[This is a roundup of news articles and other materials circulating on the Maghreb and reflects a wide variety of opinions. It does not reflect the views of the Maghreb Page Editors or of Jadaliyya. You may send your own recommendations for inclusion in each week's roundup to maghreb@jadaliyya.com by Tuesday night of every week]

Algeria

Algeria's Sonatrach in Talks to Begin Offshore Drilling-Source Falling crude prices pressure Sonatrach to develop other areas for growth, such as offshore drilling and gas projects.

Algeria: Don't Prosecute a Writer for Insulting Islam The Human Rights Watch calls on the Algerian government to drop its criminal investigation on a writer, whom they have accused of blasphemy, and to abolish blasphemy laws.

الجزائر تتجه لإطلاق سندات محلية بدون فوائد Algeria plans interest free local bond to offset losses in energy income.

الجزائر تمنع الأئمة من "إقحام" المساجد في الانتخابات والتعبير عن الآراء السياسية Algeria prohibits imams from involving mosques in the elections and expressing political opinions.

Algérie : panique liée à la dernière campagne de vaccination After last year’s failed vaccination campaign, people were reluctant to receive their annual vaccine.

Algérie : les conditions de vie difficiles des migrants subsahariens A short exposé on the difficult lives of Sub-Saharan African migrants in Algiers.

Libya

A Deadly Journey for Children UNICEF’s February 2017 child alert reveals the dangers that face children in the network of streams that form the the Central Mediterranean Migration route. The deadliest part of the route is from Libya’s southern desert to its coast and onwards to Italy.

Libya After ISIS Senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment, Frederic Wehrey, urges the new administration to push for a political settlement to the Libyan conflict.

الإعلان عن مبادرة لإرساء السلام في ليبيا Former Minister of Electricity and Renewable Energy, Awad al-Baraasi, announced an initiative to establish peace in Libya. It aims to end the conflict by impelling the opposing parties to come together to discuss historical and contemporary issues of difference.

سويسرا: خبيران عسكريان سيقومان بتقديم الدعم بعمليات نزع الألغام في ليبيا Two Swiss army members will support the United Nations Support Mission in Libya preparations for humanitarian demining in Libya.

IFT : festival « Pour la Libye / من أجل ليبيا » In Tunisia and Libya, a festival has been organized with the support of the Arab World Institute, to celebrate Libyan culture in an effort to raise hope.

Libye : une vingtaine de migrants tués par des passeurs After refusing to embark on a boat headed for Europe, due to bad weather, migrants were shot by smugglers.

Mauritania

ECA, Mauritania Strengthen National Data Collection for Better Statistics The Economic Commission for Africa launched a technical assistance mission in Mauritania to improve data on socio-economic indicators.

برلمان موريتانيا يبحث إلغاء مجلس الشيوخ The Mauritanian National Assembly began an emergency session dedicated to revise the 1991 constitution.

ما الذي يميز المرأة في موريتانيا عن مجتمعات عربية أخرى؟ Maimouna Taghi, the Minister of Social Affairs, Children and Family, says that Mauritanian society accepts the presence of women and their participation in different fields.

Wife-beating a source of pride for some women in Mauritania For some of the women of Suninké and Fulani descents, domestic abuse is considered a show of love despite its illegal status in Mauritania.

Célébration en Mauritanie de la Journée internationale de la femme In Mauritania, celebrations for the occasion of International Women’s Day revolved around the theme of reproductive health.

Mauritanie: Pourquoi une troisième réforme constitutionnelle ? The Mauritanian parliament has decided to change the constitution for the third time, but the people’s demands have yet to be addressed by these reforms.

Morocco

Morocco's February 20 movement: 'Demands still alive' Protesters took to the streets on February 20 to mark the sixth anniversary of the 2011 uprisings that led to the adoption of a new constitution and the formation of an Islamist led government. Today, Moroccans are still waiting for the the formation of a coalition government after the recent parliamentary elections and continue to demonstrate against corruption and socioeconomic disparities.

Vidéo : Une première au Maroc, le tribunal de Tanger reconnait une paternité hors mariage For the first time in Morocco’s judicial history, a court ordered genetic testing to prove paternity outside of marriage.

Aïcha Ech-Chenna recommande l’éducation sexuelle The prominent women’s health activist Aicha Ech-Chenna advocated a sexual education program for youth following the 12th Amazigh Culture festival, where the Fes-Saiss association recognized her work to support single mothers and their children.

إلياس العماري وعمدة روتردام تادرس الحلول الممكنة باش يحميو الحقوق الانسانية ديال المهاجرين Ilyas El Omari, general secretary of the Authenticity and Modernity party welcomed the mayor of of Rotterdam at the party headquarters to strengthen relations between the two countries and increase coordination concerning illegal migration.

فرنسا ترحب بانسحاب المغرب من منطقة الكركرات France welcomes Morocco’s withdrawal from Al Guergarat region.

Une militante de la lutte contre le Sida arrêtée pour avoir... distribué des préservatifs An HIV/AIDS  awareness and prevention activist was recently arrested for distributing contraceptives.

Tunisia

هذه أسباب تغول السلع التركية في تونس This article speculates on the causes of Tunisia’s large trade deficit with Turkey.

تونس.. من بورقيبة لما بعد الثورة Tunisians celebrated six years after the revolution that brought an end to dictatorial rule and ushered in a new democratic government. Between the years of Bourguiba and Ben Ali, the country saw many human rights violations, which can now be publicly addressed through the Truth and Dignity Commission, a body created by Tunisia’s transitional justice law.

Tunisia and Germany strike fresh migrant deal in wake of market attack Germany agrees to provide funds and job training to strengthen and accelerate Tunisia’s repatriation of rejected asylum seekers.

Video: Tunisian rights groups offer solace to victims of violence against women The Women’s Democratic Association has turned an abandoned building in Tunis into a temporary shelter for victims of domestic violence.

Tunisie : Les magistrats, de nouveau en grève Tunisia’s magistrates have recently gone on strike once again, in protest of their dissatisfying salaries.

Tunisie - Huit femmes et un projet: Jaou! Eight Tunisian women, each with different backgrounds and ideas, have come together to create a project they deem artistic activism.

Western Sahara

All Western Sahara wants is freedom from Moroccan occupation Pambazuka News interviews a Saharawi journalist and translator and a member of Saharawi Natural Resource Watch about the struggle for freedom in the Western Sahara and the role of the international community.

الصحراء الغربية...لاجئون نسيهم العالم BBC Arabic features a short video on the refugee crisis created by the ongoing conflict in the Western Sahara.

رئيس الجمهورية وأعضاء الحكومة يقفون دقيقة صمت ترحما على روح الشهيد محمد عبد العزيز The president of the Saharawi Democratic Republic and members of the government stand in a moment of silence to honor the life of Mohamed Abdelaziz, the first president of the Saharawi Republic until his death in May 2016.

Sáhara Occidental conmemora sus 41 años de "lucha y resistencia" Sahrawis celebrate fourty-one years of resistance to the Moroccan occupation.

Près de 500 participants à la 17e édition du marathon du Sahara Occidental More than five hundred athletes will take part in the seventeenth edition of the Western Sahara Marathon.

Morocco spends millions of dollars to recruit mercenaries to defend its colonial thesis Classified documents published by a hacker known as Chris Coleman reveal intricate and expensive pro-occupation propaganda schemes by the Moroccan government.

في حوار جرى مؤخرا مع عدد من الشبان والشابات المتعلمين من خريجي الجامعات الفلسطينية هالني وراعني وصدمني درجة انتشار الإعتقاد بينهم، وإن لم يكن جميعهم، ان الإنتفاضات والثورات العربية هي مؤامرة غربية. أنا أعرف أن هذا الإعتقاد واسع الإنتشار منذ فترة، وأن صفحات "الفيسبوك" ملىء بنظرية المؤامرة لتفسير أحدث عدة وليس فقط الإنتفاضات والثورات العربية. لكني لم أتوقع أن الشباب المتعلم وبعضهم من حملة الشهادات العليا سيأخذ ضرورة بها.

لكن، ما لفت نظري بشكل خاص هو شدة إعتقاد البعض بهذا التفسير للثورات العربية، والدفاع القوي والمنفعل بكل العواطف الجياشة والغضب العارم والمبرر أيضا، تجاه تاريخ العلاقة الإستعمارية والكلونيالية مع عدة دول غربية بما في ذلك دعمهم لأسرائيل. وأنا متعاطف طبعا مع هذا الغضب والشعور العميق بالغبن والمظلومية، لكن تفسير أسباب الثورات العربية تفسيرا عقلانيا أمر آخر.

لذا، وفي هذا لحوار، رأيت أن أسئل السؤال الأولي والمركزي لأي نقاش يحكم العقل والأدلة في الموضوع: ما هو الدليل؟ ما هو الدليل على أن الثورات العربية مؤامرة غربية؟ ووجدت في أكثر من إجابة إشارة محددة إلى ما قالته وزيرة الخارجية الأمريكية الأسبق كوندوليزا رايس، ما معناه أن الولايات المتحدة في عهد الرئيس الأسبق بوش الأبن تتطلع إلى تشكيل "شرق أوسط جديد". هذا على ما يظهر، هو الدليل الأقوى  "للتفسير المؤامراتي للأحداث"، أي ليس فقط التكهن عن النوايا وافتراض أهداف دون دليل ملموس، بل وفي هذه الحالة، "من فمهم ندينهم".  

لذا، وبتداء، سألت: لكن هذا كان على شفا العدوان على العراق قبل ثماني سنوات من الإنتفاضات  في تونس ومصر، وكان هذا القول في سياق غزو أفغانستان والعراق، وربما كان الهدف بعد ذلك سوريا وإيران، أو حتى إيران أولا كما كانت تريد إسرائيل لفصم عرى "محور المقاومة"، وفي حقبة المحافظين الجدد، وليس في حقبة الرئيس أوباما. وفي كل الأحوال، كيف يصلح ما قامت به إدارة بوش في العراق كدليل على أن إدارة أوباما ودول غربية أخرى كانت وراء إنتفاضات وثورات تونس ومصر، والمظاهرات والإحتجاجات التي قامت أيضا في دول عربية أخرى؟

أشار البعض هنا إلى سوريا ووجود "حرب بالوكالة" على أرضها. وافقت طبعا على هذا، لكن الطرف الخارجي هنا في المقام الأول عربي وتركي من ناحية التمويل والتسليح وفتح الأبواب "لمجاهدين" من أقاصي الأرض من خلال تركيا أساسا، للإنضمام لهذا المسعى. ليس هذا فقط، وإنما أيضا العزوف المعروف لإدارة أوباما ودول غربية أخرى بالإنخراط بشكل رئيسي في هذه الحرب بالرغم من الضغط المستمر من قبل دول عربية محددة قالت علنا أن أوباما خذلها في سوريا، وتتطلع الآن إلى "تعاون" نشط وأكبر مع إدارة الرئيس ترمب. وكانت هذه الدول ضد الإتفاق مع إيران حول "الملف النووي" أسوة بموقف إسرائيل. والإتفاق مع إيران يعني بقاء "محور الممانعة" وإن كان بتفاهمات محددة.

ثم تساءلت بالنسبة للشعب العربي عموما وبالنسبة لتونس ومصر تحديدا: كيف يمكن لدول خارجية إخراج مظاهرات مليونية في مصر مثلا، لأيام وأسابيع، وما هي الطرق التي استخدمت لإقناع هذه الآلاف المؤلفة من "المضللين" بالتظاهر يوما بعد يوم، وألا يوجد تظلمات كبيرة داخلية تدفع الناس للخروج بهذا الزخم ومواجهة قوى الأمن والإشتباك معها واستشهاد العديدين منهم في غمرة هذا الصراع، بما في ذلك ما يقارب الألف في موقعة رابعة لوحدها، ناهيك عن موقعة بور سعيد على سبيل المثال لا الحصر، وكل هذا بفعل مؤامرة خارجية؟

يتشعب الحديث ويتفرع. تعطى أمثلة على كيفية تم تأليب الجمهور المصري. أسم وائل غنيم على رأس القائمة كونه يعمل مع شركة جوجل والذي كان له دور رئيسي في إشعال الثورة حسب هذا الرأي، ثم يجري الحديث عن تدريب لفرق من الشباب المصري استعدادا للثورة ودور غنيم في هذا. "معلومات" كثيرة لم أسمع عنها شخصيا رغم متابعتي اليومية للإحداث في مصر، كلها تنتظم دعما لوجهة النظر هذه.

ثم أسال: من أجل ماذا؟ ألم يكن نظام مبارك حليفا للولايات المتحدة ومرضيا عنه من قبل إسرائيل؟ لماذا يريدون الإطاحة به؟ نعم، يأتي الرد، مبارك كان حليفا، لكنه كان سلام بارد مع إسرائيل وكانوا يريدون علاقة أوثق وإيصال الإخوان المسلمين للحكم.

هنا تتفرع الأسئلة وتتشتت، ويصبح من المتعذر الإحاطة بالنقاش وضبطه ويقارب أن ينتهي دون تغيير في القناعات: نعم، سعت إدارة أوباما إلى دمج الإخوان في الحكم في مصر ودول أخرى كحزب "معتدل" لغرض الفصل بين "الإسلاميين المعتدلين" و"الإسلاميين المتطرفين". لكن هذا شيء وتدبير ثورة شيء آخر. وفي كل الأحوال، كان هذا المسعى لو صح سيخلق شرخا في التحالفات الإقليمية للولايات المتحدة، خاصة مع دول عربية وثيقة الصلة معها منذ تأسيسها، ترى في الإخوان خطرا داهما كنموذج قد يصلها ويؤجج المطالب الداخلية بالإصلاح. وقد عملت بعض هذه الدول ما في وسعها للإطاحة بالإخوان بالتحالف مع "الدولة العميقة" في مصر. وهكذا يستمر الحديث دون تعديل المواقف.

يصعب في حوارات من هذا النوع محدودة بالظرف والوقت تغيير القناعات. وقد لا تتغير القناعات لسبب آخر. فنظرية المؤامرة لتفسير الكثير من الأحداث التاريخية منشؤها في رأيي عنصر نفسي أيضا. ليس لأنه لا توجد "مؤامرات" تقوم بها دول. لكن أسال: ما الفرق بين "مؤامرة" و "خطة سرية"؟ لدى الكثير من الدول خطط سرية لا تفصح عنها دائما سواء كانت داخلية أم خارجية. مثلا، لا بد أن كان لدى إسرائيل خطة سرية لقصف مواقع محددة في إيران في فترة ما، قبل أن لم تجاريها إدارة أوباما. 

من ناحية مدلول كلمتي "مؤامرة" و"خطة سرية"، من غير الواضح أنه يوجد فرق بينهما فيما تدلان عليه. لكن الفرق قد يكمن في الجانب المشخصن لكلمة "مؤامرة"، الجانب "الكيدي" الموجه "ضدنا". إنه كيد الإعداء، ومكر ودسائس الذين  يريدون تعميق استتباع العرب وتبديد مصادر قوتهم وتفتيت دولهم. نعم، هذا كله ممكن، لكن إفقاد الشعوب العربية الإرادة والعزم والمقدرة على الإحتجاج أو الثورة دون تدبير خارجي ودسيسة تآمرية مهما بلغ عسف الحكم والظلم والإفقار مداه، لا دليل عليه يعتد به في التاريخ العربي أو البشري . لكن، من يدري، فلعل الإنتفاضة الفلسطينية الأولى كانت مؤامرة خارجية أيضا.  

 كاتب أو صحافي سوريّ يصل للتو إلى باريس أو لندن، لا تزال شهادته "من الداخل" السوري" طازجة، يظهر كنيزك في سماء الدم على بي بي سي أو فرانس 24. ثم يتعقبه الشعور بالخيبة، بالاستغلال، بغضب العاجز، ويتذكر لاجئين آخرين، "كونيين": رياض سطوف يكتب ويرسم "عربي المستقبل" ولكنه لا يخالط العرب بتاتاً؛ لا ينزل أدونيس من عليائه ليعطف على اللاجئين بكلمة واحدة من الرحمة وأخواتها، فالحياة في أوروبا تحق لمثقف مثله، ولا تطالها يد العامل أو العاطل عن العمل...

كثيراً ما نسخر من أنفسنا وتثاقفنا، قبل السخرية المحتملة والمقلقة للآخرين، وقد لا يكون هذا الكلام هنا، في هذه الكلمات، إلا تضخيماً لفظياً. هل يهيننا تعاطف "الآخرين" معنا، هل يهزّ مشاعرنا حقاً، أم سنشكّك بدوافع المتعاطفين وأصالة إيثارهم، فنرتاب بمَن يعطفون علينا مهما كانت رهافتهم، ويستفزّنا المشفقون، ويحزننا المتضامنون "الطيبون" لأنهم مستضعفون مثلنا؛ ألأن أعيننا لا تزال خلسة مصوَّبة على الذين لا يفكرون بنا، ولا يعرفون عنا شيئاً ولم يسمعوا بأسمائنا، أولئك الذين يكرهوننا ولا نلتقي بهم أبداً -هذا إذا التقيناهم- إلا في مناسبات مهينة خاطفة، في مقهى مثلاً أو باص؟ ألأننا كنا نتطلع إلى العدسات لنشر رسائل نتكلم فيها باسم الناس الذين لا نعرف أسماءهم، ونتطلع إلى الأضواء التي يحتكرها أوغادٌ هم الأقوى والأغنى ونكاد نجهل عنهم كل شيء، ونقول إن هؤلاء المهيمنين الغامضين، الساسة والأثرياء الفاحشين، سفلة وحقراء ولا يعطون لأمثالنا من الأضواء إلا الدوائر التي تطوق كحلقات اليزيديين مهرّجين يبكون وهم يروون حياتهم، ولا يمنّون علينا إلا بالفتات المشروط بالتنازلات والرضى بواقع الحال؟

الأمثلة استفحلت. اليأس أو البؤس الذي قد يراه البعض في أي تجمع ثقافي أو شعري عادي، لم ينعم عليه بهيبة المكان أو سطوة الأسماء، يتحول إلى نكتة ومادة فاترة للتندر (مستشهدين كالمعتاد بركاكة النماذج وضحالتها)، واتهام مسبق بأن هذا الكاتب أو الكاتبة "لا محل له من الإعراب" في ثقافته ولغته، إذ ليس إلا بالوناً إعلامياً نفخته إلى المنصات الأنفاسُ الأخيرة للغرقى والأموات، ليس إلا مخادعاً يجيد العلاقات العامة والاتجار بآلام الآخرين الذين يسميهم أهله وإخوته. لهشاشتنا المفرطة وانعدام حيلتنا وعذاباتنا وخجلنا الكبير من أنفسنا وأحزاننا التي ما عدنا نحصي أسبابها، قد نستقوي بأسماء كالدروع نحتمي بهيبتها أو مكانتها، فيربّت داريو فو بيده الكبيرة على أكتافنا أو يرسل دي نيرو رسالة تضامن إلى سينمائي سجين، أو نلوذ كمراهقين ضائعين بسوريين "كبار" مكرَّسين، مثقفين سوريين "لامعين" يُحتمى بهم في الشدائد ويُلاذ بصيتهم ونزاهتهم، أو ما نظنه نفوذهم ومنزلتهم التي نفتخر بمحاذاتها؛ أو بالأحرى نخفي افتخارنا، البائس الحزين، بمجالستهم والاشتراك معهم في ندوة أو جلسة سهر وذكريات، ونتكتّم على ما نقوم به ولا نجاهر بالمناسبات لأن الخزي أكبر من الخجل، وكلّ احتفاء ليس إلا تأبيناً.

أليست هذه الصورة الإعلامية للضحايا هي صورتنا منذ البداية، إذ أي سبب قوي آخر وراء الاهتمام بنا إلا مصائبنا؟ الغرابة أن نسمع بالإساءة إلى الفنّ أو الشعر (الإساءة، رحماك يا رب العار!) هناك بالأحرى الخوف من ظهور المرء انتهازياً أو متطفلاً أو متشدّقاً، فيلجأ إلى الصمت أو يتوارى، وإن كان هذا الصمت ترفعاً غريباً أو انزواء مؤلماً، أو تصرُّفاً مُلاماً وغير مفهوم أحياناً. الترفع عن تحويل المأساة إلى إطار نُسجَن فيه كصور أمواتنا، ويذكّرنا قبل غيرنا بما كنا نسخر منه فيما مضى: الشعر الملتزم وشعراء القضايا الكبرى، أياً كانت القضية في هذا العالم المليء بالقضايا العادلة. لكننا نفترض في تسمية اللاجئين سياقاً تحقيرياً أو مستفزاً، يختزل وينمّط، وقد ننسى هنا المتفهّمين والمتعاطفين، الحقيقيين والكثر، فيدفعنا الإحساس المباشر بالدونية إلى غضب واستنكار فوريين ضد هذا التوصيف، ونجد أنفسنا مرة أخرى أمام بشاعة الوقوع في الرطانة والكلام الجامد، وتعود إلى التداول تعابيرُ تخلو سذاجتها من أية براءة، كالربط بين الشعر والحب أو المرأة والسلام أو النضال والوطن والسجون، وكأن هذه الأنماط المسيَّسة من الكتابة حكر على شعوب وأعراق معينة، ولا يخفى البعد التمييزي أو حتى العنصري في مثل هذه الأفكار التي تروَّج ونحن نصطدم بها كل يوم، على الأقل في تصوّراتنا، وهي تؤازر ما لا يتوانى الإعلام عن بثِّه ليل نهار. ربما جزء من الغضب أو الخيبة عند توصيف الفنان أو الشاعر باللاجئ، كأنه نوع أو عرق جديد، محتقر أو أدنى بالضرورة، ربما مردُّه إلى الزج بنا في مكان نحسبه لا يليق بنا، ولا يناسب ما نتوهّمه حول أنفسنا (حتى لو كنا محقّين أحياناً في ظنوننا)، فنعتبر هذا الزج انتقاصاً إضافياً يطمرنا في قاع الإهانات التي مُرِّغنا فيها، ودلواً إضافياً ينسكب على برميل الدونية الهائل الذي نحشَر فيه، ويفيض بالسفسطات والحقائق والرعب وفضلات المشاعر والأفكار.

[This is a roundup of news articles and other materials circulating on Palestine and reflects a wide variety of opinions. It does not reflect the views of the Palestine Page Co-Editors or of Jadaliyya. You may send your own recommendations for inclusion in each roundup to Palestine@jadaliyya.com.]

The Occupation Forces

Israeli Forces Have Killed A Prominent Palestinian Activist During A Raid Near Ramallah Basil al-Araj was splattered with Israeli bullets when the home he was in was raided. Israel is still holding his body, and according to a doctor with the Palestinian National Initiative party, it is doubtful that al-Araj could have fired back more than a single shot at the Israeli forces before being killed.

Israeli Forces Have Raided A Supposed Armaments Workshop And Detained At Least Eight Palestinians In The Occupied West Bank The Israeli forces in question ransacked and searched around Twenty homes in the city of Hebron, the homes belong to former Palestinian prisoners of Israel.

A Palestinian Man Has Been Injured Near The Gaza Border After Israeli Forces Were Dismantling Explosives Nearby The Palestinian man was treated at the Indonesian Hospital for shrapnel wounds after an Israeli artillery shell landed nearby in the hopes of destroying an "explosive device."

Domestic Politics

Israel's Legislation Is Side-Stepping It's Requirement To Compensate Wounded Palestinians The human rights group B'Tselem stated that the legislation introduced in the past twenty years have led to a ninety five per cent decline in filed compensation claims in the last decade. Though international and Israeli laws both state that the compensation of those wounded by Israeli forces outside of "warfare activity" is required, Israel has operated to expand just what "warfare activity" includes.

Hunger-Striker Muhammad Al-Qiq Has Been Moved To A Hospital After Health Complications Arise As the Palestinian journalist's health had been rapidly deteriorating, he was moved to Assaf Harofeh Medical Center in Tel Aviv according to the Palestinian Committee of Prisoners' Affairs. Al-Qiq has refused all food and nutritive supplement, and consumed only water, and will continue to do so until he is freed.

Israel's Knesset Erupted Into Chaos After The Initial Passing Of What Is Known As The "Muezzin Bill" The bill seeks to impose limits on noise generally, but it has been seen by the Muslim inhabitants and citizens of Israel and the Occupied Territories as an outright attack on the freedom of religious practice, as it prohibits the morning call to prayer (by the Muezzin) from being played on loud speakers, a practice as old as the technology itself.

March 8th Is International Women's Day, Including For Palestinian Women From the early days of resistance against the annexation of Palestinian lands and the British Mandate, to the daily resistance to the Zionist occupation experienced now, women have always played a vital role in sparking change.

Settlers and Illegal Settlements

For Third Consecutive Day, The Israeli Forces Have Been Damaging Crops In A Bedouin Village In The Negev According to local sources, Israeli bulldozers "leveled land" and "ruined" agricultural crops near the village of Wadi al-Naim with heavily-armed Israeli protection. Israeli authorities are claiming that the land belonged to them, as the Bedouin families were unable to provide titles to their ancestral land.          

Israeli Authorities Have Delivered Demolition Orders For A Bedouin Village In The Negev The village of Rakhama received the demolition orders from Israeli authorities under heavy police protection. The homes of the Bedouin residents are being demolished because Israel does not allow for them to receive building permits, and thus see the villages as illegitimate.

Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions

The BDS Movement Is Anti-Racist And Anti-Discrimination, It Is Pro-Justice And Pro-Equality, That's It The statement of the Palestinian BDS National Committee has recently been released, with the main points of the declaration being that "all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights" and of course a rejection of the Zionist occupation.

Israel Has Given Final Approval On A Bill That Would Bar Foreigners That Call For Israel Boycott The new bill would deny entry visas or residency rights in Israel for any foreigner that may have called for either economic, cultural, or academic boycotts of the apartheid state.

Law

An Israeli Court Has Ruled That A Palestinian Citizen Of Israel Should Receive A Year In Prison For "Incitement" Khalid Ibrahim Muasi has been handed the sentence after allegedly expressing support for an attack against Israelis on Facebook.

An Israeli Army Prosecutor Is Filing An Appeal To Impose A Harsher Sentence On Elor Azarya The Israeli soldier had been sentenced to eighteen months in prison for the extrajudicial killing of an unarmed, wounded Palestinian man. The Israeli prosecutor is asking for thirty to sixty months.

B'Tselem Claims Israel's Border Police Had "Profound Disregard" For The Life Of Qusay Al-Umour The Israeli NGO, in a recent report, stated that the killing of the seventeen-year-old Palestinian man in clashes in the West Bank was "unjustified and unlawful." The report also claims that Israel's version of the events leading up to al-Umour's death have "no basis in reality."

Economy and Development

Egypt Is Set To Open Rafah Crossing With Gaza Twice A Month According To Top Sources The move is an attempt to "lessen the suffering of the Palestinian people" according to Egyptian president Abd Al-Fattah Al-Sisi. This might help increase the import of desperately needed goods, but it is likely far too little to make much economic difference.

There Is A Pain-Killing Epidemic In Gaza The taking of Tramadol started out as a way of calming the stress incurred by the Israeli occupation. According to the spokesperson for the anti-narcotics division of the Gaza police, the drugs are entering the besieged coastal strip with the assistance of Israeli criminal networks.

Arabic

قوات الاحتلال

قوات الاحتلال تعتقل 16 فلسطينيا في مدن الضفة الغربية
اعتقل جيش الاحتلال الإسرائيلي، فجر اليوم الأربعاء، 16 فلسطينيًا بمناطق مختلفة في الضفة الغربية، وذلك عقب عمليات الدهم والتفتيش لمنازل المواطنين، فيما تتواصل المواجهات الليلية ما بين المقاومة وجنود الاحتلال.

رام الله: استشهاد باسل الأعرج بنيران قوات الاحتلال
استشهد مواطن فلسطيني فجر اليوم، الاثنين، في مدينة البيرة قرب رام الله، بنيران قوات الاحتلال الإسرائيلي التي اقتحمت منزلا تواجد فيه الشهيد واختطفت القوات جثمانه. وقالت تقارير صحفية إسرائيلية أن الشهيد 'مطلوب' لأجهزة أمن الاحتلال.

إصابة فلسطيني بشظايا قذيفة أطلقتها قوات الاحتلال شمال غزة
أُصيب مواطن فلسطيني بشظايا قذيفة أطلقها جيش الاحتلال الإسرائيلي على بلدة جباليا شمال شرق مدينة غزة، وتوغلت قوات الاحتلال بشكل محدود، صباح اليوم الثلاثاء داخل أراضي المواطنين شرقي بلدة بيت حانون شمالي قطاع غزة.

الاحتلال يعتقل 16 فلسطينيا من الضفة والقدس
شنت قوات الاحتلال (الإسرائيلي)، فجر اليوم الأربعاء، حملة اعتقالات واسعة في مناطق متفرقة من الضفة المحتلة والقدس المحتلتين، حيث ذكر الجيش في بيان له اعتقال 16 فلسطينيا ممن وصفهم "بالمطلوبين له".

الاحتلال يفتح النار بغزة برا وبحرا .. ويشن حملة اعتقال وقمع بالضفة
أطلقت قوات الاحتلال الإسرائيلي المتمركزة في أبراج المراقبة العسكرية الجاثمة على الشريط الحدودي شمال بلدة بيت لاهيا شمال قطاع غزة، الرصاص الحي صوب مجموعة من المزارعين شمال بيت لاهيا مما أدى الى اثارة الرعب في صفوف المزارعين

قوات الاحتلال تكثّف من تواجدها العسكري بجنين
كثفت قوات الاحتلال الإسرائيلي من تواجدها العسكري في محافظة جنين ونصب الحواجز، اليوم الجمعة، غربي المدينة وشمالها.

ثلاثة إصابات برصاص الاحتلال بغزة إحداها خطيرة
أصيب ثلاثة فلسطينيين من قطاع غزة بجراح متفاوتة برصاص الاحتلال، إحداها خطيرة، الجمعة، قرب بيت لاهيا شمال قطاع غزة. وأفاد الناطق باسم وزارة الصحة، أشرف القدرة، بإصابة شابين أحدهما حالته حرجة برصاص الاحتلال قرب السياج الأمني شمال غرب بيت لاهيا مساء الجمعة.

الاحتلال يعتقل فلسطينيين بينهم نائبان بالمجلس التشريعي
نفذت قوات الاحتلال الإسرائيلي، امس الاثنين، عمليات اعتقال طالت عددا من الفلسطينيين، بينهم نائبان في المجلس التشريعي الفلسطيني عن "حركة المقاومة الإسلامية" (حماس)، وذلك عقب دهم منازلهم وتفتيشها في مناطق متفرقة من الضفة الغربية، بما فيها القدس، ثم اقتادتهم إلى جهات مجهولة.

ابو نعمة ل PNN:الاحتلال يقتلع ما يقارب 350 شجرة نخيل في مدينة اريحا
اقتلعت جرافات الاحتلال الاسرائيلي صباح اليوم الاربعاء اكثر من ثلاثمائة وخمسون شجرة نخيل في منطقة شارع فلسطين داخل حدود مدينة اريحا من الجهة الشمالية.

السياسة الداخلية

هآرتس: حماس تستعد للاعتراف بدولة فلسطينية على حدود 1967
قالت صحيفة "هآرتس" الإسرائيلية، إن حركة حماس تستعد لإعلان وثيقة توضح فيها موقفها السياسي والاستراتيجي الجديد، بما في ذلك إعلان نفسها حركة مستقلة عن جماعة الإخوان المسلمين.

حماس تلغي إجازة بمناسبة يوم المرأة العالمي في غزة
قررت حركة حماس إلغاء إجازة يوم المرأة العالمي في غزة وهو ما أثار موجة من ردود الفعل المتباينة في الشارع الفلسطيني. وأثار القرار الذي اتخذته اللجنة الإدارية العليا في حماس ردود فعل متباينة داخل مؤسسات الحركة التي انقسمت بين مؤيد للقرار ورافض له.

شرطة اسرائيل تحقق مع نتنياهو لمدة 4 ساعات حول قضايا فساد
أخضعت الشرطة الإسرائيلية نتنياهو، عصر يوم الاثنين، لجولة رابعة، من التحقيقات حول القضية المعروفة بقضية “1000” المتعلقة بالاشتباه بتلقي رئيس الوزراء هدايا من رجال أعمال أثرياء خلافا للقانون.

"الكنيست" يصادق على قانون عزمي بشارة
صادق "الكنيست" الإسرائيلي، مساء اليوم، بالقراءتين الثانية والثالثة، على قانون سحب الجنسية، بناء على طلب المحاكم أو وزير الداخلية، والمعروف باسم "قانون عزمي بشارة"، بأغلبية 51 صوتًا ومعارضة 17. ويهدف القانون إلى تمكين وزير الداخلية الإسرائيلي من تقديم طلب لسحب الجنسية عن المفكر العربي عزمي بشارة

فلسطينيون يرفضون تدخل الكنيست الإسرائيلي في الأذان
رفض مسؤولون فلسطينيون يوم الأربعاء إقرار الكنيست الإسرائيلي في قراءة أولى ما يعرف بقانون منع الأذان في القدس والبلدات العربية في إسرائيل. وقال الشيخ محمد حسين مفتي القدس والديار المقدسة لرويترز "هذا القرار مرفوض جملة وتفصيلا ولا يحق للكنيست الإسرائيلي ولا لغيره من مؤسسات الاحتلال الإسرائيلي أن يتدخل في شعائر الإسلام وعبادات المسلمين."

السياسة الخارجية

العلاقات بين مصر والسلطة الفلسطينية تمر في أزمة شديدة آخذة في التعمق ونتيجة لذلك تم منع جبريل الرجوب من المشاركة في مؤتمر عقد في شرم الشيخ مؤخرا
المسارات البالستية لصواريخ الـ آر.بي.جي التي يتم اطلاقها في مخيم عين الحلوة للاجئين في صيدا، تبدأ في رام الله وغزة والقاهرة. منذ أسبوع والمخيم يمر في حالة توتر بعد الصدامات العنيفة هناك في يوم السبت، التي قتل فيها شخص واحد على الأقل. وقد تم تحطيم محلات ومنازل وعُطلت المواصلات في هذا المخيم الكبير نسبيا الذي يعيش فيه 80 ألف شخص تقريبا.

صحيفة إسرائيلية: تقرير للأمم المتحدة يدين أنشطة الاستيطان ويدعو لوقفها
 أكدت صحيفة "يديعوت أحرونوت" أن تقريرا منتظر صدوره من الأمم المتحدة سينتقد ضم السلطات الإسرائيلية لأراض فلسطينية بالضفة الغربية، موضحة أنه من المتوقع أن يدعو إلى "وقف المتاجرة" بأراضي الفلسطيني.

مطالب حقوقية بإدراج إسرائيل في القائمة السوداء
كشفت صحيفة يديعوت أحرونوت أن عددا من المنظمات الحقوقية وجهت دعوة إلى الأمم المتحدة لإدراج اسم إسرائيل في القائمة السوداء للدول والكيانات السياسية التي تنتهك بشكل منهجي حقوق الإنسان -ولا سيما الأطفال- خلال النزاعات المسلحة.

الاتحاد الأوروبي يسعى لتقييم محادثات رفيعة المستوى مع إسرائيل
قالت مصادر دبلوماسية أوروبية أن الاتحاد الأوروبي يسعى لتقييم محادثات رفيعة المستوى مع إسرائيل فى وقت لاحق فى ضوء المواقف الحالية من الحكومة الإسرائيلية التي تشهد مزيدا من القلق بسبب سياسات إسرائيل الخاصة ببناء مستوطنات جديدة بالضفة الغربية المحتلة وعدم الالتزام بحل الدولتين.

روسيا ستساعد إسرائيل في مراقبة حدودها الشمالية
خلال الزيارة المرتقبة لرئيس الوزراء الاسرائيلي بنيامين نتنياهو إلى موسكو، سيناقش الطرفان الإسرائيلي والروسي مسألة إقامة تعاون أوثق في سوريا. فتل أبيب مهتمة بالحصول على مزيد من المعلومات حول ما يجري في المناطق الحدودية ورصد نشاط "حزب الله" حليف الرئيس بشار الأسد.

نتانياهو: تهديدات إيران يفتح الباب للتطبيع بين إسرائيل والمنطقة العربية
قال رئيس الوزراء الإسرائيلي بنيامين نتانياهو، اليوم الأربعاء، إن التهديدات الإيرانية للمنطقة ستفتح الباب للتطبيع بين إسرائيل والمنطقة العربية في المستقبل. وأضاف رئيس الوزراء الإسرائيلي خلال كلمته في مستهل استعراضه أمام لجنة الخارجية والأمن البرلمانية بالكنيست، إن إيران والمنظمات التي تدور في فلكها تشكل أكبر تهديد على إسرائيل.

إسرائيل قلقلة من عدم استقرار الأوضاع في الأردن
أبدت السفيرة الإسرائيلية في الأردن، عنات شلاين، قلقها حيال ما وصفته بـ'عدم الاستقرار في المملكة الأردنية' بسبب التطورات والداخلية وكذلك الأحداث الإقليمية، ورجحت أن الأوضاع في المملكة تتقوض. تقديرات السفيرة تم الكشف عنها، بحسب ما نقلته صحيفة 'هآرتس' اليوم الأربعاء، خلال جلسة لها مع رئيس أركان الجيش الإسرائيلي، غادي آيزنكوت، والتي أقيمت في تشرين الأول/أكتوبر الماضي، وخلالها تم التداول في تداعيات أزمة اللاجئين السوريين على الأردن.

قانون

مسودة تقرير أممي: "إسرائيل" تضم الضفة والقدس ميدانيًا وواقعيًا
أكدت مسودة التقرير الجديد الذي يعده مفوض الأمم المتحدة لحقوق الانسان، بأن "إسرائيل" تضم أراضي الضفة الغربية المحتلة وشرقي القدس المحتلة واقعًا وميدانًا، فيما سيطالب التقرير دول العالم التوقف فوراً عن أي أعمال تجارية مع المستوطنات الاسرائيلية القائمة على الأراضي الفلسطينية المحتلة، بصفتها مخالفة فاقعة لنص وروح القانون الدولي.

تقرير جديد للأمم المتحدة: قاطعوا المستوطنات
علم موقع "ynet" الاخباري الناطق باللغة العبرية أن مسودة التقرير الجديد الذي يعده مفوض الامم المتحدة لحقوق الانسان، سيطالب دول العالم التوقف فوراً عن أي اعمال تجارية مع المستوطنات الاسرائيلية القائمة على الاراضي الفلسطينية المحتلة، بصفتها مخالفة فاضحة لنص وروح القانون الدولي.

قراقع: 57 الف شاقل مجموع الغرامات المفروضة على الاسرى في سجن عوفر خلال شهر شباط الماضي
قال عيسى قراقع رئيس هيئة شؤون الاسرى والمحررين ان محاكم الاحتلال لا زالت تمارس سياسة جبي الاموال الباهظة من اهالي الاسرى من خلال فرض غرامات مرتفعة على المعتقلين خلال محاكمتهم في المحاكم العسكرية الاسرائيلية.

فلسطين تسلم التقرير الرسمي الأولي حول اتفاقية 'سيداو'
سلم وزير الخارجية رياض المالكي، وبصفته رئيساً للجنة الوطنية الدائمة لمتابعة انضمام دولة فلسطين إلى الاتفاقيات والمواثيق الدولية، التقرير الرسمي الأولي لدولة فلسطين حول اتفاقية القضاء على جميع أشكال التمييز ضد المرأة "سيداو" إلى مفوضية الأمم المتحدة السامية لحقوق الإنسان.

عنف المستوطنين

مئات المقدسيين يفتشون على طفل اختفت آثاره في ''عمواس''
وكان نبأ اختفاء الطفل يزن الأكثر تداولاً عبر مواقع التواصل الاجتماعي وسط مناشدات بالمشاركة في البحث عنه؛ الأمر الذي لاقى تجاوباً واسعاً وغير متوقع، واكتظت المنطقة بمركبات المقدسيين الذين هبّوا للمشاركة في البحث عن الطفل المقدسي.

مساع حكومية إسرائيلية للبدء بتطبيق قانون شرعنه المستوطنات
قال المكتب الوطني للدفاع عن الأرض ومقاومة الاستيطان "إن حكومة الاحتلال الاسرائيلي تسعى للتفاهم مع الإدارة الأميركية الجديدة حول الخطوط العريضة لتفاهمات أميركية إسرائيلية مشتركة بشأن الاستيطان يتم فرضها لاحقًا كأمر واقع على الجانب الفلسطيني".

إصابة مواطنين جراء اعتداء مستوطنين عليهما غرب نابلس
أصيب مواطنان اليوم، جراء هجوم للمستوطنين على المزارعين في قرية "فرعتا" غرب نابلس، وفقًا لما ذكرته وكالة الأنباء الفلسطينية "وفا". وقال مسؤول ملف الاستيطان شمال الضفة الغربية غسان دغلس لـ"وفا"، إن مستوطنين هاجموا المزارعين أثناء حراثة أراضيهم في قرية فرعتا غرب نابلس.

اقتصاد وتنمية

توفيرات العمال الفلسطينيين بإسرائيل: الاحتلال نهب مليارات الدولارات
تسيطر إسرائيل، كدولة احتلال، على الاقتصاد الفلسطيني وتؤثر عليه بشكل بالغ، لدرجة أن التقديرات تشير إلى أن 0.67 شاقل من كل شاقل واحد يدخله الإنسان الفلسطيني يصب في نهاية المطاف بأيدي إسرائيلية عامة أو خاصة. والسبب الأساسي في هذا الوضع هو أن الاحتلال الإسرائيلي منع بشكل منهجي تطور الاقتصاد الفلسطيني في الضفة الغربية وقطاع غزة على مدار الخمسين عاما الماضي.

الضفة الغربية تعاني من أوضاع اقتصادية متردية +فيديو
تعتبر مدينة الخليل وتحديدا بلدتها القديمة عاصمة الصناعات الفلسطينية والتي تصدر بضاعتها ومنها الصناعات الحرفية الى كافة انحاء العالم، حيث باتت اليوم هذه المدينة تعاني من عدة مشاكل إثر ما يمارسه كيان الاحتلال الصهيوني لتدمير الاقتصاد الفلسطيني.

​تنفيذ مناطق صناعية إسرائيلية في الضفة تعزيز للاستيطان
وبحسب صحيفة "هآرتس" العبرية، يوجد حاليا في الضفة الغربية اليوم 14 منطقة صناعية أقامتها سلطات الاحتلال عبر السنوات الماضية، وما تزال تعمل حتى الآن، وتسعى سلطات الاحتلال إلى إقامة المزيد من هذه المناطق، ما يتيح للاحتلال السيطرة على عشرات آلاف الدونمات من الأراضي الفلسطينية دون أن يقابل ذلك بإدانات دولية، كما في حالات توسيع الاستيطان، أو إقامة مستوطنات جديدة.

مصادر مصرية: تطوير معبر رفح لاستيعاب حركة المسافرين..والعمل عل انشاء محطة كهرباء في غزة
أكدت مصادر دبلوماسية مصرية، أن القاهرة تسعى الآن لتطوير الصالة المصرية بمعبر رفح البري، لاستيعاب حركة المسافرين من وإلى قطاع غزة بشكل شبه دائم، وليليق بسمعة الدولة المصرية من حيث توافر عوامل المساعدة في صالات المعبر، ليشعر المسافرون بالراحة ولتخفيف معاناة الانتظار، مشيرة إلى أنه يجري تجهيز المعبر أيضا بمولدات احتياطية لبقاء أجهزة الحاسب على اتصال دائم بالأنترنت لسرعة إنهاء إجراءات السفر حيث إن انقطاع التيار في المعبر يؤخر تسهيل الإجراءات.

الحركة العالمية لمقاطعة إسرائيل وسحب الاستثمارات منها وفرض عقوبات عليها

الكنيست يقر قانونا جديدا يمنع دخول الأجانب المؤيدين لمقاطعة إسرائيل
وقال الكنيست على موقعه الإلكتروني بعد إقرار التشريع "تتزايد في السنوات الأخيرة الدعوات لمقاطعة إسرائيل... يبدو أن هذه جبهة جديدة في الحرب على إسرائيل التي لم تتأهب لها البلاد على النحو الملائم حتى الآن."

انتقادات لقانون إسرائيلي يحظر دخول أنصار حملة المقاطعة
أثار قانون جديد يمنع دخول الأجانب الذين يدعمون حملة مقاطعة إسرائيل الى الدولة العبرية، موجة انتقادات من المعارضة والمنظمات الحكومية التي وصفته بأنه غير ديموقراطي، معتبرة أنه يضر بصورة إسرائيل في العالم.

صحيفة بريطانية: حملات المقاطعة تكلف الاقتصاد الإسرائيلي عشرات ملايين الدولارات سنويا
كشفت مصادر بريطانية النقاب أن إقرار الكنيست (البرلمان) الإسرائيلي لقانون منع الأجانب الداعمين لحركة مقاطعة البضائع الإسرائيلية او التي تنتجها المستوطنات من دخول البلاد، تأتي لمواجهة التكاليف الاقتصادية التي كلفتها المقاطعة للاقتصاد الإسرائيلي.

انطلاق فعاليات "اسبوع الابرتهايد الاسرائيلي" في العديد من مدن العالم
انطلق منذ يوم أمس في ارجاء مختلفة من فرنسا "اسبوع الابرتهايد الإسرائيلي" الذ تبادر الى تنظيمه سنويا منظمات وجمعيات مناصرة للفلسطينيين. وقد انطلق هذا النشاط منذ عدة سنوات ومن المتوقع ان يشهد هذا العام تصعيدا لفعالياته على مدار أسبوع.

[This is an ongoing post that will be updated regularly. It was first published on 6 December 2016. The updates appear at the bottom.]

The conflict in Yemen seems set to intensify as 2016 draws to a close. The deposed president Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi returned to Aden from exile in mid-November after his government was reestablished in the southern city. This move, alongside a renewed ground campaign and the continued aerial bombardment throughout northern Yemen by the Saudi Arabia-led coalition, prompted Ansar Allah—the movement commonly known as the Houthis—and the faction of the General People’s Congress party loyal to Ali Abdullah Saleh, to establish a “national salvation government” in Sanaa under the leadership of Abdelaziz bin Habtoor.

These latest developments seem sure to undermine whatever potential diplomatic efforts may still have had in orchestrating a sustained ceasefire. Meanwhile, the conflict in Yemen, and the peaceful attempts to end it, have been woefully underreported by both the alternative press (Jadaliyya included) and the mainstream media. When it has been covered, journalists—taking their cue from government spokespersons and think tank experts—have tended to reduce the conflict to a proxy war between Hadi’s internationally-recognized and Saudi-backed “legitimate” government and the Iranian-allied Ansar Allah rebels in an inherently unstable country.

This framework has the unfortunate consequence of 1) obscuring the role that US imperialism has played in destabilizing and impoverishing the country; 2) misrepresenting the influence of Iran and Saudi Arabia as equivalent in Yemen; and 3) erasing the internal historical conditions that led to the political crisis. Instead, what has transpired since Ansar Allah and its allies took control of the capital in September 2014 is more the unraveling of a northern-based historic bloc and the disastrous effects of the post-uprising counterrevolutionary “transition” plan that sought to shore up the interests of Gulf autocracies at the expense of the democratic aspirations of Yemen’s people. Those in the southern highlands and coastal regions have paid an especially high cost, as Ansar Allah and Saleh forces contend with Hadi loyalists, Salafi and Al-Qa‘ida in the Arabian Peninsula militants, popular resistance groups, and secessionist fighters (sometimes allied with each other, other times against) for control. The fulfillment of their desire for self rule, whether in a federated political system or as an independent state, seems further away than ever. In the wake of this frustration and suffering, an autochthonous politics is emerging, with hundreds of civilians of northern “origins” attacked and expelled from their homes in southern areas.

Without doubt, the Ansar Allah-Saleh alliance has caused its share of suffering, but Saudi Arabia’s war on Yemen has transformed an internal political crisis into a full-fledged humanitarian emergency. Its bombing campaigns—for which the United States and United Kingdom continue to supply arms and provide intelligence and targeting information—have led to the majority of the over ten thousand deaths documented from this conflict, with attacks on funerals, weddings, hospitals, schools, markets, homes, and fishing ports killing thousands of civilians. Meanwhile, its air and sea blockade of the country has exacerbated the poverty and food insecurity of Yemen to such an extent that roughly twenty million Yemenis are in need of humanitarian assistance.

In the coming months, a number of regional and global developments will have a significant impact on the course of events in Yemen:

1. The inauguration of Donald Trump as US president on 20 January raises questions about how shifts in US foreign policy will affect the Yemeni conflict, especially with regard to US relations with Saudi Arabia and Iran.
2. The role of Iran in the conflict has been small, despite the tremendously overblown claims by Saudi Arabia and certain segments of the mainstream media and political establishment. Ansar Allah itself has keenly refuted any accusation of undue influence and just last week publicly warned Iran of any regional designs it might have. However, a small Iranian naval fleet has now been deployed off the southern coast of Yemen after the United States targeted Ansar Allah sites with cruise missiles in late October—it is unclear to what extent the situation may escalate.
3. The war in Syria and the geopolitical interests involved have largely overshadowed, and in part governed, how regional and global powers have operated in the Yemeni conflict. That will continue to be the case if and when those forces in Syria realign in the coming months.

With a number of other political developments on the horizon, the outcome of the Yemeni conflict is increasingly uncertain. We will continue to update this account as events unfold. Your comments on what we may have missed, or contributions in the form of links and developments, are welcome at ap@jadaliyya.com.
 

5 December 2016                                         

“The Saudi-led coalition has been accused of bombing multiple international hospitals run by the charity Médecins Sans Frontières, as well as schools, funerals and wedding parties. Strikes on a wedding in September killed 131 people, including children, in the capital Sanaa.”
 

Boris Johnson says 'we do not think the threshold has been crossed' by Saudi Arabia's bombing of Yemen
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/boris-johnson-threshold-crossed-saudi-arabia-yemen-british-weapons-bae-systems-arms-trade-andrew-a7454731.html

5 December 2016                                         

“Every day children are perishing in rural Yemen, where two-thirds of the nation’s population lives. Parents are forced to decide between saving their sick children and preventing healthier ones from following the same perilous route. Cemeteries in this desperately poor and rugged stretch of villages in the northwest contain the bodies of children who have recently died of hunger and preventable diseases. Most are buried in unmarked graves, their deaths unreported to authorities.”

In Yemen’s war, trapped families ask: Which child should we save?
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/in-yemens-war-trapped-families-ask-which-child-should-we-save/2016/11/30/c2240cf4-7d60-4132-989f-2128b077efbb_story.html?utm_term=.1b6a7733dd7e

5 December 2016                                          

“It’s sad, because Yemen has never witnessed something like this, we are experiencing a humanitarian disaster because of this war. Innocent people are dying. The heart bleeds when you think of all the tragedies. And the bombing of the funeral hall was the worst, it was one of the ugliest crimes that I have seen.

