Yemen’s Supreme Political Council recently displayed four new air defense systems developed by the country’s defense industry, seen as an effort to strengthen and boost its defense capability. The four are identified as Fater-1 (Innovator-1), Thaqib-1 (Piercer-1), Thaqib-2, and Thaqib-3. Yemen’s modernized air defense system recently shot down a Saudi-owned fighter jet in the province of Al Jawf, as Almasdarnews reported.

‘The New Defense Systems Will Change the Course of the Battle’

“The new defense systems will change the course of the battle against the coalition of aggression and pave the ground for the introduction of more sophisticated systems in order to engage enemy targets,” Houthi leader Mahdi al Mashat said.

In the exhibition, al-Mashat watched a documentary on the development stages of those air defense systems since the start of the Saudi-led coalition in one of the poorest nations in the Middle East. He thanked Yemen’s ministry of defense and other related institutions for their hard work.

A Brief History of the Yemen War

The bloodshed in Yemen stemmed from the Arab Spring uprising, the movement that led to regime changes in several the Middle East and North African countries such as Tunisia and Egypt. The movement also forced then the incumbent Ali Abdullah Saleh — who was later killed in December 2017 — to resign and let his deputy, the internationally-recognized Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi to take office, in 2011.

In 2014, Yemen’s Houthi rebel-affiliated with Iran-took over the Yemeni capital of Sana’a, forcing Hadi to share his power with the Shia rebel. There was a suggestion that both set up a federal system that split the country into six regions. However, the opposition refused the idea, fearing the impact on its alliance.

In early 2015, the Houthis arrested Hadi, but he managed to escape to Aden. Then, Saudi Arabia and other Arab nations launched a military intervention to contain the rebels, turning the conflict into the ongoing proxy war between Riyadh and Tehran that it is today.

The Awful Human Cost of the Yemen War

As of April 20, 2019, more than 70,000 people are recorded as having died in the Yemen civil war since 2016 as the data from ACLED (Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project) showed. As of June 20, 2019, ACLED also stated that that the Saudi-led coalition was responsible for 67 percent of casualties in Yemen since 2015. More data from Reliefweb states that 2.2 million Yemeni children live in 75 districts where they cannot access humanitarian aid and face a severe food crisis.

2020 is the Year of Yemen’s Air Defense System

In an interview with an Arabic-language site Mirat Aljazeera, Yemen’s Air Force spokesperson, Maj.Gen. Abdullah Al-Jafri was optimistic that 2020 would be the golden year of the country’s air defense following the shooting of the Saudi’s Tornado jet on Tuesday, February 18. He also added that the air defense would more sophisticated in terms of how it will be developed going forward.

Saudi Arabia demanded Yemen’s full responsibility for the security and safety of the Saudi jet’s pilot that Yemen downed. Regarding this matter, Jafri said that if they had been alive, Yemen would have held a dialogue with Riyadh in compliance with the international principles stipulated in the Geneva Convention.

Yemen Continues to Hit Saudi Arabia

Before the shooting of the Saudi Tornado jet, Yemen’s military — with support from the Houthi-affiliated Lijan Shaabiya fighters — hit three Saudi’s drones in less than a week.

Saudi Arabia — one of the world’s largest arms buyers thanks to the purchase of American arms — has been trying its best to protect its assets following the drone attack on its oil facility in September 2019. Therefore, the oil-rich nation borrowed the Patriot defense missile from Greece (with the U.S approval) to protect its oil installation.

“The deployment contributes to energy security, promotes our country as a factor of regional stability and strengthens our ties to Saudi Arabia,” Government spokesman Stelios Petsas said as army-technology quoted.

The U.S accused Iran of masterminding the attack on Saudi Aramco’s oil installation. While the Houthi rebels claimed responsibility despite the U.N investigative report in early January saying neither Iran nor the Houthis were the culprits.

With Yemen’s new air defense system and Saudi’s effort to shoo away the Iran-affiliated rebels’ attack, the war in Yemen seems to be far from over, and the humanitarian crisis will continue and worsen.

L'articolo Yemen Introduces New Missile Systems To Deter Saudis proviene da InsideOver.

US Central Command announced on Feb. 13 that the US Navy had intercepted an Iranian boat bound for Yemen. The dhow—a sailboat with two masts—was reportedly carrying 150 Dehlavieh anti-tank guided missiles, which CENTCOM said are Iranian copies of the Russian Kornet missile. Three surface-to-air missiles in addition to surveillance equipment and other weapons parts were also found on the boat.

‘These Weapons Were Determined to be of Iranian Origin’

“Many of these weapons systems are identical to the advanced weapons and weapon components seized by guided-missile destroyer USS Forrest Sherman (DDG 98) in the Arabian Sea on Nov. 25, 2019,” a CENTCOM statement said. “Those weapons were determined to be of Iranian origin and assessed to be destined for the Houthis in Yemen, which would be in violation of a UN Security Council Resolution that prohibits the direct or indirect supply, sale, or transfer of weapons to the Houthis.”

The US military published video from the interception and photos of the weapons. A UN Security Council Resolution prohibits the transfer of arms to Houthi militias in Yemen, but Iran has long been accused by the international community of supplying the rebel faction. On the other side, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia have supported the government of ousted President Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi. 

Amidst the proxy war, a secessionist faction grew and terrorist groups Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State have also seized the chance to join the mix. 

