Yemen update 8\6\2015..Yemenis vow to defend their country at all costs

Yemen loyalists control al-Anad airbase

Yemenis vow to defend their country at all costs

Hundreds of Huthis demonstrate in Sanaa

One killed as Saudi jets hit residential areas in Yemen’s Sa’ada

Yemen Map of War, July 31 – August 5, 2015: The Saudi-Led Coalition Started a Land Operation

SouthFront reports:

In the early August, the Saudi-led coalition officially invaded Yemen. At least 3000 coalition troops with military equipment deployed in Aden as part of the second offensive of “Operation Golden Arrow” to roll back the territory held by the al Houthi government. The Yemeni government has been deploying fighters in Aden and Taiz where Saudi-led forces are focused. Al Houthi-linked attacks along the border with Saudi Arabia have increased.

July 31 – August 3, The Saudi-led coalition officially deployed what is reported to be a brigade of tanks and other armored vehicles to boost the fight against the Yemeni government. A Total of around 3000 troops, primarily from the UAE, with military equipment landed in the southern port city of Aden. In late July, the port officials in Aden already reported the arrival of medium and heavy weapons to arm the anti-al Houthi militias fighting there.

August 2, Al Houthi leader Abdul Malik al Houthi called for his supporters to continue to fight, describing the success of the Saudi Arabia-led “Operation Golden Arrow” as a limited achievement and that the offensive would “collapse.” According to reports, the Yemeni government has been continuing a deployment of fighters into Taiz and Aden, where the Operation Golden Arrow offensive has focused.

August 2-4, Pro-Hadi forces assisted by ground troops from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have been preparing for a “final push” to recapture al Anad military base in Lahij governorate. The al Houthis and Saleh loyalists have held al Anad military base since the end of March. The base itself controls the primary road north from Aden city.

August 3, At least one Saudi soldier was killed during clashes between Yemeni forces and Saudi forces in the Aden province. Meanwhile, Yemeni forces stormed the Saudi military base of Makhroq after hitting it with artillery fire in retaliation for the Saudi onslaught against the country.

August 3, Saudi fighter jets targeted the Hidan and Sahar districts of Yemen’s northwestern province of Sa’ada.

August 4, The Yemeni forces fired mortar shells at Saudi military positions in the al-Tawal district, the al-Dood military zone and the village of Khobah in Jizan Province, inflicting losses on Saudi military equipment and forcing the troops there to leave behind their positions. The Yemeni media also reported the allied forces fired rockets at the al-Jihad military zone in Jizan, Arrabeh and Rabouah zones in the Zahran district in the southern Saudi province of Asir.

August 5, The UAE and Saudi troops supported by pro-Hadi militants pushed north, attacking the strategic Al-Anad air base from several sides. Then, Pro-Saudi sources reported that the Saudi-led coalition took control on the airbase. However, the Yemeni media stated that al Houthi fighters successfully repealed the attack.

August 5, Saudi warplanes conducted a series of airstrikes against Yemen’s central province of Ma’rib, Hajjah Province in the northwest and the southern province of Bayda. At the same time, the Yemeni media reported that the Yemeni army’s air defense forces downed the helicopter with a surface-to-air missile in the district of Harad in the western province of Hajjah.

The arrival of UAE and Saudi troops and military equipment in Yemen represents a significant escalation in the military campaign against the Houthi government which has struggled to roll back their territorial gains. Fighting now focuses over control of the Yemen’s largest air base, Al Anad.

An interesting fact is that Saudi Arabia and its allies have decided to commit more of their own resources in the fight against the Yemeni government in power. It’s widely known that Saudi forces, essentially mercenaries, don’t have a successful experience in full-scale land operations. Here are the possible reasons of the coalition’s decision:

The “gains” of pro-Hadi militants without support of the coalition are more a PR campaign than real victories.

The presence of additional foreign troops may be an attempt to show the strength of Hadi’s government and discourage southerners from seeking to fully secede.

Despite the hard situation in the country, the al Houthis continue to push forward with governance plans for Yemen and recently announced plans to construct an oil port with an initial capacity of 500,000 tons in al Salif district in al Hudaydah, near the Ras Isa floating export terminal.

The focus on the dynamics between the Yemen government and the Saudi-led coalition distracts from activities of terrorists, which continues to exploit the crisis to expand its presence in Yemen. ISIS’s Wilayat Aden has released its first report on service-provision in Yemen. A photo set entitled, “Health Services: Visit to the Medical Center of Office of Health,” on July 28 shows care giving to patients in a room with the black flag with the shahada hung in it. It’s the first evidence that ISIS is attempting to provide services to Yemenis. Therefore, ISIS seeks additional support of locals in Yemen.

The U.S. is Enabling A Humanitarian Disaster in YemenBy Ryan Cooper

Don’t look now, but another nation in the Middle East is falling to pieces.

