovern - who serves as the co-chair of the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission - would for two years prohibit the State Department from granting licences to US companies maintaining aircraft "belonging to military units that carried out offensive air strikes inside Yemen over the last year".
If passed, the measure would only permit maintenance work for US-made aircraft, including Saudi Arabia's fleet of F-15 fighter jets, on the condition they are used exclusively "in a defensive capacity" to target the Houthis' missile and drone capabilities.
It would also permit Biden the ability to waive the ban on maintenance contracts on a case-by-case basis, however, the difficulty in making the defensive distinction could well cease all US maintenance to Saudi aircraft involved in Yemen.
The bill would also require the administration to provide Congress with quarterly updates on Saudi air strikes in Yemen, and would suspend current maintenance contract licences.
https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/yemen-war-house-democrats-bill-us-support-saudi-aircraft
(* A K P)
US approves $4.2 billion F-16 sale to Jordan, air defense systems to Gulf
The Biden administration notified Congress on Thursday of a planned sale of $4.21 billion worth of 12 F-16 C/D fighter jets to Jordan, as well as command-and-control systems and HAWK surface-to-air missiles to upgrade air defenses in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, respectively.
The sales come as the UAE has come under unprecedented attacks by ballistic missiles and drones claimed by Yemen’s Houthi rebels. Though most of the attacks missed their targets or were shot down, one strike last month killed three people in Abu Dhabi.
Washington is proposing an extension to an earlier $30 million sale of spare parts to repair and maintain Abu Dhabi’s Homing All the Way Killer (HAWK), Patriot and Terminal High Altitude Air Defense (THAAD) missile defense systems, the State Department announced yesterday. The total cost of the upgraded sale would be $65 million.
“This proposed sale will support the foreign policy and national security of the United States by helping to improve the security of an important regional partner. The UAE is a vital US partner for political stability and economic progress in the Middle East,” the State Department said in a press release.
Likewise, Saudi Arabia is expected to buy 31 Multifunctional Information Distribution System-Low Volume Terminals (MIDS-LVT) integration systems for $23.7 million to upgrade its THAAD systems.
The THAAD system is designed to shoot down ballistic missiles in the final stages of flight, while the MIDS-LVT is a communication component for computer systems that integrate data across military platforms.
and also https://www.timesofisrael.com/us-okays-f-16-sales-to-jordan-air-defense-boosts-for-saudi-arabia-uae/
(text in images) https://twitter.com/wifeoftoast/status/1489362377648783366
(B K P)
Letter to the editor: War powers
Rather than taking sides militarily in this civil war, let us fight fiercely for a diplomatic solution.
Congress must reassert its authority and demand an end to our complicity in this humanitarian crisis.
https://www2.ljworld.com/opinion/2022/feb/04/letter-to-the-editor-war-powers/
(* B P)
Is Congress ready (and willing) to fix the president’s Yemen policy?
Democrats have been reluctant to challenge Biden on this issue but the situation is getting worse and time is running out.
The Biden administration has come full circle on Yemen. It now claims the Houthis are to blame for the enduring conflict, and rather than obtaining pariah status, recent Geneva Convention-violating Saudi-led (and U.S. backed) coalition airstrikes received only “deep concern.”
As I’ve noted elsewhere, Biden’s team has brought us back to the worst of the U.S. regional playbook over the last 20 years, “going back to basics” in Yemen and other places. Apparently it thinks a show of force by deploying fighter jets and the USS Cole to the UAE will deescalate the Houthi-UAE tit for tat, ignoring that continued escalation plays to the Houthis benefit. It may even go so far as condemning potentially millions to preventable deaths by redesignating the Houthis a Foreign Terrorist Organization at the request of the UAE — a Trump action that Biden reversed just a year ago.
Yet again, another executive branch has shown that it believes the U.S. partnership with murderous Gulf monarchies is more important than preventing millions from starving in Yemen. As it has before, Congress needs to step up and shut down the outsourcing of U.S. regional policy to the Gulf.
By and large, there are no good armed actors in Yemen.
The fact that there are no good sides in the war in Yemen is not an excuse for the United States to refuse to end its blank check of support for the Saudi and Emirati governments’ actions, however. Continuing to arm and back one side of the conflict does little to make the United States a credible actor for peace.
Additionally, the recent U.S missile launches in defense of the UAE against the Houthis may cross the line into engaging in active hostilities.
Alternatively, the House of Representatives has now passed Reps. Ro Khanna, Adam Schiff, and Adam Smith’s NDAA amendment ending all contracted maintenance support, including the delivery of spare parts to the coalition, with bipartisan majorities twice already. If fully ending U.S. support for the coalition is still the full Democratic Party line, what’s stopping Speaker Pelosi and Leader Schumer from bringing it up as stand alone legislation or attaching it to the next must-pass piece of legislation?
A better option may be a little used mechanism in the Foreign Assistance Act, which governs the provision of U.S. foreign assistance to other governments, militaries, and other entities.
Congress could ask for a review as to whether the Saudi and Emirati de facto blockade is violating 620i of the FAA that prohibits U.S. assistance to countries blocking the delivery of humanitarian assistance. It can ask for a review of internal human rights practices in Yemen or inside Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
Congress can take these actions at any point in time, and it seems an appropriate response to multiple coalition airstrikes killing hundreds of civilians. Congress has spoken multiple times but never finished its job U.S.-Yemen policy. The question is: will Democrats have the guts to rebuke their own president like the others before him, as the third U.S. president to have gotten the conflict in Yemen woefully wrong?
https://responsiblestatecraft.org/2022/02/04/congress-once-again-needs-fix-the-presidents-yemen-policy/ = https://www.commondreams.org/views/2022/02/05/congress-willing-fix-bidens-failed-yemen-policy
(* B P)
The U.S. Is Wrong on Yemen. Again.
The devastating cycle of tit-for-tat attacks between Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and the Houthis will not end via diplomatic doublespeak.
Last week, Brett McGurk, the White House coordinator for the Middle East, boiled down the millions suffering in Yemen into a false binary in which Washington has done everything it can for peace. He claimed that the Houthi rebels in Yemen are to blame for the continuation of this seven-year conflict that has become the largest humanitarian crisis in the world. With the Houthis launching ballistic missiles at the United Arab Emirates, and a litany of their own war crimes, it’d be easy to fall for this simplistic analysis of the conflict. Yet, in suggesting that reaching a ceasefire and ending the war is simply up to the Houthis, rather than the Saudi-backed government, McGurk reveals his misunderstanding of the conflict.
For four years, U.S. officials in both Republican and Democratic administrations told me in my work as a human rights advocate that “Saudi Arabia is ready to end the war,” and that it’s just a matter of “finding a face-saving way to exit.” What they mean is, “Is there a way for Saudi Arabia to credibly claim it won the war?” Ignoring the obvious answer of no – Saudi Arabia started a war everyone knew was a mistake – the U.S. government has instead engaged in the business of helping to starve millions of people to assuage crown prince Mohammed bin Salman.
This fealty to the “optics” of Saudi Arabia’s exit from Yemen has taken on various forms over the years. Under the previous administration, that meant silence or statements of support from the executive branch, amounting to a blank check of support for whatever regional plans the Saudi crown prince, the Emirati crown prince, and Jared Kushner cooked up. The Biden administration, McGurk included, seems to have decided that Riyadh is stuck in a war it has little power to end. As usual, U.S. officials are settling for the easy answer in Yemen, not the truthful one.
https://foreignpolicy.com/2022/02/03/us-yemen-policy-uae-saudi-arabia-houthis/
(A P)
Rep. Omar’s Statement on U.S. Involvement in Yemen
“It’s shameful this Administration is continuing our involvement in the Yemen conflict with military assistance. Nearly a year ago, President Biden promised to end our involvement in Yemen. This is a dereliction of what this Administration campaigned on, and out of step with a foreign policy agenda rooted in human rights and peace. The Administration must follow through on their promise and work to end our involvement in the war once and for all.”
https://omar.house.gov/media/press-releases/rep-omar-s-statement-us-involvement-yemen
(A P)
Film: State Department Sidesteps Question On Condemnation Of Saudi Attacks On Yemen
In a press briefing Wednesday, State Department Press Secretary Ned Price sidestepped a question on whether the U.S. condemns Saudi-led attacks against Yemeni people, saying just that the U.S. has raised its concern with its allies.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-d4lzUtqFTY
(A P)
Washington threatens Yemen’s Houthis with new sanctions
The United States on Wednesday threatened Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi militia with new sanctions after a series of drone and missile attacks on the United Arab Emirates.
“We’ve taken a number of such actions, including in recent weeks and months alone, and I suspect we will be in a position to take additional action given the reprehensible attacks that we’ve seen emanate from Yemen from the Houthis in recent days and weeks,” said State Department Spokesperson Ned Price.
https://english.alaraby.co.uk/news/us-threatens-yemens-houthi-rebels-new-sanctions = https://english.alarabiya.net/News/gulf/2022/02/03/Washington-threatens-Yemen-s-Houthis-with-new-sanctions
(* B K P)
The Takeaway: Yemen’s future may be affected by Iran talks
The bottom line is that the United States is getting more, not less, involved in Yemen, as crucial nuclear talks with the Houthis’ backer, Iran, enter their final weeks. Consider this timeline:
Our take: Watch the Iran talks
The stepped-up US military support is not just a sign of the US commitment to the UAE — it’s a signal to Iran.
The Houthis are a penny stock investment for Iran: low investment, high return. Iranians also read the papers; they know that Riyadh and Abu Dhabi have been hammered by some in Congress for its conduct of the war — another dividend, in their score.
Iran is unlikely to back a cease-fire while the stakes are so high and negotiations are ongoing in Vienna. A senior State Department official said Jan. 31 that there are only "a handful of weeks" left to close a nuclear deal and it is an "objective" of the United States to get to a separate discussion with Iran on regional security.
https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2022/02/takeaway-yemens-future-may-be-affected-iran-talks
(* B K P)
Biden’s Campaign Donors Don’t Want Him to End US Support for the Yemen War
The Biden administration, ignoring its promises about Yemen from a year ago, is embracing the escalation of the war as they refuse to suspend any support to Saudi Arabia. Raytheon, a company that sees profits from the war in Yemen, gave President Joe Biden’s presidential campaign over half a million dollars in 2020.
When people discuss who is winning the war in Yemen, the answer will never be the Houthis, Saudi Arabia, or the UAE. Weapons companies funded by the U.S. taxpayer through Pentagon contracts are who’s winning the war. Weapons manufacturers that reinvest their money into political campaigns like President Biden’s are who’s winning the war.
U.S. companies are coming out on top at the expense of 30 million Yemenis, and the president’s political campaigns benefit from the companies’ ability to make so much money off conflict.
Blaming Biden for his refusal to act isn’t enough now. His campaign donors like Raytheon and Lockheed Martin benefit from the carnage. Their executives feel comfortable enough with that fact to admit it openly in their meetings.
(* B K P)
Today was a good day for the U.S. military hammer
Searching for nails in the Middle East and Russia — haven’t we seen this movie before?
This morning, the Pentagon announced plans to escalate U.S. military involvement in two different international conflicts: the Saudi-led war in Yemen, and the Ukraine crisis.
