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Yemen: Coup d’État (?) - Rebels storm presidential palace

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Shiite Rebels Shell Yemen President's Home, Take Over Palace

Yemen's powerful Shiite Houthi rebels shelled the residence of the country's embattled president Tuesday and simultaneously swept into the presidential palace in the capital, Sanaa, as a top military commander warned that a full-fledged "coup" was underway.

The dramatic development put the U.S.-backed Hadi into a precarious position and represented the starkest challenge to his authority since the Houthis swept into Sanaa from their northern stronghold and seized the capital in September.

At the same time, Houthi rebels also raided the president's offices, sweeping into the presidential palace and looting the grounds' arms depots, according to Col. Saleh al-Jamalani, the commander of the Presidential Protection Force that guards the palace.

"This is a coup. There is no other word to describe what is happening but a coup," al-Jamalani told The Associated Press, adding that the rebels were likely aided by insiders.

Reforming the commission has long been overdue and was part of a U.N.-brokered peace deal following the Houthis' capture of Sanaa.

The Houthis accuse Hadi of violating that deal by calling in the current members of the commission to a meeting days ago, prompting the rebels to retaliate and abduct his top aide, Ahmed bin Mubarak, and setting the wheels in motion for the latest violence.

The weakening of Hadi, a top U.S. ally, also undermines efforts by America and its allies to battle al-Qaida's Yemeni affiliate, which claimed responsibility for the attack on a Paris satirical magazine earlier this month. Washington has long viewed Al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, or AQAP as the Yemeni branch is known, as the global terror network's most dangerous affiliate.

The Houthis' blitz in Sanaa and expansionist aspirations in central Yemen, where Sunni tribesmen dominate, also threatens to transform the current conflict into a sharply sectarian one, pitting Sunnis against Shiites. Al-Qaida in Yemen, which has waged deadly attacks targeting both the Houthis and Hadi's forces, stands to benefit.

The Houthis are also seen by their critics as a proxy of Shiite Iran and are believed to be allied with former President Ali Abdullah Saleh, who ruled Yemen for more than three decades before he was ousted in 2012 after Arab Spring protests. The rebels deny any Iran links.

http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/yemeni-official-president-shiite-rebels-holding-talks-28341623

Some Background Infos (wikipedia):

In January 2009, the Saudi and Yemeni al-Qaeda branches merged to form Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP). Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula is based in Yemen, and many of its members were Saudi nationals who had been released from Guantanamo Bay.[217] Saleh released 176 al-Qaeda suspects on condition of good behaviour, but terrorist activities continued.

The Shia rebels accused Saudi Arabia of providing support to salafi groups to suppress Zaidism in Yemen.[218] Saleh's government used Al-Qaeda in its wars against the insurgent Houthis clan.

The U.S. launched a series of drone attacks in Yemen to curb a perceived growing terror threat due to political chaos in Yemen.[223] Since December 2009, U.S. strikes in Yemen have been carried out by the U.S. military with intelligence support from CIA.

The 2011 Yemeni revolution followed other Arab Spring mass protests in early 2011. The uprising was initially against unemployment, economic conditions, and corruption, as well as against the government's proposals to modify the constitution of Yemen so that Saleh's son could inherit the presidency.

After the elections in February 2012 President Ali Abdullah Saleh stepped down after 34 years in government, with Mansur Hadi there was hope for more democracy and a balancing effect on the counterparty. He proved, however, unsuitable for this purpose [31] and soon lost control of his power. Some generals fighting since 2013 with their troops on their own. [32]

Shiite Houthi, comming from the north, now collide with Al-Qaeda fighters from the coastal regions.

The central government tried in vain to control the situation. In the meantime, Sunni tribesmen allied with Al-Qaeda against Shiite Houthi....

Edited by oxmox

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Yemeni Government Collapses as President and Prime Minister Resign

SANA, Yemen — The staunchly pro-American president of Yemen abruptly resigned Thursday night along with his prime minister and cabinet, leaving his Houthi opponents as the dominant force in a leaderless country.

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/23/world/middleeast/yemen-houthi-crisis-sana.html?_r=1

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There's a big confrontation between Sunni and Shia in middle East, this chess game between Arabia Saudi and Iran can end really bad...

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Well the Saudi Arabian King just died, I don´t expect his successor to do anything different though.

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Pentagon loses track of $500 million in weapons, equipment given to Yemen

The Pentagon is unable to account for more than $500 million in U.S. military aid given to Yemen, amid 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.

