Yemen: Another Front

[Annie]

Many links, prayers needed:

http://armiesofliberation.com/archives/2005/07/20/huge-riots-in-yemen

7/20/2005

Huge Protests in Yemen

Twenty dead, hundreds injured, no photos allowed

Update:
Crowds then turned on the police and military with sticks and rocks. The scenes, repeated in other cities throughout Yemen, left the city in a state of shock.

The current death toll stands at 6 in Sana’a, 3 in Dhamar, and 6 in Dhali’. Dozens more people have been injured, according to local media reports. There’s no official statement to confirm or deny the figures above.

Several banks were attacked in Sana’a, including the Central Bank of Yemen, as well as a number of governmental institutions, among them the headquarters of the Ministry of Oil & Minerals and the Ministry of Finance, and several other government buildings.

After 25 years of President Saleh’s rule, Yemen is among the most impoverished in the world, illiteracy is near 50%, and unemployment is very high, while the country’s elites have become richer and more powerful. They are so powerful, the ruling party this week closed down a lawful political oppositon party by taking over its headquarters and newspaper at gunpoint.

Saleh is reputedly worth 20 billion. Economic reforms repealing goverment subsidies on commodity items were instutited yesterday, the impact of which will be felt most keenly by the poor who are barely sustaining themselves now. The massive governmental corruption, noted as among the pervasive in the world, has not been addressed. So again the Yemeni people pay the price for the privileged postions of those in power. This time they’re protesting.

Yemen Times: Observers expect massive rallies across the country after the death of at least 15 civilians in violent demonstrations mainly in the cities Sanaa, Dhamar and Dhale’. The demonstrations were caused by anger due to the government’s decision of raising the prices of petroleum directive products between 50% and 100%.

Thousands of angry men took into the streets in the capital Sana’a and set fire to tires, blocked streets and hurled stones at the prime minister’s office while shops closed for fear of looting.

Demonstrators shouted slogans attacking Bagammal and the ruling party of President Ali Abdullah Saleh.

Police, using tear gas and water cannon to control the crowds, blocked off the house of Vice President Abd-Rabbu Hadi where protesters converged.

“This is a natural reaction because the government’s reforms are a lie and we can’t take it any more…This government is making the rich richer and the poor poorer,” said one young man in Sanaa.

Opposition parties say such measures will increase pressure on the poor and demand instead a crackdown on corruption, which they blame for Yemen’s economic problems.

These are not the protests begging Saleh to stay in power that some of his loyalists were predicting here yesterday. This the people putting the blame where it belongs.

YO: Eight deaths have, as of Wednesday mid-afternoon, been confirmed following violent confrontations between police and protestors against the rise in fuel prices…

Soldiers entered a building in search of a journalist who had been on the roof taking photographs of the scenes below, but they did not find him. “The taking of photographs is not allowed,” declared one solider.

“This is our only option to make our feelings known and exercise our rights. What else can we do to make government listen?” said one of the protestors.

The price of petroleum for has risen by around 90%, while the price of gas has gone up to 400 YR a cylinder, an increase of almost 80%.

I’m very worried. There’s 20 deaths already and over a hundred injured.

Quoting Mad Dog Vinnie: We need to stand up and support these people in their quest for freedom.

In recent news report, Al-Sahwa website of Islah party reported demonstrations all over the country, including Sana’a were people headed towards presidential palace in Sana’a and governors offices elsewhere.

As the deaths in demosntrations of Djhale’ are reported to be 5, a man
called Mohammad dal-Ra’i was shot dead in Hezyaz (Taiz Road) in Sana’a
when demonstrating with others against the new price hikes. Tens of wounded are also reported.

There were riots in Sana’a down town areas, including attacks on shops
and public buildings. The police is using batons and tear gas , as well as shooting in the air to spread the demonstrators. Car burning incidents were reported.

The prices of basic commodities like rice and sugar multiplied, while it
is very difficult to find a public transportation means like minibuses
or taxis. Many drivers and gas station owners are on strike.. Personal news from Rada’ say that some shooting is taking place as well,
so is in Mareb.