Simultaneously escalating U.S. military involvement in two different conflicts halfway around the world is a self-evidently terrible idea.
At best, escalating the U.S. military’s involvement in these conflicts will do little to resolve them; at worst, increased U.S. involvement risks dramatic escalations that could quickly spiral out of our control.
Blame it on America’s hyper-militarized foreign policy. Despite decades of failed military adventures, most American leaders still reflexively attempt to solve every problem, everywhere, with a military solution.
Trying to solve every problem through military force will inevitably lead to yet another disaster — as it did in Iraq, Libya, Vietnam, and beyond. And while the innocent civilians caught up in America’s wars of choice will likely pay the steepest price, Americans themselves will continue to pay dearly for our over-militarized foreign policy, too; as Dwight D. Eisenhower said, “Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired signifies, in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed.”
https://responsiblestatecraft.org/2022/02/02/today-was-a-good-day-for-the-u-s-military-hammer/
(* B K P)
Sending warship, fighter jets to UAE, Biden digs deeper into Yemen fight
For a president who pledged to start reducing the U.S. footprint in the Middle East, he sure is doing his best to stay hooked.
The Biden administration has stated its commitment to assisting the UAE, as well as Saudi Arabia, to defend against Houthi attacks. The UAE, as well as Saudi Arabia, would like the U.S. to do this by re-designating the Houthis as terrorists. Sending additional U.S. military assets to assist the UAE instead may reflect Biden’s unwillingness to re-impose the terrorist designation.
Wisely unwilling, so far, to reverse his position on the designation of the Houthis, Biden has turned instead to increasing the U.S. military’s role in defending the UAE. Yet by doing so, the president has put more U.S. military personnel and assets into harm’s way. Although air defenses have thus far been able to prevent the majority of Houthi drones and missiles fired at the UAE and at Saudi Arabia from causing more significant casualties, these systems are not perfect.
If a U.S. service-member is killed by a Houthi attack, would Biden escalate to a full-blown war against the Houthis? This would directly contradict Biden’s stated intent to withdraw from unnecessary conflicts in the Middle East such as Afghanistan, and refocus the U.S. military’s attention on more pressing security threats.
Unfortunately, the Biden administration appears to have concluded that in order to combat the perceived threat of China’s expansion, the U.S. must maintain and even enhance relations with American security partners in the Middle East. As a result, the preferences of Saudi Arabia and the UAE are more likely to dictate U.S. policy than American interests, embroiling the U.S. more firmly in a region where most Americans are eager to avoid unnecessary military engagement following two decades of failed wars.
U.S. policy in Yemen was once dictated by efforts to combat Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP). According to Brian Jenkins of RAND, the Houthi insurgency has been AQAP’s “most determined and effective foe.” For that reason, the U.S. might wish to strengthen Houthi efforts to combat Al-Qaeda rather than become further involved in a conflict that contributes to the destruction of Yemen, creating additional opportunities for Al-Qaeda to reconvene. Instead, the deployment of the same ship Al-Qaeda attacked symbolizes the tortured logic of U.S. policy in the Middle East.
and main points in thread: https://twitter.com/AnnelleSheline/status/1488888434517291010
(B P)
IT’S TIME TO DOUBLE DOWN ON DIPLOMACY IN YEMEN
Some commentators have called for a punitive U.S. response against the Houthis for the attacks against the United Arab Emirates, including re-designating the group as a foreign terrorist organization. They argue that the Houthis need to know that Saudi allies will not permit further Houthi military escalation and that the only language the Houthis understand is decisive punishment.
While the Houthis’ attack against the United Arab Emirates was destabilizing, re-designating the group as a foreign terrorist organization would be a mistake. The military situation on the ground actually affords an opportunity for diplomacy. Re-designating the Houthis as a foreign terrorist organization would likely result in reduced international aid flows and further devastate the civilian population, without any certainty that it would moderate Houthi behavior. Instead, the United States should focus its efforts on supporting U.N. efforts to reinvigorate the ceasefire process.
A new diplomatic push should include reaffirming U.S. support for Saudi Arabia, including through arms sales that help Saudi Arabia defend against Houthi drone and missile strikes. At the same time, the United States and the United Nations need to intensify engagement with the Houthis that demonstrates the resolve to prevent a Houthi takeover of Yemen, on the one hand, but a willingness to include the Houthis in a political settlement process, on the other. While engaged in this dual-track diplomacy, the United States and others should surge non-military and humanitarian aid to Yemen. This approach departs from past efforts, such as the Stockholm Agreement and the Joint Declaration, which had pursued a multilateral, comprehensive settlement. Those diplomatic efforts have focused on inclusion of the Republic of Yemen’s government, the Southern Transition Council, as well as a wide range of Yemeni parties. The proposal we offer focuses on the Houthis and Saudi Arabia as the key stakeholders and primary warring parties within the diplomatic process.
Conclusion
The Biden administration and Congress ought to give diplomacy a chance in Yemen, not re-designate the Houthis as a foreign terrorist organization. During this period of escalation on the battlefield, the United States should focus its energy on engaging the Houthis and reassuring Saudi Arabia — as difficult as that may be. While there is no guarantee of diplomatic success, especially in this challenging, protracted conflict, an opportunity exists to test whether effective U.N. and U.S. diplomacy can ratchet down the violence and perhaps create a pathway toward a political settlement.
It is possible, perhaps likely, that diplomacy will not succeed. At that time, the option of ratcheting up pressure against the Houthis through foreign terrorist organization re-designation or other means can be employed. Until it is clear, however, that a pathway to a ceasefire has been closed off, it makes far more sense to engage in this parallel, dual-track diplomatic process.
https://warontherocks.com/2022/02/try-diplomacy-not-escalation-in-yemen/?singlepage=1
My comment: Headline: Yes. Otherwise: The US should keep out. This article still asks the US to play the role of policeman of the world, off course, a biased one mainly looking for his own benefit and interests.
(* A K P)
USA unterstützen Emirate im Jemen-Krieg
Nach mehreren Raketenangriffen der jemenitischen Huthi-Rebellen schicken die USA zur Unterstützung ein Kriegsschiff und mehrere Kampfflugzeuge in die Vereinigten Arabischen Emirate. Wie die US-Botschaft in den Emiraten erklärte, handelt es sich um einen Lenkwaffenzerstörer und hochmoderne Kampfjets. Die Entscheidung erfolgte demnach nach einem Telefonat zwischen US-Verteidigungsminister Lloyd Austin und dem Kronprinzen von Abu Dhabi, Scheich Mohammed bin Sajed al-Nahjan.
Der Lenkwaffenzerstörer "USS Cole" werde mit der Marine der Emirate kooperieren und einen Hafen in Abu Dhabi anlaufen, hieß es in der Erklärung. Zudem kündigten die USA an, Kampfflugzeuge der fünften Generation einzusetzen. Washington will den Emiraten zudem weiterhin Informationen aus Frühwarnsystemen zukommen lassen.
https://www.n-tv.de/politik/USA-unterstuetzen-Emirate-im-Jemen-Krieg-article23099250.html = https://www.20min.ch/story/usa-unterstuetzen-emirate-im-kampf-gegen-huthi-rebellen-mit-kampfjets-266910821565
und auch https://de.rt.com/der-nahe-osten/130952-nach-huthi-angriffen-auf-abu/
(* A K P)
U.S. to send fighter jets to assist UAE after Houthi attacks
The United States said it is sending fighter jets to assist the United Arab Emirates following missile attacks on the Gulf state launched by Yemen’s Houthi movement, including a foiled attack aimed at a base hosting U.S. forces.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin also told Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan in a telephone call on Tuesday that Washington would send the guided missile destroyer the USS Cole to partner with the UAE navy ahead of a port call in Abu Dhabi.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-emirates-security-usa/u-s-to-send-fighter-jets-to-assist-uae-after-houthi-attacks-idUSKBN2K709F = https://www.fxempire.com/news/article/u-s-to-send-fighter-jets-to-assist-uae-after-houthi-attacks-885041
and also https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/yemen-uae-attacks-us-send-warship-fighter-jets
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/2/2/us-to-send-destroyer-fighter-jets-to-uae-amid-houthi-attacks
and US DOD statement: https://twitter.com/SecDef/status/1488687828661907459
Comment: Again, the USA's friendship with governments who constantly bomb their neighbors exists not *in spite* of their murderousness and tyranny but exactly *because* of it.
https://twitter.com/caitoz/status/1489034276759023616
(B P)
Vice Media secretly organised $20m Saudi government festival
Youth media company organised March 2020 event despite pledge to stop all work in Saudi Arabia
When social media influencers turned up at the Azimuth music festival in the middle of the Saudi Arabian desert they were promised a festival of musical and gastronomic excess, all subsidised by an arm of the Saudi government.
What attendees did not know was that the pricey music festival was secretly organised by youth media company Vice, as part of the media company’s ongoing push to make money in the Middle Eastern state despite the country’s poor human rights record.
Just three years after Vice publicly announced that it was pausing all work in Saudi Arabia due to the fallout from the state-ordered murder of dissident Jamal Khashoggi, insiders at Vice told the Guardian the company was once again aggressively pursuing business opportunities in Saudi Arabia.
“Vice employees have for years raised concerns over the company’s involvement with Saudi Arabia – and we’ve been fobbed off with empty statements and pathetic excuses,” said one Vice employee.
Although the Azimuth music festival received little publicity in the western media when it took place at the start of the Covid pandemic, it is believed to be have been highly lucrative for Vice. Staff at the company estimate the total budget was $20m (£15m).
My remark: For Vice media, read https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vice_Media . Might-be of special interest: On 3 May 2019, Vice Media announced that it raised $250 million in debt from George Soros and other investors.[
(A B K P)
America’s plan to militarize Red Sea collides with Yemeni warnings
Since the beginning of the war on Yemen, the Saudi-led coalition countries, backed by America, have intensified their presence in the waters of the Red Sea until it is teeming with dozens of military pieces belonging to the coalition countries under the pretext of protecting what is called “legitimacy”.
This came as a cover for the real goal, which is to keep the coasts of the Red Sea and Bab al-Mandab under the military hegemony of the United States of America, which seeks to besiege China and cut off the road to the Silk Line that China recently adopted.
In parallel, the United States instructed the coalition countries to bring in “Takfiri” elements through the port of Mocha to be used later as a justification for an American military presence in this region.
The features of military hegemony today became clear through the launch of naval training led by the United States and Israel in the Red Sea.
The US Navy statement said today that the IMX international training, which began Monday in Bahrain and will last for 18 days, includes 9,000 personnel and 50 ships from more than 60 participating countries and organizations. It is the largest unmanned aerial vehicle exercise with more than 80 drone systems.
Also, the Israeli army spokesman, “Avichai Adraei” wrote in a tweet on Twitter that the fleet of missile ships and the underwater mission unit will train with the US Fifth Fleet in the Red Sea region.
The training includes a number of countries, including Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and the Sultanate of Oman, in addition to the UAE and Bahrain, which announced in September 2020 the normalization of relations with Israel.
https://en.ypagency.net/251898/
(B P)
Advocacy Teams Action Sheet: January 2022
The world’s worst humanitarian crisis is happening in Yemen. After seven years of war, roughly 16 million people are at risk of famine, and over two million children under the age of five are severely malnourished. This crisis is largely driven by the Saudi blockade, which limits the flow of food, medicine, and fuel from entering the country.
