String of pearls: Yemen could be the Arab hub of the Maritime Silk Road

November 22, 2021

With an Ansarallah takeover of Yemen, Asia’s trade and connectivity projects could expand into some of the world’s most strategic waterways

By Pepe Escobar, posted with the author’s permission and cross-posted with TheCradle

The usual suspects tried everything against Yemen.

First, coercing it into ‘structural reform.’ When that didn’t work, they instrumentalized takfiri mercenaries. They infiltrated and manipulated the Muslim Brotherhood, Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), ISIS. They used US drones and occasional marines.

And then, in 2015, they went Total Warfare: a UN-backed rogue coalition started bombing and starving Yemenis into submission – with barely a peep from the denizens of the ‘rules-based international order.’

The coalition – House of Saud, Qatar, UAE, US, UK – for all practical purposes, embarked on a final solution for Yemen.

Sovereignty and unity were never part of the deal. Yet soon the project stalled. Saudis and Emiratis were fighting each other for primacy in southern and eastern Yemen using mercenaries. In April 2017, Qatar clashed with both Saudis and Emiratis. The coalition started to unravel.

Now we reach a crucial inflexion point. Yemeni Armed Forces and allied fighters from Popular Committees, backed by a coalition of tribes, including the very powerful Murad, are on the verge of liberating strategic, oil and natural gas-rich Marib – the last stronghold of the House of Saud-backed mercenary army.

Tribal leaders are in the capital Sanaa talking to the quite popular Ansarallah movement to organize a peaceful takeover of Marib. So this process is in effect the result of a wide-ranging national interest deal between the Houthis and the Murad tribe.

The House of Saud, for its part, is allied with the collapsing forces behind former president Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi, as well as political parties such as Al-Islah, Yemen’s Muslim Brotherhood. They have been incapable of resisting Ansarallah.

A repeat scenario is now playing in the western coastal port of Hodeidah, where takfiri mercenaries have vanished from the province’s southern and eastern districts.

Yemen’s Defense Minister Mohammad al-Atefi, talking to Lebanon’s al-Akhbar newspaper, stressed that, “according to strategic and military implications…we declare to the whole world that the international aggression against Yemen has already been defeated.”

It’s not a done deal yet – but we’re getting there.

Hezbollah, via its Executive Council Chairman Hashim Safieddine, adds to the context, stressing how the current diplomatic crisis between Lebanon and Saudi Arabia is directly linked to Mohammad bin Salman’s (MbS) fear and impotence when confronted with the liberation of strategic Marib and Hezbollah’s unwavering support for Yemen throughout the war.

A fabricated ‘civil war’

So how did we get here?

Venturing beyond the excellent analysis by Karim Shami here on The Cradle, some geoeconomic background is essential to understanding what’s really going on in Yemen.

For at least half a millennium before the Europeans started to show up, the ruling classes in southern Arabia built the area into a prime hub of intellectual and commercial exchange. Yemen became the prized destination of Prophet Muhammad’s descendants; by the 11th century they had woven solid spiritual and intellectual links with the wider world.

By the end of the 19th century, as noted in Isa Blumi’s outstanding Destroying Yemen (University of California Press, 2018), a “remarkable infrastructure that harnessed seasonal rains to produce a seemingly endless amount of wealth attracted no longer just disciples and descendants of prophets, but aggressive agents of capital seeking profits.”

Soon we had Dutch traders venturing on terraced hills covered in coffee beans clashing with Ottoman Janissaries from Crimea, claiming them for the Sultan in Istanbul.

By the post-modern era, those “aggressive agents of capital seeking profits” had reduced Yemen to one of the advanced battlegrounds of the toxic mix between neoliberalism and Wahhabism.

The Anglo-American axis, since the Afghan jihad in the 1980s, promoted, financed and instrumentalized an essentialist, ahistorical version of ‘Islam’ that was simplistically reduced to Wahhabism: a deeply reactionary social engineering movement led by an antisocial front based in Arabia.

That operation shaped a shallow version of Islam sold to western public opinion as antithetical to universal – as in ‘rules-based international order’ – values. Hence, essentially anti-progressive. Yemen was at the frontline of this cultural and historical perversion.

Yet the promoters of the war unleashed in 2015 – a gloomy celebration of humanitarian imperialism, complete with carpet bombing, embargoes, and widespread forced starvation – did not factor in the role of the Yemeni Resistance. Much as it happened with the Taliban in Afghanistan.

The war was a perverse manipulation by US, UK, French, Israeli and minions Saudi, Emirati and Qatari intel agencies. It was never a ‘civil war’ – as the hegemonic narrative goes – but an engineered project to reverse the gains of Yemen’s own ‘Arab Spring.’

The target was to return Yemen back to a mere satellite in Saudi Arabia’s backyard. And to ensure that Yemenis never dare to even dream of regaining their historic role as the economic, spiritual, cultural and political reference for a great deal of the Indian Ocean universe.

Add to the narrative the simplistic trope of blaming Shia Iran for supporting the Houthis. When it was clear that coalition mercenaries would fail to stop the Yemeni Resistance, a new narrative was birthed: the war was important to provide ‘security’ for the Saudi hacienda facing an ‘Iran-backed’ enemy.

That’s how Ansarallah became cast as Shia Houthis fighting Saudis and local ‘Sunni’ proxies. Context was thrown to the dogs, as in the vast, complex differences between Muslims in Yemen – Sufis of various orders, Zaydis (Houthis, the backbone of the Ansarallah movement, are Zaydis), Ismailis, and Shafii Sunnis – and the wider Islamic world.

Yemen goes BRI

So the whole Yemen story, once again, is essentially a tragic chapter of Empire attempting to plunder Third World/Global South wealth.

The House of Saud played the role of vassals seeking rewards. They do need it, as the House of Saud is in desperate financial straits that include subsidizing the US economy via mega-contracts and purchasing US debt.

The bottom line: the House of Saud won’t survive unless it dominates Yemen. The future of MBS is totally leveraged on winning his war, not least to pay his bills for western weapons and technical assistance already used. There are no definitive figures, but according to a western intel source close to the House of Saud, that bill amounted to at least $500 billion by 2017.

The stark reality made plain by the alliance between Ansarallah and major tribes is that Yemen refuses to surrender its national wealth to subsidize the Empire’s desperate need of liquidity, collateral for new infusions of cash, and thirst for commodities. Stark reality has absolutely nothing to do with the imperial narrative of Yemen as ‘pre-modern tribal traditions’ averse to change, thus susceptible to violence and mired in endless ‘civil war.’

And that brings us to the enticing ‘another world is possible’ angle when the Yemeni Resistance finally extricates the nation from the grip of the hawkish, crumbling neoliberal/Wahhabi coalition.

As the Chinese very well know, Yemen is rich not only in the so far unexplored oil and gas reserves, but also in gold, silver, zinc, copper and nickel.

Beijing also knows all there is to know about the ultra-strategic Bab al Mandab between Yemen’s southwestern coast and the Horn of Africa. Moreover, Yemen boasts a series of strategically located Indian Ocean ports and Red Sea ports on the way to the Mediterranean, such as Hodeidah.

These waterways practically scream Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and especially the Maritime Silk Road – with Yemeni ports complementing China’s only overseas naval base in Djibouti, where roads and railways connect to Ethiopia.

The Ansarallah–tribal alliance may even, in the medium to long term, exercise full control for access to the Suez Canal.

One very possible scenario is Yemen joining the ‘string of pearls’ – ports linked by the BRI across the Indian Ocean. There will, of course, be major pushback by proponents of the ‘Indo-Pacific’ agenda. That’s where the Iranian connection enters the picture.

BRI in the near future will feature the progressive interconnection between the China–Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) – with a special role for the port of Gwadar – and the emerging China–Iran corridor that will traverse Afghanistan. The port of Chabahar in Iran, only 80 km away from Gwadar, will also bloom, whether by definitive commitments by India or a possible future takeover by China.

Warm links between Iran and Yemen will translate into renewed Indian Ocean trade, without Sanaa depending on Tehran, as it is essentially self-sufficient in energy and already manufactures its own weapons. Unlike the Saudi vassals of Empire, Iran will certainly invest in the Yemeni economy.

The Empire will not take any of this lightly. There are plenty of similarities with the Afghan scenario. Afghanistan is now set to be integrated into the New Silk Roads – a commitment shared by the SCO. Now it’s not so far-fetched to picture Yemen as a SCO observer, integrated to BRI and profiting from Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) packages. Stranger things have happened in the ongoing Eurasia saga.

The Reasons Behind the Emirati Withdrawal from the Yemeni Coast

19 11, 2021

By Hussein Kourani

Beirut – It seems that the field map is becoming clear in the governorates of northern Yemen. With the approaching fall of the strategic city of Marib in the hands of the Yemeni army and the popular committees, the other fronts in Hudaydah and Mokha began to fall apart, as if the Marib front has shaken the other fronts and decided the whole battle.

In a sudden turn in the course of the field, the Emirati-backed forces withdrew from the southern areas of Hudaydah that is led unilaterally by Haitham Taher in an unreasonable way with respect to the forces in Mokha city led by Tarek Saleh and backed by the United Arab Emirates [UAE] as well, which left the latter shocked, confused, and doubtful about the existence of an agreement and a prior coordination between Taher and close confidents of the fugitive president Abed Rabbu Mansour Hadi who is supported by Saudi Arabia.

Sources reported unannounced heated disagreements among the factions of the UAE-backed forces in the western coast of Yemen, in the aftermath of the sudden and wide withdrawals in Hudaydah areas, which represented a stab in the back of Saleh’s forces, leaving the armed factions affiliated with the southern transitional council shocked and confused. The sources added that the so-called “legitimacy of Hadi” is coming to an end.

The withdrawing forces, however, claimed that they have evacuated the fighting areas in Hudaydah in accordance with the Stockholm Agreement reached late 2018, which is supposed to take place in coordination and understanding with the United Nations mission; but it was not kept informed with the updates.

But other sources asserted that the Emirati forces had previously started a large-scale evacuation of its forces after receiving a series of military strikes from the Yemeni Ansarullah movement. Such strikes were based on accurate intelligence by the movement.

In addition, the Yemeni army and popular committees rushed to take control over these areas, and opened the main road that connects them with the capital Sanaa. Among these areas are the eastern and northeastern coastal city of Hudaydah, and areas to the south of the city on the outskirts of the Hudaydah International Airport, in addition to the Ad Durayhimi District, the coastal line of the “Beit Al-Fakih” District, At Tuhayta District, Al-Haima port to the south of Al-Khawkha District, areas in the Hays District and areas to the south of these two directorates of the Taizz Governorate.

On the other hand, Saudi Arabia evacuated most of its compounds in the last few weeks, especially in Al-Mahrah governorate, but a number of its troops is still at its center in Al-Ghaydah, along with a group of officers who still roam about 27 compounds where mercenaries forces of the southern separatists are present, and it has become rare to find any Emirati forces in many southern areas. 

Regarding the Marib front, the Yemeni army and the popular committees have eased their attack on the city and headed to the south, achieving a progress that surpassed what it was like before, and succeeded, for the first time since years, to return to southern areas, even though a settlement with the local tribes there. But this operation allowed them to lay siege to all the southern and eastern crossings- the southern crossings that lead to Marib, and that made the Saudis and all the southern mercenaries in need for a long trip that takes them from Hadramout to the sieged city.

Accordingly, there is only one passage left, and if the Yemeni army and popular committees decide to go for an all-out confrontation to capture the city, this passage will be closed. The problem of Saudi Arabia here is that the support it received from the US did not help. Therefore, Marib has fallen and the greater is yet to come. Was the UAE Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Anwar Gargash right when he said that “the liberation of Hudaydah is the beginning of the end of the war”?

Yemeni journalist Ali al-Darwani confirmed to Al-Ahed News that nothing is being done confidentially regarding the Emirati withdrawal from the western coast that is at least more than 50 km long, but rather a relocation in case Marib fell, which will impose new fields on Ansarullah, first of which will be this coast where Taher’s forces consider themselves to be trapped between the jaws of the pincers, for this coast’s width reaches 5 km in some areas. He added that these forces opted to withdraw to the southern areas to strengthen their influence in order to defend Bab al-Mandeb strait which is a US-“Israeli” quest, fearing its fall in the special committees hands and thus taking control over the maritime navigation.

Al-Darwani also said that in case Marib fell, 50,000 to 100,000 fighters of the Islah party backed by the UAE and its allies like al-Qaeda and Salafists will flee to the southern regions, where they have authority. This large number will enhance their resilience in defending Bab al-Mandeb which might be a priority for the Yemeni army and the committees, and even for the Saudi-backed forces in Aden and the south, which fought the Islah Party in many areas.

The Yemeni journalist concluded that the Emirati withdrawal is a purely tactic withdrawal so that Abu Dhabi maintains its interests in the south, fearing Ansarullah first, and Saudi Arabia second.

Related Videos

After the withdrawal of the Saudi coalition… the opening of Al Dune Beach in Hodeidah

MORE ON THIS TOPIC:

• Hodeidah’s Sond Declares their Mobilization , Readiness to Confront any Threat from Land or Sea
• President Al-Mashat congratulates the Sultan of Oman on the 51st National Day
• The Minister of Health Inspects the Health Situation in Marib
• Protests in Yemeni Provinces, Condemning the Crimes of the Aggression , the Execution ig Prisoners
• 26 Airstrikes on three governorates, 182 Violations Recorded in Hodeidah
• Houthis Says Intense Airstrikes On Yemen Will Have ‘Serious Consequences’ On Saudi Arabia
• Yemen to Saudi Arabia: Await “Serious Consequences” for Your Major Escalation
• US Senators Move to Block $650 Mln Arms Sale to Saudi Arabia
• Riyadh Abandons Hudaydah To Try And Keep Ma’rib

Why Marib’s liberation will break the Saudis and shake West Asia

November 12 2021

A Houthi fighter in front of the ancient throne of the Queen of Sheba, located in Marib, Yemen.Photo Credit: The Cradle

If Ansarallah controls Marib, it will control all of Yemen and some of the world’s most strategic waterways. No wonder its adversaries are shaken.

By Karim Shami

Marib, the ancient capital of Sheba, referred to in both the Bible and the Holy Quran as a wealthy and wise kingdom, once ruled across the entire southern Arabian peninsula.

Today, Marib has risen again, this time as the final stronghold of Yemen’s latest invaders, now in panicked retreat after a six-year battle that has depleted their coffers and exhausted their forces.

This war was announced from Washington on 26 March 2015 and led by Saudi Arabia in support of the overthrown government of Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi, a regime that had already lost the capital city of Sanaa to Yemen’s Ansarallah (Houthis) movement a few months prior.

A coalition of 10 countries, including pack leaders Saudi Arabia and the UAE, was formed to force the return of his highly unpopular government. The name Operation Decisive Storm was chosen and the air strikes began.

Ansarallah were assessed as being weak and the operation was expected to last no more than a few weeks or months, at the most.

Instead, Ansarallah prevailed, forcing its Saudi and Emirati foes to insert ground troops into the expanding quagmire and divide their roles in Yemen.

Today, the UAE is present mainly in the country’s south controlling its strategic ports and islands, while the Saudis remain in the north, along their extensive northern border with Yemen, in the east, where the province of Marib and its rich oil and gas fields are located, and in the west, in the coastal city of Hodeidah.

For Yemenis, the importance of Marib is not limited to its oil and gas fields, but also for its ancient culture, its inclusion in the holy Quran, and its significant historical sites and water engineering feats, such as the ancient Marib dam built around the 8th century BC. A new dam, the country’s largest, was later built near the cherished ruins of the old one.

Saudi Arabia acknowledged Marib’s importance by making it the stronghold for its war operations, building military bases and bribing local tribes to fight alongside the coalition. Most of Riyadh’s military and intelligence operations – excluding air strikes – were launched from Marib against the northern Houthi-controlled Sanaa city and province.

Ansarallah endured these onslaughts for three years, then flipped the war on its adversaries in 2018 by going on the offensive. Since then, the group has expanded its territorial gains significantly, destabilized Saudi Arabia’s own borders, and exponentially advanced its military tactics and capabilities in drone and missile technology.

These startling gains forced the coalition to the negotiating table in 2018 to sign the Hodeidah Agreement. The agreement was a boon for Ansarallah from a military perspective, first and foremost. Hodeidah and its Red Sea port are west of Sanaa, and the negotiated ceasefire would help Ansarallah turn its focus on only two fronts now, the east (Marib) and the south.

But the agreement also had humanitarian benefits for a country besieged by land, sea, and air by coalition forces since the war’s onset. With goods now entering the port, fresh access to medicine, fuel and food reduced the crisis in territories controlled by Ansarallah.

In 2019, Ansarallah marched eastward, increasing their defence operations inside Saudi Arabia, and targeting the capital city of Riyadh, airports, and Aramco facilities in retaliation for Saudi airstrikes. The UAE was also threatened when drone activity caused a brief closure of Dubai airport.

The UAE’s very existence depends on the security of Abu Dhabi and Dubai. Understanding that they were one ballistic missile away from an existential disaster, the Emiratis withdrew from Marib leaving the Saudis to their own devices, and headed south. The ten-nation coalition had now dwindled to two, neither of whom were fighting alongside the other.

For Sanaa, access to oil is a higher priority than access to ports, hence Ansarallah’s decision to first push eastward, where Marib lies. Although the reverse would have been easier – at 17,000 km², Marib requires a huge military presence, while Hodeidah port and its surrounding areas are less than 1,000 km² – the Yemeni rebels chose the harder, more dangerous fight first.

Today, the complete liberation of Marib is imminent. Of its 14 districts, 13 are now back in Yemeni hands, with only Marib city and the oil fields remaining, alongside one major Saudi military base (Sahen Jin).

Marib’s liberation will be an unprecedented victory for Ansarallah that will place Sanaa back firmly on the world map. Aside from the huge morale boost for the Houthi rebels, Ansarallah will gain control of Yemen’s vital water and oil resources and bring relief for the capital’s civilians. Despite the fact that areas controlled by the group enjoy more financial stability ($1 = 600 Yemeni Rials versus 1,480 Rials in areas outside their control) the war has impoverished Sanaa.

Marib’s liberation will also mean that Ansarallah will govern around 80 percent of the Yemeni population of 30 million, secure its eastern front, and make a move on Hodeidah where remaining coalition forces are based.

After the liberation of Hodeidah and Marib, Saudi Arabia will lose its boots on the ground in Yemen, but will it retreat and accept defeat?

Will Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman – also his country’s minister of defense – who spearheaded the war against Yemen, accept this fait accompli? Will Saudi Arabia continue bombing Yemen for another six years?

With so many unexpected victories under its belt, Ansarallah is now in a position to direct these Saudi decisions. Already this year, the Yemeni rebels have bombed Aramco and Saudi airports in retaliation for airstrikes in Sanaa. Riyadh clearly understands the correlation – bombing Sanaa means Aramco will get hit – and so although the war is still fiercely being played out, important deterrences have been established.

In September, during the approach toward Marib, Ansarallah leader Abdul-Malik al-Houthi said: “We will liberate the entirety of our country and recover all regions occupied by the Saudi-led aggression.”

After the fall of Marib, Saudi Arabia will never be the same. Having expended all its chips and a vast fortune on bringing the Houthis to heel, Riyadh’s influence in the Arab and Muslim world are set to decline.