With Yemen in turmoil and its government splintering, the Defense Department has lost its ability to monitor the whereabouts of small arms, ammunition, night-vision goggles, patrol boats, vehicles and other supplies donated by the United States. The situation has grown worse since the United States closed its embassy in Sanaa, the capital, last month and withdrew many of its military advisers.

-->In a 2013 report, the U.S. Government Accountability Office found that the primary unclassified counterterrorism program in Yemen lacked oversight and that the Pentagon had been unable to assess whether it was doing any good.

Yemen’s government was toppled in January by Shiite Houthi rebels who receive support from Iran and have strongly criticized U.S. drone strikes in Yemen.

Yemen is estimated to have the second-highest gun ownership rate in the world, ranking behind only the United States, and its bazaars are well stocked with heavy weaponry.

The Pentagon and CIA have provided additional assistance through classified programs, making it difficult to know exactly how much Yemen has received in total.

-->Washington spent $25 billion to re-create and arm Iraq’s security forces after the 2003 U.S.-led invasion, only to see the Iraqi army easily defeated last year by a ragtag collection of Islamic State fighters who took control of large parts of the country.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/pentagon-loses-sight-of-500-million-in-counterterrorism-aid-given-to-yemen/2015/03/17/f4ca25ce-cbf9-11e4-8a46-b1dc9be5a8ff_story.html?hpid=z1

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UN envoy: Yemen on brink of civil war

Jamal Benomar warns UN Security Council that Yemen could become a conflict similar to Iraq, Syria or Libya.

Events in Yemen are pushing the country "to the edge of a civil war," the United Nations special envoy has warned, calling for all parties to resolve the escalating conflict peacefully as peace talks reach a stalemate.

Al Jazeera's Gabriel Elizondo, reporting from the UN headquarters in New York, said the UN diplomat's strongly worded statement included a warning that the situation was so grave that if no political solution is reached, "Yemen could turn into something of an Iraq-Libya-Syria combination".

Hadi also said regional Shia power Iran supported the Houthis, something also alleged by critics but denied by the rebels.

Sunni Gulf countries have lined up to support Hadi and have moved their embassies to Aden to back him against the Shia rebels. The US also backs Hadi.

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2015/03/envoy-yemen-brink-civil-war-150322212545073.html

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Hadi also said regional Shia power Iran supported the Houthis, something also alleged by critics but denied by the rebels.

Sunni Gulf countries have lined up to support Hadi and have moved their embassies to Aden to back him against the Shia rebels. The US also backs Hadi.

What did I tell you?

There's a big confrontation between Sunni and Shia in middle East, this chess game between Arabia Saudi and Iran can end really bad...

I'm smelling a military intervention of Arabia Saudi & minions in Yemen, to keep the Sunni area of influence.

(The Telegraph) Yemen is a battlefield for Saudi Arabia and Iran

(Reuters through Yahoo!) Saudi Arabia: Arabs will take action over Yemen if peace efforts fail

(PBS) Saudi Arabia promises to defend Yemen from rebel advance

(BBC) Yemen minister calls for Gulf military intervention

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Well it didn't take long:

(Vice News) Saudi Arabia Launches Airstrikes in Yemen as President Flees Amid Rebel Advance

(New York Times) Saudi Arabia Begins Air Assault in Yemen

(BBC) Saudi Arabia launches military operation in Yemen - envoy

---------- Post added at 05:02 ---------- Previous post was at 03:49 ----------

Update: Saudi Arabia isn't alone, all the GCC participated in the attack:

(Al Jazeera)Saudi and Arab allies bomb Houthi positions in Yemen

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Official statement from the WH:

Statement by NSC Spokesperson Bernadette Meehan on the Situation in Yemen

The United States strongly condemns ongoing military actions taken by the Houthis against the elected government of Yemen. These actions have caused widespread instability and chaos that threaten the safety and well-being of all Yemeni citizens.

The United States has been in close contact with President Hadi and our regional partners. In response to the deteriorating security situation, Saudi Arabia, Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) members, and others will undertake military action to defend Saudi Arabia’s border and to protect Yemen’s legitimate government. As announced by GCC members earlier tonight, they are taking this action at the request of Yemeni President Abdo Rabbo Mansour Hadi.

The United States coordinates closely with Saudi Arabia and our GCC partners on issues related to their security and our shared interests. In support of GCC actions to defend against Houthi violence, President Obama has authorized the provision of logistical and intelligence support to GCC-led military operations. While U.S. forces are not taking direct military action in Yemen in support of this effort, we are establishing a Joint Planning Cell with Saudi Arabia to coordinate U.S. military and intelligence support.