About half of the people in Yemen are at the malnutrition level of poverty, due to years of corruption and mismangement. A reform “dose” increasing all commodities including gas and food just went into effect. Petrol went up from 35YR to 74YR, diesel from 15 to 65 rial, cooking gas from 234 to 400.

e Nasserite Unionist party, reported in its website now that demonstrators in Hail and Raqas streets in Sana’a are shouting “there is no God but God, the government is the enemy of God".. At 11:00 AM, smoke of fires is seen in Hasaba, Qahira, Sheraton, and Taiz road, the website said, saying that police shot at demonstrators in Hasaba in front of GPC’s headquarters.

In Mareb , citizens were said to cut off main roads calling people and the army to confront the new price madness. At the airport road , news of demonstrators trying to force people out from cars and buses are reported.

A photographer of Al-Wahdawi paper in Saba round are (Qiyuada road) was arrested, while security troops heavily damaged the car of correspondent of Al-Khaleej paper of the UAE who was trying to cover the demonstrations.

more: Tribes of Mareb block roads

A tribal source in Mareb told RAY news that Obeida tribe has banned 11 oil tankers from leaving Mareb to other governorates. AL-Shabwan tribe of Obeidah are also occupying the Wadi district which overlooks the road in and out of Mareb. The source told the news service that there are news that the tribes are surrounding oil refineries as well.

Meanwhile, Nasim tribes in Markha are blocking the passage of any government car until the government cancels its yesterday’s decision.

Hundreds of tribal sheikhs and men are gathering in front of the Jawf
governorate HQ and are planning to address a letter of protest to the government on the recent price hikes. Jawf tribes had cut of roads as well.

Said Jane @ 6:41 am

 

[waltky]

Hunger and disease stalk Yemenis with no end in sight as the war grinds on...

Yemen conflict: UN official accuses world of ignoring crisis
6 December 2016 - In the hands of the doctor, baby Ibrahim's head seems impossibly small. He cradles the child gently, conscious of his fragility. Everything around him seems improbably large.

The nappies Ibrahim wears are the smallest available but are still too big. With his large eyes and hollowed-out face, with ribs which press against his skin, the baby looks as if he is shrinking back into himself. It seems perverse to describe a child in this state as "lucky". But Ibrahim has survived 21 days and doctors are hopeful he will endure. His twin brother died soon after he was born. His mother, Wafaa Hatem, sits on the bed with her son, stroking his fingers when he cries.

Ibrahim Bolgaith​

Like three million other Yemenis, the family was displaced by the war. Their daily existence is circumscribed by the challenge of finding food to eat. Ibrahim's father is a taxi driver but with a collapsing economy, he struggles to find customers. "Sometimes my husband gets work," says Wafaa, "sometimes he can't find any. We eat sometimes, and sometimes we cannot provide anything."

System disintegrating

It is one testimony from a war that has caused child malnutrition rates to jump by 200% in two years. Fifty per cent of medical facilities no longer function. Some have been bombed by the Saudi-led coalition, others have ground to a halt because there is no funding. Key roads and bridges are frequently attacked, making the delivery of assistance even more difficult. The flow of aid is frequently held up by rebels who want to control its distribution. Many civil servants, including those in the health sector, have not been paid in at least four months. Charities like Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) try to alleviate some of the distress but it is a huge task with such limited resources.

I met the MSF head of mission, Colette Gadenne, at the overburdened al-Jumhouri Hospital in Hajjah, one of the areas worst affected by the conflict. "There is a system in place - feeding centres, nutritional programmes, but it is very difficult to monitor those programmes, and I fear that many families cannot just afford to even go, to even reach the facility, to be screened and to be admitted in the programme," she said. "The whole system is really collapsing, hospitals are closing regularly, so it's very frightening to see how this country, which was already affected by poverty and poor governance, is going deeper and deeper every day." Walk the corridors of the hospital and the war reveals itself. You see farmers who were on their way to market, shredded by the high explosives and shrapnel of a Saudi air strike; the children emaciated from malnutrition and disease.

