European Parliament is calling for arms embargo on Saudi Arabia. #Yemen
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EU Parliament adopts resolution calling for arms embargo against Saudi Arabia over Yemen
EU Parliament adopts resolution calling for arms embargo against Saudi Arabia over Yemen
The European Parliament has adopted a resolution calling for the introduction of an arms embargo against Saudi Arabia over its operation in Yemen, The Greens political group reported on its website.
The resolution calls for an EU-wide arms embargo against the country, until alleged breaches of international humanitarian law in Yemen have been investigated, the group wrote.
“The European Parliament’s call for an arms embargo on Saudi Arabia is unprecedented and reflects growing frustration at the conduct of war in Yemen by the Saudi Air Force. Saudi Arabia is a top arms client of the UK and France, and there is evidence that these weapons have been used in gross violations of international law in Yemen, where thousands of civilians have been killed since the start of the war in March 2015,” Greens/EFA foreign affairs spokesman Alyn Smith, who led efforts to get the amendment passed, said following the resolution’s adoption.
He added that there are “real grounds to believe that EU-made weapons systems are being exported to Saudi,” and called on EU foreign policy high representative Federica Mogherini to investigate how an arms embargo can be implemented.
Saudi Arabia has been lobbying to MEPs in an effort to prevent an arms embargo. The Saudi ambassador to Brussels, Abdulrahman al-Ahmed, sent a letter to parliamentarians on Sunday in which he pleaded with them not to vote for the amendment and defended his country’s military intervention in Yemen.
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Saudi warplanes attack Iranian embassy in Yemen – Iran
Saudi warplanes attack Iranian embassy in Yemen – Iran
Iran has accused Saudi Arabia of using warplanes to attack the Iranian embassy in the Yemeni capital Sana’a. Some guards were reportedly wounded in the attack, according to state news channel IRIB.
The Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen says it will investigate the accusation, according to coalition spokesman Brigadier General Ahmed Asseri, as cited by Reuters.
Asseri acknowledged that coalition jets carried out heavy airstrikes in Sana’a on Wednesday night, targeting missile launchers used by the Houthi militia. He added that the group has used civilian facilities, including abandoned embassies.
He said the coalition had requested that all countries supply the coordinates of their diplomatic missions, adding that accusations made on the basis of information provided by the Houthis “have no credibility.”
The Saudi-led coalition, which is supported by the US, is targeting Houthi rebels aligned with former President Ali Abdullah Saleh, who resigned in 2012 following a popular uprising against his rule.
The coalition has been heavily criticized for the way it conducts its airstrikes, and was accused of attacking a center for the blind in Yemen on Tuesday. It was also blamed for hitting a Doctors Without Borders hospital in Sanaa in December.
The instability in Yemen began during the Arab Spring protests in 2011. In 2014, Houthi Shiite rebels supported by pro-Saleh forces rose up and seized large territories in Yemen, including Sanaa.
The death toll from fighting in Yemen had reached 2,795 as of Tuesday, according to the UN. At least 81 people were killed in December alone.
The Thursday allegation came as Iran banned the import of all products made in Saudi Arabia. The decision was made in a cabinet meeting chaired by President Hassan Rouhani, according to Iranian student news agency ISNA.
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“Proxy” War No More: Qatar Threatens Military Intervention In Syria Alongside “Saudi, Turkish Brothers”
“Proxy” War No More: Qatar Threatens Military Intervention In Syria Alongside “Saudi, Turkish Brothers”
Earlier this week, Saudi foreign minister Adel al-Jubeir had the following message for Tehran:
“We wish that Iran would change its policies and stop meddling in the affairs of other countries in the region, in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Yemen. We will make sure that we confront Iran’s actions and shall use all our political, economic and military powers to defend our territory and people.”
In short, Riyadh and its allies in Doha and the UAE are uneasy about the fact that the P5+1 nuclear deal is set to effectively remove Iran from the pariah state list just as Tehran is expanding its regional influence via its Shiite militias in Iraq, the ground operation in Syria, and through the Houthis in Yemen.
Thanks to the fact that Tehran has more of an arm’s length relationship with the Houthis than it does with Hezbollah and its proxy armies in Iraq, the Saudis have been able to effectively counter anti-Hadi forces in Yemen without risking a direct conflict with Iran, but make no mistake, Sana’a is not the prize here. Yemen is a side show. The real fight is for the political future of Syria and for control of Iraq once the US finally packs up and leaves for good. Iran is winning on both of those fronts.
Over the last several weeks, we and others have suggested that one should not simply expect Washington, Riyadh, Ankara, and Doha to go gently into that good night in Syria after years of providing support for the various Sunni extremist groups fighting to destabilize the regime. There’s just too much at stake.
