Yemen watch

[Bengal_Tiger]

[Bengal_Tiger]

137 dead in a bomb attack on 2 mosques in Yemen.

http://uk.reuters.com/article/2015/03/20/uk-yemen-attack-bomb-idUKKBN0MG12320150320

1. The ISIL (CIA-creation) terrorist group claimed the attack.


2. There is a belief that every 10 years the US military industrial complex needs a war. They usually choose the middle east for their wars.

In 1991 there was the first gulf war, 12 years later in 2003 the second gulf war.

2013 should have seen (in US eyes) a war against Syria but this was blocked by Russia.



3. Russia and China could block any UN resolution to justify any US aggression in Yemen but like Iraq in 2003 the US could then bypass it and just simply ignore it.

However they would need a land base to station their troops, that could only be either Oman or Saudi Arabia.

If the Saudis host a major US force to invade Yemen then they may suffer the repercussions, which is of course something the American regime would all be too happy to see as the more instability and death in the middle east the happier they are.



4. It may not escalate to that level and Yemen may just become like Libya i.e. civil war but no major foreign military operation.

[Bengal_Tiger]

Update:




- US evacuates all military personnel from Yemen.


- Iran alleged to have sent over 100 tonnes of weaponry to its proxy, the Houthi militia.


- The Houthis are approaching Aden, after already having taken control of the capital San'a.


It looks like Yemen is soon going to be the next Syria/Iraq.





Yemeni minister urges Gulf Arab military intervention against Houthis


Foreign minister Riyadh Yaseen calls for Gulf Cooperation Council’s military force to help stop advance of Iranian-backed Shia Houthi fighters

Monday 23 March 2015 19.09 GMT Last modified on Monday 23 March 2015

The Yemeni foreign minister, Riyadh Yaseen, has called for Gulf Arab military intervention to halt advances by Houthi fighters, a move that could draw neighbouring states into the country’s deepening power struggle.

The Sunni Muslim monarchies of the Gulf back President Abd-Rabbuh Mansour Hadi, whose forces have recently suffered reverses at the hands of Iranian-backed Houthis approaching his base in the southern port of Aden from the north.

“We are requesting an intervention by the Gulf Shield forces to stop this Iranian-backed Houthi expansion,” Yaseen told the newspaper al-Sharq al-Awsat, referring to a military force of the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).



“We have expressed to the GCC, the United Nations as well as the international community that there should be a no-fly zone, and the use of military aircraft should be prevented at the airports controlled by the Houthis.”

The Houthis, who share a Shia Muslim ideology with Iran, seized the capital, Sana’a, in September, a blow to the state that widened splits in the army. The group initially shared power with Hadi but dissolved parliament last month.

Saudi Arabia and its Arab neighbours view their takeover as a coup and believe Iran is trying to build up its power in the region by backing armed proxies.

Speaking in Riyadh, the Saudi foreign minister, Saud al-Faisal, warned that Iran was trying “to sow sectarian strife” in the region and said Gulf Arab states would take steps to back Hadi.

“If this issue is not solved peacefully, we will take the necessary measures to protect the region from their aggression,” he told a news conference.


Houthi fighters clashed with armed opponents in south and central Yemen on Monday, residents and the Houthis said. An array of tribesmen, militiamen and army units loyal to Hadi are resisting the southward advance of the Houthis, in skirmishes that have escalated since the weekend.

Houthi guerrillas backed by allied army units fought gun battles against tribesmen in Taiz province, residents said.

On its official Twitter account, the Houthis said their forces had repelled an attack by “terrorist partisans and mercenaries”.

Militiamen and soldiers loyal to Hadi have built up a security belt on the approaches to Aden in recent days, placing tanks and artillery on mountaintops overlooking the frontlines with the Houthis.

Fighting also broke out between Houthi forces and tribal militiamen in the central provinces of al-Bayda and Mareb, killing at least 15 from both sides, local officials said.

