Sunday, June 28, 2015

Investigative Yemeni Journalist: 'Siege imposed on Yemen is Houthi-made rather than a Saudi-made one'

Investigative Yemeni journalist, Mohammed Al Absi reports that siege imposed on Yemen is Houthi-made rather than a Saudi-made one. Al Absi –who's regarded as one of the top investigative Yemeni journalists and whose critical work has led him to prosecution two years ago after his sharp investigative work– has published on his Facebook/blog a document that proves that the Houthis are manipulating the issue of the siege imposed on Yemen, which is lifted already, for their interests. The following is a translated version into English of his post. 




It seems that the siege imposed on the people in Yemen is done domestically rather than externally; it's a Houthi-made siege rather than a Saudi-made siege.

Here is the objective findings I build my statement on:

-Yemenis are without water since 80 days on the pretext that there is lack of fuel for starting the water pumps.

-Yemenis are without electricity since 80 days on the pretext that the gas station is out of order and there is lack of diesel.


-Garbage is pilling up in all the streets across all Yemeni cities on the pretext that there is no fuel that the cleaning cars need.


So, there is no electricity, no water, no gas, no hygiene. All these crisis are justified by Houthis by them saying it is "the Saudi siege", but the truth is there is no any naval blockade. The Yemeni government (that's if there is any?) can import whatever it wants such as fuel, and anyone who works at the Hodeidah port knows that ships unload its loads daily at the port.


Since 10th of May, following the humanitarian truce that lasted for 5 days, the UN forced the Arab countries' coalition to cease the naval blockade that was imposed on Yemen by them. That was publicly announced, then, and the international media has reported so.


The most simple evidence on this is the number of cars you see on the streets. Before the 5th of May the streets were deserted unlike how it is after the truce.


The strongest evidence on this to anyone who's suspicious, especially those who are sympathisers, this document, shown above, displays a list of naval operations done at Hodeidah port. It shows names and numbers of the commercial ships' loads that reached Hodeidah, in one day alone, the 16th of June.

According to the document, around 8 commercial and humanitarian ships have reached Hodeidah port, and they are waiting to unload. Plus, the authorities at the port expect another 7 international ships to arrive within the coming days, two ships are believed to have 38 thousand tons of wheat. Also, another two ships would carry other goods.


The document shows also that the following ships will arrive soon:

1. CHANG TANG TAN ship, carrying 37,000 tons of petrol.

2. CASSENRA ship, carrying 39182 tons of fuel.

3. SEA PHANTOM ship, carrying 11874 tons of diesel.


There have been ships that have already reached Hodeidah port, on the 16th of June, two commercial ships carrying food. Additionally, there were 3 ships that had different amounts of fuel.


Where does this large amount of fuel go to?

Monday, June 22, 2015

Notes: Human Rights Council's 29th Session - Yemen Side Event

As the war in Yemen continues and there seems no end at sight, bringing peace to Yemen is increasingly becoming a mission impossible. Three months on the start of the Saudi-led airstrikes campaign in Yemen that intended to dislodge the Houthis and bring back legitimacy to president Hadi, the warring parties have been both reluctant to admit that they are not winning the war, and reluctant to rethink proceeding the war given the tragic humanitarian situation people in Yemen are enduring. The failing of the Geneva's peace talk, or whatever it was described with, proved that peace in Yemen is far from happening anytime soon.


Nonetheless, grassroots groups and civic agents' advocacy and pressure work is crucial in influencing relevant organisations to act in a more informed way which could assist the advancement of peace-making process. That's why I'm glad to be taking part in a side-event at the Human Rights Council in Geneva during its 29th Session. I'm thankful for the Gulf Centre for Human Rights for extending me the invitation. 




As I'm sitting at the UN's office in Geneva, at the council's main hall now, and writing this post, and surrounded by more than 46 nations' representatives speaking about various stressing aspects of human rights in different countries, I remembered the speech given by Yemen's human rights minister, Ezzaldin al Asbahi a couple of days ago. 



He delivered his talk here and all these nations listened to his partial speech. The minister talk focused only on the atrocities committed by the Houthis/Saleh's forces especially at the south part of Yemen. He neglected, or rather overlooked the atrocities committed by the Saudi-led airstrikes and even how some nations closed doors on the face of Yemenis who want to escape the violence and survive. How can we ask the world to act more for Yemen, while it's this ill-informed about the reality for millions of Yemenis affected by all sides of the fight in Yemen.

Later on, I'll be speaking at the side event, with the hope to influence relevant international actors to act more and hopefully be more well-informed. I'll keep you posted with how it goes... may all this advocacy work help in advancing the peace we all are desperate to have. 