I have been a photographer in Yemen since forever, so I’m quite plugged in. When something happens, I usually get a call very quickly. On that day in October, I got a call from my nephew who lives nearby and who told me that a hall holding a funeral appeared to have been hit.”

When the heart bleeds
https://correspondent.afp.com/when-heart-bleeds  

5 December 2016                                         

“For more than a year, the Houthis have besieged government-controlled districts from their positions around the city. They have been accused of indiscriminately shelling residential areas and medical facilities and restricting deliveries of aid. Meanwhile, the pro-government fighters who control the heart of Taiz are alleged to have tortured, kidnapped and summarily killed their opponents. Both sides, but particularly the Houthis, have been accused of using snipers against innocent civilians.”

Yemen conflict: Terror of life under siege in Taiz      
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-38152428

5 December 2016                                          

“The U.S.-backed, Saudi-led war on Yemen continues to be largely ignored. One reason for this is that the near-famine conditions that exist throughout much of the country and the deaths that result from them are invisible in official accounts of how many have been killed by the war. Many of the war’s victims are killed by hunger or preventable disease, and yet the warring parties have caused their deaths all the same. The humanitarian catastrophe in Yemen is every bit as terrible as any in the world, and it is probably the worst of all in some respects, but because the victims are largely cut off from the outside world their plight remains mostly unknown. Even when it is made known, it tends to be greeted by indifference because the people suffering are perceived to be on the “wrong” side or because it is an embarrassment to the U.S., Britain, and their client governments.”

The Starvation of Yemen Continues
http://www.theamericanconservative.com/larison/the-starvation-of-yemen-continues-2/

5 December 2016                                          

تزامنت عودة هادي إلى عدن مع إصداره قرارات عسكرية شملت تغييرات كبيرة، منها تعيين اللواء الركن أحمد سيف اليافعي نائبا لرئيس «هيئة الأركان العامة»، إضافة إلى التوجيه بإرسال تعزيزات عسكرية إلى تعز تشمل «إمدادات وعتاداً عسكرياً ثقيلاً ودعماً بالمدرعات وبالجنود لحسم المعركة في المحافظة»، وفق تلك المصادر.
أما إسماعيل ولد الشيخ، فالتقى، أمس، أمير الكويت، صباح الأحمد الصباح، لبحث فرصة استكمال المشاورات التي كان للكويت دور كبير في استضافتها قبل شهور، رغم أنها لم تفض إلى نتيجة. كما التقى المبعوث الأممي، النائب الأول لرئيس مجلس الوزراء وزير الخارجية الكويتي، صباح خالد الصباح، في الشأن نفسه

ولد الشيخ في الكويت... ومعركة «استعادة تعز» طور التحشيد
http://www.al-akhbar.com/node/269125

5 December 2016

استشهدت طفلة وأصيب والدها واثنين من إخوانها بجروح اليوم الأحد جراء غارة شنها طيران العدوان السعودي الأمريكي استهدفت منزلا في محافظة صعدة.
وأوضح مراسل "المسيرة نت" أن طيران العدوان استهدف منزلا في منطقة بني معين بمديرية رازح بالمحافظة ما أدى إلى استشهاد طفلة وجرح والدها واثنين من إخوانها، بالإضافة إلى تدمير المنزل وإلحاق أضرار مادية جسيمة في محيط المنزل.
وأشار المراسل إلى أن الطفلة تم انتشالها من تحت أنقاض منزلها المدمر.
وكانت قد استشهدت امرأة وأصيبت طفلتان، في وقت سابق اليوم الأحد، في خمس غارات شنها طيران العدوان السعودي الأمريكي على مديرية باقم بمحافظة صعدة شمالي اليمن

استشهاد طفلة وإصابة والدها وأخويها في غارة للعدوان استهدفت منزلا في صعدة
http://www.almasirah.net/details.php?es_id=807&cat_id=3
 

6 December 2016  

“The siege of Yemen has taken our country back of hundreds of years. Most of the country is out of work and there are shortages of electricity, gas, food and water. For almost 600 days children have gone to bed, every single night, fearing the sound of airplanes.

Cholera is spreading here and the threat of famine is looming over millions. We are seeing scenes that remind us of Biafra, Ethiopia in the 1970s and 1980s. We look back to the Yemen we used to know and so little stands. Memories clash with the reality.”

In Yemen children with cancer are dying in agony
https://www.theguardian.com/global-development-professionals-network/2016/dec/06/in-yemen-children-with-cancer-are-dying-in-agony

6 December 2016                                         

“The explosion occurred in the remote desert area of al-Uqla in the southern province of Shabwa, the officials said, and severed the link between Yemen's gas-producing Marib region and the export terminal of Balhaf on the Arabian Sea.

Oil and gas once accounted for most of Yemen's state revenue before a civil war and military intervention led by Saudi Arabia halted their export and unleashed a humanitarian crisis.”

Qaeda militants blow up Yemen gas export pipeline: local officials
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-yemen-security-gas-idUSKBN13U2HA

6 December 2016                                          

“It is one testimony from a war that has caused child malnutrition rates to jump by 200% in two years. Fifty per cent of medical facilities no longer function. Some have been bombed by the Saudi-led coalition, others have ground to a halt because there is no funding. Key roads and bridges are frequently attacked, making the delivery of assistance even more difficult.”

Yemen's suffering knows no bounds as war drags on 
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-38220785

6 December 2016

"نقلت وكالة «فرانس برس» عن المصدر نفسه أن هادي عارض خلال اجتماعه مع مبعوث الأمم المتحدة الخاص إلى اليمن، إسماعيل ولد الشيخ أحمد، خلال لقائهما الخميس الماضي، «خريطة الطريق» التي تقدم بها الأخير.
وضمن السقوف العالية، طلب هادي، وفق المصدر نفسه، أن يعلن كل من الرئيس اليمني السابق علي عبد الله صالح، وزعيم «جماعة أنصار الله» عبد الملك الحوثي، «تخليهما عن العمل السياسي وإلزامهما الخروج من اليمن إلى منفى اختياري لمدة عشر سنوات، وتطبيق العقوبات الدولية الصادرة عن مجلس الأمن بحقهما."

هادي يرفع سقفه: أرحل بعد نفي صالح والحوثي
http://www.al-akhbar.com/node/269189 

6 December 2016                                         

"نقلت رويترز عن المسؤولين أن الانفجار وقع في منطقة العقلة الصحراوية النائية بمحافظة شبوة في الجنوب وقطع الخط الواصل بين محافظة مأرب المنتجة للغاز ومرفأ بلحاف التصديري على بحر العرب.
ومثل النفط والغاز في وقت من الأوقات معظم إيرادات الدولة اليمنية قبل أن توقف الحرب الأهلية وتدخل عسكري تقوده السعودية تلك الصادرات وتتسبب في أزمة إنسانية"
 

مسلحو "القاعدة" يفجرون خط الأنابيب الوحيد لتصدير الغاز في اليمن
http://tinyurl.com/h48w5bq

6 December 2016

"تضرر قطاع الرياضة في اليمن كثيرا من الصراع الدائر بين حركة أنصار الله الحوثية وحكومة الرئيس عبد ربه منصور هادي
و تكبد هذا القطاع خسائر بمئات ملايين من الدولارات، ودُمرت عشرات المنشآت الرياضية.
ووجد كثير من الرياضيين، الذين حصدوا ألقابا لصالح اليمن في السابق، أنفسهم مضطرين إلى البحث عن عمل، بل إن بعضهم تحول إلى محاربين".

الصراع في اليمن: من بطل رياضي إلى حمال بضائع
http://www.bbc.com/arabic/media-38202373

 
6 December 2016

People in need by governorate (Acute and Moderate)
http://ochayemen.org/hno-2017/#resources

7 December 2016

“More than 7,000 people have been killed in Yemen's war and three million people have been forced to flee their homes. The UN estimates 14 million are at risk of hunger with half of those on the brink of famine.”

 
Yemen's war leaves children on the brink of famine
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-38229955 

7 December 2016 

“The crisis in Yemen has been overshadowed by the wars in Syria and Iraq. Barely 50% of the funding promised by donors has actually been delivered. The senior UN official in the country, Jamie McGoldrick, is clearly exasperated at the international response.

‘The politics of the situation has overcome the humanity,’ he says. ‘The humanity doesn't work anymore here. The world has turned a blind eye to what's happening in Yemen... right now we are so under-resourced for this crisis, it's extraordinary.’”

 
Yemen conflict: UN official accuses world of ignoring crisis
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-38220785 

7 December 2016 

“Even before the start of the conflict in March 2015, Yemen was suffering a humanitarian crisis including widespread hunger, brought on by decades of poverty and internal strife.

Around half of Yemen's 28 million people are "food insecure," according to the United Nations, and seven million of them do not know where they will get their next meal.”

The world has forgotten the Yemen war, says senior UN humanitarian official
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/yemen-war-saudi-arabia-world-forgotten-houthi-rebels-conflict-un-official-comments-a7460081.html 

7 December 2016 

“A 20 month long war, waged between a Saudi-led coalition of Gulf countries and the Government of Yemen against the Houthis, has killed and injured over 11,000 civilians, forced more than 3 million people to flee their homes and brought the economy to near collapse.

Oxfam is calling on the Saudi-led coalition to lift shipping restrictions to allow food and other vital imports to increase, and on all parties in the conflict to allow food to move freely around the country and agree a meaningful ceasefire and restart peace talks. It is also calling for rich countries to increase support to the UN aid effort which is currently only 58 per cent funded and short of over $686 million (£540m).”

Yemen: a few months away from running out of food
http://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/yemen-few-months-away-running-out-food 

7 December 2016 

“An investigative body set up by the Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen said on Tuesday it should apologize for a deadly attack on a Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) hospital in August that the group said killed 11 people.

But the Joint Group to Assess Incidents found the coalition was not responsible for or had legitimately targeted fighters in four other incidents that rights groups blamed on Saudi-led bombings and together killed dozens of people.”

 
Investigation urges coalition apology for Yemen hospital attack
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-yemen-security-saudi-idUSKBN13V2JC

 
7 December 2016

"اتهم مسؤول بارز في مجال الشؤون الإنسانية بالأمم المتحدة العالم بغض الطرف عن كارثة إنسانية متفاقمة يشهدها اليمن وقال منسق الأمم المتحدة للشؤون الإنسانية في اليمن جيمي ماغولدريك لبي بي سي إن الأطفال يموتون جوعا بسبب نقص التمويل الدولي الهائل للتعامل مع تداعيات الأزمة في اليمن..
وأوضح أن البنى التحتية في اليمن قد انهارت، وأكثر من نصف السكان لا يملكون الوسائل لتلبية احتياجاتهم الأساسية.
وقال إن العالم "سيندم لعدم فعل المزيد لمساعدة اليمن" في محنته."

مسؤول أممي يحذر من كارثة إنسانية متفاقمة في اليمن ويدعو العالم للتحرك
http://www.bbc.com/arabic/middleeast-38231755

 
7 December 2016

"وعند الحدود اليمنية السعودية حيث تحدث مصدر عسكري يمني عن مقتل 4 جنود سعوديين برصاص قناصة الجيش واللجان الشعبية في مواقع الضَبْرة والمُعَنّق وقائم زَبيد بجَيزان السعودية، يأتي ذلك بعد احراق مخزن اسلحة للجيش السعودي بالتزامن مع قصف تحصيناتهم بموقع الفَريضة بجيزان، كما القت طائرات التحالف السعودي قنبلة عنقودية على جبل الدُود بجيزان وفق ما تحدث به مصدر عسكري يمني".

مقاتلات التحالف السعودي تستهدف حي سكن الضباط شمال اليمن بالقنابل العنقودية
http://www.almayadeen.net/news/politics/47886/%D9%85%D9%82%D8%A7%D8%AA%D9%84%D8%A7%D8%AA-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AA%D8%AD%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%81-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B3%D8%B9%D9%88%D8%AF%D9%8A-%D8%AA%D8%B3%D8%AA%D9%87%D8%AF%D9%81-%D8%AD%D9%8A-%D8%B3%D9%83%D9%86-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B6%D8%A8%D8%A7%D8%B7-%D8%B4%D9%85%D8%A7%D9%84-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%8A%D9%85%D9%86-%D8%A8%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%82

8 December 2016

“The government says the incident took place five days ago, but it appears that it was only confirmed on Tuesday. The cause of the disaster is not clear, but a minister said it was an accident. The government has asked merchant vessels and warships in the area to help search for survivors, some of whom are believed to have escaped in lifeboats.”

 
Yemen ship sinking: 35 rescued off coast
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-38235043

8 December 2016

“Yemen appeared to reject the U.N. plan on Tuesday, calling it a 'dangerous international precedent' that would legitimize the rebellion against the internationally recognised government. State Department spokesman Mark Toner told a news briefing the United States was 'disappointed' by Yemen's reaction.”

U.S. urges Yemen to accept U.N.-drafted roadmap for peace talks
http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-yemen-security-usa-idUKKBN13W2MR

8 December 2016

“The Treasury added Al-Hasan Ali Ali Abkar, Abdallah Faysal Sadiq al-Ahdal and the Rahmah Charitable Organization to its list of specially designated nationals and entities that support or engage in terrorism. It said the Rahmah Charitable Organization acted as a "front organization" for the group Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP).”
 

U.S. sanctions two Yemenis, charity tied to al Qaeda in Yemen
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-mideast-crisis-usa-terrorism-idUSKBN13W22G 

8 December 2016

“(Beirut) – The Saudi Arabia-led coalition killed several dozen civilians in three apparently unlawful airstrikes in September and October 2016, Human Rights Watch said today. The coalition’s use of United States-supplied weapons in two of the strikes, including a bomb delivered to Saudi Arabia well into the conflict, puts the US at risk of complicity in unlawful attacks.”

Yemen: US-Made Bombs Used in Unlawful Airstrikes
https://www.hrw.org/news/2016/12/08/yemen-us-made-bombs-used-unlawful-airstrikes

9 December 2016

“This is Sa’ada, ground zero of the 20-month Saudi campaign in Yemen, a largely forgotten conflict that has killed more than 10,000, uprooted 3 million and left perhaps 14 million – more than half the country – short of food, many on the brink of starvation.”

'Everything is over now': the last survivors in Yemen's ground zero
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/dec/09/everything-is-over-now-the-last-survivors-in-yemens-ground-zero

 
9 December 2016

“Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) is extremely concerned about the recent declaration made by the official spokesperson of the Joint Incidents Assessment Team (JIAT) on Yemen, Mansour Ahmad Al-Mansour, about the bombing of Abs hospital, in Hajjah governorate, on 15 August 2016. This public declaration does not reflect the conversations MSF had in Saudi Arabia with the JIAT and military forces after the attack. MSF also conducted its own investigation into the incident, which has been shared with the Saudi authorities.”

 
Yemen: Saudi-led airstrike on Abs hospital cannot be justified as "unintentional error"
http://www.msf.org/en/article/yemen-saudi-led-airstrike-abs-hospital-cannot-be-justified-unintentional-error

9 December 2016

“The US knew that the Saudi-led coalition was committing abuses in Yemen, but they sold them this weapon anyway.

31 civilians were killed, including 3 children.”
 

Human Rights Watch
https://www.facebook.com/HumanRightsWatch/videos/10154733869264354/                  

9 December 2016

“Johnson lamented as a mistake Britain's 1968 decision to shut its Gulf military bases, which had helped anchor its global empire for more than a century, and said Britain now sought to restore the influence he suggested it had lost in the decades since.

‘Britain is back east of Suez, not as the greatest military power on earth ... but as a nation that is active in and deeply committed to the region.’”

UK’s Johnson courts Gulf after Saudi comments draw putdown
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-britain-eu-gulf-johnson-idUSKBN13Y2HG            

         

10 December 2016

“A suicide bomber killed at least 50 Yemeni soldiers at a base in the city of Aden, a local security official said, in another major attack claimed by Islamic State on forces allied to a Saudi-led military coalition.”

Suicide bomber kills at least 50 Yemeni troops in Aden
http://news.trust.org/item/20161210143958-lsmbh/                                   

12 December 2016

“Nearly 2.2 million children in Yemen are acutely malnourished and require urgent care. At least 462,000 children suffer from Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM), a drastic increase of almost 200 per cent since 2014. An additional 1.7 million children suffer from Moderate Acute Malnutrition.”
 

Malnutrition among children in Yemen at an all-time high, warns UNICEF
http://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/malnutrition-amongst-children-yemen-all-time-high-warns-unicef-enar

12 December 2016

“BBC Arabic's Nawal al-Maghafi is one of the first journalists to report from the rebel stronghold of Saada, in the north - one of the places hardest hit by the Saudi-led air campaign, which began in March 2015.”

Yemen’s war: Inside the rebels’ battered stronghold
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-38297304

12 December 2016

شهدت محافظة صعدة مؤخرا معارك ضارية بين الحوثيين والقوات الحكومية مدعومة بقوات التحالف العربي بقيادة السعودية.

بي بي سي ترصد الأوضاع في مدينة صعدة اليمنية
http://www.bbc.com/arabic/media-38300175

13 December 2016

“The United States has decided to limit military support to Saudi Arabia's campaign in Yemen because of concerns over widespread civilian casualties and will halt a planned arms sale to the kingdom.”

U.S. to halt some arms sales to Saudi, citing civilian deaths in Yemen campaign
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-saudiarabia-yemen-exclusive-idUSKBN1421UK
 

14 December 2016

“It comes amid reported discoveries of Britain-made weapons in bombed parts of the country.

Prime Minister Abdulaziz bin Habtour claimed the UK Government cared more about making profits from arms sales than the humanitarian crisis enveloping his country.”
 

Yemen's Prime Minister accuses UK of war crimes
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/yemen-prime-minister-uk-war-crimes-abdulaziz-bin-habtour-a7473001.html

14 December 2016

“It was not immediately clear who killed the men and why, but Aden al-Ghad said the condition of the bodies suggested they had been dumped there more than a month ago.

Yemen's second largest city has been suffering from lawlessness, as armed groups including Islamic State and al Qaeda continue to maintain influence nearly a year and-a-half after supporters of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, backed by Arab coalition troops, drove the Iran-aligned Houthis out.”
 

Eleven headless bodies found in Yemen's port city Aden: news website
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-yemen-security-bodies-idUSKBN1430FP

 

“It was the latest in a series of strikes by pilotless planes, believed to be operated by the United States, in war-torn Yemen.

The officials said the vehicle was traveling on a main road between the Marib governorate and al-Jawf when it was attacked.”
 

Four suspected al Qaeda members killed in drone strike in Yemen: officials
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-yemen-security-idUSKBN1422I7

14 December 2016

"وأضاف أنه في الوقت الذي تلغي واشنطن بعض مبيعات الأسلحة للسعودية، إلا أنها ستواصل تزويد الرياض بالمعلومات الاستخباراتية التي تركز على الأمن على حدود البلاد.

وأشار برايز إلى أن " الولايات المتحدة ستوفر تدريباً للطيارين المشاركين في الضربات الجوية في اليمن لتفادي سقوط ضحايا مدنيين".

وأردف أن الولايات المتحدة ستمضي قدماً في الكثير من العقود المبرمة بين البلدين ومنها، بيع طائرات هليكوبتر عسكرية تقدر قيمتها بثلاثة ملايين دولار أمريكي."

 

الولايات المتحدة ستحد من مبيعات الأسلحة للسعودية بسبب الضربات في اليمن
http://www.bbc.com/arabic/middleeast-38311421

14 December 2016

وقالت «اليونيسف» في بيان أمس الاول «يموت في اليمن على الأقل طفلاً واحداً كل عشر دقائق بسبب أمراض يمكن الوقاية منها، مثل الإسهال وسوء التغذية والتهاب الجهاز التنفسي».

وأضافت «يعاني حوالي 2,2 مليون طفل يمني من سوء التغذية الحاد ويحتاجون إلى العناية العاجلة»، موضحة أن «بين هؤلاء الأطفال 462 ألف طفل على الأقل يعانون «من سوء التغذية الحاد الوخيم»، في زيادة كبيرة «تصل إلى 200 في المئة مقارنة بالعام 2014».

اليمن: طفل يموت كل عشر دقائق
https://assafir.com/Article/1/520222

21 December 2016

“An investigation into the worst attack in Yemen’s war.”
 

The Funeral Bombing
http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b0872zds/our-world-the-funeral-bombing

22 December 2016

“Since war broke out in Yemen in March 2015, the fabric of the country has been disintegrating and the population of 27.4 million suffering untold hardship and misery. The situation there has been described as a ‘humanitarian catastrophe’ and without help many more people, especially children, will die from violence, lack of food and water, illness or disease. Ayman Gharaibeh, UNHCR’s Representative to Yemen, is leading the UN Refugee Agency’s humanitarian operations and response across the country. The experienced humanitarian aid worker previously served in Yemen with UNHCR from 1992 to 1994. Gharaibeh spoke to Public Information Officer Shabia Mantoo about the desperate situation there.”

 

Q&A: Yemenis face a ‘struggle for survival’
http://www.unhcr.org/en-us/news/latest/2016/12/5858eb774/qa-yemenis-face-struggle-survival.html

22 December 2016

"منذ ﺳﻴﻄﺮﺓ دول التحالف على جنوب اليمن، في تموز 2015، ازداد نشاط عناصر تنظيمي «ﺍﻟﻘﺎﻋﺪﺓ» ﻭ«ﺩﺍﻋﺶ» في مختلف مدنه الرئيسية، وعمد الاثنان إلى تصفية ﺍﻟﻘﻴﺎﺩﺍﺕ ﺍﻷ‌ﻣﻨﻴﺔ ﻭﺍﻟﻌﺴﻜﺮﻳﺔ ﻭﺍﻟﻘﻀﺎﺋﻴﺔ ﻭﺍﻟﺴﻴﺎﺳﻴﺔ ﻭﺍﻟﺤﺰﺑﻴﺔ ﺍﻟﺒﺎﺭﺯﺓ، إما بإطلاق الرﺻﺎﺹ من على متن ﺍﻟﺪﺭاﺟﺎﺕ ﺍﻟﻨﺎﺭﻳﺔ ﻭﺍﻟﺴﻴﺎﺭﺍت، وإما بعشرات الجرائم ﺍﻟﻤﻨﻈﻤﺔ التي ﺷﻤﻠﺖ عمليات الإعدام الجماعي، وليس أخيراً تنفيذ الهجمات ﺍﻻ‌ﻧﺘﺤﺎﺭﻳﺔ ﺑﺎﻷ‌ﺣﺰﻣﺔ ﺍﻟﻨﺎﺳﻔﺔ وباﻟﺴﻴﺎﺭﺍﺕ ﺍﻟﻤﻔﺨﺨﺔ.

لا يزال أبناء الجنوب يسلمون رقابهم إلى السعودية، رغم أن المخطط الاستعماري الجديد/القديم الهادف إلى ﺇﻓﺮﺍﻍ ﺍﻟﺠﻨﻮﺏ ﻣﻦ ﻛﻮﺍﺩﺭﻩ ﻭﻗﻴﺎﺩﺍﺗﻪ الفعالة، واضح للعيان. حالياً، صارت محافظات الجنوب ومدنه مثل جزر معزولة عن كتلة المساحة الجنوبية الموحدة، فضلاً

على أن ممرات الجنوب المائية اﻻ‌ﺳﺘﺮﺍﺗﻴﺠﻴﺔ تحت سيطرة التحالفات الدولية وأدواتها المختلفة"

عودة مشاريع الموت إلى عدن
http://www.al-akhbar.com/node/269906

22 December 2016

“What happens when you can’t leave? That’s the story of abandoned zoos in wartime. It’s the story unfolding now for the animals in Yemen’s Taiz Zoological Gardens, neglected in the cross fire of the country’s civil war. Here 28 Arabian leopards, critically endangered in the wild, haven’t eaten in six days. They and nearly 240 other animals face imminent death if they aren’t fed very soon.”
 

War-Torn Yemen Is Letting Its Zoo Animals Starve to Death
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2016/12/wildlife-watch-taiz-zoo-animals-starving-leopard-war/

22 December 2016

“Fighting in Yemen, already one of the poorest countries in the Middle East, has severely compounded needs arising from long years of poverty and insecurity. The worsening violence has disrupted millions of lives, resulting in widespread casualties and massive displacement, and the situation is rapidly deteriorating.

Civilians bear the brunt of the crisis, with 18.8 million Yemenis now in need of humanitarian assistance. Those forced to flee their homes are especially at risk. Over 2 million people now languish in desperate conditions, away from home and deprived of basic needs. The situation is so dire that 1 million displaced Yemenis have lost hope and tried to return home, even though it is not yet safe.

Yemen is facing a humanitarian catastrophe. Without help, many more lives will be lost to violence, treatable illnesses or lack of food, water and shelter.”
 

The world cannot afford to let Yemen slip into the abyss
http://www.unhcr.org/yemen-emergency.html


22 December 2016

“At Al-Salam Hospital in Khamir, MSF is involved in the emergency, surgery, maternity, pediatric, inpatient and intensive care departments, and collaborates closely with the Ministry of Health to improve medical services. We also support the blood bank and laboratory.

During my time there as Head Nurse, we treated many children for malnutrition and severe diarrhea, as well as respiratory infections and malaria. For women, we managed a lot of very complicated obstetric cases. For men, it was trauma: mostly gunshot wounds and road traffic accidents.”
 

Yemen: Six Months Inside a Forgotten War
http://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/article/yemen-six-months-inside-forgotten-war

23 December 2016

“The Saudi Arabia-led coalition fired Brazilian-made rockets containing banned cluster munitions that struck near two schools in the northern Yemeni city of Saada on December 6, 2016, Human Rights Watch said today. The attack on al-Dhubat neighborhood in Saada’s Old City at about 8 p.m. killed two civilians and wounded at least six, including a child.

The attack came a day after Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Brazil, and the United States abstained from a vote in the United Nations General Assembly that overwhelmingly endorsed an already widely accepted international ban on cluster munition use. Brazil should join the Convention on Cluster Munitions and cease the production and transfer of cluster munitions, while Saudi Arabia and other coalition members should cease all use of cluster munitions, Human Rights Watch said.”
 

Yemen: Brazil-Made Cluster Munitions Harm Civilians
https://www.hrw.org/news/2016/12/23/yemen-brazil-made-cluster-munitions-harm-civilians

23 December 2016

“All the crew members of the Iranian ship were Pakistani nationals, and it is believed the targeted blast has resulted in seven fatalities. Miraculously though, there was one survivor. A man identified as Officer Kabir managed to stay alive by fleeing the ship and swimming safely to the Hodeidah port, where he was later hospitalised. Kabir remains in a state of trauma.

One body so far has been recovered and identified as crew member Suhail Ahmed. The other six bodies are still unaccounted for.

As of now, nobody has taken responsibility for the attack although local insurgent groups in the area have been known to pledge allegiance to Daesh.”
 

Seven Dead After Rocket Sinks Cargo Ship
https://www.porttechnology.org/news/7_dead_after_rocket_sinks_cargo_ship

23 December 2016

“I hesitate to use the term ‘lie,’ but we have learned through experience that British ministers cannot be trusted to tell the truth when they make statements about the Yemen.

The latest manifestation of this pernicious culture of falsehood concerns Philip Dunne, then defence minister, who told parliament in May that ‘we assess that no UK-supplied cluster weapons have been used and no UK-supplied aircraft have been involved in the use of cluster weapons in the current conflict in Yemen.’

This Monday, Defence Secretary Michael Fallon was obliged to tell MPs that British-made cluster bombs had indeed been dropped on Yemen by Saudi Arabia.”
 

The Fake News the UK Government has Fed Us about Yemen
http://www.middleeasteye.net/columns/fake-news-british-government-has-fed-us-about-yemen-206628139

 

24 December 2016

“Amal is 13 years-old, a schoolgirl living a never ending nightmare of death, fear, destruction, horror and uncertainty.

In the past four months, the softly-spoken little girl has survived a missile attack on her school that killed a teacher and classmates, burying some alive.”
 

Hell of schoolgirl living in Yemen's 'forgotten conflict' revealed
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4048538/Hell-schoolgirl-living-Yemen-s-forgotten-conflict-revealed-Amal-13-crawls-dark-avoid-snipers-haunted-horror-seeing-teacher-blown-missile-strike.html
 

24 December 2016

“At least eight civilians died in an airstrike carried out by the Saudi-led coalition in the central Yemeni province of Ibb.

The airstrike hit a village in the western part of the province, Sputnik quoted a local source as saying.

All the victims are members of one family, the source added.”
 

Saudi-led Strike Kills Eight People in Central Yemen
http://english.almanar.com.lb/144890

24 December 2016

“Yemen’s second largest city and once its commercial hub, Aden was intended to be a model of Hadi’s legitimacy.

Instead it has become a sign of Yemen’s woes. Multiple armed groups compete for influence, chief among them a force known as the Security Belt, created and funded by the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and their allies.”
 

Yemen’s Would-Be Model, Aden plagued by bombs, instability
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/yemens-would-be-model-aden-plagued-by-bombs-instability/2016/12/24/abf91170-c9a4-11e6-acda-59924caa2450_story.html?utm_term=.2dd8ca0a7348

26 December 2016

“Yemeni army snipers claim they shot dead six Saudi soldiers in the kingdom's Najran Province in "retaliatory attacks".

According to the Al Masirah television channel, which is owned by Yemen's rebel Houthi government, the troops were killed in cross border fire at military bases inside Saudi Arabia, in Sharjah and Tal'a.”
 

Yemeni army claims snipers shot dead six Saudi soldiers
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/yemeni-army-claims-snipers-shot-dead-six-saudi-soldiers-a7495041.html
 

26 December 2016

“Child mortality rates — already unacceptably high before conflict broke out — have increased. An additional 10,000 preventable deaths per year are now occurring. These children are the invisible causalities of Yemen's war. Another 1,219 children have died as a direct result of the fighting. The country's fragile health system is collapsing. A fiscal crisis and the country's failing economy have led to chronic shortages of essential drugs and equipment. Health workers and doctors have gone unpaid since August 2016.”
 

Struggling to survive: Stories from Yemen’s collapsing health system
http://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/struggling-survive-stories-yemen-s-collapsing-health-system
 

26 December 2016

“Accusing U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry of encouraging the Houthis to evade surrender, Hadi said he won’t accept any peace agreement that doesn’t also include a power transition deal from the Gulf Cooperation Council and national reconciliation talks, the government-controlled state Saba news agency reported.

Hadi was referring to a road map that emerged after a foreign ministers’ meeting in Oman suggesting that the president transfer his authority to a vice president agreed to by all actors, including the Houthis. Kerry was quoted as saying Saudi Arabia, which has backed Hadi’s government, and the Houthis had agreed on a plan to end the conflict -- without mentioning the government itself.”
 

Yemen President Warns of No Peace Without Houthis’ Withdrawal
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-12-26/yemen-president-warns-of-no-peace-without-houthis-withdrawal

26 December 2016

"أعلنت «جماعة أنصار الله» أنها قصفت الأحياء الجنوبية لمدينة نجران، جنوبي السعودية، بعشرات قذائف المدفعية والكاتيوشا، التي استهدفت محطة كهرباء في المدينة، فضلاً عن مهاجمة موقع السديس العسكري وتدمير ثلاث مدرعات سعودية."

أنصار الله تقصف نجران... وتقرير جديد عن قنابل عنقودية
http://al-akhbar.com/node/270124

27 December 2016

“Abdullah ­al-Haimi walked through the wasteland, pointing out the damage at a now-closed cement plant. A warehouse here, broken beams protruding. A quarry there, littered with shrapnel.

In total, he said, the complex had been bombed 53 times in the past year and a half — all by Saudi-led coalition warplanes, aided by the United States.

One strike at the main entrance killed 15 people, including an ice-cream vendor outside the gate.

But for Haimi, a manager at the plant in western central Yemen, the greatest destruction has occurred far beyond the perimeter of the state-owned facility. The lives of the 1,500 employees, and thousands of relatives who depended on them, have been shattered.”
 

The latest casualty of Yemen’s war? A small but vital middle class.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/the-latest-casualty-of-yemens-war-a-small-but-vital-middle-class/2016/12/26/07e051ba-e2a5-4f3f-b784-c4ed7a60fba2_story.html?utm_term=.766b1369ae36

28 December 2016

“The impact of the conflict on people’s physical and mental health cannot be overstated. In addition to tens of thousands of war-related injuries, MSF teams regularly treat large numbers of patients for acute post-violence stress syndrome. Patients report generalized symptoms such as body pain, headaches, and chest pains related to the physical and mental trauma they have endured. According to UNOCHA, nearly three million people were displaced by conflict within the country as of September 2016.”
 

 Yemen: Escalating Conflict, Escalating Needs
http://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/article/yemen-escalating-conflict-escalating-needs

28 December 2016

“بعد واحد وعشرين شهراً من العدوان على اليمن، باتت الأرض في صعدة وحجة، وهما محافظتان حدوديتان، مثقلة بآلاف القنابل العنقودية وأطنان الذخائر والأسلحة المُحرّمة التي يُلقيها طيران تحالف العدوان يومياً على كل شيء يقع في مرماها. هذه القنابل، يقع الأطفال والنساء في رأس قائمة ضحاياها قتلاً أو إعاقة بسبب فقدان أعضاء في أجسامهم، فضلاً عمّن يُقتلون مباشرة بقنابل تُلقى بالعشرات على الأحياء السكنية والقرى”.
 

السعودية تردّ... بالمزيد من القنابل العنقودية
http://www.al-akhbar.com/node/270179

29 December 2016

“The US-Saudi aggression fighter jets launched a series of raids on separated areas of Sana'a province overnight, a security official told Saba on Thursday.

The hostile strikes targeted the districts of Sanhan, Bani Matar, Alhayma Addakheliya and Nehm, causing severe damage to private property and farms of citizens, the official explained.”
 

Saudi aggression war jets wage raids on Sana'a
https://www.sabanews.net/en/news451075.htm

29 December 2016

“Fears about looting have also spread to Houthi-controlled areas of Taiz, where some residents told MEE they considered the Houthis to be their guards.

Anas al-Samei, a resident of Taiz's al-Hawban neighbourhood said he did not want to see the area become a conflict zone or fall under the control of the resistance.

“When the Houthis took over al-Hawban in March 2015, they did not loot our houses, but if the resistance liberates it, its fighters will loot and destroy our houses," Samei told MEE.

He pointed out that he supports a political solution to Yemen’s war, hoping that the resistance will stop fighting while the warring sides negotiate a peace settlement.”
 

Shooting and looting: 'Liberated' Taiz residents say they have lost everything
http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/yemen-taiz-looting-2054344058

29 December 2016

“Ultimately, if I have a simple message as a Syrian to all the Yemenis I have met or haven’t met and for others to hear: We are unified in our misery, my friends, and despite that, I really do believe that just like in Syria, you and we will pick up the pieces together once the bullets and bombs have been silenced, and   we will move forward towards something better.”
 

Yemen Through a Syrian Lens
http://aljumhuriya.net/en/yemen/yemen-through-a-syrian-lens


29 December 2016

“بعد مرور أكثر من 20 شهراً على اندلاع الحرب السعودية على اليمن في آذار/مارس 2015، تبدو جردة الحساب مُراوِحَة ضمن ما كان متوقعاً منذ ذلك التاريخ؛ حربٌ قياسية زمنياً، تُختبر فيها شتى أنواع التجارب العسكرية، ولا يتحقق أي من أهدافها الرئيسة، رغم ما يحظى به «التحالف العربي» الذي تقوده الرياض من دعم وتغطية من الولايات المتحدة وبريطانيا، منذ أكثر من 600 يوم على الحرب.”

اليمن 2016: السعودية هُزِمت
http://www.al-akhbar.com/node/270234

29 December 2016

“The Yemeni army began a massive offensive yesterday to retake areas in Bayhan and Asilan districts in the southern province of Shabwa, as fighting continue in the mountainous region of Naham northeast of Sana’a continued.”
 

Yemen launches major offensive in Shabwa province
https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20161229-yemen-launches-major-offensive-in-shabwa-province/

29 December 2016

“منذ نحو خمسة أيام مضت، تشن قوات هادي هجوماً عنيفاً على عدد من مناطق مديرية نهم، التي تعد من أكبر مديريات محافظة صنعاء، وتزيد مساحتها على 1840 كلم مربع. شملت المواجهات منطقة محلي وجنوب وادي محلي، ثم امتدت إلى جبل المريحا والتلال المقابلة لجبل القتب الاستراتيجي، كذلك اشتدت الاشتباكات في منطقة وادي ملح القريبة من جبل هيلان الاستراتيجي، الذي يشرف على مدينة مأرب.

وفي ظل وصول تعزيزات كبيرة لقوات هادي من محافظة مأرب، اتسع نطاق المواجهات إلى منطقة المدفون وجبل المنارة الاستراتيجي القريب من نقيل بن غيلان، الذي يبعد قرابة 30 كلم عن العاصمة صنعاء. وللمرة الأولى، تشارك بجانب أنواع الأسلحة المختلفة، طائرات «الأباتشي» التابعة للسعودية، فضلاً عن طائرات «إف ــ 16»، لكنها كانت مشاركة محدودة لم تخرج من نطاق الكر والفر خاصة في حال اشتداد المعارك.”

التحالف ينكسر مجدداً على أبواب صنعاء
http://www.al-akhbar.com/node/270236

30 December 2016

“Surviving even birth is a struggle in Yemen. After nearly two years of war, thousands of children and adults have died from easily treatable diseases, illnesses and injuries as the health-care system collapses.

The situation is deteriorating quickly. Vital drugs, vaccines and medical equipment often cannot enter the country because of an air, sea and land blockade imposed by the coalition. Because of a banking crisis, traders cannot afford to import wheat and other staple foods, triggering alarms that hunger and illness could soon worsen. Government medical workers have not been paid in four months.”
 

‘Sometimes the baby dies; sometimes the mother’: Life and death in Yemen’s hospitals
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/sometimes-the-baby-dies-sometimes-the-mother-life-and-death-in-yemens-hospitals/2016/12/29/cdbf853c-c6e3-11e6-acda-59924caa2450_story.html?utm_term=.8b063229426c

30 December 2016

“A drone strike in Yemen likely carried out by US forces yesterday has killed a local Al-Qaeda chief and his guard, according to a local security official.

The strike hit a car at Sawmaa in Al-Bayda province, killing Jalal Al-Seydi, who was the Emir of Al-Qaeda in the town of Lauder, situated in the neighbouring province of Abyan. Both Al-Bayda and Abyan are known for being Al-Qaeda strongholds. Yesterday, the US military said it killed 28 members of Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula in nine strikes in Yemen since September.”
 

US drones killed 28 Al-Qaeda members in Yemen
https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20161230-us-drones-killed-28-al-qaeda-members-in-yemen/

01 January 2017

“The meeting discussed the challenges facing the company and direct or indirect damage left by the US-Saudi aggression war and the siege on the company and oil and gas sector.

The company revealed that nearly seven million barrels of oil and gas have been re-injected into wells due to preventing the export of crude oil and liquefied natural gas, which caused significant losses to Yemen.”

Oil Minister: Safer Company is biggest revenue facility in Yemen
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news451442.htm 

01 January 2017

“As of 28 December, a cumulative total of 12 733 suspected cases of cholera, including 97 associated deaths have been reported across all affected governorates, with a case–fatality rate of 0.76%. To date, 163 stool samples have tested positive for Vibrio Cholerae 01.

The affected areas include 135 districts in the governorates of Abyan, Aden, Al-Bayda’a, Al-Dhale’a, Al Hudaydah, Al Jawf, Amran, Dhamar, Hajjah, Ta’izz as well as Sana’a City. Recent cases have also been reported for additional districts in Ibb, Lahij, Raymah and Sana’a governorates.

The majority (nearly 60%) of cases and deaths reported so far have been in the governorates of Aden, Ibb, Ta’izz and Al Hudaydah.”
 

Yemen: 1,000 additional cholera cases reported
http://outbreaknewstoday.com/yemen-1000-additional-cholera-cases-reported-82682/

02 January 2017

“As the first light of dawn trickles in through the hospital window, 19-year-old Mohammed Ali learns that his two-year-old cousin has died of hunger. But he has to remain strong for his little brother Mohannad, who could be next.

He holds his brother's hand as the five-year-old struggles to breathe, his skin stretched tight over tiny ribs. "I have already lost a cousin to malnutrition today, I can't lose my little brother," he says.”
 

Yemen's Children Starve as War Drags On
http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/yemens-children-starve-war-drags-44508227

02 January 2017

“The group's members were arrested on Sunday in Bani Matar district with at least 540 TNT explosive bars in their possessions.

Investigations revealed that the seized explosives have been stolen from an army warehouse, according to the official.”
 

TNT explosives captured in Sana'a
http://sabanews.net/en/news451473.htm

04 January 2017

“They said at least 10 other soldiers were wounded when troops were ambushed east of the coastal city of Shuqra on Tuesday. Intense clashes were continuing on Wednesday.

The sources said that Hadi forces, backed by aircraft of a Saudi-led coalition, were targeting Shuqra when they were surprised by the militants. One military vehicle overturned, another was destroyed and two were captured, they said.”
 

Three Yemeni soldiers killed in offensive against al Qaeda: sources
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-yemen-security-idUSKBN14O0V7?feedType=RSS&feedName=worldNews&utm_source=Twitter&utm_medium=Social&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Reuters%2FworldNews+%28Reuters+World+News%29

04 January 2017

“Nine civilians, including five members of one family, have been killed in rebel bombing and an air strike by the pro-government coalition in war-torn Yemen, military and rebel sources said Monday.

An air strike by the Saudi-led coalition hit on Sunday a house in the province of Marib, east of the capital Sanaa, killing five members of the same family, military officials told AFP.”
 

Yemen: Bombing, air strike kill nine civilians
http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/bombing-air-strike-kill-9-civilians-yemen-741746466

04 January 2017

“أفاد مصدر عسكري يمني الميادين الأربعاء بأن قوات التحالف السعودي كثّفت من قصفها الصاروخي والمدفعي على منازل المدنيين في منطقة عَيّاش بمديرية مُنَبِة الحدودية غرب محافظة صَعدة شمال اليمن، بالتزامن مع تكثيف متواصل للغارات الجوية حيث شنّت مقاتلات التحالف 12 غارة على منطقتي مَنْدَبة وآل الزَمّاح بمديرية بَاقِم الحدودية بالمحافظة ذاتها. 

كذلك أفاد مصدر عسكري للميادين عن مقتل وجرح أعداد كبيرة من قوات التحالف السعودي وقوات الرئيس عبد ربه منصور هادي في كمين محكم بصحراء البقع
بصعدة والحدودية قبالة نجران السعودية خلال الساعات الماضية”

 

الجيش واللجان يدمرون زورقاً حربياً للتحالف السعودي
https://www.almayadeen.net/news/politics/49549/%d8%a7%d9%84%d8%ac%d9%8a%d8%b4-%d9%88%d8%a7%d9%84%d9%84%d8%ac%d8%a7%d9%86-%d9%8a%d8%af%d9%85%d8%b1%d9%88%d9%86-%d8%b2%d9%88%d8%b1%d9%82%d8%a7-%d8%ad%d8%b1%d8%a8%d9%8a%d8%a7-%d9%84%d9%84%d8%aa%d8%ad%d8%a7%d9%84%d9%81-%d8%a7%d9%84%d8%b3%d8%b9%d9%88%d8%af%d9%8a

05 January 2017

“Abdullah al-Hindi, the head of the orphanage, said that almost two years of war had decimated the economy, and there have been severe cuts to public spending.

"The orphanage is at threat of closure and the children could face loss and displacement unless there are immediate solutions from National Salvation Government and well-wishers," he told the Reuters news agency.”
 

Yemen's orphans face 'catastrophe' as fighting rages
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/01/yemen-orphans-170105052409798.html

05 January 2017

“Though staple foods currently remain available on local markets, elevated food prices and reduced income from sources such as farming, fishing, government salaries, and the private service sector have significantly weakened the purchasing power of many households. While recent data on food security outcomes is limited, WFP’s mVAM data and various rapid assessments suggest severe levels of food insecurity, in line with Crisis (IPC Phase 3) or Emergency (IPC Phase 4), in western areas. Food security outcomes are likely most severe in Ta’izz, southern coastal areas of Al Hudaydah, and amongst IDP populations.”
 

Yemen Food Security Alert, January 4, 2017
http://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/yemen-food-security-alert-january-4-2017

06 January 2017

“Taiz, Yemen - A female charity worker, who campaigned to improve women's literacy in Yemen, has been murdered in a drive-by shooting in central Taiz, sparking fears of a campaign of targeted assassinations against women by "extremists".

Amat al-Aleem al-Asbahi was shot dead on 25 December by two motorcycle riders as she walked on the busy 26 September Street. Her death sent shockwaves through Taiz's activist community, who say they can no longer operate in the war-torn city in safety.”
 

Yemeni charity worker murdered, sparking fears of targeted campaign against women
http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/yemeni-woman-activist-murdered-after-fatwa-issued-against-female-workers-189477989

06 January 2017

“وادعى المصدر أن القصف أسفر عن مقتل 6 عسكريين سعوديين وإصابة 9 آخرين بينهم ضباط.

“وأضاف أنه تم رصد عملية نقل القتلى والجرحى السعوديين إلى «مستشفى الملك خالد» بمدينة نجران
 

الحوثيون يزعمون مقتل وإصابة 15 عسكريا سعوديا بينهم ضباط في نجران
https://medium.com/thenewkhalij/%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AD%D9%88%D8%AB%D9%8A%D9%88%D9%86-%D9%8A%D8%B2%D8%B9%D9%85%D9%88%D9%86-%D9%85%D9%82%D8%AA%D9%84-%D9%88%D8%A5%D8%B5%D8%A7%D8%A8%D8%A9-15-%D8%B9%D8%B3%D9%83%D8%B1%D9%8A%D8%A7-%D8%B3%D8%B9%D9%88%D8%AF%D9%8A%D8%A7-%D8%A8%D9%8A%D9%86%D9%87%D9%85-%D8%B6%D8%A8%D8%A7%D8%B7-%D9%81%D9%8A-%D9%86%D8%AC%D8%B1%D8%A7%D9%86-60075316dc86#.rz1be9tra

06 January 2017

“The BBC's Nawal Al-Maghafi has been granted access to the front line of the Yemen army's battle for the capital Sanaa.”
 

Yemen conflict: The front line battle for capital Sanaa
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-38504068

06 January 2017

“Unexploded remnants of cluster munitions have proved deadly for Yemenis, killing or injuring at least 85 civilians, including children. After 20 months of war, the British government has finally raised the issue with Saudi Arabia, which responded by vowing to stop using this particular weapon in its ongoing Yemen campaign. But the UK's mea culpa doesn't go far enough, especially as UK officials deny another, much larger accusation - the sale of other weapons, including precision-guided munitions, which the Saudis and their allies have used in unlawful strikes against civilians and civilian structures in Yemen.”
 

Theresa May Should Come Clean on UK Arms Sales to Saudi Arabia
https://www.hrw.org/news/2017/01/04/theresa-may-should-come-clean-uk-arms-sales-saudi-arabia

06 January 2017

“According to al-Masirah television, the Yemeni Army, backed by fighters from the allied Popular Committees, hit a headquarters controlling joint military operations, located in al-Khadhra, near Yemen’s northern borders on Friday.

6 Saudi soldiers have been killed in the attack, and 9 others were wounded.

The fresh attack came after a tragic Thursday for Saudi Arabia.”
 

6 Saudi Forces Killed in Yemeni Attack on Najran
https://www.tasnimnews.com/en/news/2017/01/06/1289213/6-saudi-forces-killed-in-yemeni-attack-on-najran

09 January 2017

“At least 68 fighters were killed in two days of fierce battles between Yemeni forces and Houthi rebels near the strategic Bab al-Mandab strait, military officials said on Sunday.

The clashes erupted amid a government assault to recapture the coastal Dhubab district, just 30 kilometres (20 miles) north of Bab al-Mandab which links the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean.”
 

Dozens killed in Yemen battle for strategic strait
https://www.alaraby.co.uk/english/news/2017/1/8/dozens-killed-in-yemen-battle-for-strategic-strait?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=sf

09 January 2017

“Living in Sanaa's Bait Bos neighbourhood, Abdulla roams the city daily, checking through rubbish piles to find something for himself and his family of 10 to eat.

'It is my daily attempt to stave off the death of my family by hunger,' he explained. 'I have become a frequent visitor of the rubbish dump. There, I also see my likes.'”
 

Starving Yemenis resort to eating rubbish
http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2017/01/starving-yemenis-resort-eating-rubbish-170102124800887.html

09 January 2017

“'Hunger is the most dominant thought on Yemenis minds during this period,' Yasser Rayes, an author at the Yemen Times, recently wrote.

Over the past few months, several humanitarian groups have launched appeals to tackle the issue of hunger in Yemen, largely aggravated by the Saudi-led coalition's bombing of the country. As is often the case, children are the most severely affected by the crisis.”
 

Conflict in Yemen Takes Heavy Toll on Country's Children
https://globalvoices.org/2017/01/08/conflict-in-yemen-takes-heavy-toll-on-countrys-children/

09 January 2017

“Amat al-Aleem al-Asbahi, who worked to improve female literacy in the war-torn country,  was killed on 25 December by two motorcycle riders as she walked on a busy street in the city centre.

A fatwa issued by Islamic scholar Abdullah al-Odaini in September, banning women activists from mixing with men, had already curtailed Ms Asbahi and the aid community’s work, as has fierce air strikes and other violence."
 

Yemeni woman who campaigned for female literacy shot dead
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/yemen-female-literacy-campaigner-activist-amat-al-aleem-al-asbahi-woman-shot-dead-civil-war-taiz-a7513071.html

09 January 2017

“Dozens of civilians were killed and others wounded when Saudi aggression warplanes launched six strikes targeting residents near a water well in the residential area of Mocha coastal city in Taiz province, an official told Saba on Monday.

The air strikes took place late on Sunday.

The air strikes coincidently occurred with other heavy aerial attacks and continuing flying on neighboring Kahbob and Dhubab coastal areas.”
 

Saudi aggression kills residents in Mocha
https://www.sabanews.net/en/news452204.htm

10 January 2017

“A Saudi-led coalition airstrike has hit a primary school in the rebel held northern Yemeni district of Nihm, killing five people on Tuesday.

The school's headmaster and two children were among those killed, medical and military sources said. The death toll was confirmed by a medical source at Sanaa's Kuwait hospital.”
 

Staff and students killed in airstrike on Yemen school
https://www.alaraby.co.uk/english/news/2017/1/10/staff-and-students-killed-in-airstrike-on-yemen-school

10 January 2017

“The British military has provided training to a Saudi war crimes investigations unit headed by a Bahraini judge accused of sentencing peaceful protesters to lengthy jail terms, where they were often tortured.