The Houthi seizure on Sunday of Taiz city, Yemen’s third largest, shocked opponents of the group there.

Hundreds of activists have set up a protest camp by a main army base loyal to Houthis in the city centre, and soldiers there opened fire on demonstrators and injured several, activists said.

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/mar/23/yemeni-minister-urges-gulf-arab-military-intervention-against-houthis

* The Saudis lack belief in their own armed forces and rightly so as they are not a military nation and their military is poor.

They are scared of Iran, which militarily is far more capable, it is the Iranians for example who trained the Hizbullah militia which in 2006 humiliated "mighty" Israel.



- Partly because of this there are rumours the Saudis asked Pakistan for military help in their border with Yemen.


Speaking as a Bangladeshi and a member of the nation of Bangladesh, we support the Saudis in this conflict (despite their general ineptitude).

So what should the Saudis do in this crisis?


Here are my suggestions:

1. Form an Arab League team to monitor the situation and assemble some sort of military force including Egypt (largest Arab country and subsidized by the GCC), Jordan, Morocco and others.

The Jordanians and Moroccans can send limited forces including non-combat troops whilst the GCC and Egypt can send in their main troops.



2. Liase with non-Arab Muslim powers Turkey and Indonesia on this.

Pakistan is useless.


3. Negotiate with Russia and Iran on the Yemen crisis that in return for an end to the Houthi control of Yemen the Saudis will end their role in trying to overthrow Assad in Syria.


As a Bangladeshi we support Saudi Arabia in this and its territorial integrity and stability is a key national issue for us.

[Khostai]

Yemeni Jews:



Edit: Second picture is regular Yemenis from the mountains not Jews.



The scholar Imam Malik was of Yemeni origin and of non-Arab origin, Himyari.

He is said to have blue eyes and - if I remember correctly - blondish or at least brownish hair.

This is BS. I hate how many middle-eastern countries claimes that their original and pure people are white or light skinned and that the dark ones are mixxed...-_-.

Yemenis are famous for being the darkest arab in that region, most consider them black actually or brown like the Indians. Those pics must be some ex-chirstian slaves who later converted to Islam, Yemenis are 99% black.

This wanabe white obsession I see also among Iranians, some Afghans, Syrians and Berbers, even the Arabs of Iraq claim that they are white and the dark ones are mixed with Afrincans or Indians, what is a total nonsence, the whole region is hot and sunny so no original people can be this pale, so please stop this, its embarassing. Be happy how God created you.

[Brown Skinned Savage]

This is BS. I hate how many middle-eastern countries claimes that their original and pure people are white or light skinned and that the dark ones are mixxed...-_-.

Yemenis are famous for being the darkest arab in that region, most consider them black actually or brown like the Indians. Those pics must be some ex-chirstian slaves who later converted to Islam, Yemenis are 99% black.

This wanabe white obsession I see also among Iranians, some Afghans, Syrians and Berbers, even the Arabs of Iraq claim that they are white and the dark ones are mixed with Afrincans or Indians, what is a total nonsence, the whole region is hot and sunny so no original people can be this pale, so please stop this, its embarassing. Be happy how God created you.

Bangladeshis like other South Asians suffer from awful inferiority complexes about their race and identity. But it is most apparent in Bangladeshis worst of all.

Observe how Bangladeshis like Bengal_Thorghwal, whose country is a known destination for Western sex tourists, and has a rampant AIDS problem, despite thumping their chests about being Muslims, will try to post very selective and modified photos of Bangladesh in hopes of trying to entice Afghans to come to his useless, severely overpopulated and horribly, poor, smelly country, thinking that Pashtuns like ourselves will be impressed or something. Bengal_Thorghwal is desperately hoping Pashtuns will come breed out his feelings of inferiority ...So that he and others like him can start claiming "See look; my Ancestors were Pashtuns, we're not really Desi"