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US “Loses” $500 Million In Weapons Given To Yemen, Now In Al-Qaeda Hands
US “Loses” $500 Million In Weapons Given To Yemen, Now In Al-Qaeda Hands
Nobody could have possibly foreseen that yet another US foreign diplomacy “success story” would turn out to be an epic disaster. Well, nobody, except for those who accurately predict that every US intervention abroad is now a staggering fiasco (for everyone involved except the US military-industrial complex of course). As for Yemen, the outcome was clear long ago:
- Yemen’s US-Backed Government & President Resign
- Obama’s “Partners” In Yemen Overthrown As Presidential Palace Falls To Local Militiamen
- Deserted US Embassy In Yemen Immediately Seized By Armed Rebels
- The Coup Is Complete: US Embassy In Yemen Shutting Down, Ambassador To Leave By Wednesday
And, naturally, after noting that “the employees said that more than 20 vehicles were taken by the fighters after the Americans departed from Sanaa’s airport” we asked how long until we have a “tabulation of losses to US taxpayers, just like the great Islamic State ‘robbery’ of hundreds of millions in US military equipment in Iraq?” That, of course, was another epic US intervention success story.
Anyway, thanks to WaPo we have an answer: according to Jeff Bezos’ recent media acquisition, “the Pentagon is unable to account for more than $500 million in U.S. military aid given to Yemen.”
Obviously, “can’t account for” means “has lost.” But while the US does not know where nearly half a billion in weapons can be found, it is more than informed who is the current owner: there are“fears that the weaponry, aircraft and equipment is at risk of being seized by Iranian-backed rebels or al-Qaeda, according to U.S. officials.”
…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…
Yemen president quits amid worsening crisis
Yemen president quits amid worsening crisis
Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi quits along with Prime Minister Khaled Bahah as Houthi rebels consolidate grip on capital
Yemen’s President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi has quit along with his prime minister and cabinet, plunging the country into political crisis even as Houthi rebels consolidated their grip on the capital.
Hours after Hadi resigned, authorities in four provinces of Yemen’s formerly independent south, including its main city Aden, said they would defy all military orders from Sanaa.
The committee in charge of military and security affairs for Aden, Abyan, Lahej and Daleh, which is loyal to Hadi, condemned the “tragic events in Sanaa and the totally unacceptable demands made by the Houthis,” the Shia fighters who have controlled much of the capital since September.
Hadi’s resignation on Thursday came a day after he and Houthi rebels announced that they had reached an agreement to resolve the crisis gripping the country.
Government spokesman Rageh Badi said the cabinet headed by Prime Minister Khaled Bahah handed its resignation to Hadi on Thursday without providing further details, the AP news agency reported. Hadi then resigned shortly afterwards.
…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…
Yemen crisis explained
Yemen crisis explained
As Yemen plunges deeper into chaos, Al Jazeera Hashem Ahelbarra explains who the key players are in the conflict.
Recent fighting between Houthi rebels, who took control of the Yemeni capital in September, and the army has thrown the country deeper into chaos.
Hashem Ahelbarra, an Al Jazeera correspondent who has reported extensively from the country, explains what is at stake and who the key players are in the conflict.
What triggered the latest bout of violence?
Hashem Ahelbarra: When pro- Houthi militias abducted Ahmad Awad Bin Mubarak, the Yemeni president’s chief of staff, President Hadi gave orders to the army to take over the security of the capital. This was seen by the Shia Houthis as a government plot to dismantle their Popular Committees.
The committees are pro-Houthi militias which were deployed on the streets of the cities that were captured by the rebels last year. They set up checkpoints around government buildings, at the international airport of Sanaa and near the presidential palace.
The Houthis had initially agreed to pull out their fighters once a government was formed. They later backtracked saying that withdrawing their fighters from the capital would lead to more instability.
Who are the main players in Sanaa right now?
…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…
Five explosions rock Yemeni capital – Middle East – Al Jazeera English
Five explosions rock Yemeni capital – Middle East – Al Jazeera English.
Five bombs have exploded in Sanaa’s old quarter, where many supporters of the Shia Muslim Houthi group live, killing at least one person and wounding another, according to a Yemeni security official.
No one claimed responsibility for Tuesday’s attacks, but the Houthis have been fighting the Sunni Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) group and allied tribesmen since its fighters captured Sanaa in September and forced the resignation of the government.
Witnesses said the blasts occurred early in the morning at a time when only a few people were on the streets.
One of the bombs exploded when a member of the Houthi armed group tried to dismantle it, residents said.
Several houses and some cars were damaged by the explosions.
Yemen’s Houthi rebels storm governor’s house – Middle East – Al Jazeera English
Yemen’s Houthi rebels storm governor’s house – Middle East – Al Jazeera English.
Rebels continue their military advance, storming government buildings, as Iran comes out in support of their cause. |
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Houthi fighters withdrew from the town of Radaa, an al-Qaeda stronghold, which they seized on Friday [AP]
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| Yemen’s Houthi rebels have stormed the office and home of the governor of Sanaa, after blowing up the house of an Islamist politician in Ibb province, where they had agreed to a ceasefire with local tribesmen, officials said.
On Sunday, the rebels struck the house of a senior member of rival political group, the al-Islah party, in Yarim city, Ibb province, just hours after signing the truce, while Iran gave its public backing to the Houthis. In Sanaa, the Houthis also stormed government buildings, calling for the resignation of the governor, who they accuse of corruption. …click on the link above to read the rest of the article… |