Campaigners say the training, which was detailed in Foreign Office documents released on Monday, make the British government complicit in both whitewashing abuses in Bahrain and the failure to properly investigate potential war crimes committed by the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen.”
 

UK helped train Saudi unit accused of whitewashing Yemen war crimes
http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/uk-helped-train-saudi-unit-accused-whitewashing-yemen-war-crimes-828179425

10 January 2017

“تحدّث مصدر محلي للميادين عن سقوط 8 شهداء بينهم 4 طالبات ووكيل مدرسة وجرح آخرين في غارة جوية للتحالف السعودي استهدفت مدرسة الفلاح بمديرية بَاطِنَة بمديرية نِهم شمال شرق العاصمة صنعاء.

وأضاف المصدر  أنه تم نقل الجرحى جراء الغارة الجوية إلى أحد المستشفيات بالعاصمة صنعاء. ويأتي ذلك في ظل تكثيف طائرات التحالف السعودي من غاراتها الجوية على المديرية ذاتها منذ صباح الثلاثاء حيث استهدفت بسلسلة غارات جوية وادي العَصَرات ومنطقة الحَنَشَات بالمديرية”

 اليمن: سقوط 8 شهداء بينهم 4 طالبات بقصف للتحالف السعودي شرق صنعاء
http://www.almayadeen.net/news/politics/49915/%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%8A%D9%85%D9%86--%D8%B3%D9%82%D9%88%D8%B7-8-%D8%B4%D9%87%D8%AF%D8%A7%D8%A1-%D8%A8%D9%8A%D9%86%D9%87%D9%85-4-%D8%B7%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A8%D8%A7%D8%AA-%D8%A8%D9%82%D8%B5%D9%81-%D9%84%D9%84%D8%AA%D8%AD%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%81-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B3%D8%B9%D9%88%D8%AF%D9%8A-%D8%B4%D8%B1%D9%82

10 January 2017

“في ظل معاناة 14 مليون شخص في اليمن من انعدام الأمن الغذائي، خصص الاتحاد الأوربي 12 مليون يورو لدعم جهود منظمة الأمم المتحدة للأغذية والزراعة من أجل معالجة مشكلة الجوع في البلاد. 

وذكرت المنظمة أن ذلك التمويل سيستخدم لتفادي تصاعد الأزمة، وتقديم الدعم الزراعي الفوري لأكثر من 150 ألف شخص لمساعدتهم على تحسين إنتاج الغذاء”

 دعم مالي للفاو في ظل تدهور وضع الأمن الغذائي في اليمن
http://www.un.org/arabic/news/story.asp?NewsID=27919#.WHUR_vmLSUk

11 January 2017

“The battles are part of the so-called Golden Spear operation launched by the coalition and Hadi’s government and aimed at uprooting Houthis and allied forces from the western coast, starting from the strait of Bab al-Mandab and extending to the vital Red Sea ports of Mokha and Hodeida. The coalition accuses Houthis of using these ports to receive supplies of arms and ammunition from Iran.”
 

Dozens killed as fighting rages at Yemen’s Red Sea strait
http://www.sfgate.com/world/article/Dozens-killed-as-fighting-rages-at-Yemen-s-Red-10851229.php

13 January 2017

“There is abundant evidence that the high civilian death toll in Yemen is the result of deliberate--not accidental--strikes by Saudi Arabia. During its air campaign, Saudi Arabia has bombed endless civilian targets--including homes, farms, markets, factories, water infrastructure, hospitals, and children’s schools--and has even gone so far as to use internationally banned cluster weapons, which are designed to inflict damage over a wide area and often remain lethal years after being dropped.

But when secretary of state nominee and former Exxon CEO Rex Tillerson was asked about Saudi Arabia’s use of cluster weapons during his confirmation hearing Wednesday, he declined to answer, and suggested that the way to discourage Saudi Arabia from hitting civilians in Yemen is to provide them with additional targeting intelligence.”
 

Rex Tillerson Wants to Provide Saudi Arabia With More Help to Bomb Yemen
https://theintercept.com/2017/01/12/rex-tillerson-wants-to-provide-saudi-arabia-with-more-help-to-bomb-yemen/

13 January 2017

“British politicians have called for an independent investigation into possible breaches in humanitarian law in Yemen’s civil war as Saudi Arabia cannot be expected to lead such an inquiry.

A debate in Parliament over the “ongoing humanitarian crisis in Yemen” saw members on both sides of the House of Commons urging for an end to British arms sales to Saudi Arabia.”
 

British MPs urge independent inquiry into claims of Saudi war crimes in Yemen
https://www.rt.com/uk/373494-saudi-yemen-inquiry-crimes/


13 January 2017

“Spain is planning to sell warships to Saudi Arabia despite opposition from major human rights groups, which call the potential sale illegal, as Riyadh may use them in their operation against Yemen that has killed thousands of civilians.

A spokesman for Navantia, a Spanish state-owned shipbuilding company, said that five Avante 2200 corvettes, which are small warships used primarily for offshore patrolling, could be sold for an estimated €2 billion ($2.1 billion), AFP reported on Thursday.”
 

Spain plans to sell warships to Saudi Arabia despite Yemen war crimes concerns
https://www.rt.com/news/373567-spain-saudi-warships-yemen/


13 January 2017

“(Beirut) – Parties to Yemen’s armed conflict violated the laws of war with impunity in 2016, Human Rights Watch said today in its World Report 2017. Concerned governments should seek accountability for past and ongoing violations and immediately suspend arms sales to Saudi Arabia.

The Saudi Arabia-led coalition has carried out military operations, supported by the United States and United Kingdom, against Houthi forces and forces loyal to former President Ali Abdullah Saleh since March 2015. The coalition has unlawfully attacked homes, markets, hospitals, schools, civilian businesses, and mosques. As of October 10, 2016, at least 4,125 civilians had been killed and 6,711 wounded, the majority by coalition airstrikes, according to the United Nations human rights office.”
 

Yemen: No Accountability for War Crimes
https://www.hrw.org/news/2017/01/12/yemen-no-accountability-war-crimes

13 January 2017

“In the midst of one of the world's worst hunger crises, Yemen's farmers urgently need support so they can grow more food and provide young people with jobs, the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said.

Nearly two years of war between a Saudi-led Arab coalition and the Iran-allied Houthi movement has left more than half of Yemen's 28 million people facing hunger, its economy in ruins and food supplies disrupted.

Nearly half of Yemen's 22 governorates are officially rated as being in an emergency food situation, which is four on a five-point scale, where five is famine, the United Nations said last month.

'People's access to food is rapidly worsening and urgent action is needed,' said Salah Hajj Hassan, FAO representative in Yemen.

About two-thirds of the population depends on agriculture for their survival, and it is one of the only sectors of the economy still functioning after years of war, according to FAO.”
 

Yemeni farmers urgently need support to help ease hunger crisis: U.N.
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-yemen-hunger-idUSKBN14X1KQ

16 January 2017

“Human Rights Watch (HRW) has slammed the Saudi regime for the thousands of innocent deaths its coalition air force has perpetrated against the Yemeni's, as well as significant infrastructure destruction it has engaged in.

The annual report found that at least 4,125 civilians were killed and a further 7,207 injured between March 26, 2015 when the Saudi campaign began, and October 10, 2016.

HRW identified 'six types of air-dropped and ground-launched cluster munitions in multiple locations in Yemen, including those produced in the US and Brazil. Amnesty International has further documented the use of UK-made cluster munitions.'”
 

Human Rights Watch report identifies Saudi atrocities in Yemen
https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/human-rights-watch-report-identifies-saudi-atrocities-in-yemen/


16 January 2017

“At the tip of the Arabian Peninsula, Yemen’s disastrous war has been raging for nearly two years. Somewhat overshadowed by the devastating crisis in Syria, it is nonetheless a major calamity: according to the UN, more than 10,000 people have lost their lives, while more than 20 million (of a total population of some 27 million) are in need of humanitarian assistance. More than 3 million people are internally displaced, while hundreds of thousands have fled the country altogether. There are reports of looming famine as the conflict destroys food production in the country.”
 

Yemen: A calamity at the end of the Arabian Peninsula
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/politics/yemen-a-calamity-at-the-end-of-the-arabian-peninsula-a7521841.html

16 January 2017

“A Yemeni army offensive near the Bab el-Mandeb region in the country's southwest resulted in the death of 40 Saudi-backed fighters, including their commander, local media reported Monday.”
 

Yemeni Army Kills Over 40 Saudi-Backed Fighters Near Bab el-Mandeb
https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/201701161049634988-yemeni-army-saudi-fighters/

16 January 2017

“Pro-government forces backed by Saudi-led air strikes advanced closer towards the Yemeni port city of Mokha on Sunday, taking over the Al Maaqer and Al Gadeeda areas along the coastal road.

The latest offensive, launched from Bab Al Mandeb eight days ago, is aimed at liberating the area along the Red Sea coast from the Houthi rebels.

Yemeni forces drove out the Houthis from the Dhubab district in the southern province of Taez on Friday, and arrived in Al Gadeeda on Sunday. Their next target will be Mokha, about 30km away, according to a source in the military council of Taez province.”
 

Yemeni forces capture new areas in advance on Mokha
http://www.thenational.ae/world/middle-east/yemeni-forces-capture-new-areas-in-advance-on-mokha

16 January 2017

“Four soldiers were killed and three wounded in a suspected Al-Qaeda attack on a checkpoint in southern Yemen, a security official said Monday. 'Terrorist elements on Sunday evening attacked… soldiers at a checkpoint' in the town of Loder in Abyan province, the official told AFP, requesting anonymity.

'The exchange of fire lasted half an hour, killing four soldiers and wounding three along with an undetermined number of dead and wounded among the attackers,' he said.”
 

Yemen: Suspected Qaeda attack kills four soldiers
http://indianexpress.com/article/world/yemen-suspected-qaeda-attack-kills-four-soldiers-4476893/

16 January 2017

“Nearly 19 million Yemenis are in need of humanitarian aid, according to the UN, but the worst of the civilian impact of the two-year civil war in the country has fallen on the district of Tuhayat on the Red Sea coast.

As RT’s Arabic-language crew visited the area, they witnessed scenes of chaos--as locals scrambled to acquire food--and quiet desperation, with many residents swollen with hunger, waiting for outside help, or resigned to their fate.

Salem is an eight-year-old boy, though like many in similar struggling areas around the world, he looks small enough to be mistaken for a toddler.”
 

'No food, no medicine, no money’: Yemeni town faces mass death by starvation
https://www.rt.com/news/373712-yemen-starvation-fishing-houthis/

16 January 2017

“Schools of Ibb province organized a protest rally to condemn the US-Saudi aggression air strikes the primary al-Falah school in Nehm district of Sana'a province last Tuesday.

The air raids killed eight students and injured 15 others early morning of Tuesday.

The protest rally took place on Monday.

The demonstrators expressed deep condemnations against the US-Saudi aggression air strikes, considering it a new war crime against the Yemeni people and calling for the international community to move to stop Saudi massacres against Yemenis.”
 

Schools of Ibb provinces condemn Saudi massacres against Yemen schools
https://www.sabanews.net/en/news453070.htm

16 January 2017

“Officials of the private sector met with Head of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, George Khoury, in Yemen.

In the meeting, the officials discussed UN efforts to lift the all-out blockade on Yemen that imposed by the Saudi-led aggression coalition.

The officials discussed possibilities to pressure the aggression countries to lift the economic siege and enable the Yemeni private sector to import goods to alleviate the suffering of the people.”
 

Private sector, UN official discuss lifting aggression blockade
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news453085.htm

19 January 2017

“Female fighters carrying babies, rocket launchers and machine guns took to the streets of the Yemeni capital of Sanaa to protest Saudi Arabia’s involvement in its brutal conflict.

Marching in support of the Houthi rebel movement, they shouted slogans against the multinational coalition forces led by oil rich Middle Eastern state, which support the government.

Their protest followed talks this week between a United Nations envoy and the Saudi-backed, internationally-recognised Yemeni President Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi.”
 

Female Yemeni fighters carry babies and machine guns at anti-Saudi rally
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/yemen-female-fighters-conflict-huthi-rebels-anti-saudi-coalition-rally-sanaa-a7532486.html

19 January 2017

“The U.S. military has played a key role in the conflict for much of that time, supporting Saudi warplanes with intelligence and refueling even as their bombs have reportedly killed civilians.

Rep. Ted Lieu, a colonel in the Air Force Reserves from Malibu, has been on a sometimes-solitary quest to make the White House answer for its role.

'That is morally outrageous,' he told Josh Hersh in an interview. 'If the U.S. was doing this with our own pilots, dropping bombs on civilians, they’d be getting court-martialed right now.'”
 

Fueling Yemen’s war
https://news.vice.com/story/this-congressman-is-calling-out-the-us-for-potential-war-crimes-in-yemen

19 January 2017

“At least 10,000 people have been killed in the war in Yemen between Houthi rebels and the Saudi-led coalition supporting the government, the UN says.

The organisation said the death toll "underscores the need to resolve the situation" that has lasted for more than 21 months.

The news came as a UN envoy met President Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi on Monday in the southern city of Aden.”
 

Yemen conflict: At least 10,000 killed, says UN
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-38646066

19 January 2017

“The United Nations Resident Coordinator/Humanitarian Coordinator and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Resident Representative for Yemen Jamie McGoldrick reiterated on Monday that the blockade imposed on Sana'a international airport is unacceptable because it causes much suffering on the Yemeni people.

This came at a press conference held in Sana'a prior to his leaving for Brussels, Geneva and London in order to launch the Humanitarian Response Plan for Yemen for the current year 2017.

Mr. McGoldrick said the United Nations is making efforts to unconditionally ensure humanitarian access to all those who are in need.”
 

UN: Blockade on Yemen capital airport unacceptable
https://www.sabanews.net/en/news453174.htm

19 January 2017

“Yemeni security officials say a rocket fired by Shiite rebels has killed six civilians in the war-torn city of Taiz.

They say the Wednesday strike hit a residential area inside Taiz. It comes one day after six civilians were also killed outside the city, which is known as the cultural center of Yemen. Clashes between rebels and forces loyal to President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi have been ongoing for nearly two years.”
 

6 civilians killed in rebel strike in Yemen’s Taiz
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/6-civilians-killed-in-rebel-strike-in-yemens-taiz/2017/01/18/d1f80dd8-ddc0-11e6-8902-610fe486791c_story.html?utm_term=.1744a8595b9f

19 January 2017

“And the Saudi-led attacks continue, striking Yemen’s hospitals, which are running out of medicine. All the while, these attacks have continued to receive backing from the Unite States and the United Kingdom since they began on March 26, 2015.

Even The New York Times admits that the deadly Saudi project in Yemen couldn’t go on without U.S. support.

But the Obama administration has said that while they may start halting some arms sales to Saudi Arabia, they’ll push ahead with training the Gulf kingdom’s air force to improve targeting.”
 

Genocide In Yemen: Media Complicit In US-Saudi War Crimes
https://www.mintpressnews.com/genocide-in-yemen-media-complicit-in-us-saudi-war-crimes/224106/

19 January 2017

“The Yemeni city of Taiz has been under siege since 2015 by Houthi rebels and troops loyal to former President Ali Abdullah Saleh. The city and its outskirts are littered with the remains of shelling, sniper fire and explosions.

But a group of youth volunteers from the Challenge Convoy have decided to take the daily reminders of death and turn them into reminders of life.”
 

Yemen: 'Life in the midst of all the death'
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-38597469

19 January 2017

“أعلن وزير الخارجية الأميركي، جون كيري، موقفاً صريحاً ومتقدماً بعد أسابيع من تعرقل جهوده وقبيل يومين من انتهاء مهماته، عندما قال إن «هادي أخطأ بعدم قبوله مبادرة السلام»، التي طرحها قبل أشهر، داعياً إلى «تحريك عملية السلام في اليمن».

 

وأضاف كيري، في مقابلة بثتها قناة «سكاي نيوز عربية» أول من أمس، أن «السلام في اليمن لم يتحقق لأن الرئيس هادي لم يدعم خطته»، مؤكّداً أن «ذلك كان خطأ كبيراً». وتابع: «الرئيس هادي لم يدعم فوراً المبادرة التي تقدمنا بها، لكنه الآن وافق على الإطار
العام للمبادرة، ونتمنى لولد الشيخ أن ينجح».”

كيري وولد الشيخ لهادي: إقبل مبادرتنا
http://www.al-akhbar.com/node/271153

19 January 2017

“تستمر أزمة الوقود التي تواجه سكان عدن، وهي كبرى مدن جنوب اليمن والواقعة تحت سيطرة حكومة هادي، وذلك بعد توقف المصفاة النفطية الرئيسية منذ أسبوع عن ضخّ الإمدادات إلى خزانات شركة النفط اليمنية في عدن.

ولم يصدر أي تعليق بعد من الرئيس المستقيل أو حكومته على هذه الأزمة المتفاقمة، فيما تصطف السيارات والشاحنات في طوابير طويلة لا تقل عن كيلومتر أمام محطات الوقود هناك، كذلك انخفضت الكثافة المرورية في شوارع المدينة، وسجلت أسعار المواصلات ارتفاعاً ملحوظاً وصل إلى 50%، وتزايدت أيضاً ساعات انقطاع التيار الكهربائي.

وكان عمال شركة مصافي عدن قد أعلنوا الدخول في إضراب احتجاجاً على توقف صرف رواتبهم. لكن مسؤولين في السلطة المحلية في عدن قالوا إن الأزمة الحالية سببها خلافات بين شركة النفط الحكومية والشركة التجارية المملوكة لرجل الأعمال اليمني أحمد العيسي، وهو المورد الوحيد للمشتقات النفطية إلى عدن والمحافظات المجاورة لها، وذلك بعدما طلبت «شركة العيسى من شركة النفط المختصة توزيع الوقود محلياً في المحافظات الجنوبية بأسعار أعلى، وهو ما رفضته الشركة الحكومية”
 

صنعاء: فتح المطار شرط لأي حوار
http://www.al-akhbar.com/node/271101

22 January 2017

“Two suspected members of al Qaeda's Yemen branch were killed on Sunday by what local officials believed was a U.S. drone strike.

If confirmed, it would be the first such attack since U.S. President Donald Trump assumed office on Friday. The men were killed when a missile hit the vehicle in which they were travelling in southern al-Bayda province, said the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity. The United States conducted dozens of drone strikes throughout Barack Obama's presidency to combat al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.”
 

Two suspected al Qaeda members killed in drone strike in Yemen: officials  
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-yemen-security-idUSKBN1560LH

22 January 2017

“Egypt's National Defence Council on Sunday extended the military's participation in a Saudi-led operation in Yemen, the presidency said in a statement. It did not specify how long the extension would be for.

"The National Defence Council agreed during the meeting to extend the participation of the required elements from the Egyptian armed forces in a combat operation outside the nation's border to defend Egyptian and Arab national security in the Gulf, Red Sea, and Bab al-Mandab areas," the statement said.”
 

Egypt extends participation in Yemen conflict
http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-yemen-security-egypt-idUKKBN1560R4

 
22 January 2017

“Two citizens were killed and many others injured in 45 air strikes by the US-Saudi aggression warplanes that hit several Yemeni provinces over the past 24 hour, officials told Saba on Sunday. In Taiz, a woman was killed and others were wounded in two air raids that targeted their home in Mocha district and a citizen was killed in an airstrike targeted Mageber area in Moza district, which also caused loss to a number of livestock.”
 

45 Saudi aggression airstrikes hit Yemen provinces over past 24 hours
https://www.sabanews.net/en/news453754.htm

22 January 2017

“As Yemen approaches marking two years since the start of the conflict, the country faces one of the biggest humanitarian crises in the world. Around three million people -ten percent of the population- have been displaced, and ten million are uncertain of how they will provide food for themselves.

Over the past year, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has worked against challenges and recurring security incidents in Yemen and was able to help around three million people across the country.  Still, millions of Yemenis lack access to safe water and health care services and without an end to the conflict, no amount of assistance can cover the massive needs in Yemen.”
 

Massive humanitarian needs in Yemen as conflict continues
https://www.icrc.org/en/document/massive-humanitarian-needs-yemen-conflict-continues

22 January 2017

“The Yemeni navy, coastal defense and coastguard warned the Saudi aggression's warships not to use of the international water lanes in the Red Sea to bomb civil targets in the country.

"The aggression's warships use the international water lanes to bomb civil targets, which pose a serious threat to international navigation in the Red Sea," a statement issued on Saturday said.”
 

Navy warns Saudi warships of using int'l waters to bomb civil targets
https://www.sabanews.net/en/news453736.htm

23 January 2017

“The British government should increase diplomatic efforts with Saudi Arabia to defend children facing a desperate situation in Yemen, the head of Save the Children has said. Speaking on his return from Yemen, where civil war and a sea blockade has pushed the country to the brink of famine, Kevin Watkins said there had been a 'singular failure to deploy British soft power to defend children’s rights that are being violated on a daily basis.'”
 

UK accused of failing to defend rights of Yemeni children against daily violations
https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2017/jan/23/uk-accused-of-failing-to-defend-rights-of-yemen-children-against-daily-violations

23 January 2017

“The report also added that the Houthis killed 14 of the Hadi government attackers.

On 21 and 22 January, more than 45 strikes were carried out across the country and its borders, with targets varying from a school north of the capital Sana'a and Saudi border military bases.

The intense attacks over the weekend were part of a vast offensive which began on 7 January by forces loyal to President Hadi to retake the Dhubab district near the Bab al-Mandab strait which connects the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean.”
 

75 people killed in renewed fighting and drone strikes in Yemen
http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/75-people-killed-renewed-fighting-drone-strikes-yemen-1602484

23 January 2017

“Three citizens were killed on Monday by Saudi aggression airstrikes on Haydan district of Sa'ada province, a security official told Saba. The warplanes waged two airstrikes on cars in Marran area. One man was injured in the airstrikes. Meanwhile, the aggression fighter jets launched a raid on Ghafer area of al-Dhaher district, causing heavy damage to citizens' houses, the official said.”
 

Saudi airstrikes kill 3 in Sa'ada
https://www.sabanews.net/en/news453853.htm


23 January 2017

“Yemen has had a long and difficult history of neglect. Neglect by previous authorities, neglect by regional actors, and neglect by the so-called international community. This neglect continues in many ways. The greatest challenge currently facing Yemen is a war that was launched more than a year ago—a war in which all armed actors have, without exception, harmed people and vital civilian infrastructure like schools, hospitals, funeral halls, homes, and more. The reverberations of the violence have been widely felt. What has not been directly affected by the cruelty of the conflict is gradually decaying because of a lack of or restrictions on funds, resources and capabilities. The needs of the people are growing, and the country’s infrastructure strains and groans under this unceasing weight.”
 

Seventeen Vignettes from Sana’a and Amran
http://raseef22.com/en/blog/2017/01/20/seventeen-vignettes-sanaa-amran/

25 January 2017

“I’m inside 'mission control' for the Saudi-led coalition bombing rebels in Yemen. On a bank of flickering screens, a fighter jet labelled 'FRIEND' is tracked as it crosses the border. Television screens show mosques, hospitals and United Nations facilities inside Yemen - the locations that airstrikes must avoid. Officers from across the Middle East pace down the corridors outside the 'war room' - the so-called "kitchen of the coalition" - from where bombing raids are monitored.

Inside, it looks exactly as you might imagine: except for one aspect. Three foreigners sit behind a glass screen at the back of the room. They are 'liaison officers', my Saudi government guide tells me. One is British, two are American. The union flag and Stars and Stripes are draped behind their desks.”
 

Yemen War Room: ITV News granted unprecedented access
http://www.itv.com/news/2017-01-24/yemen-war-room-itv-news-granted-unprecedented-access/

25 January 2017

“Women of Ibb province staged a protest rally to condemn US-Saudi aggression attacks against Yemeni children and women in the Yemeni provinces. The protest rally took place on Tuesday in al-Radhmah district. The participants called for boycotting pro-Saudi aggression media that target the unity of the Yemeni social fabric.”
 

Women protest rally condemns Saudi aggression crimes
https://www.sabanews.net/en/news454073.htm

25 January 2017

“Tens of thousands of new archaeological sites have been discovered in Yemen by researchers who are now drawing up candidates for a “no-strike list” for combatants in the latest attempt to protect its treasures from the war. Since 2015, the Yemen government, backed by a Saudi Arabian-led coalition, has been fighting Houthi rebels. The human toll reached at least 10,000 last week, according to the UN, and structures such as the Great Dam of Marib, the pre-Islamic walled town of Baraqish and the old cities of Sana’ and Zabid — both World Heritage Sites – have been damaged.”
 

A no-strike list may shield Yemen’s ancient treasures from war
https://www.newscientist.com/article/2118745-a-no-strike-list-may-shield-yemens-ancient-treasures-from-war/

25 January 2017

“Saudi aggression warplanes launched 13 strikes on Sanhan and Bani Bahloul district of Sana'a province overnight, an official told Saba on Wednesday. The airstrikes hit al-Sawad area, causing damage to citizens' houses, private and public properties.”
 

Saudi aggression fighter jets wage 13 strikes on Sana'a
https://www.sabanews.net/en/news454063.htm

26 January 2017

“The Ministry of Defence is "tracking" 252 allegations of humanitarian law violations by the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen, the BBC has learned.

The UN estimates that up to 10,000 people have died in the country since war began in March 2015.

The MoD declined to say if British-supplied arms were involved in any of the allegations.

Former Business Secretary Vince Cable said he was "staggered" by the number of potential breaches.

Mr Cable told the BBC if he were still in government, arms exports to the Saudis would have been stopped "a long time before now".”
 

Yemen human rights 'breaches staggering'
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-38745454

26 January 2017

“Already suffering grievously under nearly two years of civil war, many thousands of Yemeni state workers now face destitution as their salaries have gone largely unpaid for months.

The immediate reason is a decision by the internationally-recognized government to shift Yemen's central bank out of Sanaa, the capital city controlled by the armed Houthi movement with which it is at war.

Underlying the bank's move to Aden, the southern port where the government is based, is a struggle for legitimacy between the two sides. The result is to deepen economic hardship when four-fifths of Yemen's 28 million people already need some form of humanitarian aid, according to U.N. estimates.”
 

Unpaid state salaries deepen economic pain in Yemen's war
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-yemen-security-salaries-idUSKBN15A1WW?il=0

26  January 2017

“Satellite imagery confirms that UAE Patriots departed from at least two of their three known deployment locations within the country. Equipment previously deployed at Aden International Airport and Al Anad airbase was not visible in recent imagery updates.

The site at the southern coastal airport, established in early 2016, previously featured four Patriot transporter erector launchers (or TELs) and associated equipment. The TELs were no longer in residence on the south side of the airport by late October, according to imagery available in Google Earth. However, UAE armor still remained near the parking apron at the time of capture, but accompanied by a much smaller air element than previously observed.

Similarly, Al Anad airbase, located approximately 30 miles to the north of the airport, had no Patriots on-site as of January 2017. The site, composed of four Patriot TELs, was likely established in early 2016 after the airbase was reportedly attacked by a Tochka ballistic missile in January. We last observed the Patriot system on imagery at the site in November 2016.”
 

UAE Relocates SAMs In Yemen
https://www.bellingcat.com/news/mena/2017/01/25/uae-relocates-sams-yemen/

27 January 2017

“"The conflict in Yemen is now the primary driver of the largest food security emergency in the world," Stephen O'Brien, the UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, told the Security Council.

"If there is no immediate action, famine is now a possible scenario for 2017."

About 14 million people -- nearly 80 percent of the entire Yemeni population -- are in need of food aid, half of whom are severely food insecure, O'Brien said.

At least 2 million people need emergency food assistance to survive, he added.

The situation is particularly dire for children with some 2.2 million infants now suffering from acute malnourishment -- an increase of 53 percent from late 2015.

"Overall, the plight of children remains grim: a child under the age of 10 dying every 10 minutes of preventable causes," O'Brien said.

The Saudi-led coalition's shutdown of the Sanaa airport has had a heavy toll on civilians because medicine cannot be flown in and Yemenis cannot receive treatment abroad. O'Brien warned that Yemen could run out of wheat within months because foreign banks no longer accept financial transactions with many of the country's commercial banks."
 

Yemen could face famine in 2017: UN
https://www.yahoo.com/news/yemen-could-face-famine-2017-un-214840570.html

27 January 2017

“دق تقرير أممي عن الوضع الإنساني في اليمن ناقوس الخطر، مشيرا إلى أن المجاعة تتربص بملايين اليمنيين خلال العام الجاري، مطالبا بضرورة إيصال المساعدات للمدنيين.

وحذّر وكيل الأمين العام للأمم المتحدة للشؤون الإنسانية، ستيفن أوبراين، من مجاعة في اليمن خلال العام الجاري (2017)، لافتا إلى أن 14 مليون شخص يحتاجون إلى مساعدات غذائية، نصفهم يعيشون انعداما شديدا من الأمن الغذائي. وأضاف أن مليوني شخص على الأقل في حاجة إلى مساعدة غذائية طارئة للبقاء على قيد الحياة”
 

تقرير أممي يقدم صورة مرعبة عن الوضع الإنساني باليمن
https://medium.com/arabi-21/%D8%AA%D9%82%D8%B1%D9%8A%D8%B1-%D8%A3%D9%85%D9%85%D9%8A-%D9%8A%D9%82%D8%AF%D9%85-%D8%B5%D9%88%D8%B1%D8%A9-%D9%85%D8%B1%D8%B9%D8%A8%D8%A9-%D8%B9%D9%86-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%88%D8%B6%D8%B9-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A5%D9%86%D8%B3%D8%A7%D9%86%D9%8A-%D8%A8%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%8A%D9%85%D9%86-b885329edd44#.ptf5y9cf1
 

30 January 2017

“At least 10 Yemeni women and children have been killed in the first US military operation in the country authorised by President Donald Trump, medics and local media have said.

The US military said it killed 14 members of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) in Sunday's dawn raid in the southern province of al-Bayda that involved missiles and helicopter machine guns.

In a statement, the Pentagon did not refer to any civilian casualties, although a US military official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said they could not be ruled out. The official also said that one US commando died, three others were wounded and that military forces did not take any prisoners from the site.

AQAP said Abdulraouf al-Zahab, a senior leader of the group, was killed along with several other fighters in the raid on the area that has been a frequent target of US drone strikes.

Medics in al-Bayda's rural Yakla district put the death toll at around 30, including 10 women and children. The eight-year-old daughter of Anwar al-Awlaki, a US-born Yemeni preacher who was killed in a 2011 drone attack, was also among the victims, family members said. Her grandfather Nasser al-Awlaki, a former minister of agriculture said: "she was hit with a bullet in her neck and suffered for two hours."
 

Yemeni civilians killed in first US raid under Trump
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/01/yemen-170129101045539.html

30 January 2017

“In a hideous symbol of the bipartisan continuity of U.S. barbarism, Nasser al-Awlaki just lost another one of his young grandchildren to U.S. violence. On Sunday, the Navy’s SEAL Team 6, using armed Reaper drones for cover, carried out a commando raid on what it said was a compound harboring officials of Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula. A statement issued by President Trump lamented the death of an American service member and several others who were wounded, but made no mention of any civilian deaths. U.S. military officials initially denied any civilian deaths, and (therefore) the CNN report on the raid said nothing about any civilians being killed.

But reports from Yemen quickly surfaced that 30 people were killed, including 10 women and children. Among the dead: the 8-year-old granddaughter of Nasser al-Awlaki, Nawar, who was also the daughter of Anwar Awlaki.”
 

Obama Killed a 16-Year-Old American in Yemen. Trump Just Killed His 8-Year-Old Sister.
https://theintercept.com/2017/01/30/obama-killed-a-16-year-old-american-in-yemen-trump-just-killed-his-8-year-old-sister/
 

30 January 2017

“Twenty months since fighting started in Taiz, the city’s health services have largely collapsed – the result of physical damage to hospitals and of shortages of staff and medical supplies. At the same time, people’s living conditions have deteriorated and the price of essentials, including food and water, has soared. A crippled health system, combined with increasingly harsh living conditions, has prompted a decline in people’s health, with particularly acute consequences for vulnerable groups with low immunity such as pregnant women, new-born babies and young children.”
 

Yemen: Healthcare Under Siege
https://msf.exposure.co/yemen

30 January 2017

“Medical services in Taiz have been directly affected by violence, with hospitals repeatedly hit by shelling and gunfire, an MSF mobile clinic was hit by an airstrike, and ambulances shot at, confiscated or forcibly entered by armed men. Medical staff have been shot at on their way to work, harassed, detained, threatened and forced to work at gunpoint. Many health workers take great personal risks working in Taiz, and many fear for their lives while at work.”
 

Yemen: Healthcare Under Siege in Taiz
http://www.msf.org/en/article/yemen-healthcare-under-siege-taiz
 

31 January 2017

“A Saudi warship has been attacked off the coast of Yemen, causing a large explosion on board.

A video released by al-Masirah television which is run by the rebel Houthi movement claimed to show the moment of attack.

The Saudi state news agency SPA said the frigate had been on patrol west of the port of Hodeidah when it was attacked by three suicide boats belonging to the Houthi militias.”
 

Two killed as Houthis attack Saudi warship off Yemen coast
http://www.euronews.com/2017/01/31/two-killed-as-houthis-attack-saudi-warship-off-yemen-coast?utm_medium=Social&utm_campaign=Echobox&utm_source=Twitter&utm_term=Autofeed#link_time=1485853920
 

02 February 2017

“Yemen has lost a decade's worth of gains in public health as a result of war and economic crisis, with an estimated 63,000 children dying last year of preventable causes often linked to malnutrition, the U.N. Children's Fund (UNICEF) said on Tuesday.

About 3.3 million people, including 2.2 million children, across the Arab peninsula's poorest country are suffering from acute malnutrition, it said. They include nearly half a million children under the age of five with severe acute malnutrition.

The most severe form of malnutrition leaves young children vulnerable to life-threatening but preventable diarrhoeal diseases, malaria and respiratory infections.”
 

Yemen war erases decade of health gains, many children starving: UNICEF
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-yemen-security-unicef-idUSKBN15F0WC

02 February 2017

“After being dropped by aircraft near the compound, the US special forces members engaged in a fierce firefight with suspected AQAP militants inside, according to US officials.

Chief Petty Officer William Owens, a member of the elite US Navy special forces unit Seal Team 6, was killed in the battle, which is reported to have lasted about 50 minutes.

Three other US service members were injured when an Osprey MV-22 tilt-rotor aircraft made a hard landing during the operation, Capt Davis said, adding that the inoperable Osprey was subsequently destroyed in place by a US air strike.

AQAP said in a statement that its fighters downed a US Apache helicopter, one of four it said were used in the raid, and that a total of 16 missiles were fired at three homes.”
 

US raid on al-Qaeda in Yemen: What we know so far
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-38808631

02 February 2017

“اجرت القوات الحكومية اليمنية عملية تبادل للاسرى مع  الحوثيين في وسط البلاد بعد وساطة قبلية، على ما اعلن احد المفاوضين.

وقال عبدالله الأشرف، وهو احد الوسطاء في تصريح: "تم الافراج عن 58 حوثيا اسروا في محافظة الجوف شمال البلاد، في مقابل الافراج عن 54 من انصارنا الموالين لقوات الشرعية ينتمون الى الجوف". وتمت عملية تبادل الاسرى في منطقة قانية على الحدود بين محافظتي البيضاء ومأرب في وسط اليمن.

في حزيران، اعلن المتمردون الحوثيون من جانب واحد اطلاق نحو 270 من المقاتلين الحكوميين الذين احتجزوا لمدة اشهر. وجاء ذلك بعد تبادل للاسرى في تعز جنوب غرب البلاد شمل 194 اسيرا من الطرفين بوساطة قبلية ايضا”.

اليمن: القوات الحكومية تتبادل الاسرى مع الحوثيين
http://www.annahar.com/article/448584-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%8A%D9%85%D9%86-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%82%D9%88%D8%A7%D8%AA-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AD%D9%83%D9%88%D9%85%D9%8A%D8%A9-%D8%AA%D8%AA%D8%A8%D8%A7%D8%AF%D9%84-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A7%D8%B3%D8%B1%D9%89-%D9%85%D8%B9-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AD%D9%88%D8%AB%D9%8A%D9%8A%D9%86

02 February 2017

“تأكيد الجيش اليمني أنه يمتلك إمكانات لم يستخدمها بعد وقصفه بارجة عسكرية سعودية بعد يوم واحد من التوعد بالمفاجآت يشي بمستوى عالٍ من التحدي يتواصل مع استمرار المعارك في الجنوب السعودي، في وقت تحذر فيه المنظمات الدولية من كوارث إذا بقيت الحرب.”
 

الجيش: تحالف العدوان لم يأخذ تهديداتنا بجدية
http://www.al-akhbar.com/node/271892



02 February 2017

“أما في اليمن، فيتشارك الطرفان السعودي والإمارتي هدف مواجهة «حركة أنصار الله»، لكنهما يتباعدان في إدارة الصراع الداخلي، إذ تحاول كل دولة العمل على محاولة إقصاء الطرف الآخر. ويستخدم الطرفان في صراعهما على مسك الورقة اليمنية، خصوصاً الجنوب، كل الوسائل المتاحة، بما فيها المحرمة، مع استعار للحرب الإعلامية بينهما عبر إعلام «الأدوات». فمن جانبها، تحتضن السعودية حزب «الإصلاح» الإسلامي («الإخوان المسلمون»)، وهو عدو الإمارات التاريخي، فتدعمه مالياً وتوفر له تسهيلات ميدانية، وتمكّنه من بسط النفوذ والسيطرة في الجنوب، كما أنها تؤمّن لقادته ملاذاً آمناً على أراضيها، ومنطلقاً لممارسة نشاطهم، إضافة إلى ضغوطها لإشراكه في «رأس الشرعية» عبر تنصيب علي محسن الأحمر نائباً للرئيس، وذلك بعد إقالة نائب الرئيس خالد بحاح المحسوب على الإمارات، وتوزير أعضاء الحزب في الحكومة، ولا سيما الوزارات السيادية، وأبرزها الداخلية التي يرأسها حسين عرب. كذلك تمارس السعودية الضغوط الناجحة على الرئيس المستقيل عبد ربه منصور هادي من أجل فتح مساحات واسعة من النشاط والحركة لـ«الإصلاح».”

السعودية والإمارات: صراع على «الوكالة» الأميركية في اليمن
http://www.al-akhbar.com/node/271845
 

02 February 2017

“أول من أمس، صدر تحذير يمني (راجع عدد أمس: الجيش و«اللجان» في المخا: انتظروا المفاجآت) توعّد قوات العدوان بمفاجآت في حال استمر استهداف المدنيين، علماً بأن قصف السفينة كما قالت القناة تمّ بصاروخ موجّه، وبعد «رصد دقيق قبالة السواحل الغربية».

ونقلت «المسيرة» عن مصدر عسكري أن «البارجة السعودية كانت تحمل على متنها 176 جندياً وضابطاً وطائرة مروحية، وكانت قد شاركت في العدوان على السواحل الغربية والمدن والصيادين».”

 استهداف بارجة سعودية
http://www.al-akhbar.com/node/271848

02 February 2017 

“Both the New York Times and Reuters carried quotes from unnamed military officials that seemed to shift blame for the mission to Trump and his inner team. It would be an extraordinary development for a president, who is commander-in-chief, to be briefed against in such detail.

The briefings suggested that one thing after another went wrong from the start of the mission, with the Yemen villagers seemingly alerted to the impending raid by drones flying lower than usual.

The special forces, apparently lacking full intelligence, were confronted by heavily-fortified positions, including landmines, and faced heavy gunfire from buildings all around during the 50-minute firefight. One of the US planes sent in to help had to be left behind and was deliberately destroyed.

US military officials told Reuters that Trump approved his first covert counterterrorism operation without sufficient intelligence, ground support or adequate backup preparations.”
 

Questions mount over botched Yemen raid approved by Trump
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/feb/02/trump-approved-yemen-raid-five-days-after-inauguration

02 February 2017 

“Saudi Arabia’s investigation of its own alleged humanitarian law violations in Yemen is “like marking your own homework”, said the former UK international development secretary Andrew Mitchell.

Mitchell, recently returned from Yemen, told MPs that an independent investigation of alleged abuses during the two-year conflict was necessary to maintain credibility and the rule of humanitarian law at a time when such law was under “extraordinary pressure.”

Yemen is one of seven countries subject to a White House executive order banning citizens of Muslim majority countries from entering the US. The Ministry of Defence is tracking 252 allegations of humanitarian law violations by the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen, according to a BBC report last week.

At a hearing on Yemen’s ongoing humanitarian crisis by Britain’s international development committee on Wednesday, Mitchell was asked if the time had come for a fully independent investigation.”
 

Saudi inquiry into Yemen abuse claims like 'marking your own homework'
https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2017/feb/01/saudi-arabia-inquiry-yemen-abuse-claims-marking-your-own-homework-andrew-mitchell

02 February 2017

“A Saudi border guard was killed in an exchange of fire on Yemen’s border with Saudi Arabia, the official Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported Thursday.

SPA quoted Interior Ministry spokesman Mansour al-Turki as saying that a border checkpoint in the kingdom’s southwestern Jazan province had come under fire by "Houthi elements" inside Yemeni territory.”
 

Cross-border fire kills Saudi border guard near Yemen
http://aa.com.tr/en/middle-east/cross-border-fire-kills-saudi-border-guard-near-yemen/740129

02 February 2017 

“President Donald Trump personally approved a US commando raid in Yemen that left one elite serviceman dead and may have killed an eight-year-old American girl, the US military has told the Guardian.

At least 14 people died in Sunday’s raid by the elite Joint Special Operations Command, which was the subject of a preliminary inquiry to determine if allegations of civilian deaths were sufficiently credible to merit a full investigation.”
 

Eight-year-old American girl 'killed in Yemen raid approved by Trump'
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/feb/01/yemen-strike-eight-year-old-american-girl-killed-al-awlaki

02 February 2017

“Prior to US President Donald Trump's recent Muslim ban, Murad Subay, a Yemeni artist, never had to worry about being able to see his wife, Hadil, who studies in the US on a scholarship.

Following the recent executive order, which placed a travel ban on seven Muslim-majority countries including Yemen, seeing his wife again has become a distant dream. Subay cannot travel to visit her and fears that if Hadil returns home, she will not be allowed back in the US. What was once a valuable opportunity for Hadil to study political science at Stanford University in California has now turned into a nightmare.

Subay is stuck in a war-ravaged country while his wife lives in a place where foreign Muslims are eyed with suspicion.

Here is Subay's account of how the Muslim ban changed his life for ever.”
 

Ripped apart: Yemeni couple fearful after Muslim ban
http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2017/02/ripped-yemeni-couple-fearful-muslim-ban-170202071736809.html

02 February 2017 

“Democrat representative Nancy Pelosi has come under fire online for comments she made to a Yemeni refugee, blasting Donald Trump’s recent executive order on immigration and refugees as responsible for the plight of the woman’s family.

“Your family is suffering because our president is reckless and his administration is incompetent,” Pelosi told a Yemeni refugee who said her mother could no longer come to the US due to the ban.

Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, Pelosi was told by the Yemeni woman that her father died due to a lack of medicine in Yemen and that her mother was now unable to join her in the US.”
 

Blame Obama, not Trump: Twitter trolls Pelosi for Yemen policy memory loss
https://www.rt.com/usa/375901-pelosi-comments-yemen-refugee/

02 February 2017

“UNHCR is deeply concerned about the plight of thousands of Yemeni civilians fleeing or caught up in heavy confrontations between the warring parties in the Red Sea districts of Al Mokha and Dhubab in Taizz governorate.

Owing to ongoing military operations impeding humanitarian access, comprehensive displacement data is currently difficult to verify. Current estimates from various sources indicate that approximately 3,570 individuals have fled Al Mokha to districts in the neighboring governorate of Al Hudaydah, namely Jabal Ra’s, Hays, Al Garrahi, Al Khawkhah and At Tuhayat.

There are conflicting reports as to the number of people that remain within the town of Al Mokha. Reports from a range of sources, including recently arrived internally displaced people from Al Mokha who met with UNHCR field teams in Al Hudaydah, inform that as many as 30,000 people have fled the fighting, with displaced families also reported to be moving rapidly between various locations within Taizz governorate.

Whilst others caught up by in the violence remain trapped inside Al Mokha and Dhubab, intensified hostilities in Al Hudaydah are also making it difficult for those attempting to escape to safety. The area north of Al Mokha which includes the coastal road to Al Hudaydah is also a site of military operations and remains subject to attack, placing those trying to flee at great risk during flight.”
 

UNHCR gravely concerned by intensified hostilities in Al Mokha affecting Yemeni civilians
http://www.unhcr.org/news/press/2017/2/5892e8a94/unhcr-gravely-concerned-intensified-hostilities-al-mokha-affecting-yemeni.html

02 February 2017 

“عبرت المفوضية السامية للأمم المتحدة لشؤون اللاجئين عن بالغ قلقها إزاء محنة آلاف المدنيين اليمنيين الفارين أو العالقين في المواجهات العنيفة بين الأطراف المتحاربة في مدينتي المخا وذباب الواقعتين على ساحل البحر الأحمر في محافظة تعز.

نظراً للعمليات العسكرية المستمرة التي تعوق وصول المساعدات الإنسانية، يصعب حالياً التحقق من البيانات الشاملة عن النزوح. وتشير التقديرات الحالية من مصادر مختلفة إلى أن حوالي 3,570 شخصاً فروا من المخا إلى مدن في محافظة الحديدة المجاورة، لا سيما إلى جبل راس وحيس والجراحي والخوخة والتحيتا.

وهناك تقارير متضاربة بشأن عدد الأشخاص الذين لا يزالون في مدينة المخا. وتفيد التقارير من مجموعة من المصادر، بما في ذلك النازحون داخلياً الواصلون مؤخراً من المخا والذين التقوا بالفرق الميدانية التابعة للمفوضية في الحديدة، أن أكثر من 300,000 شخص قد فروا من القتال، كما أفيد عن تنقل العائلات النازحة أيضاً بسرعة بين مواقع مختلفة في محافظة تعز.

وفي حين يبقى آخرون محاصرين في المخا وذباب حيث تدور معارك عنيفة، يصعّب القتال الكثيف في الحديدة أيضاً الوضع على الأشخاص الذين يحاولون الفرار إلى بر الأمان. وتدور عمليات عسكرية أيضاً في منطقة شمال مدينة المخا التي تشمل الطريق الساحلي إلى الحديدة وتبقى هذه المنطقة عرضة للهجوم، مما يشكل خطراً كبيراً على الأشخاص الذين يحاولون الفرار.

وداخل الحديدة، يسعى النازحون إلى إيجاد المأوى أينما استطاعوا. وتستضيف العائلات المحلية بسخاء الكثيرين منهم، إلا أنهم لا يزالون يواجهون ظروفاً غير مستقرة وهم بحاجة ملحة إلى المساعدة.”

 المفوضية تعبّر عن بالغ قلقها إزاء اشتداد حدة القتال في المخا وتأثيره على المدنيين اليمنيين
http://www.unhcr.org/ar/news/press/2017/2/589326734.html 

02 February 2017

“When war escalated in Yemen, Sana was abroad, having just qualified as a doctor. Hearing the news, she felt compelled to return to Taiz, scene of some of the conflict's fiercest fighting. Now she works in the malnutrition ward of MSF's mother and child hospital.

"I had just finished studying medicine in Cairo when the war at home in Yemen escalated. My family said that I should stay in Egypt to be safe, but I wanted to go home. I arrived back on 25 May 2015.

At first, I stayed with my family – my parents, my two brothers and my sister – at our house in the centre of Taiz.

One day, a bullet hit a metal frame just outside our window as my sister and I sat inside, discussing a book. We were saved by pure luck.

In July we had to move. By then, our road was full of soldiers and there was heavy fighting in the neighbourhood. There were tanks in the streets and the noise of heavy artillery and machine guns. We were facing death.”
 

Yemen: “Word had spread that I was a doctor, and people came to me for help all the time”
http://www.msf.org/en/article/yemen-%E2%80%9Cword-had-spread-i-was-doctor-and-people-came-me-help-all-time%E2%80%9D

 

06 February 2017

“According to emerging reports from Yemen, a surface-to-surface missile fired by the Yemeni Army has hit Riyadh in Saudi Arabia.

The missile was launched on Sunday evening, and sources in Yemen have described the missile test as successful.  It is unclear exactly what missile was used, and casualty figures, if any, are yet to be reported.

Update 1: More information has emerged, suggesting that the missile was a variant of a Russian Scud, known as the “Borkan” surface-to-surface missile.

Update 2: Sources indicate that the missile struck a military base West of Riyadh, in Mazahimiyah.

Update 3: On social media, a Saudi attempts to cover-up the attack, saying that the sound of the explosion in Riyadh was an earthquake or meteor.

Update 4: Co-Founder of Mona Relief, a Yemeni charity, Dr. RS Karim, has reported that his contacts in Riyadh told him that a state of emergency has been declared.”
 

Breaking: Ballistic missile strikes Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/breaking-ballistic-missile-strikes-riyadh-saudi-arabia/

06 February 2017

“A terrorist video released on Friday by the Pentagon to show what it called intelligence gleaned by the recent raid in Yemen actually was made about 10 years ago, it acknowledged.

Defense officials canceled a briefing they had called to discuss the value of the information recovered from Yemen and took the video off the website of the U.S. Central Command. They circulated clips from a video that showed how to prepare explosives without knowing it had already been public.”
 

That 'Valuable Intel' From The Yemen Raid? It Was 10 Years Old
http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/02/03/513305178/that-valuable-intel-from-the-yemen-raid-it-was-10-years-old

06 February 2017

“Questions are mounting about the first covert counterterrorism operation approved by President Donald Trump. Authorities say it was a success. The Pentagon now acknowledges that civilians were killed Sunday when members of the Navy’s SEAL Team 6 joined with commandos from the United Arab Emirates to raid a Yemeni village where members of al-Qaeda were said to live. But human rights groups say up to 24 civilians were killed, including a newborn baby and an American 8-year-old girl, Nawar al-Awlaki, the daughter of the U.S.-born cleric Anwar al-Awlaki, who was killed in Yemen by a U.S. drone strike in 2011. The U.S. suffered one fatality: William 'Ryan' Owens, a veteran member of SEAL Team 6.”
 

Yemen: Jeremy Scahill & Advocates Question "Success" of Trump Raid That Killed 24 Civilians
https://www.democracynow.org/2017/2/3/yemen_jeremy_scahill_advocates_question_success

06 February 2017

“A United Arab Emirates (UAE) soldier was killed Saturday in war-torn Yemen as part of a Saudi-led military campaign against Houthi rebels, the country’s army command said.

It, however, did not disclose the cause of the soldier's death.