Pompeo: ‘The World Must Reject Iran’s Violence and Act Now’

The US has maintained a hardline view on Iranian involvement in the Yemen conflict. After the weapons seizure, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo tweeted, “The US Navy interdicted 358 Iranian-made missiles + other weapons components on their way to the Houthis in Yemen. This is another example of the world’s largest state sponsor of terror the Islamic Republic of Iran continuing to defy the UN Security Council.

“The world must reject Iran’s violence and act now to renew the expiring UN arms embargo on Iran,” he continued. 

For Pompeo and the UN Security Council, which includes China, France, the United Kingdom, Russia, and the US as permanent members, an embargo on arms from Tehran is key to stopping the conflict that Iran instigates. However, it could also be viewed as a way to stifle the other side’s means of supporting itself in order to ensure victory for US allies. 

Iran’s Perspective

Iran views the arms embargo as yet another attempt to shut it out of the region, which means its primary regional adversary, Saudi Arabia, would reap the benefits.

Yemen’s Minister of Information Mummar Al-Aryani commended the US for intercepting the arms shipment as a welcome development. Al-Aryani said the Houthis are killing civilians, however evidence has shown both sides play a role in the massacre across the nation with Saudi and UAE-caused casualties much higher than those caused by the Houthi side. In fact, the growing collateral damage was a factor in the UAE’s decision to reduce its involvement in the conflict.

“We urge the international community and the UN Security Council to impose deterrent sanctions on the Tehran regime and exert pressure to (halt) arms and exports smuggling to Houthis,” Al-Ayrani said.

Iran’s Support of the Houthis

Iran has supplied weapons and technology to Houthis since 2015, Arab News reported, after Saudi Arabia and its allies intervened to support Hadi.

The UN held “crunch talks” in Brussels over the situation following the weapons confiscation. Arab News reported the international body considered “scaling back or suspending the deliver of vital supplies to millions of people at risk of starvation.” 

Such a move would hurt those who need it help the most—civilians—and would be unlikely to stop Iran’s efforts to help the Houthis. In fact, it may do the opposite by portraying the international community as the villain. In truth, cutting humanitarian aid would be aimed more at convincing the Houthis to scale down their war and, hopefully, encourage discussions of peace, possibly by forcing civilians to pressure Houthi leadership from within Yemen.

Notably, there was no mention in Brussels of the possibility of restricting supplies to Saudi-allied forces. Further sanctions against Iran were also not discussed and would be unlikely considering the delicate situation with the failing Iranian nuclear deal, which was provoked by a reinstatement of US sanctions. 

L'articolo US Navy Intercepts Iranian Weapons Bound for Yemen proviene da InsideOver.

Over the past week, protesters held demonstrations near the Emirati embassy in Sudan and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the capital Khartoum, accusing United Arab Emirates of luring young Sudanese jobseekers into the war in Libya and Yemen with false work contracts.

“No to mercenary activities”, “No to charlatanism”, “No to deception” read their banners.

Emirati Company Reportedly Luring Sudanese Fighters To Foreign Wars

Black Shield Security Services Company, an Emirati firm, is said to have hired some 300 Sudanese youth with contracts relating to security guards positions. Young Sudanese said they started seeing job advertisement as early as October last year.

The protests rose after the controversy spread on social media, with family members of the victims calling on their government to take action against the United Arab Emirates, a prominent ally to Sudan, for deceitfully taking their relatives to conflict-torn Libya and Yemen.

One of the recruits who returned to Sudan told Sudania 24 TV about how he was taken to a military training camp upon his very arrival to the Emirates, where he said he went through manipulation and psychological preparation ahead of being taken to Libya or Yemen.

‘They Offered Him A Large Sum Of Money’

Following the protests, on Tuesday, January 28, the United Arab Emirates repatriated 50 Sudanese Black Shield had hired, but many remain in the United Arab Emirates while other were said to have been taken to Libya already.

“My brother told me that he was trained in the U.A.E. to handle heavy weapons, and he was given the option to either go to Yemen or Libya after they offered him a large sum of money,” Abdullah al-Tayeb Yusuf told Al Jazeera in another case.

But other jobseekers, who initially applied for jobs relating to security guard positions in the Emirates, said they weren’t even asked to choose between the two war-ravaged countries where the Emirati presence is all the more patent.

Family members also said their relatives were not aware of where they would subsequently serve until last minute.

Black Shield Denies All Reports Of Wrongdoing

Black Shield Security Services Company denied all allegations of “deception and misleading” its recruits.

Wakeep⁠—a Sudanese blog⁠—posted on social media pictures of the alleged contracts, with stamps it said were issues by both the Sudanese embassy in the Arab United Emirates and the U.A.E. embassy in Khartoum. Wakeep also claimed that many recruits were sent to Al-Ghayathi military camp in the desert after the company confiscated their phones.

Other reports claimed recruits were taken to oil refineries in zones control by Haftar’s forces in Libya, such as the Ras Lanuf oil terminal, which is one of the many fields that are blockaded by groups loyal to Haftar.

UAE’s Support For Khalifa Haftar In Libya

The United Arab Emirates has long shown unwavering financial and military support for Haftar. They have strongly backed his offensive against the U.N.-recognized government led by Fayez al-Sarraj in Tripoli.

Other reports stated the Sudanese recruits were forced to wear R.S.F. military uniforms. With the support of the United Arab Emirates, the Rapid Support Forces (R.S.F.) have fought alongside Haftar’s troops in Libya, having also taken part in the Saudi-led war on Yemen since 2015.