'Blind eye'

See also:

President clings to power as Yemeni people perish
Wednesday 7th December, 2016 - Yemen 'President' Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi wants to hang on to power and wants his political rivals sent in to exile. Mansour who reliquished the presidency in January last year, reclaimed it a month later when he announced he was rescinding his resignation.

Al-Houthi rebels who have led an uprising against his government ignored his claim on the top job, arguing you can't resign and then a few weeks later, unresign. AFP reported Tuesday that a close aide to Hadi has said he will only 'hand over' power to an "elected leader." The aide also advised the news agency that Hadi was rejecting the UN- and U.S. brokered 'road map to peace.' He said he would rather have a referendum and presidential elections. He reportedly has made 9 demands including that the Al-Houthi rebel leaders be deported. Hadi had previously agreed to a transition of power to a jointly agreed vice president who would stand as acting president until elections could be called. He now wants to remain in office himself arguing that the rebels should have no say in the selection of an interim vice president.

Last month when U.S. Secertary of State John Kerry announced details of a deal that would have ended the war and seen Hadi share power with the Houthis, a deal agreed to by the Houthis and Saudi Arabia, a spokesman for the Hadi government said they were "not interested," claiming they were bypassed in the negotiations. Hostilities have continued to rage despite ceasefires being entered into with both sides blaming each other for breaking truces. On Monday Saudi-led coalition troops clashed with Al-Houthi rebels and forces loyal to former President Saleh near the Al-Rabuah border port in Najran.

A coalition spokesman claimed scores of rebels were killed in the clash. The Total Oil Company compound southwest of Sanaa also came under attack Monday from rebels, with up to 30 being killed, along with 3 guards providing security to the company's headquarters in the country. Hadi is now operating in Aden after the Saudi-led coalition recaptured it from rebel forces in September last year. He had been living in Riyahd in Saudi Arabia prior to that and since his now rescinded-resignation. He is one of three million Yemenis who have been forced from their homes as a result of the conflict. Apart from sweeping poverty, Yemenis have also been deprived of up to 50 percent of their hospitals and medical clinics, many of which have come under attack, including from aerial bombing.

Meantime while the powers-to-be in the country are at each other's throats, the Yemeni people, according to humaniatrian group Oxfam, are starving to death, and the group is calling on Britain to cease weapon sales to Saudi Arabia. “The country’s economy, its institutions, its ability to feed and care for its people are all on the brink of collapse," Mark Goldring, Oxfam GB CEO said Tuesday. “Yemen is being slowly starved to death. First there were restrictions on imports, including much needed food, when this was partially eased the cranes in the ports were bombed, then the warehouses, then the roads and the bridges. This is not by accident - it is systematic." “There is still time to pull it back before we see chronic hunger becoming widespread starvation," Goldring added. "The fighting needs to stop and the ports should be fully opened to vital supplies of food, fuel and medicine. As one of the principle backers of this brutal war, Britain needs to end its arms sales and military support to the Saudis and help put Yemen on the road to peace.”

President clings to power as Yemeni people perish

 

[Bleipriester]

MSM are way too busy spreading al-Qaeda propaganda, waltky.

 

[Pete7469]

Wait till the front in Dearborn turns hot.

 

[irosie91]

MSM are way too busy spreading al-Qaeda propaganda, waltky.

I get my information about Yemen---from a Yemeni whose family is still in Sanaa. To what misinformation to you refer, capt blei?

 

[Bleipriester]

I get my information about Yemen---from a Yemeni whose family is still in Sanaa.

Did he report this:
Who stops the Saudi Terror Airforce? (shockingly graphic)

To what misinformation to you refer, capt blei?

When al-Qaeda claims something its in the MSM headlines the other day.

 

[waltky]

Seal Team Six member killed in Yemen operation...

SEAL Killed Fighting al-Qaida in Yemen Identified
Jan 31, 2017 | The Navy SEAL killed Jan. 28 during a raid on al-Qaida in Yemen was a 36-year-old chief petty officer, the Defense Department said Monday.