This time it’s Yemen, which was already the poorest nation in the region when a civil war broke out early this year. Things have only gotten worse since Saudi Arabia intervened with major military force.

It’s a humanitarian disaster. But it also illustrates the increasingly obvious downsides to America’s close relationship with Saudi Arabia. By not pushing the Saudis to back off, or even speaking out on their mistake, America is setting the stage for future disasters.

So what has happened? Ansar Allah, a Shiite group whose members are known as the Houthis, has been fighting an on-again, off-again insurgency against the Yemeni government since 2004. When the Arab Spring broke out in 2011, mass protests led to the resignation of Ali Abdullah Saleh, a Shiite who had been Yemen’s president since 1990. Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi, Saleh’s vice president, was elected on a single-candidate ballot as an interim president (the Houthis boycotted the election).

The chaos and general government weakness enabled greater Houthi boldness. In September 2014 they seized Sana’a, the Yemeni capital city, in protest over a fuel price hike. After a U.N.-brokered peace deal fell apart in early 2015, the Houthis retook Sana’a and proclaimed a new government, causing President Hadi to resign. He later fled the country, rescinded his resignation, and declared Aden (a port city in the south) the new Yemeni capital. As yet, the Houthis have not been able to take Aden. That prompted the Saudis, with U.S. assistance, to begin attacking Houthi forces. Meanwhile, Saleh, obviously angling for a return to power, has ironically thrown his lot in with the Houthis.

The average Yemeni is naturally suffering horribly. How bad has it gotten? Here’s Matt Purple:

The Saudis have been blockading Yemen since March to repel ships seeking to arm the Houthis. They’ve pledged $274 million in aid for the country they’re bombing, but have demanded that Houthi-controlled areas be excluded and tossed up bureaucratic roadblocks that have made the effective distribution of supplies impossible. The result is that Yemen has been isolated from the world and left to die. More than 80 percent of its population — 21.1 million people — is in need of aid. Thirteen million are at risk from starvation and 9.4 million are imperiled by thirst. [National Interest]

The Saudis insist that this is all part of a regional Sunni-Shiite rivalry, a response to Shiite-dominated Iran’s longstanding support for the Houthis. While that may have been true in the past, Iran reportedly urged the Houthis not to make a bid for power, worrying it would be a distraction from Iran’s nuclear negotiations with the U.S. and other world powers. At any rate, whatever support Iran has given the Houthis is nothing compared to the current Saudi intervention.

In many ways this mirrors the situation in Iraq. Yemen has been chronically unstable for years, beset by corrupt government, repeated armed uprisings, and the poisonous legacy of Western colonialism. Yet foreign intervention, supposedly to help “stabilize” the country, is doing little but dragging out the conflict while causing mass suffering and death.

Perhaps the most jarring result of the Saudi intervention is that it has been a major boon to the local branch of al Qaeda. It has been able to operate openly in eastern Yemen, and seized control of Yemen’s fifth-largest city in April, freeing hundreds of prisoners and stealing millions in cash. Though the U.S. military has continued to conduct drone strikes against the branch, apparently killing several al Qaeda members a few days ago, it’s obviously not enough to counteract the freedom allowed by total political chaos.

And that in turn raises the question: Just what benefit is the U.S. getting from its support of the Saudi regime? Back in the days when huge gobs of Saudi cash were fueling bin Laden’s rise to power, the answer was obvious: oil. However, since the fracking revolution, U.S. imports of Saudi oil have declined by 50 percent. But we’re still effectively allowing them to smash a Muslim nation, starve its population, and create a haven for al Qaeda in the process. Why?

Iran Raps Int’l Community’s Silence on Crisis in Yemen

Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian in a phone conversation with UN Special Envoy for Yemen Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed lashed out at the international and human rights bodies for keeping mum on the dire situation of the Yemeni people after the Saudi-led attacks.During the phone conversation, Amir Abdollahian said that Iran has taken a sustainable approach on regional issues, and stressed the need to solve the regional problems through dialogue and diplomatic solutions.

Unfortunately, he said, the world society has kept silent on what is happening in Yemen which is the massacre of oppressed and defenseless people, including children and women there.

What’s happening in Yemen is against the principles of the international human rights, he said, adding those who have launched military attacks against Yemen should be held accountable for the results.

Saudi Arabia has been striking Yemen for 134 days now to restore power to fugitive president Mansour Hadi, a close ally of Riyadh. The Saudi-led aggression has so far killed at least 5,341 Yemenis, including hundreds of women and children.

Hadi stepped down in January and refused to reconsider the decision despite calls by Ansarullah revolutionaries of the Houthi movement.

Despite Riyadh’s claims that it is bombing the positions of the Ansarullah fighters, Saudi warplanes are flattening residential areas and civilian infrastructures.

Deadly bomb attack inside security HQ ‘s mosque in Saudi Arabia

IS claims responsibility for Saudi mosque bombing