why else do you think Bengal_Thorghwal clings to Pashtuns and Pashtun websites more so than Bangladeshi ones? In truth they have self loathing. Just look on Bengal_Thorghwal's profile page and all his nerdy unsuccessful attempts at flirting with Pashtun girls sending them "Pokes" who think he's a thirsty creep; something no self respecting Pashtun father or brother would tolerate. BT is obsessed with Middle Eastern & Central Asian ethnicities; he sees them as superior beings, Pashtuns most of all, it should come as no surprise; He wishes he wasn't a Thorghwal Bengali. I don't blame him; they smell like spices and are generally unattractive and short.

[Khostai]

Bangladeshis like other South Asians suffer from awful inferiority complexes about their race and identity. But it is most apparent in Bangladeshis worst of all.

Observe how Bangladeshis like Bengal_Thorghwal, whose country is a known destination for Western sex tourists, and has a rampant AIDS problem, despite thumping their chests about being Muslims, will try to post very selective and modified photos of Bangladesh in hopes of trying to entice Afghans to come to his useless, severely overpopulated and horribly, poor, smelly country, thinking that Pashtuns like ourselves will be impressed or something. Bengal_Thorghwal is desperately hoping Pashtuns will come breed out his feelings of inferiority ...So that he and others like him can start claiming "See look; my Ancestors were Pashtuns, we're not really Desi"

why else do you think Bengal_Thorghwal clings to Pashtuns and Pashtun websites more so than Bangladeshi ones? In truth they have self loathing. Just look on Bengal_Thorghwal's profile page and all his nerdy unsuccessful attempts at flirting with Pashtun girls sending them "Pokes" who think he's a thirsty creep; something no self respecting Pashtun father or brother would tolerate. BT is obsessed with Middle Eastern & Central Asian ethnicities; he sees them as superior beings, Pashtuns most of all, it should come as no surprise; He wishes he wasn't a Thorghwal Bengali. I don't blame him; they smell like spices and are generally unattractive and short.

Says the wanabi pashtun. I know, like all the other that you are also not a pashtun, just stop pretending, I don't know where @Adminkhan is, but I hope he will return to bann your ass again.

[HalloIsBack]

it's radical sunni vs. radical shia

that's all

[Bengal_Tiger]

Says the wanabi pashtun. I know, like all the other that you are also not a pashtun, just stop pretending, I don't know where @Adminkhan is, but I hope he will return to bann your ass again.

Manana Khostai,


[MENTION=2]Admin Khan[/MENTION]

I can't read RevolutionThroughReason's posts as I have him on ignore, but I read what he wrote quoted by Khostai.

The sheer unashamed racism and denigration of people's physical appearance and food was truly disgusting.

Why such an outburst of racism when I have not posted anything negative about Yemen.

Why such anger from someone claiming he has nothing to do with Yemen.

This guy is clearly Yemeni and RTR and is trying to sidestep the permanent ban imposed on him.

I humbly request you to please take some sort of action.

Manana.

[Brown Skinned Savage]

Says the wanabi pashtun. I know, like all the other that you are also not a pashtun, just stop pretending, I don't know where @Adminkhan is, but I hope he will return to bann your ass again.

Says the Communist refugee who went running to Europe when Pashtuns were lynching them in the streets for their collusion with the Soviets. I don't think AdminKhan would ban some random person just because some Commie says so.

I just wanted you to have to quote me so that what I wrote puts a death blow to Bengali_Thorghwal's already low self esteem.

[Khostai]

Says the Communist refugee who went running to Europe when Pashtuns were lynching them in the streets for their collusion with the Soviets. I don't think AdminKhan would ban some random person just because some Commie says so.

I just wanted you to have to quote me so that what I wrote puts a death blow to Bengali_Thorghwal's already low self esteem.

LOL How can I be communist when communist party fell apart when I was not even born, you dum branwashed camel, why don't you go and drink some camel piss, sand niggah.