Child Soldiers From Darfur And Chad Recruited To Fight In Yemen

In 2018, the Rapid Support Forces had even hired children from Darfur, the same village that was ravaged by the Janjaweeds (from which the R.S.F. later stemmed) and neighboring country Chad to fight in the war against the Houthis in Yemen in the coalition led by Saudi Arabia⁠—another major ally with whom Sudan also shares sea borders.

After months of previous protests that started in December 2018 against Omar al-Bashir⁠—Sudan’s former president who had served since 1989⁠—the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia also played a determinant role by supporting loyal military officials who eventually toppled al-Bashir.

How Many Sudanese Citizens Are Fighting In Yemen?

Last summer, Sudan’s ruling military council said as many as 30,000 Sudanese militiamen (mainly from the R.S.F.) were fighting in Yemen. The Guardian reported last December that over 3,000 Sudanese fighters were deployed in Libya, taking part in both sides of the conflict⁠—with a majority fighting for Haftar.

Responding to the protesters, Sudan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Tuesday, January 28, it was investigating the Black Shield case.

“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and other relevant state institutions affirm their keenness to ensure the safety of Sudanese working for the company and to exert intensive efforts to reassure the families of the citizens concerned,” said the ministry in a statement.

Yet the statement also noted that the issue “will not affect the distinguished relations and existing cooperation between the two countries.”

In April 2019, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia deposited $500 million to Sudan’s central bank, an aid promised to Sudan amid its growing unrest. The two Gulf monarchies also said they were committed to pay $3 billion by the end of 2020.

L'articolo Unemployed Sudanese Accuse Emirates of Luring Them Into War proviene da InsideOver.

The Arab Spring of 2010 – 2011 has not rolled on to summer days for Yemen. Now a war-torn nation, Yemen is the victim of both weak internal politics as well as external meddling. Prompted by the Spring unrest in many parts of the Islamic world, Yemen in 2011 experienced a “transition” from the stale, authoritarian presidency of Ali Abdullah Saleh, who handed over his rule to his then deputy, Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi.

Although the flimsiest of concessions – as opposed to a wholesale renewal of government based on multiparty elections – it seemed the civil transfer of power was good enough for Yemen’s people, and it would enable the country to go forward with higher hopes. The incoming Hadi, however, was quickly beset by southern separatists’ aspirations, persistent loyalty among the military top brass towards Saleh, ongoing corruption, unemployment and food scarcity, as well as sporadic jihadist attacks.

Today, Yemen is a country tarnished throughout by civil war, with Saleh’s old enemies – the Houthi movement that fights for control by the country’s Zaidi Shia Muslim minority – having taken control of the north with relative ease. The Houthi’s stronghold was always the Saada province, and the movement now controls it, along with several surrounding areas.

As Hadi’s inability to address Yemen’s affairs grew more apparent, the Houthi’s popular appeal grew, and the movement attracted both Shia and Sunni Muslim residents’ sympathies. Popular support due to lingering dissatisfaction – combined with a weak and remote government – saw fighting erupt, enabling a Houthi coup in late 2014. The capital city Sanaa also fell to rebel control in 2015, while Hadi was forced into exile. Both Houthi aggression as well as variably substantiated allegations of Yemeni military leaders – in cahoots with erstwhile president Saleh – supporting such actions, ensured Hadi’s departure into exile, leaving behind a torn government, and a people in crisis.

Yemen’s internal strife exacerbated from the outside

The current internecine stalemate has wrought havoc on the nation’s food supplies, bringing many to the brink of starvation all over the country. For many Yemeni families, feeding their children, as well as accessing needed medical care, are evaporating hopes. Malnutrition is rife in some areas, in a country that was never a bread basket to begin with. The current hostilities have interrupted Yemen’s ports, the food supplies that typically flowed from these coastal regions, as well as many citizens’ ability to plant and manage a seasonal crop.

Exacerbating the hardship for Yemeni’s are the various players forcing their own interests in the region, those who have latched onto fragmented Yemen with fervour. Neighbouring (Sunni) Saudi Arabia is leading a coalition of neighbouring states in offensives against the Houthi encampments, with Saudi jets frequently bombing targets in the north country. Hospitals and schools too have been destroyed, and aid agencies have repeatedly condemned the targeted destruction of civilian installations. Millions of Yemen’s children have been forced to abandon their education.

Although the coalition’s air and ground actions, as well as the naval blockade still in place along the coastline, are alleged to be in keeping with UN Charter articles, critics have disputed this, and pointed to the real ramifications for common Yemenis. Widespread criticism of the coalition’s efforts have centered more specifically on those of Saudi Arabia, accused of seeking particularly the collapse of any Shia Muslim movement on its borders, rather than any egalitarian or democratic end result. With the vast southern coastal stretch also broadly yet sparsely dotted with Al Qaeda operatives, common Yemenis seem trapped within their own borders.

Most painfully, all parties in the Yemeni war appear to be accepting civilian casualties with a new disregard for non-combatant human life. The war is being waged on a new low as regards the safety of civilians, and their current often desperate needs, with alarming statistics of civilian deaths now commonplace.

To date, the Houthi movement remains in control of the territory they originally conquered, while the coalition partners, in conjunction with many European nations’ support, are hoping for a greater, final offensive to restore the erstwhile government of Hadi.

Notwithstanding over 18,000 air raids by Saudi jets, the coalition remains unconvinced that a ground force offensive would be able to recapture Sanaa, or any of the terrain Houthi rebels currently control. Iran – Saudi relations are at an all-time low, and Iran is seen as the Houthi movement’s principal benefactor, although its ability to arm and supply rebel forces is intermittently hamstrung by current monitoring.

