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US-Assisted Wahhabi Bombings of Yemen are “Devastating”: UN
US-Assisted Wahhabi Bombings of Yemen are “Devastating”: UN
The UN Secretary General stated Thursday that Saudi bombings of Yemen, which are assisted and coordinated by the US, “are having a devastating impact on humanitarian aid efforts and are in violation of the laws of war.”
While noting that fighters within Yemen are also committing war-crimes – ISIS, for example, has been able to establish a presence in the country thanks to the Saudi campaign – the UN has “been particularly critical of the Saudi air strikes”, for which the “United States is providing aerial refueling and intelligence” from within and outside the Saudi-Wahhabi dictatorship’s territory, as well asrescuing Saudi pilots: “U.S. military assets ha[ve] been used to rescue two Saudi pilots” – McClatchy. (The US also evacuated its own government staff.)
While 8 countries, including India, China, and Russia, have carried out missions to rescue thousands of their civilian nationals, as well as foreign nationals and some Americans from the Yemen war zone, the Obama regime, recalling Bush’s treatment of hurricane Katrina refugees, refuses to evacuate any of the3 to 4,000 US civilians trapped in Yemen, despite US-lawsuits calling on Obama to do so.
The UN said that “more than 1,200 people have been killed in the past six weeks of fighting and that 300,000 have fled their homes.”
Antiwar.com reports that US-backed Saudi aggression “has provided an opportunity for AQAP [al Qaeda] and ISIS to gain ground”, as the Houthis, a domestic Yemeni movement opposed to al Qaeda, had previously prevented the Saudi-supported groups from gaining a foothold.
Why Is Washington Supporting Saudi Arabia’s Massacre In Yemen?
Why Is Washington Supporting Saudi Arabia’s Massacre In Yemen?
For a month now, the Saudi air force has been bombing Yemen to reverse a takeover of that nation of 25 million by Houthi rebels, and reinstall a president who fled his country and is residing in Riyadh.
The Saudis have hit airfields, armor and arms depots, and caused a humanitarian catastrophe. Nearly 1,000 dead, 3,500 wounded and tens of thousands homeless. The poorest nation in the Arab world is near collapse. Dependent upon imported food, Yemen faces malnutrition and starvation.
And the United States has been an accomplice in the Saudi bombing of Yemen.
Why? Why is Yemen’s civil war America’s war?
What did the Houthis ever do to us?
While they bear us no love, their Houthi rebellion was an uprising against a pair of autocrats who had been imposed upon them, and against al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula.
The Houthis’ main enemy, AQAP, is America’s worst enemy.
Why are we then making ourselves de facto allies of al-Qaida?
For while the Saudis have been bombing the Houthis, easing the pressure on al-Qaida, AQAP effected a prison break of 270 inmates, including scores of terrorists, and seized the port of Mukalla.
The Saudis claim the Houthi rebellion is part of an Iranian Shiite scheme to overrun and dominate the Sunni Middle East.
But Pakistan is not buying it, and not sending troops. The Egyptians seem reluctant to enlist. Nor is there hard evidence Iran armed or incited the Houthis who have been fighting for years. Tehran reportedly advised the rebels not to take the city of Aden, and is calling for a ceasefire and peace talks.
Saudi propaganda portrays the Middle East as caught up in a great Muslim struggle, with a Shiite Crescent led by Iran seeking to swallow up the Sunni states.
…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…
Chaos In Yemen: Chinese Troops Arrive As US-Armed Rebels Set Sights On Central Bank
Chaos In Yemen: Chinese Troops Arrive As US-Armed Rebels Set Sights On Central Bank
Iranian-backed Houthi rebels are now in control of the central Crater district in the key Yemeni port city of Aden despite a seventh consecutive day of bombing raids by the Saudi-led coalition which is keen on preventing the city from falling. Aden is the second largest city in the country with a population of some 800,000 and as noted by The Guardian, is “the last major holdout of fighters loyal to the Saudi-backed President Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi.” Residents have reported the presence of tanks, sniper fire, and patrolling Houthi fighters as the militia moves closer to exerting complete control over the city.
Via The Guardian:
Residents of Aden’s central Crater district said Houthi fighters and their allies were in control of the neighbourhood by midday on Thursday, deploying tanks and foot patrols through its otherwise empty streets after heavy fighting in the morning.It was the first time fighting on the ground had reached so deeply into central Aden. Crater is home to the local branch of Yemen’s central bank and many commercial businesses.