Through proxies and large financial donations, the Saudis have historically managed Muslim communities and dictated the policies of entire states. But in an actual direct war, led by one of the world’s wealthiest nations against one of its poorest, the Saudis lost resoundingly.

After the fall of Marib, the UAE’s position is less clear, but it will ultimately face one of two choices: either surrender to Ansarallah’s demands or face reprisals inside Dubai and Abu Dhabi.

Yemen has vast mineral reserves of zinc, silver, nickel, gold, copper and cobalt as well as oil and gas fields, resources that the Saudis have not allowed successive Yemeni rulers to exploit, develop or monetize since 1934.

Yemen was then (arguably still is) considered a Saudi backwater, and Riyadh’s policy toward its southern neighbor was entirely driven by the kingdom’s founder, Abdul Aziz Al Saud, who declared in an infamous quote:

“the honor of Saudis is in the humiliation of Yemen, and their (Saudi) humiliation is in the glory of Yemen.”

These words had monumental significance: the guiding principle for all future Saudi monarchs would be to subjugate Yemen at all cost, or the price would be existential.

With Ansarallah in charge, reverberations will be felt across West Asia – not least because Yemenis still consider the Saudi provinces of Jizan and Najran to be part of Yemen.

Yemen is often referred to as the ‘birthplace of Arabs,’ with numerous tribes stretching across the Arabian peninsula to Iraq tracing their origins back to Yemen.

At the other end of the Arabian peninsula, Ansarallah will also be controlling the strait of Bab al Mandab which leads directly to the straits of Suez. This gives them geopolitical and geoeconomic clout over Egypt, historically the ‘mother’ of the Arab world, and a country which itself has launched a failed war against Yemen.

Ansarallah controlling access to the Suez Canal will be a nightmare for the Israelis – Tel Aviv and Zionism are the mortal enemy of the Houthis, and no ship heading for Israel will be allowed to cross this strait.

China and Iran will be big winners in the ensuing geopolitical shuffle. Iran will gain its first diehard ally in the Arabian Peninsula – one that has oil, produces its own weapons, and can defend itself without costing Tehran money, manpower or resources.

Yemen’s geography is of strategic importance to China too: its southwestern part faces the east coast of Africa, and with the Bab al Mandab strait, Yemen has more than 10 major ports on the Indian ocean, and through the Red Sea to the Mediterranean.

It is the closest West Asian nation to the Horn of Africa, where China has its only overseas military base in Djibouti, and where it has built roads and railways connecting the latter to Ethiopia.

With the US, UK and western countries in general having supported the aggression against the Yemeni people, Ansarallah is more likely to choose to align with China, Iran, and other unaligned nations.

Reports indicate that Saudi Arabia spent well over $300 billion on its war on Yemen. Six years later, it is on the verge of being soundly defeated, with only Marib blocking that path. Marib is the city that will soon dictate the terms that end this war, and perhaps the end of Saudi power projection as we know it.

The views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of The Cradle.Author

• String of pearls: Yemen could be the Arab hub of the Maritime Silk Road

Yemeni Forces Break Through Saudi-backed Militants’ Last Defense Lines in Northern Marib

Nov 8, 2021

By Staff, Agencies

The Yemeni army and allied fighters from popular committees achieved a “key military breakthrough” in Marib, infiltrating “the last defense lines” of Saudi-backed militants in the northern part of the province.

Lebanon’s al-Akhbar news website cited informed sources as saying that the Yemeni troops launched a surprise operation from eastern al-Jawf Province, reaching the desert areas in northern Marib Province.

According to the report, the Yemeni forces penetrated the last defensive lines of militants loyal to former president Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi in the vast desert front, approaching the border between the provinces of Marib and Hadhramaut.

The sources said the operation, which was launched from al-Khanjar camp in al-Jawf, resulted in the recapture of vast areas in al-Rowaik, which lies 15 kilometers away from the border between Marib and Hadhramaut, east of the oil region of Safer.

The sources stressed that the Yemeni forces “achieved a significant military breakthrough that would enable them to cut the last supply lines” of the pro-Hadi militants who are present in northern Marib City.

Marib has turned into a focus of the Yemeni army’s liberation operations since last year.

The province’s recapture, towards which many advancements have been made so far, is expected to pave the way for further military victories for Yemen’s forces.

Saudi Arabia on Saturday intensified its airstrikes on the strategic province of Marib in a bid to undermine the Yemeni troops’ achievements.

Last month, Yemen’s Defense Minister Mohammad al-Atefi said the capture of Marib City is “a matter of time.” He also stated that the Saudi-led aggression on Yemen has already been defeated and that the aggressors have no choice but to admit defeat.

Saudi Arabia, backed by the US and regional allies, launched the war on Yemen in March 2015, with the goal of bringing the government of former president Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi back to power and crushing the Ansarullah movement.

The Saudi war has left hundreds of thousands of Yemenis dead, and displaced millions more. It has also destroyed Yemen’s infrastructure and spread famine and infectious diseases.

In the meantime, Yemeni armed forces and the popular committees have grown steadily in strength against the Saudi-led invaders and left Riyadh and its allies bogged down in the country.

MORE ON THE TOPIC:

• Yemeni Air Defenses Shoot Down US-made Spy Drone in Al-Jouba
• Yemen Revolutionaries Down Spy Drone over Marib
• Yemeni Children’s Tragedy: Birth Defects Caused by Internationally-prohibited Saudi Weapons
• Military Situation In Yemen On November 9, 2021 (Map Update)

Ansarullah’s capture of Ma’rib is a major regional turning point: Kandil

November 4, 2021

Description: 

A short article by Nasser Qandil on the significance of the current battle for Ma’rib, a strategic Yemeni city currently held by pro-Saudi forces but which is reportedly on the verge of falling into the hands of forces led by the Ansarullah Houthis, a movement that is part of the Iran-led regional ‘Resistance Axis’.

Qandil is the Editor-in-Chief of the Lebanese Al-Binaa newspaper, and a prominent fixture on Lebanese and Arab television.

Source:  Al-Binaa newspaper (website)

Date:  November 1, 2021

(Note: Please help us keep producing independent translations by contributing a small monthly amount here )

Transcript:

Post-Ma’rib will not be the same

November 1, 2021

The battle of Ma’rib and the regional equations at stake (for the overall) war in Yemen are almost similar to the battle of Aleppo and the regional equations (that were) at stake (for the overall Syrian War. Aleppo was the starting point for a stable path in the Syrian War, after which successive victories began to follow in favor of one team – the Syrian state backed by its allies – from Aleppo to the countryside of Homs, Hama, the Syrian desert and Palmyra, all the way to Deir ez-Zur and back to Ghouta and southern Syria.

Ma’rib is following the same path. Unless there is a tempting settlement that satisfies (the) Ansarullah (movement) and stops them from continuing to fight battles, the Battle of Ma’rib is following a path that ends in seizing the provinces and cities of Yemen by the army, the (popular) committees and (the Houthi movement) Ansarullah.

Geographically, Ma’rib is the most important city in Yemen. Although it is neither the first nor second capital (of Yemen), it is the connecting point between the southern and northern governorates of Yemen. For Mansour Hadi, his government and the Arab coalition led by Saudi Arabia, the failure to retain Ma’rib means the impossibility of defending other cities, and (it means) success for the (Houthi-led) army, the (popular) committees and their supporters in securing a decisive victory in the Battle of Ma’rib, and probably other battles in the future.

After the (use of) drones and ballistic missiles settled Yemen’s firepower (superiority and) control over the energy security and commercial navigation of the Gulf, and (their use) had a vital and effective impact on the security of vital installations within the Gulf states, the war in Yemen was decided in favor of Ansarullah on Yemeni land (too).

Just as the (2006) July War and the Syrian War led to the rise of Hezbollah’s power, a new regional situation will be formed with the victory (of the Houthi movement) in Ma’rib, making Ansarullah a major regional player.

As much as Saudi pressure on Lebanon constitutes an attempt to stop further progress in Ma’rib, the victory (of Ansarullah) in Ma’rib will be the gateway to changing the situation in more than one battlefield, including Lebanon.

---

Subscribe to our mailing list!

Related Posts:

• Resistance Axis on war alert, to ‘openly’ target…
• ‘Israel must choose between civil war or regional…
• ‘Iran-led Axis gave Yemen’s Houthis UAV/missile…
• Yemen’s Ansarullah: We’re partaking in regional…
• ‘If Israel harms Iran fuel ship to Lebanon, Quds…
• Iran’s offer to sell Beirut fuel for Lebanese Lira…
• The strategic importance of Ma’rib: Saudi-backed…
• ‘US/Israel seek Lebanese civil war to derail a…
• 2020: How Ansarullah-backed Yemeni forces turned…
• Iraq’s Hezbollah: ‘We have entered Quds equation…

Yemeni Forces Liberate Al-Baydaa Province from Remnants of ISIL & Qaeda Terrorists: Video

September 23, 2021

Spokesman of Yemeni Armed Forces Brigadier General Yehya Sarea (photo from archive)

The spokesman of the Yemeni Armed Forces, General Yahya Sarea, announced on Thursday the details of the major offensive against the remnants of the two takfiri terrorists, affiliated with Qaeda and ISIL militant groups.

indicated that the offensive, termed as “Dawn of Victory”, lasted for 48 hours, adding that the tribesmen and locals contributed to the achievement of liberating an area of 2700 square kilometers.

“During the offensive, 70 Saudi-led mercenaries were killed, and 120 others were injured.”

General Sarea added that the Yemeni Army and Popular Committees captured 40 of the terrorists, including commanders, and manage to destroy or seize much of the enemy’s ammunition and gear.

https://english.almanar.com.lb/ajax/video_check.php?id=106713

Yemen has been since March 2015 under a brutal aggression by Saudi-led coalition. Tens of thousands of Yemenis have been injured and martyred in Saudi-led strikes, with the vast majority of them are civilians.

The coalition has been also imposing a blockade on the impoverished country’s ports and airports as a part of his aggression which is aimed at restoring power to fugitive former president Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi.

Meanwhile, Yemen is home to the world’s largest humanitarian crisis, with at least 7 million people on the brink of famine and hundreds of thousands suffering from cholera.

Source: Al-Manar English Website

Related Videos

Related News

• Anti-War Groups Urge US Congress to End Support for Saudi War on Yemen
• Yemeni Forces Liberate Swathes of Territories in Marib from Saudi-led Mercenaries: General Sarea
• Saudi Shelling Leaves 3 Civilians Dead in Northwestern Yemen
• Human Rights Office Condemns Targeting Citizens in Al-Rumman neighborhood, in Taiz
• Al-Houthi and Al-Madani inspect the wounded in Hodeidah hospitals
• Marib Governor Calls on People of Harib to Prevent Qaeda, Daesh from Entrenching in the District

The Yemeni September 21st Revolution: Historical background, and Why the Revolution Matters

September 21, 2021

Source: Al Mayadeen

Rune Agerhus

Yemenis were punished for claiming their right to self-determination, punished for demanding to live in a free, prosperous, and democratic nation.

On July 30th, 2014, the Yemeni government at the time introduced several austerity measures as a prerequisite for obtaining a loan from IMF. One of these measures was to increase the fuel prices, a service that has been historically subsidized for many years.  Having witnessed the collapse of Ali Abdullah Saleh’s government in 2012 and an uneasy National Dialogue while state affairs were effectively put to a standstill, the Yemeni people poured into the streets in defiance. Not solely in defiance against an increase in fuel prices, which would severely impact the quality of life in the already poverty-stricken country, but in defiance against malign foreign interference which has, yet again, made life difficult for the ordinary Yemeni citizen.

Spearheaded by the Ansarallah movement, the Yemeni people reignited the spirit of revolution in every corner of the Yemeni Republic. They had suffered under a regime of guardianship to Saudi Arabia, the United States, and its state-run NGOs & think tanks for many decades. This time was different. There was no reluctance amongst protesters and citizens alike, and the end goals were unified. Ansarallah’s leader, Sayyed Abdul Malek Baddreddin Alhouthi, made plea after plea on television to the government of Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi: “Either you withdraw your austerity measures, or the people will be forced to take matters in their own hands”.

And so, they did. On September 21st, 2014, the Ansarallah and “People’s Committees” stormed the capital in Toyota technicals and armed with Kalashnikov rifles, and effectively seized control of the country. The ensuing night sky lit up with fireworks and cries of joy. The takeover of the capital remained largely peaceful, with only sporadic clashes in the preceding offensive. It marked the first time an armed revolution had seen tangible results in the country since South Yemen gained its independence from the United Kingdom on November 30th, 1967.

What then happened has so far remained largely ignored in the corporate western press. Soldiers of the Yemeni Army joined hands with the Ansarallah and were tasked to guard state institutions and other public buildings. The Ansarallah and a number of political parties organized their own national dialogues in order to find an agreeable lasting solution to Yemen’s many dire problems.

Banners were raised on all major streets with the inscription “Iradat Ash-Shaab” – “The will of the people”. Streets were renamed after Yemen’s long list of anti-imperialist icons, nationalist and socialist alike. A course was set to free the country from the scourge of foreign guardianship and to reinstate true independence with respect to the people’s right to self-determination. The Peace and National Partnership Agreement, proposed by the UN and signed by all parties, constituted the new legal framework on which Yemen was to base its newfound trajectory. Everything was looking positive. Former UN envoy to Yemen Jamal Benomar once proclaimed that the many Yemeni political parties were close to a power-sharing deal that would effectively see the reintroduction of a bipartisan democratic system with its first free election in years.

Yemen’s president Hadi had resigned from his position as president to the Yemeni House of Representatives in January of 2015, and in February that same year, the Ansarallah went forth with a constitutional declaration that would see the revolutionary leadership “vanguardized” and the system reformed under classic socialist and anti-imperialist lines. The government was absolved, and the Revolutionary Committee was to take charge of all state affairs on an interim and transitional basis. The people were now in direct control of all state affairs, circumventing the kleptocratic bureaucracy built by Saleh and preceded by Hadi.

Escaping house arrest, Yemen’s resigned president Hadi then fled to Aden on the 21st of February, where he proclaimed to remain the president and called upon Saudi Arabia to form an international coalition that would see him reinstated. And on March 26th, 2015, the war of aggression against Yemen began officially, as announced by the Saudi Embassy in Washington DC.

Yemen has been bombed for six years straight ever since, despite international outcry and condemnation. A war that has left hundreds of thousands of innocent civilians dead and even more wounded. A war that also brought about a Saudi-enforced blockade on Yemen, effectively manufacturing famine across the country. More than 20 million Yemenis live in famine-like conditions, as vital imports are restricted and barred from entry by the Saudi-American Coalition. And all the war has done, so far, was to prove Yemen’s Ansarallah and its allies right in its assessments. That Yemen is being punished militarily for daring to break free from foreign guardianship. Yemenis were punished for claiming their right to self-determination, punished for demanding to live in a free, prosperous, and democratic nation.

The war has also failed to crush the Yemeni people’s revolutionary spirit. In around August and September 2015, the Yemeni Armed Forces stated their total support for the Revolution and began mobilizing soldiers to Yemen’s border regions in defense of their country. It would mark the starting point of the Yemeni armed struggle in defiance against imperialist aggression. It was a struggle that the Yemeni people have been waging, as the international community continued to deny their rights and their plight; a struggle that has gone unnoticed in many circles across the western world, and unfortunately amongst likewise anti-imperialists as well; a struggle condemned by the international community on baseless grounds, influenced by the lobbyist apparatus of the Saudi regime.

Yemen has suffered under the guardianship of Saudi Arabia for more than 4 decades. History shows that anyone who opposes this system of tutelage has been dealt with in the most horrifying manner possible. Presidents, intellectuals, opposition leaders, and academics have been assassinated by the Saudi regime for daring to reclaim their right as independent people.

September 21st Revolution remains the beacon and the guiding light to which the Yemeni people have waged their People’s Struggle. A correctional revolution meant to straighten out the path first laid by previous revolutions. September 21st is important because it marks a turning point of Yemeni contemporary history, in defiance against America and its imperialist aspirations. The revolution emphasized the importance of self-reliance over reliance on foreign countries. It is a worker’s revolution that unified an otherwise fragmented people.

From an increase in fuel prices to an all-out People’s War, the Yemeni people refuse to bow under pressure.The opinions mentioned in this article do not necessarily reflect the opinion of Al mayadeen, but rather express the opinion of its writer exclusively.

Yemeni Resistance Deals Heavy Blow To Aggressors: 16 Drones, Ballistic Missiles Target Saudi Depth

By Staff, Agencies

In yet another heroic achievement scored against the Saudi aggressors, the Yemeni resistance, represented by the Armed Forces, used 16 drones and ballistic missiles to hit targets deep inside Saudi Arabia in their latest operation, Yemeni Armed Forces Spokesman Brigadier General Yehya Saree announced.

“As part of confronting the crimes of [the Saudi-led] aggression against our country, our Armed Forces carried out the 7th Operation Balanced Deterrence, targeting vital facilities and military bases of the Saudi enemy,” Brigadier General Saree said in a televised statement on Sunday.

Saree explained that the operation targeted vital installations and military bases of Saudi Arabia, including Saudi Aramco facilities in Jeddah, Jizan and Najran regions, which he said were bombed with five Badr ballistic missiles and two Sammad-3 drones.

He added that Saudi Aramco facilities in Ras al-Tanura in the Dammam region, eastern Saudi Arabia, were also targeted with eight Sammad-3 drones and a Zulfiqar ballistic missile.

The spokesman stressed that Yemeni forces successfully hit their targets in both attacks.

In a statement on Saturday, Riyadh claimed that its air defenses had intercepted and destroyed three ballistic missiles and three explosive-laden drones launched towards Dammam, Jizan and Najran regions.

Yemen has been beset by violence and chaos since 2015, when Saudi Arabia and its allies launched a devastating war against the poorest Middle Eastern country to reinstall Yemen’s overthrown government of Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi in Sanaa and crush the Ansarullah resistance movement.

The war, accompanied by a tight siege, has failed to reach its goals and killed hundreds of thousands of Yemeni people, putting millions more at risk of starvation by destroying much of the country’s infrastructure.

The new operation came after the Yemeni Armed Forces repeatedly warned Saudi Arabia to stop the war and siege against the country or face larger and more extensive operations.

The Yemeni forces have stepped up their retaliatory attacks deep inside Saudi Arabia in recent months.

In his Sunday remarks, Saree said the new operation succeeded in achieving its goals, warning Saudi Arabia of the consequences of its continued military campaign against the Yemeni people.

He underlined that Yemen is entitled to carry out more military operations to defend itself and its people until the war and siege against the country come to an end.

“The Yemeni Armed Forces will continue their jihadist battle until the liberation of all the lands of the republic and the achievement of freedom and independence,” Saree affirmed.

Last month, UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Martin Griffiths said that about 5 million Yemenis are “just one step away” from succumbing to famine and related diseases.

“Ten million more are right behind them,” Griffiths warned.

According to Henrietta Fore, the executive director of UNICEF, one child dies every 10 minutes in Yemen from preventable causes, including malnutrition and vaccine-preventable diseases, which are the ramifications of the war on Yemen.

In another development, the spokesman for Yemen’s Ansarullah resistance movement affirmed the Yemeni people’s right to defend themselves so long as Saudi Arabia insists on continuing the war.

“Just as they insist on continuing their aggression and siege, our Yemeni people continue to defend themselves,” Mohammed Abdul-Salam tweeted on Sunday.