Amidst all of the carnage, Yemen’s children are dying

Not only have over 80,000 people – civilians and combatants – died in the conflict, over two million children are at risk of dying from conditions brought on by severe malnutrition. Millions of Yemenis are on the move, having fled their homes for areas away from conflict hot spots, typically finding themselves cut off from conventional food supplies or healthcare services of any kind when they arrive.

Children are paying the heaviest price, according to UNICEF and other agencies doing relief work in the country. Poverty in Yemen was a social scourge even before the Arab Spring, and has simply increased under the current internecine warfare.

The war has dramatically worsened Yemen’s humanitarian situation, resulting in a full-blown catastrophe, which some agencies have called genocide. All warring parties are gripped by the desire for military conquest, while peace talks – and the nation’s hungry population – lie forgotten. Reporters on the ground regularly file reports of civilian installations being bombed by Saudi jets. Aid agencies are hampered by Yemen’s geography too, with an entire northern border running alongside Saudi Arabia, and the entire southern coast variably beset with foreign naval warships policing the seas.

In spite of such difficulties, prominent agencies are active on the ground in Yemen, but they face a daunting task. Not only are supplies often lost, curtailed or simply irregular, the theft of food aid is being used as a tool of war, often in an attempt to weaken Houthi resistance. The Houthi rebels too, frequently steal food donations that they then distribute only to those who express wholesale support for the movement. Civilians pay the heaviest toll, as the warring parties in this conflict have made food scarcity an offensive tactic.

Millions of children face malnourishment in 2020

As fighting intensifies, humanitarian organisations are at risk of succumbing to the carnage and being forced to retreat. Recent attacks in December 2019 on specifically aid agencies’ encampments have alarmed the UN, while agency workers on the ground say that the real victims will be the Yemeni people. As the war drags on, agencies are mostly in agreement that more than half the population will need food aid to avoid malnutrition or outright starvation in the coming months.

Never an agriculturally giving land, failed or absent crops unsupported by imports make the threat of famine engulfing Yemen a looming probability. Now in winter, if the region is at all impacted by climate change this coming summer season, aid workers fear the worst if the scant rainfall eludes farmers altogether. Caught between the internal conflict and an average annual rainfall of just 127mm, failed summer rains could well prove to be the last straw that propels millions into starvation.

More than any other recent crisis, Yemen’s humanitarian disaster has focused a spotlight on humanitarian aid – food and medical supplies – in terms of how it is dispatched, distributed and ultimately consumed. Although the UN raised an amount of some $3 billion that was needed to address malnutrition and starvation in Yemen in 2018 – 2019, it has been criticised by potential recipients for allegedly allowing the Houthi rebels to distribute food. Most likely a marriage of convenience, it seems at times that Houthi “oversight” and “distribution” is the best aid agencies can hope for. Stories of rebels confiscating food or selling it on the black market – often directly from a crate still bearing a UN or other insignia – have seen their popular support souring in many locales.

Allegations that the movement steals children to train as soldiers or use as human shields have also encouraged many families to flee, exacerbating the situation, and pushing the country towards more hardship and starvation. With peace talks mooted but as yet unmanifest, the conflict in Yemen looks set to drag on into 2020, meaning that the death toll among Yemen’s most vulnerable – the children – will continue to climb.

L'articolo Thousands of Yemeni Children at Risk of Dying from Malnutrition proviene da InsideOver.

For the first time in the four years of war in Yemen, a lethal drone attack against Saudi Arabia’s two main oil plants was confirmed to have been launched from Iraqi territory. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s quick blame on Iran and its Houthi rebels in Yemen from where he originally claimed the attack was initiated, added to the confusion concerning this major development. Pompeo later joined the chorus confirming that the suicide drones raid which targeted the most important Saudi oil fields of Kuhrais and al Abqaiq originated in an Iraqi border area with a pro-Iranian local community. The deliberate US insistence to force Iran’s name in the incident – the Saudis themselves held off on accusations – has not downgraded the significance of this development and its immediate repercussions on the world oil markets.

Drones or Missiles, Damage Was Done

Houthi rebels in Yemen were quick to assume responsibility for the deadly attacks that set the two major Saudi oil installations ablaze on the morning of Saturday, September 14. Initially, it was quite clear whether the attack was carried out by long-range missiles or suicide drones, but Houthis reaffirmed the latter confirming that they had sent 10 suicide drones on this very mission.

Damage to the Saudi plants was so immense that it crippled the country’s oil production cutting it by half – that amounts to 5% of the world’s crude production. The Saudis announcement a few days ago that their production quota is now back to normal does not underestimate the seriousness of the incident and its economic, security and political fallout. Once again, US-made expensive and supposedly sophisticated Patriot anti-aircraft systems and other surface-to-air batteries have abysmally failed to prevent yet another costly drone attack by Yemeni rebels with limited resources, who threatened that there was more to come unless the Saudi-led coalition stops its war on Yemen.