At the same time, the United States continues to closely monitor terrorist threats posed by al-Qa’ida in the Arabian Peninsula and will continue to take action as necessary to disrupt continuing, imminent threats to the United States and our citizens.

We strongly urge the Houthis to halt immediately their destabilizing military actions and return to negotiations as part of the political dialogue. The international community has spoken clearly through the UN Security Council and in other fora that the violent takeover of Yemen by an armed faction is unacceptable and that a legitimate political transition – long sought by the Yemeni people – can be accomplished only through political negotiations and a consensus agreement among all of the parties.

https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2015/03/25/statement-nsc-spokesperson-bernadette-meehan-situation-yemen

With the amount of countries getting involved, it seems like an answer by the GCC to curb Iran's growth throughout the region (i.e. Iraq). And something else more worrying is that with Pakistan joining the coalition, this might actually serve to convince the nutjob Mullahs in Tehran that getting nukes are even more necessary to deter Pakistan.

And something else slightly off-topic but I find ironic; the outcome of this proxy war between SA and Iran could be a potential precursor to the A3 storyline with Iran becoming the dominant power in the Middle East. #BohemiaPredictedTheFuture :)

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There's a big confrontation between Sunni and Shia in middle East, this chess game between Arabia Saudi and Iran can end really bad...

(German)

http://www.deutschlandfunk.de/der-krieg-im-jemen-mehr-als-ein-stellvertreterkrieg.694.de.html?dram:article_id=315606

http://www.deutschlandradio.de/text-und-audio-suche.287.de.html?search%5Bsubmit%5D=1&search%5Bword%5D=jemen

mostly very good background info - instead of the shallow iran vs saudi arabia narrative

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;2908504']mostly very good background info - instead of the shallow iran vs saudi arabia narrative

From your own link:

The current situation in Yemen is characterized by local conflicts' date=' said Günter Meyer, director of the Centre for Research on the Arab World, University of Mainz, in the DLF. And[b'] these national conflicts are embedded in the conflict between Saudi Arabia and Iran.[/b]
:rolleyes:

If you had check my previous links, you would have seen that is not a particularly shallow narrative...

For instance:

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If you read only that far, then you remain at your shallow level indeed.

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Perpetuating Chaos and Lawlessness in Middle East

Saudi Arabia’s Invasion of Yemen

Wednesday evening Adel Al-Jubeir, Saudi Arabia’s Ambassador to the United States announced that Saudi Arabia had commenced military operations against the Ansarullah fighters of the Houthi movement in Yemen. The Saudi intervention was not unexpected.

Over the last few weeks there were signs that the U.S. and the Saudi’s were preparing the ground for direct military intervention in Yemen in response to the Houthi’s seizing state power in January.

The appearance of a previously unknown ISIS element that was supposedly responsible for the massive bomb attack that killed over 130 people on Friday and the withdraw of U.S. personnel on Saturday were the clear signals that direct intervention by the Saudi’s was imminent.

The Saudi Ambassador cloaked the role of Saudi Arabia within the fictitious context of another grand coalition, this time led by the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) – the corrupt collection of authoritarian monarchies allied with the U.S. and the other Western colonial powers.

Ambassador Al-Jubeir announced that before launching operations in Yemen all of its allies were consulted. The meaning of that statement is that the U.S. was fully involved in the operation.

Even though the Ambassador stressed that the U.S. was not directly involved in the military component of the assault, CNN reported that an interagency U.S. coordination team was in Saudi Arabia and that a U.S. official confirmed that the U.S. would be providing logistical and intelligence support for the operation.

And what was the justification for launching a military operation not sanction by the United Nations Security Council?

According to the Saudi’s they have legitimate regional security concerns in Yemen. Their argument was that since they share a border with Yemen, the chaos that erupted over the last few months that culminated in what they characterize as a coup by the Houthi insurgency, forced them to intervene to establish order and defend by “all efforts†the legitimate government of President Hadi.

The intervention by the Saudi’s and the GCC continues the international lawlessness that the U.S. precipitated with its War on Terror over the last decade and a half. Violations of the UN Charter and international law modeled by the powerful states of the West has now become normalized resulting in an overall diminution of international law and morality over the last 15 years.

The double standard and hypocrisy of U.S. support for the Saudi intervention in Yemen and Western and U.S. condemnations of Russia’s regional security concerns in response to the right-wing coup in Ukraine will not be missed by most people.