The latest operation against Saudi Arabia coincided with the liberation of the southern district of Rahba district by the Yemeni Army and allied popular committees, he said.

A security official in Marib Province told Yemen News Agency [SABA] that all the residents of Rahba can return to their homes and farms and practice their normal lives after the district was completely secured by Yemeni forces.

Repated Videos

Al Mayadeen: Death Toll on Al-Anad Airbase Attack Rises

August 30, 2021

Source: Al Mayadeen

By Al Mayadeen

STC forces attacked the Al-Anad airbase, killing 49 people and wounding 65 more. The Houthi movement has continued to attack the base.

Lahij governorate’s al-Anad airbase, where the STC troops are stationed.

Today, Al Mayadeen sources reported that more than 100 people were killed and wounded as a result of a missile attack on the al-Anad Saudi coalition military base in the Lahij governorate. Some wounded are in critical condition.

It was reported by a Yemeni medical source that 49 people were killed in the attack and 65 were injured. The number of missing people whose corpses were torn was not included in the final death toll.

Three ballistic missiles fired from the al-Hawban area in Taiz, southwest of Yemen, struck the al-Anad base, according to military leaders of the UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council.

The military leaders of the STC forces accused the Sana’a government forces of continuing to attack and bomb the al-Anad base, which the STC utilizes as a base for its troops, while STC spokesperson Mohammed Al-Naqib did not rule out the absence of Houthi-Brotherhood cooperation in the operation.

It is worth noting that the Saudi coalition’s targeting of al-Anad, an important air and military base, is the second after it was hit in 2019 by a drone that targeted a military parade. Several high-ranking military leaders in President Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi’s forces were killed, including the Deputy Chief of Staff, Major General Saleh Al-Zindani.

Yemeni Army, Allies to Seize Control over Marib If Pro-Hadi Militants Dismiss Truce

August 14 2021

A senior Yemeni official said the country’s army troops and fighters from allied Popular Committees will establish full control over the entire districts of the central province of Marib in case Saudi-led militants refuse calls for a ceasefire in the strategic area.

Marib provincial governor in Yemen’s National Salvation Government, Major General Ali Muhammad Taiman, told Beirut-based al-Mayadeen network that the Yemeni army troops and allies are now in control of 85% of the province, and are only about 6 to 7 kilometers away from the provincial capital of the same name.

He added that the Yemeni armed forces are currently positioned on the outskirts of Marib city, stressing that, “We agreed to the initiative by [the leader of Yemen’s popular Ansarullah resistance movement] Abdul-Malik Badreddin al-Houthi, for a ceasefire. However, Saudi militants loyal to Yemen’s fugitive former President Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi kept bombing women and children. We want peace and strongly oppose bloodshed.”

He added, “[Sayyed] al-Houthi’s initiative is fair, as it involves the locals of Marib in its administration and appropriation of its resources. Such an initiative had not been developed for the past 40 years. We presented the truce initiative from a position of strength.”

Taiman highlighted that he was “ready to sit with his counterpart in Hadi’s administration, Major Sultan al-Aradah, either in the al-Jubah district or in Sirwah, in order to discuss the initiative and stop skirmishes in Marib.”

“We hope [Saudi] mercenaries in Marib would agree to Houthi’s initiative, and quickly implement it if they want to spare the province from war and destruction,” he added.

The senior Yemeni official further noted: “If the mercenaries have the courage to take the decision, we are ready to sit down with them.” 

Taiman said, “While we follow the initiative and are waiting for the other side’s action[s], no measure has unfortunately been taken yet. Yemeni army forces and fighters from Popular Committees would not hesitate to liberate the rest of Marib in case Saudi mercenaries turn down the truce initiative.”

Saudi Arabia, backed by the US and regional allies, launched the war on Yemen in March 2015, with the goal of bringing Hadi’s government back to power and crushing the popular Ansarullah resistance movement.

Yemeni armed forces and allied Popular Committees have, however, gone from strength to strength against the Saudi-led invaders, and left Riyadh and its allies bogged down in the country.

The war has left hundreds of thousands of Yemenis dead, and displaced millions more. It has also destroyed Yemen’s infrastructure and spread famine and infectious diseases.

Why did Saudi Arabia wage a war on Yemen?

12 July 2021

To say the war on Yemen was a major development in the history of West Asia might be an understand. It will certainly go down In history, perhaps not in favor of the Saudis though.

TEHRAN (Iran News) –  Why did Saudi Arabia wage a war on Yemen? To say the war on Yemen was a major development in the history of West Asia might be an understand. It will certainly go down In history, perhaps not in favor of the Saudis though.

In March 2015, Saudi Arabia declared that it and some allies had formed a coalition led by Riyadh and began a military operation. At the time, this was something unheard of, especially in the Arab world; that the Arabs had formed a military alliance for the first time in many decades and were conducting wide-scale bombing campaigns with such energy and such enthusiasm. The military campaign was dubbed Operation Decisive Storm. Many in the region had jokingly highlighted what exactly happened that we are suddenly witnessing this courageous will and heroic leadership among a handful of Arab states.

The Storm of the Arabs! In fact it was quite unfortunate. For decades, since 1948, the Palestinians had witnessed one massacre after the other and we never got to see an Arab storm. Not even a breeze of this storm on Yemen. The Palestinians and the Lebanese who also suffered from Israeli occupation had dreamt to only smell an Arab storm of this magnitude. The reasons or excuses at the time, Saudi Arabia offered to wage a war to this extent on another country were THREE. Firstly, the Saudis claimed that the former government of Yemen led by former President Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi had requested the military intervention. By the way, the Palestinians had also requested such an intervention and is still requesting such an intervention today but to date, their appeals have fallen on death ears. Instead the Saudis and their allies are accused of conspiring against the Palestinians and sold the third holiest site in Islam in occupied Jerusalem al-Quds to the Israelis.

The Saudis claimed they sensed a threat from Yemen, where peace talks between the former Saudi backed government in Sana’a and the new National Salvation Government broke down and clashes ensued between the two sides. Here it’s important to note, former President Hadi allied with Riyadh, naturally took sides with Riyadh. Whereas the new National Salvation Government backed by a popular public revolution on the ground expressed opposition to Saudi Arabia’s decades old control on Yemen and was seeking independence from the Kingdom.

As Hadi lost grip on the country, so did the Saudis and Hadi quite naturally fled to Riyadh. For arguments sake, even if Hadi’s term had not expired and he was overthrown by a popular  revolution, was this enough to wage such a devastating war? even if Riyadh had claimed it wanted to reinstate what it considers or claims to be the legitimate President of Yemen. Here, again important to note, many other Saudi allies like former Tunisian President, Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, who was toppled during the Islamic Awakening in 2011 by the Tunisian Revolution also fled to Saudi Arabia. Where was the Saudi war on Tunisia to reinstate Ben Ali? Likewise Saudi Arabia’s neighbor, Egypt with Hosni Mubarak which Saudi Arabia tried its best to reinstate but not to the extent that it waged a war or militarily intervened. Not only does this prove the Saudi reasoning is false in nature but also puts the spotlight on Yemen. Why only a war on Yemen? Why this quick decisive action to wage war on Yemen, why no talks first, no dialogue or other non-lethal attempts?

The second reason Riyadh stated for this very surprising yet very unfortunate war on its southern neighbor is that the new situation on the ground (the popular revolution spearheaded by Ansarullah alongside the Yemeni army and many legal and popular institutions and committees) poses a threat to Saudi Arabia, the Persian Gulf as well as the security of the Red Sea. Was this accurate? Did Saudi Arabia present any evidence (even a verbal statement by a Saudi official) to back this accusation to the region or the world. Was the presentation of evidence to back up this claim not necessary to wage a deadly devastating war? It is well known that Yemen is the poorest nation in the region. It was also well known that Yemen had many challenges ahead from legal issues to public issues to security issues for example writing a new constitution, bringing back basic services to its people, fighting Takfiri terrorist cells operating on its land such as al-Qaeda. This needed time for the new Yemeni government. Can a new born country in this state pose a threat to Saudi Arabia, the richest Kingdom in the region or the Persian Gulf or the Red Sea. This also proved to be false. The third and most important reason that was circulating on Saudi media and all Saudi sponsored media in the region and the world at the time, perhaps the most serious allegation by the Saudis is that Yemen has become ‘occupied’ by Iran, ‘controlled‘ by Iran and military intervention is required to return Yemen back to an ‘Arab state’.

In other words, Yemen became Iranian overnight. When you study Yemeni history, literature, culture and recent pride, dignity, resistance and willpower and steadfastness against the Saudis; If the Yemenis are not Arabs, then who are the Arabs?

However, as this was a major accusation, it needs to be documented and examined carefully and with logic. When the Saudis said occupation, let’s tackle the simple aspects first. Where is the evidence that Iran ‘occupies’ Yemen? An occupation tends to have a presence, as with every occupation in the world. Was Iran’s army or Iranian forces occupying Yemen or parts of Yemen. Were there any Iranian military bases on Yemeni territory? The accusation was so absurd it was actually laughable. Let’s assume the Saudis actually didn’t mean a military occupation but some form of Iranian control over Yemen. This also needs to be addressed to understand the misconception not just in Yemen but the entire region.

Here, one has to understand the mentality of the tribal ruling monarchy of Saudi Arabia that is backed by the United States and widely believed to be backed by Israel. This ruling monarchy has an issue with something called independent democratic states in West Asia. An independent Tunisian state or Syrian state or for arguments sake an independent Egyptian state or independent Persian Gulf States or even an independent Saudi Arabian state with democratic institutions. The monarchies in West Asia where one tribe rules an entire population with an iron fist views any form of independence as a form of resistance to its rule of power.

That’s in a nutshell.

The facts and reality on the ground is that this logic by these ruling tribes leads to regular foreign policy miscalculations, losses and diplomatic blunders. It’s difficult to find the last time Saudi Arabia made a real foreign policy achievement. More than six years of Saudi Arabia’s war on Yemen, which Riyadh predicted would end in a couple of weeks has been a failure, a defeat and a quagmire for the Kingdom.

These are the same statements that we hear again and again and again from regional states like Iraq, like Syria, like Palestine, like Lebanon and others. The lack of a strong Saudi leadership in the region despite all its rich resources and home to the two holiest sites in Islam, this lack of leadership or failed policies is what leads nations to request help from an independent nation in West Asia such as the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Here is where Riyadh needs to change its mentality and be a source of inspiration for West Asia. For example, Lebanon 1982, when Israeli forces invaded and reached Beirut. All the Arab monarchies and dictatorships ignored Lebanon. The only two states that supported Lebanon during its darkest era was Iran and Syria. Both countries under blockade and siege or war and terrorism. Despite that, Lebanon requested help from Iran, a country that itself was facing a war from Saddam’s regime but Iran fulfilled its duty to another oppressed nation by sending a team of military advisors.

However, it’s very important to highlight, despite western and regional propaganda, that the Lebanese resistance that was formed against Israeli occupation was a Lebanese resistance; made up of Lebanese men; commanders and soldiers not Iranian. Until today, the Saudis describe the Lebanese resistance in its media as Iranian without a shred of evidence while there are thousands of shreds of evidence proving otherwise. The same again with Palestine, if Saudi Arabia supported the Palestinians against the Israeli occupation with the same willpower and money and hundreds of billions of dollars worth of weapons it spent on the war on Yemen, the Palestinians may not have turned to Iran for support. The same goes for Iraq and Syria during the era of Daesh’s occupation. Where were the Arab monarchies? had it not been Iranian military advisors, Daesh would have taken over both countries. More important than this, to make the picture clearer (and counter American/Israeli/Saudi propaganda) never once have these nations stated in their history, that Iran ordered us to do something in return for Tehran’s support.

This reality, where independent states, or those still looking to liberate their lands from occupation, can form an alliance and be free or independent at the same time poses a danger to Saudi Arabia and its allies. Elections in Iran, Iraq, Syria or Lebanon or Palestine or Yemen poses a threat to monarchical rule. Saudis nationals are asking (quite rightly) why don’t we have elections, but analysts argue this is why American support for these monarchies (whether Saudi Arabia knows it or not) allows it to maintain its hegemonic presence in West Asia and serve Israeli interests.

Returning to Yemen, prior to March 2015, Saudi Arabia had been interfering in Yemen for decades and in literally every aspect; controlling its governance, policies, army, economy and even faiths and sects. What has Saudi Arabia offered to Yemen after all those years? Where was the infrastructure in Yemen? where was the state of the economy? where was the security? Did Saudi Arabia include Yemen in the Persian Gulf Security Council, considering its alleged staunch support for the country? Saudi Arabia kept Yemen as the region’s poorest nation. The Yemeni people are the ones that reached the conclusion based on their will and took a decision to part ways with Riyadh and reclaim their country, borders, sovereignty, independence and most importantly dignity.

Yemen’s Houthis Vow to Help ‘Defend Jerusalem’

Posted by INTERNATIONALIST 360° on JUNE 18, 2021

Ilya Tsukanov
The Yemeni Shia militia is known for its extreme hostility to the Jewish State, with its oft-touted four-part slogan including the lines “Death to Israel” and “A Curse on the Jews.”

Yemen’s Houthi militia will take part in the defence of Jerusalem in event of a broader conflict with Israel, a senior official from the political and militant group has indicated.

“Ansar Allah will be part of the equation in the defence of the Holy City of Jerusalem,” Abdul-Wahhab al-Mahbashi, a member of the Houthis’ political bureau, said, speaking to Hezbollah-affiliated Lebanese TV channel al-Mayadeen on Thursday night.

The official argued that the Israeli “enemy” may not stop its attacks unless resistance forces are able to target the Israeli hinterland, and suggested that Tel Aviv listens to the warnings of the leaders of the Axis of Resistance (the loose Iran-led Middle Eastern coalition opposed to Israel and the United States), because they do what they say, “unlike” the Arab League.

Al-Mahbashi went on to allege that Israel and the United Arab Emirates were working together in the construction of a mysterious military airbase on Mayun – a volcanic island off Yemen in the strategic Bab el-Mandeb Strait. “Israel is behind the Emirati banner on Mayun Island in the Red Sea,” he said.

Mayun is the second Yemeni island where the Houthis have claimed that Israel and the UAE are working together against Sanaa. Last year, media reported on the creation of a “spy base” on Socotra – a large island about 350 km southeast of the Yemeni mainland between the Guardafui Channel and Arabian Sea. Formally, the island is controlled by the “Southern Transitional Council,” an Abu Dhabi-sponsored entity formally seeking to break off from Yemen and create a separate state in the country’s south, but which is now cooperating with the Saudi-backed government of Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi.

Even though the territory they control is situated over 1,600 km from Israel, the Houthis have repeatedly threatened to attack the Jewish State in the event of attacks against its territories, or if Israel attacks its allies in other countries. Among the group’s potential “bank of targets” are Israeli ships sailing through the Red Sea, and areas inside Israel proper.

Last month, amid the escalation of the conflict between Israel and Hamas militants in Gaza, Houthi Supreme Political Council member Muhammad Ali al-Houthi vowed that “the Arab and Yemeni peoples will go to support the Palestinian cause.”

In separate remarks earlier this month, Houthi leader Abdul-Malik al-Houthi said that Yemen was “an integral part of the equation announced by [Hezbollah leader] Hassan Nasrallah, which states that the threat to Jerusalem means a regional war, within the framework of the Axis of Resistance.”

Hostile Relations

The Houthis have repeatedly accused Israel of involvement in, or even the instigation of, the Saudi-led military intervention in Yemen which began in March of 2015, several months after they seized power in a popular uprising in the Yemeni capital of Sana’a.

On Saturday, the group released an hour-long historical documentary on the capture of a Mossad spy, with the expose exposing a range of alleged Israeli activities in Yemen over the past 50 years.

قوات الجيش واللجان تقترب من صحن الجن: مدينة مأرب .. قاب قوسين او أدنى The army and committees are approaching Sahn al-Jin: The city of Ma’rib … is about to fall

قوات الجيش واللجان تقترب من صحن الجن: مدينة مأرب .. قاب قوسين او أدنى

الميادين

19 نيسان/أبريل 2021

تساقط قادة المرتزقة من الصف الاول واحد تلو اخر بين قتيل وجريح ما يعكس السيطرة الميدانية لقوات صنعاء التي لم تفقد أي من قيادتها رغم انها قوات مهاجمة

فيما قوات المرتزقة التي تحاول دفاعها المستميت على المدينة يعتبر انتحاراً مما يدل على انها تعيش في مراحلها الاخيرة وما هي الا مسألة وقت حتى تتحرر مدينة مأرب التي بات المواطنون القاطنون فيها يعيشون ظروفاً مأسوية خاصة بعد انقطاع الكهرباء عنهم وعدم وجود البدائل وهو ما يدلل على عدمية القيادة المتواجدة فيها وارتباكها كونها لم تضع حساباتها لمعركة المدينة التي يسكن في نفسياتها الغرور الذي أوقعها في محرقة لم تحسب لها حساب من قبل .

خاص 26 سبتمبر
اليوم تشارف قوات الجيش واللجان الشعبية على تحرير المدينة ولكن المدنيين والنازحين الذين يتمترس خلفهم المرتزقة يعمل ابناء الجيش واللجان الشعبية على ادارة المعركة بنوع من الهدوء ليحافظ على ارواح المدنيين والنازحين الذين استرخص المرتزقة ارواحهم والاحتماء بهم لتأخير تحرير المدينة.

ومن بشائر النصر في اسوار مدينة مأرب إن دفع المرتزقة بخيرة قادتهم الذين كان لهم ابطال الجيش واللجان الشعبية بالمرصاد فتساقطوا واحدا تلو اخرى في جبهة غرب وشمال مدينة مأرب وهو ما اصاب قيادة المرتزقة في ارتباك وانهيار نفسي ومعنوي ما دفع بما يسمى برئيس اركانها صغير بن عزيز الى زيارتها لغرض ايقاف تدهورها وانهيارها الذي بات وشيكاً خاصة بعد كان الواقع هو الاقوى وقعاً عليهم في تقدم الجيش واللجان وتحرير عشرات المواقع والاقتراب من المدينة اكثر فأكثر فلا الزيارات لمن تبقى من قادة المرتزقة جديرة بإيقاف تقدمهم ولا المرتزقة انفسهم باتوا يصدقون وعود زيارات قادتهم التي لم تستطع حتى اليوم ايقاف ذلك التقدم بل زاد من انهيارهم وفرارهم من تلك الجبهات متأثرين بفقدان عشرات القيادات والتي كان ابرزهم اللواء الركن المرتزق أمين الوائلي قائد المنطقة العسكرية السادسة واللواء المرتزق محمد مشلي الحرملي اركان حرب ما يسمى المنطقة العسكرية السابعة والعميد المرتزق محمد عبدالعزيز العسودي قائد اللواء 203 والمرتزق العميد المرتزق سيف عبدالرب الشدادي قائد ما يسمى اللواء 159 مشاة و العميد المرتزق “عبدالغني شعلان قائد ما يسمى بقوات الامن الخاصة ” وقائد ما يسمى بفرع الشرطة العسكرية بالمحافظة العميد المرتزق عبدالله بن عبدالله دحوان المرادي وقادة اخرين سقطوا بضربة صاروخية اثناء اجتماع لهم قتل 11 مسلحا وأصيب 13 اخرين بينهم قيادات رفيعة بهجوم صاروخي استهدف معسكرهم شرق مدينة مأرب.