More Embarrassment for MBS and Saudi Allies

The impact of the raids on the oil and financial markets was immediate. Oil prices rose and Saudi stocks fell, then settled and later fell again. A growing sense of anger and frustration among Saudi citizens following every such attack adds to the embarrassment of the Saudi royal family and its strong man, Crown Prince MBS. Their coalition has failed to produce any tangible results on the ground in Yemen, and has suffered widening fractures following the drawdown of UAE’s troops operating in Yemen, and a recent visit to Tehran by the Emirati Coast Guard commander to Tehran for consultations and coordination with Iran, Saudi Arabia’s arch-rival and enemy, regarding security and safety issues in the Gulf region. The United Arab Emirates has had its own share of national regional insecurity and fear of an uncontrollable escalation when 6 tankers and other vessels were attacked off the coast of Al Fujairah a few months ago.

Confusion Shrouds Iraq Implication in Attack

So much ado and uncertainty regarding where this Houthi attack on Saudi oil plants had originated, as Iraq was implicated for the first time in such incidents against Saudi Arabia. Immediately following the attack, a senior Iraqi government official confirmed that the attack was launched from Iraqi soil, not from Yemen. Soon thereafter, Iraqi officials utterly denied that they had anything to do with this attack. Adding to the confusion and embarrassment of the Iraqis, a US-based Iraqi centre, the Future Foundation’s president Intifad Qanbar, quoting reliable sources of his inside Iraq itself, reconfirmed that the attack was launched from inside Iraqi territories, most likely from southern Iraq where Iran sympathizers are a majority. Iran, as usual, was singled out for the immediate blame and ready-made accusation; the media loves it, and the Iranians have grown used to it with obvious indifference.

The mere fact that this deadly attack against Saudi Arabia’s backbone oil installations was, for the first time, waged from inside Iraq itself remains a major and unexpected development that has everything to do with the Saudi-led war on Yemen. But more importantly even, is the fact that Iran-backed Houthi rebels feel much more confident and capable of inflicting ‘serious and painful’ damage on their arch-enemy Saudi Arabia, with strong warnings to its coalition partners. The table is turning against the Saudis and their fractured coalition in Yemen, and Houthi rebels are now well poised on the winning side.

L'articolo Iraqi Drone Attack On Saudi Oil Plants proviene da InsideOver.

United Nations aid chief Mark Lowcock was able to breathe a sigh of relief this week as he announced that Saudi Arabia was finally going big on a multimillion-dollar pledge to tackle Yemen’s humanitarian crisis.

For weeks, Lowcock had complained that Saudi and the United Arab Emirates, who head a military coalition fighting in Yemen’s civil war, had only paid a fraction of the combined $1.5 billion they promised for the turbulent country in February.

On Monday, Lowcock, the UN’s emergency relief coordinator said a recent UAE payment of $200m and a pending Saudi transfer of $500m would help fight cholera and provide food, water and other supplies to some 24m aid-dependent Yemenis.

While the new funds will keep life-saving aid schemes running a few more months, humanitarian experts told Inside Over that Saudi and UAE pledges and payments should be seen in the context of their military operations in Yemen.

Jeremy Konyndyk, an Obama-era US aid chief, and Aisha Jumaan, a Yemen aid coordinator, said that by over-pledging funding and then under-delivering the cash had helped push millions of Yemenis closer to the brink of famine.

Abu Dhabi and Riyadh launched military operations in Yemen in 2015, hoping for a quick victory over the Iran-aligned Houthi rebels and to restore the government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi.

Konyndyk, who headed USAID’s Office of US Foreign Disaster Assistance during the Obama administration, told Inside Over that “pledging bait and switch” by Saudi and the UAE undercuts UN aid projects in Yemen.

By failing to deliver on funding promises, the UN is “left in the lurch” and has to abandon life-saving schemes, said Konyndyk, now a policy analyst at the Center for Global Development, a think tank.

“The Saudi strategy isn’t explicitly designed to make the Yemeni population suffer, but the suffering of the Yemeni population is a byproduct of the strategy that they are completely willing to accept,” said Konyndyk.

“The idea is to choke off enough of the economy to weaken the Houthis and strengthen the hand of the coalition. And, if the Houthis are put under enough pressure, they will buckle.”

Konyndyk did not accuse Riyadh of malice but described a “Byzantine bureaucracy” with competing political, military and humanitarian agendas that result in more “capricious and politicised” decision-making than is found with traditional Western donors.

“The Saudi government really wants to get good PR from the aid that it provides for Yemen. At certain levels of their government, there is more interest in the PR bump they get than from the actual good” of aid work undertaken, said Konyndyk.

Jumaan, founder and president of the Yemen Relief and Reconstruction Foundation, an aid group, went further, describing a Saudi-UAE strategy to deliberately hurt ordinary Yemenis in rebel-held areas in a hope that they rise against the Houthis.

“It’s a war tactic; it’s not accidental. Its part of their starvation warfare on Yemeni people,” Jumaan told Inside Over. “The Saudis pledge for Yemen but they never pay up. By pledging, they deter other countries from make pledges themselves.”

At the pledging meet in February, the two Gulf monarchies each promised $750 million to Yemen. In July, a UN tracking system showed that Saudi had paid only $121.7m while the UAE had handed over about $195m of that sum.

“Yemen should get unconditional funds. They also should get it promptly with UN agencies having to beg for it. It should come without strings attached or favours. Better yet, the coalition blockade on Yemen should be lifted,” added Jumaan.

Neither the UAE nor Saudi Arabia’s mission to the UN answered Inside Over’s interview requests. Previously, both Gulf governments have rowed with the UN over how much money they routed through the world body.

The long-running war, widely seen as a proxy battle between Saudi Arabia and Iran, has left more than two-thirds of Yemenis needing aid, forced millions of people from their homes, and killed tens of thousands more.