By supporting the Saudi-led war in Yemen, the United States is complicit. The U.S. military provides maintenance for warplanes and supports intelligence-sharing, which allow the blockade and airstrikes to continue. The Biden administration and Congress have taken important steps to end U.S. support for this war. But for people in Yemen, these actions have often been too little, too late.
Taxpayer dollars should be spent building our country, not destroying others. Congress must reclaim authority over when our country goes to war. As a first step, Congress should introduce and pass a War Powers Resolution to end U.S. support for the war in Yemen. After seven devastating years, Congress must act because Yemen can’t wait.
This is a time for us to amplify our message through a sustained grassroots push. To hit the ground running in 2022, submit meeting requests early, publish in local and statewide media, and plan other actions to start mobilizing more constituents to raise this issue to Congress.
https://www.fcnl.org/sites/default/files/2022-01/January%202022%20Action%20Sheet.pd
(B P)
Petition: Biden is considering designating the Houthis as terrorists. This will have dire consequences.
The UAE, one of the countries helping Saudi Arabia bomb & starve Yemen asked President Biden to revert to a Trump policy of designating Yemen's Houthis as a terrorist organization. Biden said last night that it was being considered. Biden shouldn't be considering a policy that will starve more Yemenis.
https://www.codepink.org/biden_considering_designating_houthis_terrorists
(* B P)
Yemen’s Houthis add to Biden’s foreign policy frustrations
U.S. officials are studying financial measures targeting the Houthis and the group’s top figures, with new sanctions possible as soon as this week. It’s the latest in a so-far unsuccessful push by the Biden administration to get Houthi leaders into peace talks and wind down an eight-year war.
From Biden down, U.S. officials are scrambling to assure Gulf strategic allies, including Saudi Arabia and the UAE, they will provide defense support.
“America will have the backs of our friends in the region,” Biden told reporters after Monday’s strikes, which with the others are a factor in rising global petroleum prices.
Biden administration officials appeared taken aback and frustrated early on at the Iran-backed Houthis’ determination to keep fighting to win control of more of Yemen, against a Saudi-led coalition equipped with the best U.S. arms that hundreds of billions of dollars can buy.
Biden’s team began his administration distancing the U.S. from military involvement in Yemen’s war, where both sides are accused of human rights abuses, and making a diplomatic push for peace talks. But Houthis scorned U.S. diplomats and their peace-talks initiative, and stepped up offensives instead.
“What I would hope ... is that is the administration has now recognized that strategy, whether it was right or wrong in February of 2021, is not working, has not worked, and therefore they need to change their approach,” said Gerald Feierstein, the Obama administration’s ambassador to Yemen from 2010 to 2013.
Feierstein, the former ambassador, and others say the Biden administration can craft a new terror designation so as to lessen the impact on humanitarian groups and other conduits of vital goods.
Humanitarian groups say even the hint of that move by the U.S. could scare food and fuel businesses from working in Yemen, driving up costs and putting food and fuel out of the reach of many.
Individual sanctions on Houthi leaders at least would have the impact of alarming those individuals — making them aware that the United States was aware of who they were, and might be thinking of targeting them, Abo Alasrar said.
“Now that’s scary. That would be scary for them,” Abo Alasrar said. “And that’s where things could actually be real.”
https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-middle-east-foreign-policy-yemen-houthis-0875560b0e2c0b7f3465b26d80a0c45f = https://news.yahoo.com/yemens-houthis-add-bidens-foreign-050529448.html
(* A K P)
US-led joint naval drill begins with Israel and Muslim nations
The US kicks off the IMX drill with 60 nations including Israel and countries that do not have formal diplomatic relations with Tel Aviv: Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Oman and Yemen.
A US-led maritime exercise including 60 nations and organisations has kicked off in and around Gulf waters with Israel joining for the first time alongside Muslims nations such as Pakistan.
The US navy said on Tuesday that the 18-day biennial International Maritime Exercise (IMX) since Monday includes 50 vessels and 9,000 personnel from more than 60 entities.
It includes a number of countries — among them Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Oman and Yemen — that do not have formal diplomatic relations with Israel.
With more than 80 drones, it is also the world's largest unmanned drill, it added from Bahrain, where the 5th Fleet is headquartered.
cp9a USA-Iran Krise: Spannungen am Golf / US-Iran crisis: Tensions at the Gulf
Siehe / Look at cp9
(A K P)
Israel, Bahrain sign new defense memo in signal toward Iran
https://apnews.com/article/middle-east-religion-iran-israel-navy-4233c0155b72ac909e8a07922614c2ec
(A P)
Senator Menendez is on the Iran warpath, again
He’s clearly reprising his role as JCPOA saboteur and increasing the chances for diplomatic failure, and conflict.
Sen. Bob Menendez, the Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, finally broke his relative silence Tuesday over the Biden administration’s ongoing negotiations to restore the Iran nuclear deal struck under the Obama administration. In so doing, the senator took up his role from 2015 as chief Democratic saboteur of the Iran nuclear negotiations right as U.S. and Iranian diplomats are claiming that the talks in Vienna are reaching their final stages.
According to the New Jersey Democrat, Biden should “exert more pressure on Iran to counter its nuclear program, its missile program and its dangerous behavior around the Middle East.” If that sounds familiar, it is because it is the same failed approach pursued by the Trump administration.
https://responsiblestatecraft.org/2022/02/03/senator-menendez-is-on-the-iran-warpath-again/
(B P)
Are the JCPOA Negotiations On Their Last Legs?
More than a year has passed since Joe Biden took office and the United States has yet to rejoin the Iran nuclear deal, or JCPOA. While U.S. and European powers are warning that time is running out and hint at a potential shift toward a Plan B, Tehran insists that assurances must be provided that the United States will honor its commitments to the agreement this time around. The Raisi government has proven a more uncompromising counterpart than its predecessor and the Biden negotiating team has few insights into its calculations and political limitations. What are the political constraints of the Raisi government and how do they shape Iran’s negotiating position? How has the economic impact of America’s maximum pressure shaped the politics of Iran, and in extension, Tehran’s diplomatic maneuverability? And what options do the U.S. and its European allies have if the JCPOA talks collapse?
To answer these questions, the Quincy Institute is pleased to host a discussion featuring Nathalie Tocci, Special Advisor to EU High Representative Josep Borrell; Hadi Kahalzadeh, Ph.D. fellow at the Crown Center for Middle East Studies at Brandeis University; and Narges Bajoghli, Assistant Professor of Middle East Studies at Johns Hopkins University. Quincy Institute Executive Vice President Trita Parsi will moderate.
https://quincyinst.org/event/is-the-jcpoa-on-its-last-legs/
Film: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bgd1OyiiUK4&t=1s = https://twitter.com/QuincyInst/status/1489298275874312193
(A P)
Israeli defence chief visits Bahrain amid heightened Gulf tensions
Israeli Defence Minister Benny Gantz began a visit to Bahrain on Wednesday amid heightened tensions https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/us-send-fighter-jets-assist-uae-after-houthi-attacks-2022-02-02 in the Gulf after missile attacks on the United Arab Emirates by Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthi movement.
(A P)
Iran, UAE foreign ministers discussed Yemen crisis - IRNA
Iran's Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian discussed the Yemen crisis with his UAE counterpart Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed in a phone conversation on Wednesday, the state news agency IRNA reported.
cp10 Großbritannien / Great Britain
(A K P)
UK warns its citizens in UAE
The United Kingdom has warned its citizens in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) due to the “increased threats and dangers”, after the Yemeni Armed Forces carried out Yemen’s Hurricane operations that targeted the UAE and Saudi Arabia in response to the escalation of Saudi-led aggression against Yemen.
In a statement, the British Foreign Office called on its citizens in the UAE to be vigilant, monitor local media reports and follow the advice of the local authorities.
https://en.ypagency.net/252031/
cp11 Deutschland / Germany
(B H)
Bundespolizeidirektion Pirna
Illegale Migration aus Belarus über Polen nach Mitteldeutschland
Im Monat Januar (Stand 31. Januar 2022) registrierte die Bundespolizeidirektion Pirna in ihrem Zuständigkeitsbereich in Sachsen, Thüringen und Sachsen - Anhalt insgesamt 157 unerlaubt eingereiste Personen mit Bezug zu Belarus.
Hauptherkunftsland der Migranten bleibt weiterhin der Irak (mehr als die Hälfte der aufgegriffenen Personen), mit deutlichem Abstand folgen Syrien und Jemen.
https://news.feed-reader.net/ots/5135464/bpold-pir-illegale-migration-aus/
und auch https://www.saechsische.de/goerlitz/lokales/neisse-mehr-fluechtlinge-im-januar-auf-der-belarus-route-schutzsuchende-thueringen-berzdorfer-see-blaulicht-5617344-plus.html = https://www.freiepresse.de/nachrichten/sachsen/bundespolizei-illegale-einreisen-aus-belarus-und-polen-artikel11969374
cp12 Andere Länder / Other countries
Kanada, italien: Siehe cp13a / Canada, Italy: Look at cp13a
(B P)
Nach dem Abraham-Abkommen: Neue Normalität in Nahost
Israels Präsident Herzog besucht erstmals die Vereinigten Arabischen Emirate. Die Beziehungen florieren inzwischen auch ohne den Antreiber Trump.
Aus israelischer Sicht ist die Annäherung an die Golfstaaten zugleich ein Abwehrbündnis gegen Iran. Einige Sorgen, dass die Emirate ein doppeltes Spiel spielen könnten, hatte deshalb im Dezember der Besuch einer VAE-Delegation in Teheran ausgelöst. Nun aber versicherte der Kronprinz seinem israelischen Gast, man habe einen "gemeinsamen Blick auf die Bedrohungen der regionalen Stabilität".
Geschärft wurde dieser Blick gewiss auch durch die jüngsten Angriffe der von Iran unterstützen Huthi-Rebellen aus dem Jemen auf emiratisches Gebiet.
https://www.sueddeutsche.de/politik/israel-vae-herzog-abraham-abkommen-1.5518872
(* B K P)
How Iran infiltrates the skies of Yemen to threaten the region and the world
From China in the East to Greece in the West, through Turkey, Iran, the Emirates and the Sultanate of Oman, along Africa’s eastern coasts and in every corner of Yemen, a sprawling theater of Iranian smuggling operations supplies the Houthi militia in Yemen with the weapons, military expertise and fuel needed to win a civil war in its seventh year.
The smuggled goods include ballistic missiles, kamikaze aerial drones and explosives-laden drone boats, which enable the Houthis to launch continuous attacks on Yemeni cities, target vital facilities inside Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates and threaten international shipping lanes in the Red Sea.
Houthi attacks using these weapons have increased dramatically since the militia seized power in a military coup on September 21, 2014 that derailed a fragile democratic political transition and plunged the country into civil war. The Houthis’ growing capabilities raise many questions about how the weapons reach the group despite strict enforcement of a UN Security Council arms embargo authorized in April 2015.