The UAE is a member of the Saudi-led coalition that launched a massive air campaign in 2015.”
 

UAE soldier killed in Yemen in anti-Houthi operation
http://aa.com.tr/en/middle-east/uae-soldier-killed-in-yemen-in-anti-houthi-operation/741766

06  February 2017

" أعلنت «القوة الصاروخية»، التابعة للجيش اليمني و«اللجان الشعبية» إجراء «تجربة ناجحة بصاروخ بالستي بعيد المدى على هدف عسكري في العاصمة السعودية الرياض»، واعدة بإيراد المزيد من التفاصيل، في وقت قالت فيه مصادر عسكرية لـ«الأخبار» إن الإعلان جاء بعد التأكد من بلوغ الصاروخ هدفه.

وأضافت تلك المصادر أن الإعلان أعقب الإطلاق بمدة قصيرة في وقت متأخر مساء أمس، وأن الإطلاق موثّق بمشاهد ستعرض لاحقاً، مشيرة إلى أنه سبق لـ«الصاروخية أن استهدفت بعشرات الصواريخ المتوسطة المدى أهدافاً عسكرية داخل المملكة ردّاً على عدوانها المستمر».

في غضون ذلك، توالت الأنباء المنقولة عن حسابات سعوديين في موقع «تويتر» تفيد بسماع صوت انفجار ضخم في منطقة المزاحمية الواقعة غرب الرياض، على طريق الرياض ــ الطائف، في وقت متزامن مع إعلان «القوة الصاروخية"».

صاروخ بالستي «يطاول الرياض»... والمملكة تخسر مواقع إستراتيجية
http://www.al-akhbar.com/node/272183

06 February 2017

“على الصعيد العام، شاركت المرأة اليمنية في غالبية الوقفات الاجتحاجية المناهضة للحصار الاقتصادي وجرائم طائرات العدوان بحق المدنيين، وكانت إلى جانب الرجل تتحدى التهديدات بقصف التجمعات، كذلك لعبت دوراً آخر في الجبهتين الإعلامية والثقافية، وذلك من على منابر الإذاعات والفضائيات، وهنّ اليوم صرن يطالبن بحمل السلاح والمشاركة في معارك الدفاع.

لكن، ثمة موانع اجتماعية تحول دون مشاركة المرأة في جبهات القتال، مع أنه صار من المتفق عليه بين عدد من القبائل أنه يمكنها استخدام السلاح في الدفاع عن نفسها ومنزلها من أي معتدٍ.

منذ منتصف العام الماضي، بدأ «القطاع النسوي لأنصار الله» في العاصمة صنعاء تنظيم عروض عسكرية لافتة، حملت فيها النساء السلاح، مبديات استعدادهن للمشاركة في القتال، كما ظهرت نساء يقدن مدرعات عسكرية، وأخريات حملن حتى السلاح المتوسط.

مع ذلك، لاقى العرض الأول ردود فعل لم يكن معظمها إيجابياً، خاصة أن هناك موانع تفرضها عادات وتقاليد القبيلة اليمنية التي ترفض مشاركة المرأة في القتال إلا في حالة واحدة: «عندما يفنى الرجال عن بكرة أبيهم”».

المرأة اليمنية: البندقية ليست حكراً على الرجال
http://www.al-akhbar.com/node/272184
 

06 February 2017

“نشر مسؤولون عسكريون أميركيون، تسجيل فيديو قالوا إنه صور في اليمن أثناء استهداف تنظيم «القاعدة» بعملية الغنزال الأمريكي الأخيرة في اليمن، ثم قاموا بسحبه بعدما لاحظوا أنه يعود إلى عشر سنوات مضت.

ووضعت القيادة المركزية الأميركية للشرق الأوسط «سنتكوم»على موقعها الإلكتروني تسجيل فيديو يفترض أن يؤكد أهمية الوثائق والملفات التي صورت في المكان.

وقام عدد من مستخدمي الإنترنت بتوضيح أن التسجيل أنجز في الواقع قبل حوالي عشر سنوات ووضع على الإنترنت من قبل، قبل أن يتم سحبه على الفور.”

الجيش الأمريكي «يفبرك» فيديو إنزال باليمن.. ويسحبه بعد الفضيحة
https://medium.com/thenewkhalij/%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AC%D9%8A%D8%B4-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A3%D9%85%D8%B1%D9%8A%D9%83%D9%8A-%D9%8A%D9%81%D8%A8%D8%B1%D9%83-%D9%81%D9%8A%D8%AF%D9%8A%D9%88-%D8%A5%D9%86%D8%B2%D8%A7%D9%84-%D8%A8%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%8A%D9%85%D9%86-%D9%88%D9%8A%D8%B3%D8%AD%D8%A8%D9%87-%D8%A8%D8%B9%D8%AF-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%81%D8%B6%D9%8A%D8%AD%D8%A9-98f798e5490e#.gi0sn0rj0
 

07 February 2017

“‘Rather than advancing a political solution that almost everyone agrees is the only way to solve the conflict, it seems the Trump administration's actions are just adding fuel to the fire,’ said Adam Baron, a Yemen expert at the European Council on Foreign relation.

Reacting to the Navy SEAL raid, a Yemeni tribal leader said: ‘If they had just bombed the place it would have been much easier and less risky, but it looks like Trump is trying to say “I'm a man of action."’

‘It looks like the new President has watched a lot of Steven Seagal movies,’ he added, referring to the action film star.”
 

Trump risks deeper entanglement in Yemen’s murky war
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-yemen-security-trump-idUSKBN15M1HP?utm_source=34553&utm_medium=partner

08 February 2017

“Yemen has denied reports that it has withdrawn its permission for the US to conduct special operations missions in the country after the raid on an al-Qaeda base last month which killed up to 30 civilians and a US Navy Seal.

There has been widespread anger in Yemen at the reported loss of life in a ground raid in which “almost everything went wrong,” as one US military official described it, leading Yemeni officials to suspend the counter-terror programme.

Neither Yemen nor the US have officially announced the decision, which was reported by the New York Times, citing unnamed American officials, on Tuesday.

Representatives from the Yemeni government said on Wednesday that the report was erroneous.”
 

Yemen 'withdraws permission for US ground raids' after Donald Trump’s first botched military operation
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/yemen-halt-us-ground-raids-donald-trump-first-botched-seal-operation-civilian-deaths-special-a7568291.html

08 February 2017

“The United Nations appealed on Wednesday for $2.1 billion to provide food and other life-saving assistance to 12 million people in Yemen who face the threat of famine after two years of war.

'The situation in Yemen is catastrophic and rapidly deteriorating,' Jamie McGoldrick, U.N. humanitarian coordinator in Yemen, said in the appeal document.

'Nearly 3.3 million people - including 2.1 million children - are acutely malnourished.'”
 

U.N. seeks $2.1 billion to avert famine in Yemen
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-yemen-security-un-idUSKBN15N14Q

08 February 2017

“Sana'a, Yemen – Mention to someone the words “Yemen” and “refugees” and they will certainly have in mind people fleeing the war-torn state. Yemen is a country that has been ravaged by fighting since 2015, and the situation there has only worsened as third parties have contributed to that civil war.

So it is perhaps surprising that while thousands of people are indeed fleeing Yemen to the Horn of Africa (some 87,000 last year), more people still are going the other direction, with more than 117,000 reckoned to have travelled across the Gulf of Aden and Red Sea into this place of insecurity last year alone.

Since 2013, nearly 290,000 refugees and migrants have landed on the Yemeni coast. Nearly 80 per cent of these were Ethiopians, and most of the rest Somalis. Most journey to Yemen in the hope of using it as a transit point, while others look to stay in Yemen, often unaware of the dangers

The most recent figures represent a steady increase in irregular movements from Africa to Yemen – up from 65,000 in 2013, 91,600 in 2014 and 92,500 in 2015 respectively. And this notwithstanding a worsening environment in Yemen, where a full-scale war has been ongoing since 2015.”
 

Insecurity in Yemen threatens incoming refugees and migrants
http://www.unhcr.org/news/latest/2017/2/5899a1524/insecurity-yemen-threatens-incoming-refugees-migrants.html

08 February 2017

“Yemeni government forces backed by Gulf Arab troops have secured the Red Sea coast city of al-Mokha, United Arab Emirates news agency WAM reported on Tuesday, in a push that paves the way for an advance on the country's main port city of Hodeidah.

Supporters of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi have been fighting for weeks to capture the small town, which once served as a main port for exporting coffee, from the Iran-aligned Houthi that has held it since early 2015.

The advance comes amid rising tensions between the United States and Iran since President Donald Trump came to office in January. U.S. officials said last week that the United States had deployed a Navy destroyer, the USS Cole, to patrol off the coast of Yemen to protect waterways from Houthis, including escorting vessels.”
 

Gulf-backed Yemeni forces capture Red Sea coast city - agency
http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-yemen-security-idUKKBN15M2LU

08 February 2017

“Residents of Yakla, an impoverished Yemeni town that was targeted last month in the first US military raid in the country authorised by President Donald Trump, have said more than a dozen civilians were killed in the botched operation.

Locals told Al Jazeera that at least 16 civilians, including women and children, were killed in the raid in Bayda province that also resulted in the death of one US commando and injured three others.

The Pentagon said the raid, which included helicopter gunships and armed Reaper drones, targeted al-Qaeda leaders.

But local journalist Mujahid al-Selalee said Abdulraouf al-Dhahab, a tribal leader whose house was attacked in the raid, had repeatedly denied being a member of the armed group.”
 

Yakla residents speak of US raid that killed civilians
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/02/yemen-yakla-civilians-killed-170207043727800.html

08 February 2017

“Armed hostilities have increased substantially along Yemen’s western coast in recent weeks, including fierce fighting in the districts of Dhubab and Al Mukha in Taizz Governorate. Partners estimate that more than 34,000 individuals (as of 5 February) have been forced to flee their homes across Taizz in search of safety and protection. About 60 per cent ofrecent Taizz IDPs have fled affected areas of Al Mukha and Al Dhubab districts, including most residents of Dhubab town and an estimated two-thirds of residents of Al Mukha town.”
 

Yemen: Escalating Conflict - Yemen's Western Coast Flash Update | 07 February 2017
http://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/yemen-escalating-conflict-yemens-western-coast-flash-update-07-february-2017

10 February 2017

“Famine in Yemen is considered a 'real possibility' this year. More than three million people - including 460,000 children - are acutely malnourished and the situation is deteriorating on a daily basis.

The UN says 7.3 million Yemenis do not know where their next meal is coming from. The crisis has been brought on by nearly two years of civil war. Iran-backed Houthis have been fighting a Saudi-led coalition.

At least 10,000 people have been killed. The death toll from hunger and disease is much greater. A child under the age of five is dying every five minutes.

The international community is being urged to find $2.1bn to help ease the situation. The majority of the population has only limited access to food and medicine. The UN has described the crisis as 'catastrophic' and rapidly deteriorating.”
 

Will international community help avert Yemen famine?
http://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/insidestory/2017/02/international-community-avert-yemen-famine-170209192836050.html

10 February 2017

“The government cannot plead ignorance. When I met Alan Duncan, the Tory special envoy on Yemen, last April, he denied that Saudi Arabia was a dictatorship. When I put it to him that the Saudi regime was dropping British-made cluster bombs – for which there was overwhelming evidence – he refused to accept it. 'You are making that statement as if it is certain and definite,' he said. 'I don’t know if I can or cannot accept that.' A few months later, the defence secretary, Michael Fallon, was forced to admit in parliament that it was true.”
 

Britain has blood on its hands over Yemen
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/feb/08/britain-role-yemen-bombs-saudi-arabia-civilians-civil-war

10 February 2017

"Broom-maker Taie al-Nahari is kneeling on the sand, shirtless, outside his thatched hut in al-Qaza village in Yemen’s al-Hudaydah governorate. His bones show through his skin.

Before the conflict began in 2015, the 53-year-old was a fisherman. Now he makes two brooms a day, which earns him a daily income of $1. 'The boats that we were working on were bombed [by Saudi jets]. Now my family and I don’t have enough to eat,' he says.

The conflict is the primary driver of a hunger crisis that the UN has warned could turn to famine this year if nothing is done."
 

Yemen's food crisis: 'We die either from the bombing or the hunger'
https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2017/feb/08/yemen-food-crisis-we-are-broken-bombing-hunger

10 February 2017

“The Saudi-led coalition has intensified air strikes on the Yemen port of Hodeidah, potentially trapping civilians and endangering a humanitarian operation to import vital supplies, the United Nations human rights office said on Friday.

Yemeni government forces backed by Gulf Arab troops have secured the Red Sea coast city of al-Mokha, held by Iran-allied Houthi fighters for two years, the United Arab Emirates news agency WAM reported on Tuesday, in a push that paves the way for an advance on the country's main port city of Hodeidah.

'Civilians were trapped during the fighting (in al-Mokha), there are real fears the situation will repeat itself in the port of Hodeidah where air strikes are apparently already intensifying,' Rupert Colville, U.N. human rights spokesman, told a Geneva news briefing.”
 

Saudi-led strikes on Yemen port, fears for civilians: U.N.
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-yemen-security-idUSKBN15P12V

10 February 2017

“The number of food insecure people in Yemen has risen by three million in seven months, with an estimated 17.1 million people – more than two-thirds of the entire population of 27.4 million – now struggling to feed themselves, according to a joint assessment by three United Nations agencies.

“The speed at which the situation is deteriorating and the huge jump in food insecure people is extremely worrying,” said the Food and Agriculture Organization's (FAO) Representative in Yemen, Salah Hajj Hassan, in a news release.

“Bearing in mind that agriculture is the main source of livelihood for the majority of the population, FAO is urgently calling for funds to scale up its agricultural livelihoods support to farmers, herders and fishing communities to improve their access to food in 2017 and prevent the dire food and livelihood security situation from deteriorating further,” he added.

Of the 17.1 million food-insecure people, about 7.3 million are considered to be in need of emergency food assistance, according to the preliminary results of the Emergency Food Security and Nutrition Assessment, which attributed the rapid deterioration of the conditions to the ongoing conflict.

The UN and humanitarian partners has recently launched an international appeal for $2.1 billion to provide life-saving assistance to 12 million people in Yemen in 2017 – the largest-ever humanitarian response plan for the war-torn country.

The joint assessment was conducted by FAO, the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the World Food Programme (WFP) in cooperation with the authorities in Yemen. It is the first national, household-level survey conducted in the country since the escalation of the conflict in mid-March 2015.

Rates of acute malnutrition were found to have passed the “critical” threshold in four governorates, while agricultural production is falling across the country.”
 

Yemen: As food crisis worsens, UN agencies call for urgent assistance to avert catastrophe
http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=56143#.WJ3yefmLSUk

10 February 2017

“Hisham al-Omeisy, a resident of Yemen's capital Sanaa, talks of chronic shortages of food, medicine and electricity. The United Nations has warned that the war-torn country is facing a catastrophic famine.”
 

Yemen on the brink of famine
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p04s94tb

13 February 2017

“Two Saudi-backed forces clashed at the Aden Airport on Sunday morning after one of the groups refused to hand over this governmental installation to the other.

According to local reports, a southern brigade led by Saleh Al-‘Amiri refused to hand over the Aden Airport to the Hadi loyalists; this resulted in a violent confrontation that is still ongoing.

Al-‘Amiri’s forces had been in control of the Aden Airport since they recapture this strategic port city from the Houthis in late 2015.”
 

Saudi-backed forces fight each other at Aden Airport in southern Yemen
https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/saudi-backed-forces-fight-aden-airport-southern-yemen/

13 February 2017

“How did Nawar al-Awlaki, an 8-year-old child, die at the hands of a Navy Seal during last month’s nighttime raid in Yemen? We know from credible reports that she was shot in the neck at close range and received no medical aid throughout the remaining two hours of her life. Some questions come to mind: Was the shooting intentional? Did the soldier deliberately and with 'malice aforethought' point his weapon at Nawar and squeeze the trigger, fully aware that he was murdering in cold blood an innocent child? For that matter, might he have been influenced, if only subliminally, by our Commander-in-Chief’s prescription for winning the so-called 'war on terror'? During his campaign for the presidency, Trump announced that a sure-fire strategy for defeating ISIS had to involve eliminating their families as well as the terrorists themselves. Here are his exact words:

'When you get these terrorists, you have to take out their families. They care about their lives. Don't kid yourself. But they say they don't care about their lives. You have to take out their families.'”
 

Yemen: In the Shadow of Death
http://www.commondreams.org/views/2017/02/12/yemen-shadow-death

13 February 2017

“Thousands of cancer patients in Yemen are being forced to seek life-saving medicines on the black market as the health system buckles after two years of war.

The conflict between the armed Houthi movement and a Saudi-led military coalition has killed over 10,000 people and triggered a slow-motion economic collapse, forcing health staff to work without pay and undercutting patients' ability to afford their own treatment.

For patients of the National Oncology Center, who often wait hours to receive their chemotherapy treatment, hope has evaporated along with their livelihoods.

'There are no pensions any more, how are we supposed to pay?' pleaded Mohamed El Shamaa, a gaunt leukemia patient, reclining limply as he received chemotherapy via an intravenous tube.

'Most people seek charity - some give and others say they can't help. Now, some people seek help from mosques. I'm one of those people,' he said.”
 

Yemen cancer patients struggle to survive war shortages
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-yemen-cancer-idUSKBN15S126

13 February 2017

“U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Sunday the U.N. envoy to Yemen had his full support, days after Yemen's Houthi group asked him not to renew the diplomat's term due to what it said was bias against the Iranian-aligned movement.

'Our envoy has my full support and I believe that he is doing an impartial work, that he is doing it in a very professional way and independently of what other people may think, he has my full support,' said Guterres during a stop in Riyadh, part of a regional tour that also includes the United Arab Emirates.

In a joint news conference with Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir in Riyadh, Guterres appealed to the combatants in Yemen's almost two-year-old war not to exploit the delivery of humanitarian aid, adding any such action was to be condemned.

A top official of the Houthi-led government which controls Yemen's capital called on the world body on Friday not renew the term of U.N. envoy Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed, saying he had shown 'lack of neutrality' and sympathy for a Saudi-led coalition that is fighting to reinstate Yemen's internationally-recognized government.”
 

U.N. chief affirms full support for Yemen peace envoy
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-saudi-un-guterres-idUSKBN15R0MP

13 February 2017

“A Pakistani national was killed Sunday in Saudi Arabia when Yemeni rebels shelled the kingdom’s southern border region, the civil defense department said.

A rocket hit Arda, which is part of the southwestern region of Jazan, Civil Defense spokesman Yahya Al-Qahtani said in a report by the official Saudi Press Agency.

'As result, a Pakistani national was killed,' he said without naming the victim.

At least 115 civilians and soldiers have been killed in southern Saudi Arabia since a Saudi-led coalition launched air strikes in Yemen against Houthi rebels in March 2015 to support Yemen’s government.”
 

Yemen shelling kills Pakistani in southern Saudi Arabia
http://www.arabnews.com/node/1053146/saudi-arabia

 
13 February 2017

“The Saudi-led coalition fighting Yemeni dominant Houthi rebels killed a six-member family in an air strike on the family's house in the Red Sea port city of Mokha on Sunday evening, a medic and security official told Xinhua.

'Doctor Molok Mahis, director of maternal and childhood center, a non-governmental organization, was critically injured in the air strike on her home in Mokha and she is being now treated at the intensive care in the hospital,' the medic told Xinhua by phone.

'Her leg was amputated in the air strike and six members of her family were killed,' the medic said.

The security official in the port city confirmed that all six members of social activist Mahis were killed in one of the evening air strike that flattened her house to the ground.

This is the latest in a series of air strikes hitting Yemeni civilians since the war began in 2015.”
 

Coalition airstrike kills 6-member family in Yemeni port city Mokha
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2017-02/13/c_136051284.htm

13 February 2017

“The US-backed Saudi-led coalition held five oil tankers heading to Hodeida province, an official told Saba on Monday.

The tankers, which carries gas and diesel, were designated to reach Ras Isa and Hodeida ports.

The aggression's move intended to hinder the oil derivatives supplies from reaching the Yemeni people, the official said.

He condemned the UN and international community's silence to the Saudi crimes against the Yemeni people, who have already suffered from all-out blockade imposed by Saudi aggression for almost two years.”
 

Saudi aggression deprives Yemen of oil supplies
https://www.sabanews.net/en/news456041.htm

13 February 2017

“KEY FIGURES

28,000 people estimated to have fled Al Mokha

2,600 people have fled to neighbouring governorate of Al Hudaydah

2,007,216 Internally displaced persons (IDPs) since onset of hostilities in March 2015.

1,027,674 IDP returnees since March 2015

SITUATION UPDATE

UNHCR is deeply concerned about the plight of thousands of Yemeni civilians fleeing or caught up in heavy confrontation in Taizz governorate. While hostilities have intensified in the Red Sea districts of Al Mokha and Dhubab, individuals are also being displaced further inland from Al Wazi'iyah and Mawza in Taizz as conflict engulfs key strategic locations across the governorate. Thousands of civilians are being caught in the crossfire, worsening the situation for an already vulnerable population. UNHCR is mobilizing rapid assistance together with partners to help those displaced. Challenges in response include heavy fighting and ongoing military operations which are impeding humanitarian access, and comprehensive displacement data is currently difficult to verify. Those trapped face serious risks in an effort to reach safety, including mined roads and ongoing hostilities.

The number of displaced is expected to increase as major confrontation continues.”
 

Yemen UNHCR Flash Update, 10 February 2017
http://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/yemen-unhcr-flash-update-10-february-2017

13 February 2017

“The Houthi forces launched a decisive counter-offensive near the strategic Mocha Port on Saturday, striking the Saudi-backed 'Southern Resistance' forces at the eastern flank.

The Houthi forces reportedly gathered east of Mocha on Friday evening in order to regroup for today’s offensive.

With the adequate men needed to launch the offensive, the Houthi forces began their swift counter-assault on Saturday morning; this attack resulted in a fierce battle between the two opposing parties.”
 

Houthi forces launch decisive counter-offensive in west Yemen
https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/houthi-forces-launch-decisive-counter-offensive-west-yemen/

13 February 2017

“أزمة جديدة تقتحم حياة اليمنيين في الجنوب، تحديداً مدينة عدن، حيث العاصمة التي أعلنها الرئيس المستقيل عبد ربه منصور هادي، واحة للأمان. هذه المرة كان عنوان الاشتباكات مطار عدن الدولي الذي هدّد المؤتمن عليه وقائد قوات حمايته، العميد صالح العمري، المعروف بـ«أبو قحطان»، بوقف الملاحة الجوية فيه إذا لم تصرف «الشرعية» مرتبات قواته.

جراء هذا التهديد، أمر هادي ألوية الحماية الرئاسية، التي يقودها مهران القباطي وبسام المحضار، باستلام حماية المطار من العمري، لكن الأخير رفض التسليم. ورغم دخول وسطاء عديدين، تحوّل الخلاف كالعادة، إلى اشتباكات أظهرت بوضوح كل ما كان يقال عن الصراع الخفي بين السعودية من جهة، وبين الإمارات العربية من جهة أخرى، وحلفاء الطرفين.”

 
عدن ضحية معارك «الشرعية»... و«أنصار الله» تسترد مواقع في نهم
http://www.al-akhbar.com/node/272505

13 February 2017

“لا يبدو الرجل يعبأ أبداً بمدى المأزق أو التخبط الذي تعانيه قواته العسكرية المشكلة من ألوية متفرقة ومتشتتة، بُنيَت على أسس مناطقية وحزبية وفصائلية ومحسوبيات وولاءات خليجية وأجنبية، وهي ــ الألوية ــ لا تحمل عقيدة عسكرية مبدئية، ولا تملك نظاماً قتالياً موحداً يمكن الركون إليهما في الجبهات التي تزج بها في الشمال اليمني.

الحرب لم تنته بعد، بل هي الآن في ضراوة العمليات العسكرية على الساحل الغربي وبقية الجبهات، حتى وقع الاحتراب الداخلي بين الفصائل السلفية المحسوبة على الإمارات وحزب «الإصلاح» الإخواني المدعوم من السعودية في محافظة تعز. وما إن توقفت المعارك بينهما بفعل ضغوط من وسطاء محليين، حتى أطلت الفتنة برأسها بينهما من جديد من خلال التهديدات المتبادلة بين الطرفين. ويجمع المطلعون على مجريات الأمور على أنه لو أتيح للحرب التي تشن حالياً على اليمن أن تتوقف، فإن حرباً ضارية ستقع وتلتهم بنيرانها البشر والحجر، ويشارك فيها جميع القوى المشكلة للسلطة.”

عبد ربه منصور هادي... «أنطوان لحد اليمن»
http://www.al-akhbar.com/node/272448

 
13 February 2017

“خطاب تصعيدي وسقف تحدٍّ كبير أعلنه عبد الملك الحوثي وحمل عناوين، أبرزها زيادة وجوه المواجهة العسكرية، بدءاً من التوعد بـ«قصف الرياض وما بعد الرياض»، وصولاً إلى الكشف عن دور جديد لطائرات بلا طيار تسيرها «أنصار الله»، والتجهيز لإدخال عناصر «الدفاع الجوي» في المعركة بعدما أظهرت «القوة البحرية» أداءً مقلقاً للسفن الأميركية والسعودية على حد سواء”

«أنصار الله» إلى «ما بعد الرياض»... ودفاعات جوية قريباً
http://www.al-akhbar.com/node/272449

13 February 2017

“قال شهود عيان في مدينة الحديدة (غرب اليمن) اليوم الاثنين، إن مقاتلات التحالف العربي الذي تقوده السعودية شنت غارتين على موقع عسكري للمسلحين الحوثيين والقوت الموالية لصالح بالقرب من الميناء.

وأفاد الشهود مراسل «المصدر أونلاين»، بأن الغارتين استهدفتا مبنى الانشاءات بالقرب من البوابة الشرقية لميناء الحديدة في شارع جيزان.

وأضافوا بأن سيارات الإسعاف وصلت إلى المواقع المستهدفة لإسعاف الضحايا.”

مقاتلات التحالف تشن غارتين على مواقع للحوثيين وقوات صالح بالقرب من ميناء الحديدة
http://almasdaronline.com/article/88830

13 February 2017

“نجا عميد كلية الإعلام السابق بجامعة صنعاء في وقوت متأخر من مساء أمس الأحد، من محاولة اغتيال نفذها مجهولون في شارع الرقاص وسط العاصمة، حسبما قال شهود عيان ومصدر.

وأوضح مصدر في نقابة هيئة التدريس بالجامعة لـ«المصدر أونلاين»، بأن مسلحين على متن دراجة نارية أطلقوا وابل من النيران على أستاذ الاتصال والإعلام بالجامعة الدكتور علي البريهي، لكنه نجا.

وأضاف إن الحادث جاء بعد تلقيه اتصالاً من مجهول، يتوعده ويهدده بالتصفية، على خلفية نشاطه النقابي في جامعة صنعاء.

وقال المصدر إن محاولة اغتيال البريهي، كانت رسالة إلى الأكاديميين في جامعة صنعاء، الذين ينفذون إضراباً عن الدراسة للشهر الثاني على التوالي، احتجاجاً على عدم تسلمهم رواتبهم منذ خمسة أشهر.”

شهود: نجاة عميد كلية الإعلام السابق بجامعة صنعاء من محاولة اغتيال نفذها مسلحون
http://almasdaronline.com/article/88825

15 February 2017

“At least seven Saudi soldiers have been killed in the past week in clashes with Yemeni rebels, state media has said.

In an unusual series of official reports, the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported late on Monday that Mohammed al-Manjahi was the latest soldier to be killed 'defending' the kingdom's southern borders in the fight against Houthi rebels.”
 

Yemen conflict: Seven Saudi soldiers killed on border
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/02/yemen-conflict-saudi-soldiers-killed-border-170214095443697.html

 
15 February 2017

“Saudi Arabian coalition jets bombing Houthi rebel sites in Yemen increasingly turn to U.S. Air Force tankers for refueling support almost two years after the conflict began.

Since April 2015, the Air Force has logged 1,778 tanker sorties for the operation, Air Forces Central Command spokeswoman Capt. Kathleen Atanasoff told Military.com on Tuesday. That includes 1,069 over the past year, an increase of 360, or 50 percent, from the 709 in the previous period.

'These operations are ongoing, with aircraft refueling occurring daily,' Atanasoff said in an email. The service's tankers such as KC-135 Stratotankers and KC-10 Extenders participated in 7,564 refueling 'events' with coalition aircraft, with 'about 54 million pounds of fuel off-loaded in support of Saudi operations in Yemen,' Atanasoff said.

Refueling numbers are tracked by the command but, unlike statistics on strikes and sorties against the Islamic State and the Taliban, aren't publicly released via the command's airpower summary factsheets.”
 

2 Years Into Yemen War, US Ramps Up Refueling of Saudi Jets
http://www.military.com/daily-news/2017/02/15/2-years-yemen-war-us-ramps-up-refueling-saudi-jets.html

15 February 2017

“A suicide car bomb attack in a rebel-held Yemeni town on Tuesday killed three people, including a child, and wounded eight others, a provincial official said.

The attack targeted a sports and culture club in the Houthi-controlled town of Radaa, he said, in the central province of Baida where Al-Qaeda fighters are present.

A security official said: 'Houthi fighters opened fire on the car before it attacked the club, causing it to explode at the gate, leading to the deaths and injuries.'

A nearby school was also damaged, the source said.”
 

Yemen suicide car bombing kills 3: officials
http://www.arabnews.com/node/1054171/middle-east

 
15 February 2017

“At least twenty one civilians were killed, Including three children, and dozens wounded in 309 airstrikes launched by US-backed Saudi aggression warplanes on several Yemeni provinces over the past five days, officials and residents told Saba.

In Sana'a province, the aggression warplanes launched ten air strikes on Nehm district and six raids on Belad Alroos area.

In Sa'ada province, the aggression launched 33 airstrikes on several districts, targeting civilians and their properties. Eight civilians, including three children, were killed in an airstrike on Haidan district of Sa'ada.

Also three children were killed in Sa'ada in an airstrike on Husama residential area in Dhahir district.

Also in Sa'ada, the air strikes targeted telecommunication networks.

In Jawf province, the aggression warplanes launched two raids on Milhan directorate and al-Maslob district.

In Taiz province, the aggression fighter jets waged 68 air raids on large swaths of residential areas, particularly in Mokha coast city. In Mokha, a ten-member family, mostly children, were killed in one of the airstrike.

Also in Taiz, the air strikes targeted telecommunication networks.

In Mareb province, the aggression warplanes carried out 38 raids on several civilian regions, in which large-scale of farms were damaged.

In Hodeidah port city, the aggression launched 48 air strikes on different areas, particularly the port itself, hampering food and medical import supplies.

In Hajja province, the aggression warplanes launched 102 airstrikes, particularly on Medi port city and boirder crossing of Haradh.

In Mahweet governorate, the aggression fighter jets launched one air strike on AL-Khabt district.

In Shabw province, the Saudi aggression launched one air raid on Aselan district.”
 

309 airstrikes hit Yemen in five days
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news456263.htm

15 February 2017

“Inter-factional clashes erupted around Aden’s international airport on Sunday, prompting Saudi-led coalition Apache helicopters to fire a missile at a military vehicle, Yemeni security officials said, without confirming the number of casualties.

The attack marks the first time the Arab coalition intervenes militarily in power struggles between the forces from the presidential guards – led by President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi’s son – and a UAE-backed rival faction group.

“The fighting around Aden airport was not spur of the moment. There has been sporadic intra-factions since Aden liberation, it just escalated today,” local journalist Saleh al-Batati told The New Arab.”
 

Boiling tensions: Yemen's pro-coalition forces fight for Aden Airport
https://www.alaraby.co.uk/english/news/2017/2/13/boiling-tensions-yemens-pro-coalition-forces-fight-for-aden-airport

15 February 2017

“Yemen has no plans to request US ground troops to fight on its behalf in the country’s civil war, the permanent representative of Yemen to the United Nations, Khaled Alyemany, said on Monday.

"We will never invite American soldiers on the ground," Alyemany stated during an Atlantic Council event in Washington, DC. "We will never invite Americans. And Americans, they understand that."

Khaled Alyemany also stated that the administration of former US President Barack Obama and the efforts of former Secretary of State John Kerry caused setbacks to the peace process in Yemen.”
 

Yemen to Never Invite US Ground Troops to Help Resolve Conflict - UN Envoy
https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/201702131050637475-us-yemen-troops-alyemany/

15 February 2017 

“Yemen's wheat supplies will run out at the end of March, the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation predicted in a report, adding that the war-torn country, which is currently on the brink of famine, is in a more desperate position than previously thought.

At the end of January, the UN's top official in the impoverished country told Reuters that there were roughly three months' supply of wheat left in the country.

'Yemen is facing the largest food security emergency in the world. Without immediate action, the situation is likely to worsen in 2017,' the FAO report said.”
 

Yemen's wheat stocks to be 'depleted by April'
https://www.alaraby.co.uk/english/society/2017/2/11/yemens-wheat-stocks-to-be-depleted-by-april

15 February 2017

“صعّد التحالف السعودي من هجماته الجوية على محيط ميناء الحديدة غربي اليمن، في خلال الأيام القليلة الماضية، وذلك برغم المخاوف المحلية والدولية من تداعيات استهداف المرفأ البحري الوحيد الذي تمرّ منه معظم المساعدات الإنسانية و70 في المئة من واردات الغذاء والدواء و80 في المئة من واردات الوقود.

وكانت السعودية قد استغلت استهداف فرقاطتها في المياه الإقليمية اليمنية قبالة الحديدة نهاية الشهر الماضي، لتبرر تحويل الميناء إلى هدف جدي لها. ونتيجةً لذلك، بات الميناء الذي استقبل العام الماضي أكثر من 270 ألف طن من المساعدات الإنسانية المقدمة من الأمم المتحدة، يواجه تصاعداً في التهديدات، من قبل طيران العدوان وبوارجه الحربية.”
 

صراع الساحل يصل إلى الحُديدة
http://www.al-akhbar.com/node/272587

15 February 2017

“أزمة جديدة تقتحم حياة اليمنيين في الجنوب، تحديداً مدينة عدن، حيث العاصمة التي أعلنها الرئيس المستقيل عبد ربه منصور هادي، واحة للأمان. هذه المرة كان عنوان الاشتباكات مطار عدن الدولي الذي هدّد المؤتمن عليه وقائد قوات حمايته، العميد صالح العمري، المعروف بـ«أبو قحطان»، بوقف الملاحة الجوية فيه إذا لم تصرف «الشرعية» مرتبات قواته.

جراء هذا التهديد، أمر هادي ألوية الحماية الرئاسية، التي يقودها مهران القباطي وبسام المحضار، باستلام حماية المطار من العمري، لكن الأخير رفض التسليم. ورغم دخول وسطاء عديدين، تحوّل الخلاف كالعادة، إلى اشتباكات أظهرت بوضوح كل ما كان يقال عن الصراع الخفي بين السعودية من جهة، وبين الإمارات العربية من جهة أخرى، وحلفاء الطرفين.”

عدن ضحية معارك «الشرعية»... و«أنصار الله» تسترد مواقع في نهم
http://www.al-akhbar.com/node/272505

15 February 2017

“قال محافظ محافظة تعز (جنوب غرب اليمن) علي المعمري اليوم الأربعاء، إن السلطة المحلية قاربت من استكمال كافة الإجراءات المتعلقة بصرف مرتبات الموظفين في القطاع المدني.

ونقلت وكالة الأنباء اليمنية «سبأ» عن المعمري قوله، إن مرتبات موظفي القطاع المدني ستصرف قريباً، وإن عملية توقيع الكشوفات الخاصة بعملية الصرف قد انتهت، وإن موعد الصرف سيتحدد في وقت لاحق.

وأرجع المعمري أسباب التأخير إلى عدم استكمال بيانات الموظفين في بعض الأجهزة والمؤسسات والمكاتب في المحافظة”

محافظ تعز يقول إن موعد صرف المرتبات سيتم قريباً بعد الانتهاء من توقيع الشيكات
http://almasdaronline.com/article/88880

15 February 2017

“شهد الريال اليمني تحسناً أمام العملات الأجنبية بعد إجراءات اتخذتها الحكومة التي تعمل من العاصمة المؤقتة عدن (جنوب البلاد)، بالتوازي مع اجراءات لسلطات الحوثيين في العاصمة صنعاء.

وتراجع سعر الصرف من 365 الى 310 ريالاً للدولار بالعاصمة المؤقتة عدن (جنوبي البلاد)، ومن 390 الى 330 ريالاً للدولار الواحد في العاصمة صنعاء وأمام الريال السعودي من 102 الى 80 ريالا.

وقال صرافون، ان اجتماعاً لقيادة البنك المركزي مع الصرافين في عدن، خرج باتفاق على بيع الدولار بنحو 300 ريال للدولار الواحد والريال السعودي ب75 ريالاً.

من جانبها أكدت مصادر حكومية، أن البنك المركزي تعهد للصرافين بضخ كميات كافية من العملة الصعبة في السوق للحفاظ على استقرار العملة بما يكفي ليتساوى العرض مع الطلب.”

إجراءات حكومية تنجح مؤقتاً في كبح جماح العملة الخضراء أمام الريال اليمني
http://almasdaronline.com/article/88881

16 February 2017

“It’s impossible to get hard numbers, but child marriage appears to be on the rise in Yemen: a consequence of the extreme poverty caused by nearly two years of devastating war in what was already one of the poorest and least developed countries in the world.

Parents are becoming increasingly unable to provide for their families, and interviews conducted by IRIN suggest some are opting to marry their daughters off younger than planned, reversing previous progress towards ending the practice.”
 

Shattered war economy encourages child marriage in Yemen
http://www.irinnews.org/2017/02/15/shattered-war-economy-encourages-child-marriage-yemen?utm_source=IRIN+-+the+inside+story+on+emergencies&utm_campaign=142c77ded4-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_ENGLISH_MIDDLE_EAST&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_d842d98289-142c77ded4-75451173

16 February 2017

“Warplanes of the Saudi-led coalition struck a house north of Yemen's capital where a crowd of mourners was gathered, residents said on Thursday, killing nine women and a child and injuring dozens.

The Saudi-led coalition said it was investigating reports of civilian casualties in the area.

The air strike hit the house of a local tribal leader in Ashira, a village north of Sanaa, on Wednesday night, a resident told Reuters. Mourners had gathered there to offer condolences after a woman died.

"People heard the sound of planes and started running from the house but then the bombs hit the house directly. The roof collapsed. Blood was everywhere," a second resident of Ashira, who gave his name as Hamid Ali, told a Reuters cameraman.”
 

Plane strike hits Yemen mourners, killing 9 women, 1 child: residents
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-yemen-security-idUSKBN15V0Q8

20 February 2017

“Amid no letup in Saudi carnage of Yemen’s civilians, counter-strikes by Yemeni forces have hit a military base inside Saudi Arabia close to the common border.

They targeted the outpost in the ‘Asir region in the kingdom’s extreme southwest with an unknown number of projectiles on Sunday, Yemen’s War Media outlet reported.

It also carried extended footage of the counter-raid after Saudi officials denied that such retaliatory attack had ever taken place.

Yemeni soldiers and allied fighters have been hitting targets in the kingdom’s border area in response to its March 2015-present invasion of the impoverished country.”
 

Watch video of Saudi base hit by Yemeni rockets
http://presstv.ir/Detail/2017/02/19/511174/Yemen-Saudi-Arabia-Asir

20 February 2017

“The UK trained an air force at the centre of war crime allegations in Yemen how to carry out airstrikes with smart bombs.

Evidence submitted during a legal case into UK arms sales to Saudi Arabia reveals the RAF trained the country’s air force how to use Paveway IV missiles.

The documents also reveal that only a 'very, very small' number of airstrikes were tracked and the UK knew little about the Saudis’ targeting practices.

Despite being kept in the dark over airstrikes, the UK Government claimed last year that no war crimes had been committed by the Saudis.”
 

Smart bombs made in Scotland were dropped in Yemen by UK-trained Saudi air force
http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/smart-bombs-made-scotland-were-9848386

20 February 2017

“They call him the Banksy of Yemen. But Murad Subay, a 29-year-old street artist based in the capital Sanaa, shrugs off such comparisons.

Subay has transformed the streets of an active war zone into his own vibrant gallery. His canvases are often the ruins of war - crumbling, abandoned houses with gaping holes caused by mortar explosions.

'It is three letters only: W-A-R,' said Subay of his work, which continually shines a light on Yemen's horrific humanitarian situation.

'It's just to show the ugliness of war - this is what happens by war. This is my way to to protest against the injustice of this war and for peace.'

Subay's work also focuses on Yemen's dire economic situation, political corruption, disappeared persons, and US drone strikes.”
 

Yemen's most prolific street artist copes with Donald Trump's immigration ban.
http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2017/02/yemen-art-love-bombs-bans-170213090154650.html

20 February 2017

“Nine women and one child have died after a Saudi-led coalition war plane struck a funeral gathering in Yemen, officials have said.

A strike which hit a house in which mourners were gathered north of the capital on Wednesday also injured dozens more civilians, witnesses said.

The home of a local tribal leader in Ashira, a village north of Sanaa, was destroyed in the strike, a resident told Reuters. Locals had gathered there to offer condolences after a woman in the family died.”
 

Saudi air strike kills 10 women and children in Yemen
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/yemen-air-strike-saudi-arabia-10-women-children-dead-funeral-bombing-sanaa-a7585886.html

20 February 2017

“Four Yemenis working with the Norwegian Refugee Council have been detained in a rebel-held part of the country, the NGO said Monday, after they distributed aid insurgents allege is linked to Saudi Arabia.

In a statement, the NRC said authorities in the rebel-controlled Red Sea district of Hodeida detained three Yemeni staff and a contracted driver on Tuesday last week.

'Due to the security sensitivities regarding our staff, we cannot comment any further on the matter at this time,'said the Oslo-based non-governmental organisation.”
 

Norwegian Refugee Council staff held in Yemen
https://au.news.yahoo.com/world/a/34455690/norwegian-refugee-council-staff-abducted-in-yemen-minister/#page1

20 February 2017

“The United Arab Emirates says an Emirati soldier has been killed while taking part in the Saudi-led war in Yemen.

The state-run WAM news agency reported the soldier's death on Friday. It identified the slain soldier as Sgt. Nader Mubarak Issa Suleiman.”
 

UAE says Emirati soldier killed in Saudi-led war in Yemen
http://www.njherald.com/article/20170217/AP/302179938#

20 February 2017

“UNHCR is mobilizing rapid assistance with partners to help those displaced principally from Mokha and Dhubab in Taizz governorate. Challenges in response include heavy fighting and ongoing military operations which are impeding humanitarian access, and comprehensive displacement data is currently difficult to verify. Assessment missions and distributions are underway, and UNHCR has pre-positioned emergency stocks in Al Hudaydah, comprising of emergency shelter kits and household assistance consisting of mattresses, sleeping mats, blankets, kitchen utensils and wash buckets.

Latest figures released by the 12th Task Force on Population Movement, coled by UNHCR and IOM, identify 2,007,216 IDPs and 1,027,674 IDP returnees in Yemen. There is a slight decrease in the numbers of displacement figures overall due to further data collection and validation procedures. The report continues to identify food as the overwhelmingly reported need by IDPs, with 75% of informants reporting it as the priority when compared to 66% in the previous report, in addition to access to income (7%), Shelter/Housing (7%) and cooking/washing water (4%). Priority needs for returnees also continue to be reported as food (36%), financial support (19%), psychosocial support (18%).”
 

Yemen: UNHCR Operational Update, February 14 2017
http://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/yemen-unhcr-operational-update-february-14-2017

20 February 2017

“White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer has warned journalists and lawmakers against criticizing a botched raid by U.S. commandos on a Yemeni village last month that left 25 civilians and one U.S. Navy SEAL dead. The Bureau of Investigative Journalism reports the January 28 assault killed nine children under the age of 13, with five other children wounded. The attack came as the United Nations appealed for $2.1 billion in emergency aid to Yemen, warning 12 million people face the threat of famine brought on by a U.S.-supported, Saudi-led war and naval blockade.”
 

Glenn Greenwald: Trump Seems to Be Committed to Escalating Violence in Yemen
https://www.democracynow.org/2017/2/16/glenn_greenwald_trump_seems_to_be
 

22 February 2017

“Maj Gen Ahmed Saif al-Yafei is said to have died in the attack outside the port city of Mokha. His death will be seen as a major setback for government forces, which are backed by a Saudi-led coalition. The Yemeni government has yet to recapture the capital, Sanaa, after two years of civil war.

Maj Gen Yafei was killed along with several others when the missile hit the army camp near Mokha early on Wednesday, the military source, who is also a member of the general's family, told Reuters news agency.”
 

Yemen crisis: Army chief killed in missile strike on camp
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-39050802

22 February 2017

“Seven million Yemenis are closer than ever to starvation, the UN humanitarian coordinator in the country warned on Tuesday, almost two years since a conflict escalated between the government and rebels.

"Seven million Yemenis do not know where their next meal will come from and are ever closer to starvation" in a country of 27 million people, Jamie McGoldrick said.

"Over 17 million people are currently unable to adequately feed themselves and are frequently forced to skip meals - women and girls eat the least and last," he said in a statement.”
 

Seven million people 'ever closer' to starvation in Yemen: UN
http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/seven-million-people-ever-closer-starvation-yemen-un-940004872

24   February 2017

“شنت مقاتلات التحالف العربي الذي تقوده السعودية فجر اليوم الخميس، غارات على مواقع لمسلحي جماعة الحوثيين والقوات الموالية للرئيس السابق، في منطقة رمة شمال محافظة الضالع (جنوب اليمن).

وقال مصدر ميداني لـ«المصدر أونلاين»، إن خمسة من المسلحين الحوثيين سقطوا في القصف الجوي.

وبموازاة ذلك، تجددت المعارك بين القوات الحكومية والمقاومة من جهة، والحوثيين وقوات صالح من جهة أخرى، في منطقة يعيس، وقُتل فيها أحد عناصر القوات الحكومية وهو الملازم ثاني أحمد محمد علوان."
 

غارات على مواقع الحوثيين شمال الضالع ومقتل جندي في القوات الحكومية إثر تجدد المعارك
http://almasdaronline.com/article/89062/amp

24 February 2017

“Britain is tracking 257 alleged breaches of international humanitarian law committed in Yemen by Saudi Arabia, a major UK arms customer, the government has admitted.

The numbers emerged in response to a parliamentary question put to Defense Secretary Michael Fallon by Scottish National Party (SNP) MP Margaret Ferrier.

“The Ministry of Defense (MoD) is tracking 257 allegations of breaches of international humanitarian law by the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen,” said Fallon.”
 

UK tracking 257 possible Saudi war crimes in Yemen
https://www.rt.com/uk/378396-saudi-war-crimes-yemen/

24 February 2017

“The Saudi-backed Southern Resistance forces, alongside Hadi loyalists and Sudanese Army personnel, seized a new village north of the strategic Mocha Port in southwestern Yemen.

According to pro-government media, the Saudi-backed forces seized the village of Yakhtoul near the Mocha Port after a short battle with the Houthi forces this morning.

As a result of today’s advance, the Saudi-backed forces and their foreign allies have cleared the area north of the Mocha Port.

Intense clashes are still ongoing in the Al-Jadid area east of the Mocha Port, as the Houthi forces attempt to regain control of this strategic site.”
 

Saudi-backed forces, Sudanese Army advance north of Yemen’s Mocha Port
https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/saudi-backed-forces-sudanese-army-advance-north-yemens-mocha-port/

24 February 2017

“Hundreds of thousands of Yemeni children languishing in refugee camps and remote villages are nearing starvation. Families who fled airstrikes are being forced to return to war-shattered homes, risking their lives again.

The United Nations and other humanitarian groups are describing alarming scenes in the Middle East’s poorest country as a humanitarian crisis and conflict deepen after nearly two years of war.

In recent weeks, clashes between rebels known as Houthis and forces loyal to the U.S.-backed government have intensified, especially along the western coast of the country. Airstrikes near a major port in the city of Hodeida — the main entry point for food, medicine and humanitarian aid into northern Yemen — have slowed the delivery of supplies and exacerbated the misery.”
 

Hundreds of thousands of Yemeni children are nearing starvation
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/hundreds-of-thousands-of-yemeni-children-are-nearing-starvation/2017/02/23/f01ead8a-f850-11e6-aa1e-5f735ee31334_story.html?utm_term=.78a960094360

24 February 2017

“The Ikea Foundation has given over £2m to Médecins Sans Frontières and Save the Children for their work in Yemen, and is calling on other funders to do the same. The Ikea Foundation gave £1.7m (€2m) to MSF, and another £0.4m (€500,000) to Save the Children to save lives and protect children and families in Yemen. The foundation, which is the philanthropic arm of the owners of the Swedish furniture giant Ikea, is calling on other funders to do the same to ensure that the people of Yemen get the help that they need. Per Heggenes, chief executive of the Ikea Foundation, said: “The Ikea Foundation is proud to support MSF and Save the Children’s work in Yemen, and it’s why we’re encouraging other funders to do the same. The international community has not done enough to prevent children and families in Yemen from suffering. If we don’t act now, the consequences are unthinkable.”

Ikea Foundation gives over £2m to charities working in Yemen
https://www.civilsociety.co.uk/news/ikea-foundation-donates-over-2m-to-m-decins-sans-fronti-res-and-save-the-children.html

 
24 February 2017

“A suicide bomber killed at least eight soldiers in an attack on a military camp in Yemen's southern city of Zinjibar at dawn on Friday, a local official and residents said.

The bomber, wearing a military uniform, struck Najda Camp in the Abyan provincial capital along the coast from second city Aden where the government has its headquarters.

He failed to get through the gate and heavy exchanges of gunfire ensued as other attackers tried to penetrate the base.

Residents said they heard a loud explosion at dawn in the city, the capital of Abyan province. The bomber was suspected to be an al-Qaeda member, the local official said.”
 

Suicide bomber kills at least five soldiers in Yemen
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/02/suicide-bomber-kills-soldiers-yemen-170224080159429.html

24 February 2017

“The US government should credibly investigate the raid on Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) in central Yemen in late January 2017, that killed at least 14 civilians, including nine children, and make its findings public, Human Rights Watch said today.

The high number of civilian casualties raises concerns that US forces and the armed group failed to take all necessary measures to minimize loss of civilian life, as required by the laws of war. The US government reported that 14 AQAP fighters and a US service member were killed in the fighting and, three days after the attack, that civilians, including children, were likely killed.”
 

Yemen: US Should Investigate Civilian Deaths in Raid
https://www.hrw.org/news/2017/02/24/yemen-us-should-investigate-civilian-deaths-raid

24 February 2017

“One Emirati soldier deployed as part of a Saudi-led Arab coalition against the Shia Houthi rebel group has been killed in Yemen, the UAE’s official WAM news agency reported Friday.