[Bengal_Tiger]

I can read what Mahmood Al-Yemeni wrote (he is now on around almost 14,800 posts with his three aliases Revulsion Through Ranting, ScimitarXEdge and Brown Skinned Savage) in his latest nonsense and drivel since Khostai quoted him.

Al-Yemeni has been banned many times before.

- At least once as ScimitarXEdge

- At least once for a long period as Revulsion

- Another time I remember as Revulsion after insulting DSMO305's mother.

- Then a permanent ban for life last year.


This is why Al-Yemeni is scared to admit that he is actually Revulsion Through Ranting (RTR) because he is actually on a life time ban due to persistent abuse of users for years.

Al-Yemeni is a true coward.





Since AgriculturalJake has joined us:

[Bengal_Tiger]

Let's ignore Mahmoud al-Yemeni a.k.a Revulsion Through Ranting a.k.a ScimitarXEdge a.ka. Brown Skinned Coward as his only purpose on this forum is to damage it and ruin it and for example sabotage and destroy threads and prevent meaningful discussion.

Let's focus on Yemen.

YEMEN UPDATE

- President Hadi of Yemen is reported to have fled Aden.


- The Houthis are advancing on Aden.

The Zaydi community from which the Houthis are drawn represent 1/3 of Yemenis.


- Saudi Arabia is reported to have massed troops on the Yemeni border.



- The GCC have declared that they may have to take some sort of action. It was not specified but there is speculation the GCC may think of taking some sort of military action, but...

However, sources in neighbouring Saudi Arabia told Reuters that there were no plans for military intervention in the crisis, and that the build-up of military forces on its border with Yemen was "purely defensive".

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-32048604

People fleeing a gun fire fight in the city of Aden.












Commentary

Yemen will most likely fall in to some sort of civil war. This is the goal of the American regime as they have sort to destabilize the middle east and cause mayhem and tension in the region.

However what will act as a relatively stabilizing factor for the Yemenis is the power of their tribes. Each tribe is a political entity and thus in a position to mediate and moderate.

I have met Yemenis and they are in no way as sectarian as the western media would like us to believe.

Anyway the Zaydiya school of thought are not even regarded as disbelievers by the Salafis but as "misguided" Shia who are relatively close to Ahlus Sunnah (Sunni community).


Saudi Arabia.

What affects Saudi Arabia impacts the rest of the world including the price of oil.



Hopefully Saudi Arabia will remain stable (I have family there).

However even if it does remain stable, the Houthi takeover of Yemen would leave the Saudis feeling very uncomfortable especially if it acts as some sort of leverage by the Iran-Russia axis against them.

However Iraq is majority Shia and borders Saudi but Saudi is peaceful. Yemen is not even majority Shia but 2/3 Sunni.

The western/American goal will obviously be to make Yemen as unstable as possible and make Yemenis kill each other as much as possible as in Syria, Libya etc.

However insha'Allah ta'ala this will not happen.

[Brown Skinned Savage]

LOL How can I be communist when communist party fell apart when I was not even born, you dum branwashed camel, why don't you go and drink some camel piss, sand niggah.

You weren't born in the 90's. What does aligning yourself with an ideology have to do with when you were born? Nothing at all.

You have some weird fetish for urine drinking it seems. You must have learned it from Banghwali_Thormukh Who has n inferiority complex and wants to be Pashtun.

[Bengal_Tiger]

- There are conflicting reports on the Saudi position in Yemen.

The Saudis say their troop mobilization on the Saudi-Yemen border is purely defensive.

The following report cites a claim by Yemen's foreign minister that Egypt is prepared to get involved militarily, whereas elsewhere that is dismissed as false.

Who knows?


Egypt, Gulf States Agree To Intervene Militarily in Yemen Says Yemen’s Foreign Minister



Yemen’s Minister of Foreign Affairs has told Sky News Arabia that Egypt and the Gulf States have agreed to intervene militarily in Yemen.