U.S. and Saudi geo-strategic interest in containing the influence of Iran has trumped international law and any concerns about the lives of the people of Yemen, Syria, Iraq, Lebanon and Bahrain. Militarism and war as first options has now become commonplace as instruments of statecraft in an international order in which power trumps morality and law is only applied to the powerless.

http://www.counterpunch.org/2015/03/27/saudi-arabias-invasion-of-yemen/

---------- Post added at 03:20 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:16 PM ----------

Good article with interesting background info. The Iran vs Saudi Arabia is a point but its certainly not all....

More than just a proxy war (google transl.)

The current situation in Yemen is characterized by local conflicts' date=' said Günter Meyer, director of the Centre for Research on the Arab World, University of Mainz, in the DLF. And these national conflicts are embedded in the conflict between Saudi Arabia and Iran.[/i']

The union of the former states of North Yemen and South Yemen in 1990 had the effect that "the North has clearly discriminates the south," said Meyer in Germany radio.

The power of the southern parts had been considerably reduced since then, tensions with the central government in Sanaa therefore had never stopped.

Their rivalries are the main cause for the instability of the country, said Meyer.

The Islamic State has recently opened a "new dimension of violence". ". Al-Qaeda have always tried in the past to avoid violence in cooperation with the tribes - this does not happen any longer with the IS-terrorist militia.

It adds to the brutality of the central government against the Shiite Huthi.

No clear line of USA

These national struggles for power were "embedded in the conflict between Saudi Arabia and supremacy of the Sunnis and Iran as the dominance for Shiites".

--> But the fact that we are dealing with only a proxy war in Yemen, is put in the foreground by Saudi Arabia and its allies according to the Middle East expert.

Iran has always denied to intervene directly in Yemen. Although there are reports of arms shipments of Iran, Meyer admitted. However, this accounted for a fraction of the weapons that had been delivered by the United States into the country in the past and with which Houthi Rebels fighting now..

For the United States the situation was "highly problematic," said Meyer.

In the nuclear dispute with Iran Washington is seeking reconciliation with Tehran, but in Yemen they assistance the Sunnis against Iran. In addition Iraq Shiite militia is supported which are commanded by Iranian commanders.

From a geostrategic perspective no clear line is seen from the US.

Edited by oxmox

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;2908647']If you read only that far' date=' then you remain at your shallow level indeed.[/quote']

I know that it requires a lot of effort, but would you mind reading the links' content (not only the title), instead of parroting blindly the same thing over and over...

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Why Yemen Matters

The World's Greatest Oil Chokepoints

About half the world's oil production is moved by tankers on fixed maritime routes, according to Reuters. The blockage of a chokepoint, even temporarily, can lead to substantial increases in total energy costs and thus, these checkpoints are crucial to global energy security.

20150326_choke_0.jpg

With Bab el-Mandeb even more specifically problematic if Yemen tensions get too extreme...

6qy988p2.jpg

Source: JPMorgan

Edited by oxmox

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UN to consider pause in Yemen bombing as death toll rises (April 4th)

Valerie Amos, the UN aid chief, said on Thursday she was "extremely concerned" about the fate of civilians trapped in fierce fighting after aid agencies reported that 519 people had been killed and nearly 1,700 injured in two weeks.

The UN children's agency this week said at least 62 children had been killed and 30 injured over the past week in Yemen, and that more of them were being recruited as child soldiers.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/yemen/11515284/UN-to-consider-pause-in-Yemen-bombing-as-death-toll-rises.html

Yemen says Saudi airstrikes hit school, injuring students(April 7th)

Yemeni officials said Saudi airstrikes targeting a military base on Tuesday hit a nearby school, injuring at least a half dozen students.

The school, which is about 500 meters (one-third of a mile) from the base, was not the main target, the officials said. Schoolchildren were heading to their lunch break when the attacks took place, the officials said.

The incident was another example of what has become evident in recent days: The chaos in Yemen, now the scene of some of the most chaotic fighting in the Middle East, has left civilians -- noncombatants, both locals and foreigners -- caught in the crossfire.

At least 74 children are known to have been killed and 44 children maimed since the fighting began on March 26, UNICEF said Monday in a statement. That did not include the children reportedly killed Tuesday in Maitam.

16 million without electricity

The electricity has gone out on 16 million Yemenis living in Houthi-held areas, the Yemeni officials said.