Almasdar Online carried out a months-long investigation to answer these questions. Based on interviews with 15 military and security officials and other sources familiar with smuggling activities, and drawing on local and international documents and reports, Almasdar’s investigation reveals the administrative structure of the Iranian network of companies and individuals involved in the smuggling operations and illuminates the external and internal routes they use. The investigation reviews the stages of Iran's provision of aerial drone systems to its Houthi proxy, starting with primitive planes with a range not exceeding one kilometer to long-range kamikaze drones that Houthi military figures claim can reach targets up to 2,500 km away. The investigation also provides statistics on the number and type of Houthi attacks inside and outside Yemen as well as the operations undertaken to counter these capabilities, whether by intercepting smuggling shipments or targeting the facilities used by Houthi forces to store, assemble and launch the missiles, planes and boats.
What is Iranian diplomacy hiding?
For nearly two decades, the Yemeni government has accused Iran of interfering in Yemeni affairs by arming the Houthis and supporting them to destabilize Yemen and the region. Iran’s diplomats and political officials continue to deny these claims.
In recent years, nine high-ranking military leaders and IRGC officers have spoken about the Iranian role in the war in Yemen and the direct support they have provided to the Houthi militia. Some of these leaders have been affiliated with the Houthis since their coup against the internationally recognized Yemeni government in September 2014, bragging about the weapons, military technology and equipment, including ballistic missile systems and drones, they have supplied the Houthis.
https://al-masdaronline.net/national/919
(A K P)
Frankreich will VAE gegen Angriffe der jemenitischen Ansarullah-Kämpfer helfen
Im Konflikt zwischen Jemen und den Vereinigten Arabischen Emiraten (VAE) hat Paris Abu Dhabi militärische Unterstützung zugesichert.
Das französische Verteidigungsministerium gab am Freitag bekannt, dass Paris mit Abu Dhabi zusammenarbeiten wird, um die Sicherheit des Luftraums der VAE angesichts der Militäroperationen jemenitischer Streitkräfte zu gewährleisten. Laut der Nachrichten-Website Al-Ain twitterte die französische Verteidigungsministerin Florence Parly, dass ihr Land die Regierung der Vereinigten Arabischen Emirate bei der Sicherung ihrer Luftgrenzen unterstützen werde, die von jemenitischen Streitkräften angegriffen würden.
(A K P)
France to Reinforce UAE's Defence Systems After Yemen Attacks
France said on Friday it had agreed to participate in the reinforcement of the United Arab Emirates' defence system, including the deployment of Rafale jets, following Houthi attacks, Reuters reported.
"The United Arab Emirates were victims of serious attacks on their territory in January. In order to show our solidarity with this friendly country, France has decided to provide military support, in particular to protect the airspace against any intrusion," French Armed Forces Minister Florence Parly wrote on Twitter.
The French Armed Forces ministry added that operations would be conducted from the Al Dhafra air base, working in close coordination with the Emirates, with a view to detect and intercept any drone or missile attacks.
https://www.farsnews.ir/en/news/14001115000498/France-Reinfrce-UAE
and
(* A K P)
French Min. of Defence Florence Parly: The United Arab Emirates were victims of serious attacks on their territory in January. In order to show our solidarity with this friendly country, France has decided to provide military support, in particular to protect their airspace against any intrusion. https://twitter.com/florence_parly/status/1489545458519351296
(B H P)
Evaluation of the European Union’s humanitarian interventions in Yemen and in humanitarian access, 2015-2020
Overall, efforts were effective in maintaining activities as planned, but couldn’t improve respect of humanitarian principles by parties. Programming, advocacy plans, and toolbox lacked upgrading. Recommendations on Yemen include revitalising Nexus, better highlighting needs of longer-term displaced, strengthening field presence and advocacy, and clarifying some guidelines and sectoral approaches. On Access, DG ECHO should also strengthen diplomacy, support to international coordination, staff guidance, and capacities.
(A P)
Denmark finds members of Iranian opposition group guilty of spying for Saudi Arabia
A Danish district court on Friday found three members of an Iranian Arab opposition group guilty of financing and supporting terrorist activity in Iran in collaboration with Saudi Arabian intelligence services as well as espionage, local news wire Ritzau reported.
(* B P)
Does Israel-UAE cooperation show what a post-US Gulf will look like?
The Israeli president’s recent trip to the UAE served to send a message not only to the Emiratis, but also the wider Arab-Islamic world.
These high-profile visits underscore the extent to which Israel and the UAE are working to build on the Abraham Accords and showcase a highly optimistic view about what this bilateral relationship can do for them in the years ahead.
The Emiratis and Israelis are now cooperating in diverse sectors from tech to tourism, agriculture to energy, and others. Saying that Abu Dhabi is ambitious about its trade goals with Israel is quite the understatement.
The timing of Herzog’s visit to the UAE was significant, particularly from a security perspective, considering the intensifying hostility between Abu Dhabi and Yemen’s Houthi rebels. With Iran-backed insurgents in Yemen attacking the UAE three times last month — resulting in three deaths and damaged oil infrastructure near the international airport in Abu Dhabi — the UAE finds itself facing a major threat from the Houthis.
With Abu Dhabi being the latest front to open in the Yemen conflict(s), Israel is keen to demonstrate to the UAE that Tel Aviv is fully committed to standing by its partners in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).
But beyond rhetoric, Israel can further help the Emiratis when it comes to military technology, intelligence sharing, maritime security, and much more. As Israel has one of the world’s most advanced militaries, Abu Dhabi sees the Jewish state as a partner that can benefit the UAE from a security standpoint.
“Israelis will be looking to sell advanced air defence systems to the Emiratis, in part to deepen ties, and, in part, to simply make an arms sale, and the Houthis are helping pitch that inadvertently,” Ryan Bohl, a Middle East analyst at the risk consultancy Stratfor/Rane, told this author.
Since last month, the UAE has been showing an interest in acquiring Green Pine, an Israeli radar part of a missile defence system.
(A P)
Oman lehnt Aufnahme von Jemens Ansarullah-Bewegung in die Liste der Terrorgruppen ab
Oman lehnt laut dem Außenminister Sayyid Badr Al-Busaidi die Wiederaufnahme der jemenitischen Ansarullah-Bewegung in die Liste der Terrorgruppen ab.
In einem Interview mit der amerikanischen Webseite „Monitor“ erklärte Al-Busaidi am Donnerstag: „Dieser Schritt (Aufnahme der Ansarullah in die Liste der terroristischen Gruppen) wird die politischen Bemühungen untergraben, eine politische Lösung für die aktuelle Krise und den Krieg im Jemen auf dem Verhandlungsweg zu finden.“
Wir bestreiten, dass Ansarullah eine terroristische Gruppe ist, sagte al-Busaidi in dem Interview und fügte hinzu: „Ansarullah ist Teil der [politischen] Lösung im Jemen, und sie als Terroristen zu bezeichnen, würde sie daran hindern, am Verhandlungstisch zu erscheinen.“
(A P)
Omani Foreign Minister: We reject the inclusion of Ansar Allah Al #Houthis as a terrorist organization, as they are part of the solution in #Yemen!
https://twitter.com/GhalebM0nz1i7/status/1489359609466957825
(A P)
Film, Hannah Neumann, European Parliament:
In the war in #Yemen, all sides commit grave human rights violations. It is civilians who suffer most. What we can do: Stop selling arms that contribute to the suffering in Yemen, Increase our diplomatic pressure, Step up our humanitarian funding
https://twitter.com/HNeumannMEP/status/1489204934692245506
Film: Nick Wallace, European Parliament:
A complicit Mainstream Media has been near silent about Western backed #Saudi #UAE Genocide in #Yemen - EU are still shamelessly backing former US/Saudi puppet Hadi who was rejected by the Yemenis, before he fled to Saudi - From where he called for the bombing of his own people.
https://twitter.com/wallacemick/status/1488916592390021126
(A K P)
Israel participates in huge U.S. Mideast naval exercise alongside Saudi, Oman
Israel is taking part in a huge U.S.-led naval exercise in the Middle East, for the first time publicly joining Saudi Arabia and Oman, two counties it has no diplomatic relations with despite its normalisation of ties with some Gulf states.
(B P)
The Art of the Party: Evacuating people from Yemen in 2015
This oil painting was created by Chinese artist Wu Jingyu in 2021.
It depicts China evacuating hundreds of Chinese citizens from conflict-torn Yemen in 2015.
Chinese national flags became the most effective checkpoint pass to ensure the safety of all passengers.
China completed its evacuation of all Chinese nationals needing to leave Yemen within five days.
(A K P)
Iranian dissidents warn regime is creating proxy terrorist naval units to back Houthis in Yemen
Destabilizing behavior has increased since Ebrahim Raisi became president, dissidents say
Iranian dissidents are warning that the brutal regime in Tehran is creating a proxy naval force in the region with which it intends to attack ships and help the embattled Houthi forces in Yemen.
The report claims that after the U.S. strike that took out Quds leader Qassem Soleimani in 2020, Iran’s ability to affect nearby countries including Iraq, Lebanon and Syria was damaged.
"To compensate for this failure, the IRGC has turned to intervention in Yemen, especially escalating naval terrorist activities and threatening the international shipping on its shores," the report says.
The NCRI report alleges that the Quds forces in Yemen recruit Iran-backed Houthi forces -- who are engaged in a brutal and yearslong civil war with the Saudi-backed government -- and sends them to Iran for training.
Separately, the Iranian regime is reportedly setting up a smuggling network to send weapons and equipment to Yemen via third countries such as Somalia
This destabilizing behavior has escalated since the rise of hardliner Ebrahim Raisi to the presidency, the report says.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/iran-regime-proxy-houthis-yemen
and also https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2022/feb/2/irans-quds-force-training-proxy-naval-forces-oppos/
and on NCRI site: https://www.ncr-iran.org/en/news/iran-resistance/lacking-legitimacy-and-weak-in-tehran-the-iranian-regime-projects-power-on-high-seas/
Press conference: https://twitter.com/NCRIUS/status/1488947094605873152
My comment: Propaganda level: high. For this opposition group, which had been labeled a terrorist organization by the US from 1997 to 2012, look at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Council_of_Resistance_of_Iran .
(* B E P)
New report details labor rights abuses at Dubai’s Expo 2020
The legions of workers who built Dubai’s extravagant Expo 2020 site and keep it running face exploitation, grim conditions and a wide range of labor abuses, according to a new report released on Wednesday by a London-based labor rights group.
The report by consultancy Equidem also said that the United Arab Emirates government had failed to demonstrate that its commitments to worker welfare at the multibillion-dollar Expo had corrected, let alone identified, rights violations.
It comes after The Associated Press published an investigation based on interviews with over two dozen Expo workers about their grievances, including their payment of illegal recruitment fees, employers’ confiscation of passports and inadequate food. That article also drew on Equidem’s previous research into the conditions of construction workers a year before the world’s fair opened, when workers said they were denied wages for months amid the coronavirus outbreak.
“I was honestly shocked to see just how widespread the non-compliance is and how much forced labor is happening,” Mustafa Qadri, an author of the Equidem report and the group’s executive director, said in an interview. “It raises questions about how effective the labor system is in the UAE, because Expo is the most high-profile project in the country.”