According to the Foreign Minister, Saudi Arabia’s recent movement of heavy weaponry and artillery to the border is the first step to Arab countries intervening in the country to “rescue Yemen”.

On Tuesday, US Officials told Reuters that Saudi Arabia had moved heavy military equipment to areas near its border with Yemen in a potential preparation for intervention in Yemen. The equipment, US officials said, could be used for offensive or defensive purposes.

While no Gulf states have commented on the Yemeni official’s statements, Egypt’s Foreign Ministry has said that the reports in the media are not ‘completely’ accurate.

Meanwhile, an Egyptian government source has stated that while Egypt will intervene in the Yemen, the exact form of intervention has not been finalized, and that potential options include enforcing a no-fly zone or aerial strikes.

News of Egypt and the Gulf States accepting to intervene militarily comes after Yemen submitted a request at the United Nations for a resolution that would allow military intervention to ‘protect the legitimate government of the Yemeni people’.

Shortly before Yemen’s Foreign Minister made the statements, the Arab League’s Deputy Secretary General said that the group would discuss Yemen’s request for military intervention at its next meeting on Thursday.

YEMEN’S PRESIDENT FLEES?

As Shiite Houthi rebels captured a key air base from forces loyal to Yemen’s President Hadi, AFP reported that the President has fled with Saudi diplomats from his palace in Aden.

Shortly before the claimed escape, Hadi’s Minister of Defence was captured by Houthi rebels.

According to AFP, which cited sources in the presidential guard, Hadi left by helicopter accompanied by diplomats from Saudi Arabia.

Nevertheless, independent news website Yemen Today said Hadi had not fled and that he is leading the armed resistance against the Houthis.

Following the news of his escape, Sky News Arabia reported that fighter jets had launched multiple attacks on the Presidential Palace in Aden.

http://egyptianstreets.com/2015/03/25/egypt-gulf-states-agree-to-intervene-militarily-in-yemen-says-yemens-foreign-minister/

Egypt's air force. Will Egypt as one of the, if not the most militarily powerful states in the Arab world intervene in the Yemen crisis e.g. enforce a no-fly zone?






Saudi soldiers on the Saudi-Yemeni border. Saudi is reported to have carried out a major mobilization of troops on the Yemeni-Saudi border.




Vladimir Putin. Will the Saudis appeal to him to rein in the Iranians and their allies, the Houthis in Yemen in return for Saudi ending its opposition to the Assad regime in Syria?

[Bengal_Tiger]

Russia keeps close watch on Yemen



Anti-Houthi protesters demonstrate in Yemen's central city of Ibb, March 14, 2015.


The deadly terrorist attacks in Yemen last week have further indicated that the country is sinking to new lows, threatening to become the hottest spot on the political map of the Middle East. Miles away from the region, in Moscow, experts and diplomats have been watchful of the developments in Yemen since earlier this year, when President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi was to hold negotiations with representatives of the Houthi insurgency in Saudi Arabia.

Summary Russia is not likely to get too involved in the Yemen crisis, preferring instead to monitor developments from afar and choose its allies carefully.


Author Maxim A. SuchkovPosted March 23, 2015

Russia's relations with Yemen date back decades, with the most vibrant period being the Soviet era. The two states elaborated certain bilateral agendas long before the Soviet Union and the Mutawakkilite Kingdom of Yemen established official diplomatic relations in 1955. Until the break-up of the USSR, about 4,500 Soviet military advisers and trainers worked in the country.

After a relative decline in attention in the previous decade, Yemen has again surfaced on Russia’s Middle Eastern radar. Over the past several years, the trade turnover grew by 5.5%, amounting to $167.5 million. Agriculture — a historically important area of bilateral trade — was again on the rise with Russia, as the country sold Yemen up to 400,800 tons of wheat. On the humanitarian front — another traditionally crucial area — Russia focused primarily on training Yemeni personnel. More than 50,000 Yemenis of different occupations were educated in Soviet and Russian institutions. Presently, 400 Yemeni students study in Russia, with the Russian Ministry of Education increasing the students' annual quota by 80-100 people. Other key areas of bilateral cooperation include: investments, transportation development, cooperation on health care services and energy (fuel and electrical).