“People are afraid and terrified by the bombardment,” one resident, Farouq Abdu, told Reuters by telephone from Crater. “No one is on the streets – it’s like a curfew“.
Another resident said Houthi snipers had deployed on the mountain overlooking Crater and were firing on the streets below. Several houses were on fire after being struck by rockets, and messages relayed on loudspeakers urged residents to move out to safer parts of the city, he said.
…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…
Another Middle East War Breaks Out: US-Supported Saudi Arabia Begins Bombing Yemen, Tanks Cross Border
Another Middle East War Breaks Out: US-Supported Saudi Arabia Begins Bombing Yemen, Tanks Cross Border
UPDATE: US providing support to Saudi Arabia – US Official (so US weapons are being used on both sides)
Earlier today we reported that, on very short notice, Saudi Arabia had moved heavy military equipment including artillery to areas near its border with Yemen, “raising the risk that the Middle East’s top oil power will be drawn into the worsening Yemeni conflict.” In other words, Saudi Arabia was preparing for war.
Shortly thereafter, but before Yemen’s president bravely fled the country over fears of the Houthi rebel advance, Yemen’s foreign minister called for Arab military intervention against advancing Shiite rebels.
As we explicitly warned, “the conflict risked spiraling into a proxy war with Shi’ite Iran backing the Houthis, whose leaders adhere Shi’ite Islam, and Saudi Arabia and the other regional Sunni Muslim monarchies backing Hadi.”
Moments ago all these warnings were borne out when Al-Arabiya reported that the latest middle-east war is now official after Saudi Arabia and Arab Gulf States had launched a bombing campaign against Yemen.
More details:
…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…
Yemeni Houthi fighters fire on protesters after clashes kill 26
Yemeni Houthi fighters fire on protesters after clashes kill 26
(Reuters) – Tens of thousands of Yemenis demonstrated in several cities on Saturday against the rule of the Shi’ite Muslim Houthi movement whose gunmen fired on protesters in the central town of Ibb and wounded four, medics said.
It was the second day of nationwide demonstrations against the Iranian-backed Houthis in less then a week after its dissolution of parliament this month unraveled security and sent Western and Arab embassies packing.
Activists said they were enraged by the death on Saturday of Saleh al-Bashiri, who they say was detained by gunmen as they broke up an anti-Houthi protest in Sanaa two weeks ago and was released to a hospital with signs of torture on his body on Thursday. There was no immediate comment from the Houthis.
Yemen’s upheaval has drawn international concern as it shares a long border with top world oil exporter Saudi Arabia, and the country is also fighting one of the most formidable branches of al Qaeda with the help of U.S. drone strikes.
Heavy clashes between Houthi fighters and Sunni Muslim tribesmen fighting alongside Al Qaeda militants in the southern mountainous province of al-Bayda on Saturday killed 16 Houthi rebels along with 10 Sunni tribesmen and militants, security officials and tribal sources told Reuters.
The state faces collapse in impoverished, strife-torn Yemen two weeks after the Houthis took formal control of the country and continued an armed push southward.
…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…
Yemen Is On The Brink Of Civil War, Says UN Envoy
Yemen Is On The Brink Of Civil War, Says UN Envoy
CAIRO, Feb 12 (Reuters) – The United Nations’ special envoy to Yemen, Jamal Benomar, has warned that the country is on the brink of civil war and accused all sides of contributing to the political and economic turmoil.
Yemen is slipping further into chaos as the Houthis, an Iranian-backed Shi’ite Muslim militia from the north, consolidate their grip on power after seizing the capital in September and sidelining the central government.
The fighters have been advancing into southern territories, confronting Sunni Muslim tribesmen, other groups and the local branch of al Qaeda.
“We believe the situation is very dangerous. Yemen is on the brink of civil war,” Benomar said in an interview with television channels al Arabiya and al-Hadath late on Wednesday.
Al Qaeda-affiliated fighters seized an army base in southern Yemen and held soldiers prisoner on Thursday. The United States, Britain and France have closed their embassies in Sanaa, citing security concerns.
Benomar said Yemen’s economy was facing imminent collapse and called for more dialog to reach a peaceful settlement.
…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…