في صحن الجن
تتجه قوات الجيش واللجان الشعبية بعد تحقيق هذه الانتصارات نحو تطويق مدينة مأرب من المدخلَين الغربي والجنوبي تمهيداً لدخول المدينة التي باتت أقرب إلى السقوط من أي وقت مضى وفق ما يشير إليه مسار العمليات العسكرية وبعدما تقدما من الاتجاهين الغربي والشمالي الغربي نحو قاعدة «صحن الجن» العسكرية استكمل الجيش واللجان الشعبية منذ يومين سيطرتهما على سلسلة جبال البلق القبْلي ما من شأنه أن يمنحهما هامشا واسعا لتقييد حركة قوات المرتزقة في الطلعة الحمراء والإشراف على طريق مأرب ــــ صنعاء كما تمكن من السيطرة على إثره من السيطرة على حمة الحجيلي ونقْل المعركة إلى التومة العليا والتومة السفلى الواقعتين على بعد خمسة كيلومترات من مقر قيادة المنطقة العسكرية الثالثة التابعة لقوات المرتزقة والواقعة في نطاق الأحياء الغربية لمركز المحافظة. وتتجه وفق ما يشير إليه مسار المواجهات إلى تنفيذ خطة تطويق المدخلين الغربي والجنوبي للمدينة تمهيدا للحسم.
ويشير التقدم الجديد الذي أحرزته قوات الجيش واللجان في سلسلة البلق القبْلي من منطقة الزور وخلف سد مأرب جنوب غرب مأرب إلى بدء تلك القوات بتطويق مداخل المدينة من أكثر من اتجاه (الغربي والشمالي الغربي والجنوبي) تمهيدا للسيطرة على الطلعة الحمراء وتبت المصارية والتقدم في اتجاه مركز المحافظة من الاتجاهين الغربي والشمالي الغربي وفصْل جبهات مراد التي اشتعلت خلال اليومين الماضيين عن جبهات محيط المدينة بشكل كلي وتأمين جميع المواقع الخلْفية لدخول مأرب التي أصبحت أقرب من أي وقت مضى إلى تحرير المدينة.

فقدان ثقة  
التطورات المتسارعة في مأرب أفقدت النظام السعودي الثقة بقوات هادي والاصلاح وبزعماء القبائل الموالين لها مما حدا بعدد من القبائل الى التمرد على تلك القيادات وقطع خطوط الامداد عن المدينة بعد إن ضاق بها الحالة والمعاناة  من الممارسات والقمع والاختطافات لأبنائها من قبل قوات الارتزاق مطالبتاً بإطلاق عدد من المختطفين فيما ادخل المدينة بظلام دامس انعكس على حياة ومعاناة المواطنين في المدينة  وأشارت المصادر إلى نصب قبائل عبيدة في منطقة العرقين على خط صافر جنوبي المدينة نقطة لقطع دخول الإمدادات النفطية وغيرها إلى قوات هادي في  المجمع الحكومي ويعجل مثل تلك التحركات القبلية بقرب موعد سقوط المحافظة النفطية الهامة بيد قوات الجيش واللجان الشعبية  وتفجر ثورة قبلية ضد قوات التحالف السعودي ومرتزقتهم  .

إخفاق وفشل  
في المقابل وبعدما أخفقت قوات المرتزقة في إعادة إشعال جبهات العلم الواقعة على بعد 65 كيلومترا شمالي مارب خلال الأيام الماضية حاولت التصعيد عسكريا في جبهة أسداس الواقعة ضمن مديرية رغوان شمال غرب المدينة لكنها فشلت في ذلك أيضا بسبب رفض القبائل في المديرية الانخراط في القتال وإعلانها الوقوف على الحياد بعدما أبرم زعماؤها اتفاقات مع صنعاء العام الماضي قضت بتحييد قراهم ومزارعهم عن الصراع.
وفي محاولات عدة لتخفيف الضغط عن مدينة مارب وعرقلة تقدم الجيش واللجان الشعبية قامت قوات المرتزقة بتعزيز ما تبقى لها من مواقع في الجبهة الغربية بمسلحين قبليين موالين للقيادي في «حزب الإصلاح» منصور الحنق لكن الأخير وقع في كمين مسلح نفذته قوات الجيش واللجان الشعبية في منطقة ذات الراء غربي مأرب ليصاب إصابة بالغة أسعف على إثرها إلى الرياض لتلقي العلاج. وأفادت مصادر لقوات هادي في مدينة مأرب بأن قائد اللواء 312 مدرع العميد فيصل عبد الله القعود قتل هو الآخر في هذا الكمين.

تغيرات متسارعة
التغيرات المتسارعة في مسار معركة محيط مدينة مأرب أفقدت السعودية الثقة بقوات هادي وبزعماء القبائل الموالين لها في المحافظة, وفي هذا الإطار كشفت مصادر قبلية أن العميد يوسف خير الله الشهراني قائد عمليات المنطقة الشمالية الغربية والمعين قائدا للقوات السعودية في مأرب في تموز/ يوليو 2020 طالب مشايخ القبائل الموالين للرياض أثناء زيارة خاطفة قام بها إلى المدينة قبل أيام بتسليم الأسلحة والأطقم التي تسلموها من قيادة التحالف للقتال وذلك بعد انسحاب مقاتلي قبائل مراد وعبيدة من جبهات القتال قبل عدة أسابيع بعد إن رجحت كفة المعركة لصالح قوات الجيش واللجان الشعبية التي باتت أكثر قرباً من تحرير المدينة.

---

معركة مأرب: قوات صنعاء تقترب من انتزاع «الطلعة الحمراء»

امتدّت المعارك إلى الخطّ العام الرابط بين صرواح ومدينة مأرب (أ ف ب )

الاخبار رشيد الحداد الإثنين 19 نيسان 2021

صنعاء | شهدت الجبهة الغربية لمدينة مأرب مواجهات عنيفة استُخدمت فيها مختلف أنواع الأسلحة، بين الجيش اليمني و»اللجان الشعبية» من جهة، والقوات الموالية للرئيس المنتهية ولايته، عبد ربه منصور هادي، من جهة أخرى، وعلى رغم كثافة غارات طيران العدوان السعودي ــــ الإماراتي الذي شنّ أكثر من 20 غارة، مساء السبت وفجر الأحد، على مناطق التماس في الطلعة الحمراء شرق صرواح وفي الجبهة الشمالية الغربية، تقدّمت قوات صنعاء غرب «الطلعة»، ونقلت المعركة إلى الشمال منها. وبحسب مصادر عسكرية، فقد نفّذ الجيش و»اللجان»، فجر السبت، عملية التفاف سريعة من مسارَين على مواقع قوات هادي وميليشيات «الإصلاح» وعناصر التنظيمات الإرهابية غرب الطلعة الحمراء، حيث استمرّت المواجهات لأكثر من عشر ساعات انتهت بمقتل وجرح عدد كبير من عناصر المجاميع الموالية لـ»التحالف» وقياداتها، بينهم قائد الجبهات الغربية للمدينة المُعيّن منذ أيّام، العميد أحمد راجح أبو إصبع، الذي أصيب إصابات بالغة. كما اعترفت قوات هادي بمقتل قائد الإمداد العسكري للطلعة الحمراء القيادي السلفي سالم صالح المُلقَّب بـ»أبو تراب»، والقيادي في «الإصلاح» عبد المقيت رفيق الخفجي، فضلاً عن إصابة القيادي عبد الإله ناجي القردعي إصابة بليغة. وبعد توقُّف المعارك لساعات، حاولت خلالها قوات هادي الدفع بتعزيزات جديدة من البيضاء وشبوة للدفاع عن الطلعة الحمراء التي بسقوطها سيصل الجيش و»اللجان» إلى منطقة الجفينة التي تُعدّ من ضمن الأحياء الجنوبية لمدينة مأرب، تجدَّدت المواجهات فجر أمس غرب «الطلعة»، لتتمكّن قوات صنعاء من السيطرة على الجانب الغربي منها ونقْل المعركة إلى شمالها.

وأكدت مصادر محلية امتداد المعارك إلى الخطّ العام الرابط بين صرواح ومدينة مأرب، وصولاً إلى الجبهة الشمالية الغربية. إذ شنّ الجيش و»اللجان» هجوماً مزدوجاً على مواقع قوات هادي وميليشيات «الإصلاح» المقابِلة لحمة الديرة التي سقطت الجمعة، وتقدَّما نحو أرض الهبوط القريبة من قاعدة صحن الجن العسكرية غربي المدينة. كما أكدت مصادر قبلية، بدورها، سقوط عدد كبير من المواقع الصغيرة الواقعة في أطراف وادي نخلا، وتقدُّم قوات صنعاء في منطقة ذات الراء بعد المشجح، ونقلها المعركة إلى مناطق حسّاسة غرب الطلعة الحمراء، قد تتسبّب بوقوع من تبقّى من قوات هادي في «الطلعة» تحت الحصار. وأفادت المصادر نفسها بأن المجاميع الموالية لـ»التحالف» فشلت في الحفاظ على مواقعها في محيط تبّة البس غربيّ المدينة، مضيفة إن تلك المجاميع دفعت، خلال اليومين الماضيين، بكلّ ثقلها العسكري إلى جبهات غرب المدينة وشمال غربها، لوقف تقدُّم الجيش و»اللجان» لكنها فشلت، متحدّثة عن وقوع «مقتلة كبيرة» لتعزيزات عسكرية تابعة لـ»الإصلاح» قَدِمت من البيضاء، وكانت في طريقها إلى الطلعة الحمراء للدفاع عنها بعد سقوط أجزاء منها غرباً. وأوضحت المصادر أن قوات صنعاء تلقّت، السبت، معلومات استخبارية من المتعاونين معها بأماكن وجود التعزيزات «الإصلاحية»، لت ستهدفها بهجوم صاروخي أوقع عشرات القتلى.وكانت قوات هادي قد فقدت عدداً كبيراً من قادتها العسكريين خلال الأسبوعين الماضيين (آخرهم عبد ربه الشدادي، نجل قائد المنطقة العسكرية الثالثة، والمُكلَّف بقيادة جبهات مراد)، وهو ما ضاعَف حالة الانهيار المعنوي في صفوفها، توازياً مع تساقُط مواقعها المتقدّمة غربي مأرب. مع هذا، حاولت تلك القوات، السبت، تجهيز ﺧﻂّ دﻓﺎﻉ جديد يمتدّ ﻣﻦ ﺣﻤﺔ ﺍﻟﺒﺲ وﺧﻂّ ﺍلأﻧﺒﻮﺏ إﻟﻰ منطقتَي ﺍﻟﺸﻌﻠﺔ ﻭﺍﻟﻤﻴﻞ شمال غرب المدينة، وذلك ﺑﻌﺪ اﻧﻜﺴﺎﺭ ﺧﻂّ دفاعها ﺍﻷﻭﻝ ﻓﻲ إﻳﺪﺍﺕ ﺍﻟﺮﺍﺀ ﻭﺍﻟﻌُﻄﻴﻒ وملبودة ودش الخشب والحمة الحمراء. لكن خطوتها هذه لم تَحُل دون خسارتها، السبت، عدداً من المواقع في منطقة الميل غربي المدينة. ووفقاً للناشط طارق بن سلامة، وهو من أبناء المحافظة، فقد سيطر الجيش و»اللجان» على أكثر من 10 مواقع صغيرة بالقرب من تبّة المصارية، آخر التباب الواقعة بالقرب من الأحياء الغربية لمركز المحافظة. وكان سقوط تبّة سنجر في جبهة المشجح، مطلع الأسبوع الفائت، قد وضَع تبّة ماهر، المقابلة لتبّة المصارية، تحت نيران قوات صنعاء.

امتدّت المعارك إلى الخطّ العام الرابط بين صرواح ومدينة مأرب (أ ف ب )صنعاء | شهدت الجبهة الغربية لمدينة مأرب مواجهات عنيفة استُخدمت فيها مختلف أنواع الأسلحة، بين الجيش اليمني و»اللجان الشعبية» من جهة، والقوات الموالية للرئيس المنتهية ولايته، عبد ربه منصور هادي، من جهة أخرى. وعلى رغم كثافة غارات طيران العدوان السعودي ــــ الإماراتي الذي شنّ أكثر من 20 غارة، مساء السبت وفجر الأحد، على مناطق التماس في الطلعة الحمراء شرق صرواح وفي الجبهة الشمالية الغربية، تقدّمت قوات صنعاء غرب «الطلعة»، ونقلت المعركة إلى الشمال منها. وبحسب مصادر عسكرية، فقد نفّذ الجيش و»اللجان»، فجر السبت، عملية التفاف سريعة من مسارَين على مواقع قوات هادي وميليشيات «الإصلاح» وعناصر التنظيمات الإرهابية غرب الطلعة الحمراء، حيث استمرّت المواجهات لأكثر من عشر ساعات انتهت بمقتل وجرح عدد كبير من عناصر المجاميع الموالية لـ»التحالف» وقياداتها، بينهم قائد الجبهات الغربية للمدينة المُعيّن منذ أيّام، العميد أحمد راجح أبو إصبع، الذي أصيب إصابات بالغة. كما اعترفت قوات هادي بمقتل قائد الإمداد العسكري للطلعة الحمراء القيادي السلفي سالم صالح المُلقَّب بـ»أبو تراب»، والقيادي في «الإصلاح» عبد المقيت رفيق الخفجي، فضلاً عن إصابة القيادي عبد الإله ناجي القردعي إصابة بليغة. وبعد توقُّف المعارك لساعات، حاولت خلالها قوات هادي الدفع بتعزيزات جديدة من البيضاء وشبوة للدفاع عن الطلعة الحمراء التي بسقوطها سيصل الجيش و»اللجان» إلى منطقة الجفينة التي تُعدّ من ضمن الأحياء الجنوبية لمدينة مأرب، تجدَّدت المواجهات فجر أمس غرب «الطلعة»، لتتمكّن قوات صنعاء من السيطرة على الجانب الغربي منها ونقْل المعركة إلى شمالها.

وأكدت مصادر محلية امتداد المعارك إلى الخطّ العام الرابط بين صرواح ومدينة مأرب، وصولاً إلى الجبهة الشمالية الغربية. إذ شنّ الجيش و»اللجان» هجوماً مزدوجاً على مواقع قوات هادي وميليشيات «الإصلاح» المقابِلة لحمة الديرة التي سقطت الجمعة، وتقدَّما نحو أرض الهبوط القريبة من قاعدة صحن الجن العسكرية غربي المدينة. كما أكدت مصادر قبلية، بدورها، سقوط عدد كبير من المواقع الصغيرة الواقعة في أطراف وادي نخلا، وتقدُّم قوات صنعاء في منطقة ذات الراء بعد المشجح، ونقلها المعركة إلى مناطق حسّاسة غرب الطلعة الحمراء، قد تتسبّب بوقوع من تبقّى من قوات هادي في «الطلعة» تحت الحصار. وأفادت المصادر نفسها بأن المجاميع الموالية لـ»التحالف» فشلت في الحفاظ على مواقعها في محيط تبّة البس غربيّ المدينة، مضيفة إن تلك المجاميع دفعت، خلال اليومين الماضيين، بكلّ ثقلها العسكري إلى جبهات غرب المدينة وشمال غربها، لوقف تقدُّم الجيش و»اللجان» لكنها فشلت، متحدّثة عن وقوع «مقتلة كبيرة» لتعزيزات عسكرية تابعة لـ»الإصلاح» قَدِمت من البيضاء، وكانت في طريقها إلى الطلعة الحمراء للدفاع عنها بعد سقوط أجزاء منها غرباً. وأوضحت المصادر أن قوات صنعاء تلقّت، السبت، معلومات استخبارية من المتعاونين معها بأماكن وجود التعزيزات «الإصلاحية»، لتستهدفها بهجوم صاروخي أوقع عشرات القتلى.

وكانت قوات هادي قد فقدت عدداً كبيراً من قادتها العسكريين خلال الأسبوعين الماضيين (آخرهم عبد ربه الشدادي، نجل قائد المنطقة العسكرية الثالثة، والمُكلَّف بقيادة جبهات مراد)، وهو ما ضاعَف حالة الانهيار المعنوي في صفوفها، توازياً مع تساقُط مواقعها المتقدّمة غربي مأرب. مع هذا، حاولت تلك القوات، السبت، تجهيز ﺧﻂّ دﻓﺎﻉ جديد يمتدّ ﻣﻦ ﺣﻤﺔ ﺍﻟﺒﺲ وﺧﻂّ ﺍلأﻧﺒﻮﺏ إﻟﻰ منطقتَي ﺍﻟﺸﻌﻠﺔ ﻭﺍﻟﻤﻴﻞ شمال غرب المدينة، وذلك ﺑﻌﺪ اﻧﻜﺴﺎﺭ ﺧﻂّ دفاعها ﺍﻷﻭﻝ ﻓﻲ إﻳﺪﺍﺕ ﺍﻟﺮﺍﺀ ﻭﺍﻟﻌُﻄﻴﻒ وملبودة ودش الخشب والحمة الحمراء. لكن خطوتها هذه لم تَحُل دون خسارتها، السبت، عدداً من المواقع في منطقة الميل غربي المدينة. ووفقاً للناشط طارق بن سلامة، وهو من أبناء المحافظة، فقد سيطر الجيش و»اللجان» على أكثر من 10 مواقع صغيرة بالقرب من تبّة المصارية، آخر التباب الواقعة بالقرب من الأحياء الغربية لمركز المحافظة. وكان سقوط تبّة سنجر في جبهة المشجح، مطلع الأسبوع الفائت، قد وضَع تبّة ماهر، المقابلة لتبّة المصارية، تحت نيران قوات صنعاء.

---

The army and committees are approaching Sahn al-Jin: The city of Ma’rib … is about to fall

Al-Mayadeen

19  April 2021

The mercenary commanders from the first row fell one by one between one dead and one wounded, which reflects the field control of the Sana’a forces, which have not lost any of their leadership even though they are attacking forces.

While the mercenary forces trying to desperately defend the city of Ma’rib is considered suicide, which indicates that it is only a matter of time until the city of Ma’rib is liberated. Ma’rib citizens are living in tragic conditions ,especially after the electricity was cut off from them and the lack of alternatives, which indicates the nihilism, vanity and confusion of the mercenary leadership.

On Sept. 26, Army forces and people’s committees were about to liberate the city, but civilians and displaced people, who are preyed upon by mercenaries, are working to manage the battle with a kind of calm to preserve the lives of civilians and displaced people whose lives have been taken by mercenaries and taken cover to delay the liberation of the city.

One of the signs of victory was that the mercenaries pushed the best of their leaders into the battle, and they fell one by one in the front of the west and north of the city of Ma’rib, which afflicted the mercenary leadership in confusion and psychological and moral collapse, which prompted its chief of staff, Saghir bin Aziz, to visit its chief of staff, Saghir bin Aziz, to visit it to stop the deterioration as a result of the advance of the army and committees, liberating dozens of sites and approaching The city is more and more. The mercenaries themselves did not believe their leaders, which could not stop the progress and their collapse and their flight increased the loss of dozens of leaders, the most prominent of them are Major General Mercenary P.S.C Amin Al-Waeli, Commander of the Sixth Military Region, and Major General Muhammad Mashli al-Haramli, Staff of the War of the so-called Seventh Military Region, Brigadier General Muhammad Abdulaziz al-Asoudi, Commander of the 203rd Brigade and the mercenary Brigadier General Saif Abd al-Rab al-Shaddadi, commander of the so-called 159 infantry brigade and the mercenary Brigadier General Abdul-Ghani Shaalan and the commander of the so-called Military Police branch in the governorate, Brigadier General Abdullah bin Abdullah Dahwan al-Muradi and other commanders were killed by a missile strike during a meeting with them, 11 militants were killed and 13 others, including high commanders, were wounded by a missile attack Their camp targeted the east of the city of Ma’rib.