Russia’s current discourse on the source of Yemeni grievances has three major narratives.

First, the “internal” tale sees Yemen as the Middle East in miniature. On the one hand, terrifying poverty — with more than 40% of a growing population starving and a high population of unemployed and uneducated but politically active youth — further inclines society toward social protest. On the other hand, Yemen is home to a tangled knot of complicated tribal relations. Clashes often occur within a single tribe, and there is a large concentration of small arms per capita, enabling any protest to transform into a larger conflict. No wonder this lethal cocktail creates a breeding ground for terrorist organizations, with al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula being the top dog. Essentially, over the years, Yemen has turned into a regional black hole, where terrorists go to find a safe haven in “grey zones” uncontrolled by the government.

The second narrative is “regional” and perceives Yemen as a battleground between Shiite-led Iran and Sunni-led Saudi Arabia. Against this background, the success of the Houthis is seen as a blow to Saudi interests (and for that matter, American interests) and a boost for Iran. The Houthis, ignored by Western governments, started to look for outside support. According to Moscow's calculations, it could be the potential big partner outside the region. In February 2015, a delegation of the Ansarullah movement visited the Russian capital, allegedly offering lucrative oil contracts and trade agreements, predominantly in agriculture. The delegation also included several political parties sympathetic to Ansarullah, including former President Ali Abdullah Saleh's General People's Congress. They promised to let Russian energy companies explore the oil-rich Marib province, which the parties said "they would likely control soon."

On the surface, Russia’s own interests in a potential deal were threefold.

First, it could have secured its own standing in a country that Moscow has deemed strategically important since the Soviet times because of its geopolitical location. Back then, the Soviets had a maintenance base for their ships near Aden. To a certain extent, it enabled them to control vital commercial and logistical sea routes, from the Red Sea to the Arabian Sea to the Indian Ocean.

Second, it could have given Russia a certain leverage over Saudi Arabia, with whom Moscow hasn’t been on the same page for a long while. Moscow perfectly understands that the Saudis are very much concerned about the situation in their immediate neighborhood and could have considered this a vital tool to influence the Saudis, especially now that they dropped oil prices, which has seriously affected Russian economy.

In reality, however, Russians view the current crisis in Yemen as systemic and long-standing. In this respect, Moscow is not disillusioned about the real prospects of its own presence in the country, economic or otherwise.

Russia is also anything but willing to get involved in the Iran-Saudi face-off, let alone the greater Shiite-Sunni showdown in the region. Having no immediate stakes in the struggle but rather long-term interests in the region as a whole, it feels reluctant to recognize the Houthis' rule officially, but it doesn’t give up on the contacts either. Now that everyone is looking for allies in the fight against the Islamic State (IS), Russia may side with the Houthis, who bear their own grudge against Sunni Islamists. While Riyadh is more preoccupied with Shiite militant groups, Russians see IS as a much graver challenge to their security. In this context, Shiite groups can be deemed at least temporary partners in tackling IS.

Getting involved in a country with too many players fighting for too little resources would be suicidal to any outsider. Russia has learned from its bitter Soviet experiences and would rather stick to the “selective distant engagement.”



Read more: http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/orig...#ixzz3VRXqsoOL


Commentary:

- Russia is in a good position here.

The Houthis have gone to Moscow begging for help and trying to bribe Moscow with lucrative business deals.

The Saudis have been irritating the Russians in many ways.

However I agree with the writer, Yemen is not that important to Russia that they will try and do something that would be too troublesome.




A Yemeni-Russian signing agreement from the past.