Pre-dawn strikes on Saudi oil facilities on Saturday, to which the Houthis claimed responsibility but which the United States blamed on Iran, have raised tensions in an already-turbulent region and raised the prospects of a broader conflict.

Iran has repeatedly denied organising the September 14 raids, which hit the world’s biggest crude oil processing facility and initially knocked out half of the output from Saudi Arabia, the world’s leading oil exporter.

L'articolo Saudi and UAE Aid Delays A ‘War Tactic’ in Yemen proviene da InsideOver.

On early Saturday, September 14, explosions lit up the predawn sky in Eastern Saudi Arabia as two of the monarchy’s major oil plants were bombed in drone strikes. The raids knocked out what accounts for more than half of Saudi Arabia’s oil output, as well as around 5% of the entire world’s oil supply.

The Yemeni Houthi rebels who have been in war against the Saudi-led coalition since 2015, soon claimed responsibility for the attack, stating it is one of their major operations within Saudi borders, and which purportedly involved 10 drones.

The Houthis threatened to lead more attacks, but the United States and Saudi Arabia maintained that Iran was behind the strikes. US officials said the drones were launched from the North of Saudi Arabia, rather than from the South in Yemen.

Iran denied any involvement in the attacks, although it had often threatened to hinder other countries’ oil exports, as Tehran itself undergoes relentless sanctions on its oil trade (which the United States seeks to cut to a rate as low as “zero”).

“There’s no doubt that Iran is responsible for this. No matter how you slice it, there’s no escaping it. There’s no other candidate,” a US official told Reuters on Sunday. US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo also ruled out Houthi involvement, accusing Iran of an “unprecedented attack on the world’s energy supply.”

Although denying its connection, Iran said it was ready for a “full-fledged war”. Trump soon tweeted that the United States, too, was “locked and loaded depending on verification” to respond to the attack.

“Remember when Iran shot down a drone, saying knowingly that it was in their ‘airspace’ when, in fact, it was nowhere close. They stuck strongly to that story knowing that it was a very big lie. Now they say that they had nothing to do with the attack on Saudi Arabia. We’ll see,” Trump later posted.

The US Ambassador to the United Nations Kelly Craft told the UN Security Council on Monday that growing information “indicates that responsibility lies with Iran,” as there is no evidence of Yemen’s involvement.

Yemen’s UN envoy Martin Griffiths told the same council that it was “not entirely clear” who was behind the attack, but his statement made it even less evidence that the drones were launched from Yemen.

The attacks drew reactions from all around the world. Japan’s newly appointed Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi was among the first to share his concerns about the Middle East’s stability following the incident, saying that he and Pompeo “agreed that if the situation in the Middle East becomes unstable, that would affect the international economy.”

Russia, however, deemed it “unacceptable” in case of retaliation from Saudi Arabia or its allies, as the Kremlin said it was “counterproductive” to use the incident as a means to increase tensions in the region.

Relying on “preliminary” findings, the Saudi-led coalition said on Monday that the attacks were not launched from Yemen and were carried out with Iranian weapons. The coalition’s spokesman, Colonel Turki al-Malki, said the investigation was still under the process to determine the exact launch location.

“The preliminary results show that the weapons are Iranian and we are currently working to determine the location … The terrorist attack did not originate from Yemen as the Houthi militia claimed,” Malki told reporters in Riyadh. “This cowardly act largely targets the global economy and not Saudi Arabia,” he later added.

Hitting the world’s biggest crude oil processing plant, the attacks not only propelled worldwide concerns and political turmoil, but also appeared to affect the energy global market.

On Monday, two days following the attack, oil prices soared to as high as 20%, as the strikes were estimated to have knocked out a barrel-per-day rate of 5.7 million of Saudi Arabia’s whole output. Analysts said that Brent, which usually trades at $66 per barrel, could reach $100 the barrel if Saudi Arabia fails to recover quickly.

However, it may take Saudi Arabia months to bring its oil supply to normal volumes. Many countries that collaborate with Saudi Arabia in oil trade are expecting a rise in gas prices.

In a bid to help managing the new crisis, Trump ordered to release US strategic reserves —which are usually only proceeded to in case of emergency— to supply Saudi Arabia and prevent a further jump in prices. South Korea said it will do the same if the circumstances worsened.

The German government, which said on Monday that it will still extend the arms export sanctions on Saudi Arabia, stated that its oil supply wasn’t affected by the attacks, and that any decision to release strategic reserves must be made jointly with the members of the International Energy Agency —30 countries as a whole— making it even harder to expect an unanimous agreement on helping Saudi Arabia.

Israel, having long shared feuds with Saudi Arabia against Iran, also said on Monday it was prepared for any spillover in case of a —now more imminent— confrontation with Iran.

Whether or not Iran is first-degree responsible for hitting Saudi Arabia’s heart of oil industry, it is hard to decontextualise the incident from the Yemen War, which largely seen as a proxy war between Saudi Arabia and Iran. This year, Houthi rebels have stepped up drone and missile attacks in numerous Saudi locations and facilities, whereas Saudi Arabia and the coalition it leads are accused of alarming human rights abuses and war crimes.

L'articolo Attacks on Saudi Oil Facilities Stir Worldwide Concerns proviene da InsideOver.

For some time, Mohammed bin Zayed – Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and de facto leader of the United Arab Emirates – has stood out as one of the main supporters of the anti-Iranian stance adopted by President Trump, as well as a key ally of Saudi Arabia in the fight against Tehran, especially in the Yemeni civil war.