In Sahn Al-jin: after achieving these victories, the army and the popular committees are heading towards encircling the city of Ma’rib from the western and southern entrances in preparation for entering the city, which is closer to falling than ever before, according to what is indicated by the course of the military operations and after they advanced from the western and northwestern directions towards the “Sahn Al-Jin” military base. Two days ago, the army and the popular committees completed their control of the mountain range of the Balq control range, which would give them a wide margin to restrict the movement of mercenary forces on the Red Race and supervise the Ma’rib-Sanaa road as well as to control the control of Hama al-Hujaili and move the battle to the Upper Toma and Lower Touma, five kilometers from the headquarters of the third military zone of the mercenary forces located within the western neighborhoods of the provincial center. The army and the popular committees was also able to control Hama Al-Hujaili and transfer the battle to Al-Tuma Al-Upper and Lower Al-Touma, which are located five kilometers from the headquarters of the mercenaries’ third military region, and may go to encircle the western and southern entrances to the city in preparation for the settlement. The new progress in the tribal Balkan chain from the Al-Zour area and behind the Ma’rib Dam southwest of Ma’rib indicates that these forces began to cordon off the entrances to the city from more than one direction (west, northwest and south) in preparation for controlling the red flight and Tabit Al-Masariah and advancing towards the governorate center from the western and northwestern directions. And the complete separation of the fronts of Murad, which flared up during the past two days, from the fronts of the periphery of the city, and securing all the hidden sites for entering Marib, which has become closer than ever to the liberation of the city.

Loss of confidence: Rapid developments in Marib have lost the Saudi regime confidence in Hadi and Islah forces and the loyal tribal leaders, prompting a number of tribes to rebel against these leaders and cut off supply lines from the city after it was fed up with the situation and suffering from practices, repression and kidnappings of its children by mercenary forces demanding the release of a number of abductees while entering the city in darkness Damas reflected on the lives and suffering of citizens in the city and the sources pointed to the installation of Obeida tribes in the area of Arakin on the Safir line south of the city a point to cut off the entry of oil supplies and others to Hadi forces in the government complex and accelerate such tribal movements near the fall of the important oil province in the hands of the army forces and popular committees and blow up a tribal revolution against the Saudi coalition forces and their mercenaries.

Failure: On the other hand, after the mercenary forces had failed to re-ignite the Al-Alam fronts, located 65 kilometers north of Marib, during the past few days, they tried to escalate militarily in the Asdas front located within the Ragwan district northwest of the city, but they also failed to do so due to the refusal of the tribes in the directorate to engage in the fighting and their announcement that they would stand on Neutrality after its leaders concluded agreements with Sanaa last year that decided to neutralize their villages and farms from the conflict.

In several attempts to relieve the pressure on the city of Marib and obstruct the advance of the army and the popular committees, the mercenary forces reinforced what remained of their positions on the Western Front with tribal militants loyal to the leader of the “Reform Party” Mansour al-Hanq, but the latter fell into an armed ambush carried out by the army and the popular committees in the area of ​​That Al-Ra`a, west of Ma`rib, to be seriously injured, as a result, I am to Riyadh for treatment. Sources of Hadi’s forces in the city of Ma’rib reported that the commander of the 312nd Armored Brigade, Brigadier General Faisal Abdullah Al-Qoud, was also killed in this ambush.

Rapid changes: The rapid changes in the course of the battle around the city of Ma’rib have made Saudi Arabia lose confidence in Hadi’s forces and the tribal leaders loyal to it in the governorate, and in this context, tribal sources revealed that Brigadier General Yusef Khairallah al-Shahrani, commander of operations in the northwestern region, who was appointed commander of the Saudi forces in Marib in July 2020, a student sheikhs The tribes loyal to Riyadh during a lightning visit to the city a few days ago by handing over the weapons and crews that they received from the coalition leadership to fight, after the withdrawal of the Murad and Ubaida tribesmen from the fighting fronts several weeks ago after the battle tilted in favor of the army and the popular committees that became closer to liberating City.

---

Battle of Marib: Sana’a forces close to extracting the “Tala’a Hamra”

The battles extended to the main line linking Serwah and the city of Ma’rib (AFP)

Al-Akhbar Rashid Al-Haddad Monday, April 19, 2021

The western front of the city of Ma’rib witnessed violent confrontations in which various types of weapons were used, between the Yemeni army and the “Popular Committees” on the one hand, and the forces loyal to the outgoing President, Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi, and Islah militias on the other hand, and despite the intensity of the air raids of the Saudi-Emirati aggression that launched more than 20 raids, on Saturday evening and Sunday dawn, on the contact areas in the “Tala’a Hamra” east of Sirwah, and in the northwestern front, the forces of Sana’a advanced west of the ” “Tala’a”, and moved the battle to the north of it. According to military sources, the army and the “committees” carried out, at dawn on Saturday, a rapid turn-around operation of two lanes on the sites of Hadi forces, the “reform” militias, and other terrorist organizations, the clashes lasted for more than ten hours ended with the killing and wounding of a large number of terrorists, including the leader of the western fronts appointed days ago, Brig. Gen. Ahmed Rajeh Abu Isba’a, who was seriously injured. Hadi’s forces also confessed to the killing of the commander of the military supply of the Al-Tala’a Al-Hamra, the Salafi leader Salem Saleh, nicknamed “Abu Turab,” and the leader in “Al-Islah” Abdul-Muqit Rafiq Al-Khafji, in addition to the serious injury of the leader, Abdul-Ilah Naji Al-Qardai. After the fighting stopped for hours, during which Hadi’s forces tried to push new reinforcements from Al-Bayda and Shabwa to defend “Tala’a Hamra”, which with its fall, the army and the “committees” would reach the Al-Jufina area, a southern neighborhoods of Ma’rib. The confrontations renewed at dawn yesterday, west of Al-Tala’a, and the Sana’a forces managed to control the western side of it and moved the battle to its north.

Local sources confirmed that the fighting extended to the general line linking Sarawah and Marib, all the way to the north-western front. The army and the “committees” launched a double attack on the positions of Hadi’s forces and al-Islah militias corresponding to the meat of Deira, which fell on Friday, and advanced towards the landing ground near the Al-Jinn military base west of the city. Tribal sources also confirmed, in turn, the fall of a large number of small sites located at the outskirts of the Nakhla Valley, and the advance of the Sana’a forces in the area of ​​Dhat Ra`a after Al-Mushajeh, and the battle moved them to sensitive areas west of the “Tala’a Al-Hamra”, which may cause the remaining Hadi forces to fall into the “Tala’a” Under siege. The same sources reported that the groups loyal to the “coalition” had failed to maintain their positions in the vicinity of Tabbah Al-Bis west of the city, adding that, during the past two days, these groups had pushed with all their military weight to the fronts in the west and northwest of the city, to stop the advance of the army and the “committees.”, but failed, speaking of the “big killing” of the “Islah” terrorist’s that came from Al-Bayda, and was on its way to defend “Tala’a Hamra”. The sources explained that Sana’a forces received, on Saturday, intelligence from their collaborators about the reinforcements, and target it with a rocket attack that killed dozens of people.

Hadi’s forces had lost a large number of their military leaders during the past two weeks (the last of them was Abd Rabbuh al-Shaddadi, son of the commander of the Third Military Region, who was assigned to command the Murad fronts), which doubled the state of moral collapse in its ranks, parallel to the fall of its advanced positions west of Ma’rib.

On Saturday, however, those forces tried to prepare a new line of defense that extends from “Himat al-Biss” and the pipeline to the Al-Shuala and Al-Mel areas northwest of the city, after their first line of defense was broken. According to activist Tariq bin Salama, who is from the governorate, the army and the “committees” have taken control of more than 10 small sites near “Tabat al-Masariya”, the last of Tabat located near the western neighborhoods of the governorate center. The fall of the “Sanjar Tabbat” on the Al-Mashjah front, at the beginning of last week, put the “Maher Tebbat”, opposite the “Masariya Tabbah”, under fire from the Sana’a forces.

معركة تحرير مأرب… أهميتها وتداعياتها The battle to liberate Marib … its significance and repercussions

** Please scroll down for the English Machine translation **

معركة تحرير مأرب… أهميتها وتداعياتها

حسن حردان

طرح البدء بمعركة تحرير مدينة مأرب، التساؤلات حول مدى أهميتها وتداعياتها على مسار الحرب والتسوية السياسية ومستقبل اليمن، لا سيما أنّ التقدّم الكبير الحاصل في الميدان الذي يحققه تحالف اللجان الشعبية والجيش اليمني قد أدّى إلى رفع منسوب درجة اهتمام الدول الغربية بمجرياتها.. لما لذلك من انعكاسات على موازين القوى على صعيدي الميدان والسياسة.

انّ الإجابة على هذه التساؤلات وأسباب هذا الاهتمام الغربي الذي عكس مستوى القلق من التطورات الميدانية في مأرب، إنما يكمن في العوامل التالية:

أولاً، انّ إنجاز تحرير مدينة مأرب يعني عملياً سقوط آخر وأهمّ معقل للسعودية وحكومة هادي التابعة للرياض، وحزب الإصلاح الإخواني في شمال اليمن، مما سيشكل هزيمة مدوية لقوى العدوان على اليمن، ويحسم سيطرة تحالف اللجان الشعبية والجيش اليمني على كلّ المحافظات الشمالية وصولاً إلى الحدود مع محافظات جنوب اليمن.. وإبعاد التهديد عن العاصمة صنعاء، وبالتالي انهيار أحلام الرياض وحكومة هادي في استعادة السيطرة على شمال اليمن انطلاقاً من مأرب…

ثانياً، إنّ مأرب تقع جغرافياً على الحدود مع المملكة السعودية لجهة مدينتي جيزان وشرورة السعوديتين من الجهة المقابلة لمأرب.. وهذا يجعل استمرار السعودية بالعدوان، في مواجهة احتمال انتقال المعركة البرية إلى قلب هاتين المدينتين، وهو ما تتخوّف منه الرياض، وتحاول القوى التابعة لها التهويل من خطورته بالقول انّ قوات صنعاء اذا سيطرت على مدينة مأرب سوف يؤدّي ذلك الى سقوط خطّ الدفاع الأوّل عن مدينتَي جيزان وشرورة، وسيفتح سقوطها الباب أمام حركة «أنصار الله» لتوسيع نفوذها إلى كامل الحدود السعودية المشتركة مع اليمن.. وقد ذهب مدير التوجيه المعنوي السابق لقوات هادي في مأرب، اللواء محسن خصروف، إلى حدّ القول: «إنّ سقوط مأرب مُقدّمة لسقوط الرياض».. وذلك في محاولة لدفع الحكومة السعودية للزجّ بكلّ قوّتها لمنع سقوط مأرب بأيدي قوات اللجان والحكومة الشرعية في صنعاء…

ثالثاً، إنّ تحرير مأرب سيؤدّي إلى تحرير الثروة النفطية والغازية الهامة الموجودة فيها، والتي كانت تستغلها السعودية والقوى التابعة لها، وتحرم أهل اليمن منها، مما سيمكن حكومة صنعاء من امتلاك موارد هامة تعزز صمود اليمنيين ومقاومتهم في مواجهة العدوان والحصار المفروض عليهم منذ بدء الحرب على اليمن.. الأمر الذي سيشكل تحوّلاً كبيراً لمصلحة تعزيز تحرر اليمن من الهيمنة والسيطرة الأميركية السعودية، إذا ما أخذنا في الاعتبار أنّ أحد أهداف الحرب على اليمن إنما هو منع اليمنيين من التحكم في استغلال ثروتهم، من الغاز والنفط، التي يُقال إنّ اليمن يحوز على كميات كبيرة منها، وخصوصاً في مأرب، وإذا أحسن استغلالها فإنها تمكّن اليمن من تنمية اقتصاده وتحسين حياة الشعب، وتحوّل اليمن إلى دولة قوية مستقلة..

كما يوجد في مأرب محطة صافر لتوليد الطاقة الكهربائية بالغاز التي تغذي العاصمة صنعاء وعدد من المحافظات الشمالية والوسطى.. فيما سدّ مأرب يوفر مياه الري لمساحات شاسعة من الاراضي الزراعية، ولهذا اختيرت مأرب، في القدم، عاصمة للدولة السبئية، خلال الألفية الأولى قبل الميلاد، وفيها عرش ومحرم بلقيس.. وكانت تشكل حصناً لصدّ الغزاة الذين سعوا إلى احتلال اليمن منذ أيام الإمبراطورية الرومانية التي عجزت جيوشها عن احتلالها.. وكذلك جيوش الدولة العثمانية.

رابعاً، إنّ تحرير مأرب سيؤدي إلى تعزيز الموقف السياسي لتحالف اللجان الشعبية والحكومة الشرعية في صنعاء، في أيّ مفاوضات مقبلة لتحقيق التسوية للأزمة اليمنية، ويحدّ كثيراً من قدرة واشنطن والسعودية وحكومة هادي على فرض شروطهم..

خامساً، انّ تحرير مأرب وما يعنيه من انهيار آخر وأهمّ معقل لحكومة هادي وحلفائها، سيؤدّي إلى خلق مناخ عام بالهزيمة، وانهيار معنويات مقاتليهم، الأمر الذي سيولد تداعيات سريعة في مناطق سيطرتهم في جنوب اليمن، تسعر من الصراعات، المحتدمة أصلاً في ما بينهم، حول المسؤولية عن الهزيمة من جهة، وحول السيطرة على الجنوب من جهة ثانية، مما سيؤدّي إلى نقمة شعبية واسعة تعزز موقف القوى المعارضة لوجود المجلس الانتقالي وقوات هادي المدعومة سعودياً، ويوفر ظروفاً مواتية كي يتحالف أبناء الجنوب مع اللجان الشعبية والجيش اليمني لاستكمال تحرير المحافظات الجنوبية، من سيطرة قوات هادي والمجلس الانتقالي.. المدعومين من تحالف قوى العدوان.

هذه النتائج والتداعيات المتوقعة من جراء تحرير مأرب، هي التي تقف وراء ارتفاع درجة اهتمام الدول الغربية بما يحصل في مأرب، وفي المقدمة الولايات المتحدة، والتي عبّر عنها بمسارعتها إلى إطلاق التصريحات التي تدعو إلى وقف هجوم أنصار الله والقوات المسلحة اليمنية في مأرب، لمنع حصول التحوّلات النوعية في موازين القوى، لمصلحة تحالف أنصار الله والقوى الوطنية، على حساب الموقف الأميركي السعودي الذي سيجد نفسه يجلس إلى طاولة المفاوضات المقترحة لحلّ الأزمة، وهو في حالة من الضعف بعد أن مُنيَ بهزيمة قاسية، الأمر الذي يجعل حركة أنصار الله وحلفاءها في موقع من يملك القدرة على فرض الشروط، قبل انطلاق المفاوضات بوقف العدوان والحصار، وخلال المفاوضات بفرض شروط للتسوية تعزز قدرة الشعب اليمني على تقرير مصيره بعيداً عن التدخلات الخارجية.

انطلاقاً مما تقدّم يمكن فهم لماذا يرفض تحالف اللجان والجيش اليمني وقف الهجوم لاستكمال إنجاز تحرير مدينة مأرب.. ولماذا يرتفع منسوب القلق السعودي الأميركي الغربي من ذلك..

فتحرير مدينة مأرب سيشكل انتصاراً نوعياً يتوّج الانتصارات التي تحققت على مدى سنوات الحرب، وهزيمة كبرى لدول العدوان والقوى التابعة لهم، وسقوط أهدافهم التي سعت إلى القضاء على انصار الله والقوى الوطنية وإعادة إخضاع اليمن ومنع خروجه من فلك التبعية، لما يمثله من موقع جغرافي هامّ على طريق التجارة الدولية وفي الخليج حيث تتركز السيطرة الاستعمارية الأميركية على ثروات النفط والغاز وطرق إمدادها في مياه الخليج وباب المندب… وهو ما جعل إدارة الرئيس الأميركي جو بايدن تدعو إلى وقف هذه الحرب لاحتواء تداعياتها السلبية على النفوذ الاستعماري الأميركي، وتعرب عن القلق من سيطرة حركة أنصار الله على مأرب، الأمر الذي قد يسهم في تسريع خطوات واشنطن لوقف الحرب، ومحاولة الحدّ من تداعيات الهزيمة، وتدفيع ولي العهد السعودي محمد بن سلمان ثمن هذه الهزيمة، وهو ما ظهرت مؤشراته من خلال إعلان البيت الأبيض انّ الرئيس بايدن سيتواصل مباشرة مع الملك سلمان، وليس مع ولي العهد، ومن ثم الإفراج عن تقرير الاستخبارات المتعلق بجريمة قتل الصحافي السعودي جمال خاشقجي.. وذلك في سياق إعادة تقييم العلاقات الأميركية مع السعودية.. ما دفع المراقبين إلى التساؤل عما إذا كانت إدارة بايدن تسعى الى تقديم محمد بن سلمان كبش فداء بتحميله مسؤولية الكارثة في اليمن، والظهور في صورة من أوقف هذه الحرب لإعادة تلميع صورة أميركا في اليمن، وتمكين الدبلوماسية الأميركية من لعب الدور المنوط بها للحدّ من الخسائر واحتواء تداعيات الهزيمة… وإعادة ترميم وتعزيز نفوذ أميركا في اليمن من خلال التسوية السياسية.. لكن السؤال هل ستتمكن من ذلك، خصوصاً بعد أن اصبح هناك مقاومة تحرّرية يمنية تملك مشروعاً للتحرر، وتسعى إلى تحقيق استقلال اليمن بعيداً عن الهيمنة والتبعية للولايات المتحدة والحكومة السعودية.. ونجحت بداية في الصمود في مواجهة العدوان، واحتواء اندفاعته، ومن ثم الانتقال من الدفاع إلى الهجوم، وفرض معادلات الردع بعد أن تكمنت من نقل الحرب إلى الداخل السعودي، وتحرير المحافظات اليمنية الشمالية من سيطرة تحالف العدوان، الواحدة تلو الأخرى، حتى أصبحنا على مقربة من تحرير واستعادة آخر محافظة شمالية، وهي محافظة مأرب الاستراتيجية من جميع النواحي، الجغرافية، والاقتصادية، والعسكرية، والسياسية.

The battle to liberate Marib … its significance and repercussions

Hassan Hardan

The start of the battle for the liberation of Marib raised questions about its importance and its implications for the course of war, political settlement and the future of Yemen, especially since the great progress made in the field achieved by the Coalition of Popular Committees and the Yemeni army has raised the level of interest of Western countries in their conduct. This has implications for the balance of power in the field and politics.