The news agency carried an announcement by the UAE Armed Forces’ General Command confirming the death of UAE Army Sergeant Khaled Ali Gharib al-Blushi, who had been participating in a Saudi-led air campaign against the Houthis and their allies.

The statement did not provide any additional details regarding the soldier’s death, which brought the total number of Emirati soldiers killed in Yemen this month to four.

Another Emirati soldier was killed in Yemen last Friday, while a third reportedly died the same day of a heart attack.

The UAE is the second largest contributor -- in terms of air power -- to Saudi Arabia’s anti-Houthi coalition.”
 

Emirati soldier killed in war-wracked Yemen
http://aa.com.tr/en/middle-east/emirati-soldier-killed-in-war-wracked-yemen/758644

24 February 2017

“Acute shortage of critical medicines, limited fuel for electricity and specialized medical staff such as intensive care doctors and nurses having left Yemen have put innocent lives in danger, the United Nations health agency has warned.

According to the UN World Health Organization (WHO), only 45 per cent of the country's health facilities remain fully functional and accessible and at least 274 have been damaged or destroyed during the conflict.

On top of this, drastic budget cuts have left health facilities without funds for operational costs and health care workers without regular salaries since September 2016.

One such example is the 320-bed Al-Thawra Hospital, the main functioning health facility in Al-Hudaydah (Yemen's third largest city) and neighbouring governorates. Many health facilities in the area have already closed.

Staffed by more than 1,200 employees – many of whom have not received their salaries for the past five months – the hospital provides care to some 1,500 people every day. This is a five-fold increase over the numbers in 2012 due to the influx of people displaced by ongoing conflict.

Most of the patients who arrive are unable to pay the minimal fees for hospital services.”
 

Yemen's health system another victim of the conflict – UN health agency
http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=56227#.WLBa5PnyiUk

27 February 2017

“The world is in the grip of an astonishing and acute crisis: More than 20 million people in South Sudan, Somalia, northern Nigeria and Yemen face starvation in the next six months, according to the United Nations. Nearly 1.4 million children are at "imminent risk" of death.  The scale of the hunger epidemic was described last month by U.S.-based researchers as "unprecedented in recent decades."

The crises are in large part man-made, stoked by ruinous conflicts, collapsing governance and international indifference. Only in one country, Somalia, which is recovering from years of war, is drought the main cause of the current food shortages.

"The situation is dire," warned U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres earlier this week, in a desperate appeal for funds. "We need $4.4 billion by the end of March to avert a catastrophe." So far, his organization has raised only $90 million, a drop in the bucket. At a time when the Trump administration has already threatened funding cuts to the U.N., the prospects for global relief look dim.”
 

The world is ignoring an ‘unprecedented’ starvation crisis
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2017/02/24/the-world-is-ignoring-an-unprecedented-starvation-crisis/?utm_term=.58e0e32f4c17

27 February 2017

“On Thursday, UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres held a press conference in New York to issue an urgent warning that more than 20 million people in Yemen, north Nigeria, Somalia and South Sudan were at risk of dying from starvation within the six months.

'We are facing a tragedy,' he told reporters. 'This is preventable if the international community takes decisive action.'

Yemen is listed as the worst-affected country facing potential famine, where more than 7 million people require emergency food assistance."
 

Humanitarian catastrophe unfolds in Yemen as world refuses to act
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-02-26/humanitarian-crisis-unfolds-in-yemen-as-world-refuses-to-act/8304896

27 February 2017

“As the war gets complicated, salvation seems impossible to reach. Warring parties have failed to reach an agreement during several past peace talks. One reason is that, bearing in mind how the cycle of revolutions go, the counter-revolution (Saleh-Houthis’ alliance) Yemen is going through has no easy quick fix. More importantly, in light of the war, Yemen has become a great market for weapons deals and mercenaries trade. Countries like the UK, US, Germany and others are some of the major suppliers to Saudi Arabia with weapons which include drones, bombs, torpedoes, rockets and missiles. Moreover, soldiers from several countries such as Colombia and Sudan have been recruited by some of the members of the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen war. Seemingly, the continuation of the war is of a great interest as many are benefiting from the war."
 

Yemen War: Between Internal and External Interests
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/yemen-war-between-internal-and-external-interests_us_58b06766e4b0658fc20f9462

 
27 February 2017

“One hundred and six Somali refugees returned to Somalia today after fleeing the ongoing conflict in Yemen.

The returnees, who consisted of the elderly, women and children, arrived at Mogadishu’s Aden Abdulle International Airport on Thursday morning on a commercial flight from Berbera, Somaliland, thus ending a difficult journey that began by boat in the Yemeni port of Aden.

Their return was facilitated by the International Organization for Migration (IOM), with the support of the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Centre and the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). The refugees’ arrival occurred three months after another group of 127 Somali evacuees was repatriated from Yemen last year.”
 

Over 100 Somali refugees fleeing conflict in Yemen arrive in Mogadishu
http://reliefweb.int/report/somalia/over-100-somali-refugees-fleeing-conflict-yemen-arrive-mogadishu

 
27 February 2017

“Taiz, Yemen - Abdulwasse Mohammed wakes at 5am every day and is at his checkpoint near the Taiz frontline, Kalashnikov in hand, by 6am. In the slow hours he waves through cars and eats his meals in the sun. At busier times, he is rushed to the front to blaze away at the Houthis with a heavy machine gun.

This is not Mohammed's first war, nor his second. Mohammed is a veteran of three conflicts in Yemen, stretching over 30 years. Now in his 50s, this weather-beaten soldier has, like many his age, been dragged back into war as a member of the Popular Resistance."
 

'No one wants to fight at this age': Yemen's old soldiers battle into their dotage
http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/taiz-old-fighters-yemen-445503599

27 February 2017

“The military operation on the Western Coast continues to intensify, with frontlines shifting north of Al Mukha City. The conflict has resulted in at least 25,000 people fleeing the districts of Al Mukha and Dhubab in search of safety. During the same period, over 44,000 people have been displaced throughout Taizz Governorate.

The displaced are mainly fleeing within Taizz Governorate or to the governorates of Al Hudaydah, Lahj, Ibb, Aden and Al Dhale’e. Most of Al Mukha’s population has now fled the town, with reports indicating that there are only between 80 and 300 families remaining. The remaining are unable to flee due to the costs of transportation, with displaced families indicating that they had to pay as much as US$200 for transportation to other villages within the district."
 

Escalating Conflict on Yemen’s Western Coast - Flash Update # 2
http://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/escalating-conflict-yemen-s-western-coast-flash-update-2-25-february-2017-enar

27 February 2017 

“Around 3,000 sorties have been conducted by 12 Kuwaiti fighter jets as part of the Arab Coalition to support legitimacy in Yemen, Commander of the Kuwaiti Air Force Major General Abdullah Al Foudari has said.

The sorties were in addition to other operations by the fighter jets that included manoeuvring, air refuelling, positioning and communication, he added.”
 

Kuwait fighter jets conducted 3,000 sorties in Yemen
http://gulfnews.com/news/gulf/kuwait/kuwait-fighter-jets-conducted-3-000-sorties-in-yemen-1.1984318

27 February 2017 

“The US-Saudi aggression fighter jets on Sunday launched two strikes on Nehm district of Sana'a province, a local official told Saba.

The warplanes hit al-Hawla area two times, causing heavy damage to citizens' properties and farms, the official added.”
 

US-Saudi fighter jets wage 2 strikes on Nehm
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news457431.htm

27 February 2017

“The US-Saudi aggression warplanes on Sunday renewed strike on Utmah district of Dhamar province, a local official told Saba.

The warplanes hit Asoh area in Bani Sawid in the district, the official added.”
 

Saudi fighter jets renew strike on Dhamar
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news457424.htm

27 February 2017

“Hodeida residents on Monday staged a protest rally to condemn war crimes committed by US-Saudi aggression against the Yemeni people.

The rally called for mobilizing troops to the fronts for facing US-Saudi aggression.

The rally was attended by chairman of the Revolutionary Committees, Mohammed Ail al-Houthi, and Secretary General of the local council Ali al-Qawzi."

Hodeida condemn US-Saudi war crimes against civilians
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news457458.htm

27 February 2017

“The army and popular forces shot dead a Saudi soldier in Raqabat al-Hanjer military site in Asir province, a military official told Saba on Monday.

The army and popular forces fired a guide missile on a military vehicle in al-Khadhra border crossing in Najran province, killing its crew of mercenaries.

Moreover, the official said the artillery and missile forces targeted positions of Saudi soldiers in military sites of al-Jabanah, al-Khubah, al-Sawdaniah, al-Abadaih Borj and al-Bait al-Abaidh in Jizan province.”
 

Army shoots dead Saudi soldier in Asir
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news457447.htm

27 February 2017

 

“بدأت القوات الموالية للرئيس اليمني، بمساندة من طيران التحالف العربي الأحد 26 فبراير/شباط، عملية عسكرية برية في محافظة الحديدة على ساحل اليمن الغربي، وسط احتدام المعارك مع الحوثيين.

وذكرت مصادر عسكرية أن القوات الموالية للرئيس اليمني، عبد ربه منصور هادي، استعادت قرية الزهاري على الطريق المؤدي إلى منطقة الخوخة، أولى مديريات محافظة الحديدة.

كما تستمر المواجهات في محيط معسكر خالد الواقع عند مفترق الطريق الرابط بين تعز والحديدة، حيث تقترب قوات الشرعية من استعادة السيطرة عليه.

وشنت مقاتلات التحالف العربي، خلال الساعات الماضية، غارات على مواقع الحوثيين في معسكر خالد ومديرية الخوخة، ومواقع شمال وشرق المخا.

ونقلت وكالة الأنباء اليمنية "سبأ"، عن مصدر عسكري، قوله: "إن معارك عنيفة تدور في مشارف منطقة الزهاري شمال المخا باتجاه الخوخة بالتزامن مع مواجهات مستمرة شرقا بعد جبل النار الاستراتيجي الذي يسيطر عليه أبطال الجيش الوطني بشكل كامل".

وأضاف المصدر: "المليشيا الانقلابية تتكبد خسائر فادحة تضطر معها إلى التراجع والفرار، ومعنوياتها منهارة نتيجة الهزائم المتوالية".

اليمن.. انطلاق عملية عسكرية لاستعادة الحديدة
https://arabic.rt.com/middle_east/865317-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%8A%D9%85%D9%86-%D8%A7%D9%86%D8%B7%D9%84%D8%A7%D9%82-%D8%B9%D9%85%D9%84%D9%8A%D8%A9-%D8%B9%D8%B3%D9%83%D8%B1%D9%8A%D8%A9-%D9%84%D8%A7%D8%B3%D8%AA%D8%B9%D8%A7%D8%AF%D8%A9-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AD%D8%AF%D9%8A%D8%AF%D8%A9/ 

27 February 2017

 

“كان صحافيون سودانيون يشيرون إلى أنه "من غير المستبعد، وفي اللحظة التي كان فيها (بن زايد وبن راشد) يحتفيان بالبشير، كانت بعض الطائرات الخليجية تنقل مئات الجنود السودانيين من مطار نيالا غرب البلاد إلى بعض المطارات السعودية القريبة من الحدود اليمنية، إيذاناً بحدوث تحوّل نوعي في الحرب التي تشنها قوات التحالف العربي بقيادة السعودية والإمارات في اليمن"، ليُضاف هؤلاء إلى جنود سودانيين موجودين ضمن قوات "التحالف".

 

ميليشيات البشير... إلى اليمن
http://www.al-akhbar.com/node/273096

01 March 2017

“New evidence has emerged of how the Huthi armed group is actively recruiting boys as young as 15 to fight as child soldiers on the front lines of the conflict in Yemen, said Amnesty International today after speaking to the families of three boys targeted this month by the appalling practice which violates international law. The families also confirmed the recruitment of a fourth local boy.” 
 

Yemen: Huthi forces recruiting child soldiers for front-line combat
https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2017/02/yemen-huthi-forces-recruiting-child-soldiers-for-front-line-combat/

 
01 March 2017

“Weeks after a U.S. Navy SEAL was killed in a covert mission in Yemen, Trump has resisted accepting responsibility for authorizing the mission and the subsequent death of Senior Chief Petty Officer William ‘Ryan’ Owens.”
 

Trump passes blame for Yemen raid to his generals: ‘They lost Ryan’
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2017/02/28/trump-passes-blame-for-yemen-raid-to-his-generals-they-lost-ryan/?utm_term=.e8bdf735c8a3

01 March 2017

“Aid workers say fighting in Yemen has made it virtually impossible to ship humanitarian supplies to a key harbour when the country is at risk of famine…The port has also been targeted by warplanes from a Saudi-led coalition which is backing Yemen's government in its war with the rebel Houthi movement.”
 

Yemen conflict: Red Cross appeals for access to key port
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-39114349

01 March 2017

“Russia could be the latest diplomatic player looking to end the two-year war in Yemen, as the UN's envoy to the war-torn country Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed paid a visit to Moscow on Monday.

Ahmad held talks with Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov concerning the ongoing conflict in Yemen, according Moscow's foreign ministry.”
 

Russian intrigue: UN Yemen envoy visits Moscow for talks
https://www.alaraby.co.uk/english/news/2017/2/28/russian-intrigue-un-yemen-envoy-visits-moscow-for-talks

01 March 2017

“More than 100 Somali refugees have returned to their homeland after fleeing ongoing conflict in Yemen…

Some of the returning Somalis wept openly as they recounted the harrowing experiences they endured in Yemen.”
 

Somali refugees fleeing conflict in Yemen arrive in Mogadishu
http://www.africanews.com/2017/02/28/somali-refugees-fleeing-conflict-in-yemen-arrive-in-mogadishu/

01 March 2017  

“Yemeni President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi arrived in Riyadh Monday evening to enhance coordination of efforts to defeat Yemeni rebels and carry out reconstruction in liberated areas…

Hadi last week said Saudi Arabia has allocated $10 billion in aid ‘for the reconstruction of liberated provinces, including $2 billion as a deposit in the central bank to shore up the (Yemeni) riyal.’ Hadi has called on his government to focus on power, water, roads, health and education in liberated areas.”
 

Yemen president in Riyadh for talks on reconstruction, military effort
http://www.arabnews.com/node/1061441/saudi-arabia

01 March 2017

“وقف مجلس النواب في جلسته المنعقدة اليوم الأربعاء برئاسة رئيس المجلس يحيى الراعي أمام ما تداولته وكالات الأنباء العالمية من اتفاق بين الولايات المتحدة الأمريكية ودولة الأمارات العربية المتحدة وجمهورية مصر العربية لإنشاء قاعدة عسكرية أمريكية في جزيرة ميون اليمنية الواقعة بباب المندب محافظة تعز.

وأصدر مجلس النواب بياناً حول ذلك عبر فيه عن رفضه واستنكاره لمثل هذا الاتفاق أو غيره من الاتفاقات التي تنتقص من سيادة اليمن في أي مكان من أرض الجمهورية اليمنية والجزر التابعة لها .

ورأى مجلس النواب في بيانه أنه لا يحق لأي بلد أن يجري اتفاقات تخص بلداً أخر لأن في ذلك تدخلاً سافراً في الشؤون الداخلية
ومخالف للقوانين والاتفاقيات والأعراف الدولية” .

بيان هام للبرلمان اليمني يستنكر “اتفاق أمريكي – إماراتي” بإنشاء قاعدة عسكرية في جزيرة ميون اليمنية
http://www.sahafah24.net/show836931.html
 

01 March 2017

“نظمت السلطة المحلية بمديرية شرس بمحافظة حجة اليوم وقفة إحتجاجية للتنديد بإستمرار العدوان السعودي الأمريكي الهمجي وما يرتكبه من جرائم بحق الشعب اليمني وآخرها إستهداف مجلس عزاء للنساء بمديرية أرحب بصنعاء .

وأعلن مشائخ وأعيان ووجهاء وأبناء المديرية النفير العام في مواجهة العدوان وإستعدادهم رفد جبهات العزة والكرامة والشرف بالرجال والعتاد للدفاع عن الوطن .

واستنكروا المشاركون في الوقفة الجرائم التي يرتكبها تحالف العدوان بحق أبناء الشعب اليمني والتي تتنافى مع كل الأعراف والقوانين الدولية والإنسانية .. مؤكدين أن هذه الجرائم والمجازر جرائم حرب ضد الإنسانية لن تسقط بالتقادم.

وأكدوا الحرص على إستمرار تسيير قوافل الدعم للجيش واللجان الشعبية .. مشيدين بالملاحم البطولية التي يسطرها المرابطين في كل مواقع العزة والشرف .

تخلل الوقفة عرض لوحدات رمزية من الجيش والأمن واللجان الشعبية للتأكيد على جهوزيتهم للدفاع عن الوطن والإلتحاق بجبهات العزة والشرف.”

أبناء مديرية شرس بحجة ينددون بجرائم العدوان ويعلنون النفير العام في مواجهته
http://www.sahafah24.net/show836930.html

01 March 2017

“شنت مقاتلات التحالف العربي الذي تقوده السعودية اليوم الأربعاء، سلسلة غارات على تجمعات لمسلحي جماعة الحوثيين والقوات الموالية لصالح، في مدينتي حرض وميدي بمحافظة حجة (شمال غرب اليمن).

وقال المركز الإعلامي للمنطقة العسكرية الخامسة على صفحته بموقع التواصل الاجتماعي «فيسبوك»، إن نحو 25 مسلحاً من الحوثيين سقطوا قتلى وجرحى على الأقل، إثر الغارات التي استهدفت مواقعا جنوب مزارع النسيم ومنطقة المغافلة”

مقاتلات التحالف تشن سلسلة غارات على مواقع الحوثيين في مدينتي حرض وميدي
http://almasdaronline.com/article/89214

01 March 2017

“قال شهود عيان بأن معاركاً تجددت بين المسلحين الحوثيين وقوات صالح من جهة، والقوات السعودية من جهة أخرى، على المناطق الحدودية بين اليمن والسعودية اليوم الأربعاء.

وذكر الشهود لـ«المصدر أونلاين»، إن قصفاً مدفعياً متبادلاً يدور بين الجيش السعودي والحوثيين، في منطقة المثلث بمديرية شدا بمحافظة صعدة (أقصى شمال اليمن)، والمواقع المقابلة لها من الجانب السعودي.

وأضافوا بأن مقاتلات التحالف العربي الذي تقوده السعودية شنت غارات استهدفت مواقع وتعزيزات للحوثيين.

وبحسب الشهود فإن الحوثيين والقوات الموالية للرئيس السابق علي عبدالله صالح، يقصفون بمدافع مختلفة، وقال أحد الشهود «دوي القصف بالمدافع التي يطلقها الحوثيون باتجاه الأراضي السعودية قوية، ولم نسمع مثلها من قبل».

شهود: قصف متبادل ومعارك بين الحوثيين والقوات السعودية في المناطق الحدودية
http://almasdaronline.com/article/89211

01 March 2017

“نقلت وكالة الأنباء السعودية «واس» عن مصادر لها، إن نحو 700 مدنياً سعودياً ومن المقيمين سقطوا قتلى وجرحى، جراء سقوط 40 ألف قذيفة وصاروخ أطلقها الحوثيون وقوات صالح على منطقتي نجران وجيزان، منذ بدء الحرب.

وقالت «واس» إن من بين الضحايا 80 قتيلاً، منهم 20 طفلاً وتسع نساء.

وكان وزير الخارجية السعودي عادل الجبير، قد قال إن «المملكة تحتفظ بحقها في الدفاع عن نفسها ضد أي اعتداءات، في إشارة إلى قصف الحدود السعودية من قبل مليشيا الحوثيين وصالح”».

700 قتيل وجريح سعودي جراء قصف الحوثيين منطقتي نجران وجيزان بـ40 ألف قذيفة
http://almasdaronline.com/article/89210

06 March 2017

“Yemen was already the poorest country in the Middle East before the intensification in early 2015 of a proxy war between rival powers plunged the Yemeni people into even more horrific circumstances. Now, the United Nations is warning that urgent action is needed to avert famine. As part of its war strategy, Saudi Arabia, with military and political backing from the U.S., has imposed a siege on Yemen, which depends on imports for 90 percent of its food supply. As a result, more than 7.3 million people today need food assistance, and 460,000 children are suffering from severe acute malnutrition.”
 

We stand with the Yemeni people
https://socialistworker.org/2017/03/06/we-stand-with-the-yemeni-people?quicktabs_sw-recent-articles=3-1

06 March 2017

“Suspected U.S. drones fired missiles at al Qaeda targets in two separate attacks in Yemen on Monday, residents said, extending several days of U.S. strikes against the militants.”
 

Suspected U.S. drones hit al Qaeda targets in Yemen: residents
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-yemen-security-idUSKBN16D0SW

06 March 2017

“Eight tonnes of medicine have been delivered to hospitals in government-held Taiz, Yemen's third largest city under Houthi rebel siege, according to the UN health agency.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) said it was the first time since the conflict began that the UN negotiated access by direct route to Taiz city.”
 

UN delivers medicine to Yemen's besieged Taiz city
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/03/delivers-medicine-yemen-besieged-taiz-city-170304153737729.html

06 March 2017

“In the besieged city of Taiz, zookeeper and sub-manager Showky al-Haj is desperately trying to save 281 animals, which are on the brink of starvation…

For nearly two years the Taiz Zoo has deteriorated under the pressure of Yemen's civil war. An international coalition, led by Saudi Arabia, has imposed a sea blockade on the country targeting Houthi forces. It has resulted in a widespread humanitarian and environmental catastrophe.”
 

Ark of endangered species on the brink in Yemen
https://www.alaraby.co.uk/english/indepth/2017/3/4/ark-of-endangered-species-on-the-brink-in-yemen

06 March 2017

“The bald statistics state that 14 million people are hungry while nearly 19 million (70% of the population) are in need of humanitarian assistance. It broke my heart to see so many undernourished children. Their skin worn thin and barely covering their bones, they could only make their distress known with thin, reedy cries. They were so weak they could barely stand…

The resilience of communities is at breaking point and the infrastructure of survival is breaking down. When people invited us into their kitchens, all they had were empty bags of grain.”
 

Horror and uncertainty are part of life in Yemen. We must act to prevent famine
https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2017/mar/03/yemen-horror-uncertainty-act-prevent-famine-saleh-saeed-disasters-emeregency-committee

06 March 2017

“But as the devastated country grapples with a massive humanitarian crisis, many Yemenis have become suspicious of one another. The country's economic, urban and societal fabrics have been ravaged.”
 

Yemen's war: 'No one knows when he is going to die'
http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/inpictures/2017/02/yemen-war-die-170228103727624.html

06 March 2017

“The Supreme Revolutionary Committee on Monday strongly rejected US direct military intervention in Yemen's soil, internal affairs and violation of national sovereignty.”
 

Revolutionary Committee rejects US military intervention in Yemen
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news458133.htm

06 March 2017

“In Yemen, I was welcomed to share meals and take tea with total strangers. But America is different: We do not welcome strangers as honored guests. We barely welcome them at all.”
 

What Yemen Can Teach America About Hospitality
https://munchies.vice.com/en_us/article/what-yemen-can-teach-america-about-hospitality

06 March 2017

“With nearly 274,000 people displaced, Yemen’s Taiz is now among the crisis-torn country’s top five hosting governorates for such populations, a United Nations report has found.

For nearly 20 months, Taiz has been the centre of intense ground clashes, military confrontations and aerial strikes between warring parties in Yemen.”
 

Yemen: UN migration agency reports displacement spike in Taiz Governorate
http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=56282#.WL1PcvnyiUk

06 March 2017

“ترى الأوساط الإماراتية في المرحلة اليمنية الراهنة أن عودة تنظيم «القاعدة» إلى محافظة أبين وظهوره العلني في بعض مناطق حضرموت رسالة دموية من الرياض رداً على تمادي أبوظبي وتفردها في قرار جنوب اليمن. وفي حال الاستمرار بلعب ورقة «القاعدة» سعودياً مع حلفاء الرياض في اليمن، فإن الإمارات ستكون جدياً أمام خيار الانسحاب من الحرب، وهذا ما يلمح إليه قادتها بصورة لافتة عقب الأحداث الأخيرة.

لا تصح مقاربة الأحداث الأخيرة جنوب اليمن بمعزل عن الخريطة الجديدة التي ترسم للمنطقة عبر الحرب القائمة حالياً على الشعب اليمني وتشنها دول التحالف العربي، بالإضافة إلى السيطرة على المنافذ البحرية وإقامة القواعد العسكرية، أو تحت ساتر الاستفادة الاقتصادية من الموانئ البحرية والجوية في القرن الأفريقي، حيث تؤجر دوله الفقيرة مساحات واسعة من أراضيها تحت ذريعة زيادة الموارد المالية لتلك الدول، أو بسبب تبعية قادتها للدول الغربية والخليجية. كذلك يبدو الحضور الأميركي في تلك التموضعات كقطب الرحى في إدارة الصراع لجهة إدارته بين حلفائه أو إدارة الحرب نفسها

اندفاعة إماراتية في وجه السعودية التهديد بالانسحاب من الحرب
http://www.al-akhbar.com/node/273380

06 March 2017

“مضى شهر شباط الماضي بالحصيلة الأكبر من أرقام خسائر الجيش السعودي على صعيد عمليات القنص المُنفّذة على أيدي وحدة القناصة اليمنيين، وبأسلحة من بينها تلك القنّاصات المُغتنمة من مواقع ومخازن الجيش (أميركية وبريطانية وكندية الصنع).

هذه هي المُفارقة المرّة بالنسبة إلى الجانب السعودي الذي لا يُطيق سماع أخبار هزائم جيشه المتتالية على الحدود الجنوبية، فضلاً عن الاعتراف بها. ولولا مشاهد «الإعلام الحربي» اليمني التي تفضح أداء الجيش السعودي لحظة فراره أمام المقاتلين اليمنيين، لنجحت السعودية عبر ماكينتها الإعلامية الضخمة في تضليل الرأي العام وتقديم معارك اليمنيين داخل المملكة على أنها محض خيال لا واقع له.”

إحصاءات شباط... شهر آخر مرير على الجيش السعودي
http://www.al-akhbar.com/node/273453

06 March 2017 

“لمرة الثانية، تقدم الولايات المتحدة على إنزال لقواتها في اليمن تحت دعوى محاربة تنظيم «القاعدة». ووفق شهود عيان ومصادر إعلامية ومحلية، نفذت صباح أمس قوات أميركية عملية إنزال جوي، في بلدة موجان على ساحل بحر العرب شرقي محافظة أبين، جنوبي اليمن. وقال الشهود إن طائرة مروحية نفذت عملية الإنزال في بلدة موجان، شرق عاصمة أبين زنجبار، واشتبكت مع بعض المسلحين في المنطقة، وذلك في وقت قصفت فيه طائرة حربية مواقع في البلدة.

ولم تسارع واشنطن إلى إصدار بيان يؤكد العملية، مثلما حدث في نهاية في كانون الثاني الماضي، خلال عملية سابقة في محافظة البيضاء.

في غضون ذلك، نقل موقع «العربي» عن مصادر أمنية مقتل 13 عنصراً من «القاعدة» عرف منهم قيادي يُدعى الشيخ مهاجر الإبي، وذلك في هجوم وصفته المصادر بأنه «واسع» عبر 25 غارة، استهدفت الأولى منها مواقع التنظيم في أبين وشبوة والبيضاء. وعدّدت المصادر أن أربعة قتلوا في شبوة، إثر استهداف سيارة كانوا يستقلونها باتجاه الطريق الرابط بين بلدتي أحور وشقرة، التابعتين لأبين، فيما قتل التسعة الآخرون بصواريخ أطلقتها طائرة من دون طيار على مواقع الجسيمة وزعج ونوفان، على طريق منطقة يكلا، في البيضاء.”

إنزال ثانٍ فاشل للأميركيين؟
http://www.al-akhbar.com/node/273452

06 March 2017

“تسعى كل من الولايات المتحدة ومصر والإمارات إلى إنشاء قاعدة عسكرية في جزيرة ميون الواقعة في باب المندب، وذلك في وقت تواصل فيه البارجة الأميركية «يو اس اس كول» الإبحار بالقرب من الساحل نفسه، في تحرك رأى فيه مجلس النواب اليمني «انتهاكاً سافراً للسيادة اليمنية وتدخلاً في الشؤون الداخلية».

الرفض البارز لهذه الخطوة دولياً أتى من الصين، التي أكد المتحدث باسمها جنغ شوانغ، أن إنشاء هذه القاعدة «يعرض أمن المياه الدولية للخطر ويتعارض مع مصالح الحكومة الصينية ودول الاتحاد الأوروبي»، وقال إنه «يتعارض مع القوانين الدولية بسبب عدم وجود حكومة مستقرة في اليمن».

في خطّ موازٍ، رحّب رئيس «اللجنة الثورية العليا»، محمد علي الحوثي، بالموقف الصيني «الرافض لانتهاك السيادة اليمنية»، مشيراً إلى أن قرار «تحالف العدوان ببناء قاعدة في ميون يعكس حقيقة عدوانهم المبني على السيطرة والترهيب».”

سعي دولي إلى إنشاء قاعدة عسكرية قرب باب المندب
http://www.al-akhbar.com/node/273533

06 March 2017

“أظهرت وثائق صادرتها الولايات المتحدة الأميركية بعد هجومها على منزل زعيم تنظيم «القاعدة»، أسامة بن لادن، في أبوت أباد في باكستان عام ٢٠١١، اهتمامه الخاص بالانتفاضة القائمة في اليمن على حكم علي عبد الله صالح. وتبيّن الوثائق أنَّ الانتفاضة على صالح خلطت الأوراق بالنسبة إلى التنظيم في اليمن، الذي طلب رأي زعيمه ومشورته.

وفي رسالة موجهة من ابن لادن، إلى زعيم التنظيم في اليمن أنور العولقي، الذي قتل قبل سنوات، قال الأول إنَّ «الحرب في الیمن وفي جزیرة العرب مع النظام المحلي المرتد فیهما لیس مناسباً الآن، والواجب هو أنَّ نوجه كل طاقتنا وقدراتنا وإمكاناتنا إلى ضرب الرأس، وهو أميركا، والتركیز على العمل الخارجي».

كذلك، ركز ابن لادن على ضرورة «الاشتغال بضرب الرأس وتفادي أي معارك جانبیة یجرنا إلیها الأميركان عبر وكلائهم»، مضيفاً: «على كل سهم وكل لغم یمكن أن يستهدف الأميركیون به وهناك غیرهم ینبغي صرفه نحو الأميركیین دون غیرهم». وذكر في رسالته أنَّ «حرب العراق هي حرب الأمس، وحرب أفغانستان هي حرب الیوم... وإنَّ حرب الغد هي حرب الیمن»، لأنها «أكبر مخزون نفطي في العالم كما تعلمون، إضافة إلى أنَّ أهلنا وعشائرنا هناك».”

ابن لادن: الفوضى في اليمن لا تخدم مصالحنا
http://www.al-akhbar.com/node/273534

06 March 2017

“أتي الضربات الجوية والإنزالات الأميركية المتتالية في سياق متصاعد تحت ذريعة محاربة الإرهاب، وصولاً إلى تحقيق الحضور المباشر والدائم في اليمن. يُلاحظ من المؤشر البياني ارتفاع في نسبة التدخل الأميركي منذ تسلّم دونالد ترامب إدارة البيت الأبيض، واتخاذه منحىً أكثر عدائية تجاه اليمن. يبرر مسؤولو مكافحة الإرهاب الأميركيين هذا التدخل بأنَّ فرع تنظيم «القاعدة» في اليمن هو أحد الأفرع الأكثر دموية في العالم، ويشكل أكبر تهديد فوري للولايات المتحدة، مضيفين أنه قام بثلاث محاولات غير ناجحة لتنفيذ هجمات بطائرات فوق الولايات المتحدة.

رغم ذلك، صدر عدد من التحذيرات لخبراء أميركيين وغربيين موجهة إلى الإدارة الجديدة من الانجرار إلى «مستنقع اليمن»، خاصة أنه لا يبدو أن الضربات العسكرية التي نفذت على محافظات البيضاء وشبوة وأبين حققت كامل الأهداف المرسومة لها، على خلاف الضجة الإعلامية الضخمة التي روجت أنها حققت الأهداف، مع العلم بأنَّ الطائرات الأميركية من دون طيار تستهدف منذ سنة تقريباً قادة وعناصر «القاعدة» في المحافظات الجنوبية، بالإضافة إلى البيضاء ومأرب الشماليتين.”

ضربات واشنطن على «القاعدة»... وعينها على اليمن
http://www.al-akhbar.com/node/273541

06 March 2017

“قتل عدد من الجنود السعوديين، اليوم الاثنين، جراء استهداف آلية عسكرية سعودية في منطقة نجران.

وقال مصدر عسكري لـ"المسيرة نت" أن ثلاثة جنود سعوديين لقوا مصارعهم عندما تمكن أبطال الجيش من تدمير آلية كانوا على متنها قرب موقع العش العسكري.

وشهدت نجران أمس الأحد عملية قنص أدت لمقتل جندي سعودي في موقع الطلعة العسكري، فيما دكت مدفعية الجيش واللجان الشعبية تجمعات للجنود السعوديين خلف موقع الشبكة.”

مقتل 3 جنود سعوديين بتدمير آلية عسكري في نجران
http://almasirah.net/~newmassirah/details.php?es_id=4715&cat_id=3

06 March 2017 

“قال تقرير لفرقة العمل التابعة للمنظمة الدولية للهجرة، اليوم الاثنين، إن نحو 273,780 شخصاً نزحوا من منازلهم في محافظة تعز (جنوب غرب اليمن)، مما يضعها بين أكبر خمس محافظات في استضافة النازحين.

وبحسب مركز إعلام الأمم المتحدة الذي أورد ملخصاً للتقرير، فإن المنظمة تتبعت مصفوفة النزوح، في أعقاب نزوح جماعي من مدينة المخا، وهي ميناء رئيسي على ساحل البحر الأحمر في فبراير الماضي.

وذكر إنه «حتى الآن، تم الإبلاغ عما مجموعه 34,920 شخص في مخيمات النازحين من مدينة المخا».”
 

المنظمة الدولية للهجرة: نحو 273 ألف شخصاً نزحوا من منازلهم في محافظة تعز
http://almasdaronline.com/article/89356

07 March 2017

“Saudi Arabia and its coalition allies are delaying Save the Children’s shipments of aid for Yemen by months, despite a looming famine that threatens to grip much of the country and a healthcare system on the brink of collapse.

In just two months, the Saudi-led coalition has prevented three shipments of medical aid from arriving at the port of Hodeida.

The cargo, intended to reach 300,000 people, included essential supplies such as antibiotics, surgical equipment, medicine and equipment to support malnourished children.

With famine looming and a healthcare system approaching collapse, these shipments mean survival for hundreds of thousands of families in Yemen.”
 

Saudi Arabia and allies delaying urgently needed medical aid to Yemen
http://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/saudi-arabia-and-allies-delaying-urgently-needed-medical-aid-yemen?utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=shared&utm_source=twitter.com

 

08 March 2017

“At the end of a five-day mission to Yemen, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Stephen O’Brien, said there is still time to avert famine and alleviate the suffering of millions of Yemenis.

Mr. O’Brien undertook the mission to assess the humanitarian situation in Yemen a week after UN Secretary-General António Guterres warned that Nigeria, Somalia and Yemen are at risk of falling into famine if action is not taken now, while two counties of South Sudan are in famine. In Yemen, US$2.1 billion is required to meet the urgent humanitarian and protection needs of 12 million people in 2017. With only US$63 million – or 3 per cent of the requirement – received, Mr. O’Brien encourages donors to contribute now so that life-saving humanitarian programmes can be implemented immediately.

'We need more than funds. We also need all parties to the conflict to immediately facilitate timely, full and unimpeded humanitarian access,' Mr. O’Brien said."
 

Yemen: Action now can avert famine - UN Humanitarian Chief
http://www.unocha.org/top-stories/all-stories/yemen-action-now-can-avert-famine-un-humanitarian-chief#.WL57SEFo45o.twitter

08 March 2017

“Cruise missiles, floating mines and a remote-controlled boat have been deployed to attack ships in Yemen in recent months, changing the dynamic of the two-year-old war and pushing the country closer to famine, shipping and aid officials say.

The weapons have targeted military vessels from a Saudi-led coalition which is fighting Iranian-allied Houthi rebels in the impoverished state on the tip of the Arabian peninsula, part of the same regional power struggle that is fueling Syria’s war…

Increasingly innovative maritime raids near the narrow Bab al-Mandab maritime passage, which connects the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden and the Arabian Sea, add to already severe difficulties getting aid and commercial supplies to a country that imports 90 percent of its food and fuel by sea.

Saudi-led air strikes close to vital ports in the Houthi-controlled north are also curbing imports, shipping sources say. Both sides deny hampering aid.”
 

Escalation in ship attacks pushes Yemen towards famine
http://shipsandports.com.ng/escalation-ship-attacks-pushes-yemen-towards-famine/

08 March 2017

“Two Yemeni boys were killed in a drone strike while walking on a road in central Yemen used by al Qaeda militants who have been subject to repeated strikes by U.S. forces in recent days, residents said on Tuesday.

They named the boys as Ahmed and Mohammed al-Khobze, two brothers both under 15.”
 

Two children killed in Yemen drone strike: residents
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-yemen-security-attacks-idUSKBN16E1QK?il=0

08 March 2017

“وقال مصدر نقلاً عن طلاب في مدرسة أنس بن مالك لـ«المصدر أونلاين»، إن نائب مديرقسم شرطة 7 يوليو، اقتحم المدرسة برفقة عدد من المسلحين، ثم اتجه إلى الفصل الذي يُدرّس فيه الأستاذ عبدالملك الفقيه.

وأضافوا بأن الضابط أعتدى على الأستاذ وأهانه بصورة بالغة، واقتاده بشكل غير إنساني إلى ادارة القسم”

ضابط يقتحم مدرسة في مديرية الظهار بإب وبهين مُعلماً ثم يخطفه إلى جهة غير معلومة
http://almasdaronline.com/article/89393/amp
 

11 March 2017 

“Sana’a, - Six months after withdrawing its staff from northern Yemen following the bombing of its hospital in Abs, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) has restarted work in Haydan district hospital, in Sa’ada governorate.

Following the 15 August airstrike on Abs hospital which killed 19 people and injured 24 and in the wake of a row of attacks on several medical facilities in Northern Yemen, MSF decided to evacuate most of its staff from both Hajjah and Sa’ada governorates. On 19 February, an MSF team returned to work in Haydan hospital. Up to 200,000 people in this mountainous region rely on Haydan hospital for medical care.”
 

Yemen: MSF resumes medical work in Haydan hospital
http://www.msf.org/en/article/yemen-msf-resumes-medical-work-haydan-hospital
 

11 March 2017 

“At least 22 civilians were killed on Friday and dozens wounded when a Saudi-led coalition air strike hit a market in western Yemen causing a fire to break out, a local official said.

Missiles launched by fighter jets of the Arab alliance hit a market selling the mild narcotic leaf qat, which is popular among Yemenis, near the Red Sea fishing town of Khoukha.

Rescue workers on Friday night were battling a blaze in the market caused by the attack and pulling bodies out of the rubble some of which were burned beyond recognition, according to Hashim Azazi, deputy governor of Hodeidah province.

‘All of those killed were civilians, none were holding weapons,’ said Azazi.”
 

Saudi-led coalition air strike kills 22 in Yemen: official
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-yemen-security-hodeidah-idUSKBN16I072 

11 March 2017

“The world faces the largest humanitarian crisis since the end of the second world war with more than 20 million people in four countries facing starvation and famine, a senior United Nations official has warned.

Without collective and coordinated global efforts, ‘people will simply starve to death’ and ‘many more will suffer and die from disease’, Stephen O’Brien, the UN under secretary-general for humanitarian affairs, told the security council in New York on Friday.

He urged an immediate injection of funds for Yemen, South Sudan, Somalia and northeast Nigeria plus safe and unimpeded access for humanitarian aid ‘to avert a catastrophe.’”
 

World faces worst humanitarian crisis since 1945, says UN official
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/mar/11/world-faces-worst-humanitarian-crisis-since-1945-says-un-official

11 March 2017

“أرتفع عدد شهداء مجزرة طيران العدوان السعودي الأمريكي المروعة بسوق بمديرية الخوخة بمحافظة الحديدة اليوم إلى 22 شهيدا وثمانية جرحى في حصيلة أولية.

وأوضح مصدر محلي بالمحافظة لوكالة الأنباء اليمنية (سبأ) أن طيران العدوان شن غارة على سوق الدوار بمديرية الخوخة ما أدى إلى استشهاد 22 مواطنا وجرح ثمانية أخرين.. مشيرا إلى أن عدد الشهداء مرشح للزيادة جراء الإصابات البالغة.

وأشار المصدر إلى أن طيران العدوان حلق بكثافة بعد قصف السوق لمنع المسعفين من إنقاذ الجرحى مما زاد من عدد الشهداء.

وأدان المصدر بشدة إمعان تحالف العدوان في استهداف المواطنين والمنازل والأسواق في ظل صمت دولي مخجل ومعيب.. مؤكدا أن هذه المجزرة المروعة وصمة عار في جبين الإنسانية.”

حصيلة أولية: 22 شهيدا وثمانية جرحى بمجزرة العدوان المروعة بسوق بالخوخة(مرفق صور)
http://www.saba.ye/ar/news458564.htm

11 March 2017 

“ونقلت وكالة أسوشيتد برس الأمريكية عن رئيس إدارة الأمم المتحدة للشؤون الإنسانية، ستيفن اوبراين، قوله إن العالم يشهد حاليا الأزمة الإنسانية الأشد وقعا والأكثر جديّة منذ العام 1945، حيث يعاني أكثر من 20 مليون شخص من الجوع في أربعة بلدان تشهد حروبا.

وأوضح المسؤول الأممي أن هؤلاء الناس قد يتعرضون للموت ببساطة دون "جهد عالمي منسق" من جانب المنظمات الدولية.

ووفقا له، فمن الضروري، للحيلولة دون وقوع كارثة إنسانية، تقديم مساعدات مالية في أسرع وقت ممكن لليمن وجنوب السودان والصومال ونيجيريا، ويجب جمع ما لا يقل عن 4.4 مليار دولار قبل حلول يوليو/تموز المقبل.

واضاف اوبراين: " من دون هذا التمويل الضروري، فإن نمو الأطفال وتطورهم في هذه الدول سيتأثر سلبا بشكل كبير، حيث لن يكونوا قادرين على الذهاب إلى المدرسة ومستقبلهم يمكن أن يضيع".”

الأمم المتحدة تكشف عن أسوأ أزمة إنسانية منذ العام 1945
https://arabic.rt.com/world/867460-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A3%D9%85%D9%85-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%85%D8%AA%D8%AD%D8%AF%D8%A9-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B9%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%85-%D9%8A%D8%B4%D9%87%D8%AF-%D8%A3%D8%B3%D9%88%D8%A3-%D8%A3%D8%B2%D9%85%D8%A9-%D8%A5%D9%86%D8%B3%D8%A7%D9%86%D9%8A%D8%A9-%D9%85%D9%86%D8%B0-%D8%B9%D8%A7%D9%85-1945/

[This is a roundup of news articles and other materials circulating on Egypt and reflects a wide variety of opinions. It does not reflect the views of the Egypt Page Editors or of Jadaliyya. You may send your own recommendations for inclusion in each week's roundup to egypt@jadaliyya.com by Sunday night of every week.] 

Political Rights

A-Z of progress and setbacks for Egyptian women between two international women’s days On International Women’s Day, here is Mada Masr’s A-Z of the experiences and challenges Egyptian women have faced this year.

International Women's Day: Egyptian cartoonist sheds light on 10 discriminatory laws against women Another International Women's Day has rolled around, and another opportunity to honor women who have constantly called for equal rights to help pave the way to equality. In an effort to challenge people’s preconceived notions, an Egyptian caricature artist employed the most powerful tool for conveying a message: art. 

On sexual violence – Feminist testimonies from Egypt Dalia Abdel Hamid writes this testimony in an attempt to answer the questions: Why do we continue doing what we do despite the heaviness of defeat? Why don’t we give up? From where do we draw the inspiration to continue?

Bodily rights – Feminist testimonies from Egypt Ghadeer Ahmed has been working on bodily rights since the revolution. Before 2011, she was a really ordinary woman.

Interview with Egypt's first female governor: I love the challenge, there is no room for failure Engineer Nadia Abdo, the governor of Beheira, said her selection for the post of governor is, in some ways, an experiment for appointing more women in leadership positions, which means there is no room for failure. Everyone's eyes are on her and the media is following this experiment. 

Working women and policy assessment – Feminist testimonies from Egypt Mona Ezzat focuses on issues related to working women in order to show the extent to which a society believes in the principles of social justice, citizenship and the affordance of equal opportunities.

21 striking IFFCO workers acquitted by Suez appeals court Twenty-one workers from the privately owned IFFCO Oils Company were acquitted of “instigating strike action” and “obstructing production” by the Suez Criminal Appeals Court on Thursday.

Court orders detention of steel tycoon Ahmed Ezz for squandering public funds Cairo Criminal Court ordered the detention of steel tycoon Ahmed Ezz and former head of Egypt’s industrial development authority Amr Assal for illegally obtaining steel licenses resulting in the squandering of 660 million LE of public funds.

Prosecutors conduct investigations into torture, death of man in police custody The latest fatality in police custody was reported earlier this week when a young man was reportedly tortured to death after being detained for over two weeks at the Haram Police Station in the Giza governorate.

Police prevent Sunday Mass in Minya Church citing ‘security concerns Police personnel prevented a group of Coptic citizens from celebrating Sunday Mass in Marmina Church, which usually holds the daily prayers in Nazlet al-Nakhl village in the southern city of Minya, according to Minya Bishop Makaryous.

Displaced Arish Copts receive 48 apartments in Ismailia: church Some forty-eight families have received apartments in Mostaqbal City, Ismailia governorate, said Father Youssef Shoukry, the pastor of Saint Bishoy Coptic Orthodox Church in Ismailia, who is in charge of the welfare of Coptic Christian families that fled systematic attacks by terrorists in al-Arish, North Sinai.

Sisi commends National Security Agency on anniversary of Mubarak-era state security breach President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi conducted a symbolic visit to the National Security Agency on Sunday coinciding with the sixth anniversary of the breach of the former State Security Investigation Services building during protests calling for its dissolution in the wake of the 25 January revolution. 

The cleric and the president: Egypt’s critical power struggle President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and Al-Azhar Grand Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayyeb settled a disagreement over verbal divorce in a recent meeting, but the accord does not signal an end to the ongoing struggle for power between the state and Egypt’s largest Islamic institution.

63% of Egyptians support proposed bill to document verbal divorce: Baseera At least sixty-three percent of Egyptians are against the current practice of undocumented verbal divorce, known as "triple talaq", while only sixteen percent support it and twenty-one percent are undecided, according to a poll conducted by the Egyptian Center for Public Opinion Research.

Parliamentary committees approve bill stipulating harsher penalties for sports team fan associations Parliament’s youth and sports and constitutional and legislative affairs committees approved a bill last Monday that stipulates harsher penalties for sports team fan associations set up in contravention of the law.

Egypt's Supreme Judicial Council rejects bill that gives president judicial appointment power Egypt's Supreme Judicial Council has rejected unanimously a draft bill that would grant the president of the state the right to appoint the heads of the country's judiciary committees.

Free Egyptians Party youth boycott internal elections in protest at internecine strife A group of young members of the liberal Free Egyptians Party have said they are boycotting the party's internal elections, the latest of a series of internal fissures hitting one of the country's most important political parties.

Economy

February inflation rate exceeds 30% threshold for 1st time in decades Egypt’s annual inflation reached 31.7 percent in February, the highest rate in decades, stoked by the annual food inflation rate which hit 41.7 percent last month.

Update: Supply Ministry rescinds cuts in bread subsidies following protests Supply Minister Ali Meselhy announced during a press conference on Tuesday evening that the Supply Ministry would rescind the planned reduction in the quota of subsidized bread allocated to those without subsidy smart cards.

Foreign Relations

A change of tune: Foreign Ministry issues mild response to US report on human rights in Egypt Sharply deviating from its usual insistence on Egypt’s domestic sovereignty and dismissal of accusations by pointing to other parties’ transgressions, the Foreign Ministry issued a toned-down response to the United States State Department’s annual report on Egypt’s human rights record.

Disagreement between Egypt, Palestine over proposed amendment to Arab Peace Initiative Disagreement seems to be brewing within the Arab League this week between the delegates of Egypt and Palestine in light of a proposed amendment to the wording of the 2002 Arab Peace Initiative pertaining to Israel’s occupation of the Palestinian West Bank and other territories.

Russia, Egypt have agreed on aviation security protocol: Russian transport minister Russia and Egypt have agreed upon the final version of a bilateral aviation security protocol which aims at resuming direct flights between the two countries, TASS Russian news agency reported the country's transport minister as saying.

Domestic Security

Province of Sinai claims responsibility for assassination of high-ranking security official The Province of Sinai has claimed responsibility for the bombing of a military convoy in Arish in North Sinai that killed a high-ranking security official and injured three other security personnel on Wednesday.

Update: Islamic State claims responsibility for explosive killing 2 police officers in Sinai The Islamic State claimed responsibility for planting an improvised explosive device alongside a road in Arish that killed two officers and injured four on Thursday evening.

Islamic State affiliate in Sinai gaining ground? Militants belonging to the Islamic State-affiliate Province of Sinai have reportedly intensified their presence in Arish, setting up a number of checkpoints on the North Sinai capital’s most populated streets.

From Jadaliyya Egypt

هل الإنتفاضات والثورات العربية مؤامرة خارجية؟ George Giacaman explores the evidence behind the dubious theory that the past Arab uprisings were the result of Western conspiracies.

Arabic

مواجع البحث العلمى فى مصر Scientific research in Egypt continues to suffer from overbearing regulations imposed by the government.

رفض دعوى إلزام الداخلية بإزالة الحواجز من محيط نقابة الصحفيين  An administrative court rejects a lawsuit demanding removal of security barriers surrounding the Press Syndicate Headquarter.

الإفراج عن 263 سجينا بمناسبة الاحتفال بعيد الشرطة وثورة 25 يناير Presidential decree orders the release of 263 prisoners were released by a presidential decree issued on the occasion of the sixth revolution anniversary, Interior Minister said. 

دانة غاز» مصر: 11% زيادة من النفط المكافئ بنهاية 2016 « Dana Gas company reports eleven percent increase in Egypt’s oil equivalent in late 2016.

المركزي للإحصاء»: ارتفاع معدل التضخم السنوي إلى 31.7% في فبراير الماضي«Annual inflation rate rises to 31.7 percent compared to February 2016, according to the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics.