But recently something has changed between the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia regarding the war in Yemen, and with Washington in reference to Iran. The escalation of tensions in the Persian Gulf has worried the Emirates, which, although intent on maintaining strong regional and international alliances – in particular with the United States – have launched a new strategy in the region, necessary to avoid it becoming a theatre of war between Washington and Tehran, and thus safeguarding its national interests.

Barring minor adjustments, the basic objectives of the UAE would remain the same: to reduce the power of Iran and defeat the Houthis in Yemen. To change would be the methods to implement these objectives, in light of two facts which have arisen: the decision of Congress to end US involvement in the Yemen war – despite the veto posed by Mr Trump – and the growing threat from Iran.

A new strategy

Part of this new Emirati strategy would be to avoid a direct confrontation between the United States and Iran, offering itself as mediator in the tensions that are raging in the Persian Gulf. In July, the Emirates sent a delegation to Tehran to discuss maritime and regional security.

Additionally, unlike the United States and Saudi Arabia, Abu Dhabi has not directly accused Iran of being responsible for the incidents in June in which oil tankers off the Gulf country were attacked, pushing instead to reduce tensions through a diplomatic solution.

Another fundamental aspect is the reduction of the Emirati military presence in Yemen. In July, Abu Dhabi withdrew some troops from the governorate of Aden (located in the south of the country), and from the coastal area. Among the reasons for this is certainly international scepticism of the violence to which both sides resorted in the war in Yemen and which caused numerous civilian casualties, and also the need to gather troops in the event of the outbreak of war in the region.

Here, the Emirati strategy is very clear. The objective in Yemen remains the same and will be carried out thanks to the presence of the Emirates’ proxies – the Security Belt paramilitary forces and the Southern Transitional Council – giving precedence to diplomatic routes, which require fewer economic and military resources and improve their reputation within the international community, instead of direct intervention.

Something is changing towards Israel too. Formally, Israel and the United Arab Emirates do not have diplomatic relations; in recent years, however, the two countries are increasingly tightening links, driven by their common concerns about Iran.

In July, Israeli foreign minister Yisrael Katz visited the Gulf country, and in August the Wall Street Journal revealed that, in recent months, the United States has organized a series of secret meetings between the United Arab Emirates and Israel to strengthen anti-Iranian diplomatic, military and intelligence cooperation.

According to a recent investigation, in the last decade, the Emirates have been working to tie up an $846 million deal with Israeli entrepreneurs to buy so-called “spy planes” from Israel in order to monitor Tehran’s actions.

The reasons for the change

According to Yoel Guzansky, senior researcher at the Institute for National Security Studies in Tel Aviv, at least three reasons would have led the Emirates to review their regional strategy.

Above all, Abu Dhabi needs to exit the Yemeni civil war, which is proving to be a drain on resources and which risks leaving an indelible stain on the country’s reputation, especially in the eyes of the United States.

Furthermore, the Emirates need to concentrate diplomatic and military efforts on Iran, with the dual objective of guaranteeing the security of the Gulf and reassuring foreign investors, which Abu Dhabi greatly relies on.

Finally, according to Guzansky, Mr Trump has proved to be an unstable ally for the Middle Eastern powers, more intent on pursuing internal political interests than in working with allies, including on matters of security. The change of the UAE’s position, therefore, is due to the awareness that the US is no longer the reliable guarantor of security that it once was, and to the Gulf Country’s need to independently guarantee its own economic interests.

L'articolo The Emirates Redesign The Middle Eastern Status Quo proviene da InsideOver.

Cracks are widening up and fractures in the Saudi-led coalition are deepening as a result of the divergent UAE/Saudi strategies in Yemen. One of the most impoverished Arab nations faces the threat of falling apart as a result of conflicting interests and agendas by two of the most financially and militarily capable Arab countries in the Gulf. 10 raids launched by UAE jets on pro-Saudi forces in southern Yemen yesterday, killing and injuring hundreds according to STC (Southern Transitional Council) sources, have raised tension between the two sides to new and unprecedented levels

Plagued by proxy warriors

The fourth year of catastrophic hostilities that have ravaged the poor nation suffering the world’s worst humanitarian crisis has witnessed yet a new layer of complexity. Previously, the main war effort in Yemen had been between Houthi rebels supported by Iran on the one side, and the Saudi-dominated coalition on the other. Now a new inter-coalition clash of interests between the UAE and Saudi Arabia further complicates matters, and implies more death and destruction is on the way.

The proxy war in the southern major city of Aden and neighboring areas is being fought by forces of the UAE-trained and fostered so-called Security Belt Force, largely dominated by members of the Southern Transitional Council (STC), which seeks independence for South Yemen, and pro-Saudi forces loyal to the presumably elected, figure-head president Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi.

Although these were not the first such clashes between UAE-backed and pro-Saudi local Yemeni forces as well as hire-gun mercenaries, mainly from African countries, it would appear that Saudi Arabia and the UAE were heading for an armed conflict in Yemen through their own proxies.

Backdrop of UAE-Saudi tension

The UAE’s latest air raids in southern Yemen follow a recent decision by Abu Dhabi to cut down its military presence in the country, which in turn caused a crisis with Riyadh, despite efforts and bilateral statements to underestimate the move and dampen down its implications. Things got even more tense between the two Arab apparently nominal allies, when a senior military Emirati delegation went to Tehran a few weeks ago and held talks and consultations with high ranking Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corp officers. Topics discussed during the landmark visit included collaboration in regional security and safety of shipping in the Gulf between the UAE and Iran, proclaimed Saudi Arabia’s arch enemy and rival in the region and beyond.