The answer to these questions and the reasons for this Western interest, which reflected the level of concern about developments on the ground in Marib, lies in the following factors:

First, the achievement of the liberation of Marib city means practically the fall of the last and most important stronghold of Saudi Arabia and the government of Hadi of Riyadh, and the Brotherhood Reform Party in northern Yemen, which will constitute a resounding defeat for the forces of aggression against Yemen, and resolve the control of the coalition of popular committees and the Yemeni army on all the northern provinces down to the border with the provinces of southern Yemen. The threat was removed from the capital Sana’a, thus collapsing Riyadh and Hadi’s government’s dreams of regaining control of northern Yemen from Marib…

Secondly, Marib is geographically located on the border with Saudi Arabia to the Saudi cities of Jizan and Sharorah on the opposite side of Marib. This makes Saudi Arabia’s continued aggression, in the face of the possibility of a land battle moving to the heart of these two cities, which Riyadh fears, and its forces are trying to downplay its seriousness by saying that if Sana’a forces take control of Marib city will lead to the fall of the first line of defense for the cities of Jizan and Shororah, and its fall will open the door for Ansar Allah movement to expand its influence to the entire Saudi border with Yemen. The former director of Hadi’s moral guidance in Marib, Major General Mohsen Khasrouf, went so far as to say, “The fall of Marib is a prelude to the fall of Riyadh.” In an attempt to push the Saudi government to put all its power to prevent the fall of Marib by the forces of the committees and the legitimate government in Sana’a…

Thirdly, the liberation of Marib will lead to the liberalization of the important oil and gas wealth in it, which was exploited by Saudi Arabia and its forces, and deprives the people of Yemen of it, which will enable the Government of Sana’a to have important resources that strengthen the resilience and resistance of Yemenis in the face of aggression and siege imposed on them since the beginning of the war. This would be a major shift in favor of strengthening Yemen’s liberation from U.S.-Saudi hegemony and control, considering that one of the objectives of the war on Yemen is to prevent Yemenis from controlling the exploitation of their wealth, from gas and oil, of which Yemen is said to have large quantities, especially in Marib, and if it is best exploited, it enables Yemen to develop its economy and improve the lives of the people, and turn Yemen into a strong independent state.

There is also a gas-fired safir power plant in Marib that feeds the capital Sana’a and a number of northern and central provinces. The Marib Dam provides irrigation water for vast areas of agricultural land, which is why Marib was chosen, in the old days, as the capital of the Sabean state, during the first millennium BC, with a throne and the Sanctuary of Balqis. It was a bulwark to repel the invaders who had sought to occupy Yemen since the days of the Roman Empire, whose armies were unable to occupy it. So are the armies of the Ottoman Empire.

Fourthly, the liberation of Marib will strengthen the political position of the Coalition of Popular Committees and the Legitimate Government in Sana’a, in any future negotiations to achieve a settlement to the Yemeni crisis, and greatly limit the ability of Washington, Saudi Arabia and Hadi’s government to impose their conditions.

Fifthly, the liberation of Marib and the collapse of the last and most important stronghold of Hadi’s government and its allies will create a general atmosphere of defeat, and the collapse of the morale of their fighters, which lead to a rapid collapse in their areas of control in southern Yemen, exacerbating the conflicts, already raging between them, over responsibility for the defeat on the one hand, and over control of the south on the other hand, which will lead to a broad popular revulsion strengthening the position of forces opposed to the presence of the Transitional Council and Hadi forces backed by Saudi Arabia, and provides favorable conditions for the people of the south to ally with the popular committees and the Yemeni army to complete the liberation of the southern provinces, from the control of Hadi forces and the Transitional Council … supported by the coalition of aggression forces.

These results and the expected repercussions from the liberation of Marib are behind the high level of interest in Western countries, and in the forefront is the United States, which was expressed its hasten to launch statements calling for an end to the attack of Ansar Allah and the Yemeni armed forces in Marib, to prevent qualitative shifts in the balance of power, in favor of the Alliance of Ansar Allah and national forces, at the expense of the American-Saudi position, which will find itself sitting at the negotiating table proposed to solve the crisis, while it is in a state of weakness after suffering a severe defeat, which makes the Ansar Allah movement and its allies in a position to impose conditions, before the start of negotiations to stop the aggression and blockade, and during the negotiations to impose terms for a settlement that enhance the ability of the Yemeni people to determine their own destiny away from foreign interventions.

Based on the foregoing, it can be understood why the coalition of committees and the Yemeni army refuses to stop the attack in order to complete the achievement of liberating the city of Ma’rib … and why the level of Saudi-American-Western concern is high.

The liberation of the city of Ma’rib will constitute a qualitative victory that culminates in the victories achieved over the years of the war, a major defeat for the states of aggression and their forces, and the fall of their objectives, which sought to eliminate Ansar Allah and national forces, re-subjugate Yemen and prevent its exit from the orbit of dependency, because of the important geographical location it represents. The international trade route and in the Gulf, where the American colonial control is focused on oil and gas wealth and its supply routes in the Gulf waters and Bab al-Mandeb … President Joe Biden’s administration is calling for an end to the war to contain its negative repercussions on U.S. colonial influence, and expresses concern about Ansar Allah’s control of Marib, which could speed up Washington’s steps to stop the war, try to reduce the repercussions of the defeat, and pay for the defeat, which was highlighted by the White House’s announcement that President Biden would communicate directly with King Salman, not the crown prince, and then release the intelligence report on the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi. This is in the context of a reassessment of U.S. relations with Saudi Arabia. What led observers to question whether the Biden administration is seeking to cast Mohammed bin Salman as a scapegoat by blaming him for the disaster in Yemen, appearing in the form of those who stopped this war to re-polish America’s image in Yemen, and enable U.S. diplomacy to play its role in reducing losses and containing the repercussions of defeat… Restoring and strengthening America’s influence in Yemen through a political settlement. But the question is will it be able to do that, especially after there has become a Yemeni liberation resistance that has a project for liberation, and seeks to achieve Yemen’s independence away from the hegemony and subordination of the United States and the Saudi government … and it succeeded at the beginning. In steadfastness in the face of aggression, containing its impulsivity, and then moving from defense to attack, and imposing deterrence equations after it transcended the transfer of the war into the Saudi interior, and the liberation of the northern Yemeni provinces from the control of the aggression coalition, one after the other, until we became close to liberating and restoring The last northern governorate, which is the strategic Marib governorate, in all its geographical, economic, military and political aspects.

Yemen’s Blood Is on US Hands, and Still the US Lies about the War

4/4/2021

By William Boardman – Towards Freedom

Six years ago, on March 26, 2015, the US green-lighted and provided logistical support for the Saudi bombing of Yemen that continues on a daily basis. The US/Saudi war, which includes as allies the several members of the Gulf Cooperation Council, is an undeclared war, illegal under international law, and an endless crime against humanity. The US and the Saudis have dropped cluster bombs on Yemen since 2009. Yemen has no air force and no significant air defenses. Two years ago, even the US Congress voted to end US involvement in the war, but President [Donald] Trump vetoed the resolution.

In 1937 the Nazis, in support of Franco in Spain, bombed the defenseless northern Spanish town of Guernica, massacring hundreds of civilians gathered in the town on market day. Pablo Picasso’s painting Guernica, a shriek of protest against the slaughter, is one of the world’s best known anti-war works of art. Yemen has had more than 2000 days of Guernicas at the hands of the US and Saudis, but no Picasso.

On February 4, 2021, President [Joe] Biden got a whole lot of good press when he announced that the US would be “stepping up our diplomacy to end the war in Yemen.” Biden also promised that the US would be “ending all American support for offensive operations in the war in Yemen.” Biden gave no specific details. The six-year bombing continues. The six-year naval blockade of Yemen continues. The humanitarian crisis continues, with the threat of famine looming. In effect, Biden has participated in war crimes since January 20, with no policy in sight to end the killing.

On March 1, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken acknowledged that:

The humanitarian crisis taking place in Yemen is the largest and most urgent in the world. Twenty million people, including millions of children, desperately need help. The United States is committed to doing our part, both to provide aid and to help address the obstacles standing in the way of humanitarian access.

That sounds a whole lot better than it is. Blinken did not acknowledge the US role in the air war on Yemen. Blinken did not acknowledge the US role in the naval blockade preventing food and fuel from reaching those 20 million Yemenis. Those obstacles to humanitarian access remain unchanged. The US has the power to remove either one unilaterally, just as it unilaterally chose to impose them. Blinken called on “all parties” to allow unhindered import and distribution of food and fuel, as if the US played no role in blocking both.

Blinken wasn’t done inventing a reality to fit US policy. He pledged support for “the well-being of the Yemeni people” but singled out the Houthis for pressure, even though the Houthis represent a large proportion of the Yemeni people. He called on the Houthis “to cease their cross-border attacks,” even though those attacks are a response to the US/Saudi undeclared war. And then he offered an analysis that would be hilarious if it weren’t so grotesque:

… the Saudis and the Republic of Yemen Government are committed and eager to find a solution to the conflict. We call on the Houthis to match this commitment. A necessary first step is to stop their offensive against Marib, a city where a million internally displaced people live, and to join the Saudis and the government in Yemen in making constructive moves toward peace.

The Saudis are so eager to find a solution to the conflict that they maintain their air war and naval blockade, effectively waging war by starvation – a crime against humanity. The “Republic of Yemen Government” is a fiction and a joke. Yemeni president Mansour Hadi, who is 75, was vice president of Yemen from 1994 to 2011, under the late authoritarian president Ali Abdullah Saleh. When Arab Spring protests erupted against Saleh, he stepped aside in favor of Hadi, who was “elected” president in 2012 with no opposition – a “democratic” result imposed by an international cabal. When you read media referring to his “internationally recognized government,” that’s the fiction they’re hiding. Hadi’s term as president ended in 2014, the international cabal extended it for a year, and that’s pretty much the extent of his legitimacy. That and US/Saudi firepower. By any rational calculation, Hadi is not a legitimate president. He also has no legitimate alternative. No wonder Hadi doesn’t feel safe in Yemen and remains in exile in Riyadh. The population in southern Yemen under the “government’s” control has recently attacked the government palace in Aden in protest against the government’s failure to provide sustenance and stability. A recent bomb attack aimed at a Hadi government minister reflects the reality that southern Yemen has long had a separatist movement quite independent of the Houthis in the north, in effect a second civil war. The most constructive move the Hadi government could make toward peace is to abdicate.

-Marib City, the capital of Marib Governorate, is roughly 100 miles northeast of Yemen’s capital in Sanaa. Marib City was established after the 1984 discovery of oil deposits in the region. Covering 6,720 square miles in central Yemen, the Marib Governorate is somewhat smaller than New Jersey. Marib contains much of Yemen’s oil, gas, and electric resources. Marib is the last governorate under the control of the Hadi government, but it has been under increasing attack by the Houthis since early 2020. Before that, Marib was relatively remote from the fighting in Yemen, providing refuge for a million or more Yemenis fleeing the fighting elsewhere. Marib City had a population of about 40,000 when the civil war broke out in 2014. Now the city has an estimated 1.5 million people.

This map of Yemen shows the oil fields of Yemen as well as the projected route [in dotted lines of the Trans-Yemen oil pipeline, protected by Al Qaeda forces, which, when completed will allow Saudi Arabia to avoid possible clashes with Iran at the Strait of Hormuz in the Gulf. Source: The Crash of Flight 3804: A Lost Spy, A Daughter’s Quest, and the Deadly Politics of the Great Game for Oil  by Charlotte Dennett  (Chelsea Green) Map by John Van Hoesen.

The Houthi offensive against Marib has intensified since January 2021. Their offensive has continued in spite of having no air support. For the US Secretary of State to call for the Houthis to stop their offensive is an indication that it’s going their way. By March 8, Houthi forces had breached the northern gates of Marib City. Hadi government forces are supported by the Saudi coalition and local tribes, as well as elements of Al Qaeda and ISIS. [Al Qaeda also fights independently against occupying forces of the United Arab Emirates along the Gulf of Aden coastline.]

Famine has arrived in pockets of Yemen.

Saudi ships blocking fuel aren’t helping.

This was CNN’s headline on March 11, for a story reporting with reasonable accuracy on the very real, years-old humanitarian crisis that the US/Saudi war has brought on the region’s poorest country. CNN quotes a “food insecurity” analysis by the world electronics trade association IPC that predicts that more than 16 million Yemenis (of a total population of about 30 million) are “likely to experience high levels of acute food insecurity” in the first half of 2021. “Out of these, an estimated 11 million people will likely be in Crisis, 5 million in Emergency, and the number of those in Catastrophe will likely increase to 47,000.”

Yemen is an atrocity from almost any perspective. Three US presidents – Obama, Trump, and now Biden – have lied about Yemen while taking the US into an endless nexus of war crimes and crimes against humanity. And for what? To support a Yemeni government that is a fraud? To support a Saudi ally that thought it could win a quick, dirty air war at little or no cost? This abomination, pun intended, never should have happened. So why did it? The formulaic answer in much of the media is usually some variation on this propagandistic patter from Reuters:

A Saudi Arabia-led military coalition intervened in Yemen in 2015 after the Iran-allied Houthi group ousted the country’s government from the capital Sanaa.

This essentially false version of reality in Yemen appears in news media across a wide spectrum, from Al Jazeera to ABC News to this version by CNN:

Saudi Arabia has been targeting Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen since 2015, with the support of the US and other Western allies. It had hoped to stem the Houthis’ spread of power and influence in the country by backing the internationally-recognized government under President Abdu Rabu Mansour Hadi.

The core falsehood in most versions is “the Iran-allied” or “Iran-backed” Houthis. The grain of truth in that characterization is far outweighed by the history on the ground. The Houthis live in Yemen. They are the only combatant force that lives in Yemen, other than elements of the Hadi government and assorted insurrectionists. Yemen is in the midst of a civil war that has flared over decades. The war that is destroying Yemen is waged entirely by outside countries, primarily the US and the Saudi coalition.

The Houthis, who are mostly Shia Muslims, have lived in northwest Yemen for generations and centuries. They fought a civil war against President Saleh and lost. They have long been an oppressed minority in Yemen. When the Hadi government perpetuated the oppression of the Houthis, they rebelled once again. This time, challenging an unpopular and divided government, they were more successful. In 2014 they captured Sanaa, Yemen’s capital, and captured Hadi himself. Then they released him and he fled first to Aden, then to Saudi Arabia, where he is a puppet figurehead.

Before it could become clear what kind of governance the Houthis would provide for their part of Yemen, the US and the Saudi coalition attacked the country. Their publicly stated motivation has always included the imaginary threat from Iran. But the Houthis have a long and independent history that does not rely on Iran for its coherence and force. Iranian support for the Houthis in 2014 was never shown to be significant. The US/Saudi war had had the perverse effect of incentivizing Iranian support for the Houthis, but there’s no evidence that support comes anywhere close to the strength of the US and Saudi coalition forces directed at the Houthis. The US and the Saudi coalition are waging an aggressive war against a country that did none of them any harm. Iran is providing support for an ally unjustly under siege.

The war in Yemen has been brutal on all sides, according to reports by more or less neutral observers. But only the US and the Saudi coalition are invaders, only they are committing international war crimes. The Houthis, as well as all the other sides fighting in Yemen, have also committed war crimes, but on a far lesser scale. Yemeni forces are not the ones waging war by starvation and disease.

Ultimately, the Houthis are the home team, along with other Yemeni factions. The Houthis have nowhere else to go. The only military solution to the Houthis is extermination, genocide, the very course the US and Saudis have been on for years, with the winking hypocrisy of most of the world.

In April 2015, with the Saudis’ saturation bombing already in its third week, the United Nations Security Council unanimously [14-0] passed Resolution 2216, which “Demands End to Yemen Violence.” The Resolution begins with an obscene misrepresentation of reality:

Imposing sanctions on individuals it said were undermining the stability of Yemen, the Security Council today demanded that all parties in the embattled country, in particular the Houthis, immediately and unconditionally end violence and refrain from further unilateral actions that threatened the political transition.

That is the official lie that has publicly defined the war on Yemen since 2015. The UN sees no terror bombing by foreign countries. The UN sees no invasion by foreign troops. The UN sees no terrorist groups in a country that has had little stability for decades. The UN cites only the Houthis for their sins, as if it were somehow the Houthis’ fault that, having no air force and no air defenses, they weren’t getting out of the way of the cluster bombs dropped on their weddings and their funerals.

• HOW RATIONAL CAN THE US BE IN DEALING WITH YEMEN AND IRAN?

«القاعدة» الوكيل «الرسمي» للسعودية: مسانَدة تركية لـ«الاخوان» في مأرب Al Qaeda, the “official” agent of Saudi Arabia: Turkish support for the “Brotherhood” in Marib

**Please scroll down for the English Machine translation **

«القاعدة» الوكيل «الرسمي» للسعودية: مسانَدة تركية لـ«الاخوان» في مأرب

الأخبار

اليمن رشيد الحداد الجمعة 2 نيسان 2021

تصاعد الدور التركي في اليمن بعد تحسُّن العلاقات بين أنقرة والرياض (أ ف ب )

صنعاء | بات تنظيم «القاعدة»، بشكل لا لبس فيه، وكيل عمليات التحشيد السعودية لصالح جبهات القتال في محيط مدينة مأرب. إذ تكشف معلومات استخباراتية حصلت عليها “الأخبار” أنه أُوكلت إلى التنظيم، أخيراً، مهمّة تأمين سواحل محافظة أبين، بهدف استقبال مقاتلين من خارج اليمن، وإيوائهم، ومن ثمّ نقلهم عبر معقله المتبقّي له في محافظة البيضاء إلى محافظة مأرب. مخطّط تلعب فيه تركيا، بصورة غير معلَنة، دور المسانِد الخلفي، عبر تسهيل وصول أولئك المقاتلين وأسلحتهم، في ما يبدو أنه خطوة إضافية على طريق «إصلاح» العلاقات مع السعودية، من جهة؛ ومن جهة أخرى، تدعيم جهود بقاء الحلفاء «الإصلاحيين» الذين يوشكون على خسارة أهمّ معاقلهم في شمالي اليمن

لم يعد تدخُّل تركيا في الصراع الدائر في اليمن في دائرة التكهُّنات؛ إذ إن الكثير من المؤشّرات على الأرض تُجلّي تعاظُم الدور التركي المسانِد لميليشيات حزب «الإصلاح» (إخوان مسلمون). دخَلت أنقرة إلى هذا البلد منذ ثلاث سنوات تحت لافتة «العمل الإنساني» الذي لم يتجاوز خريطة سيطرة «الإصلاح» في محافظات تعز ومأرب وشبوة، حيث قدّمت الكثير من الخدمات اللوجيستية لميليشيات الحزب بطريقة غير مباشرة، قبل أن يتطوَّر هذا الدور إلى تأسيس ذراع عسكرية موالية لها مُتمثّلة في ميليشيات «الحشد الشعبي»، بتمويل قطَري، غربيّ محافظة تعز، قبل نحو عام، بعد فشلها في تأسيس ذراع مماثلة في محافظة شبوة (شرق) عقب سقوط المحافظة تحت سيطرة «الإصلاح» في آب/ أغسطس 2019. كذلك، تولّت تدريب العشرات من قيادات الحزب في قواعد عسكرية تركية خارج اليمن، فيما لا يزال دورها الاستخباري ملحوظاً في شبوة، التي تُعدّ لتكون معقلاً بديلاً لـ»الإصلاح» في حال سقوط مأرب. تحت أكثر من ذريعة، تَمكّن الحزب، خلال الأشهر الماضية، من تأمين مساحات ساحلية واسعة في مديرية رضوم الواقعة على سواحل بحر العرب، بتعاون لوجيستي تركي، بالتزامن مع قيامه بتأسيس معسكر دفاع ساحلي من دون أيّ توجيهات من وزارة الدفاع في حكومة الرئيس المنتهية ولايته، عبد ربه منصور هادي، في أحد أهمّ ممرّات التهريب البحري التي يستخدمها الحزب منذ عقود في تهريب المشتقّات النفطية والسلاح من الخارج. وعلى رغم رفض حكومة هادي التحرُّكات «الإخوانية» في سواحل شبوة، وكذلك تصاعُد اتّهامات القوى الموالية للإمارات لـ»الإصلاح» بتلقّيه شحنات سلاح تركية عبر ميناء قنا الواقع تحت سيطرته، ومطالَبتها التحالف السعودي – الإماراتي بتنفيذ «اتفاق الرياض» الذي يقضي بإخراج ميليشيات «الإصلاح» من شبوة وأبين ووادي حضرموت، عَزّز الحزب وجوده العسكري في سواحل شبوة منتصف الشهر الماضي، استعداداً لمواجهة أيّ هجوم محتمَل من الميليشيات الموالية للإمارات.