The 37-page Equidem report — based on nearly 70 interviews with migrant workers at Expo over three months last fall — represents a comprehensive analysis of the labor situation at the world’s fair. The giant international event has offered the UAE a key opportunity to burnish its credentials as a globalized place attractive to tourists and investors.
(* A E)
Tourists in UAE shrug off Houthi missile attacks
Tourists who flock to the United Arab Emirates in search of winter sun appear undeterred by recent missile attacks on the Gulf State by Yemen's Houthi group that have prompted travel warnings from the United States and Britain.
Data suggests the tourism industry, centred on Dubai, is booming over the peak season, with hoteliers and reservation agents reporting high demand despite the renewal of COVID-19 travel restrictions in many countries late last year.
Beaches are thronged and restaurants thriving, with the Expo world fair bringing more visitors to the Middle East’s trade, finance and tourism hub.
According to Hopper, a travel search engine that uses historical data to predict and analyse flight prices, searches for the UAE were stable in the first half of January and trended up 22% later in the month.
Hospitality data company STR said in December that Dubai’s hotel industry was reporting room occupancy of 78.2 percent.
https://www.reuters.com/article/emirates-economy-tourism-int/tourists-in-uae-shrug-off-houthi-missile-attacks-idUSKBN2K71BB = https://skift.com/2022/02/02/uae-tourism-shows-resilience-despite-yemen-conflict/
(A P)
Kataib Hezbollah Behind "Grass Roots" Iraqi Fundraising for Yemen
Kataib Hezbollah tried to make a new Yemen fundraising drive look like a successful "grass roots" popular effort, whereas it was actually centralized and largely unsuccessful.
(B P)
Israel and UAE: How nominal enemies became allies
Israel's historic presidential trip to the UAE is highlighting burgeoning relations between the two countries. Their shared arch-enemy Iran and regional climate challenges suggest their ties may strengthen further.
The main driver for the fast track in their ties is that the UAE and Israel are similar in terms of economic size and development.
"They both have a gross domestic product (GDP) of around $400 billion (€356 billion) and their relatively small populations enjoy a high living standard measured in per capita income," said Atradius, a trade credit insurance company.
https://www.dw.com/en/israel-and-uae-how-nominal-enemies-became-allies/a-60614394
cp12b Sudan
(A P)
Sudan pro-democracy group denounces UN mediation efforts
Sudan’s leading pro-democracy group lashed out at the United Nations on Friday, accusing it of failing to safeguard the country’s transition to democracy and being soft on the generals who led last year’s military coup.
The Sudanese Professionals’ Association, which led dozens of protests since the military takeover in October, once again rejected an initiative by the U.N. Mission in Sudan aimed at bringing civilians and the military to the negotiating table.
“Your mission has failed to explicitly condemn the coup,” the group said in a statement. “All your mission’s moves implied a recognition of the coup authorities.”
cp13a Waffenhandel / Arms trade
Siehe / Look at cp9, cp12
(* B K P)
Arms exports to UAE may be fuelling Yemen war, newly-released records show
Canada has one of the most rigorous arms export oversight processes in the world. So goes, at least, the boilerplate statement issued by the federal government whenever any journalist, civil society group, or opposition politician asks about this country’s thriving international arms sales business.
In defending its most high-profile weapons deal, struck with the Saudi dictatorship, the Canadian government has stood by this claim for years while waving away concerns about its frequent shipments of armoured vehicles.
But behind closed doors in the spring of 2020, staff at then foreign affairs minister François-Philippe Champagne’s office seemingly paused for a brief moment to consider what the windfall profits for weapons manufacturers — and for the federal government, which benefits handsomely from the tax revenue from these sales — might actually mean as Canada prepared to sell weapons to the United Arab Emirates. Like Saudi Arabia, the UAE is deeply implicated in the unfolding tragedy in Yemen, now one of the most horrific conflicts on the planet.
As Canadian officials prepared to approve arms exports, they requested information about the possibility the weapons would wind up contributing to the carnage in Yemen. Against this backdrop of violence, in the dry language of bureaucracy, they wrote, “For UAE, please confirm that they are not utilized in the war in Yemen” and “we would need an analysis of whether there is any risk that these items be used in Yemen.”
Ricochet has spent the past year seeking records of what resulted from these inquiries about sales to the UAE. Newly obtained internal government files provide insight into these exports — as well as the ways Canada justifies the uninterrupted flow of weapons to one of its preferred partners in the Middle East.
What is Canada selling the UAE?
Regarding one type of Canadian surveillance product for export to the UAE, the foreign minister’s office questioned officials by email on whether they could confirm that the product would not be used in the war in Yemen. It also asked, “[Redacted] which kind of surveillance would the end users be doing with the item? Will this be mounted [redacted]?”
The quoted questions had to be pieced together from multiple records, in a case where the arbitrary nature of the Canadian government’s own access-to-information system appears to have worked against it. Initially government censors redacted the word “surveillance” in a version of the document disclosed to Parliament. Another version of this same document left this word visible while obscuring references to the UAE. Then records obtained by Ricochet revealed the originally redacted words “be mounted.” This language indicates the Canadian-made surveillance product under discussion did not concern only digital surveillance and included physical surveillance systems that can be mounted by the UAE on vehicles or aircraft such as drones or fighter jets.
Ricochet’s access-to-information request asked for records of the government analysis of how the surveillance product would be used, and whether it was to be deployed by the UAE in the war in Yemen. The files provided by the government did not answer those questions. Ricochet has previously reported on the sophisticated Canadian surveillance systems that the government has repeatedly approved for export to various governments, including the UAE.
Multiple documents reference ongoing rifle sales to the UAE’s military and security services. Export permits requested by a gun manufacturer called Cadex Defence were listed as “urgent” by the department as of late-2020, with a potential sales value estimated at around $17 million. Emails from Global Affairs also note the rifle maker hired Ottawa lobbying firm Rubicon Strategy and had interactions with senior officials to try to expedite the approvals.
Evading responsibility
While the government often states that it has no evidence Canadian arms are misused, this might really mean they have no evidence at all.
Officials admitted last year in written testimony to Parliament that neither Global Affairs Canada nor the Canada Border Services Agency conducts post-shipment verification of Canadian arms exports.
The documents obtained by Ricochet underline another apparent loophole in the oversight of arms components, with Global Affairs Canada noting that most of the export permits under review are for Canadian items “that are going to be incorporated in to something else” and that “under the ATT [Arms Trade Treaty], it is the country of final manufacture that is responsible for assessing the risks for the export of the final product.”
Apparently when Canada exports crucial components for lethal military equipment, rather than complete off-the-shelf products, it is effectively off the hook.
Al-Adeimi also isn’t swayed by the government’s stance on UAE exports, seeing this as a demonstration of how Canada is more interested in the diplomatic and trade connections on offer. In her view this conclusion allows Canada to publicly clear itself of any responsibility while it continues to promote its exports.
“Whatever aid Canada provided to Yemen, or whatever public support they’ve given, pales in comparison to complicity in war crimes that they continue to enable in Yemen,” she said. “I think when it comes to Canada and Canada’s relationship with the UAE, it’s just as important as the arms deal with Saudi Arabia.”
(A K P)
Israel Reportedly Planning to Sell Iron Dome to UAE
Israel is planning to advance the sale of the Iron Dome missile defense system to the UAE in the wake of recent Houthi attacks on the country, Israel’s Channel 13 reported on Monday.
The Channel 13 report said the Iron Dome sale could be the beginning of a regional defense system that would give Israel advanced warnings of an attack from Iran. Houthi attacks on the UAE and Saudi Arabia are often blamed on Iran even though they are clearly a response to the brutal war Riyadh and Abu Dhabi have been waging on Yemen since 2015.
https://news.antiwar.com/2022/02/01/israel-reportedly-planning-to-sell-iron-dome-to-uae/
and
(A K P)
What Gulf States Urgently Need From Israel Against Iran
Amid a flurry of diplomacy and missiles, top defense expert says Israel could send UAE and Bahrain a range of tools – from radars to Iron Dome systems – if a mechanism endures they won't fall into the wrong hands [paywalled]
(* B K P)
LUFTANGRIFF MIT US-WAFFE TÖTET ZAHLREICHE MENSCHEN
Die bei dem Angriff verwendete lasergelenkte Bombe, die von dem US-Rüstungsunternehmen Raytheon hergestellt wurde, ist der jüngste Beweis für den Einsatz von in den USA hergestellten Waffen bei Angriffen, die als Kriegsverbrechen eingestuft werden könnten.
«Die schrecklichen Bilder, die trotz des viertägigen Internet-Blackouts aus dem Jemen durchgesickert sind, machen auf erschütternde Weise deutlich, wer den schrecklichen Preis für die einträglichen Waffenverkäufe westlicher Staaten an Saudi-Arabien und seine Verbündeten zahlt», sagte Lynn Maalouf, stellvertretende Direktorin von Amnesty International für den Nahen Osten und Nordafrika.
«Die USA und andere waffenliefernde Staaten müssen die Lieferung von Waffen, Ausrüstung und militärischer Unterstützung an alle am Konflikt im Jemen beteiligten Parteien sofort einstellen. Die internationale Gemeinschaft hat die Verantwortung, die Tore für alle Waffenverkäufe zu schliessen, die das unnötige Leiden der Zivilisten in dem bewaffneten Konflikt befeuern.
«Indem sie wissentlich die Mittel zur Verfügung gestellt haben, mit denen die SLC wiederholt gegen internationale Menschenrechte und humanitäres Völkerrecht verstossen hat, sind die USA - zusammen mit Grossbritannien und Frankreich - mitverantwortlich für diese Verstösse."
Die Waffenexpert*innen von Amnesty International analysierten Fotos von den Überresten der bei dem Angriff auf das Gefangenenlager verwendeten Waffe und identifizierten die Bombe als GBU-12, eine lasergesteuerte 500-Pfund-Bombe des Herstellers Raytheon.
Seit März 2015 haben die Recherchespezialist*innen von Amnesty International Dutzende von Luftangriffen untersucht und dabei immer wieder Überreste von in den USA hergestellter Munition gefunden und identifiziert. Amnesty International hat bereits festgestellt, dass dieselben Raytheon-Bomben aus US-amerikanischer Produktion, die am 21. Januar eingesetzt wurden, auch bei einem von den Saudis geführten Luftangriff am 28. Juni 2019 auf ein Wohnhaus im Gouvernement Ta'iz im Jemen verwendet wurden, bei dem sechs Zivilpersonen - darunter drei Kinder - getötet wurden.
(* B K P)
How access to missiles gives an edge to non-state actors in the Middle East
From the Gulf to Israel, countries and armed groups like Yemen’s Houthis and Palestine’s Hamas rely upon guided missiles and rocket technology more than ever, changing the nature of warfare.
In the past few years, the Houthi rebel group in Yemen has gained easy access to missile technology and the armed group has used it against states like the UAE and Saudi Arabia. On the other hand, the Hamas' armed wing, Qassam Brigades in Palestine has heavily relied on rockets during wars and skirmishes with the Israeli forces.
But how do non-state actors procure such weapons?