Many fear they will lose access to clean water as well.

http://edition.cnn.com/2015/04/07/middleeast/yemen-crisis-houthis-saudi-arabia/

Edited by oxmox

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Fits to the post about the Oil Chokepoints, but its not only about Oil..........

Exclusive: Shipping lines pull back from Yemen as conflict escalates

International shipping lines are being forced to scale back or suspend port calls to

Yemen as the conflict gets worse, putting pressure on supplies of food as prices rise in local markets.

Yemen imports more than 90 percent of its food, including most of its wheat and all its rice, to feed a population of 25 million. Much of its needs had been serviced by foreign ships.

Fahd al-Dhabhani, a government employee from Sanaa added: "We are living a disaster from all sides. The price of wheat and flour have risen in a big way. There is no more petrol even on the black market."

Most ports appear to be under Houthi control or are disputed by combatants. Many shipping companies are now unwilling to risk their vessels, industry sources say.

The world's largest global shipping association, BIMCO, said: "If a port is taken/held by the Houthis and a ship is seen to be supplying the rebels, the ship could be at risk from air strikes or indeed naval action from the coalition."

"The port of Aden is virtually closed, but for some oil shipments which berthed at Aden Refinery. Dry cargo shipments have been stopped because no stevedores are available due to armed clashes," shipping and logistics agency GAC said.

So far, there have not been any major disruptions to the Bab el-Mandeb waterway off Yemen through which nearly 4 million barrels of oil are shipped daily to Europe, the United States and Asia.

Iran sent two warships to the Gulf of Aden this week to protect Iranian shipping. Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said air strikes by the Saudi-led coalition amounted to "genocide".

"Iran's warships are not likely going to initiate any hostilities, but could serve to run interference with warships of other navies that might attempt to prevent Houthi rebels onshore from resupplying," said Michael Frodl, of U.S. based consultancy C-Level Global Risks.

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Look into the importance of their decline in oil revenues, water and food situation and the conflict over distribution.

This way you will understanding the underlying issues way better and other ongoing conflicts.

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U.S. Navy warships deployed to Yemeni waters, could block Iranian weapons

A U.S. carrier battlegroup is repositioning to the Arabian sea in response to a deteriorating security situation in Yemen, but Pentagon officials denied reports that the move is designed to intercept Iranian ships.

Associated Press: WASHINGTON (AP) -- The U.S. Navy aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt is steaming toward the waters off Yemen to beef up security and join other American ships that are prepared to intercept any Iranian vessels carrying weapons to the Houthi rebels fighting in Yemen.

The Associated Press sent a breaking news alert reporting the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt is steaming toward the waters off Yemen to join other American ships prepared to intercept any Iranian vessels carrying weapons to the Houthi rebels fighting in Yemen

“Ships are repositioning to conduct maritime security operations, they are not going to intercept Iranian ships,†Col. Steve Warren, Pentagon spokesman, said.

When asked specifically about the reason for the move, Col. Warren told reporters that “the security situation in Aden is such that the combatant commander wanted his carrier over there.â€

The U.S. Navy has been beefing up its presence in the Gulf of Aden and the southern Arabian Sea amid reports that a convoy of Iranian ships may be headed toward Yemen to arm the Houthis.

“The purpose of these operations is to ensure the vital shipping lanes in the region remain open and safe,†the Navy said in a statement. “The United States remains committed to its regional partners and to maintaining security in the maritime environment.â€

--->* "We have seen evidence that the Iranians are supplying weapons and other armed support to the Houthis in Yemen. That support will only contribute to greater violence in that country. These are exactly the kind of destabilizing activities that we have in mind when we raise concerns about Iran's destabilizing activities in the Middle East."

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/apr/20/navy-officials-us-warship-heads-to-yemeni-waters-t/

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_UNITED_STATES_IRAN?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

Wonder if they aware that their own weapon supplies could lead to greater violence, inside the country or weapon sales to arab countries who are actually leading this attack....

Russia is using the same rethoric when it comes to the Ukraine.