Widening rift as interests diverge

Much has changed in terms of implementing own agendas and chasing individual interests and goals in the Yemen war. It looks like the UAE strongest man, Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Zayed (MBZ) is sensing a historical chance to enforce his own agenda in Yemen, at the expense of his Saudi allies.  Government forces managed to drive out STC militias from several districts in Aden, including the presidential palace and the airport, before the separatist militia was able to regain control of the city the following day, thanks to the deadly UAE air raids.

Four years into the military intervention in 2015, theoretically in support of Yemen’s internationally recognized government after the Houthi rebel movement seized the capital, Sanaa, and much of northern Yemen, MBZ seems adamant not to stay in the position of the Coalition’s underdog any more.  This development is said to have enraged his Saudi counterpart Muhammad Bin Salman (MBS), already in much domestic and international trouble. His position has been further weakened by recurrent drone and missile Houthi attacks against major airports, military bases and vital ARAMCO oil installations in Saudi Arabia hinterland.

Stop UAE Raids, Hadi appeals to MBS

 In the aftermath of Friday’s UAE air strikes on his forces, an outraged Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi called on Saudi Arabia to put pressure on the UAE in order to stop its deadly attacks against his men in the south. President Hadi claimed some 300 of his loyal fighters were killed or wounded in the latest wave of Emirati raids.

South Yemen (Democratic Popular Republic), was an independent state from 1967-1990 with the port city of Aden as its capital. It merged with the Yemen Arab Republic, or North Yemen in 1990 following a relentless campaign by the late Yemeni president Ali Abdullah Saleh, killed by Houthi rebels last year. The Democratic South Yemen was seen as a threat by the Saudis who supported both Ali Saleh and his Tribal rival, the late Sheikh Abdullah al Ahmar, Parliament Speaker and a staunch Saudi ally. Four years later, an armed campaign for independence of the South was crushed, again with the help of the Saudis who view Yemen as their unrivaled backyard.

STC is currently trying to revive that dream of southern independence, this time with the help of the UAE who has strategic plans for Aden and other strategically located Yemeni ports. Saudi Arabia, on the other hand, has a different agenda that strives to halt Emirati ambitions in Yemen at bay. Therefore, cracks in the coalition are set to widen in the near future, although the schemes both aggressor nations require one thing in common; a feeble and war-torn Yemen.

L'articolo UAE Fractures Saudi-led Yemen Coalition proviene da InsideOver.

Last July, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) announced it would pull out its troops from Yemen partially, citing the differences with Saudi regarding its Yemen policy and the ban on arms purchase from western countries

A senior military officer explained that Abu Dhabi would prioritize peace over the military option. The UAE withdrawal plans came amid the escalating tension with Iran. The UAE and Saudi unite to crush Shiite Houthis or Ansarallah, deemed as a threat to the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) member countries. However, both have different interests in Yemen,as Albawba wrote.

UAE-backed separatist Southern Transitional Council (STC) took control over the city of Aden, as Reuters reported on August 11. Abu Dhabi wants to have an independent south Yemen, while Saudi wants to restore Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi’s power.

Ironically, STC, which was expected to help Hadi to return to power after Houthi took control,played a role in ousting him.The fraction between Hadi and STC was linked with the former’s partnership with the Islah Party, a banned organization in the UAE.

Before the bloody unification in 1990, Yemen was divided in two parts: the communist-rule in the south, and the northern side was a religious, Sunni-ruled,backed by Saudi.

The war in Yemen broke out after Iran-linked Houthis expelled Western-backed leaderAbdrabbuh Mansour Hadi in 2014 after the ousting of the late Ali Abdullah Saleh in 2012, ending his 24 years of presidency, Saudi and its allies began military intervention in 2015,aimed at supporting the Hadi government.

As of November 2018, the armed conflict had killed 6,872 civilians and wounded 10,768,the majority by the Saudi-backed coalition airstrike,The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCR) reported, as the Human Rights Watch quoted,

On August 15, tens of thousands held a rally demanding independence for the southern part, as Albawba reported.

“We call on the international community and the Arab coalition led by Saudi Arabia and the UAE to respect the southern people as a key partner in stemming the Persian tide in the region and fighting terrorism to achieve…regional and global stability,” a statement from rally said.

Is the UAE playing safe?

Foreign Policy on August 1 said that the UAE’ swithdrawal from Yemen was due to an assumption that the war launched in Yemen could not be won.  An unidentified Emirati official said that the Gulf nation’s pullout showed that the UAE supported U.N-backed peace efforts.

The UAE will still maintain its intention to curb Iran’s influence in Yemen. However, Abu Dhabi also realizes the importance of dialogue as it held maritime talks with Iran, aimed at maintaining security and relations with neighboring countries in the MiddleEast.

Also, the UAE does not want to risk its ties with the U.S, given Congress’seffort to ban arms export to Saudi and the UAE triggered by the humanitarian crisis in Yemen.

Trump and his vetoes have blocked Congress from imposing an arms embargo and will unlikely change his policy toward the UAE and Saudi. However, Abu Dhabi feels it must do anything to boost the relationship before the current Congress ends its term in either 2020 or 2024.

L'articolo The Reasons Why the Saudi-UAE Coalition Fractures in War-Torn Yemen proviene da InsideOver.