“Drone and missile technology allows non-state actors to bypass conventional defences and hit states deep inside their territories increasing the strategic costs and burden on state actors who might have operated with impunity in the past,” says Krieg.
“In the context of Palestine and Yemen, non-state actors have surprised their opponents as of late with both quantity and quality of new ballistic technology available,” he adds.
My comment: The Houthis ARE state actors. They form the government of 75 % of the Yemeni population. The oddity that Western politics and media (propaganda) still treat the Houthis as (non-state) “rebels” does not contradict this simple fact. The author of this report is caught by the West’s own propaganda.
(* B K P)
Sardinische Bomben im Jemen, Rwm-Führer untersucht
Das Gericht von Rom verzeichnet den Generaldirektor und zwei ausländische Beamte im Ermittlungsregister
Ein tödlicher Kreislauf zwischen Dollars, Öl und Waffen, bei dem die Perversion des Reichtums zum Völkermord wird.
Diese Bombenreste und ein Aufhängering haben einen Namen und einen Nachnamen: Rwm Italia SpA, das von den Deutschen kontrollierte Unternehmen Waffenhersteller Rheinmetall AG mit Sitz in Südsardinien, direkt an den Hängen von Marganai, auf der Verwaltungsinsel des Iglesias-Gebiets, unter der Ägide der Gemeinde Domusnovas. Der Deal ist, Ihre Haut zum Kriechen zu bringen. Reiche Deutsche verkaufen diese Bomben an wohlhabende saudische Emire. Bomben im Wert von 400 Millionen Euro.
Deutschland kratzt sich für sein Rüstungsgeschäft aber lieber nicht am Gewissen. Die Bomben, die den Jemen verwüstet und so viele unschuldige Menschen getötet haben, produzieren die Deutschen im armen Sulcis, auf ein Flimmern reduziert, gezwungen, sich an eine tödliche Waffenfabrik zu klammern, mit bescheidenen Zwischenverträgen, provisorisch so wenig und ohne saftige Entschädigung. Die Saudis hingegen, die reichen Öl-Emire, werfen die von den reichen Deutschen gekauften Waffen aus Südsardinien auf die armen Dörfer des Jemen. Sie zielen auf Krankenhäuser, Schulen, Minibusse voller Kinder und Zivilisten ab. Alles ungestraft.
https://www.unionesarda.it/de/sardinien/sardinische-bomben-im-jemen-rwm-fuhrer-untersucht-n4s48tv6
cp13b Kulturerbe / Cultural heritage
(B C)
Photo: #SFDheritage work to maintain deteriorating UNIQUE houses & public places in #Yemen is part of a rebirth of historical cities in the current conditions Final touches restoring the originality of a historical house @ #Aden This work is partnered w/ @EUinYemen, @UNESCO_GCCYemen
https://twitter.com/SFDYemen/status/1489293291845820421
(C)
Photo: Historic Beit Bose Fort A village located in southwest of #Sanaa, and its construction dates back to the 18th century BC. There are Himyarite inscriptions indicating that the builder of this fort was the Himyarite King Dhi Bos bin Earl bin Sharhabeel
https://twitter.com/GhalebM0nz1i7/status/1489313241452924934
(* B C P)
Geschichte des Judentums im Jemen
https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geschichte_des_Judentums_im_Jemen
(* B C P)
Yemenite Jews
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yemenite_Jews
cp13c Wirtschaft / Economy
Siehe / Look at cp1
(B E)
EU-OECD Project on Promoting Economic Resilience in Yemen
Considered the poorest country in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, seven years of conflict have left Yemen’s economy with a myriad of challenges. The civil war has caused widespread damage to vital economic infrastructure, severely limited food and fuel imports, accelerated inflation and halted Yemen’s exports.
The collapse of the Yemeni economy, combined with the impact of the war on the rapidly growing population, is severe. Enabling vital central economic institutions, such as the Central Bank of Yemen or the Ministry of Finance, to function effectively and coherently, represents a precondition for economic recovery and macro-economic stability. Engaging these institutions in a targeted capacity building exercise is crucial to rebuild a viable and resilient economy.
The need for economic reconstruction requires developing a vibrant private sector. Apart from income-generation and job creation, the private sector provides the delivery of important goods and services. This is of critical importance to improved food security and nutrition in Yemen. Enabling the private sector to become more resilient can manifest in communities becoming better able to deal with risks and shocks by increasing economic self-reliance.
https://www.oecd.org/mena/competitiveness/promoting-economic-resilience-in-yemen/
(* B E K)
Yemen: the cumulative economic losses since the war broke out seven years ago have been estimated at $126 billion, the Planning and International Cooperation Minister has revealed.
https://twitter.com/FuadRajeh/status/1488770281523093507
(A E P)
Canadian gas company suspends operations in Yemen over security concerns
Canadian gas company Calvalley Petroleum has suspended its operations and exploration in Yemen's Hadramout province over security concerns, according to a report.
The company confirmed a Jan. 17 notice to staff and contractors stating the suspension of activities in block 9, citing production and transportation disruption since Dec. 14 from checkpoints outside the company's gate and roadblocks, Reuters reported.
"The company will not be resuming its production and development operations until solutions are found to the deteriorating security conditions," the firm said in an emailed response to Reuters.
Previously, the Mary River Mine sent all Nunavummiut workers home after six employees tested positive for COVID-19 shortly after arriving on-site just before 2021 ended.
Tribal members in Hadramout in South Yemen had blocked roads. This is in protest of several issues, power outages, unpaid public sector wages and the province's share of oil sales, Reuters reported, citing a Jan. 25 letter by local authorities on Facebook.
Hadramout is under the control of the internationally-recognized government that is backed by a Saudi-led coalition
cp14 Terrorismus / Terrorism
(* B T)
Wikipedia: Al-Qaeda insurgency in Yemen
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Qaeda_insurgency_in_Yemen
(A T)
Al-Qaeda executes Sudanese officer in Yemen
Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) has executed a prominent leader of Sudanese origin, Sudan media reported.
The sources quoted Sudanese members of the organization as saying that al-Qaeda issued a death sentence against leader Rashad Qureshi Osman, who was called Abu Trab Al-Sawdani”, to be executed.
Abu Tarb accused of masterminding the killing of “Nasser al-Wahishi” a senior leader in the organization in Yemen.
He is also accused of treason and being an agent for a foreign country.
https://en.ypagency.net/251926/ = https://hodhodyemennews.net/en_US/2022/02/02/al-qaeda-executes-sudanese-operative-working-for-saudi-arabia/
cp15 Propaganda
(A P)
Fighting in Yemen must de-escalate before talks can begin, U.S. diplomat says
LENDERKING: Well, unfortunately, I mean, there's been a whole pattern of attacks by the Houthis against Saudi Arabia and more recently the UAE. And Saudi Arabia, of course, is attacked on almost a daily basis. We saw more than 400 attacks against Saudi Arabia this past year, and that pattern is continuing. Saudi Arabia is viewed as - by the Houthis as an aggressor, despite the fact that the Saudis have offered, in March of last year, a cease-fire, a unilateral cease-fire.
INSKEEP: You said that the Saudis would like to bring this conflict to a conclusion, but it seems perhaps to have grown worse in recent years. Is that fair to say?
LENDERKING: I think it has grown worse, and that's for several reasons. One, I think the Iranians have found this a very convenient way to harass Saudi Arabia. And so they've put muscle into this conflict as well, and they've perpetuated it. And I think secondly, you have the fact that the Saudis have launched airstrikes into Yemen.
INSKEEP: You mentioned Iran. They have been accused of supporting the Houthi rebels, and it does seem that the Houthis have become more and more well-armed with ballistic missiles and with drones over time, right?
LENDERKING: No, that's true. And the Houthis are very creative in how they're able to assemble parts that are smuggled into Yemen from various sources. So the Iranians get a big bang for the buck from their support for the Houthis. And indeed, over time, their relationship with the Houthis has grown even stronger. What this points to, I think from our point of view, is the importance of de-escalation - to get the various parties to de-escalate and pivot to political talks.
https://text.npr.org/1077832465
My comment: This really is propaganda BS.
(A P)
Biden Has All The Evidence Needed To Redesignate Houthis
The Biden administration must reverse its policy and redesignate the Houthis as a terrorist organization. President Joe Biden has to listen carefully to what the major think tanks in Washington are saying, following careful studies, about the crimes of the Yemeni group. It is the duty of such researchers to locate the intellectual sources that indicate the impossibility of the Houthis not being classified as a terrorist outfit.
Many research institutes in Washington have passed important judgments about the Houthi menace. Collectively, they constitute a strategic opportunity for the US government to change the thinking that drove the Biden administration to last year remove the group’s name from the list of designated Foreign Terrorist Organizations, apparently because there is a need for the Houthis to distribute humanitarian assistance. How can humanitarian aid continue while the Houthis are stealing it?
Biden should not delegate condemning Iran and the Houthis, who are now also attacking the UAE, to his subordinates. He himself has to single them out as culpable for their crimes. Meanwhile, the Emirati government should start launching airstrikes from its Al-Dhafra airbase to destroy the missile launchers operated by the Houthis. The US president should discuss with the Pentagon how to endorse such defensive and necessary strategic moves by the UAE.
Ultimately, Biden and his team have to get rid of their yearning to sign a nuclear deal with Iran, as this is a sign of America’s weakness. Any new Iran deal would also beset the cooperation the US has spent decades cultivating with the UAE and Saudi Arabia. And it would encourage the Houthis to launch more missile attacks against these two important Arab countries.
(A P)
Houthi problem hidden in their misreading messages
The Houthi group's problem is hidden in their way of receiving and reading the positive messages sent to them directly and indirectly, commander of the Arab coalition joint Forces said Tuesday.
For instance, the Houthis misunderstood the coalition 8-month de-escalation and restraint, and so did with the US administration's decision removing them from terrorist lists, Gen Motlaq al-Ozaimie added
https://debriefer.net/en/news-28591.html
(A P)
The Middle East’s Conflicts Aren’t Done With the Emirates
Regardless of the proximate cause for the Houthi drone and missile attacks, they pose a significant dilemma for leaders in Abu Dhabi who seem caught between their active—even aggressive—foreign and defense policies of the past decade, and their current efforts to turn inward and focus on domestic development. Houthi belligerence also raises questions about the faddish idea in Washington that local actors can manage regional deescalation, freeing up the United States to deal with bigger global problems.
Still, a questionable human rights record and growing ties with China does not distinguish the UAE from almost every other country in the Middle East. That is not an excuse, but it is objective reality.
The Emiratis have also come in for a lot of criticism for the way in which they have thrown their weight—despite the UAE’s modest size—around the region over the last decade.
Yet for all the Emirates’ efforts to shape the region through an active foreign and national security policy, they have not been as successful as leaders in Abu Dhabi had hoped.
The Emiratis have not given up their profound antipathy for Islamists and have not exactly buried the hatchet with the Qataris. Yet the Emiratis have noticeably dialed back their foreign policy in favor of an emphasis on domestic development and economic statecraft aimed at gaining leverage with former foes and competitors using the financial resources at their disposal.
