Yemen/ Saudi update 1/14/2017..Yemeni village dying from starvation

Hungry for peace: Inside Yemeni village dying from starvation

Official: Yemeni Army Asks Egypt, Russia for Military Cooperation

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A senior Yemeni military official announced that the country’s army has called on Egypt and Russia to increase their military cooperation and send advisors to Yemen. “The Yemeni army’s units loyal to Ali Abdullah Saleh (and allies to Ansarullah) have asked the Egyptian army to send a number of military advisors to cooperate with Yemen and provide it with experience in the war against terrorism,” Ramzi Abdollah, also a senior member of Yemen’s Socialist Party, told FNA on Saturday. He added that the Yemeni army commanders have also urged the Russian army to enhance its cooperation with Sana’a and send a number of military advisors to the war-hit country, saying that they have also called on Moscow to deploy its fighter jets in Yemen to be used in the war against terrorism.

The demand was raised a few months after the Egyptian Air Force withdrew from the Saudi-led Coalition of countries attacking Yemen after a 12 month-long operation. According to local sources in Cairo, this move by the Egyptian government came just hours after the Egyptian Intelligence Chief met with his Syrian counterpart.

Several Saudi-Backed Militias Killed in Yemeni Forces’ Offensives in Ta’iz Province

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The Yemeni army and popular forces conducted a fresh military operation against the Saudi-backed mercenaries in the city of Ta’iz, killing and injuring a number of them. The Saudi-backed militias’ military positions in al-Zobab and al-Amri districts of Ta’iz city came under the Yemeni army offensives, the Arabic-language al-Masira TV channel quoted an unnamed military source as saying on Saturday. Several Riyadh-backed mercenaries were killed in the Yemeni army attacks on their positions.

The Yemeni army and popular forces also stormed the Saudi-backed militants’ positions in al-Ham mountain as well as the cities of Khob and al-Sha’af regions in Ta’iz province, killing and injuring a number of them.

Earlier on Saturday, the Yemeni army and popular forces’ artillery units pounded the military positions of the Saudi troops in the kingdom’s border city of Asir. The Saudi army’s concentration and gathering centers came under massive artillery attacks of the Yemeni forces in retaliation for the Saudi airstrikes on Yemeni civilians, the Arabic-language al-Ahad news website reported. The Saudi army troops sustained heavy losses in the Yemeni army’s artillery attacks. Meantime, the Yemeni army’s artillery units hit hard the Saudi military positions in the border city of Najran. The Saudi-led airstrikes on the defenseless people of Yemen and the country’s infrastructure are still underway after almost two years.

In a relevant development on Friday, the Yemeni army and popular forces’ missiles and artillery shells hit the strategic military bases of the Saudi troops in Najran and Jizan provinces in the Southern part of the kingdom. Saudi Arabia’s al-Hamad and Alib military bases were severely damaged in the Yemeni forces’ offensives.

Meantime, the Yemeni army and popular forces also hit another Saudi military base in Jizan province’s Malhama mountainous region, inflicting heavy losses on the Saudi army’s troops. Also on Wednesday, Yemeni soldiers and their allies shot and killed two Saudi soldiers in the hilly Abu Dhabrah region of Saudi Arabia’s border region of Jizan. Yemeni forces had lobbed a barrage of artillery shells at a military camp in Jabel Malhamah area of the same Saudi region earlier in the day, setting off a massive blaze.

Also on Wednesday, Saudi jets conducted two aerial attacks on al-Hali district in Hodeida Province, with no reports of casualties.

Arab Daily: S. Arabia Seeks Talks with Iran after Defeats in Syria, Yemen

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Kuwaiti Deputy Foreign Minister Khaled al-Jarallah announced that his country is due to submit a message to high-ranking Iranian officials on behalf of represent the Persian Gulf Cooperation Council (PGCC), al-Rai al-Youm reported. The contents of the message have not been disclosed to the public yet but it is fully clear that the PGCC is interested in talks with Iran, the leading Arab newspaper wrote on Saturday. Referring to Riyadh’s defeats in Syria and Yemen and its concession during the recent OPEC meeting, the daily reported, “At present, Saudi Arabia’s tendency towards official talks with Iran through Kuwait seems the best option given the fact that Saudi Arabia has understood that this approach (talks) can be more fruitful.”

According to al-Rai al-Youm, Riyadh is not as powerful as the past to impose its will and views on others and given its decreased oil income, it is not in a place to adopt a tougher stance. Jarallah announced on Thursday that Kuwait would relay a message to Iran from the PGCC member States. He added that contacts were underway “with the Iranian brothers to set a proper date to deliver that message.” He however stopped short of elaborating on its contents. Al-Jarallah, in December following the PGCC summit hosted by Bahrain, declared that Kuwait had conveyed an identical message to Iran “expressing the (P)GCC States’ view regarding the dialogue” with the Islamic Republic.