Tuesday, June 16, 2015

Yemen's Peace Talks - Congrats, you have an all male panel!



To continue the conversation about my previous blog post, the low, if not the non-existence of women's participation, in Yemen's peace talks in Geneva, and inspired by Congrats, you have an all male panel!this post comes to light.



UN Special Envoy for Yemen Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed (L) meets the Group of Sixteen Ambassadors during a preparatory meeting on the eve of the Geneva Consultations on Yemen at the European headquarters of the UN, in Geneva, Switzerland, on June 14, 2015. ––>



The Yemeni foreign minister Reyad Yassin Abdulla, right, and minister for human rights Ezzedine Al Asbahi, second right, on the opening day of peace talks at the United Nations European headquarters in Geneva on June 15, 2015. ––>

Monday, June 15, 2015

Notes: Low Female Political Participation in Geneva's Peace Talks







شاهد فيديو : بنت شيبان احد المقاتلات في مأرب

Posted by ‎اخبار الساعة‎ on Monday, June 15, 2015

One of Marib province's female militants, according to ––>.

"Yemenis search for survivors under the rubble of houses in the old city of Sana’a, following an overnight Saudi-led airstrike"––>


"People carry the body of a man they uncovered from the rubble of houses destroyed by Saudi airstrikes in the old city of Sanaa, Yemen, on June 12, 2015." ––>

Saturday, June 13, 2015

Yemen Heritage Site Affected by Air Strike



June 12, 2015 – I think this is the most gruesome and graphic images I have ever seen throughout my blogging work on documenting violations in Yemen since 2011. The old city of Sana'a is not only a World Heritage site, but it's a symbol of pride and Yemeni identity for many Yemenis, if not all Yemenis. The sadness over its damage was not felt among Yemenis alone but also among every foreigner who has ever been there and admired every inch of that ancient living beauty. Overall, ancient heritage sites across Yemen, in Taiz, Aden, Marib, and God knows where else too, have also been gravely affected by the ongoing fight. Damaging these sites is as appalling as killing living souls. 

Before and after the destruction of some of the buildings. 

Wednesday, June 10, 2015

A 50 Year Memory of War Surgery in Yemen

Yemen's Historical Sites Affected by Saudi-Led Airstrikes






"One of the grandest engineering marvels of the ancient world—the Great Dam of Marib in central Yemen—has been damaged in an airstrike.

Ancient Marib was the capital of the wealthy caravan kingdom of Saba (biblical Sheba, home of the legendary queen), which thrived during the first millennium B.C. Along with remains of the Great Dam, considered the most important ancient site in Yemen, excavations of the Sabaean capital have revealed two elaborate pre-Islamic temple precincts dedicated to Almaqah, the chief deity of the kingdom.

Thousands of inscriptions identified in Marib are providing researchers with an unusually detailed insight into the kingdom’s laws, institutions, and details of everyday life.

Over the past several weeks, fighting between Shiite Houthi rebels and forces loyal to Yemeni president Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi, with support in the air by a Saudi Arabian coalitionhas escalated around the modern city of Marib, the center of the country’s oil and electrical facilities located just a few miles from the ancient capital. (Understand the various players in Yemen’s current crisis.)" -National Geographic


Intense Fighting Takes its Toll on Taiz


Taiz, Yemen - Footage from last month


"Taiz has witnessed some of the most intense fighting in Yemen’s three-month conflict and still sees regular clashes and civilian fatalities. It had a pre-war population of more than 600,000, but no one knows how many remain........Keeping cool in Taiz in sweltering conditions is a challenge. The temperature has risen to 37 degrees in recent days and much of the city has no electricity.

There is also a chronic shortage of fuel – caused in large part by a Saudi-Arabian-led naval blockade. This, in turn, has led to desperate water shortages as the diesel-fuelled pumps lie idle.

Cases of dengue, diarrhoea and other water-related diseases have spiked, while across the country, malnutrition cases have increased by 150 percent as prices of wheat and other staples have doubled," -Irinnews.

Monday, June 1, 2015

Yemen: A war against civilians?


"Two months of ongoing conflict is affecting an increasing number of civilians in Yemen. Despite last week’s ceasefire, an embargo against fuel and basic necessities, along with the damage and destruction of roads, ports and airports, has led to a drastic limit on the possibilities for humanitarian organisations to provide assistance. In Aden, access to health facilities for injured people is extremely difficult because of roadblocks set up by the various armed groups, some in uniform, others not. But uniforms do not mean a lot in a country where the remnants of the national military forces are nothing more than another fighting faction among others. Whomever they originate from, these actions have the same consequence: making life impossible for civilians......."