Edited by oxmox

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Here is some real background information, if you really want to understand the context and whats going on (from most recommended to lesser):

TheRealNews

Proxy Morons: The Demolition of Yemen

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XW3uY4JM72k

Part 2 not available :(

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=veRcWChx6QQ

Article: http://www.menatidningen.se/english/proxy-morons-the-demolition-of-yemen

Houthi Fighters Pushed Out of Aden

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4bz_uRZHJo4

Houthi arms came from Saleh, not Iran

Why Saudis Derailed Imminent Yemen Deal with Airstrikes

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2lxSHVntj9U

More: http://therealnews.com/t2/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=841

---

Documentary: Frontline The Fight For Yemen

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Lk5o07trKM

More: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/frontline-fight-for-yemen/

---

Democracy Now: "From Bad to Worse": Hundreds Dead & 100,000 Displaced as Saudi-Led Strikes Push Yemen to the Brink

http://www.democracynow.org/2015/4/7/from_bad_to_worse_hundreds_dead

---

CaspianReport: Origins of the crisis in Yemen

---

PBS NewsHour: Why Saudi Arabia rolled back its Yemen military action

---

Vice News: Yemen: A Failed State (Sep 10, 2014)

---

Journeyman Pictures: Yemen's Secret War On Terror

The Yemen Option (2004): Behind the scenes of the real war against Al Qaeda

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Saudi Arabia used U.S.-supplied cluster bombs in Yemen (CNN;May 4th)

Human Rights Watch has accused Saudi Arabia of dropping U.S.-supplied cluster bombs in the fight against Houthi rebels in Yemen.

The particular cluster munition systems HRW said were used are CBU-105 Sensor Fuzed Weapons, which are guided bombs intended to take out tanks and other armored vehicles with a flurry of explosions spread out over an area.

Saudi Arabia has denied there are any coalition forces in Yemen and says there are only Yemeni forces that Saudi Arabia is supporting, according to Brig. Gen. Ahmed Asiri, a Saudi military spokesman. He told CNN Saudi Arabia has been using CBU-105 in Yemen against armored vehicles and not in the city.

"The (HRW) report itself defines the 105 as anti-vehicle weapons. We do not use it against persons. We don't have any operation in the cities. So the allegation which is in the report -- it is, I think it is not so solid."

Asiri also criticized the Human Rights Watch organization on how it obtains information, saying it is getting it from Houthi militia.

Human Rights Watch included video, marked-up satellite maps and photos in its report.

The video shows delivery devices falling from the sky by small parachutes then deploying its bombs with a burst of black smoke in midair. Shallow explosions spread over areas on the ground below. The images were shot by pro-Houthis in April, HRW said.

The human rights activists say the cluster munitions were dropped over northern Saada governorate, a Houthi rebel stronghold near Saudi Arabia. The satellite map shows the target area in the mountains above the villages of al-Ssam and al-Safraa.

About 5,000 people live in al-Safraa in times of peace, HRW said.

"Saudi-led cluster munition airstrikes have been hitting areas near villages, putting local people in danger," Steve Goose, the director of HRW's arms division, said in a statement. "These weapons should never be used under any circumstances."

The U.S. doesn't believe the Saudis are deliberately targeting civilians, but U.S. weapons are sold solely for the purpose of a nation' s self defense, a Defense Department official told CNN.

U.S. military involvement in supporting the Saudis has grown over the last several weeks

The U.S. calls for all sides to comply with international humanitarian law, the official said.

--> An international treaty against cluster bombs has been adopted by 116 countries, but the United States, Saudi Arabia and Yemen are not among them.

http://edition.cnn.com/2015/05/03/middleeast/yemen-hrw-cluster-munitions-saudi-arabia/index.html

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Is Yemen a Proxy War?

http://www.theglobalist.com/is-yemen-a-proxy-war/

The misinformed media incorrectly place the blame on Iran for Yemeni uprising.

---------- Post added at 09:37 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:12 PM ----------

http://foreignpolicy.com/2015/05/04/trying-to-save-people-without-selling-out-in-yemen/

“It’s guilt money,†the worker said, and “it doesn’t seem like they’re feeling all that guilty.â€

also very relevant to the developments in Yemen: "CaspianReport: King Salman’s palace coup and the Saudi royal politics"

Edited by .kju [PvPscene]

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VICE: Inside War-Torn Yemen: Sanaa Under Attack

CSIS: Yemen's Crisis - Head of Delegation in Yemen, International Committee of the Red Cross in discussion

The forgotten Arabia Felix: how to protect culture heritage in Yemen?’ given by Iris Gerlach, Head of Sanaa Branch Yemen, Deutsches Archäologisches Institut

Yemen War 2015 - Heavy Fighting Between Houthi Rebels And Saudi Arabian Army On The Saudi Border

Yemen Intense Saudi Arabia Airstrikes Compilation

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2UWQq7pXFl8

Interesting perspective on as evacuation of Indian and other nationals (bit too much praise and bla bla though)

Special Report - The Great Escape from Yemen (Part 1&2)

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