Chief Special Warfare Operator William "Ryan" Owens, of Peoria, Illinois, was killed during an intelligence-gathering operation on al-Qaida on the Arabian Peninsula that left six additional troops wounded or injured, defense officials said. Owens enlisted in August 1998 and made chief in December 2009, an official told Military.com. His awards included three Bronze Stars -- two with a "V" distinguishing device signifying combat valor.

While multiple outlets have reported that Owens was a member of the elite Naval Special Warfare Development Group, better known as SEAL Team Six, officials would confirm only that he was a member of an East Coast-based special warfare unit. "I extend my condolences to the family and shipmates of Chief Petty Officer William 'Ryan' Owens," Defense Secretary James Mattis said Monday evening in a statement. "Ryan gave his full measure for our nation, and in performing his duty, he upheld the noblest standard of military service. The United States would not long exist were it not for the selfless commitment of such warriors."

Chief Special Warfare Operator William “Ryan” Owens, 36, of Peoria, Illinois​

Owens is the first U.S. service member to be killed in action since President Donald Trump took office Jan. 20. The raid was also noteworthy in that it pitted SEALs against female combatants. At least 14 AQAP-affiliated enemy fighters were killed, some of them female, Pentagon spokesman Navy Capt. Jeff Davis said in a statement.

Three other SEAL team members were wounded in a firefight during the raid, and three more were hurt in a hard landing by a V-22 Osprey that was providing troop transport for the operators, officials said. Trump called the raid a "success", and Davis said it would provide the Pentagon with further insight into planning within AQAP, which has taken responsibility for the 2015 "Charlie Hebdo" terror attacks in Paris. "I thank our gallant troops and their families for their dedication to protecting this nation, and I pass our respects to Ryan's family in this most difficult time," Mattis said.

SEAL Killed Fighting al-Qaida in Yemen Identified | Military.com

See also:

Navy SEAL Team 6 Members Fought Female Fighters in Yemen Raid
Jan 30, 2017 | Navy SEAL Team 6 members fought female fighters of the Al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula group in the Yemen raid over the weekend.

Navy SEAL Team 6 fought and killed female fighters of an al-Qaida affiliate in the raid Saturday in Yemen in which a team member was killed, three were wounded and three injured, the Pentagon said Monday. "There were a lot of female combatants that were a part of this," Navy Capt. Jeff Davis, a Pentagon spokesman, said of the firefight in the raid Saturday, which the Defense Department and White House said killed at least 14 enemy fighters. "Some of those enem[ies] killed in action were female." Davis said the SEALs saw the women running to fighting positions as the team approached an enemy compound in Yemen's interior. The main al-Qaida group generally limits women to support roles and suicide attacks, but AQAP reportedly has put women through training for combat.

The White House said the raid collected intelligence on AQAP's plans for attacks in Europe and elsewhere. Davis said the materiel gathered would give the DoD "a deeper insight into the group's planning." AQAP has claimed responsibility for the "Charlie Hebdo" terror attacks in Paris in 2015 and for the attempt to bring down an airliner over Detroit in December 2009 by the so-called "underwear bomber." The raid was planned months ago under the administration of former President Barack Obama, Davis said, but was personally authorized by President Donald Trump in the first combat action he approved as the new commander in chief.

Navy SEALs conduct training in a remote area.​

In a White House statement, Trump called the raid "successful" and said it resulted in the capture of intelligence that would "assist the U.S. in preventing terrorism against its citizens and people around the world." "Americans are saddened this morning with news that a life of a heroic service member has been taken in our fight against the evil of radical Islamic terrorism," Trump said in the statement. The SEAL team member reportedly was killed in the firefight in a remote desert area of Yemen's Shabwah governorate. Late Monday, he was identified as Chief Special Warfare Operator William "Ryan" Owens, of Peoria, Illinois. Three other team members were wounded in the firefight, and three other service members were injured in the "hard landing" of V-22 Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft as it evacuated the raiders and the casualties, Davis said.