The Houthi attacks on Abu Dhabi threaten to disrupt the Emirati focus on internal affairs and financial diplomacy. It also puts the Emiratis in a bind. It is impossible for them not to respond to attacks on their major cities, including the capital, but they do not want to get sucked back directly into the Yemen conflict, which is almost certainly what the Houthis want.
If the Biden administration and members of Congress are serious about relieving the suffering of Yemenis, they must start making sure that the Iranian weapons pipeline comes to an end. Administration officials will also have to lean on the Omanis, who were supposed to be able to bring the Houthis along in negotiations, though at this point, officials in Muscat have been far too indulgent of them. Ultimately, the Houthis have to be denied cash and weapons, and should be isolated diplomatically.
If American policymakers are worried that their regional partners do not trust the United States and that Washington’s strategic position is eroding because countries are hedging with the Chinese, Yemen would be a good place to prove it otherwise – by Steven A. Cook
https://foreignpolicy.com/2022/01/26/the-middle-easts-conflicts-arent-done-with-the-emirates/ = https://www.cfr.org/article/middle-easts-conflicts-arent-done-emirates
My comment: This article paints a soft picture of UAE polica, trying to downplay the UAE aggressive foreign policy. And it still tells us the propaganda BS story of the US as policeman of the world.
(A P)
#Iran's regime provides at least $100 million each year to the Houthis in #Yemen.
https://twitter.com/LadyVelvet_HFQ/status/1487435744817958913
(A P)
Houthi/Iranian attacks on the UAE are a response to losses in Yemen
Incensed by recent government gains, the Iranians seek to intimidate the UAE into reversing course. At this juncture, it is therefore vital that both the United States and—through quieter channels—Israel offer explicit support for the UAE’s cause.
The return of the Houthis to the U.S. list of designated terror organizations and the resumption of active support for coalition efforts in Yemen would be helpful first steps.
https://www.jns.org/opinion/houthi-iranian-attacks-on-the-uae-are-a-response-to-losses-in-yemen/
(A P9
Saudi Arabia Supports UN Envoy's Efforts to Reach Comprehensive Political Solution in Yemen
The Saudi government stressed on Tuesday its support to the efforts of United Nations envoy to Yemen, Hans Grundberg, in reaching a comprehensive political solution to the crisis in the country.
(A P)
More Saudi coalition „We are benefactors“ propaganda
http://en.adenpress.news/news/34467
https://www.spa.gov.sa/viewfullstory.php?lang=en&newsid=2326806
https://www.spa.gov.sa/viewfullstory.php?lang=en&newsid=2326753
https://www.spa.gov.sa/viewfullstory.php?lang=en&newsid=2326750
http://en.adenpress.news/news/34466
https://www.spa.gov.sa/viewfullstory.php?lang=en&newsid=2326178
https://www.spa.gov.sa/viewfullstory.php?lang=en&newsid=2325864
https://www.spa.gov.sa/viewfullstory.php?lang=en&newsid=2325855
cp16 Saudische Luftangriffe / Saudi air raids
Tägliche schwere Luftangriffe der Saudi-Koalition vor allem auf militärische Ziele in den Provinzen Marib, Shabwa, Jawf, Al Bayda, Sanaa.
Heavy air raids on a daily basis, mainly on miltary targets in Marib, Shabwah, Jawf, Al Bayda and Sanaa provinces.
(A K pH)
Saudi-led coalitions strikes Yemen's Sanaa airport
According to some news sources, the Saudi-led coalitions targeted Yemen’s Sanaa International Airport on Friday night.
The Saudi-led coalitions have bombarded Yemen's Sanaa airport four times on Friday night, Elnashra reported.
https://en.mehrnews.com/news/183582/Saudi-led-coalitions-strikes-Yemen-s-Sanaa-airport
and also https://www.saba.ye/en/news3174297.htm
(A K pH)
Aggression targets capital Sana'a again
https://www.saba.ye/en/news3174256.htm
and also https://en.ypagency.net/252143/
Photo: https://twitter.com/AhmadAlgohbary/status/1489564005123465218
(A K pH)
Aggression warplanes launch four raids on Capital Sana'a
https://www.saba.ye/en/news3174203.htm
and also https://en.ypagency.net/252132/ = https://hodhodyemennews.net/en_US/2022/02/04/new-series-of-saudi-emirati-airstrikes-target-sanaa-2/
and
(A K)
Air raids at Sanaa, Feb. 4 in the early morning
Film: The US-UK-UAE-Saudi-led aggression launched 2 raids on the #Al_Nahdin area in the #Al_Sabeen district of the capital and a raid on Sanaa airport. #Yemen 3:41AM Still hovering
https://twitter.com/A7medJa7af/status/1489398956094337024
(A K pS)
Arab Coalition conducts 14 targeted strikes in Yemen in 24 hours
(A K)
Saudi-led airstrikes kill 7 Houthi militants in SW Yemen
http://www.news.cn/english/20220204/fba7ded69207474ebc16b0837080ddbf/c.html
(* B K pH)
Coalition cluster bombs leave 3,841 civilians dead, wounded in Yemen
The US-backed Saudi-led coalition’s cluster bombs have left more than 3,841 civilians dead and wounded, including women and children, during the last period in Yemen.
The National Program for Mine Action confirmed that the Monitoring and Documentation Department in the program monitored the various destructive effects of cluster bombs, which destroyed more than 809 farms and thousands of tons of agricultural crops, in addition to 547 grazing areas.
In tweets posted on Twitter, monitored by the Yemeni Press Agency, the program indicated that approximately 150 civilian casualties were killed and injured during the recent period by cluster bombs in Hodeida province.
The program described the spread of cluster bombs in the Hodeida districts as a disaster, considering it a stricken province. It pointed out that it has not received any supplies to mark dangerous areas until today.
https://en.ypagency.net/251949/ = https://hodhodyemennews.net/en_US/2022/02/02/saudi-use-of-cluster-munitions-in-yemen-killed-and-wounded-over-3000-civilians-recently/
My comment: It seems to be strange that especially in Hodeidah province the Houthis themselves have deliberately planted many thousands of landmines – are there “bad” and “good” explosive devices and does the Houthi “National Program for Mine Action” removes the ones and plant the others??
(A K pH)
Coalition launches five airstrikes on Yemen’s capital Sanaa
https://en.ypagency.net/252025/
and
(A K)
#Sana'a: 5 airstrikes by Saudi& UAE coalition warplanes on Al-Nahdin area in the Al-Sabeen district of the capital Sana'a
https://twitter.com/Mohammedalbokh5/status/1489016810263490562
Warplanes target the presidential palace complex in Al-Nahdain area and the vicinity of 48 Hospital, south of the capital.
https://twitter.com/GhalebM0nz1i7/status/1489012998203224067
An intense Saudi coalition bombing of Yemen capital Sana'a for the past few hours. The fighter jets are still roaring overhead
https://twitter.com/Shuaibalmosawa/status/1489011731644960774
Films: https://twitter.com/KawkabAlwaday/status/1489034143652405252
https://twitter.com/KawkabAlwaday/status/1489036918956380161
Photos: Fragments of flying missiles reach the homes of the surrounding citizens from the presidential house in Al-Sabeen, south of the capital, #Sanaa
https://twitter.com/GhalebM0nz1i7/status/1489025792675831809
(A K pH)
Aggression targets telecom network in Shabwa
The US-Saudi-Emirati aggression warplanes on Wednesday launched raids on Shabwa province, a security official said. The official added the aggression's warplanes targeted the telecommunications network in al-Qandha'a area in Baihan district with 3 raids.
https://www.saba.ye/en/news3174055.htm
(* B K)
Film: Saudi-led Coalition Airstrike on Yemen Carried Out With US-Made Weapons – Amnesty International
Amnesty International has claimed to have obtained evidence that US-made weapons were used in the Saudi-led coalition’s latest airstrike on Yemen, which was carried out shortly after the Congress approved a $650mn arms sale to Riyadh, and despite Joe Biden’s election promise to end US support for the war.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7K5rINl3aZo
cp17 Kriegsereignisse / Theater of War
Siehe / Look at cp18
Im Jemen herrscht ein militärisches Patt. Eine größere Offensive mit größeren Erfolgen und Geländegewinnen für eine Seite bleiben seit der Offensive der saudischen Koalition gegen Hodeidah im Jahr 2018 aus. Kleinere Offensiven, ständige gegenseitige Angriffe und Gefechte mit Toten auf beiden Seiten und Opfern unter der Zivilbevölkerung gibt es aber ständig. Besonders betroffen sind die Provinzen Hodeidah, Taiz, Al Bayda, Al Dhalea, der Bezirk Nehm in der Provinz Sanaa, die Provinzen Al Jawf, Marib, Hajjah und Saada.
There is a military stalemate in Yemen. A larger offensive with greater successes and territorial gains for one side has been absent since the Saudi coalition's offensive against Hodeidah in 2018. Smaller offensives, constant mutual attacks and skirmishes killing fighters of both sides and causing victims among the civilian population are constant. The provinces of Hodeidah, Taiz, Al Bayda, Al Dhalea, the district of Nehm in the province of Sanaa, the provinces of Al Jawf, Marib, Hajjah and Saada are particularly affected.
(A K pH)
Saudi shelling kills, injures 5 in Sa'ada
Five citizens were killed or injured on Friday in Saudi enemy's fires in Sa'ada province, a security official said. The official added the Saudi army targeted citizens in the border area of al-Raqw with machine guns, killing 3 citizens and injuring 2 others.
https://www.saba.ye/en/news3174270.htm
and also https://en.ypagency.net/252202/ = https://hodhodyemennews.net/en_US/2022/02/05/three-civilians-killed-in-saudi-attacks-on-saada/
(A K)
Yemen Houthi leader admits retreat in Shabwa province
Leader of Yemen's Houthis group, Abdul-Malik Al-Houthi, has admitted that the group's forces are losing control over the Shabwa governorate, southeast of the country.
In a speech broadcasted by the group's Al Masirah news channel, Al-Houthi said: "In the past few weeks there have been some setbacks in Shabwa."
"However, this does not mean that our people have been defeated," he said
https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20220204-yemen-houthi-leader-admits-retreat-in-shabwa-province/
(B H K)
Yemen rebel attack on UAE brings tragedy to Indian families
Three of his colleagues from India and Pakistan were killed — years of work and accumulated opportunities put to an abrupt end.
One of them was Hardeep Singh. Newly married at 29, he had a bachelor’s degree in computing, enviable skills in the ancient Indian sport of Kabbaddi and dreams of joining his young wife in Canada.
“The house is empty,” Hardeep’s cousin Gagandeep Singh, who called him a brother, said from their village in the northern Indian state of Punjab. “He was our light, our loveable one.”
(A K pH)
Saudi artillery killes 2 citizens in Sa'ada
At least two citizens were killed and another was wounded by the Saudi enemy army's artillery shelling on the border districts of Sa'ada province.
A security official said that the Saudi enemy targeted Al-Thabet area in the border district of Qataber with artillery shells, which led to the death of a woman and the injuring of another.