المخطّط الجديد بدأ منذ أسبوعين بالتعاوُن مع «الإصلاح» وبإشراف مباشر من الجانب السعودي

تأمين سواحل شبوة من قِبَل «الإصلاح» خلال الأشهر الماضية، جاء بتنسيق مع تركيا، لتأمين وصول السفن التجارية التركية التي غالباً ما تُستخدَم لحمل شحنات سلاح تركية، كالقنّاصات والأسلحة المتوسّطة، التي تستخدمها ميليشيات الحزب في جبهات القتال في تعز ومأرب. لكن الدور التركي تصاعَد، خصوصاً، بعد تحسُّن العلاقات بين أنقرة والرياض الشهر الماضي، وإعلان التنظيمات الإرهابية الموالية لتركيا في سوريا التعبئة والاستنفار للقتال في اليمن «دفاعاً» عن مدينة مأرب، التي تُعدّ آخر معاقل «الإصلاح» في شمال البلاد، لينتقل المخطّط إلى محافظة أبين الواقعة غرب مدينة عدن، حيث أُوكلت مهمّة عملية تأمين وصول السفن ونقل العناصر الإرهابيين المُتوقَّع وصولهم من سوريا عبر تركيا، وبتنسيق سعودي، إلى تنظيم «القاعدة». وتؤكّد معلومات استخبارية، حصلت عليها «الأخبار»، وجود تحرُّكات نشطة للتنظيم، بدعم وتمويل سعوديَّين، في عدد من مديريات محافظة أبين القريبة من الساحل. وتكشف المعلومات أن قيادة التحالف السعودي – الإماراتي في مدينة عدن كَلّفت أمير تنظيم «القاعدة» في أبين بتأمين وصول سفن مجهولة

ستحمل مقاتلين قادمين من سوريا ودول أخرى مع أسلحتهم، وتأمين الطريق الساحلي الواقع بين محافظتَي شبوة وأبين، وإيواء أولئك المقاتلين، ومن ثمّ إيصالهم إلى جبهات مأرب.

المخطّط الجديد، الذي شارف تنظيم «القاعدة» على إنهاء تنفيذه في محافظة أبين بقيادة أمير التنظيم في المحافظة المدعو سالم الشنعاء، بدأ منذ أسبوعين بالتعاوُن مع ميليشيات «الإصلاح» في المحافظة، وبإشراف مباشر من الجانب السعودي؛ إذ نفّذ عناصر «القاعدة»، الأسبوع الماضي، عملية إعادة انتشار في مناطق واسعة قريبة من الساحل. وتفيد مصادر مطّلعة بأن التنظيم كثّف وجود عناصره في معسكر الخيالة التابع له في المحفد، وفي وادي حمراء ومناطق يحمس وخبر المراقشة الواقعة بين الوضيع وساحل أحور، والتي تتّسم بتضاريس مُعقّدة وجبال شاهقة، إضافة إلى منطقة موجان في مديرية الوضيع. وتؤكّد المصادر أن عناصر «القاعدة» يتحرّكون بشكل علَني، ويسلُكون الطرق الرئيسة، سواءً باتّجاه معسكرات تابعة لـ»الإصلاح» كمعسكر عكد، أم من معسكرات حكومة هادي إلى جبال مودية والمحفد ولودر والصومعة التي تُعدّ آخر معاقل «القاعدة» في محافظة البيضاء، بعد سقوط منطقة يكلا في مديرية ولد ربيع في المحافظة نفسها تحت سيطرة الجيش و»اللجان الشعبية» مطلع آب/ أغسطس الماضي.
وفي خلال الأسبوع الفائت، وفي إطار تنفيذ «القاعدة» المهمّة الموكَلة إليه بضمان وصول الأسلحة والمقاتلين إلى الصومعة ومن ثمّ إلى مأرب، أقدَم التنظيم على شنّ عدد من الهجمات ضدّ نقاط تابعة لميليشيات «المجلس الانتقالي الجنوبي» الموالي للإمارات في محافظة أبين، على خلفية رفْض تلك الميليشيات إخلاء نقاطها. ووفقاً لمصادر محلّية، فإن المواقع المستهدَفة في مديريتَي أحور والوضيع ذات أهمية استراتيجية؛ إذ يستخدم «القاعدة» طرقاً تربط بين أحور والمحفد ومودية ولودر والساحل، تجتمع كلّها شرق مديرية الوضيع. وتوضح المصادر أن استهداف نقطة الريدة في الوضيع جاء بعد أن قَدّمت ميليشيات «الإصلاح» عروضاً وإغراءات مالية لعناصر «الانتقالي» للانسحاب، وهو ما تمّ رفضه.

وأثارت تحرُّكات «القاعدة» في سواحل أبين ومديريات أحور والوضيع ومودية مخاوف «الانتقالي»، الذي وَجّه، مطلع الأسبوع الحالي، الميليشيات التابعة له كافّة برفْع درجة الاستعداد القتالي والتأهُّب الأمني استعداداً لأيّ طارئ، مُحذّراً من مخاطر تلك التحرُّكات التي وصفها بـ»المشبوهة»، ومتّهماً، خلال اجتماع أمني عقَده في مدينة عدن، السبت الماضي، «الإصلاح» بالوقوف وراء تسهيل نشاط التنظيمات الإرهابية للسيطرة على مواقع ومساحات وصَفها بـ»الحسّاسة» على امتداد محافظتَي أبين وشبوة ووادي حضرموت. لكن «الانتقالي» سلّم، الأربعاء، تحت ضغوط سعودية، مهامّ الأمن في مدينة أحور إلى قوات موالية لهادي، بعد مقتل 14 عنصراً من قوّاته، الأسبوع الفائت، على يد «القاعدة»، وهو ما أثار سخطاً في صفوف أنصاره الذين اتّهموا المجلس بخيانة دماء قتلاه، وتنفيذ أوامر الجانب السعودي لصالح التنظيمات الإرهابية.

---

قرار بايدن سحْب «الباتريوت» مرتبط بالهجمات اليمنية؟

كشف مصدر يمني، لـ«الأخبار»، أن الهجمات التي شنَّتها القوات اليمنية على أهداف في العمق السعودي، لمناسبة دخول الحرب عامها السابع، طاولت، وعلى وجه غير مسبوق، قواعد تحوي منصّات إطلاق «باتريوت» أميركية. وتسبَّب الهجوم بغضب وإرباك أميركيَّين. كما رُصد أن الصواريخ والطائرات المسيّرة التي أُطلقت من اليمن في اتجاه الأهداف السعودية، في الأيام التي تلت الهجوم، وصلت إلى أهداف في الرياض والعمق السعودي بلا عمليات اعتراض. ولا يستبعد التقدير اليمني أن يكون قرار الرئيس الأميركي، جو بايدن، سحب منصّات «باتريوت» وقوّات وعتاد من السعودية والخليج متعلّقاً بنجاح هذه الهجمات في تعطيل المنصّات، لما قد يُسبّبه من إحراج لسمعة السلاح الأميركي. وكانت صحيفة «وول ستريت جورنال» قد نقلت عن مسؤولين أميركيين قولهم إن بايدن أصدر أمراً لـ»البنتاغون» ببدء إزالة بعض القدرات العسكرية والقوات من منطقة الخليج، في خطوة أولى لإعادة تنظيم الحضور العسكري للولايات المتحدة في العالم، بعيداً من الشرق الأوسط. وعلى إثره، أُزيل ما لا يقلّ عن ثلاث بطاريات صواريخ من نوع «باتريوت» من المنطقة المذكورة، ومن ضمنها واحدة من قاعدة الأمير سلطان الجوية في السعودية.
(الأخبار)

• هذا ما تسببت به غارات التحالف السعودي على مأرب
• قوات صنعاء تستهدف الرياض بطائرات مسيّرة
• اليمن: العميد يحيى سريع: هجوم بالمسيرات اليمنية على قاعدة الملك خالد الجوية في خميس مشيط في السعودية
• وصول أول شحنة لقاحات إلى اليمن
• حلفاء السعودية: سقوط مأرب خلال أيّام
• قوات صنعاء تستأنف تقدُّمها: مأرب خارج «المقايَضة»
• القوات اليمنية تستهدف قاعدة الملك خالد الجوية بخميس مشيط
• الخارجية السعودية: التطبيع مع “إسرائيل” يحقق فوائد هائلة
• اليمن: مصدر ميداني للميادين: الجيش واللجان الشعبية يسيطرون على مواقع عسكرية جديدة بمديرية صرواح غرب مأرب

Al Qaeda, the “official” agent of Saudi Arabia: Turkish support for the “Brotherhood” in Marib

Turkey’s role in Yemen escalates after the improvement in relations between Ankara and Riyadh (AFP)

Sana’a

Al-Qaeda has unequivocally become the agent of Saudi-made operations in favor of the battle fronts around Marib. Intelligence obtained by Al-Akhbar reveals that it has finally entrusted the group with the task of securing the coasts of Abyan province, with the aim of receiving fighters from outside Yemen, and then transporting them through its remaining stronghold in Al-Bayda province to Marib province. A scheme in which Turkey plays, unannouncedly, the role of rear-end supporters by facilitating the arrival of these fighters and their weapons, in what appears to be an additional step on the path of “reforming” relations with Saudi Arabia, on the one hand, and on the other hand, strengthening the efforts of the “Islah Party” allies who are about to lose their most important strongholds in northern Yemen

Turkey’s involvement in the conflict in Yemen is no longer a source of speculation, as many indications on the ground show turkey’s growing support for Islah militias. Ankara entered the country three years ago under the banner of “humanitarian action” which did not exceed areas under the control of « Islah militias » in the provinces of Taiz, Marib and Shabwa, providing indirectly lot of logistics services to the militias of the party , before this role developed into the establishment of a loyal military arm It is represented by the Popular Mobilization Militia, funded by Qatar, in western Taiz province, about a year ago, after it failed to establish a similar arm in the eastern province of Shabwa after the province fell under Islah control in August 2019. It has also trained dozens of Islah leaders at Turkish military bases outside Yemen, while its intelligence role remains remarkable in Shabwa, which is considered an alternative stronghold for Al-Islah in the event of the fall of Marib. Under more than one pretext, the Islah party has been able, in the past months, to secure large coastal areas in the Radum district on the coast of the Arabian Sea, with Turkish logistical cooperation, in conjunction with the establishment of a coastal defense camp without any guidance from the Ministry of Defense in the government of outgoing President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi, in one of the most important maritime smuggling corridors used by the party for decades to smuggle oil products and weapons from abroad.

Despite Hadi’s government’s rejection of Brotherhood moves on the Shabwa coast, as well as mounting accusations by pro-Islah forces of receiving Turkish arms shipments through the port of Qena under his control, and demanding that the Saudi-UAE coalition implement the Riyadh Agreement to remove Islah militias from Shabwa, Abyan and Wadi Hadhramaut, the group has strengthened its military presence on the coasts of Shabwa in the middle of last month, in preparation for any possible attack from pro-UAE militias.

The new plan started two weeks ago in cooperation with al-Islah and under direct supervision from the Saudi side

The fact that shabwa’s coast has been secured by al-Islah over the past months has come in coordination with Turkey, to secure the arrival of Turkish merchant ships often used to carry Turkish arms shipments, such as snipers and medium weapons, used by the militias on the battle fronts in Taiz and Marib. But turkey’s role has escalated, particularly, after improved relations between Ankara and Riyadh last month, and pro-Turkish terrorist organizations in Syria announced mobilization and preparation to fight in Yemen “in defense” of Marib, the last ISIS stronghold in the north of the country, moving the planned to Abyan province west of Aden, where the task of securing the arrival of ships and transferring terrorist elements expected to arrive from Syria via Turkey, under Saudi coordination, was entrusted to al-Qaeda. Intelligence obtained by Al-Akhbar confirms the existence of active movements of the organization, supported and financed by Saudis, in a number of directorates in the province of Abyan near the coast. The information reveals that the Saudi-UAE coalition command in Aden has assigned the Emir of al-Qaeda in Abyan to secure the arrival of unidentified ships

It will carry fighters from Syria and other countries with their weapons, secure the coastal road between Shabwa and Abyan provinces, and shelter those fighters, and then deliver them to the Marib fronts.

The new plan, which al-Qaeda is nearing to end in Abyan province under the leadership of the province’s Emir, Salem al-Shanais, began two weeks ago with cooperation with al-Islah militias in the province, under the direct supervision of the Saudi side, as al-Qaeda operatives last week carried out a redeployment in large areas near the coast. According to informed sources, the group has intensified its presence in its al-Khaylawa camp in Al-Mahif, wadi al-Hamra and the areas of Hamis and Akhbar al-Marasha, which lies between the lowly and the coast of Ahour, which is characterized by complex terrain and high mountains, as well as the Mojan area in the Directorate of The Lowly. The sources confirm that al-Qaeda elements move openly, and take the main roads, whether towards camps belonging to the “Reform” as camp Akkad, or from the camps of the Hadi government to the Mountains of Mudia, Al-Muhad, Lauder and Sa’maa, which is the last stronghold of al-Qaeda in Al-Bayda province, after the fall of the Area of Ykala in the directorate of Ould Rabie in the province itself under the control of the army and the “People’s Committees” in early August.

Over the past week, as part of al-Qaeda’s mission to ensure that weapons and fighters reach the silo and then to Marib, the group has launched several attacks against points belonging to the pro-UAE Southern Transitional Council militias in Abyan province, as they refuse to evacuate their points. According to local sources, the targeted sites in the Ahour and Al-Lowidi directorates are of strategic importance, as al-Qaeda uses roads linking Ahour, Al-Mahdi, Mudia, Lauder and The Sahel, all of which meet east of the Al-Dhei directorate. The sources explain that the targeting of the reeda point in the lowly came after the militias «Reform» made offers and financial inducements to elements of the “transitional” to withdraw, which was rejected.

Al-Qaeda’s movements on the coasts of Abyan, the O’Hare, Al-Dinandi and Mudia raised concerns about the “transitional” which, earlier this week, directed all its militias to raise the level of combat readiness and security preparedness in preparation for any emergency, warning of the dangers of such moves, which he described as “suspicious”, and accused, during a security meeting held in The city of Aden, last Saturday, “reform” behind the “reform” behind facilitating terrorist organizations to control sites and areas described as sensitive” throughout the provinces of Abyan, Shabwa and Wadi Hadar. But the “transitional” Wednesday, under Saudi pressure, handed over security tasks in the city of Ahour to forces loyal to Hadi, after the killing of 14 members of his forces, last week, by al-Qaeda, which provoked indignation among his supporters who accused the Council of betraying the blood of his killers, and executing the orders of the Saudi side in favor of terrorist organizations.

---

Biden’s decision to withdraw the Patriot sing-linked Yemeni attacks?

A Yemeni source revealed, to «News», that the attacks launched by Yemeni forces on targets in the Saudi rear, to mark the entry of the war in its seventh year, tabled, and unprecedentedly, bases containing the launch pads of the U.S. Patriot. The attack caused anger and confusion among Americans. He also observed that missiles and drones launched from Yemen in the direction of Saudi targets, in the days following the attack, reached targets in Riyadh and the Saudi rear without intercepts. Yemen’s assessment does not rule out that U.S. President Joe Biden’s decision to withdraw Patriot platforms, troops and equipment from Saudi Arabia and the Gulf is related to the success of these attacks in disrupting the platforms, as it could embarrass the reputation of U.S. weapons. The Wall Street Journal quoted U.S. officials as saying that Biden had ordered the Pentagon to begin removing some military capabilities and troops from the Gulf region, in a first step to reorganize the U.S. military presence in the world, far from the Middle East. At least three Patriot missile batteries were removed from the area, including one from The Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia.

Sanaa Forces Resuming Their Progress: Marib Off the Barter

Translated by Staff, Al-Akhbar

Under the pro-Riyadh government’s attempt to make the battle of Marib a bartering material in the humanitarian dossier which has been separated from the political and the military dossiers by the Muscat negotiations, Sanaa forces resumed their progress in areas peripheral to the city. Over the past few hours, they were able to obtain strategically important areas on the western and northwestern fronts of the governorate center, moving the battle to areas near Sahn al-Jin in the city’s western neighborhoods.

The most recent military progress by the Yemeni army and the Popular Committees during the past 48 hours at the northwestern boundaries of Marib coincides with a similar progress that transported the battles to the city’s outskirts. The forces of ousted President Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi and his loyal militias, also lost a number of strategic areas in the fronts in western Marib, as well as control over the courses of battle in more than one axis. Given this, a large number of military garrisons near the Sahn al-Jin military base in the western outskirts of the governorate center had fallen under the control of the Sanaa forces during violent confrontations on the fronts in East Kassara and Aydat al-Raa.

Yesterday’s [Monday, March 29] confrontations, in which the Saudi Air Force carried out more than 20 raids, ended with the loss of new areas at the Kassara front. Meanwhile, the army and the committees were able to control the strategic sites such as Tibab al-Fajwa, Tibat al-Haramla and Tibat al-Saytara. This progress coincided with similar developments in the western front of Marib, with more than 70% of Aydat al-Raa area falling under the control of the Sanaa forces, which also took control of Hama al-Ziab and al-Hama al-Hamra areas located in the northwest of the governorate center near the Marib–al-Jawf highway.

In parallel, the battles intensified in the strategic vicinity of al-Talaa al-Hamra, as dozens of the Hadi forces fell under the siege of the army and the committees south al-Talaa. While confrontations with Salafi militias, emerging from Abyan governorate, have intensified on the central al-Balqain and al-Qibli in the southwest fronts Marib over the past hours, withdrawing to the northern front. Accordingly, the Sanaa forces reported further progress in the Raghwan front, as the intensity of the battles decreased on the Murad and al-Alam fronts in the southern and northern parts of the city.