Davis said it was unclear whether the Osprey was the MV-22 Marine version of the aircraft or the CV-22 special operations variant. The Osprey could not be flown out after the hard landing and was destroyed in an airstrike, he said. A Yemeni official told The Washington Post that about 35 to 40 people were killed in the raid on the village where AQAP had a presence. Davis said the U.S. is still assessing whether civilians were killed. The U.S. raiders rappelled from aircraft as the militants gathered for a late-night session of chewing qat, the leafy narcotic used by most Yemeni males, the Yemeni official said.

Navy SEAL Team 6 Members Fought Female Fighters in Yemen Raid | Military.com

 

[waltky]

Yemen May Be on Verge of New Deadly Cholera Epidemic...

WHO: Yemen May Be on Verge of New Deadly Cholera Epidemic
August 03, 2018 — The World Health Organization (WHO) warns Yemen may be on the verge of another cholera epidemic, which could be deadlier than previous ones because of widespread malnutrition in the war-torn country.

Yemen has had two major waves of cholera epidemics in recent years. The World Health Organization reports that an increasing number of cases in several heavily populated areas over the past few weeks indicate the country may be on the cusp of a third major wave of this deadly disease.

A Yemeni woman suspected of being infected with cholera receives treatment at a hospital in the capital Sanaa​

WHO's emergency response chief, Peter Salama, told VOA another cholera epidemic is likely to be more life-threatening than the previous ones because the population is seriously weakened after three years of civil war. Fighting has been raging between the government and rebel forces. "What we are likely to see is that interplay with cholera and malnutrition occurring more and more and food insecurity," he said. "And, not only more cases because of that, but even higher death rates among the cholera cases that do occur because people just do not have the physical resources to fight the disease any longer."

Public health workers spray insecticide amid fears of a new cholera outbreak in Sanaa, Yemen​

The United Nations is calling for three days of tranquility between August 4 and 6. It wants the warring parties to stop fighting during this period so WHO and its partners can carry out a massive oral cholera vaccination campaign. Salama said 3,000 health workers are being mobilized in three districts in northern Yemen. Their aim is to vaccinate more than 500,000 individuals above the age of one. Last year, cholera cases in Yemen topped one million in the world's worst outbreak of the disease.

WHO: Yemen May Be on Verge of New Deadly Cholera Epidemic

 

[irosie91]

Yemen May Be on Verge of New Deadly Cholera Epidemic...

WHO: Yemen May Be on Verge of New Deadly Cholera Epidemic
August 03, 2018 — The World Health Organization (WHO) warns Yemen may be on the verge of another cholera epidemic, which could be deadlier than previous ones because of widespread malnutrition in the war-torn country.

Yemen has had two major waves of cholera epidemics in recent years. The World Health Organization reports that an increasing number of cases in several heavily populated areas over the past few weeks indicate the country may be on the cusp of a third major wave of this deadly disease.

A Yemeni woman suspected of being infected with cholera receives treatment at a hospital in the capital Sanaa​

WHO's emergency response chief, Peter Salama, told VOA another cholera epidemic is likely to be more life-threatening than the previous ones because the population is seriously weakened after three years of civil war. Fighting has been raging between the government and rebel forces. "What we are likely to see is that interplay with cholera and malnutrition occurring more and more and food insecurity," he said. "And, not only more cases because of that, but even higher death rates among the cholera cases that do occur because people just do not have the physical resources to fight the disease any longer."

Public health workers spray insecticide amid fears of a new cholera outbreak in Sanaa, Yemen​

The United Nations is calling for three days of tranquility between August 4 and 6. It wants the warring parties to stop fighting during this period so WHO and its partners can carry out a massive oral cholera vaccination campaign. Salama said 3,000 health workers are being mobilized in three districts in northern Yemen. Their aim is to vaccinate more than 500,000 individuals above the age of one. Last year, cholera cases in Yemen topped one million in the world's worst outbreak of the disease.

WHO: Yemen May Be on Verge of New Deadly Cholera Epidemic

not news------cholera is endemic in Yemen. It is transmitted by fecal oral
route------which means ----(you'll excuse the expression) shit in the water.
It is very treatable -------if the facilities to do so exist. That there would be
a cholera epidemic brought about by the Iranian supported civil war in Yemen was UTTERLY predictable. There is an ongoing cholera problem in
parts of Iraq and I would be surprised in Pakistan and Afghanistan are not so
afflicted. It might interest some that cholera was endemic in "PALESTINE" --pre 1948

 

[waltky]

Master bomb maker for Al-Qaida killed in U.S. airstrike, officials say...

Master bomb maker for Al-Qaida killed in U.S. airstrike, officials say
18 Aug.18 | Al-Qaida's chief bomb maker, Ibrahim al-Asiri, who was behind the 2009 Christmas Day plot to down an airliner over Detroit and other foiled aviation-related terror attacks, was killed in a U.S. drone strike, Yemeni officials and a tribal leader said Friday.

The killing of al-Asiri deals a heavy blow to the group's capabilities in striking western targets and piles pressure on the group that already lost some of its top cadres over the past years in similar drone strikes. A Yemeni security official said that al-Asiri is dead; a tribal leader and an al-Qaida-linked source also said that he was killed in a U.S. drone strike in the eastern Yemeni governorate of Marib. The tribal leader said that al-Asiri was struck, along with two or four of his associates, as he stood beside his car. He added that al-Asiri's wife, who hails from the well-known al-Awaleq tribe in the southern governorate of Shabwa, was briefly held months ago by the UAE-backed forces and later released. Al-Qaida itself has remained silent about its top bomb maker. Instead of the typical "eulogies" on militant websites, the Yemeni source said the group is trying to hunt down suspected "spies" who might have tipped off the U.S. on his whereabouts leading up to the strike.

This undated photo, released by Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Interior in 2010, shows Ibrahim Hassan al-Asiri, considered a key figure in al-Qaida's most active franchise in Yemen and the group's master bomb maker, according to U.S. intelligence officials. Al-Asiri was killed in a U.S. drone strike in Yemen.​

The security official spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorized to brief reporters. The tribal leader and al-Qaida-linked sourc requested anonymity fearing for their safety. The confirmation of al-Asiri's death follows a U.N. report this week saying that the 36-year-old Saudi national, who is among U.S.'s top most wanted militants, may have been killed in the second half of 2017. Al-Asiri is believed to have built the underwear bomb that a Nigerian man, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, tried to detonate on a passenger jet over Detroit in December 2009. He is also behind bombs hidden in printer cartridges placed on U.S.-bound cargo jets in 2010. U.S. intelligence over the past years believed that al-Asiri and his confederates were constantly working to improve their bomb designs so that they could get past airport security.

In July 2014, the Transportation Security Administration banned uncharged mobile phones and laptops from flights to the United States that originated from Europe and the Middle East. Al-Asiri, who studied chemistry in the Saudi capital of Riyadh, even once placed explosives inside his younger brother's clothes in a plot to assassinate Saudi Arabia's interior minister, Mohammed bin Nayef, in 2009. The brother, Abdullah, died in the explosion while the top U.S. counterterrorism ally was slightly wounded. The U.S. has long viewed the al-Qaida's Yemeni branch as its most dangerous affiliate, in part because of al-Asiri's expertise in explosives. Since 2014, the U.S. has offered $5 million for information leading to his capture. He is thought to have escaped death many times in U.S. drone strikes in Yemen.

The booking photo of Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab ,the so-called "underwear bomber," who tried to blow up a packed airliner on Christmas Day 2009. Farouk Abdulmutallab is currently serving a life sentence for the plot.​

Al-Asiri's last known statement was a 2016 audio message threatening Saudi Arabia and the U.S. after the kingdom killed 47 al-Qaida suspects in one of its largest mass executions since 1980. Vowing to continue battling America, he said at the time that the Saudis would be dealt with in a "different way," without elaborating. Wanted by the U.S., Saudi Arabia and Interpol, al-Asiri fled his native Saudi Arabia — home of 15 of the 19 suspected hijackers in the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks — for Yemen, along with other militants escaping a crackdown in the kingdom. Once in Yemen, they merged with local al-Qaida militants who escaped from a Yemeni prison in 2006 to form Al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, or AQAP.

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