«فتنة الخبز» تتواصل فى المحافظات .. والأهالى: «فين العيش يا حكومة» The Supply Ministry decision to reduce bread supply from 3000 loaves to only 500 a day has sparks anger among Egyptians.

من الألف إلى الياء.. أسباب وتفاصيل احتجاجات الخبز في بَر مصر Egyptians took to the streets across the country protesting the state’s decision to cut down on quota of subsidized bread for those who do not hold subsidy smart card.

ما بعد المظاهرات والاعتذار: قرارات جديدة من التموين لتجاوز أزمة الخبز  According to the Supply Ministry statement on Wednesday, Egyptian Supply Minister Ali Moselhy decided to raise the quota of loaves in four governorates and provide citizens with new hundred thousand smart subsidy cards, in response to the bread crisis.

المركزى: 21 مليار دولار وفرتها البنوك لعمليات الاستيراد منذ التعويم Egyptian banks earmarked 211 billion USD for import transactions since the floatation of the Egyptian pound, the Deputy Governor of the Central Bank said. 

هن أيضا نساء" .. عن غير المدعوات لحفل اليوم العالمي للمرأة" The Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights launches a cyber campaign to raise awareness on transgender women in Egypt, whom have been unfairly discriminated against by police and society.

مقتل مسؤول أمني بارز وإصابة 3 آخرين بينهم ضابط بسيناء المصرية Egypt’s Interior Ministry says senior security official killed, three injured in an attack in North Sinai.

قلق حقوقي من استمرار التصفية الجسدية للمعارضين بمصر  The British branch of the Arab Organization for Human Rights voices concern over ongoing Egyptian state’s clampdown on dissent and the impunity enjoyed by state officers implicated in killings and forced disappearances.

القاهرة تتشدد مع مبارك وعائلته: عودتهم إلى الشأن العام ممنوعة Egypt’s Illegal Gains Authority reinstated a travel ban on Mubarak and his family due to ongoing investigations of corruption.

أسعار خدمات الرعاية الصحية ترتفع بأكثر من 35% في فبراير Annual healthcare costs rose to 35.8 percent in February compared to January, according the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics.

بقرارات رسمية: أراض خصصها السيسي للجيش منذ توليه الحكم  The report publishes the official decrees to allocate public lands to the armed forces as issued by President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi since he assumed power in 2014. 

Alia Malek, The Home That Was Our Country: A Memoir of Syria. New York City: Nation Books, 2017.

Jadaliyya (J): What made you write this book?

Alia Malek (AM): I’ve always wanted the opportunity to dive into my family’s history, specifically that of my great-grandfather and my grandmother, in order to better understand their lives against the backdrop of Syrian history. At the same time–like so many others–I have become increasingly distressed with what has happened in Syria (and what has been happening throughout the course of my life; I was born shortly after Hafez al Assad came to power). That distress has only been exacerbated by the way Syria is covered today in the press, and what it has become in the popular (and uninformed) western imagination–namely a place of intractable civil war, home to a seemingly agency-less and two-dimensional people, a base for savage extremists. As with all of my writings, I’m trying to provide a much more in-depth, nuanced, accurate portrayal of the people and lives behind the headlines. I use narrative devices to try to break through people’s numbness to coverage of Syria.

J:  What particular topics, issues, and literatures does the book address?

AM: This covers modern Syria, from the last of the Ottoman days to the present. It weaves the lives of my family members with the geopolitical and economic history of Syria, as a way to make these themes accessible and relatable, especially to an uninitiated reader. It begins with my great-grandfather from Hama who was born an Ottoman subject in 1889 and died a citizen of a Syria the same month that Hafez al Assad seized control of it in 1970. It then features my grandmother who moves to Damascus as a new bride in the early days of Syria’s independence and the world she creates in a multi-family apartment building in the capital, with neighbors of all stripes. Their lives make intimate for the reader the social and political realities of the decades leading up to Assad rule, including all the coups and the UAR. My mother’s life then takes over; she came of age in the Ba‘thist revolution of 1963, and the 1967 war with Israel and then emigrates to the US. Lastly, I moved to Damascus in April 2011 to reclaim and restore the same house my grandmother moved to all those years before, and I recount the events I witnessed as a journalist over the next two years. This allows me to also follow Syria’s disintegration to the refugee camps, competing homelands, and then Europe.

J: How does this book connect to and/or depart from your previous work?

AM: It uses the same devices and approach I’ve used in the past – namely: journalism rooted in avid consumption of the academic work on the same topics/themes; narrative storytelling; and the intimate lives of real people so that the reader can experience major or faraway events in the skin of those implicated. It’s a major departure in that I’ve abandoned the third person in many ways and used my own family’s intimate lives for this. It meant of course having to look at relatives with the same skeptical and empathic eye I would apply to strangers.

J: Who do you hope will read this book, and what sort of impact would you like it to have?

AM: I wanted the book to be accessible to people coming to the subject with little or no prior experience or knowledge while at the same time not insulting the intelligence of those who are experts. I want people whose life experience seems to have no overlap with Syria to read this book and feel like it’s not so foreign after all, and to feel like it’s a place that deserves our attention, that we should not allow any more destruction. I also want teachers and professors to assign it so that what they are teaching comes to life in their students’ imaginations. I’d also hope that those in power would read it and see that Syrians deserve a considered approach to ending the conflict, not just tactics that add flame to fire.

J: What other projects are you working on now?

AM: While working on this book in 2015-2016, I also began reporting on the mass migration of Syrians across the Mediterranean Sea to Europe. In the fall of 2015, I went on the so-called “refugee trail” – following the same group of unrelated Syrians who shared a raft as they made their way from Bodrum in Turkey, to Germany, Sweden, and Holland. I’ve gone back to Europe to see them and continue my reporting, going both six months after they arrived, and one year later.

 Excerpt from Chapter Eleven

PSYCHODRAME Damascus, August 2011

ONE SUNDAY DURING RAMADAN, MY YOUNGEST COUSIN, TALA, suggested I accompany her to see the Jesuits. She was sure I’d be interested in their psychodrame.

“What’s that?” I asked, unfamiliar with the French term and generally uninterested in anything church-related.

“A place to talk about fear,” she said.

I did a quick search online and found out that psychodrama (as it’s called in English) is a method of psychotherapy, often done in a group, that uses role-play and spontaneous dramatization to probe participants’ lives—their worries, anxieties, and any other issues.

Tala was right; I was super-intrigued. In Syria, very few people readily admit to needing mental health care, let alone seeking it, largely because, as in other societies, it carries a stigma. In the context of what was happening in Syria, where the collective anxiety, anger, and sadness was inextricably related to what was happening in the country, a public discussion seemed pretty bold, even subversive. Of course, the mukhabarat would know this was happening.

 […]

At the meeting, there were refreshments and conversation. Eventually, we were invited to take our seats, and I counted nearly 50. I found out later that the group was 60 percent Muslim and 40 percent Christian. There were in fact Sunnis, Druze, and Alawites there. Most people appeared to be in their thirties.

[…] Father Mazen, stood before us—without his vestments, only his collar identified him as clergy. In addition to being a priest, he was a psychotherapist and had studied in France. With Hala, another psychotherapist, they had started the psychodrama the month before to give people an opportunity to talk about their fears in the face of an impending unknown, where violence was already promising to play a big part.

Father Mazen began with some introductory remarks—reminding those gathered that we weren’t there to discuss politics, but rather people’s fears and feelings. That seemed impossible, but perhaps the disclaimer was an effort to persuade the informants present (surely they were there) of the innocence of the project. If the informants and mukhabarat were, as was said, not particularly sophisticated, I figured there was a chance the simple ruse might work.

Father Mazen then called for volunteers to start off the role-play, the main therapeutic vehicle of psychodrama. It was up to the participants to decide what form it should all take. Three men and three women volunteered, and they each took a chair in the circle at the front of the room. Anyone else who wanted to could join the circle at any point in time. They would have thirty minutes, at which point Father Mazen would tell them the time was up.

A man (Man 1) carrying worry beads in one hand began. He had a suggestion:

“We’ve been going around and around about who has been shot, who’s armed. Let’s instead talk about the opposite of fear—dreams. Let’s talk about our dreams for the future. What are our dreams?”

“How would we do that?” asked another man (Man 2). “What’s the scenario? The context for this conversation?”

“We could pretend we are being interviewed about our dreams,” Man 1 responded.

A woman (Woman 1) spoke up: “It’s hard for us to dream given what we are seeing. My biggest dream is for the killing to stop; I can’t dream past this.”

“Actually, before this [the conflict], I couldn’t talk about my dreams,” said Man 2.

Another woman (Woman 2) joined in: “Even if we are afraid to dream, we can close our eyes and imagine. It can help us escape.”

The last woman (Woman 3) added: “It’s relevant—we can talk about how we dream change to happen. Because change is frightening.”

But then Man 2 objected to the idea of an interview. It wouldn’t be a real conversation, he said. He looked to Father Mazen for guidance, but the priest did not interfere.

After some back and forth, they decided to pretend they were attendees of a conference for Syrians to discuss their dreams for the future.

Conferences in the Middle East—photographs of which are oddly in society and airline magazines—are often more about prepared presentations than free-flowing discussions. In Syria, they are also frequently held under the auspices of a ministry or the First Lady. It seemed the most stilted way to imagine how such a conversation could happen. I felt sad that they couldn’t come up with another, less official scenario where ordinary Syrians would be speaking openly about their dreams and hopes for the future.

“Then we need to represent different groups—the youth, the government, the revolution, civil society,” said Woman 1.

Man 1, not to be dissuaded by the rejection of his interview idea, made himself a sort of moderator. “Welcome to the conference,” he announced. “We’re going to talk about Syria’s future and what we most want to see in our country.”

“Can I begin?” asked Woman 3.

The moderator man nodded in encouragement.

“I’m keen to see how we teach change; that’s what’s killing us. There’s a military structure to our education—from how books are written to how questions are asked,” she said. “I want to destroy and rip apart the current books.”

“But there are some positive results in our education,” the conference moderator said. “Engineering, for example.”

“I think it starts from the mother-child relationship,” said Woman 2. “That’s the basis of society. I dream of paying more attention to our girls from the start. After all, they will become mothers and raise our children.”

“What you are talking about is making a cultured, enlightened society— that’s not just education,” said Man 2. “It’s in the upbringing.”

Then the woman who said she couldn’t dream past wanting the violence to end, Woman 1, decided to represent civil society. “Civil society needs to be stronger,” she said. “People start out wanting to do something for their country. But when we realize it’s for nothing, we stop thinking to try, to do. It does start from how we educate. You’re forbidden to exercise your mind, to think. If a child asks the teacher questions, he yells at you, shuts you up, and tells you just to memorize. Something starts from there, from when we are being told not to think, not to express what’s inside of us.”

The third man, Man 3, who had yet to speak, said, “I want to be like Europe in some way—advanced, with liberties and freedoms. But I also fear its bad sides, like their societal ills.”

Man 2 then announced he’d represent the regime, and I caught my breath.

He spoke at length. “Look at this society, the people. The taxi driver is a thief. The bureaucrat, the cop—they take bribes. We have an elite. These people can think and organize our lives, tell us what our dreams are. You, don’t bother yourselves with your dreams, we will organize your dreams for you. Otherwise, with this guy and his dream from here, this other guy from there, there will be chaos. The people [Syrians] are incapable; their thoughts and feelings are not good—”

Woman 3 interrupted him: “How can we know who these elite are?”

He ignored her: “—with the international conspiracy against Syria and the armed groups—they will get the advantage.”

I had heard this before, of course. The insinuation from members of the regime that they were the best Syria could do—because otherwise the masses, unsophisticated as they were, would ruin the country—was an integral basis of its power and Syrians’ acquiescence to them. It was built on an idea that Syrians needed to fear other Syrians. Because points of national dialogue were heavily monitored, and because geography and class kept Syrians from each other, no one would ever really know where reality stood exactly. And in that vacuum, the regime continued to play on such fears.

“Why are there weapons if all they want is reform?” the role-playing government man asked, echoing the constant rhetoric of state channels. Then, tongue-in-cheek, he said, “You want reforms? We’ve been talking about reforms for thirty years, so obviously we have no problem with reforms.”

Everyone began to laugh, and someone shouted that it had been forty years.

“We’re ready for more reforms,” he continued. “We’ll give you more banks and Internet, but not too much, because then the bad ideas will get in and there will be chaos, people will attack each other. Western ideas will get in, and then, there is the CIA, the Mossad. The Saudis hate us, the Turks hate us, half of Lebanon hates us, three-quarters of Iraq does, and all the rest. It’s a really big conspiracy.”

There was more laughter at the easily recognizable and almost spot-on mimicking of the regime.

He continued, “If you want to dream . . . I want to dream with you. But without you dreaming. That’s the way. Do you know another way? If there’s something wrong we can change it—education system, politics, economy.”

Even though it was an absurd statement, Woman 2 engaged him: “Yes, but who gets to decide what’s wrong?”

He waved her off easily—his script was ready made, so loud and unchallenged was the regime’s messaging in Syria.

[Excerpted from The Home That Was Our Country: A Memoir of Syria, by Alia Malek (c) 2017, by permission of the author.]

ألِسْيو أرينا Alessio Arena  

اختارها وترجمها عن الإيطاليَّة: أمارجي

ألِسْيو أرينا في سطور:

من الأصوات الشِّعريَّةالشَّابَّة في إيطاليا، وُلِدَ في باليرمو سنة 1996. يدرسُ حاليَّاً الآداب في جامعة باليرمو. حصلَ في سنة 2016 على جائزة "سالفاتورِه كوازيمودو" العالميَّة للشِّعر، وسُمِّيَ "فارساً أكاديميَّاً" لكلِّيَّة النُّبلاء الأكاديميَّة في فلورنسا. عُيِّن منذ 2016 رئيساً لقسم الشَّباب عن مجلس مدينة باليرمو في جمعيَّة "دانتي أليغييري" التي أسَّسها كاردوتشي في روما سنة 1889.  صدرت له قصائد ضمن العديد من المختارات، مثل: "شعراء معاصرون"، "بصمات"، "شعراء إيطاليُّون من عصرنا". صدرت مجموعته الشِّعريَّة الأولى سنة 2015 بعنوان "أحاديث شاردة". وفي سنة 2016 صدرت مجموعتاه: "أدراجٌ مُبعثَرة" و"رسائل من الألفيَّة الثَّالثة". مرشَّحٌ في سنة 2017 لجائزة نوبل للآداب، ويُعَدُّ لذلك من أصغر المرشَّحين في تاريخ هذه الجائزة.

النُّصوص:

الغرفة 96

افتحْ عينيك، ما يزال ثمَّة وجوهٌ قابلةٌ للتَّصوير.

عمَّا قليلٍ يجيء الصَّيف، والبحرُ لا ينتظرُ سلاماً لكي ينسحبَ من الحرب.

كان الرَّبيعُ هنا، ولم نكن نحن.

تحدَّثنا عن تخوم الفِكر الأكثر بُعداً، عن بروقِ الأحلامِ الأكثر هوادَةً،

ولكنَّنا آثرنا جدرانَ غرفةٍ

واكتفينا بتخيُّلِ القرميدِ تحتَ حرارةِ الملاط.

ضُمَّ هذا الوزنَ إلى صدرِك واحْنُ على الوقتِ مثلَ أبٍ:

حتَّى وإن لم يبادلكَ العاطفة، حتَّى وإن بقيتْ عاطفتُكَ وحيدةً تستعطِف.

فقط عندما يتحتَّمُ على الشَّيء أن يتكرَّر،

عندما يسأمُ العالَم، وتُخاطُ الغاياتُ، وتصيرُ ابتسامتنا زائفة،

فقط حينذاك

أغمضْ عينيك.

*

مَرَضٌ صيفيٌّ

اسمُكِ المهموسُ ليلاً بين النُّجوم

أو المسموعُ عَرَضاً في أحاديث المارَّة

له مذاقُ لوزٍ وبرتقالٍ مُرَّين.

هو دُرَّاقةٌ تقشَّرُ ببطءٍ،

تداعبُها رؤوسُ الأنامل

مستسلمةً بلا وعيٍ للذَّةِ السَّبْرِ

سَبْرِ التَّناغمِ المكنونِ في هسهساتِها.

له عطرُ بَخُورٍ وأزهارٍ برِّيَّة،

منهوبةٍ من الحقولِ

ومخبَّأةٍ في كتبٍ مدرسيَّةٍ قديمة.

تحدٍّ للفطرةِ السَّليمةِ هو اسمُكِ،

لهذا التَّحفُّظِ الجنوبيِّ

الذي يعلِّمُ أنَّ نكران المسرَّاتِ المقدَّمَةِ لنا

مصدرٌ للفَخَار.

أمَّا نحنُ، رُواةُ الجنس البشريِّ،

فلا نُفلِحُ في نُطقِه

دون كتابةِ الصَّدى

الذي ورثناهُ مِن هذه الأرض.

*

يوماً بعد يوم

أبداً،

لن تعرفوا أبداً

كيف يتغيَّرُ العالَمُ

حين تكون هي معي

وكيف أتغيَّرُ فيَّ

عندما تكون هي في العالَم.

سترونَ دَوماً

نفْسَ الأوضاع،

وأنتم تتأمَّلون ناعسين

المسرحَ الأشدَّ فُحشاً

لهذه الحياة المتضوِّرة.

لن تعرفوا أبداً

كيف الرِّيحُ الآتيةُ من البحر

تناكدُ شَعرَها

لتغوصَ مِن ثَمَّ فيَّ

في تنهيدةٍ متكسِّرة.

لن تشعروا أبداً

بالحياة

تتوقَّفُ

في أصغرِ إيماءة.

ستسمعون دَوماً

نفْسَ الكلمات

وأنتم تردُّون على الابتسامات

مثلَ مرايا مُضبَّبة.

وطالما نحن في العالَم

وليس فيَّ

حتَّى أنتِ لن تعرفي

أنَّكِ خالدة.

*

أسفلُ، في هذا العالَم

على درب الصَّليب

وجدتُ بقايا

ماضٍ مُنهارٍ

تحت وطأةِ شمسٍ

ومطرٍ استرقَّهُ

بكاءُ الأجراس.

أقتفي صَدعاً  

عِبرَ كَرْمِ دَيرٍ رمليٍّ

ظَهَرَ في آب

ليوحيَ إلى الرِّيح

بصلواتٍ جديدة.

وبين الدَّمِ والصَّمت

لعالَمٍ يستصرخُ

من سراديبه الجائعة،

ألتقي الصَّدى

صدى مستقبلٍ يطلبُ

أن يكون حاضراً.

أكان يدَّعي الحزنَ؟

*

همساً

لا تبحث عنِّي تحتَ الأرضِ هامساً لي.

لستُ هناك، لا أسمعُك.

أنا في ابتسامات الأطفال أوَّلَ أيَّامِ الصَّيف، بين خشخشةِ العشبِ وأحضانِ الأمَّهات.

أنا في رائحةِ الخبز صبيحةَ يومِ الميلاد، بين أصابع الخبَّازين والنَّوافذ المعاكسةِ للضَّوء.

أنا في صمتِ المتاحفِ ليلةَ أحَدٍ، بين صدى الخطواتِ المتناغمة وإيقاعِ الكُحَّات.

أنا في صوتِ فتاةٍ في الرَّبيع، تتخلَّله تنهيداتٌ عكسَ الرِّيح طويلةٌ وغائرة.

أنا في عينَي فنَّانٍ حينَ استحالةِ الفكرة، فإذا ما استطاعت أن تنبعثَ أو تتحقَّقَ اغترَّتْ.

أنا في الرِّيح التي تهبُّ ضدَّ رصاصِ العِظام، الموصولةِ إلى بعضها بالقُشَعريرة.

أنا في وشوشاتِ الأحلام، الفاقدةِ المعنى في إلحاحِها واحتجابها.

لا تبحث عنِّي تحتَ الأرضِ هامساً لي.

إنَّني هنا، سأنتظركَ قليلاً بعدُ.

*

أخبارٌ عاجلة

اليومَ

رموا قنبلةً

في منتصف الرَّصيف تماماً،

لكي يرسموا الحدودَ،

لكي يخطُّوا التُّخومَ

بعِظامِ المتسوِّلين

الملمومةِ من الشَّوارع.

علَّقوا دفتراً

على عمود إنارةٍ محترِق

لجمعِ تواقيعِ

الحملةِ القادمة.

أغلقوا المطارَ

وفي المحطَّةِ

أرى دائماً نفسَ القطارِ

يتصنَّعُ الوصولَ

من القرى المقصوفة.

في ما وراء الجدار

يمكن للمرء أن يرى مشاعلَ

الموكبِ اللامتناهي

المضطربِ مِن هَرْجِ الموتى

في الغرفةِ المجاورة.

اليومَ

ليس ثمَّة إلهٌ لنكفرَ به.

لقد سقطَ عن الصَّليب،

مطروداً من آلامِ الشَّهادة  

بعدَ الانقلاب.  

*

مسألةٌ أخلاقيَّة

ابنُ بائعِ الزُّهور

سمعَ طلقاً ناريَّاً

بالقرب من المحطَّةِ

فقامَ بتصوير الجدران

المصبوغةِ بلونٍ أحمرَ  

يذكِّرُ العالمَ بأنَّنا

انقلبنا

إلى صُفرةِ الشِّعارات

وارمدادِ الحواسيب.

نشرةُ الأخبار

تؤكِّدُ أنَّ الدَّمَ

له نفسُ لونِ ذلك المطبوعِ

على الأسفلتِ المتأجِّج

في أمسيةِ صيف.

الأخلاق المعاصرة

تُقصي المصابَ بعمى الألوان.

*

ذاتَ صباح

اليومَ

توقَّفَت السَّماءُ عن المطر

والشَّمسُ نقرَتْ

بأصابعها على الجفون

مُشعِلةً

فكرةً تِلوَ فكرة،

وحياةً تِلوَ حياة

كلَّ عينٍ من العيون،

كلَّ عينٍ تغوصُ في السَّقف

بحثاً عن السَّماء

المكدَّسَةِ فوقَ أجيالٍ كاملةٍ

من الأسمنت المسلَّح،

أجيالٍ مسخَّرةٍ للإنسان

كيما تقيهِ الرِّياحَ

وتُقصي اللهَ

عمَّا تبقَّى  

من صدورِ الجبال.

هي ذي المصابيحُ

المتروكةُ للأرق

على خشب خزائن الليل

تلقى راحةً

من عذابها المعتاد.

أحياناً

أحتاجُ

ليلةً أطوَلَ،

قطرةً من الظَّلام

تُصَبُّ على عينيَّ

لكي أشعرَ بالمطر.

إذا أردتَ

أن تكون معي

وأن تَرَاني في نهاية المطافِ

أتلألأ،

أغمضْ عينيك

يكنْ في الحالِ لَيل.

*

رسائل من الألفيَّة الثَّالثة

دعونا نغرق

بين أبواقِ الشَّوارع

وتوربيناتِ أجهزةِ المراقبة،

مستسلمين للحجومِ الهستيريَّة

لتطوُّرٍ يزداد جوعاً،

يطاردُ الأرقامَ

واطئاً بقدميه مساكبَ الوردِ،

داكَّاً الكنائسَ،

مُطوِّقاً بالجنونِ الاعتياديِّ

الأطفال الجائعين في السَّاحات

والشُّيوخ الرَّاقدين

على جوانب الطُّرقات.

دعونا نسحب

أنقاضَ المنازل،

أنقاضَ أنفسِنا،

لكي نخمدَ الحريق

حريقَ ماضٍ مشوَّه،

حريقَ تاريخٍ خطَّاءٍ

يثرثرُ عن مجانين

تولَّهوا بعشقِ العالَم.

دعونا ننم

تحت هذه الأضواء البيضاء،

في مرايا العيون

التي لم تعدْ تُجيدُ البكاء.

 غابرييل روكهيل Gabriel Rockhill

[ترجمة أسامة إسبر]

  غالباً ما يُفترض أن المفكرين يملكون قوة سياسية محدودة أو لا يملكونها. ذلك أن المفكرين الجالسين في أبراجهم العاجية، المقطوعين عن العالم الواقعي، والمنخرطين في نقاشات أكاديمية تخلو من المعنى حول تفاصيل تافهة ومتخصصة، أو العائمين في السحب المبهمة للنظرية التي تتطلب أذهاناً رفيعة، غالباً ما يتم تصويرهم لا كمنفصلين عن الواقع السياسي فقط بل أيضاً كعاجزين عن إحداث أيّ تأثير مهم فيه. لكنّ وكالة الاستخبارات المركزية تنظر إلى الأمر على نحو مختلف.

والواقع أن الوكالة المسؤولة عن انقلابات واغتيالات وتلاعب سري بحكومات أجنبية لم تؤمن بقوة النظرية فقط بل خصّصتْ أيضاً موارد مهمة لمجموعة من العملاء السريين كي يدرسوا ما يعدّهُ البعض النظرية الأكثر إبهاماً وتعقيداً التي سبق إنتاجها. وكشفتْ وكالة الاستخبارات المركزية (السي آي إيه) في بحث مثير للاهتمام كُتبَ سنة 1985، وتم الإفراج عنه مؤخراً، بعد تنقيحات ثانوية، من خلال قانون حرية المعلومات، أن عملاءها كانوا يدرسون النظرية الفرنسية التي أرستْ توجّهاً عالمياً، والمرتبطة بأسماء ميشيل فوكو وجاك لاكان ورولان بارت.

إن صورة الجواسيس الأميركيين وهو يجتمعون في المقاهي الباريسية كي يدرسوا بدأب ويقارنوا ملاحظات حول الكهنة الكبار للأنتجلنسيا الفرنسية يمكن أن تصدم أولئك الذين يفترضون أن هذه المجموعة من المفكرين هم نجوم لا يمكن أن يَعْلق فكرهم العميق، الذي ينتمي إلى عالم آخر، في شبكة صيد سوقية، أو الذين ينظرون إليهم، على العكس، كباعة دجالين للغة غير قابلة للفهم لا تمتلك إلا تأثيراً محدوداً، أو لا تأثير لها، في العالم الواقعي. على أي حال هـذا لا يفاجئ المطلعين على استثمار السي آي الطويل والمتواصل في حرب ثقافية عالمية، بما فيه الدعم لأشكالها الأكثر طليعية، والذي وثّقه جيداً باحثون مثل فرانسيس ستونور سوندرزFrances Stonor Saunders وجايلز سكوت سميث Giles Scott-Smith وهيو ويلفورد Hugh Wilford (ولقد قدمتُ إسهامي الخاص في كتابي "التاريخ الراديكالي وسياسة الفن).

شرح توماس دبليو برادن Thomas W. Braden، المشرف السابق على الأنشطة الثقافية في السي آي إيه، قوة هجوم الوكالة الثقافي في شهادة صريحة لشخص من الداخل نُشرت في 1967: "أذكر المتعة الهائلة التي شعرتُ بها حين حققتْ سيمفونية بوسطن السيمفونية (التي كانت تدعمها السي آي إيه) مزيداً من الهتاف والتصفيق للولايات المتحدة في باريس أكثر مما استطاع جون فوستر دالاس أو دوايت آيزنهاور أن يشترياه بمائة خطاب". ولم تكن هذه بأي حال عملية صغيرة أو محدودة. وفي الحقيقة، كما قال ويلفورد، فإن مجلس حرية الثقافة، الذي كان مقره باريس، والذي اكتُشف فيما بعد أنه واجهة للسي آي إيه أثناء الحرب الباردة الثقافية، كان من بين الرعاة الأكثر أهمية في تاريخ العالم، ودعمَ سلسلة مهمة من الأنشطة الفنية والثقافية. وكان له مكاتب في 35 بلداً، ونشر العشرات من المجلات المهمة، وانخرط في صناعة الكتاب، ونظّم مؤتمرات عالمية وفنية عالية الأهمية، ونسّق عروضا وحفلات وموّل بسخاء جوائزَ ومنحاً ثقافية مختلفة، وموّل أيضاَ واجهات للسي آي إيه مثل مؤسسة فارفيلد.

الجهاز في باريس: عميل السي آي إيه ورئيس مجلس حرية الثقافة مايكل جوسيلسون (في الوسط) في غداء عمل مع جون كلنتون هنت وميلفن لاسكي (في اليمين)

تفهم وكالة الاستخبارات الثقافة والنظرية على أنهما سلاحان جوهريان في الترسانة الكلية التي تستخدمها كي تديم المصالح الأميركية في العالم. ويدرس البحث المُفْرج عنه مؤخراً، والذي تم تأليفه عام 1985 بعنوان "فرنسا: ارتداد مفكري اليسار”، الأنتجلنسيا الفرنسية - كي يتلاعب بها- ودورها الجوهري في تشكيل التيارات التي تولّد السياسة السياسية. وقال التقرير إنه كان هناك توازن إيديولوجي نسبي بين اليسار واليمين في تاريخ العالم الفكري الفرنسي، ملقياً الضوء على صعود اليسار في حقبة ما بعد الحرب، والذي، كما نعرف، عارضتْه الوكالة بسبب الدور الرئيسي للشيوعيين في مقاومة الفاشية وانتصارهم في الحرب ضدها. وبالرغم من أن اليمين فقد مصداقيته بسبب تورطه المباشر في معسكرات الموت النازية، وأجندته الفاشية المعادية للأجانب والمضادة للمساواة (بحسب وصف السي آي إيه) فإن العملاء السريين الذين لم تُذْكر أسماؤهم، والذين ألّفوا الدراسة، يلخصون بمتعة واضحة عودة اليمين منذ أوائل السبعينيات تقريباً.

وصفّق المحاربون الثقافيون السريون، على نحو أكثر تحديداً، لما رآوه كحركة مزدوجة أسهمت في نقل الأنتلجنسيا لتركيزها المحوري عن الولايات المتحدة إلى روسيا. وفي أوساط اليسار، كان هناك استياء فكري تدريجي من الستالينية والماركسية، وانسحاب متعاقب للمفكرين الراديكاليين من النقاش العام، وابتعاد نظري عن الاشتراكية والحزب الاشتراكي. أما في أوساط اليمين، فقد أطلق الإيديولوجيون الانتهازيون، المشار إليهم باسم الفلاسفة الجدد ومفكري اليمين الجديد، حملة إعلامية كبيرة لتشويه الماركسية.

وبينما كانت مجسات أخرى لمنظمة التجسس منخرطة على مستوى العالم في الإطاحة بالقادة المنتخبين ديمقراطياً، وفي تقديم التمويل والمعلومات الاستخباراتية للأنظمة الدكتاتورية الفاشية، ودعم فرق الموت اليمينية فإنّ سَرِيَّة وكالة الاستخبارات المركزية الباريسية كانت تجمع المعلومات عن استفادة السياسة الخارجية الأميركية من الاندفاع النظري للعالم إلى اليمين. وانتقد المفكرون المائلون إلى اليسار في حقبة ما بعد الحرب مباشرة علناً الإمبريالية الأميركية. أما نفوذ جان بول سارتر الإعلامي كناقد ماركسي جريء، ودوره اللافت – كمؤسس لصحيفة “ليبراسيون” – في إزاحة الغطاء عن ضابط محطة السي آي إيه في باريس والعشرات من العملاء السريين، فقد تمت مراقبتهما عن كثب من قبل الوكالة واعتُبرا مشكلة خطيرة جداً.

في المقابل، إن جو الحقبة النيوليبرالية الناشئة، المعادي للاتحاد السوفييتي وللماركسية، حرفَ الفحص العام وقدّم غطاء ممتازاً لحروب السي آي إيه القذرة من خلال "تصعيب الأمر جداً على أي شخص يريد أن يعبئ معارضة مهمة بين النخب الفكرية ضد السياسات الأميركية في أميركا الوسطى، مثلاً". وقد لخص غريغ غراندن Greg Grandin، وهو أحد المؤرخين البارزين لأميركا اللاتينية، هذا الموقف بشكل دقيق في "المجزرة الاستعمارية الأخيرة":"بالإضافة إلى قيامها بتدخلات كارثية ومميتة على نحو واضح في غواتيمالا في 1954، وجمهورية الدومينيكان في 1965 وتشيلي في 1973 والسلفادور ونيكاراغوا في الثمانينيات فإن الولايات المتحدة قدمت دعماً مالياً ومادياً وأخلاقياً متواصلاً لدول إرهابية وقمعية وإجرامية (...) لكن ضخامة جرائم ستالين تضمن أن تواريخ دنيئة كهذه، مهما كانت لافتة للنظر في سوئها، فإنها لا تهزّ أساس وجهة نظر عالمية حول الدور النموذجي للولايات المتحدة في الدفاع عن الديمقراطية".

في هذا السياق كان الموظفون المتنكرون يُطْرون ويدعمون النقد الذي لا يلين الذي أطلقه مفكرون معادون للماركسية مثل برنار هنري ليفي Bernard-Henri Levy وأندريه جلكسمان André Glucksmann وجان فرانسوا ريفيل Jean-François Revel ضد "الزمرة الأخيرة من المفكرين الشيوعيين" (المؤلفة من – بحسب العملاء المجهولين – سارتر وبارت ولاكان ولوي ألتوسير). وإذا ما أخذنا في عين الاعتبار الميول اليسارية للمعادين للماركسية في شبابهم، فإنهم يقدمون النموذج التام لبناء سرديات مخادعة تدمج نضج سياسي شخصي مزعوم مع التقدم التعاقبي للزمن، كما لو أن كلاً من الحياة الفردية والتاريخ مجرد مسألة "نضج" واعتراف بأن التحول الاجتماعي القائم على المساواة والعميق هو شيء ينتمي إلى الماضي الشخصي والتاريخي.

إن هذه النزعة الانهزامية المزدرية والكلية الحضور لا تخدم في ضرب مصداقية الحركات الجديدة، وخاصة تلك التي يقودها الشباب فقط، بل تسيء أيضاً تشخيص النجاحات النسبية للقمع المضاد للثورة وتقدمها على أنها التقدم الطبيعي للتاريخ.

(الفيلسوف الفرنسي المعادي للشيوعية ريموند آرون (في اليسار) وزوجته في عطلة مع عميل السي آي السري مايكل جوسيلسون (في اليسار) ودينيس روجمونت (في اليمين)

وقد قام منظرون، لم يكونوا معادين للماركسية كهؤلاء المفكرين الرجعيين، بإسهامات مهمة في خلق بيئة خيبةِ أملٍ من المساواة التحويلية، اتّسمتْ بالانفصال عن التعبئة الاجتماعية، وبـ"البحث النقدي" الفارغ من السياسة الراديكالية. وهذا مهم جداً لفهم الاستراتيجية الكلية للسي آي إيه في محاولاتها المكثفة والدؤوبة للقضاء على اليسار الثقافي في أوربا وأمكنة أخرى. واعترفت أقوى منظمة تجسس في العالم بأنه لم يكن من المرجح أن بمقدورها أن تلغي الثقافة اليسارية بشكل كامل، لكنها سعتْ إلى منع الثقافة اليسارية من أن تصبح سياسة قوية معادية للرأسمالية وتحويلية ونقلتْها إلى مواقف يسار وسط إصلاحية أقل انتقاداً للسياسات الخارجية والداخلية الأميركية. وفي الحقيقة، وكما بينت سوندرز بالتفصيل، عملت الوكالة من خلف ظهر الكونغرس المدفوع من مكارثي في حقبة ما بعد الحرب لكي تدعم بشكل مباشر وتعزز مشاريع يسارية وجّهت المنتجين والمستهلكين الثقافيين بعيداً عن يسار يؤمن بالمساواة. وفي عزلها لهذا اليسار وضربها لمصداقيته، تطلعت أيضاً إلى تفتيت اليسار بعامة، تاركة ما تبقى من يسار الوسط بقوةٍ ودعمٍ عام محدودين (وكذلك ضُربتْ مصداقيته نظراً لتواطئه مع سياسة سلطة الجناح اليميني، وهذه مسألة ما زالت تلطّخ الأحزاب المعاصرة الممأسسة في اليسار).

في هذا الضوء يجب أن نفهم ولع وكالة الاستخبارات بسرديات الاهتداء وتقديرها العميق لـ "ماركسيين اهتدوا"، وهي فكرة مهيمنة يتواصل ذكرها في البحث المؤلَّف عن النظرية الفرنسية. ويقول العملاء السريون إن من كان أكثر فعالية في تقويض الماركسية هم المفكرون الذين بدأوا كمؤمنين حقيقيين بتطبيق النظرية الماركسية في العلوم الاجتماعية لكنهم انتهوا إلى إعادة التفكير بالتراث كله ورفضه". ويستشهدون بخاصة بالإسهام الكبير لمدرسة حوليات علم التاريخ والبنيوية – وخاصة كلود ليفي شتراوس وفوكو – في "التدمير النقدي للتأثير الماركسي في العلوم الاجتماعية". وقد صُفِّقَ لفوكو، الذي أُشير إليه بـ "مفكر فرنسا الأعمق والأكثر تأثيراً"، نظراً لمديحه لمفكري اليمين الجديد لأنهم ذكّروا الفلاسفة أن "عواقب دموية نجمتْ عن النظرية العقلانية الاجتماعية للتنوير والحقبة الثورية للقرن الثامن عشر". وبالرغم من أن اختزال سياسة أي شخص أو تأثيره السياسي إلى موقف أو نتيجة واحدة أمر خاطئ فإن يسارية فوكو المضادة للثورة وإشارته الدائمة إلى ابتزاز الغولاغ – أي الزعم بأن الحركات الراديكالية واسعة الانتشار، التي تهدف إلى التحول الاجتماعي والثقافي العميق، تقوم فحسب بإحياء التراث الأكثر خطراً – يتماشيان بشكل تام مع استراتيجيات وكالة التجسس في الحرب النفسية.

يجب أن نتوقف عند قراءة السي آي إيه للنظرية الفرنسية كي نعيد النظر في المظهر الراديكالي الأنيق الذي رافق الكثير من تلقيها في العالم الناطق بالإنكليزية. فبحسب تصور مرحليٍّ للتاريخ التعاقبي (الذي هو غالباً أعمى حيال غائيته المتضمنة)، غالباً ما يُربط النتاج الكفري لشخصيات مثل فوكو وديريدا ومنظرين فرنسيين مبدعين آخرين حدسياً مع شكل من النقد العميق والمتقن الذي من المفترض أنه يتخطّى أي شيء يُعثرعليه في التقاليد الاشتراكية أو الماركسية أو الفوضوية. وأكيد أنه من الصحيح أن التلقي الإنكليزي للنظرية الفرنسية، كما أشار جون مكمبر John McCumber، كانت له معان سياسية ضمنية مهمة كقطب لمقاومة الحيادية السياسية المزيفة، والشكليات الآمنة للمنطق واللغة، أو الامتثال الإيديولوجي المباشر الماثل في خطاب الفلسفة الأنجلو-أميركية المدعوم من مكارثي. على أي حال، إن الممارسات النظرية لشخصيات أدارت ظهرها، لما دعاه كورنيليوس كاستورياديس Cornelius Castoriadis، تراث النقد الراديكالي – الذي يعني المقاومة المضادة للرأسمالية والإمبريالية – أسهم في الاندفاع الإيديولوجي بعيداً عن السياسة التحويلية. وبحسب وكالة التجسس نفسها، إن النظرية الفرنسية ما بعد الماركسية أسهمت بشكل مباشر في برنامج السي آي إيه الثقافي في إغواء اليسار للتوجّه إلى اليمين، بينما قوّضت المعاداة للإمبريالية والرأسمالية، خالقة بهذا بيئة ثقافية يمكن أن تُنَفَّذ فيها مشاريعهما الإمبريالية دون أن يعيقها فحصٌ نقديٍّ جدي تقوم به الأنتلجنسيا.

وكما نعرف من الأبحاث التي تناولت برنامج السي آي في الحرب النفسية، لم ترصد المنظمة وتمارس الضغط على الأفراد فحسب، بل كانت أيضاً متحمسة دوماً لفهم وتحويل مؤسسات الإنتاج والتوزيع الثقافي. وتشير دراستها للنظرية الفرنسية إلى الدور البنيوي الذي تلعبه الجامعات ودور النشر والإعلام في تشكيل وتدعيم روح سياسية جمعية.

وفي توصيفات يجب أن تدعونا، كبقية الوثيقة، للتفكير نقدياً بالموقف الأكاديمي الحالي في العالم الناطق بالإنكليزية وما وراءه، فإن مؤلفي التقرير أبرزوا الطرق التي يسهم فيها جعل العمل الأكاديمي غير آمن في تدمير اليسار الراديكالي. وإذا لم يستطع المفكرون اليساريون ضمان الوسائل المادية الضرورية للقيام بعملهم، وإذا ما تم إجبارنا، بشكل ماكر، على الامتثال والانصياع من أجل العثور على وظيفة، ولنشر مؤلفاتنا أو الحصول على جمهور، فإن الضعف سيدب في الأوضاع البنيوية لجماعة يسارية قوية.
ويشكل تحويل التعليم العالي إلى مهنة أداةً أخرى لتحقيق هذه الغاية بما أنه يهدف إلى تحويل الناس إلى مسنّنات تقنية وعلمية في الجهاز الرأسمالي بدلاً من مواطنين مستقلين بأدوات موثوقة من أجل النقد الاجتماعي. بالتالي، يمدح موظفو النظرية في السي آي إيه جهود الحكومة الفرنسية "في دفع الطلاب إلى صفوف الأعمال والمناهج التقنية". ويشيرون أيضاً إلى إسهامات قامت بها دور نشر رئيسية مثل “غراسيت”، ووسائل الإعلام والثقافة الأميركية السائدة، في دفع منبرهم ما بعد الاشتراكي والمضاد للمساواة إلى الأمام.

ما الدروس التي يمكن استخلاصها من هذا التقرير، خاصة في البيئة السياسية الحالية التي تتسم بهجوم متواصل على الأنتلجنسيا النقدية؟ أولاً، يجب أن يذكرنا هذا بقوة بأنه إذا افترض البعض أن المفكرين بلا قوة، وأن توجهاتنا السياسية لا تهم، فإن المنظمة التي هي إحدى أقوى وسطاء القوة في سياسة العالم المعاصر لا توافقهم في الرأي. ذلك أن وكالة الاستخبارات المركزية، كما يوحي اسمها بشكل ينم عن مفارقة، تؤمن بقوة الذكاء والنظرية، ويجب أن ننظر إلى هذا بجدية كبيرة. ولكن إذا ما افترضنا، دون دراية، بأن العمل الفكري لا يتمتع إلا بجاذبية قليلة، أو أنه منعدم الجاذبية في "العالم الحقيقي”، فإننا لا نسيء فهم المعاني الضمنية العملية للعمل النظري فقط بل نجازف أيضاً بإغفال المشاريع السياسية التي نستطيع أن نصبح بسهولة سفراءها الثقافيين غير المقصودين. وبالرغم من أن الأمة الفرنسية والجهاز الثقافي يقدمان منبراً عاماً أكثر أهمية للمفكرين أفضل مما هو موجود في كثير من البلدان الأخرى الكثيرة، إلا أن انشغال السي آي إيه برصد النتاج الثقافي والنظري في مكان آخر والتلاعب به يجب أن يخدما كدعوة موقظة لنا كلنا.

ثانياً، إن وسطاء القوة الحاليين لهم مصلحة قوية في صقل أنتلجنسيا تم تبليد فطنتها النقدية أو تدميرها من خلال دعم مؤسسات قائمة على التجارة ومصالح تقنية علمية بحيادية سياسة مزعومة لكنها كاذبة، ودعم الإعلام الذي يُشبع موجات الأثير بثرثرة امتثالية، وعزل اليساريين الأقوياء عن المؤسسات الأكاديمية الرئيسية وضوء الإعلام، وضرب مصداقية أية دعوة إلى مساواة راديكالية وتحول بيئي. إنهم يسعون إلى تغذية ثقافة فكرية، إذا كانت على اليسار، يجب أن تكون مُحيَّدة ومشلولة وفاترة وراضية بقلق انهزامي أو بالنقد غير الفعال لليسار المعبأ راديكالياً. وهذا أحد الأسباب التي يجب أن تجعلنا نعتبر المعارضة الفكرية لليسار الراديكالي التي تهيمن في العالم الأكاديمي الأميركي، موقفاً سياسياً خطيراً: أليس متواطئاً على نحو مباشر مع أجندة السي آي إيه الرأسمالية في أنحاء العالم؟

ثالثاً، لمواجهة هذا الهجوم المؤسساتي على ثقافة يسارية قوية من الملح أن نقاوم تهديد التعليم وتحويله إلى مهنة. ومن المهم على حد سواء أن ننشئ مجالات عامة لجدل نقدي حقيقي ونقدم منبراً أوسع لأولئك الذين يعرفون أن عالماً آخر ليس ممكناً فحسب، بل ضروري أيضاً. ونحتاج أيضاً إلى أن نجتمع معاً كي نساهم في صنع وتطوير إعلام بديل، ونماذج مختلفة من التعليم، ومؤسسات مضادة وجمعيات راديكالية. ومن الضروري أن نعزز أيضاً ما يريد المقاتلون الثقافيون السريون تدميره: ثقافة يسار راديكالي بإطار مؤسساتي عريض من الدعم، ودعم جماهيري كبير، وحضور إعلامي واسع وقوة تعبئة لا يستهان بها.
أخيراً، يجب أن يتوحّد مفكرو العالم ويعرفوا قوتهم ويتمسكوا بها من أجل فعل كل شيء يستطيعون فعله لتطوير نقد منهجي وراديكالي يدعو إلى المساواة والدفاع عن البيئة ومعاد للرأسمالية والإمبريالية. إن المواقف التي يدافع عنها المرء داخل الصف أو علناً مهمة لوضع شروط الجدل ورسم خريطة ميدان الإمكانية السياسية. وفي معارضة مباشرة للاستراتيجية الثقافية لوكالة التجسس في التفرقة والاستقطاب، والتي سعتْ من خلالها إلى إبعاد وعزل اليسار المعادي للرأسمالية والإمبريالية، وتوجيهه نحو تبني مواقف إصلاحية، يجب أن نتحد ونتعبأ ونعترف بأهمية العمل معاً عبر اليسار كله، كما ذكّرتْنا كيانغا ياماهتا تيلور Keeanga Yamahtta Taylor مؤخراً، لتكوين أنتجلنسيا نقدية حقيقية. وبدلاً من إعلان ضعف المفكرين أو التباكي عليه، يجب أن نمتلك القدرة على قول الحقيقة للسلطة من خلال العمل معاً وتعبئة قدرتنا على أن نبدع بشكل جماعي المؤسسات الضرورية لعالم من اليسار الثقافي. ذلك أنه فقط في عالم كهذا يمكن فعلاً أن تُسمع الحقائق المنطوقة، وبالتالي أن تغيّر بنية السلطة.

ترجمة: أسامة إسبر

المصدر: Los Angeles Review of Books

This week’s Jadaliyya “Media on Media” roundup looks at several important dyanmics shaping the MENA region’s mediascape. In Palestine, Arabs took to the streets to protest Israeli legislation that aims to silence mosque loudspeakers. Several Syrian activists protested Jaysh al-Islam representing opposition groups and leading Geneva peace talks, given their increased clampdown on free speech in Ghouta. A Syrian teenager who was the victim of online bullying on Facebook sued the company. Accusing it of failing the to delete the defamatory posts, he nevertheless lost the case against the corporate giant. The Intercept carried out an investigation on a U.S. raid in the Yemeni village Ghayil, noting that their findings contradicted the Pentagon’s narrative and that mainstream media coverage focused more on the fallen Navy Seal than the massacre. 

On the cultural front, the Tanarout arts club in Benghazi, Libya is hoping to reconstruct urban space in the city through artistic initiatives that focus on collective memory rather than the ongoing violence.  

All these stories and more can be found below.  

Media and Politics

Arab Israelis protest mosque loudspeaker bills
Source: The Daily Star (via AFP)
Arabs in northern Israel staged protests against a new legislation aimed at silencing mosque loudspeakers. Though the bills can theoretically be applied to any place of worship in Israel, many of the protests saw them as direct attacks against Muslims.

Leaked recording reveals "propaganda" against Tripoli's anti-Haftar forces
Source: Middle East Eye
An officer under the command of Libyan general Khalifa Haftar was allegedly recorded speaking to a media magnate concerning a propaganda campaign aimed at painting anti-Haftar forces as members of al-Qaeda. The leaked recording was aired on Tripoli-backed Al-Nabaa TV.

Saudi committed to battling digital security threats
Source: The Saudi Gazette
The 2nd International Cyber Security Conference was held in Riyadh to discuss mitigation strategies against digital security threats in the GCC and beyond. The organizers of the conference emphasized cooperation between international and regional officials as key to protecting digital sovereignty.

Media Industries

WikiLeaks adds to Samsung headaches with claims of spying TVs
Source: Bloomberg
Recent documents released by Wikileaks discuss the CIA’s surveillance strategies on users through smart TVs and other technologies, increasing concerns for Samsung. The company, along with other tech companies, has been embroiled in negative headlines for the past few months. 

Amazon studies establishment of logistics centre in Egypt
Source: Daily News Egypt
International e-commerce company Amazon is allegedly looking to set up a logistics centre in Egypt. The former chairperson of the Egyptian-American Business Council stated that Amazon is looking to sign contracts with three Egyptian exporters in several industries.

Saudi Telecommunications Ministry inks memo with IBM
Source: Arab News
The Saudi Ministry of Telecommunications and Information Technology signed a memo with IBM to promote cooperation through educational institutions in several communication and IT programs. The collaboration aims to develop human capital as part of the kingdom’s Vision 2030.

Tech needs women
Source: Thomson Reuters
The article discusses the importance of involving girls and women in tech industries to achieve effective cross-sectoral productivity. The authors, members of the Womanity Foundation, highlight tech training at a young age and self-defense in cyberspace as important arenas through which to achieve systemic change.

Ooredoo Qatar deploys Nokia's 4.5G solution in Doha
Source: Capacity Media
Ooredoo Qatar launched Nokia’s 4.5G Pro technology in its capital city Doha, offering mobile speeds of up to 800Mbps to its customers. The deployment is part of Ooredoo’s ongoing network updates to meet increasing data demands in the country.

Freedom of Journalists/Expression

Jaysh al-Islam is leading peace talks in Geneva, while clamping down on speech in Syria's eastern Ghouta
Source: Global Voices
Syrian opposition group in Ghouta, Jaysh al-Islam, shut down a magazine and five civil society organizations following an article published in“Rising For Freedom” magazine. This piece argues that Jaysh al-Islam’s role as leader in Geneva peace talks is controversial, given their alleged war crimes.

Israel bans entry to supporters of the boycott movement
Source: International Middle East Media Center
Economist Shir Hever explains the recent Israeli law which denies entry to supporters of the BDS campaign, commenting on its similarity to Trump’s “Muslim ban” and highlighting the lack of coverage it received by Israeli mainstream media.

Turkey protesters slam jailing of journalists
Source: Middle East Eye
Journalists and opposition lawmakers in Turkey took to the streets to protest against the government’s detention of reporters, with the crowds shouting slogans like “Journalism is not a crime" and "We will not remain silent.”

Algérie: HRW demande l’abandon des poursuites pour blasphème contre le jeune romancier Anouar Rahmani
Source: Jeune Afrique
Human Rights Watch accuses the Algerian government of pursuing young author for publishing his online novel which was deemed by authorities to be in violation of Law 144 of the Algerian Penal Code. Deemed an offense to the Prophet and a denigration of the precepts of Islam, the author could be sentenced to up to five years in prison. 

Social Media

Facebook wins case against Syrian refugee in Merkel selfie
Source: Your Middle East
Facebook won a case against a Syrian teenager whose selfie with Angela Merkel made him the target of racist trolls, with the court ruling that the social media giant was not obligated to look for and delete defamatory posts.

"Basil al-Araj was a beacon for Palestinian youth"
Source: Al Jazeera
Palestinian youth activist Basil al-Araj was killed by Israeli forces on the morning of 6 March 2017. Many Palestinians took to the streets to protest his death and social media users expressed their outrage on various social media platforms.

Ahmadinejad and Trump on Twitter are a match made in heaven
Source: The Guardian
Writer Saeed Kamali Dehghan comments on the similarities between the perceived anti-establishment position of political figures Ahmadinejad and Trump, analyzing the Twitter strategies both politicians adopt.

Can new mobile app help solve Egypt's environmental problems?
Source: Al Monitor
A new mobile app for e-waste collection, Dr. WEEE, looks to collect household, companies, and schools’ waste to ensure safe disposal and to extract valuable raw materials. The founder of the app counts the lack of e-waste collection vehicles and social perceptions towards recycling as main obstacles.

Fake goods: Dubai and Saudi turn to social media in battle against counterfeit products
Source: Thomson Reuters Zawya
Officials in Saudi and Dubai are fighting against the illegal trade of counterfeit goods online and have shut down several social media accounts. Several GCC countries have launched electronic detections systems to monitor incoming counterfeit goods, especially cosmetics.

Social media and the polluted waters of public discourse
Source: The National
In this opinion piece, writer Ali Khaled comments on the nature of public discourse on social media, noting that platforms like Twitter changed from “unselfconscious” spaces to public shaming arenas.

These failed apps discovered a hidden rule of the Web
Source: Backchannel
Writer Miranda Katz argues that anonymous applications like Secret and Yik Yak eventually fail because online social networks’ chief purpose is to connect people and thus need to have names attached to users.

Media Practices

New evidence contradicts Pentagon’s account of Yemen raid, but General closes the case
Source: The Intercept
The Pentagon found no signs of bad judgement in a January raid in Yemen; however a recent investigation by The Intercept revealed evidence contrary to White House reports. The article notes that media coverage focused on the fallen Navy Seal in the raid rather than the massacre or Yemeni village, Ghayil.

Should Trump have a plan for Yemen?
Source: The Hill
The op-ed piece notes that Arab media outlets’ adoption of localized approaches on the Yemeni crisis failed to explain the issue from a global interest perspective, contributing to an unclear U.S. policy towards Yemen. The writer emphasizes the need for an overhaul of Obama’s foreign policy by the Trump administration.

Reporting from Syria, an American with a point of view and a message
Source: New York Times
Bilal Abdul Karim, a former comedian from New York, became an unlikely reporter on the Syrian war, providing a different perspective on the crisis from rebel-held areas that most foreign journalists have fled. He has covered various aspects of the war, such as civilians wounded in airstrikes.

Journalists for Human Rights supports Syrian media
Source: The Arab Daily News
Journalists for Human Rights (JHR), in support with the UN Democracy Fund, has launched a two-year pilot project that looks to provide Syrian journalists with adequate training as a way to support Syria’s “weak, traumatized” media sector.

Media (R)evolutions: Media use in the Middle East
Source: World Bank Blogs
The World Bank blog comments on a six-nation report by Northwestern University in Qatar which provides an overview of media use in the region. Notable findings including narrowing of digital divides between generations and social classes in the MENA area and a desire for more entertainment media based on local culture and history.

Revealed: the music tastes of UAE, Saudi consumers
Source: Arabian Business
Sony Music published a study on music taste preferences and habits across the Middle East, placing Arab audiences into four categories: Fanatics, Enthusiasts, Casual, and Indifferent. Some of the study’s findings note that jazz is more popular than hip-hop in the UAE and that a significant percentage of Saudi women enjoy electronic music.

دور الإعلام في ثقافة الحوار
المصدر: الأخبار
يناقش الدكتور نبيل دجاني دور الإعلام اللبناني في خلق ثقافة الحوار، موضحاً أنّ الإعلام اللبنان مستباح و مستغل من قبل ممتهنيه والقيمين على أمر الدولة الذين يتعاملون معه كسلعة وليس كرسالة اجتماعية هادفة. يقترح دجاني التخلي عن النظام الطائفي و العشائري كخطوة أولية لحلِّ هذه المسألة.   

من سرداب المخابرات الأمريكية: هاتفك الذكي.. جاسوس في جيبك
المصدر: مدى مصر
نشرت منظمة ويكيليكس مجموعة وثائق تفصّل عدّة أدوات تقنية ورقمية حديثة تستخدمها وكالة الاستخبارات الأمريكية للّتنصت على و التحكم بالأجهزة الإلكترونية عن بعد. تثير هذه المعلومات التساؤلات حول أمن المعلومات والسرية للمواطنين.   

International Women’s Day

International Women's Day: Egyptian cartoonist sheds light on ten discriminatory laws against women
Source: Egypt Independent
Egyptian cartoonist Doaa el-Adl used her art to comment on ten discriminatory laws against women in Egypt, such as those on adultery, underage marriage, domestic violence, and female genital mutilation, among others.

On Women’s Day, thinking beyond American flag hijabs
Source: Ajam Media Collective
The article comments on the iconic image of a hijabi woman wearing a U.S. flag as a veil from the Women’s March in January, noting that such posters reify American exceptionalism. Instead, the author calls for more nuanced work on International Women’s Day, such as that of Iranian-American artist Hushidar Mortezaie, which acknowledges the reality of U.S. war in the Middle East. 

Culture

Music, laughter, coffee... Benghazi tastes freedom amid war
Source: Middle East Eye
The Tanarout arts club in Benghazi, Libya is an artistic space that looks to reconstruct the city and country through cultural initiatives, despite being in close proximity to violence.

Dark-skinned and beautiful: Challenging Saudi Arabia's perception of beauty
Source: The New Arab
Saudi health and beauty blogger Abeer Sinder uses her YouTube channel as a platform to address racial prejudices that dark-skinned women face in the Saudi Arabia and the Arab region more generally. 

French learners in Gaza take matters into their own hands
Source: Electronic Intifada
Mousa Tawfiq examines the dangers French-learners in Palestine face at the hands of jihadist groups opposed to France’s policies in Iraq and Syria, noting that many students must rely on themselves instead.

Why do so few women work (for pay) in Jordan?
Source: PRI
The article explores the reasons why female labor participation in Jordan is low despite the country’s high literacy rates, noting structural reasons as the main obstacle. The author also points to the role of media in reaffirming patriarchal values among new generations.

Nike's new hijab--opportunistic or long-awaited?
Source: Middle East Eye
Nike launched its new “Pro Hijab” line, making it the first large sportswear brand to cater to Muslim female athletes. Whilst many users on social media commended Nike’s move, others were quick to point out lesser-known brands founded by Muslim entrepreneurs who have long catered to this market.

The rise of "modest" fashion
Source: CNN
The article dubs the “modest dress” phenomenon, seen predominantly on Instagram, a global cultural movement that appeals to Muslim and non-Muslim women alike, which is influencing several e-commerce businesses’ aesthetic.

Palestinians urge Radiohead not to entertain Israeli apartheid
Source: Electronic Intifada
Artists, activists, and fans of Radiohead are urging the band to cancel their upcoming concert in Tel Aviv, noting that a performance will only help perpetuate Israel’s crimes against Palestinians. The article notes that the band has thus far ignored these appeals.

Festival du film de Tanger: Cinq courts-métrages qui valent le détour
Source: Telquel
The article gives brief synopses of five short films that premiered at the Tangiers Film Festival in Morocco, which it describes as “breaths of fresh air.”

Other

الشعر العامي في الخليج: طريق الخلاص من القيود
المصدر: رصيف22
تقول الكاتبة منال الزهراني أنّ الشعر العامّي الحديث في البلدان الخليجية وسيلة مهمّة يستخدمها الشباب لتخطّي القيود اجتماعية. تفصّل الكاتبة تاريخ الكلمة "الرحّالة" عبر الصحارى وكيف تغيّر الشعر العربي الحديث على أيدي شعراء الخليج الشباب من خلال استخدامهم لمواقع التواصل الاجتماعي.      

From Jadaliyya Media Roundups

Big Brother’s Book Festival
Source: Jadaliyya Arabian Peninsula Roundup
The article comments on the tenth annual Emirates Airline Festival of Literature, noting that the U.A.E’s support of the event is hypocritical given its increased crackdown on freedom of expression.

انتخابات نقابة الصحفيين.. قارب الغرق أم طوق النجاة؟
المصدر: جدليّة - مختارات من الصحافة العربية  
انتخابات نقابة الصحافيين في مصر تكتسب أهمية كبيرة كأول انتخابات تقع في خضم توتر كبير ما بين الدولة والصحفيين. و تقول المقالة أنّ أزمة الصدام هذا يمكن أن يكون طوق النجاة لبعض المرشحين أو قارب الغرق.   

The "Media On Media Roundup" is an initiative to survey published material in the news and broadcast media that deals with journalism, coverage, or mass communication practices about the region. These roundups are produced and curated in collaboration with the American University of Beirut's Media Studies Program. The items collected here do not reflect the views of Jadaliyya or the editors of the Media Page.

[This is a roundup of news articles and other materials circulating on the Arabian Peninsula and reflects a wide variety of opinions. It does not reflect the views of the Arabian Peninsula Page Editors or of Jadaliyya. You may send your own recommendations for inclusion in each week's roundup to ap@jadaliyya.com by Monday night of every week.]

Regional and International Relations 

White House plans meeting with Saudi prince amid terror threats The visit comes as the United States expands its military operations against Al-Qa‘ida in the Arabian Peninsula in Yemen. 

Revised travel ban offers no relief for New York couple fleeing Yemen“Althaibani, a Yemeni American, is now unsure about the fate of her husband’s visa application to join her in the US.”

Yemeni sisters stuck in bureaucratic limbo in Ottawa after ID document confiscated“‘I want to be a doctor, because it's my dream. So I choose Canada,’ said the older of the two sisters, whom the CBC has agreed not to identify due to concerns about their personal safety.”

Former Guantanamo Bay inmate killed in Yemen by escalating US airstrike campaign“Mr. al-Silmi, a Yemeni citizen, spent several months in extrajudicial detainment at the Cuban naval base after being apprehended in Pakistan.”

Trump’s Ramped-Up Bombing in Yemen Signals More Aggressive Use of Military“The expanded bombing in Yemen signals a more aggressive use of military force by the Trump administration against Islamist militants, from Syria to Afghanistan.”

Bahraini government moves to dissolve leading secular, leftist opposition society Wa’ad The move comes amidst increasing attacks on activists and the suppression of oppositional groups.

Pakistan sends combat troops to Saudi southern border“The brigade will be based in the south of the Kingdom, but will only be deployed inside its border, the sources told Middle East Eye. ‘It will not be used beyond Saudi borders,’ one said.”

Saudi Arabia Is Redefining Islam for the World's Largest Muslim Nation“Saudi Arabia has, for decades, been making investments of a different sort—those aimed at influencing Indonesian culture and religion.”

Death in al Ghayil Residents of the village where the US SEAL team staged their attack last month give their account of the terror, violence, and death.

Iranian official denies sending weapons to Yemen Hossein Amir Abdollahian told Switzerland's top diplomat for the Middle East the claims were "thoroughly baseless" during talks in Tehran.

Saudi says security forces kill youth in Shi'ite Muslim town A young man was killed in the raid on Saturday morning targeting people in Awamiya a town in the eastern Qatif district where the majority of Saudi Arabia’s Shi‘a live.

Couple 'detained in UAE for sex outside marriage'“Emlyn Culverwell‚ 29, and Iryna Nohai, 27, were reportedly arrested after a doctor discovered Ms Nohai, who had stomach cramps, was pregnant.”

Doctors reject ‘racist’ call to increase health fees for expats in Kuwait“Kuwaiti doctors have lashed out at a lawmaker who called for imposing new restrictions on expatriates by forcing them to purchase medicines from private pharmacies instead of receiving them from hospitals as part of the medical check-ups.”

Reports and Opinions

Yemen is a complicated and unwinnable war. Donald Trump should stay out of it Yemen will be the place where the United States will start to confront Iranian influence in the region.

Audience berates Saudi for interrupting dance show The intruder’s attitude reflects the challenges that Saudi authorities are facing as they seek to move ahead with programmes of entertainment.

Why is Saudi Arabia’s king spending a month in Asia? Some Asian countries’ increasing role in Gulf security will be a major feature of Salman’s trip.

Kuwait Becomes First OPEC Nation to Call for Longer Oil Cuts Kuwait’s Oil Minister Issam Almarzooq said US inventories have climbed more than expected, causing prices to decline even as global producers cut their output.

Trump moves to ease Obama rules on avoiding civilian casualties in Yemen, Somalia Donald Trump has granted a Pentagon request to declare parts of Yemen to be “area[s] of active hostilities” where looser battlefield rules apply.

‘Why are we entangled in Saudi-led war?’ A retired general has called for a review of the Malaysian government’s decision to deploy soldiers to Saudi Arabia, saying it could have repercussions in Malaysia.

Malaysia foils 'Yemeni attack' on Saudi Arabia’s King Salman“Police chief says suspects planned large-scale attack using 'vehicle-borne improvised explosive device.’”

The Legal Status of Women in Bahrain A BCHR report documenting the legal status of women in Bahrain.

Saudi Arabia Must Empower Women If it Truly Wants to Move Forward Vision 2030 aims to increase the ratio of women in the workforce, but Muhammad Bin Salman continues to support the ban on women driving.

BCHR Records At Least 10 Cases of Incommunicado Detentions During February The Bahrain Centre for Human Rights has recorded a spike in the use of enforced dissapearance across Bahrain.

UK must stop Bahrain’s reprisals against death penalty campaigner“Sayed al-Wadaei, director of the Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy (BIRD), says that Bahrani detectives have detained and tortured his relatives.”

Trump administration looks to resume Saudi arms sale criticized as endangering civilians in Yemen“Now, President Trump, who has also voiced opposition to the nuclear deal, has an opportunity to recalibrate that support and reset ties with Riyadh.”

Crisis in Yemen

Yemen raid and airstrikes put 'forgotten war' back in the spotlight Trump appears to want to show his strength in Yemen, but his strategy may entangle the United States in a war that could have serious ramifications at home.

Yemen's quiet revolution as women enter the shopfloor“Since the civil war broke out in early 2015, many women have found themselves the sole breadwinner for their families after local charities, overwhelmed by requests for help, closed their doors.”

Dozens of Saudi soldiers killed in Najran, Jizan The shelling targeted Saudi soldiers in al-Shabakah military site in Najran killing dozens.

Saudi Coalition strikes in Yemen amount to war crimes – HRW“Benchemsi called on the US, UK and France to stop selling weapons to Riyadh.”

Kidney patients struggle as Yemeni health crisis worsens“‘We are working around the clock in 5 shifts to provide some 145 haemodialysis sessions per day but unexpected delays are inevitable as our machines are obsolete and frequently break down.’”

Mapping the Yemen conflict Maps by European Council on Foreign Relations aim to illustrate key aspects of the war in Yemen and its historical divisions.

Yemen: Action now can avert famine - UN Humanitarian Chief“’We need more than funds. We also need all parties to the conflict to immediately facilitate timely, full and unimpeded humanitarian access,’ Mr. O’Brien said.”

Escalation in ship attacks pushes Yemen towards famine“Saudi-led air strikes close to vital ports in the Houthi-controlled north are also curbing imports, shipping sources say.”

Two children killed in Yemen drone strike: residents Two Yemeni boys were killed in a drone strike by US forces currently bombing Yemen.

Saudi Arabia and allies delaying urgently needed medical aid to Yemen The Saudi-led coalition are delaying Save the Children’s shipments of aid for Yemen by months, despite a looming famine.

Fifteen killed in fighting near Yemen Red Sea port The latest battle was concentrated on the village of Yakhtul, which is located north of Mokha.

Yemen - Complex Emergency Fact Sheet #7, Fiscal Year (FY) 2017 Sixty-five percent of the population in Yemen is facing food insecurity due to the lack of access to affordable and quality food.

Renewed fighting displaces tens of thousands more across Yemen Fighting in Taiz governorate has left more than 48,400 people displaced. The majority, some 35,226 people, have fled within Taiz or to neighbouring Hudaydah.

As fresh violence in Yemen sends thousands fleeing their homes, UN agency urges support Displaced Yemenis are in urgent need of food, shelter, and medicine, and lack adequate water and sanitation facilities.

Voice for the Voiceless: Religious and Cultural Discrimination in Saudi Arabia“Shia Muslims in Saudi Arabia have been the victims of systematic government abuse and discrimination since before the establishment of the kingdom in 1933. The abuse and discrimination is enshrined in Saudi Arabia’s ideology and has continued in the practices of the modern Saudi state.”

Human Rights

Stop UK-Made Weapons Claiming Yemeni Lives An Amnesty International campaign denouncing the continued supply of UK-manufactured weapons to Saudi Arabia.

Bahrain’s Third Cycle UPR: A Record of Repression“We find that the Bahraini government has failed to fully implement any of its 176 second-cycle UPR recommendations. Of the 158 recommendations accepted by the government, only two have seen any significant progress toward implementation.”

Malawi govt finally brings back 60 trafficked women from Kuwait“The women were exposed to slavery like jobs and prostitution whilst in Kuwait contrary to the good jobs they were promised before they went to Kuwait.”

Kuwait: Detained human rights defender Abdulhakim Al-Fadhli ends hunger strike Abdulhakim Al-Fadhli suspended his hunger strike after the Central Prison administration agreed to communicate with the authorities about his demands, including his request to be released.

GCHR marks International Women’s Day 2017 in solidarity with WHRDs in the Gulf and neighbouring countries“[T]he Gulf Centre for Human Rights (GCHR) marks International Women’s Day by reminding the international community about the need to provide more protection for women human rights defenders (WHRDs) around the world, particularly in the Gulf region and neighboring countries.”

Bahrain: Human rights defenders in exile threatened, along with their families, while ongoing court cases continue against other defenders Human rights defenders in exile have received threats on social media against them and their families, and two family members of one of the defenders have been taken into custody this month.

Bahrain: Activist’s Family Targeted Authorities have detained the brother-in-law and mother-in-law of Sayed al-Wadaei, a UK-based Bahraini human rights activist who has accused the Bahraini authorities of serious human rights abuses.

Why the Gulf States and Jordan Are Carrying Out Mass Executions Mass executions are expected to increase across the region as a result of continued instability and political dissatisfaction.

Shura Council Unanimously Approves Decree “Amending NIHR’s Provisions” The decree stipulates that members of the Council of Commissioners have to be granted the right to perform field visits to monitor human rights in detention centres.

Ahmed Mansoor nominated as Defender of Human Rights & Freedom of Expression for March 2017 Mansoor is an Emirati blogger and prominent human rights defender.

Detainee Abu Al-Fadel Al-Qashaami Returned to his Prison Cell amid Fears of Being Subjected to Torture State security forces came last Thursday and took Abu Al-Fadel and there has been no contact with him since.

Authorities Arrest about 20 Citizens in Intense Security Campaign Bahriani security authorities launched raids that resulted in the arrest of about twenty citizens from different villages.

Bahrain: King Must Not Ratify Constitutional Amendment Allowing Military Courts To Try Civilians Amnesty International called on the king of Bahrain to refrain from ratifying a constitutional amendment that would enable military courts to try civilians.

[This is a roundup of news articles and other materials circulating on Syria and reflects a wide variety of opinions. It does not reflect the views of the Syria Page Editors or of Jadaliyya. You may send your own recommendations for inclusion in each week's roundup to syria@jadaliyya.com by Monday night of every week.]

Inside Syria

Syrian government forces enter Palmyra, drive back Islamic State: monitors (1 March, 2017) Russian-backed Syrian government forces and their allies fought their way into Palmyra on Wednesday, driving back Islamic State militants who have held the historic city since December, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group reported.

Al Qaeda confirms leader killed by drone strike in Syria (2 March, 2017) Al Qaeda confirmed on Thursday that a U.S.-led coalition drone strike had killed senior leader Abu al-Khayr al-Masri in Syria. 

'Air strikes kill 11 civilians' in Hama province (4 March, 2017) Bombing of livestock market in ISIL-held Oqayrabat village possibly carried out by Russian fighter jets, monitor says. 

Syria's war: ISIL's explosive legacy (5 March, 2017) Displaced Syrians returning home face the grave threat of IEDs left behind by fleeing ISIL fighters.

'Syrian' warplane crashes near Turkish border (5 March, 2017) Syrian rebel group says it shot down the plane but officials yet to confirm cause of crash in Turkish province of Hatay. 

SDF forces 'cut key road' out of ISIL-held Raqqa (6 March, 2017) Major advance claimed in push to seize ISIL's de-facto capital along with the destruction of Euphrates River bridges.

Marines have arrived in Syria to fire artillery in the fight for Raqqa (8 March, 2017) Marines from an amphibious task force have left their ships in the Middle East and deployed to Syria, establishing an outpost from which they can fire artillery in support of the fight to oust the Islamic State from the northern Syrian city of Raqqa, defense officials said. 

Battle for Raqqa: 'Difficult and complicated' (9 March, 2017) Al Jazeera speaks with Ahrar Al Sham's spokesperson about rebel infighting, the negotiations and Syria's future.

Reporting From Syria, an American With a Point of View and a Message (10 March, 2017) “Addressing a video camera with thinly veiled outrage, Bilal Abdul Kareem showed missile fragments that he said indicated an American drone strike, adding that it had put children who were playing nearby into the hospital.”

Syria attack kills dozens near holy shrines in Damascus (11 March, 2017) Twin blasts Saturday near holy shrines frequented by Shiites in the Syrian capital Damascus killed at least 40 people, most of them Iraqis, according to Syrian and Iraqi officials.

Hardline group in Syria claims deadly Damascus bombings (12 March, 2017) Rebel alliance formerly affiliated with al-Qaeda said it was behind blasts targeting Shia pilgrims that killed dozens. 

Syrian intelligence confiscates large supply of weapons en route to Damascus (12 March, 2017) Leith Fadel reports that Syrian military intelligence forces confiscated a large supply of weapons that were en route to Damascus from the Dara’a Governorate on Sunday.

Regional and International Perspectives

Sieges, Demographic Shifts and Returns to ‘Liberated’ Cities (1 March, 2017) Amid a renewed offensive on Mosul and U.N.-led Syria talks in Geneva, Middle East journalist and analyst Patrick Cockburn discusses the changing demographics of Syria and Iraq, and the complexities of displaced people returning to “liberated” cities in both countries.

Senior Iranian Politician Glorifies Afghan Shiite Militiamen Fighting in Syria (2 March, 2017) Ezzatollah Zarghami, the former head of the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting, has emphasized the significance of Afghan Shiite militias for the Iranian military intervention in Syria.

In Germany, torture victims sue Syrian regime members (2 March, 2017) A group of former prisoners from Syria has filed a suit in Germany accusing officials of the Assad regime of torture. The survivors reported beatings, sexual abuse and systematic humiliation in Syrian prisons.

Analysis: Hezbollah’s Highly Versatile And Embedded Role In Syria (6 March, 2017) Lebanese militia Hezbollah has vowed not to leave Syria until they have guarantees that the country will remain a key player in the Iran-led “resistance axis,” writes Levant researcher Mona Alami. 

Where Do ISIS Fighters Go When the Caliphate Falls? (6 March, 2017) Colin P. Clarke and Amarnath Amarasingam; writes "While a clear-cut victory is far from inevitable, at the current rate, it is conceivable that U.S. forces and their allies will defeat ISIS in Iraq and Syria by killing and capturing its fighters, driving the group from key cities and villages in what formerly constituted its vaunted caliphate, and ultimately taking Raqqa, its stronghold."

Analysis: ‘Safe Zone’ on Lebanon Border Would Benefit Hezbollah, Iran (7 March, 2017) Following Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah’s call for a safe zone in Syria along the Lebanese border, Syrian journalist Abdulrahman al-Masri explores what the Shiite militia stands to gain from such an area and the potential impact on regional powers. 

How Muslim Ban incites vigilante Islamophobic violence (7 March, 2017) Khaled A Beydoun says that Trump's state-sponsored Islamophobia will expose more than merely Muslims to xenophobic violence and vigilantism.

Congress probes ISIS counter-propaganda operations (9 March, 2017) Congressional investigators are demanding documents and contacting witnesses in a wide-ranging probe of the Defense Department's troubled anti-propaganda efforts against the Islamic State. 

Israel on alert as Iran expands operations in Syria (9 March, 2017) Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is in Russia for talks with President Vladimir Putin.

Presidents of Turkey, Russia huddle against backdrop of Syrian war (10 March, 2017) Relations have soured since Turkey's air force shot down a Russian jet in 2015. Russian-Turkish cooperation has borne diplomatic fruit in Syria. 

Amal Clooney to Iraq: Allow U.N. probe of Islamic State Yazidi crimes (10 March, 2017) Amal Clooney, who is representing Nadia Murad and other victims of the Islamic State’s campaign against Yazidis, spoke at the United Nations to call on Iraq to allow an investigation of the Islamic State’s genocidal crimes. Britain is currently preparing a U.N. Security Council resolution backing an investigation, but Iraq is required to request the investigation first. 

The Observer view on sending US troops to Syria (11 March, 2017) "Donald Trump’s decision to deploy hundreds of US marines in northern Syria last week has received surprisingly little attention. The deployment pitches relatively inexperienced American soldiers into the middle of a highly toxic, multi-fronted battlefield that includes combat-tested Kurdish militias, Syrian army troops, anti-regime fighters and Russian, Iranian and Turkish forces." 

American Citizens: U.S. Border Agents Can Search Your Cellphone (13 March, 2017) Officials caution that rhetoric about a Muslim registry and ban during the presidential campaign also seems to have emboldened federal agents to act more forcefully.

Policy and Reports

How Amnesty uncovered ‘a universe of degradation’ at Saydnaya Prison (17 February, 2017) Nicolette Boehland, lead researcher on Amnesty’s recent report on Saydnaya prison, discusses the human rights NGO’s yearlong investigation of the Syrian government’s alleged campaign of mass hangings and extermination.

For Syrian victims, the path to justice runs through Europe (2 March, 2017) Anthony Faiola and Rick Noack writes "As dissidents, victims’ families and human rights activists begin to lose hope that the Syrian government will ever be toppled — and that international bodies will hold it accountable for alleged war crimes — they are increasingly pursuing their own justice through criminal suits in domestic European courts."

For Syrian orphans, a childhood on fast forward (4 March, 2017) In a village in northwest, a semblance of normality has returned since rebels drove out ISIL but war is never far from children's minds. 

Syrian children turn to suicide, self-harm to escape horrors of war - report (6 March, 2017) One in four children, around 2.5 million, are on the brink of developing a mental health disorder, said Save the Children.

The Reality of Economic Reconstruction in Syria (7 March, 2017) Nearly six years of conflict have dramatically altered Syria’s economy. Political and security risk analyst Rashad al-Kattan examines the economic challenges facing the war-ravaged country. 

Before Trump Order, Syrians Already Faced Shrinking Spaces for Refuge (7 March, 2017) Amid the revised executive order suspending refugee resettlement in the U.S., Austin Schiano explores what spaces are left for Syrian refugees in countries around the world. 

Searching for a light: Syrian children struggle with trauma (8 March, 2017) As the war in Syria pushes into its seventh year, Syrian children are grappling with a growing mental health crisis as poor funding leaves trauma-related issues often unaddressed. 

Turkey’s Syrian disaster  (9 March, 2017) Simon A Waldman writes that six months into Operation Euphrates, Turkey is getting deeper into a conflict and losing friends and allies along the way.

U.S. envoy to U.N. says 'we need to get Iran' out of Syria (9 March, 2017) The United States supports the U.N.-led Syria peace talks, U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley said on Wednesday, saying Syria could no longer be a "safe haven for terrorists" and that it was important "we get Iran and their proxies out."

Hope for justice in Syria from an unlikely source (9 March, 2017) An independent mechanism established by the UNGA is working towards abolishing the reign of criminal impunity in Syria. 

As war enters 7th year, UNHCR warns Syria is ‘at a crossroads’ (9 March, 2017) While there are some hopes for peace, the needs and suffering of millions of Syrians continue unabated; Syrian war is a ‘collective failure.’

Syrian government urges U.N. to make Turkey withdraw from Syria (10 March, 2017) The Syrian government has called on the United Nations to force Turkey to pull "its invasion forces" out of Syria, state media said on Friday. 

Assad: US military forces in Syria are 'invaders' (12 March, 2017) Syrian President: No 'concrete action' from Trump administration on ISIS. 40 killed in Damascus bombings, Syria's SANA news outlet says. 

For Children Caught in Syria’s War, 2016 Was Worst Year Yet, U.N. Says (12 March, 2017) A new report released by Unicef shows that Syrian children suffered a “drastic escalation” in violence in 2016 indicating that child deaths jumped at least 20 percent from the year before and recruitment of child combatants more than doubled.

Documentaries, Special Reports, and Other Media

100 Years Of Women Refugees In 63 Riveting Photos (1 March, 2017) Throughout history people of different ethnicities and races from countries around the world have fled their homes because of war, famine, persecution and natural disaster. Germany, Vietnam, Russia, Darfur and Syria are just a few of the many countries people have had to flee from over the last 100 years.

Killing of detainees In Syrian prison: An interview with Ammnesty's Sherine Tadros (1 March, 2017) Malihe Razazan spoke with Sherine Tadros who is the Head of Amnesty International in NY about its report that accused the Syrian regime’s of what they called a calculated campaign of extrajudicial executions by mass hangings at Saydnaya Prison. 

Hopeful Tone at Syria Talks (4 March, 2017) Staffan de Mistura, the top United Nations diplomat working to resolve the civil war in Syria, which is about to enter its seventh year, reported some progress on Friday after nearly 10 days of talks in Geneva. 

US President Donald Trump signs new travel ban, exempts Iraq  (7 March, 2017) President Donald Trump's original executive order was rolled out to chaos six weeks ago. The order will make clear that lawful permanent residents are excluded from any travel ban.

Syria's Manbij council urges aid for 130,000 displaced (9 March, 2017) Some 130,000 people who have fled to the northern Syrian city of Manbij and nearby rural areas are in dire need of international aid, the head of a Manbij civil affairs council said on Wednesday.

Review: In Documentaries on Syria, Much Despair and a Dash of Hope (10 March, 2017) If the idea of cozying up to Russia strikes you as harmless, or all those Syrian refugees are too far away to seem real, the HBO documentary “Cries From Syria” is something you ought to watch. But be prepared for an unrelenting blast of misery without a lot of context.

British volunteer crowdfunds third 'tour' fighting Isis in Syria (12 March, 2017) Former soldier who also served time in prison wants to return to Raqqa to help Kurds.

The Arabic version of this article can be found here: مع دخول الحرب عامها السابع، المفوضية تحذر من أن تكون سوريا "على مفترق للطرق"

A director on his new film about Syria: “We want people to look this tragedy in the face” (12 March, 2017) “If we want the refugee problem to go away, we have to end this war.” —Evgeny Afineevsky. 

Agency and Hope: Helping Communities Healing Themselves(13 March, 2017) In this essay a model based on opposition-linked self-organizing councils will be discussed as potential primary partner in fortifying mental health resiliency in the affected communities.

Maps

SYRIA INTERACTIVE CONFLICT MAP (5 MARCH 2017) The map presents main military events since November 2nd, 2016 (last release of interactive map) to March 5, 2017 . However, due to the long period covered (4 months), some less important events may have not been reported on the map.

Arabic Links:

تجار سوريون إلى المحاكم العسكرية بمخالفات تموينية   (March 1, 2017) Syrian merchants are being tried before military courts for violations of regulations on food supplies.

ما بقي من حي تشرين  (March 6, 2017) What’s left of Tishreen Neighborhood in Damascus?

الحدلات مخيم حدودي “خارج التغطية”  (March 9, 2017) Syrian refugees experience deplorable and worsening living conditions in the makeshift refugee camp of Hadalat at the Syrian-Jordanian border.

إيران و «داعش» والأكراد في الصفقة الأميركية – الروسية (March 10, 2017) How the Russian and the new American administrations will approach the role of Iran, the Kurds, ISIS, and Turkey in Syria.

"جائزة العظم": صورة الثورة عبر الترجمة  (March 10, 2017) The Sadeq Jalal al-Azm Memorial Award for Cultural Research was awarded to Eylaf Badr Eddin for his research project “Translating the Language of the Syrian Revolution”

سوريا في ''الكرفان''.. حلم إنقاذ الوطن داخل 12 متر (فيديو وصور) (February 21, 2017) The story of Al Caravan, a project dedicated to educational, entertainment and cultural workshops for Syrian refugees.

بنك معلومات في هولندا لجمع الأدلة حول جرائم الحرب في سوريا  (March 10, 2017) Dutch officials urge to boost efforts to create a database of alleged war crimes in Syria.

العار والذات (March 10, 2017) Yassin al-Haj Saleh examines the roots of three layers of shame in the Arab World

دوما أو إمارة «كبير المفاوضين»  (March 11, 2017) Sharia Court in Douma shuts down offices of local pro-revolution magazine and civil society organizations for publishing a controversial article that “insulted the supreme Allah”

الوعر، قصص بين الحياة والموت  (March 13, 2017) Stories from the besieged neighborhood of al-Waer in the central city of Homs.

[This is a roundup of news articles and other materials circulating about Islam and reflects a wide variety of opinions and approaches. It does not reflect the views of the Critical Currents in Islam page or of Jadaliyya. You may send your own recommendations for inclusion in each week's roundup to cci@jadaliyya.com by Saturday night of every week.]

January 23 - 29

What Might Trump’s Muslim Immigration Order Do?: The Trump Administration prepares an executive order restricting entrance into the U.S. from multiple Muslim-majority countries and specifically targeting Muslims. 

The UK media too often misrepresents Muslims – with dangerous results: Miqdad Versi discusses sensationalist journalism in the UK that misrepresent facts about issues involving Muslims and Islam.

In the US, we need a Muslim-Jewish alliance: The authors of this Aljazeera opinion piece argue that Muslims and Jews in the US can come together in ways that do not downplay the need for justice in Palestine.

How Trump changed Americans’ view of Islam – for the better: Polls show increased favorability towards Muslims since Trump’s election. This article suggests that Trump’s extreme, partisan rhetoric and actions might be part of the reason.

Mapping Islamophobia: Visualizing Islamophobia in the United States: Caleb Elfenbein, Associate Professor at Grinnell College, has put together a team of people to map incidents of Islamophobia across the U.S. over time.

Designating the Muslim Brotherhood a “terrorist organization” puts academic researchers at risk: Designating the Muslim Brotherhood (MB) as a terrorist organization could be dangerous for researchers and NGO’s who work on or with MB materials and individuals. Ambiguous legal language about what counts as “material support” for terrorist organizations increases this risk.

Protests Erupt Nationwide Against Trump’s Muslim Ban for Second Day: Protests across the U.S. have taken place at airports and courthouses for the second day since Donald Trump signed an executive order barring individuals from seven Muslim-majority countries.

Judge blocks deportation of detainees over Trump refugee order: U.S. District Court Judge Ann Donnelly has temporarily blocked the Executive Order signed by Donald Trump on Friday restricting entrance to the U.S. from seven Muslim-majority countries. The ban unfairly targets Muslims and has been applied indiscriminately, even affecting those with permanent resident status.

Sixteen state attorneys general vow to fight President Trump’s executive order for travel bans: Attorneys general in sixteen states have said they will fight Trump’s Executive Order unfairly targeting Muslims coming into the U.S. Many have claimed it is in violation of constitutional protections guaranteeing religious freedom.

Québec mosque shooting: five reportedly killed in gun attack: Breaking story - five killed during evening prayer in an attack carried out by three gunmen.

6 Rules Of Islamophobia In America: In light of recent attacks on Muslims, Huffington Post has launched a “Islamophobia Project” which tracks anti-Muslim violence, vandalism, discrimination, public policy and political speech during 2016.

How Islam took root in one of South America’s most violent cities: In Buenaventura, one of Colombia’s most violent cities, Islam is becoming popular thanks to a small community of Afro-Colombian Muslims who brought Islam to Buenaventura in the 1960s.

‘I think Islam Hates Us: The New York Times examines President Trump’s plan to “eradicate radical Islamic terrorism” and how it differs from former President Obama’s strategy.

Christian Leaders Denounce Trump’s Plan to Favor Christian Immigrants: The travel ban signed by President Trump gives preference to refugees who belong to a religious minority in their country and have been persecuted for their religion, which essentially means Christian refugees will be more likely to gain entry into America over Muslim refugees.

Iranian Academics Scared and Stranded by Trump Travel Ban: Trump’s travel ban has left many Iranian nationals stranded outside the United States, unsure if they will be able to return. Mohsen Kadivar, a Duke professor and Iranian national, shares his experience of being in Berlin at the time the ban was enacted.

In the face of Trump’s Muslim ban, all academics have a responsibility to act: Sari Hanfi writes that scholars bear a responsibility to act through the specific mechanisms available to them such as providing informed public outreach as well as through their teaching and writing.

There Has Never Been an America without Muslims: Amir Hussain writes about the long history of American Muslims and Muslims in America arguing against misconceptions that there has ever been an America devoid of their presence.

Statement on January 27 US Executive Order “Protecting the Nation From Foreign Terrorist Entry Into the United States”: The Board of Directors of the International Qur’anic Studies Association (IQSA) responds to President Trump’s executive order that bans citizens of certain Muslim-majority countries from entering the United States.

January 30 - February 5

The Myth of the Muslim Country: Elizabeth Shakman Hurd discusses the faulty logic behind the notion of the “Muslim country,” which further reinforces the notion of “good Christian/bad Muslim” driving discussions in the public sphere about the current situation.

Quebec Has a Long History of Anti-Muslim Violence and Political Rhetoric: Even before last week’s  horrific killing of six men at a Quebec city Mosque, violence directed against Muslims has been an open, dirty secret in the province,” says PAtrick Lejtenyi.

Islamophobia in Quebec wasn't created overnight: University of Toronto PhD student Sabrien Amrov says “this attack is inherently linked to the broader public debate that has taken place over the last decade in Quebec.”

Sudanese Stanford Ph.D. Student Speaks Out After Being Detained at JFK Under Trump Muslim Ban: Nisrin Elamin, Stanford University PhD student provides a first hand account of her experience with the Muslim ban at San Francisco Airport on her way back from Sudan.

How A Bible Belt Christian Found Herself Working For A Muslim Organization: Kate Chance, Interfaith Coordinator for Islamic Networks Group, shares how she came to work for a Muslim organization.

Suddenly, Muslims are America’s pariahs: Sudanese writer Nesrine Malik reflects on #Muslimban and its impact.

Trump's Travel Ban Is an Attack on Religious Liberty: Noted constitutional law expert Noah Feldman argues the #Muslimban runs contrary to first amendment and provides advice to challenge it.

Diplomats Decry Muslim Ban: More than 100 State Department employees have said they will sign a memo against the Muslim ban.

MoMA Protests Trump Entry Ban by Rehanging Work by Artists from Muslim Nations: As a reaction to Trump’s entry ban, the Museum of Modern Art rehung works of art by artists from nations whose citizens are banned from coming to America.

Statement of North American scholars of Islam and the Muslim world regarding President Trump’s Executive Order on immigration and refugees: A group of scholars who study Islam and the Muslim world have produced a statement against the ban targeting Muslim-majority countries. The statement calls the ban “offensive” and “demeaning” while reiterating its likely illegal and discriminating nature.

Statement Issued by the Board of Directors of the American Academy of Religion on U.S. Executive Order “Protecting the Nation from Foreign Terrorist Entry into the United States": The Board of Directors at the American Academy of Religion (AAR) have stated that the Trump administration’s ban impedes the mission of the AAR, which includes “mutual respect” and “free inquiry” for all who are apart of its organization.

World’s Muslim population more widespread than you might think: Pew Research shows that while many associate the Middle East with Islam and Muslims, the majority of the world’s Muslims (62%) live in the “Asia-Pacific region.”

Trump Pushes Dark View of Islam to Center of U.S. Policy-Making: At the center of the Trump administration lie a group of individuals who harbor discriminatory ideas about Islam and Muslims often reinforced by apocalyptic Christian views and notions of the “West” as a “Judeo-Christian” civilization.

Pointing to Trump, Groups Reject U.S. Aid to Fight Extremism: Groups in the US who receive monetary support through the Countering Violent Extremism initiative (CVE) have declined funds given by the Department of Homeland Security due to the fact that they see Trump’s ban as “anti-Islamic” and counter-productive.

Cardinal O’Malley stands in solidarity with Muslims over travel ban: Some Boston Muslims gathered at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross to meet with Cardinal Sean O’Malley, the Massachusetts Governor, and the Boston Mayor to express support for immigrants and show solidarity with the Muslim community.

Muslim Cop Files Lawsuit Over Alleged Threats, Harassment from NYPD Colleagues: NYPD Officer, Daniel Alamrani was continually harassed and assaulted by her NYPD colleagues for wearing hijab and being Muslim. Her case is now before the courts.

Why do so many Americans believe that Islam is a political ideology, not a religion?: Michael Schulson investigates why many believe Islam to be a political ideology in the guise of a religion. The author argues that as pressure rises in the courts concerning Muslims and issues around religious freedom, this discussion will be at the forefront.

Queer Muslim women from the south: 'We exist and we’re fierce': As a part of her “Just Me and Allah: A Queer Muslim Photo Project,” Samra Habib talks to three women in Durham, NC about being queer and Muslim in America under the current administration.

Trump considers executive order to ban Muslim Brotherhood: The Trump administration might seek a follow-up order designating the Muslim Brotherhood as a “terrorist organization.” This is in addition to legislation before Congress seeking to do something similar.

U.S. Muslim school curriculum: English, math and political activism: Muslim students and teachers find way to address the current political climate and the rise of Islamophobia in civics courses in this Boston Muslim school.

February 6 - 12

United Nations reports 'horrors' inflicted on Rohingya in Myanmar's Rakhine state: The United States released a report this week detailing the “horrors” faced by the Rohingya people that are currently living in refugees camps in Bangladesh.

What Trump team has said about Islam: BBC examines what President Trump and his administration have said about Islam during the campaign cycle and since the start of his presidency.

In Italy, Islam doesn’t officially exist. Here’s what Muslims must accept to change that.: Despite being Italy’s second largest religion, Islam is not officially recognized by the state. However the “National Pact for an Italian Islam,” an agreement between Italy’s Interior Ministry and the country’s nine major Islamic associations that requires mosques create a registry of their imams and to require them to preach in Italian, is expecting to pave the way for Islam to be recognized as an official religion.

How Islam Is Gaining A Foothold In Micronesia: Micronesia, a country where United Church of Christ missionaries founded the Marshall Islands’ first Christian church in 1857, has experienced a growing Muslim community since the Baet-Ul-Ahad mosque was built in 2012.

Europe’s fear of Muslim immigration revealed in widespread survey: The Chatham House Royal Institute of International Affairs created a survey to see whether citizens from 10 European countries agreed or disagreed with this statement: "all further migration from mainly Muslim countries should be stopped." Out of the 10,000 people polled, an average of 55 percent agreed with the statement.

Don’t ‘detonate on patrol': A Muslim cop sues NYPD, claiming colleagues harassed her for years: Danielle Alamrani, a New York police officer, is suing the NYPD over harassment she experienced from coworkers as a Muslim woman.

White House Weighs Terrorist Designation for Muslim Brotherhood: President Trump and his advisors are currently debating on whether to declare the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist organization. Labeling the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist organization will directly affect American relations in the Middle East and North Africa.

This is how the Trump administration could freeze out Muslims in America: Laura Pitter, the senior national security counsel at Human Rights Watch, shares how labeling the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist organization could affect Muslims in America.

Pope Francis decries atrocities on Rohingya Muslims: Pope Francis spoke out against the atrocities on Rohingya Muslims. He believes they are being targeted “simply because they want to live their culture and their Muslim faith.”

The study of Islam in the US: now what?: Religion professors discuss how the Trump era has changed the way Islam is taught at a college level.

Most refugees who enter the U.S. as religious minorities are Christians: According to a PEW Research poll, 37% of all refugees who were admitted into the United States in 2016 were religious minorities in their home countries. Of this group, 61% were Christians. This report comes as President Trump’s administration has said it will give priority to religious minorities who apply for refugee status in America.

Piety, Power, and Politics in Turkey: Foreign Affairs examines the history of the “The Art of the Qur’an: Treasures from the Museum of Turkish and Islamic Arts” exhibit that is currently on display in Washington D.C.

Politicizing Islam: An introduction: Politicizing Islam, a book written by Z. Fareen Parvez, is centered around years of observation of the Muslim communities in Lyon, France and Hyderabad, India.

February 13 - 19

Trump's Muslim Ban and the Challenge of the Left Today: Jamil Khader writes that the problem for the left today is how to link criticisms of political economy with resistance to policies like the Trump administrations “Muslim ban.”

Gender Issues Are a National Problem, Not Just a Muslim Problem: Hadeer Soliman responds to Baroness Cox’s attempt to pass an amendment to existing criminal legislation stating that  religious marriages must comply with existing marriage laws in England and Wales.

How Islamic scholarship birthed modern astronomy: Shannon Stirone exams the rich historical landscape of Muslim scholars and scientists who studied and expounded upon Greek science, thus laying the foundation for modern scientific discoveries.

Indonesia's moderate Islam is slowly crumbling: The organization Nahdlatul Ulama in Indonesia is battling growing conservative, majoritarian tendencies amongst some of its followers who want to see the group go in a different direction.

In France, Some Muslims Seek To 'Adapt' Islam To Secular Culture: Tareq Oubrou, an imam in Bordeaux, and Hakim El Karoui, a Muslim writer and business consultant, share how a “French Islam” is possible in one of the most secular countries in the world.

Why Saying ‘Radical Islamic Terrorism’ Isn’t Enough: Richard Stengel, former under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs under President Obama, discusses why simply labeling violent extremism “radical Islamic terrorism” won’t solve anything.

Americans Express Increasingly Warm Feelings Toward Religious Groups: According to a new PEW Research poll, Americans “generally express more positive feelings toward various religious groups today than they did just a few years ago.”

I Told Steve Bannon: ‘We Are Not At War With Islam.’ He Disagreed.: Flemming Rose, a senior fellow at the CATO Institute, reflects on a conversation about Islam with Steve Bannon, a top political advisor for President Trump.

Studying Religion in the Era of Trump — Scholars’ Roundtable, part 1: Religion and Culture Forum at University of Chicago hosts scholars to discuss different aspect of studying religion during the Trump Administration. Part 1 is by Anthony Petro.

Why are some black Africans considered white Americans?: Activist/educator Hind Makki draws on her own Sudanese American background and experience and discusses the intersection of race and religion in America.

Brutal killing that made a Yemeni immigrant hero of US labor movement: Rua’a Alameri writes on a little known aspect of American history.

On Scholars, Politics and the Prophetic Imperative to Truly Spread Peace: Columbia University doctoral student Ebadur Rahman discusses the role and positions of scholars Shaykh Abdallah bin Bayyah and Hamza Yusuf regarding politics, political Islam and geopolitics over the last couple of years.

Trump’s Dangerous Delusions About Islam: Christopher de Bellaigue says Trump and his advisers are wrong on Islam and Middle Eastern history.

The Little Syria of Deep Valley: Jia Tolentino explores the long history of Syrian-Americans for the New Yorker.

This group believes Islam threatens America: ‘It’s a spiritual battle of good and evil.’ : An examination of Islamophobic group ACT for America and their networks in the White House.

“Crying is an everyday thing”: life after Trump’s “Muslim ban” at a majority-immigrant school: Trump’s Muslim ban sends shockwaves through communities whose lives are at risk due to their visa status in the U.S. Children and schools are dramatically affected.

An American Muslim Veteran Reflects on Resisting the Muslim Ban: Usmaan Z. Chaudhry served for 4 years in the U.S. Air Force and reflects on patriotism, protests and his sense of shock at what the America he served is becoming.

Why Do So Many Americans Fear Muslims? Decades of Denial About America’s Role in the World: Jon Schwarz offers a realist diagnosis of the contemporary problem with American exceptionalism. Schwarz suggests Americans take a long, hard look at their involvement in foreign countries before despairing about perceived threats of “radical Islam.”

The Mythology of the Sectarian Middle East: Ussama Makdisi discusses the different problems with talking about the Middle East through the lens of sectarianism as a self-evident explanation without recourse to its historical formation.

Egypt’s clerics are resisting the president’s call to renew Islam: Reforming Islam in Egypt: Egypt’s President Sisi has called on al-Azhar scholars to reform the school, but many are resisting despite the fact that they have accommodated Sisi in the past.

Facing harsh political climate, Muslim students seek more support from chaplain: Columbia University’s Muslim Students Association urges the university to join peers and hire a full-time chaplain.

February 20 - 26

Moonlight's Mahershala Ali: anti-Islam prejudice 'not a shock' if you have grown up black: Mahershala Ali discusses the intersections of race and religion in the context of post-9-11 America, where racism and Islamophobia are both on the rise.

Muslim-American activists raise more than $20,000 in 2 hours to repair vandalized Jewish cemetery: Linda Sarsour and Tarek el-Messidi started a crowdfunding campaign to raise money for a vandalized Jewish cemetery in St. Louis. The two activists desired to send a message of solidarity in the face of hate and discrimination.

‘Every person deserves to rest in peace': American Muslims raising money to repair vandalized Jewish cemetery: Tarek el-Messidi explains the sense of obligation he felt to help those who were affected by acts of anti-semitism during the Trump administration.

Trump's revised immigration order expected to renew ban on 7 Muslim-majority countries: The Trump administration has begun drafting a new Executive Order (EO) designed to pick up where the previous EO left off. Despite the legal opposition, the administration continues to assert that these orders fall within powers given to the office of the President.

China orders drivers to fit GPS trackers to their cars so Muslims can be monitored using central computer: China's Xinjiang region has ordered every motorist to install a GPS in their car in an effort to increase surveillance on the Uighurs, a Muslim group the government says is being radicalized by foreign jihadists.

I am a Member of the Muslim Brotherhood, Not a Terrorist: Gehad el-Haddad, the official spokesperson for the Muslim Brotherhood, shares why the Muslim Brotherhood isn’t a terrorist group, but a “morally conservative, socially aware grass-roots movement that has dedicated its resources to public service for the past nine decades.”

I was a Muslim in Trump’s White House: Rumana Ahmed, former deputy National Security Advisor under President Barack Obama, shares her experience of working for the Trump administration and why she ultimately left.

Muslims Shouldn’t Have To Be ‘Good’ To Be Granted Human Rights: Sara Yasin, a writer for Buzzfeed shares her story of being Muslim in America and discusses the danger of grouping all Muslims together.

Views of Islam and extremism in the U.S. and abroad: According to a PEW Research poll, most Americans think there is little to no support for extremism among American Muslims.

Islamophobia grows louder in North Carolina: 'Can we not kill them all?': A far-right, racist group, Act for America, has met in Kernersville, NC to discuss ways to respond to an imagined threat of “shariah law” in the United States. The group was heard suggesting extermination as a solution among other hateful suggestions.

CAIR calls for FBI investigation of Kernersville talk about killing Muslims: The Council on American-Islamic Relations has urged federal and local officials to respond to the above mentioned Kernersville, NC meeting of Act for America, a group the Southern Poverty Law Center calls an “extremist group.

Will America’s Oldest Muslim Community Survive President Trump?: Muslims in Cedar Rapids, Iowa respond to the changing attitudes towards Islam and Muslims in an increasingly hostile environment in America. Cedar Rapids is one of the oldest Muslim communities in America.

New Atheism's Islam-obsessed rape and rescue fantasy: CJ Werleman diagnosis the attitude of  the “New Atheists” and their pathological dislike of religion and Islam, a dislike that links them, much to their chagrin, with conservative, right-wing organizations.

Meet Frank Gaffney, the anti-Muslim gadfly reportedly advising Donald Trump’s transition team: Frank Gaffney, founder of the Center for Security Policy, is reportedly advising the Trump transition team. Gaffney is known for his spurious claims and use of unscientific, skewed data to denigrate Islam and Muslims.

H.R. McMaster Breaks With Administration on Views of Islam: Trump’s new national security advisor, H.R. McMaster, breaks with his predecessors by insisting on a distinction between Islam and radicalism, eschewing the use of “radical Islamic terrorism” as a useful term. 

February 27 - March 5

‘I just feel blessed’: Mahershala Ali becomes first Muslim actor to win an Oscar: Mahershala Ali, the first Muslim actor to win an Oscar, discusses his spirituality and how he found Islam in his 20s after growing up in a Christian household.

‘Radical Islamic terrorism’: Three words that separate Trump from most of Washington: President Trump, unlike his predecessor, frequently uses the term “radical Islamic terrorism” despite his own national security adviser advising him to avoid using the term.

Middle East regimes are using ‘moderate’ Islam to stay in power: Annelle Sheline argues that many countries, such as UAE and Morocco, use ‘moderate Islam’ to keep political opposition down by labeling anyone who disagrees with their ‘moderate Islam’ as a terrorist.

Liberalising Islam: Indonesian Muslim scholar Ulil Abshar-Abdalla believes that Islam and liberalism can go hand in hand. He says “Islam, like other religions, is not monolithic. There's diversity within itself with many organisations, sects, denominations and groups. It's not a single entity. And there are many interpretations, understandings.”

The Muslims Who Aren’t Celebrating Mahershala Ali’s Oscar Win: Some Pakistanis consider Mahershala Ali’s Oscar win a first for the Ahmadiyya community, not for “Muslims” generally. The Ahmadiyya in Pakistan are considered outside the fold of Islam according to state law, despite their large presence.

Forum: Islam on Trial: Boston Review hosts a forum on the various ways Islam and Muslims have come under intense scrutiny. Responses address the legal procedures, cultural assumptions, and racial profiling that underpins Islamophobia.

When My Daughter Asked ‘Mummy, What’s A Terrorist?’ I Knew I Had To Work On Extremely British Muslims: Fozia Khan, a Muslim filmmaker, details her journey to make a genuine documentary about British Muslims. Her hope is that the film “contributes in some way to a healthier dialogue between non-Muslims and Muslims, and, just as importantly, within and amongst Muslim communities too.”

Tariq Ramadan: ‘Muslims need to reform their minds’: Muslim thinker and theologian, Tariq Ramadan, argues that Muslims must be consistent and recognize that Islam is a part of “secular, Western” society, therefore Muslims must hold themselves and their governments accountable.

Making way for pilgrims: The destruction of Mecca: Development in Mecca has come at the cost of its rich history. Systematic erasure of Mecca’s previous custodians has caused some to stop and wonder what can be done to preserve what is left.

What exactly are American Muslims apologising for?: Ramzy Baroud writes that Democrats and Republicans have an equally bad record when it comes to dealing with American Muslim concerns. He encourages seeking redress for wrongs rather than validation through claims to “good citizenry”.

هل تمتلك المدن شهوات كالانسان؟ هل تشتهي مدينة ما أن ترقد بسلام في أعمق بقاع الأرض بعيداً هناك وتتمتع بشمسها وهوائها ورهبانها ونخيلها وسكانها الطيبين؟ أريحا، مدينة القمر كما يعني اسمها. اختارت أن تطل من بعيد بهدوء على الكون لا تبغي شيئاً سوى السكون والصمت. فهل كتب لها ذلك؟ اختارت أن تكون في المكان الأكثر انخفاضاً عن مستوى سطح البحر في العالم ، اختارت الابتعاد لكن الصخب لم يتركها وشأنها.

أريحا هي المدينة الأولى التي سكنها الانسان منذ الأزل وما زال حتى اليوم. بدأ هذا منذ العصر الحجري الذي ترك آثاره حزينة كابية فيها. بالتحديد منذ عشرة آلاف سنه قبل الميلاد، حين كان ابن أريحا يمتهن الصيد، وسيلته الوحيده للحياة. ثم تطور إلى أن بدأ بصنع الفخار بمهارة وابتكار.

يسمى ابن أريحا بالريحاوي . والريحاوي يشبه مدينته . ينشد السكون والتأمل، كالقمر تماماً، ولا يهتم بالنجومية والصخب. لهذا اسمرالريحاوي ألفين إلى ثلاثة آلاف سنة لينتقل إلى مرحلة الزراعة. فأريحا الجميلة فردت تربتها برحابة لتغدق على ساكنها بكرم. بدأت الزراعة وقتها بالقمح والشعير، واستمرت أريحا حتى اليوم جنة البرتقال والحمضيات وما طاب منها.

كأني أرى أريحا تبحث عن سكينة ما، تتشبث بها، لكنها لا تنعم بها أبدا.

سكنها الكنعانيون في قديم الزمان. ثم تناوب عليها الغزاة. بداية من الهكسوس ثم بني اسرائيل بقيادة هوشع بن نون، والرومان، وهكذا كثيرون إلى أن جاء الصليبيون بعد سنين طوال... غزوات وتدمير ووقتل، وبناء واستمرارية. إنه قدر أريحا التي ذكرت في التوراة والإنجيل وتتالت الحكايات.

تقول التوراة إن اليهود حين نفاهم فرعون،  وبعد تيههم لأربعين عاماً في الصحراء، وصلوا الى أريحا وهي بوابة فلسطين، فاستعصت عليهم أسوارها المنيعة التي بناها الكنعانيون. فأمرهم ربهم بأن ينفخ سبعة من كبار الكهنة في أبواقهم الى أن تسقط الأسوار وحين فعلوا، تساقطت الحجارة ودخلوا أريحا. واستباحوا أهلها وسكانها. أما الدلائل الأركيولوجية فتشير إلى غير ذلك. إذ لا دليل على أي عنف أو مجازر أو هدم قسري للاسوار.

وهناك قول آخر في العهد القديم بأن اليهود حين استعصت عليهم أسوار أريحا، قام قائدهم يوشع بن نون بصب اللعنة عليها وقال: "ملعون أمام الرب الرجل الذي يقوم ويبني هذه المدينة أريحا. ببكره يؤسسها، وبصغيره ينصب أبوابها". وبهذا آمن اليهود بأن كل من يقوم بإعادة بنائها ملعون، يفقد بِكره كما يفقد أبناءه. لهذا نرى الآن أن أريحا تنعم بعدم وجود مستوطنات إسرائيلية بها. او حتى أطماع سياسية تجاهها.

حمتها أسوارها المنيعة التي ما فتئت تعلو وتهدم وتبنى من جديد ولا نشاهد سوى آثار باقية وحيدة تنشد السكون. أما الإنجيل فيذكر تلك الشجرة  "شجرة الجميز" التي صعد اليها رجل يدعى زاخاروس حين مر سيدنا عيسى في أريحا، إذ ازدحم الناس من كل حدب وصوب ليروا النبي الجديد ولم يستطع زاخاروس أن يراه بسبب قصر قامته، فتسلق شجرة الجميز الخالدة وشاهد الرسول المنشود.

في طفولتي ، في أريحا التي دخلت على العالم في رحابها الجميلة، كان بيتنا مهبط زوار عرب وأجانب، وكان والدي يصحبنا جميعا لنشاهد آثار الأمويين في النويعمة شمال اريحا. حيث تعانق أشجار النخيل والموز جنبات الطريق.

الآثار تتناثر هنا وهناك. أما أحلاها إلى قلبي -الصغير آنذاك-  لوحة موزاييك مذهلة ستصاحبني طوال عمري، لوحة متقنه لشجرة خضراء فارهة ما زالت تحتفظ بلونها رغم طول السنين. تحمل رماناً طازجاً بين أغصانها. نرى في أسفل يمينها، أسداً ينقض ليصهر غزالة وديعة تحاول الهرب من بين براثنه، وفي الناحية الأخرى من الشجرة غزالان آخران يتجاهلان ما يحدث لأختهما أو قد يكونا غافلين عنها منشغلين بالبحث عن الطعام، يضنيهما الحر ويحميهما ظل الشجرة. تلك الشجرة التي لا يماثلها شيء كانت ترتبط دائماً في ذاكرتي بأشجار الجنة التي تتحدث عنها معلمة الدين.

لا شيء يماثل أريحا.

أما المتعة فكانت مرافقة أبي لزيارة مقام نبي آخر قرب أريحا هو النبي موسى. كان موسم النبي موسى يعتبر موسماً شعبياً لكل ساكني فلسطين ، تأتي إليه النساء وتتسلق التلة لتصل إلى قبره وتطلب إليه ان يرزقها بالذرية الصالحة التي حرمت منها. وكان الآباء يصطحبون أبناءهم ليقصوا لهم شعورهم، حيث ينتشر عشرات الحلاقين يحملون أدواتهم القليلة ويمارسون مهنتهم في منطقة تجلب البركة للرؤوس الحليقة ولمن يقصون شعورها.

كنت أنتظر هذا الموسم بشغف، لآكل من حلوى النبي موسى التي لا مثيل لمذاقها في العالم.

يا أريحا، يا مدينة القمر. أنت لا مثيل لك في العالم.

هناك أيضا يرقد جبل قرنطل بثبات، يضرب جذوره في أعماق الأرض باحثاً عن سكون دائم. غير عابئ بالحفر الكثيرة التي صنعها الإنسان في صخوره باحثاً عن مأوى وملاذ. الآن يسكن هناك في الأعالي رهبان بلحى طويلة وملابس سوداء وقبعات خاصة بهم وطيبة بالغة تلفهم. في طفولتي كنت أراهم يطيرون ليصلوا إلى قمة الجبل يحملون شماس ملونة. ويطيرون، ليهبطوا بسلام في بيوتهم البعيدة.

عندما كانت المملكة الأردنية تضم أريحا والضفة الغربية تحت نفوذها. كانت أريحا ساكنة تنام في هدوء، إلى أن أقيم مهرجان البرتقال، والذي افتتحه الملك حسين بنفسه. يومها تزينت المدينة بالبرتقال، لبسته أساور في أيدي سكانها، ومن زهوره تيجان على رؤوس صباياها. لا أنسى ذاك اليوم الذي اصطففنا فيه على جنبات الطرق نشاهد العربات تسير بهدوء وقد امتلأت بالبرتقال بأشكاله وأنواعه المختلفة. وحينها أقيم حفل كبير، دبكت فيه الفتيات والشباب ورقصن رقصهن الشعبي بأثوابهن السوداء المطرزة بالزهور الحمر الزاهية والفروع الخضراء المشرقة.

لا مثيل لك يا أريحا....

طبعا أهملت المدينة دائماً سواء في عهد الأردن أو في عهد السلطة الفلسطينية. 

بعد سنوات طوال من التهجير القسري لأهل فلسطين كلها وليس أريحا فقط . زرتها لأجد أختي باستقبالي عند الجسر. فجسر التهجير الذي بات الاسرائيليون يتحكمون بمن يدخل عبره ويخرج منه بات هو الحد والمدخل لمدينتي الصغيرة.

اصطحبتني أختي إلى بيتنا الصغير على كتف الواد كما كنا نسميه. ذلك البيت الذي ولدت فيه. كانت حديقته تضحك بانتظاري، وأشجار البرتقال تحمل ثمارها لتعيد ذاك الطعم المفقود في فمي. أما أزهار الورد البلدي فرقصت معي بهجة وفرحاً. 

دخلت إلى الغرفة التي ولدت بها ، شاهدت بلاطها الحاني الموشوم بالأبيض والأسود بمربعات كبيرة وصغيرة. 

لا مثيل لك يا أريحا.

فلاحو أريحا نشطاء ، يزرعون الآن القمح والموز والبرتقال والبوملي. ولكنهم مهملون تماماً. لا أحد الان يأبه لإقامة مدارس لتعليم أبنائهم أو مشاريع لمستشفيات أو لمستقبل قادم.تركت أريحا اليوم ولكنها لم تترك بسلام كما كانت تنشد هي نفسها. تركت لتظل مشروعاً للتفاوض والابتزاز والمكاسب السياسية. لكن جبل قرنطل بقي كما هو، والجامع الكبير ما زال ينتظر. وكنيسة اللاتين والروم أيضاً قائمة تنتظر قدوماً آخر للمسيح.

ربيع علم الدين

بعد الانتخابات الرئاسية مباشرة امتلأ حسابي على التويتر بالتعبيرات عن الصدمة والشكاوى. بدا كما لو أن العبارة المفضلة للجميع هي:"نحن أفضل من هذا”. لكنني اعتبرت هـذا الكلام خاطئاً، وفهمتُ منطقه الملتوي، والصدمة والأذى اللذين سيقودان أحداً ما كي يقول هذا، لكن هذا لم يكن صحيحاً.

لسنا أفضل من هذا. نحن هذا.

لقد انتُخبَ الرجل رئيساً. وبحكم طبيعة الحال إن أميركا هي هذا، نحن هذا.

لا أقول كلامي هذا كي أوحي أننا يجب أن نُلام، أو أن أحداً ما لم يصوّت لدونالد ترامب هو مذنب كشخص صوّت. ما أحاول مواصلة الإشارة إليه، للأصدقاء، ولأي شخص يحب أن يصغي، هو أن قلة منا ترغب بالاعتراف بالمسؤولية، ليس بالضرورة قبول المسؤولية، بل الوقوف والقول:"أعترف أن هذا الظلام من صنعي".

أتذكر حين خرجتْ إلى العلن صور التعذيب في سجن أبي غريب إلى الضوء. كانت الاستجابة مشابهة: هذا ليس نحن. إن الجنود المتورطين فاسدون ومنحطون. بدأت المسألة في القمة، مع جورج بوش وانتقلت إلى الأسفل. لن نفعل أبداً شيئاً كهذا. لكننا فعلنا هذا بالطبع، وواصلنا فعل هذه الأمور مرة بعد أخرى، وقمنا بما هو أسوأ منها. اعترض البعض، لكن معظمنا واصلوا حياتهم واختاروا النسيان. وهنا أحبّ أن أستشهد بالشاعر البولوني ستانسلاف جيرزي الذي قال:"ما من ندفة ثلجٍ في حادور سبق أن شعرتْ بالمسؤولية".

يحظر ترامب المسلمين ونزعم أن هذا غير أميركي، أننا لسنا هذا. لستُ مضطراً للتحدث عن التاريخ ا"لقديم" كي أظهر أننا هذا. لن أذكر الاستعمار الاستيطاني والإبادة وسرقة الأرض، والعبودية، أو معسكرات الاعتقال للأميركيين من أصل ياباني. لن أشير إلى قانون بيج Page Act الذي يحظر من عُدوا من "غير المرغوب بهم"، وقانون استبعاد الصينيين، وقانون حظر السفر من المنطقة الآسيوية (قانون معرفة القراءة والكتابة)، وقانون الطوارئ الخاص بالمهاجرين. ولست مضطراً لذكر مئات آلاف المكسيكيين الذين تم ترحيلهم في الثلاثينيات، أو آلاف اليهود الهاربين من العنف النازي الذين تم إبعادهم.
كان فرانك دي روزفلت وليس ترامب هو من زعَم أن المهاجرين اليهود يمكن أن يهددوا الأمن القومي الأميركي. لن أذكر أياً من هذا، لأن هذا حدث منذ وقت طويل. ونستطيع دوماً أن نخدع أنفسنا بالقول إن أميركا كانت هذا لكننا الآن أفضل. دعوني أذكر أنه في 2010 و2011 مرّرت المجالس التشريعية للولايات 164 قانوناً مضاداً للهجرة.

تضايق كثيرون حين قام ترامب بحملته داعياً إلى تسجيل أسماء المسلمين الداخلين، لكنني فوجئت حين اكتشفت أن قليلين يعرفون أنه كان لدينا قانون مشابه من قبل: نظام الأمن القومي لتسجيل الدخول والخروج الذي طُبق في 11 أيلول\سبتمبر 2002. تقول الأتلانتيك:"يتألف من برنامجيْ تسجيل خاصين: واحد يقضي بأن على مواطنين من بلدان معينة أن يخضعوا لتدقيق حكومي قبل دخول ومغادرة البلاد، وآخر يلزم بعض الأجانب الذين يعيشون في الولايات المتحدة بأن يظهروا بشكل منتظم أمام موظفي الهجرة". لم يعلّق أوباما البرنامج حتى 2011. ألغاه قبل أن يغادر منصبه مباشرة.

أعتقد أنني لا أملك أوهاماً حول إنسانيتنا، لكنني كنت أملكها حين كنت أصغر في السن. فقد هاجرتُ إلى الولايات المتحدة في السابعة عشرة من عمري، من لبنان عن طريق إنكلترة. جئت كي أدرس وهرباً من الحرب الأهلية اللبنانية. ففي الخامسة عشرة من عمري، مرت رصاصة طائشة على مسافة قريبة جداً مني بينما كنت على سقف بنايتنا أراقب مناوشات في مكان قريب. رغبت بالخروج. واعتقدت أنني أترك العنف خلفي، مبتعداً عن اللغة الكريهة التي تتشدق بها الجماعات المتخاصمة، اليسارية واليمينية، الإسلامية والمسيحية. ولقد آمنت أنني اخترت أن أهاجر إلى بلاد تحرص حكومتها على سكانها، أو على الأقل تستجيب لهم. لكنني تحررت من أكاذيب كهذه باكراً. فحين بدأ الإيدز يُهلك جيلاً، راقبت أصدقائي وأحبائي يموتون بينما سكرتير إعلام رونالد ريغان نكّت حين ذكر أحدهم الوباء. وريغان نفسه رفض أن يذكره حتى 1985. شهدت المعاناة بينما بقية البلاد إما هاجمت المحتضرين أو وقفت صامتة.

لم يتحسن الأمر، ليس بالنسبة لي أو لأشخاص مثلي. بعد الهجوم الإجرامي على مبنى التجارة العالمي، حبستُ نفسي في شقتي مرعوباً. لم يكن هناك مجال للفروق البسيطة والحجة أو الخلاف. كانت لغة بوش مألوفة لي ولأي شخص سبق أن عاش في ظل نظام غير ديمقراطي. وفي لبنان، كان قادة الميليشيات المختلفون يلقون خطباً مشابهة كي يبدأوا الحرب الأهلية.

يحدث كثيراً أن يقول لي مغفل: “عدْ إلى بلادك”، أو أن يقول شخص يدعي الظرافة:"لست مصاباً برهاب الإسلام، لكن"، أو "بعض أفضل أصدقائي مسلمون"، أو ...، لا تهتموا. منذ سنوات، توقفت عن محاولة شرح أنه رغم أنني أمتلك اسماً مضحكاً إلا أنني لست مسلماً. لا يهم.

لكن بالرغم من حقيقة أنني مررت في تجارب مشابهة من قبل، لم أتوقع أن يفوز ترامب. اعتقدت أن كلنتون ستفوز لأنني افترضت أننا لن ننتخب فاشياً جديداً، لكنني عرفت أننا يمكن أن ننتخبه في نقطة ما، بما أننا غازلنا بعضهم من قبل. لكنني لم أعتقد أننا سننتخب شخصاً لا يمتلك كفاءة ومعتوهاً.

من المشجع أن هناك الكثير من الاحتجاجات الآن، لقد أُهين كل من أعرفهم، ونحن نفعل شيئاً ما حيال هذا. نحن هذا أيضاً. ما يهمني هو الافتراض الذي سمعته من عدد من الأشخاص، فقد سألوا: هل سيسوء الأمر أكثر؟ نعم، نعم، سيسوء قليلاً.

عدّل ترامب مجلس الأمن القومي بحيث أن رئيس هيئة الأركان المشتركة ومدير الاستخبارات القومية يلعبان دورين محدودين، بينما يجلس مستشاره السياسي ستيف بانون الآن في لجنة المدراء. وفي ظل إدارتين سابقتين، إدارة بوش وأوباما، كان مجلس الأمن القومي منخرطاً في عمليات القتل التي تستهدف الأعداء المزعومين لحكومة الولايات المتحدة، وأيضاً المواطنين الأميركيين، دون محاكمة أو إجراءات قانونية، ودون سجل عام للقرار أو للاغتيال نفسه. هل نستطيع تخيل ما الذي يمكن أن يفعله ستيف بانون الذي يدير موقعاً إلكترونياً لتدعيم القومية البيضاء بتلك السلطة؟

لدينا قوانين لمنع الانتخاب التي تظهر في كل أنحاء البلاد. هل نستطيع تخيل ما الذي يمكن أن يفعله المرشح لمنصب النائب العام جيف سيشنز، الرجل الذي دعا قانون حق الانتخاب "دخيلاً"، والذي، كما كتب كوريتا سكوت كينغ، "استخدم سلطة مكتبه كنائب عام للولايات المتحدة كي يقوض ويجمد الممارسة الحرة للاقتراع من قبل المواطنين،"ما الذي سيفعله؟ ماذا عن قوانين حقوق مدنية أخرى؟

إن سيشنز سيكون كارثة كنائب عام، لكن قوانين منع الانتخابات ليست جديدة. إن بانون كارثة، لكن التفويض لاستخدام القوة العسكرية ضد الإرهابيين هو في السجلات من قبل. يمكن أن يكون ترامب وبانون وسيشنز متطرفين، لكنهم لا يشكلون انحرافاً.

يجب أن نخلص أنفسنا من الأساطير المريحة. سيسوء الأمر.

كنت في جزيرة لسبوس منذ عام أساعد اللاجئين السوريين. في موريا، أكبر مخيم في الجزيرة، كان يتم التدقيق في آلاف اللاجئين كل يوم. ذلك أن الأزمة متواصلة منذ أكثر من ست سنوات. سمعت أن جميع المنظمات غير الحكومية لعبت دوراً في قيادة المخيم، لكنها فشلت بسبب سوء الإدارة والطعن في الظهر والتداخل بين الوكالات والمشاحنات والتدخل الحكومي، وإلى ما هنالك. لكن في ضوء الوضع المرعب في المخيم اعتقدت أنه أُدير جيداً قدر الإمكان نظراً للعدد الكبير من الأشخاص الداخلين والخارجين. في تلك الأثناء التقيت بشخص متواضع، وهو مورموني متقاعد من يوتاه تطوع في المخيم منذ وصول الزوارق الأولى. لم يكن يتحدث العربية أو الفارسية، ولم يمتلك تدريباً طبياً من أي نوع، ولا أية مهارات قابلة للتحديد لكن كلاً من المتطوعين واللاجئين كانوا يأتون إليه بجميع أنواع الأسئلة القابل للإدراك عن ماذا يجب أن يفعلوا. يبدو أنه جاء كي يقدم أية مساعدة ممكنة. وحين بدأت المنظمات غير الحكومية تغسل أيديها من المخيم، تزايدت الحاجة إليه. حين كنت هناك، كان يدير المكان الملعون.

نحن هذا. يمكن أن نكون أفضل.

[المصدر: ذ نيويوركر]

On 25 February 2017, the picture of a young male academic who committed suicide in Turkey went viral on the social media. The photo was hashtagged with #MehmetFatihTras and the line underneath the hashtag reads: “This is a murder. Try the murderers!” Wearing hipster eyeglasses, a hooded jacket, and a bag pack, Mehmet Fatih Tras has recently completed his doctorate degree in Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences at Cukurova University in Turkey. Upon the receipt of his PhD, he was made multiple job offers from universities in Turkey. However, university presidents interrupted the recruitment process and terminated his contract without any justification. His last job letter submitted to an international academic institution is a testament to what this young academic had gone through. “I was blacklisted by the Council of Higher Education,” he said, “university presidents labelled me as terrorist.” Tras was one of 1,128 academics from eighty-nine universities in Turkey who had signed a petition condemning state violence in the Kurdish region of Turkey.

[Figure 1: The letter Mehmet Fatih Tras wrote to an international academic institution on 1 February 2017
circulated on the social media with his picture on the right.]

The petition, famously known as “Peace Petition,” was prepared by the Academics for Peace on 11 January 2016 when the Turkish Army besieged Kurdish towns of Sur, Silvan, Nusaybin, Cizre and Silopi, and announced round-the-clock curfews which functioned as indefinite military lockdowns. “It [the army] has attacked these settlements with heavy weapons and equipment [tanks, artilleries, snipers] that would only be mobilized in wartime” the petition noted. Signatories defined these military operations- called the Cleansing Operations by the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) government- as “a deliberate and planned massacre”, and demanded the state to stop military operations, lift curfews, punish those responsible for human rights violations, offer compensation, and resume peace talks with the Kurdish movement. After listing their demands, signatories asserted their strong opposition: “We, as academics and researchers working on and/or in Turkey, declare that we will not be a party to this massacre by remaining silent.” 

Because of the total lockdown, the extent of state violence was unknown by the time this petition was written. Within less than three months, however, we would learn, for example, that around 200 civilians were killed in Cizre. A report published by the Human Rights Foundation of Turkey (TIHV), in August 2016, identifies by name 321 local residents who were killed between 16 August 2015 and 16 August 2016, including seventy-nine children, seventy-one women and thirty people over the age of sixty. According to the report, during the 79-days-long military lockdown, 10 thousand homes were destroyed. Cizre was not an exception though. Sur was under military blockage for 103 days during when ninety civilians were killed. 6,297 parcels of Sur district, which was destroyed by the Army, would then be expropriated by the AKP government. According to TIHV, there have been at least 169 round-the-clock and open-ended curfews in at least thirty-nine districts of ten cities in the Kurdish region from 16 August  2015 to 31 January 2017. TIHV estimates that more than 1.8 million people were affected during this period (See Figure 2). 

[Figure 2: http://tihv.org.tr/16-agustos-2015-31-ocak-2017-tarihleri-arasinda-sokaga-cikma-yasaklari/ (accessed 3/2/2017)]

The gravity of the destruction became more evident with the Report on the human rights situation in South-East Turkey (July 2015 to December 2016) released by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCR) on 10 March 2017, which reported the killing of 1,200 civilians and documented “numerous cases of excessive use of force; enforced disappearances; torture; destruction of housing and cultural heritage; incitement to hatred; prevention of access to emergency medical care, food, water and livelihoods; violence against women; and severe curtailment of the right to freedom of opinion and expression as well as political participation. The most serious human rights violations reportedly occurred during periods of curfew, when entire residential areas were cut off and movement restricted around-the-clock for several days at a time.”

Dr. Tras and 1,128 other academics declared that they would not be a party to this crime when the massacre was in the making. The government did not allow any international or local institutions to monitor or report the incidents at the time. On the contrary, it banned civilian access to curfew sites both during and after the Cleansing Operations. Some curfew sites have recently been opened to civilians only after bulldozers razed the remaining buildings to the ground, removed the rubbles, and, thus eliminated any possibility for fact-finding. In its account of the situation, the AKP government resorts to the same state discourse- the “terrorists” destroyed houses, killed civilians, and displaced millions. The burden of proof lies on the shoulders of the Kurds who return home only to find a flat field in the place of their houses (compare Figure 3 and Figure 4).

[Figure 3: Sur, Diyarbakir, before the operations, 5 November 2014]

[Figure 4: Sur, Diyarbakir, after the operations, 28 July 2016]

No petition could end a war. It might make its signatories feel good about their politics and ethics for a second. On the next day, the life, supposedly, goes on as usual and so does the war. In the face of state denialism and censure, however, the Peace Petition had the potential to destabilize the hegemonic discourse of “terrorist” violence. It was the first time that academics collectively used their privilege to speak to expose the unfolding state massacre in the Kurdish region of Turkey as well as the violence of its defacement. Therefore, the life did not go on as usual on the next day. Instead, the President Erdogan appeared on televisions ostracizing the signatories by calling them fake and shady. “Turkey faces treason of academics,” Erdogan claimed and added “most of whom receive their salaries from the state.” He ordered public prosecutors and university presidents to start criminal and administrative investigations against those “traitors.”

As a result of this smear campaign, 312 signatories of the petition have lost their jobs in the last fourteen months. Others have been suspended from their positions, charged with terrorist propaganda and detained by the police, received life threats, and/or fled the country. The already precarious labor market for academics has become even more precarious as the value of academic labor is determined by the level of loyalty academics express to the state. Those speaking back to the state have been replaced by academics speaking for the state. In other words, Turkish academia has turned into a deserted platform more akin to government mouthpiece where criticism and opposition are susceptible to accusations of terrorism. The academics that regard speaking up both as a matter of political and ethical responsibility, end up with two options: either remain silent or become traditional intellectuals of the state.

This is an alarming situation with respect to not only the right to speak but also the right to life. The Peace Petition has derived its power from tying these two rights tightly to each other by asserting that silence means complicity in state massacres. From a Foucaultian perspective, signatories acted as the parrhesiastes—the one who says the truth despite the risks involved in its disclosure. By doing so, they have also tied their fate with the ones subjected to the cruel violence of the state. While the Kurds in Turkey experience sudden death exerted by the latest offensive of the Turkish Army, academics who spoke up against it face slow death by the market. Mehmet Fatih Tras’s grim departure discloses the entanglement of our lives as well as our deaths. Ironically, on the same day when his picture was shared on the social media, another hashtag was created with the name of a village, Xerabe Bava, in Nusaybin, which was under military lockdown for nineteen days. It is more urgent than ever to reconnect #MehmetFatihTras and #XerabeBava to fight against deadly forces of the market and the state that turn our lives into slow or sudden deaths.
 

[This article was originally published by the Committee for Human Rights of the American Anthropological Association] 

أجرى ضياء عليلمجلة "الوضع" هذا الحوار مع طارق دعنا، المستشار السياساي لشبكة السياسات الفلسطينية والباحث في معهد إبراهيم أبو اللغد للدراسات الدولية في جامعة بيرزيت. وهو أيضا عضو هيئة التدريس في برنامج الماجستير في الدراسات الدولية، حيث يدرس مساقات في الاقتصاد السياسي العالمي. عمل كباحث ما بعد الدكتوراه في المعهد العالي للدراسات الدولية والتنمية٬ جنيف. وتشمل اهتماماته البحثية الاقتصاد السياسي والمجتمع المدني و الحركات الاجتماعية / المنظمات غير الحكومية٬ والعلاقات بين الدولة والمجتمع مع تركيز خاص على فلسطين. تركز المقابلة على وضع المنظمات الأهلية الفلسطينية. 

مختارات من الصحافة العربية (من 4 حتى 10 اذار)

مصر

«النقض» تقضي ببراءة مبارك من «قتل متظاهري يناير»
برأت محكمة النقض يوم الخميس الرئيس السابق حسني مبارك من تهمة قتل المتظاهرين أثناء انتفاضة الثمانية عشر يوماً في ٢٠١١.

 مبارك لـ"صوت الأمة": "هاقعد فى بيتى بعد البراءة ولن أذهب لشرم الشيخ"
في مقابلة حصرية بعد حكم البراءة، مبارك يتجنب التعليق على السياسة ويقول إنه يخطط للعودة إلى مسكنه.

مجلس النواب المصري: برلمان الأجهزة
مجلس النواب المصري يستهدف الأصوات المعارضة مثيراً القلق حول قمع الدولة المتواصل للحريات.

مصر | البرلمان يُسقط عضوية السادات: مشادات وانسحابات خلال الجلسة
برلمان مصر يسقط عضوية أنور السادات، أحد الأصوات المعارضة القليلة في في المجلس، في تصويت تم يوم الاثنين حول التسريب المزعوم لمعلومات سرية إلى السفارات الأجنبية.

الكنيسة المصرية في أزمة تهجير الأقباط: الولاء للسلطة
تقرير شهادات الأقباط المهجرين يبطئ رد الفعل من القوات الأمنية على الهجمات ضد الأقباط في العريش.

الجنيه المصري يعاود الهبوط أمام الدولار
واصل الجنيه المصري هبوطه أمام الدولار الأميركي يوم الأربعاء وسط تزايد للطلب على الواردات تحضيراً لشهر رمضان الكريم وتراجع في تدفقات الدولار.

شرطة شبرا في ورطة: تجارة سلاح ومخدرات وتلفيق تهم
ضباط شرطة شبرا متهمون بالتجارة بالبنادق والمخدرات واستغلال السلطة وتلفيق التهم.

منى مينا: الصحة بعد التعويم.. اختيار بين الموت خنقًا أو شنقًا
ارتفاع أسعار الأدوية بسبب تعويم العملة، مما فاقم معاناة المصريين.

حبس الإعلامي المصري أسامة جاويش 5 سنوات
محكمة الجنح في القاهرة تحكم على الصحفي أسامة جاويش بالحبس خمس سنوات بتهمة نشر أخبار كاذبة تهدف إلى الإساءة إلى أمن مصر القومي.

المغرب العربي

الجزائر

الجزائر تتجه لإطلاق سندات محلية بدون فوائد
تخطط الجزائر لإطلاق سندات محلية بدون فوائد كي تعوض الخسائر في دخل الطاقة

الجزائر تمنع الأئمة من "إقحام" المساجد في الانتخابات والتعبير عن الآراء السياسية
الجزائر تمنع الأئمة من إقحام المساجد في الانتخابات والتعبير عن الآراء السياسية

ليبيا

الإعلان عن مبادرة لإرساء السلام في ليبيا
وزير الكهرباء الليبي السابق عوض البرعصي يعلن عن مبادرة لإرساء السلام في ليبيا تهدف إلى إنهاء الصراع من خلال إجبار الأطراف المتخاصمة على الاجتماع لمناقشة مسائل الاختلاف التاريخية والمعاصرة.

سويسرا: خبيران عسكريان سيقومان بتقديم الدعم بعمليات نزع الألغام في ليبيا
خبيران من الجيش السويسري سيدعمان مهمة الأمم المتحدة في عمليات نزع الألغام في ليبيا

موريتانيا

برلمان موريتانيا يبحث إلغاء مجلس الشيوخ
بدأ برلمان موريتانيا جلسة طارئة مخصصة لمراجعة دستور ١٩٩١

ما الذي يميز المرأة في موريتانيا عن مجتمعات عربية أخرى؟
وزيرة الشؤون الاجتماعية والطفولة والأسرة في موريتانيا ميمونة التقي تقول إن المجتمع الموريتاني يقبل حضور النساء ومشاركتهن في ميادين مختلفة.

المغرب

إلياس العماري وعمدة روتردام تادرس الحلول الممكنة باش يحميو الحقوق الانسانية ديال المهاجرين الأمين العام لحزب الأصالة والحداثة إلياس العماري يرحب بعمدة روتردام في مقرالحزب كي يقوي العلاقات بين البلدين ويزيد التنسيق بخصوص الهجرة غير الشرعية.

فرنسا ترحب بانسحاب المغرب من منطقة الكركرات
فرنسا ترحب بانسحاب المغرب من منطقة الكركرات

تونس

هذه أسباب تغول السلع التركية في تونس
تتحدث هذه المقالة عن أسباب العجز الكبيرة في تجارة تونس مع تركيا

تونس.. من بورقيبة لما بعد الثورة
احتفلت تونس بست سنوات بعد الثورة التي أنهت الحكم الدكتاتوري وأطلقت حكومة ديمقراطية جديدة. بين أعوام بورقيبة وبن علي شهدت البلاد الكثير من انتهاكات حقوق الإنسان التي يمكن أن تعالج علناً الآن من خلال لجنة الكرامة والحقيقة، اللجنة التي أسسها قانون العدالة الانتقالي في تونس.

الصحراء الغربية

الصحراء الغربية...لاجئون نسيهم العالم
تقدم البي بي سي فيديو قصيراً حول أزمة اللاجئين في الصحراء الغربية.

رئيس الجمهورية وأعضاء الحكومة يقفون دقيقة صمت ترحما على روح الشهيد محمد عبد العزيز
رئيس الجمهورية الديمقراطية الصحراوية وأعضاء الحكومة يقفون دقيقة صمت حداداً على روح الشهيد محمد عبد العزيز الرئيس الأول للجمهورية الصحراوية حتى وفاته في أيار ٢٠١٦.

شبه الجزيرة العربية

إقليمي ودولي

يديعوت أحرونوت: «خلفان» متورط في اغتيال «المبحوح»
القائد السابق لشرطة دبي ضاحي خلفان متورط في اغتيال القيادي في حركة حماس محمود المبحوح.

نيويورك تايمز: التقشف للمواطنين فقط.. نفقات باهظة لرحلة العاهل السعودي إلى آسيا
"هذه الأبهة غير عادية حتى لعائلات مالكة أخرى. الأمر الخاص بالنسبة للسعوديين، الذين اشتهروا بالنفقات الباهظة هو أن مواطنيهم يكافحون الآن في إطار برنامج التقشف الحكومي."

«ستراتفور»: حرب السماوات المفتوحة.. أزمة الطيران الخليجي في عهد «ترامب
"ستبذل الإمارات وقطر جهدًا أكبر لتأمين نجاح خطوطها الجوية في الأعوام القادمة في الوقت الذي تحاول فيه تنويع اقتصاداتها بعيدًا عن النفط والغاز الطبيعي".

علماء البحرين يرون أن بيان النيابة العامة "تهديد للطائفة الشيعية" ويدعون للدفاع "حتى الموت عن قاسم"
وصف البيان النيابة العامة بأنها "وحدة تعذيب وترهيب وأداة من أدوات النظام للقضاء على المعارضة"، داعيا إياها "لحساب كلماتها، فليس ديننا من يُهدد بأقصى العقوبات وفي عروقنا قطرة دم تجري".

شركات ومصارف سعودية تسرح الآلاف من موظفيها متجاهلة عقوبات العمل
انتقد مختصون في سوق العمل أنظمة وزارة العمل والتنمية الاجتماعية التي رأوا أنها "فتحت الباب أمام القطاع الخاص للتخلي عن الموظف السعودي بسبب أو من دون سبب".

بالاختفاء القسري في البحرين... حقيقة أم افتراء؟
"كلمة «تأخر في اتصال المقبوض عليهم بأهاليهم»، يمكن أن نضع خطا كبيرا أسفلها، فهي بحد ذاتها قد تعد شكلاً من أشكال «الاختفاء» في ظل كون ذلك «التأخر» لمدة زمنية معينة."

الصفّار: معتقلو جو يعلنون الامتناع عن الزيارات والدخول في إضراب احتجاجًا على سوء المعاملة
البحرين: "وذكر أنّ معتقلي جوّ قد أعلنوا الامتناع عن الزيارات احتجاجًا على سوء المعاملة وأيضًا بسبب تقليص مدة الزيارة، وأنّهم سيدخلون في إضراب مفتوح بسبب سوء المعاملة"

أول زيارة لعائلة المعتقل «حسن عاشور» بعد 62 يومًا من إصابته في محبسه
البحرين: أنّ حسن عاشور قد تعرّض لإصابة في محبسه أدّت إلى نزيف في المخ، ودخوله في غيبوبة منذ ما يقارب الشهرين، دون بيان من إدارة السجن لأسباب تعرضه لهذا النزيف.

العلاج بالضوء وتصميم الصواريخ.. أحدث إنجازات السعوديات بعد عالم المال
"تخوض المرأة السعودية حاليا معارك للحصول على حقوقها في قيادة السيارة، أو الحصول على جواز سفر دون الحاجة لموافقة ولي الأمر."

فيديو: البحرين: يوسف الحوري:
مقرر التعذيب يطالب بزيارة البحرين والسلطات تمنع هذه الزيارة خوفاً من افتضاح أمرها

فيديو: الدبلوماسي تركي الفيصل عندما يتورط مع إعلام غير مجامل
حوار الأمير تركي الفيصل في برنامج في دائرة الخطر على قناة DW الألمانية حول اتهام منظمات حقوق الإنسان للسعودية بانتهاك حقوق الإنسان.

إيران: المحادثات مع السعودية بشأن الحج تمضي في مسار إيجابي
اشار قاسمي الى انه تم خلال لقاء الرئيسين الايراني والتركي مناقشة آخر التطورات في العلاقات بين البلدين على الصعيدين الثنائي والاقليمي وانه تم التوصل الى "تفاهم" حول بعض المسائل

تقارير وآراء

"حروب الظلال": تاريخ معاصر من الثورات الغربيّة المضادة
"كريستوفر ديفدسون هو أكاديمي بريطاني صاعد في جامعة درهام. وله مؤلّفات عديدة عن دول الخليج العربي وكان قد توقّع انهيار أنظمة الخليج في كتابه «بعد الشيوخ: السقوط القادم للأنظمة الملكيّة في الخليج."»

كاتب فلسطيني: حان الوقت لكي تخفف البحرين من شدة قبضتها على المعارضة وأن تكف عن وصفهم بالإرهابيين
"قال مراد إنّه لا يجب أن تفهم المملكة البحرينية ووسائل الإعلام انتقادات ترامب للاتفاق النووي مع إيران على أنها موقف مؤيد للسنة، وبالتّالي دعوة إلى تشديد إجراءاتها الأمنية ضد المعارضة الشّيعية."

مؤتمر الأحزاب العربيّة يؤكّد دعمه للحراك الشعبيّ في البحرين
أدانت في بيانه الختامي عقب انتهاء مؤتمرها العام بدورته الحادية والستين، عمليّات القتل والإعدام والاعتقال التي تطال الناشطين السياسيين البحرينيين، محمّلةً السلطة الحاكمة كامل المسؤوليّة عن التداعيات المترتّبة على أعمالها وإجراءاتها القمعيّة

مصادر: «مبارك» يرغب في زيارة السعودية والمملكة ترحب وتتعهد بتقديم كافة التسهيلات
الجانب السعودي عرض على مبارك توفير طائرة خاصة تقله إلى السعودية فيما فضل هو تغطية نفقات الرحلة من ماله الشخصي.

êحملة «تويترية» يقودها العرادي عنوانها #الفساد_يدمر_البلاد
البحرين: عدد كبير من المغردين وجدوا في الحملة متنفساً للتعبير عن سخطهم وضيقهم من مظاهر الفساد المتفشية في البلاد والتي.

هل تبحث عن عمل في الإمارات؟ إليك 8 أمور عليك معرفتها
يقدم موقع "بيت.كوم" في ما يلي كل ما يجب عليك\ي معرفته حول سوق العمل في الإمارات.

“صوت المهجر” أول إذاعة أحوازية تنطلق من أوروبا.. والجمهور الأحوازي يشيد ببرامجها الوطنية
وتتنوع برامج إذاعة صوت المهجر بين السياسية والفكرية والثقافية والفنية حيث أنها ثرية بالمعلومات وتلامس الواقع في المجتمع الأحوازي.

فيديو | سعودي يوثق مقطعاً لمرور أسلاك الضغط العالي داخل نافذة عقار في محايل عسير
"أظهر مقطع الفيديو المتداول عبر مواقع التواصل، مرور أسلاك الضغط العالي من عمود كهرباء إلى نافذة أمامية بعمارة تحت الإنشاء، ومن ثم خروجها من الخلف حتى وصولها إلى عمود آخر، مُستغرباً غياب الرقابة".

1500 مرافق ومصعدان و500 طن من الأمتعة.. هكذا سافر الملك سلمان
سافرت المجموعة الكبيرة من المرافقين إلى إندونيسيا عن طريق ستة وثلاثين رحلة طيران مختلفة على فترة ثلاثة أسابيع.

الحرب على اليمن

بيان هام للبرلمان اليمني يستنكر “اتفاق أمريكي – إماراتي” بإنشاء قاعدة عسكرية في جزيرة ميون اليمنية
اتفاق بين الولايات المتحدة الأمريكية ودولة الأمارات العربية المتحدة وجمهورية مصر العربية لإنشاء قاعدة عسكرية أمريكية في جزيرة ميون اليمنية الواقعة بباب المندب محافظة تعز.

أبناء مديرية شرس بحجة ينددون بجرائم العدوان ويعلنون النفير العام في مواجهته
وقفة احتجاجية للتنديد باستمرار العدوان السعودي الأمريكي الهمجي وما يرتكبه من جرائم بحق الشعب اليمني وآخرها استهداف مجلس عزاء للنساء بمديرية أرحب بصنعاء.

مقاتلات التحالف تشن سلسلة غارات على مواقع الحوثيين في مدينتي حرض وميدي
"وقال المركز الإعلامي للمنطقة العسكرية الخامسة على صفحته بموقع التواصل الاجتماعي «فيسبوك»، إن نحو 25 مسلحاً من الحوثيين سقطوا قتلى وجرحى على الأقل."

شهود: قصف متبادل ومعارك بين الحوثيين والقوات السعودية في المناطق الحدودية
قصف مدفعي متبادل يدور بين الجيش السعودي والحوثيين في منطقة المثلث بمديرية شدا بمحافظة صعدة والمواقع المقابلة لها من الجانب السعودي.

حرب ترامب الأولى بدأت... في اليمن
"شنّ ما يشبه «الحرب» تحت عنوان مهاجمة «القاعدة» الذي «يريد تنفيذ عمليات عالمية» انطلاقاً من اليمن، حيث الساحة الرخوة المناسبة لكي يعود عهد التدخل المباشر على شاكلةٍ تخالف حربي أفغانستان والعراق."

اندفاعة إماراتية في وجه السعودية التهديد بالانسحاب من الحرب
"ترى الأوساط الإماراتية في المرحلة اليمنية الراهنة أن عودة تنظيم «القاعدة» إلى محافظة أبين وظهوره العلني في بعض مناطق حضرموت رسالة دموية من الرياض رداً على تمادي أبوظبي وتفردها في قرار جنوب اليمن."

إحصاءات شباط... شهر آخر مرير على الجيش السعودي
"مضى شهر شباط الماضي بالحصيلة الأكبر من أرقام خسائر الجيش السعودي على صعيد عمليات القنص المُنفّذة على أيدي وحدة القناصة اليمنيين، وبأسلحة من بينها تلك القنّاصات المُغتنمة من مواقع ومخازن الجيش (أميركية وبريطانية وكندية الصنع)".

إنزال ثانٍ فاشل للأميركيين؟
للمرة الثانية تقدم الولايات المتحدة على إنزال لقواتها في اليمن تحت دعوى محاربة تنظيم القاعدة.

سعي دولي إلى إنشاء قاعدة عسكرية قرب باب المندب
"تسعى كل من الولايات المتحدة ومصر والإمارات إلى إنشاء قاعدة عسكرية في جزيرة ميون الواقعة في باب المندب، وذلك في وقت تواصل فيه البارجة الأميركية «يو اس اس كول» الإبحار بالقرب من الساحل نفسه."

ابن لادن: الفوضى في اليمن لا تخدم مصالحنا
وذكر في رسالته أنَّ "حرب العراق هي حرب الأمس، وحرب أفغانستان هي حرب الیوم... وإنَّ حرب الغد هي حرب الیمن".

ضربات واشنطن على «القاعدة»... وعينها على اليمن
"تحذيرات لخبراء أميركيين وغربيين موجهة إلى الإدارة الجديدة من الانجرار إلى «مستنقع اليمن» خاصة أنه لا يبدو أن الضربات العسكرية التي نفذت على محافظات البيضاء وشبوة وأبين حققت كامل الأهداف المرسومة لها."

مقتل 3 جنود سعوديين بتدمير آلية عسكري في نجران
شهدت نجران أمس الأحد عملية قنص أدت لمقتل جندي سعودي في موقع الطلعة العسكري، فيما دكت مدفعية الجيش واللجان الشعبية تجمعات للجنود السعوديين خلف موقع الشبكة.

المنظمة الدولية للهجرة: نحو 273 ألف شخصاً نزحوا من منازلهم في محافظة تعز
وبحسب مركز إعلام الأمم المتحدة الذي أورد ملخصاً للتقري في أعقاب نزوح جماعي من مدينة المخا وهي ميناء رئيسي على ساحل البحر الأحمر.

الموت جوعاً.. واقع يومي في اليمن يتفاقم مع أزمة انقطاع الرواتب للشهر السادس
محمد قحيمي، مدرس حكومي في مديرية الحوك بمحافظة الحديدة مات جوعاً نتيجة انعدام الغذاء في بيته بعد خمسة أشهر بلا راتب ظل فيها يصارع الجوع مع أسرته لكنه سقط أخيراً.

قوات عسكرية وأمنية تعثر على مخزن من الأسلحة لتنظيم القاعدة في حضرموت
نقلت وكالة الأنباء اليمنية «سبأ» عن المصدر الأمني قوله، إن مخزن الأسلحة يحتوي على صواريخ وقذائف هاون، ومنصات لإطلاقها، بالإضافة إلى أسلحة متوسطة في عدد من المنازل بمديريات الشحر وغيل باوزير والديس الشرقية.

طائرة من دون طيار تشن ثلاث غارات على مواقع مليشيات الحوثي وصالح غرب تعز
ولا تزال هوية الطائرات مجهولة ما إذا كانت أمريكية أو تابعة لقوات التحالف العربي التي تقوده السعودية.

يمنيون في السعودية يتهمون ناشطين «أدعياء» على مواقع التواصل بالإضرار بهم واستغلال قضاياهم للشهرة
قطع الطريق على لمساعي التي تبذلها السلطات السعودية لتصحيح اوضاع الآلاف ممن لم يتم تسوية أوضاعهم ولم يحصلوا على تصريحات إقامة دائمة.