The Saudi artillery also targeted Al-Raqwa area in the border district of Munabeh and left a man killed, according to the official.
https://www.saba.ye/en/news3174113.htm
https://hodhodyemennews.net/en_US/2022/02/03/two-civilians-killed-in-saudi-shelling-of-border-region/ = https://en.ypagency.net/252034/
(* B K P)
UAE-trained Giants put brakes on Yemen's Huthi rebels
The Giants Brigades was established in 2015 on Yemen's western coast after the Saudi-led coalition's intervention that same year.
According to Yemeni military sources, more than 30,000 fighters -- most of them former army personnel -- joined its ranks to repel a Huthi advance in the country.
The UAE, a member of the coalition with strong influence in the south of Yemen, began funding, training and arming the Giants, making them a critical component of the Emirati-backed Security Belt force tasked with protecting the south, according to Yemeni officials.
In 2019, the Emirates announced a redeployment from Yemen but remained an influential player.
"Emirati support is major military support," a Giants Brigades official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told AFP.
"It has backed the Giants in establishing and backing them with weapons, salaries, and in air and ground support military operations."
The brigades possess tanks, heavy artillery and other weapons.
Ahmed Nagi of the Malcolm H Kerr Carnegie Middle East Center said the Giants Brigades is considered one of the most "disciplined" forces of the coalition.
"It's good relationship with the coalition leadership... has given it the ability to succeed in many military operations," he told AFP.
Their entry into the Marib battle is "a new pressure tool used by the coalition".
The Giants announced on Friday it has begun withdrawing from Shabwa after having "com
https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20220203-uae-trained-giants-put-brakes-on-yemen-s-huthi-rebels = https://www.rfi.fr/en/middle-east/20220203-uae-trained-giants-put-brakes-on-yemen-s-huthi-rebels
(A K)
Film: Houthi Military Expert Brig.-Gen. Abdallah Al-Jafari: Our Missiles and Drones Will Reach Tel Aviv, Eilat Port, and Dubai’s Burj Khalifa and Expo 2020
https://twitter.com/MEMRIReports/status/1488812245110906882
(* A K)
Emirate fangen erneut „feindliche Drohnen“ ab
Die Vereinigten Arabischen Emirate haben nach Militärangaben drei „feindliche Drohnen“ abgefangen und zerstört. Die Drohnen hätten die Emirate am frühen Morgen ins Visier genommen, twitterte das Verteidigungsministerium am Mittwoch kurz vor Mitternacht. Sie seien „abseits besiedelter Gebiete“ abgefangen worden, hieß es.
Mein Kommentar: Auf deutsch sehr dürftig, mehr englischsprachig:
(* A K)
UAE says ‘hostile’ drones intercepted in 4th such attack
The United Arab Emirates intercepted several drones fired at the country Wednesday, the UAE military said, the fourth such attack on the federation in recent weeks.
A little-known group that previously claimed a January 2021 attack targeting a palace in Saudi Arabia said it was responsible, an assault that authorities believe came from Iraq. That raises the possibility the Emirates now is being targeted from its north and south after three recent attacks launched by Yemen’s Iran-backed rebels.
The rebel Houthis have claimed responsibility for the past few drone and missile attacks on the UAE — strikes that have widened Yemen’s 7-year-old civil war and fueled regional tensions.
In a short statement just before midnight Wednesday on Twitter, the Emirati Defense Ministry said it had destroyed three “hostile drones” that targeted the UAE at dawn. It said the interception occurred “away from populated areas,” without elaborating.
The acknowledgement came several hours after an online account associated with Awliya Wa’ad al-Haq, or “The True Promise Brigades,” claimed it had launched “four drones targeting vital facilities in Abu Dhabi.” The group said it launched the attack in retaliation for the Emirates’ policies in both Iraq and Yemen.
It wasn’t immediately possible to clarify the discrepancy in the number of drones allegedly used in the attack. The Emirati’s two-sentence statement also offered no details about the direction of the attack.
The group has threatened the Emirates in the past after its one known attack, a Jan. 23 attack last year on the Yamama Palace in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Both Iraqi and American officials believe that Saudi attack originated from Iraq.
https://en.ypagency.net/251982/ (with statement in Arabic)
and
(A K)
As it is clear in the statement,“The True Promise Brigades” is a liberation movement from the people of the Arabian Peninsula, not an Iraqi organization.They are from the regions of the Arabian Peninsula. As for where their strongholds are concentrated and from where their strikes are launched, these are details imposed by the nature of the existing situation. (document in Arabic)
https://twitter.com/GhalebM0nz1i7/status/1489021802324148224
and
(A K P)
Houthi military spokesman praises attack by little-known group against UAE
Yemen's Houthi military spokesman praised on Thursday a drone attack on the United Arab Emirates that was claimed by the little-known group "True Promise Brigades", AlMasirah TV reported.
(B K P)
Who is the shadowy Iraqi militia that attacked the UAE?
True Promise Brigades, a little-known Iraqi group, claimed responsibility for the latest in several attacks on the UAE.
According to the Washington Institute for Near-East Policy, the True Promise Brigades has ties to Iraq’s Kataib Hezbollah, or Hezbollah Brigades, an Iran-backed group listed by the US as a “terrorist organisation”.
The Washington-based think-tank also said the group could be under the direct control of Iran’s elite Quds Force, whose former commander Qassem Soleimani was killed in a US air attack on Baghdad airport in January 2020.
The media channel of True Promise Brigades, which rarely posts content, was mainly active during the attack it claimed on Saudi Arabia last year and following Wednesday’s attack on the UAE. Its content and posts are usually disseminated by larger Iran-affiliated militia media channels.
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/2/3/true-promise-brigades-iraqi-militia-attacks-uae
(A K)
Huge blasts heard in Yemen's Marib
Massive blasts rang the Yemeni northeastern governorate of Marib on Tuesday.
The violent explosions were heard in quarters populated with locals and internally displaced persons, local residents said.
Local sources attributed the blasts to the fall of three ballistic missiles fired by the Houthi group at Marib city. No casualties were reported.
https://debriefer.net/en/news-28595.html
(A K pS)
Al-Amalika: Demining operations continue in Shabwa
The engineering teams of The Southern Brigades of Al-Amalika (the Giants) successfully secured and dismantled minefields in large areas of Bihan districts in the western parts of Shabwa, in addition to Marib's district of Harib after driving out the Iran-backed Houthi militia.
http://en.adenpress.news/news/34450
Film: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xuetCxM3n3I
(A K P)
US military fired missiles during Yemen Houthi attack on UAE
The U.S. military launched interceptor missiles during an attack by Yemen’s Houthi rebels that targeted the United Arab Emirates during a visit by Israel’s president, the second-such time American troops have opened fire, officials said.
The acknowledgement by the White House and Pentagon late Monday represent a widening American involvement in Yemen’s yearslong war, a conflict that President Joe Biden declared nearly a year ago “has to end.”
While the U.S. has ended offensive support to the Saudi-led coalition fighting on behalf of Yemen’s exiled government, their involvement in defending the UAE comes as the rebel Houthis have declared Al-Dhafra Air Base in Abu Dhabi a target. Al-Dhafra hosts some 2,000 American troops and has served as a major base of operations for everything from armed drones to F-35 stealth fighters.
Speaking from the White House, press secretary Jen Psaki said the U.S. military “responded to an inbound missile threat on the UAE.
“This involved the employment of Patriot interceptors to ... (support) efforts by the armed forces of the UAE,” Psaki said. “I would say we are working quite closely with them.”
and also https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/2/1/us-military-fired-missiles-during-yemen-houthi-attack-on-uae
(A K pH)
Film: Al-Jawf - Specific scenes to purify the series of Tabab al-Raba'a, the camp of Thebes name, and the sites of the hypocrites on the front of Dhahra
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MnVVwZaPNz0
and
(B K)
Yemen: Free Trucks to All as Houthis Give Us Best Combat Footage Since Vietnam, an Intel Drop
First of all….time to see real soldiers fight a real war in the desert. Even in Vietnam, over 90% of Americans that served did so as little more than tourists. Lying about war had not yet become the art it became when we invaded Iraq and Afghanistan but, I can assure you, nothing told about Vietnam is remotely accurate…except maybe Platoon/ApocalypseNow or…this equally age restricted video, the trailer for Danger Close: The Battle of Long Tan
cp18 Kampf um Hodeidah / Hodeidah battle
Seit dem Abkommen von Stockholm vom 13. Dezember 2018 gibt es einen Waffenstillstand für Hodeidah. Zwar bleiben größere Offensiven aus, kleinere Gefechte gibt es aber laufend, und beide Seiten werfen sich ständig Verstöße gegen den Waffenstillstand vor.
Since the Stockholm Agreement of December 13, 2018, a ceasefire has been in place for Hodeidah. There are no major offensives, but smaller battles are ongoing and both sides constantly are accusing each other of violating the ceasefire.
(A K)
Landmine kills 2 children in Yemen's Hudaydah
Two Yemeni children were killed on Thursday when a landmine exploded in the western coastal city of Hudaydah, said an observatory for documenting mines victims.
The Yemeni Landmine Monitor said Muhammad Omar Mujahisi and Muhammad Ali Mujahisi were killed while they were grazing livestock in the village of al-Jaruba.
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/middle-east/landmine-kills-2-children-in-yemens-hudaydah/2493561
(A K P)
Coalition tries to explode situation in Hodeida: Houthis
The Saudi-led coalition tries to trigger military clashes in Hodeida, Houthi senior negotiator in the joint Redeployment Coordination Committee (RCC) said Tuesday, despite the Stockholm Agreement imposing ceasefire in the Yemeni western governorate.
The Houthi group fears the Arab coalition seeks to explode the situation militarily, putting the Stockholm pact at jeopardy of full collapse, Gen Ali al-Moushiki added at his meeting with head of the UN Mission to Support the Hodeida Agreement (UNMHA), Gen Michael Perry.
https://debriefer.net/en/news-28589.html
cp19 Sonstiges / Other
(A E)
Gulf shares fall after Houthis attacks intercepted
Most major indexes in the Gulf fell in early trade yesterday, with the Dubai index declining the most after the United Arab Emirates intercepted another attack by the Houthis, the third since the beginning of the year.
https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20220201-gulf-shares-fall-after-houthis-attack-intercepted/
(? B H)
Socotra, an extraordinary island overtaken by the war in Yemen
Several threats weigh on the incredible biodiversity of the island of Socotra: global warming and the war in Yemen. (paywalled)
Vorige / Previous:
https://www.freitag.de/autoren/dklose/jemenkrieg-mosaik-786-yemen-war-mosaic-786
Jemenkrieg-Mosaik 1-786 / Yemen War Mosaic 1-786:
https://www.freitag.de/autoren/dklose oder / or http://poorworld.net/YemenWar.htm
Der saudische Luftkrieg im Bild / Saudi aerial war images:
(18 +, Nichts für Sensible!) / (18 +; Graphic!)
http://poorworld.net/YemenWar.htm
http://yemenwarcrimes.blogspot.de/
Liste aller Luftangriffe / and list of all air raids:
http://yemendataproject.org/data/
Untersuchung ausgewählter Luftangriffe durch Bellingcat / Bellingcat investigations of selected air raids:
Untersuchungen von Angriffen, hunderte von Filmen / Investigations of attacks, hundreds of films:
