Iran, Saudi Arabia find common ground in Yemen

Margot2 · Nov 26, 2014

Iran has always wanted a footprint on the Arabian peninsula.. They are too stupid to take advantage of what they have... a catbird seat in the oil corridor.

http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2014/11/iran-yemen-saudi-arabia-houthi-islah.html

Iran, Saudi Arabia find common ground in Yemen

The general consensus among Western observers is that Iran is at best a minor foreign participant in the internal Yemeni struggle for power. On the other hand, Irans Arab rivals in the region, principally Saudi Arabia, see Tehran as both an instigator and a key driver behind Yemens domestic political turmoil. The reality seems to lie somewhere between the two viewpoints. Still, though it is hard to ignore Tehrans newfound interest in Yemen, it does not necessarily have to result in a showdown with Riyadh.

Despite fears of increasing Riyadh-Tehran rivalry, Yemen's unity government serves the interests of both Iran and Saudi Arabia.

Author Alex Vatanka

Posted November 26, 2014

Root causes

Irans role in Yemens ongoing conflicts is a contentious topic, and the extent of its intervention is still questionable. Yemen, the Arab worlds most impoverished and arguably most fragmented state, has experienced violent civil conflict since the north and south unified in 1990. One of the countrys most persistent rebellions took place in the north, on the border with Saudi Arabia, the home region of Yemens Zaidi population.

The Zaidis, comprising some 35%-40% of Yemens total population of 24 million, are an offshoot of mainstream Shiite Islam. However, their religious links to Iran, the worlds largest Shiite state, has never been as strong as the ties between Iran and other Arab Shiite populations in Lebanon, Iraq, Bahrain or the Eastern province of Saudi Arabia.

In fact, between 2004 and 2010 when militant Zaidis engaged in ten rounds of armed campaigns against the central government of President Ali Abdullah Saleh in Sanaa Tehran's maneuvering was careful in the Yemeni civil war. Iranian support for the Zaidi rebels also known as Houthis, after Hussein Badreddin al-Houthi, one of the founders of the movement was never straightforward like Tehrans backing for Shiite dissidents elsewhere in the region.

Saleh and Riyadh maintained that Iran was the hidden hand behind the Houthi rebels, citing the reported presence of Iranian military advisers among Houthi fighters and the seizure of arms destined for the rebels. The argument went that Iran was hell bent on creating a political-military force out of the Houthi movement that would look to Tehran for leadership, like Hezbollah in Lebanon. The evidence, however, never conclusively pointed to Tehran as playing a decisive role in the Yemeni civil war.

Meanwhile, to claim that Iran has no footprint in Yemen is equally disingenuous. There was evidence of Iranian outreach to the Zaidi community in early post-unification Yemen and as early as 1993, Iran was said to have admitted a few hundred Yemeni seminarians to study in the country. Naturally, there were fears of Iranian indoctrination of the Zaidis in the ways of the Islamic Republic. There is also no doubt that the Houthi movement is both inspired and likely equipped by elements in Tehran in putting together its anti-US and anti-Israeli rhetoric campaigns, which have become more pronounced.

Read more: http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/ori...saudi-arabia-houthi-islah.html##ixzz3KEorFMmf

waltky · Sep 29, 2015

Update: Yemen Strike Leaves 131 Dead...

Yemen conflict: Wedding attack death toll rises to 130
September 29, 2015 - The death toll from a suspected air strike on a wedding party in Yemen on Monday has risen to at least 130, the United Nations and local medics say.

Missiles reportedly hit two tents in a village near the Red Sea port of Mocha, where a man linked to the Houthi rebel movement was celebrating his marriage. But the Saudi-led coalition that has been bombing the rebels for six months denied responsibility for the attack.

Some 5,000 people have been killed in air strikes and fighting in Yemen since March

The UN condemned "the disregard shown by all sides for human life" in Yemen. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon stressed that there was no military solution to the conflict and its continuation would only bring more human suffering and destruction.

Some 5,000 people, including 2,355 civilians, have been killed in air strikes and fighting on the ground since 26 March, when Houthi fighters and allied army units forced Yemen's internationally recognised president to flee the country. Last week, Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi returned to the southern port city of Aden, where his government has set up a temporary base as southern militiamen and coalition forces press northwards towards the rebel-held capital, Sanaa.

'Deadliest incident'
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Jim Rockford · Sep 29, 2015

Of course the Iranians are in Yemen. How else would the Houthis' able to rout the well equipped armored convoys with such ease and finesse. There is definitely some training or advisors at the minimum. My guess is some al-Quds or Hizbullah are on the ground working with the Houthis'.

Margot2 · Sep 29, 2015

Jim Rockford said: ↑

Of course the Iranians are in Yemen. How else would the Houthis' able to rout the well equipped armored convoys with such ease and finesse. There is definitely some training or advisors at the minimum. My guess is some al-Quds or Hizbullah are on the ground working with the Houthis'.
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The article is from 2014..

Jim Rockford · Sep 29, 2015

Margot2 said: ↑

The article is from 2014..
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November 2014 , which makes it less than a year old. Your point is ?

Jim Rockford · Sep 29, 2015

Watching all I can on Yemen.
http://youtu.be/sl0fD4J0rbg

waltky · Jan 5, 2016

Civilians suffer in Yemen war...

Yemen War Taking Big Toll on Civilians
January 05, 2016 New United Nations figures reveal the terrible toll the ongoing conflict in Yemen is taking on civilians. The U.N. human rights office reports more than 8,100 civilians were killed or wounded between March 26 and the end of last year, the vast majority from airstrikes by Saudi-led coalition forces.

Since Saudi Arabia began its bombing campaign against Houthi rebels at the end of March, the U.N. says 2,795 civilian men, women, and children have been killed and 5,324 wounded. The figures do not reveal the full extent of the tragic toll of this war, as they do not include fighters among the estimated number of dead and injured. The U.N.-mediated peace talks on Yemen in mid-December in Geneva apparently were unable to stop the carnage. Indeed, the figures show the number of civilians killed in December by Saudi airstrikes was more than twice that in November.

Men walk on the rubble of the Chamber of Trade and Industry headquarters after it was hit by a Saudi-led airstrike in Sana'a, Yemen

U.N. human rights spokesman Rupert Colville notes the cease-fire agreed to by the warring parties before the start of the talks was broken within minutes. He says airstrikes have continued into the New Year, with around 11 strikes taking place in the capital, Sanaa, this week and continuing into Tuesday. We have not yet been able to confirm whether or not these latest strikes have resulted in more civilian casualties, although initial reports indicate several private and public civilian buildings have been hit since Sunday, some of them located in densely populated areas of Sanaa," said Colville.

Colville says the U.N. also has received alarming information on the alleged use of cluster bombs by coalition forces in Hajjah Governorate, with reports of several people having been maimed after stepping on unexploded sub-munitions. He says the humanitarian situation for people in Taiz, the scene of violent clashes for more than eight months is particularly dire. He says rebel Houthi forces, who control entry points into the city, are limiting food and other essential relief from entering.

A displaced boy who fled Saada province, northwest of Sana'a with his family, waits for relief supplies during a food distribution by Yemeni volunteers in Sanaa, Yemen

The U.N. refugee agency reports about 2.5 million people are internally displaced and 167,000 have fled Yemen to surrounding countries. Despite the chaotic situation, UNHCR spokesman Adrian Edwards tells VOA thousands of people continue to make the perilous journey across the Gulf of Aden or Red Sea into Yemen. About 70,000 people from the Horn of Africa arrived in Yemen last year after the violence broke out even with this desperate situation there," said Edwards. "So, it is a sort of mixed situation. Edwards says those arriving in Yemen are caught in an extremely alarming situation. He says aid workers have very little access to them and have great difficulty in delivering critical aid to them.

http://www.voanews.com/content/yemen-war-civilian-toll/3131796.html
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waltky · Mar 13, 2016

Granny says, "Dat's right - just `cause we left don't mean we still ain't involved...

U.S. Stays Off Battlefield, Yet Is Drawn Into Saudi War in Yemen
MARCH 13, 2016 | WASHINGTON Adel al-Jubeir, Saudi Arabias urbane, well-connected ambassador to Washington, arrived at the White House last March with the urgent hope of getting President Obamas support for a new war in the Middle East.

Iran had moved into Saudi Arabias backyard, Mr. Jubeir told Mr. Obamas senior advisers, and was aiding rebels in Yemen who had overrun the countrys capital and were trying to set up ballistic missile sites in range of Saudi cities. Saudi Arabia and its Persian Gulf neighbors were poised to begin a campaign in support of Yemens impotent government an offensive Mr. Jubeir said could be relatively swift. Two days of discussions in the West Wing followed, but there was little real debate. Among other reasons, the White House needed to placate the Saudis as the administration completed a nuclear deal with Iran, Saudi Arabias archenemy. That fact alone eclipsed concerns among many of the presidents advisers that the Saudi-led offensive would be long, bloody and indecisive.

Fighters loyal to the Saudi-backed Yemeni government celebrated after clashes with Houthi rebels and their allies in Taiz, Yemen

Mr. Obama soon gave his approval for the Pentagon to support the impending military campaign. A year later, the war has been a humanitarian disaster for Yemen and a study in the perils of the Obama administrations push to get Middle Eastern countries to take on bigger military roles in their neighborhood. Thousands of Yemeni civilians have been killed, many by Saudi jets flying too high to accurately deliver the bombs to their targets. Peace talks have been stalled for months. American spy agencies have concluded that Yemens branch of Al Qaeda has only grown more powerful in the chaos. The Obama administration has in the meantime been whipsawed by criticism from all sides. Although the United States has provided the Saudi-led coalition with intelligence, airborne fuel tankers and thousands of advanced munitions, Arab allies have at times complained that the support is halfhearted and freighted with too many restrictions.

Critics of the American involvement argue that the White House should not be giving any military assistance at all to what they call a reckless, incoherent war. As I read the conflict in Yemen, I have a hard time figuring out what the U.S. national security interests are, Senator Christopher S. Murphy, a Connecticut Democrat on the Foreign Relations Committee, said during a congressional hearing this year. He added that the result of the coalition campaign has been to kill a lot of civilians, has been to sow the seeds of humanitarian crisis, and to create space for these groups these very extremist groups that we claim to be our priority in the region to grow.

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waltky · Mar 19, 2016

Saudi coalition 'causing most civilian casualties'...

Yemen war: Saudi coalition 'causing most civilian casualties'
Fri, 18 Mar 2016 - The UN human rights chief has accused the Saudi-led coalition of causing twice as many civilian casualties as all the other forces fighting in Yemen.

Zeid Raad Al Hussein condemned "the repeated failure" of the coalition to prevent deadly incidents. He said air strikes had caused almost all the coalition's civilian casualties. More than 6,000 people, about half of them civilians, have been killed since Saudi Arabia launched a multi-national campaign against rebels in March 2015. Saudi Arabia has denied causing large-scale civilian deaths, saying it is making every effort to avoid hitting civilian targets. Mr Hussein's comments come three days after some 106 civilians were killed in what medics and witnesses said was an air strike on a market in Mastaba, north-west Yemen, in one of the deadliest incidents of the war.

The UN said staff who had visited the scene of the attack said, apart from a check-point about 250 metres (820 ft) away, there was no evidence it was a military target. "Looking at the figures, it would seem that the coalition is responsible for twice as many civilian casualties as all other forces put together, virtually all as a result of air strikes," Mr Hussein said. "They have hit markets, hospitals, clinics, schools, factories, wedding parties - and hundreds of private residences in villages, towns and cities including the capital, Sanaa." "Despite plenty of international demarches, these awful incidents continue to occur with unacceptable regularity."

Saudi Arabia said it was investigating the attack on Mastaba, adding its forces had targeted a "gathering area" for Houthi rebel fighters about six miles (10km) away. Zeid Raad Al Hussein however said coalition forces appeared not to have taken proper steps to distinguish between military and civilian targets, adding both they and the rebels might have committed "international crimes". On Wednesday, Saudi Arabia's chief military spokesman, Brig Gen Ahmad al-Assiri, said the military campaign was "in the end of the major combat phase". The coalition launched its military campaign last March with the aim of repelling the rebels and restoring exiled President Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi to power.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-35842708
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UN Deplores 'Awful' Carnage in Yemen From Saudi Coalition Airstrikes
March 18, 2016 WASHINGTON The United Nations has condemned recent airstrikes by the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen, which have killed more than 100 civilians this week alone.

Zeid Raad al-Hussein, the U.N. high commissioner for human rights, said Friday that two air attacks Tuesday on a crowded market in northwestern Yemen were among the deadliest incidents since the Saudis and their Arab partners in the Gulf began attacking Yemen's Houthi rebels last year. Saudi Arabia announced late Thursday, just hours before the U.N. issued its statement, that the Arab military coalition was scaling down combat operations in Yemen.

Zeid said the latest attack was one of "these awful incidents [that] continue to occur with unacceptable regularity." Despite many previous complaints about civilian casualties caused by indiscriminate military action, he said the Saudi coalition failed to take actions to avert such incidents, or to report any progress on investigations of the carnage. "Looking at the figures, it would seem that the coalition is responsible for twice as many civilian casualties as all other forces [in Yemen] put together virtually all as a result of airstrikes," Zeid said.

Yemeni people inspect the damage after an airstrike by Saudi-led coalition in Sana'a, Yemen

Civilian casualties

The human-rights official said airstrikes carried out by Saudi pilots and their allies from the Gulf states "have hit markets, hospitals, clinics, schools, factories, wedding parties and hundreds of private residences in villages, towns and cities, including the capital, Sana'a." U.N. Human Rights office staff in Yemen who visited this week's attack site and interviewed survivors "could find no evidence of any armed confrontation or significant military objects in the area at the time of the attack," U.N. officials reported.

The rights commissioner said the scope of the destruction in Yemen and the attackers' apparent failure to distinguish between legitimate military targets and civilians, who are protected under international law, raise the possibility that "international crimes" were committed. Since the fighting in Yemen began a year ago, the U.N. Human Rights Office said it has recorded just under 9,000 casualties. including 3,218 civilians killed and a further 5,778 injured.

http://www.voanews.com/content/un-deplores-awful-carnage-in-yemen-from-saudi-airstrikes/3243777.html
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waltky · Apr 23, 2016

Yemen peace talks atmosphere shows progress...

U.N. says Yemen peace talks atmosphere shows progress
Fri Apr 22, 2016 Yemen's warring factions held their first direct talks in a U.N.-backed peace process on Friday and will meet again despite failing to agree on an agenda, participants said.

The United Nations envoy, Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed, said the meetings in Kuwait had been constructive and the positive atmosphere was a step forward in efforts to end the conflict. They discussed a more permanent ceasefire in Yemen and how it would be implemented, he said. The talks, which opened late on Thursday, seek a solution to a war which has killed more than 6,200 people, triggered a humanitarian crisis and enabled al Qaeda and Islamic State militants to consolidate their presence in the country.

They bring together the Iran-allied Houthi movement, who control the capital Sanaa, and its General People's Congress (GPC) allies with the Saudi-backed government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, based in the southern port city of Aden. "The meetings held today were constructive and the atmosphere is an important advancement," Ould Cheikh Ahmed told a news conference. "We will intensify our efforts." But sources present at the talks, delayed since Monday due to the late arrival of the Houthi delegation and its allies, said the two sides continue to be divided on the priorities.

Yahya Doad (2nd R), a member of the General Committee of the General People's Congress Party, and Mohammed Abdul-Salam (2nd L), head of the Houthi delegation to scheduled peace talks in Kuwait, gesture after they finish a news conference at Sanaa Airport, Yemen

The government delegation wants Houthis and fighters loyal to former president Ali Abdullah Saleh to withdraw from cities and hand over weapons before discussing a political solution, the sources said. The Houthis and its allies want the formation of a new government representing all parties, which will then oversee disarmament. They also want to focus the discussion on security arrangements and detainees, the sources added. The sources declined to be named because the talks, being held at the palace of Kuwait's ruling emir, are closed to the media.

A temporary truce between the government and Houthis has mostly held in place since April 10 in preparation for the talks although both sides have accused each other of violations. The Yemen conflict began in September 2014 when the Houthis seized Sanaa. A Saudi-led Arab alliance intervened in March last year, launching a campaign of mostly air strikes against the Houthis in support of Hadi's forces.

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-yemen-security-talks-idUSKCN0XJ287
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waltky · May 2, 2016

Yemen peace talks break down...

Yemen govt temporarily suspends talks with rebels
Monday 2nd May, 2016 - Yemen's government temporarily suspended Sunday its participation in talks with Iran-backed rebels in protest at their takeover of a military base and continued ceasefire violations, officials said.

Yemen's government temporarily suspended on Sunday (May 1) its participation in talks with Iran-backed rebels in protest at their takeover of a military base and continued ceasefire violations, officials said. "The delegation of the republic of Yemen has suspended its participation in Kuwait talks because of the continued violations by rebels and their takeover of Al-Amaliqa base," foreign minister and head of delegation Abdulmalek al-Mikhlafi said on Twitter. He said the suspension will last "until guarantees for compliance were provided", without providing details.

A spokesman for Mikhlafi told AFP that the government delegation has suspended its participation in both "direct and indirect" talks taking place in Kuwait. "The suspension will continue until guarantees are provided that the rebels will stop their ceasefire violations and withdraw from the base," Mane al-Matari told AFP. A statement by the government delegation called on the UN envoy, Kuwait and other Gulf states and countries backing the peace process "to apply pressure on the other side to comply with peace requirements." The United Nations said it was informed by the government delegation that it will not attend a round of talks scheduled for later on Sunday.

UN envoy Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed said he made contacts with members of both delegations and that he had received assurances that they would continue to try to resolve their differences but without face-to-face meetings. Huthi rebel spokesman Mohammed Abdulsalam however criticised the Yemeni government's decision. "Those who don't want peace ... are the ones who create false justifications and reasons to obstruct," the talks, Abdulsalam wrote on Twitter. On Saturday, Yemen's warring parties held their first face-to-face talks since the negotiations in Kuwait began on Apr 21. The UN envoy said these direct talks were "productive" and had touched on key issues.

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waltky · May 11, 2016

Yemen warring sides 'to swap prisoners'...

Yemen conflict: Warring parties 'agree prisoner swap'
Tue, 10 May 2016 - The warring parties in Yemen are reported to have agreed at peace talks in Kuwait to carry out a major prisoner swap.

The warring parties in Yemen are reported to have agreed to carry out a major prisoner swap within 20 days. The deal between the government and the Houthi rebel movement is being seen as a breakthrough in weeks of peace talks that have achieved little until now. Sources from both sides at the talks in Kuwait told the AFP news agency that they would each hand over half of the prisoners they were holding. The rebel source said that hundreds of detainees would be involved.

More than 6,200 people have been killed and 2.5 million others displaced since the conflict escalated in March 2015, when a Saudi-led multinational coalition launched a military campaign to defeat the rebels and allied security forces loyal to former President Ali Abdullah Saleh and drive them from the capital, Sanaa. The fighting has also pushed the Arab world's poorest country to the brink of famine and left 82% of the population in need of humanitarian assistance.

Yemenis in Sanaa hold pictures of prisoners held by pro-government and Saudi-led coalition forces

A ceasefire has been in place since last month to give the peace talks a chance, but both sides have regularly accused each other of violations. The prisoner swap deal was reportedly agreed during a meeting in Kuwait of the joint working group on prisoners and detainees formed by UN envoy Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed. "It was agreed during the meeting to release 50% of the prisoners and detainees within the next 20 days," Mane al-Matari, media adviser to Yemen's foreign minister, told AFP. The working group would meet again on Wednesday to finalise the mechanism on how and when the exchange would take place, he added.

Mr Matari estimated the number of prisoners in the thousands, but the rebel source said there might be only hundreds of prisoners involved, AFP reported. The UN envoy praised the delegations' co-operation on Monday evening, after the face-to-face talks resumed following a two-day interruption. "We are at a true crossroads. We are either moving towards peace or going back to square one," Mr Ahmed wrote on Twitter. "What I heard from both delegations is promising, but we shouldn't forget that the challenges are enormous and the gap between them is large."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-36256457
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Pentagon Says U.S. Forces in Yemen for 'Short Term' But With No End Date
May 9, 2016 – The presence of a small number of U.S. troops in Yemen has no announced end date but would be “short term,” Pentagon press secretary Peter Cook said Monday, three days after Americans learned of a military deployment targeting Islamic terrorists in yet another Arab country.

Cook said the “small contingent” of troops, acting in a “liaison role” with a Saudi-led Sunni coalition, would be in Yemen for “a limited period of time.” “But I don’t have a particular deadline [for their withdrawal] to share with you at this time,” he added. Asked about the issue of congressional authorization – the War Powers Act requires Congress to authorize the use of force beyond 60 days – Cook replied, “This was going to be a short-duration operation, a short-duration support, so obviously we will comply with whatever rules and – uh, are required for the operation in Yemen.” On Friday, the Pentagon said a small team of U.S. troops has been in Yemen for the last two weeks, helping the Sunni coalition targeting al-Qaeda in the Arabian peninsula (AQAP). The al-Qaeda affiliate has exploited the country’s core conflict – between Saudi-backed Yemeni government forces and Shi’ite Houthi rebels supported by Iran – to expand its presence, especially along the southern coast.

In April last year AQAP seized the country’s third-largest port, Mukalla, making it the de facto capital of its purported “emirate” and reportedly using port revenues and cash looted from banks as lucrative sources of funding. With U.N.-backed Yemen peace talks underway, in a temporary shift of focus away from the Houthi threat coalition troops helped forces loyal to Yemeni President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi to recapture Mukalla late last month. The coalition claimed that 800 AQAP fighters were killed as the militants retreated. Cook said Monday the U.S. troops were “operating in liaison with coalition activities in Mukalla, and they are still in country, still providing that liaison role, in particular in support of intelligence-sharing. And they continue to perform that role.” U.S. military personnel withdrew from Yemen in March 2015 and the U.S. Embassy was evacuated, after the Houthis’ bid to seize control of the country forced the U.S.-supported Hadi to flee the country.

Shortly after that U.S. pullout, the Saudi-led coalition launched a campaign of airstrikes against the Shi’ite rebels in which more than 6,000 people, many of them civilians, have been killed according to U.N. figures. Up to now, declared U.S. participation in the coalition effort has been limited to intelligence and logistical support. The U.S. has also continued to carry out airstrikes of its own targeting AQAP – four since April 23 that killed at least 10 terrorists, according to the Pentagon. (Data compiled by the New America Foundation records 10 U.S. drone strikes in Yemen this year.) Asked about the decision to put U.S. boots on the ground in this instance, Cook said the clear target was AQAP. “AQAP remains a significant security threat to the United States and to our regional partners. And we welcome this effort to specifically remove AQAP from this part of Yemen, and our support is particularly designed to support that.”

Secretary of State John Kerry, visiting Paris on Monday, met with his Saudi counterpart Adel al-Jubeir and expressed U.S. appreciation for Saudi’s key role in fighting AQAP in Yemen, said State Department spokesman John Kirby. “Saudi leadership in making available an operations center and contributing the largest number of forces has been indispensable to recent successes, including most recently in al Mukalla,” Kirby said in a brief statement that did not mention a U.S. troop presence there. Western security officials generally view AQAP as al-Qaeda’s most dangerous affiliate. It has tried unsuccessfully to attack the U.S., by attempting to bomb a Detroit-bound aircraft on Christmas Day 2009, and by shipping bombs to the U.S. hidden in packages on commercial cargo planes the following year. In January last year AQAP claimed responsibility after gunmen shot dead 12 people in an attack on the Paris offices of the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, and a terrorist killed four Jews during a siege at the kosher supermarket in the city.

http://www.cnsnews.com/news/article...us-forces-yemen-short-term-no-end-date-report
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waltky · Aug 16, 2016

Airstrikes hit another Doctors Without Borders hospital in Yemen...

Airstrikes hit another Doctors Without Borders hospital
Tuesday 16th August, 2016 - Medical teams are treating the wounded at hospital in Hajjah province; Strike follows bombing of two schools in northern Yemen by Saudi-led coalition planes

At least 14 people -- including one aid worker -- were killed when an airstrike hit a hospital in northern Yemen Monday, according to the humanitarian group Doctors Without Borders. Twenty four people were injured in the attack on Abs hospital in Hajjah province, the group also known as Médecins Sans Frontier, or MSF, said on Twitter. The MSF staffer, Abdul Kareem al Hakeemi, died as a result of injuries caused by the blast, the group said.

The Saudi-led coalition carrying out airstrikes in Yemen said Tuesday it is aware of the hospital strike and will look into it. The Joint Incidents Assessment Team "has opened an independent investigation into these reports as a matter of urgency" and "will make its findings from this investigation public," the statement posted on the Saudi news agency SPA said. MSF is still surveying the damage in the area and will launch its own internal investigation into the incident, the group said on Twitter.

At the time of Monday's attack, there were 23 patients in the surgery ward, 23 in the maternity ward, 13 newborns and 12 patients in the pediatric ward, MSF said. The hospital had a 14-bed emergency room, a maternity unit and a surgical unit and had seen an uptick in wounded patients in the last weeks, most hurt in clashes and in the bombing campaign, the group tweeted. More than 4,600 patients have received medical help since MSF began supporting the hospital in July 2015 the group said on its website.

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Air strike on Doctors Without Borders hospital in Yemen kills at least 11: aid group
Tuesday 16th August, 2016 - A Saudi-led coalition air strike hit a hospital operated by Medecins Sans Frontieres in northern Yemen on Monday, killing at least 11 people and wounding 19, the aid group said, Reuters said.

A Reuters witness at the scene of the attack in the Abs district of Hajja province said medics could not immediately evacuate the wounded because war planes continued to fly over the area and emergency workers feared more bombings. "The location of the hospital was well known, and the hospital's GPS coordinates were repeatedly shared with all parties to the conflict, including the Saudi-led coalition," the aid group also known as Doctors Without Borders, said in a statement.

Airstrike hits MSF hospital in Yemen

It said one of its staff members was among those killed when an aerial bomb hit the hospital compound, also killing 10 patients. "This is the fourth attack against an MSF facility in less than 12 months," the statement said. "Even with the recent United Nations resolution calling for an end to attacks on medical facilities and high-level declarations of commitment to international humanitarian law, nothing seems to be done to make parties involved in the conflict in Yemen to respect medical staff and patients."

http://akipress.com/news:581183
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waltky · Aug 19, 2016

MSF Is Pulling Staff After Hospital Bombings in Yemen...

Doctors Without Borders Is Pulling Staff After Hospital Bombings in Yemen
AUG. 18, 2016 Doctors Without Borders announced on Thursday that it would evacuate its staff from six hospitals in northern Yemen because it could not get assurances that its hospitals would not be bombed again.

The group blamed the Saudi-led military coalition for the decision, calling its bombing indiscriminate and its assurances of protection for health workers unreliable, citing the aerial bombardment of Abs Hospital in Hajjah Province on Monday, which killed 19 people and wounded 24. It was the fourth health facility supported by Doctors Without Borders to be hit by Saudi-led coalition airstrikes in the 17-month war against Houthi militias. The aid group, widely known by its French name, Médecins Sans Frontières, or M.S.F., said in a news release Thursday issued from its New York headquarters that it had met twice with high-ranking coalition officials in the past eight months and been assured that attacks on hospitals would end. Aerial bombings have however continued, despite the fact that M.S.F. has systematically shared the GPS coordinates of hospitals in which the organization works with the parties involved in the conflict, the news release said. Coalition officials repeatedly state that they honor international humanitarian law, the statement continued, yet this attack shows a failure to control the use of force and to avoid attacks on hospitals full of patients. M.S.F. is neither satisfied with nor reassured by the Saudi-led coalitions statement that this attack was a mistake.

The group also called on the United States, Britain and France, who support the Saudi-led coalition, to pressure it to protect civilians, and it complained that the results of previous investigations into hospital bombings by the coalition were never shared. The withdrawal of staff affects six hospitals in Saada and Hajjah Provinces in the north, including Abs Hospital. Among the staff withdrawn were pediatricians, obstetricians, surgeons and emergency room specialists. The hospitals were expected to remain open using Yemeni staff members, and Teresa Sancristóval, Doctors Without Borders emergency program coordinator, said the group would continue to support the hospitals with medical supplies and funding. M.S.F. condemns the way all actors involved in the conflict, including the Saudi-led coalition, the Houthis and allies, are conducting this war and carrying out indiscriminate attacks without any respect for civilians, the group said.

The Saudi-led coalition, in a statement issued in Riyadh, said that it regretted the aid groups decision to withdraw staff and that it was in urgent discussions with the group to resolve the situation. We greatly value the work M.S.F. does for the people of Yemen under difficult circumstances, the coalition said. The coalition is committed to full respect for international humanitarian law in the conduct of our operations in Yemen, the statement said, adding that an independent investigation of the Abs bombing would take place. Saudi officials have accused the Houthi militias, who control Sana, the capital, and northern Yemen, of using hospitals, schools and other civilian facilities to hide their military forces. Doctors Without Borders has denied that was the case in any of its bombed health facilities.

The organization will continue to staff five other hospitals and health centers in Yemen, and it also provides other forms of support besides staffing to 18 hospitals and health centers in eight provinces. Ibrahim Aram, the director of Abs Hospital, said that it had continued to operate after the bombing Monday, but that the withdrawal by Doctors Without Borders would greatly limit services to patients. The hospitals capabilities are collapsing, he said. But we will not stop because of this, because we cannot leave our patients.

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/19/world/middleeast/yemen-doctors-without-borders-hospitals.html?_r=0
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Jim Rockford Banned

Jim Rockford Banned

waltky Well-Known Member

waltky Well-Known Member

waltky Well-Known Member

waltky Well-Known Member

waltky Well-Known Member

waltky Well-Known Member

waltky Well-Known Member

waltky Well-Known Member

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