Related

• Oman Hopes Ceasefire in Yemen is Agreed ’Very Soon’
• Yemeni Armed Forces, Allies Will Soon Liberate Marib, Other Regions – Ansarullah Official
• Yemen Deals Heavy Blow to the Forces of Aggression in Marib
• Senior Yemeni army commander killed in battle against Houthi forces
• Yemen’s Marib Offensive Born of Desperation, with No Sign Saudis/US Will Cease Their War
• Marib: Tribal coup against Saudi Arabia مأرب: انقلاب قبلي على السعودية
• The region’s wars are concentrated in Yemen حروب المنطقة تتركّز في اليمن

حلفاء السعودية: سقوط مأرب خلال أيّام

اليمن

رشيد الحداد

الأربعاء 31 آذار 2021

تهاوت حاميات استراتيجية شمال غرب المدينة تحت سيطرة صنعاء خلال الـ24 ساعة الماضية (أ ف ب )

صنعاء | تواصَل، في الساعات الأربع والعشرين الماضية، تهاوي الحاميات الاستراتيجية لمدينة مأرب من الجهة الشمالية الغربية، وسط تقدُّم إضافي لقوات صنعاء، من شأنه، إذا ما استمرّ خلال الساعات المقبلة، أن ينقل المعركة إلى البوّابة الشمالية الغربية لمركز المحافظة، وهو ما يعني، عملياً، تعطيل المنطقة العسكرية الثالثة وقاعدة “صحن الجن” الاستراتيجية، وبالتالي انفتاح صفحة تحرير المدينة. جرّاء كلّ تلك المعطيات، بدأت التحذيرات تتعالى، من داخل الأوساط القبَلية الموالية للتحالف السعودي ــــ الإماراتي، من أن سقوط مأرب أصبح أمراً مفروغاً منه، وأن ذلك قد يحدث في خلال أيام فقط، وخصوصاً في ظلّ حالة الانهيار المتواصلة في صفوف قوات عبد ربه منصور هادي

وسط تحذيرات أوساط قبَلية موالية للتحالف السعودي – الإماراتي من سقوط مدينة مأرب خلال أيّام، تهاوى عدد من الحاميات الاستراتيجية شمال غرب المدينة تحت سيطرة قوات صنعاء خلال الـ24 ساعة الماضية، فيما تمكّن الجيش و»اللجان الشعبية» من نقل المعركة إلى ما بعد مخيّم النازحين في منطقة إيدات الراء التي أصبحت تحت سيطرتهما بشكل شبه كامل، والوصول إلى مناطق متقدّمة شمال غرب مركز المحافظة، على رغم محاولة طائرات «التحالف» إعاقة تقدُّمهم باستهداف جبهات القتال بأكثر من 70 غارة جوية، أدّى البعض منها إلى مقتلة في صفوف قوات جنوبية موالية للرياض في أطراف وادي نخلا. ووفقاً لأكثر من مصدر، فقد دفعت تلك التطوُّرات القوات السعودية إلى سحب 5 عربات مخصَّصة للاتصالات العسكرية والتنصُّت من مدينة مأرب، باتجاه منفذ الوديعة الحدودي مع المملكة، بعد سحب غرفة العمليات المشتركة من قاعدة «صحن الجنّ» العسكرية قبل أسبوعين.

وأكّدت مصادر ميدانية، لـ»الأخبار»، تَمكُّن قوات صنعاء من نقل المعركة من أطراف منطقة إيدات الراء إلى شرق منطقة السويدا، وذلك بعد محاولة حكومة هادي استغلال الورقة الإنسانية لوقف تحرير المدينة. وأضافت المصادر أن الجيش و»اللجان» استطاعوا السيطرة على الحاميات القبلية والشرقية لجبال الخشب المطلّة على قاعدة «صحن الجنّ» العسكرية التابعة لقوات هادي، وتَقدّموا في محيط جبال الخشب خلال مواجهات أمس، مشيرة إلى انهيار خطوط الدفاع المضادّة في منطقة الصيب والحمم الثلاث ومناطق واسعة قرب جبل الأخشر في أقصى شمال وادي نخلا، واتّجاه المعارك إلى منطقة الصحري. وجاء هذا التقدُّم بعد سيطرة قوات صنعاء على منطقة الدشوش شمال إيدات الراء، واغتنامها عتاداً عسكرياً كبيراً، وتقدُّمها إلى تخوم السويدا. ولفتت إلى أن عدداً من التباب المنخفضة التضاريس صارت تفصل الجيش و»اللجان» عن الأحياء الغربية للمدينة.

استقبلت صنعاء خلال اليومين الماضيين نحو 200 ضابط وجندي من المنشقّين من قوات هادي

التقدُّم الكبير الذي حقّقته قوات صنعاء في جبهات شمال غرب مأرب على مدى الأيام الثلاثة الماضية، أرجعته قيادات مقرَّبة من حكومة هادي إلى انسحاب غير معلن نفّذته ميليشيات حزب «الإصلاح» ردّاً على إقصاء تلك الحكومة من مشاورات مسقط التي جرت بين المبعوثَين الأممي والأميركي من جهة، ووفد صنعاء المفاوض من جهة أخرى، خلال الأيام الماضية. وفي أوّل ردّ قبَلي على حالة الانهيار تلك، اعتبر الشيخ غالب ناصر كعلان، وهو من أبرز مشائخ مأرب الموالين لـ»التحالف»، ما يحدث في المواجهات التي تدور في نطاق سيطرة قبيلته «خيانة»، مُحذّراً من «سقوط المدينة في غضون أيّام». واتّهم بن كعلان، في منشور على حسابه في «فيسبوك» مساء أمس، «إعلام حزب الإصلاح بتضليل الرأي العام، وصُنع انتصارات وهمية بعكس ما يحدث على الواقع»، مؤكداً أن «قوات صنعاء تتقدّم باتجاه مأرب كلّ يوم، والحقيقة أن سقوط المدينة أصبح أمراً مفروغاً منه».
وتزامن تساقُط مواقع قوات هادي شمال غرب المدينة مع تصاعُد الخلافات في أوساط الصفّ الأوّل لتلك القوات، وخروج رئيس أركانها، اللواء صغير بن عزيز، المُقرّب من الإمارات، من مدينة مأرب صوب مدينة سيئون في وادي حضرموت جنوب البلاد، واعتكافه فيها منذ أكثر من أسبوع، فضلاً عن تصاعُد الاتهامات البينية بـ»الخيانة والغدر» على خلفية مقتل قائد «المنطقة العسكرية السادسة»، اللواء أمين الوائلي، فجر السبت، بقذيفة مدفعية في جبهة شمال غرب المدينة، وقيادي آخر محسوب على «الإصلاح» لا يزال مصيره غامضاً.
وتوازياً مع نجاح الجيش و»اللجان» استخبارياً في التوغُّل في أوساط قوات هادي في مأرب، استقبلت صنعاء، خلال اليومين الماضيين، نحو 200 جندي وضابط من المنشقّين من صفوف تلك القوات. وأفادت مصادر عسكرية مطّلعة، «الأخبار»، بأن «المنشقّين الجدد سلّموا مواقعهم في جبهات مأرب بعد التواصُل والتنسيق معهم ومع جهات أخرى تعمل لصالح صنعاء»، مشيرة إلى « توجيه القيادة العسكرية بتأمين التغطية النارية اللازمة لتأمين خروج العائدين بكامل أسلحتهم المستطاع حملها». ورحّب نائب وزير الخارجية في حكومة الإنقاذ، حسين العزّي، بعودة المنشقّين، داعياً مَن لا يزالون يقاتلون في صفوف « التحالف» إلى «الاستفادة من قرار العفو العام».

فيديوات ذات صلة

مقالات ذات صلة

• السيد نصرالله: محور المقاومة عبر أخطر مرحلة.. والمبادرة السعودية حرب إعلامية
• الإعلام الحربيّ اليمنيّ: المعجزة بالصّوت والصّورة.. المشهد والمشروع
• التحالف السعودي يطوي عامه السادس منهاراً.. وصنعاء حارسة دمشق وبيروت
• وقائع من مفاوضاتٍ تحت النار في مسقط | «أنصار الله» ترفض طلبات واشنطن: لسنا مستعجلين… ولا عودة إلى الحوار قبل فكّ الحصار
• اليمن على مفترق طرق… هل تصبح مأرب إدلب أم يثرب؟
• اختبار القوة الحاسم يمنيّ
• الأميركيّون يستنجدون بمسقط لوقف الانهيار… اليمن ينتصر ومدن الملح تنحسر!

التحالف السعودي يطوي عامه السادس منهاراً.. وصنعاء حارسة دمشق وبيروت

الكاتب: عباس الزين

المصدر: الميادين نت

24 آذار 18:26

فشل العدوان السعودي على اليمن بات أمراً مفروغاً منه، والحديث لم يعد يتعلق بما تخطط له الرياض عسكرياً لحسم المعركة لصالحها، بل حول الطريقة التي يجب أن تخرج بها من الحرب.

ينتهي العام السادس من العدوان، والسعودية غير قادرة على منع القوات اليمنية من استهداف منشآتها الحيوية

في تاريخ 21 نيسان/أبريل عام 2015 أي بعد حوالى شهر من بداية العدوان السعودي على اليمن، خرج المتحدث باسم “التحالف” حينها أحمد العسيري، ليعلن في مؤتمر صحفي أن “عاصفة الحزم” حققت جميع أهدافها الموضوعة.

وبمعزل عن أن الهدف الرئيسي والذي كان إعادة ما تصفها الرياض بـ”الشرعية” إلى العاصمة صنعاء لم يتحقق حينها ولا يزال، فإن “التحالف” أشار أيضاً إلى أن منع حكومة صنعاء من تهديد “دول الجوار وعلى رأسها السعودية” قد تحقق.. وها هي القوات اليمنية تختتم العام السادس من العدوان باستهداف ميناء “راس تنورة” ضمن عملية “توازن الردع السادسة”، وهو أكبر ميناء نفطي في العالم، تصدّر من خلاله السعودية ما يزيد عن 80% من صادراتها النفطية.

وبالعودة إلى الهدف الرئيسي لإعلان الحرب والمتعلق بإعادة حكومة عبد ربه منصور هادي إلى صنعاء وإسقاط “حكومة الإنقاذ”، فإن العام السادس ينطوي في الوقت الذي تخسر فيه حكومة هادي وحلفاؤها وقوى التحالف آخر معاقلها في شمال اليمن، باقتراب القوات اليمنية من حسم معركة محافظة مأرب لصالحها، مع الأخذ بعين الاعتبار أهمية هذه المحافظة من النواحي الاستراتيجية والأمنية والاقتصادية، إلى جانب كونها الثقل العسكري لقوى التحالف في اليمن.

فشل العدوان السعودي على اليمن في تحقيق أهدافه بات أمراً مفروغاً منه، لأعداء السعودية وحلفائها، والحديث لم يعد يتعلق بما تخطط له الرياض عسكرياً لحسم المعركة لصالحها، بل يتركز حول الطريقة التي يجب أن تخرج بها من هذه الحرب، بعد استنفاد جميع الطرق والوسائل التي يمكن لأي طرف استخدامها في أي حربٍ يخوضها. فالسعودية حشدت برياً وحاصرت من البحر والجو، وشنت عشرات آلاف الغارات واستخدمت مختلف أنواع الأسلحة والصواريخ والآليات، ولم تستطع ليس فقط التقدم في مشروعها، بل خسرت معظم مكتسبات حلفائها بفعل التوسع الجغرافي للقوات اليمنية واللجان الشعبية.

تحرير مأرب مقدمة لتحرير محافظات أخرى

وبعد انقضاء العام الخامس من الحرب بـ”صنعاء آمنة” على إثر صد القوات اليمنية واللجان الشعبية لأوسع هجوم على العاصمة نهاية العام الماضي، دخل التحالف السعودي العام السادس مثقلاً بالإخفاقات، وها هو يدخل عامه السابع من الحرب منهاراً في مختلف جبهات القتال لا سيما في مأرب، فيما تؤكد “حكومة الإنقاذ” أنها مستمرة في عملية تحريرها لمختلف المحافظات اليمنية، محددةً وجهات جديدة كـ شبوة وحضرموت، كما جاء على لسان عضو المجلس السياسي في اليمن سلطان السامعي، خلال حديثه للميادين منذ أيام.

وأمام هذا المشهد، خرجت السعودية مؤخراً بما وصفته “مبادرة سلام”، واللافت أن الأخيرة طرحت مبادرتها وكأن ما يحصل هو حرب في اليمن، لا حرب على اليمن تقودها هي، بمعنى أن الرياض وضعت نفسها في مكانة الدولة “الراعية للسلام” في اليمن، بينما هي طرف أساسي في الحرب.

وسريعاً، سحبت حكومة صنعاء البساط من تحت المبادرة السعودية بهدف تعريتها وإظهارها كما هي، من خلال ما قاله رئيس وفد صنعاء المفاوض محمد عبد السلام، بإن “السعودية جزء من الحرب ومبادرتها لا تتضمن شيئاً جديداً”، لا سيما وأن وزير الخارجية السعودي فيصل بن فرحان آل سعود، تحدث عن فتح مطار صنعاء لبعض الوجهات، وعن تخفيف الحصار عن ميناء الحديدة، مقابل إقدام حكومة صنعاء على تنازلات سياسية، أي أن السعودية تريد مقايضة الملف الإنساني الذي تُمسِك به جرّاء حصارها المستمر، مقابل أهداف سياسية، ومن دون أي ضمانات حتى، وهذا بحد ذاته ينفي صفة “السلام” عن أي مبادرة.

الخلافات بين الحلفاء

بانتقال الحرب إلى الداخل السعودي، وتحول المرافق الحيوية من منشآت نفطية وعسكرية وأمنية لأهداف لدى القوات اليمنية، وتوسع تلك الأهداف مع مرور سنوات الحرب والتطور الذي رافق استهدافها من الناحيتين اللوجستية والعسكرية، تكون الرياض قد فقدت عامل المبادرة كطرف قادر على لعب دور بين الأطراف اليمنية، وباتت الطرف الملزم بتقديم تنازلات لا بفرضها على الآخرين، إذ أن معادلات الردع اليمنية لم تكن موجهة ضد حلفاء التحالف في الداخل اليمني، بل ضد قيادة التحالف وتحديداً السعودية.

وبالحديث عن حلفاء السعودية في الداخل اليمني، لا بد من التطرق إلى الهشاشة والتضعضع الذي لا يزال التحالف السعودي يعانيه بعد معارك دامية، ومع استمرار الخلافات، بين سلطة هادي وحزب الإصلاح من جهة، والمجلس الانتقالي المدعوم إماراتياً من جهةٍ أخرى.

فرغم تشكيل حكومة جديدة موالية للتحالف في كانون الأول/ديسمبر تضم “الانتقالي” ضمن ائتلاف جديد انبثق عن “اتفاق الرياض”، إلا أن التباينات والصراعات بين المكونات اليمنية التابعة للتحالف لا تزال مستمرة، والتي كان آخرها اقتحام متظاهرين موالين للانتقالي قصر “المعاشيق” الرئاسي في عدن، من دون أي مواجهة مع القوات الموكل إليها حماية المجمع الرئاسي، وهي قوات “الحزام الأمني” التابعة للانتقالي، والتي سهلت بدورها عملية الاقتحام.

صنعاء والأهمية الجيوسياسية

ينتهي العام السادس من العدوان، والسعودية غير قادرة على منع القوات اليمنية من استهداف منشآتها الحيوية، وعلى منعها من التقدم الجغرافي على الأرض وتحرير المحافظات، وغير قادرةٍ أيضاً على إعادة التماسك لحلفها المتضعضع بين فريقين أحدهما مدعوم من شريكها الإماراتي. هي حقائق تظهرها الوقائع الميدانية والسياسية، بعد أن كان ولي العهد السعودي محمد بن سلمان يسعى لفرض نفسه زعيماً إقليمياً من بوابة الحرب على اليمن.

وهنا، نعود إلى مجموعة من المقالات والتقارير، ومن ضمنها مقال نشر في صحيفة “الحياة” السعودية في 22 نيسان/أبريل عام 2015 تحت عنوان “وجاء دور دمشق”، تحدثت جميعها عن مرحلة ما بعد “عاصفة الحزم”. هذا المقال المذكور تحديداً، أوضح بطريقة غير مباشرة الأهمية الجيوسياسية لصنعاء في العالم العربي بمرور سنوات الحرب، لما يكشفه من مخططات كانت مرسومة، باعتبار أن الإعلام السعودي الناطق بلسان النظام، والذي كان يعد العدة لـ”عاصفة الحزم 2″ في دمشق وبيروت، بعد صنعاء، بدأ الترويج لهذه السردية بكثافة وفحواها أن “عاصفة الحزم” تتعدى صنعاء لتطال عواصم عربية أخرى. لكن، وبعد سنوات ست، لا يزال الإعلام السعودي ومعه “التحالف”، عاجزاً عن تجاوز “المستنقع اليمني”.

لم تدافع صنعاء عن نفسها ومكانتها العربية فقط، بل كانت العمق الاستراتيجي لعواصم عربية أخرى وضعت ضمن دائرة الاستهداف السعودي بسبب تموضعها في المواجهة الإقليمية. بناءً عليه، فإن صمود اليمن وانتصاره لا يقرَأ كما تحاول السعودية إظهاره على أنه صراع داخلي وحرب أهلية، بل يتعدى ذلك إلى كونه يفتح مرحلة جديدة على صعيد الإقليم، تحولت خلالها اليمن إلى لاعبٍ أساسي ومؤثر في الصراع الدائر.. وهكذا، كانت صنعاء حارسة دمشق وبيروت!

مقالات متعلقة

• المعتدون على اليمن.. كيف ساهم تضارب المصالح في ترسيخ الهزيمة؟
• كيف انتصرت ثورة اليمن؟
• القدرات البحريَّة اليمنيَّة بعد 6 سنوات على “العاصفة”.. ماذا تغيَّر؟
• عبد السلام: وصول المشتقات النفطيّة للشعب اليمني غير قابل للمقايضة
• وزارة الصحة اليمنيّة تلخص نتائج 6 سنوات من الحرب والحصار

What Does The Future Hold For a Suffering Yemen?

Source

08.12.2020 

Author: Valery Kulikov

On November 30, both sides of the Yemeni front line marked the 53rd anniversary of the end of British occupation and Yemen’s complete independence from Britain. However, it should be noted that true sovereignty of the Yemenis is not the reality of this country. The poorest people in the Middle East continue to suffer from foreign interference.

The war between the government of Yemen and the Houthi rebels has been going on since 2014 with the active participation since 2015 of the Arab coalition led by Saudi Arabia, which was supported by the United States, Britain, France, Germany. The West’s instigating role in unleashing the Yemeni conflict, in supplying arms to Yemen and various terrorist groups, does not stop either.

The President of the Supreme Revolutionary Committee of Yemen, Mohammed Ali al-Houthi, bluntly told the media on October 6 that the US counterterrorism struggle was a cover for attacks on civilians. “Saudi Arabia and the United States crossed all the red lines in the war against Yemen. They attack all vital targets and civilians with prohibited weapons and use the siege of Yemen as a pressure tool. One of the reasons the United States and Saudi Arabia still did not stop the war in Yemen, lies in the fact that they want to plunder the resources of the Gulf countries and put their mercenaries in power in Yemen,” – al-Houthi stressed.

As the  Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Humanitarian Affairs claims, 233,000 people have died in the last five years of the conflict in Yemen.

In addition, hunger, which the world has not faced in decades, threatens Yemen unless urgent action is taken, said UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. He believes that, in addition to the ongoing hostilities, a significant cause of the famine is the reduction in funding for emergency programs in this country.

A human rights organization in the Yemeni capital, Al-Raidat al-Idala lit-tanimiyya wal-Hukuk bi-Sanaa (Pioneers of Justice for Development and Rights in Sana’a), in its annual report, showed statistics on the crimes of the Saudi coalition and human rights violations against Yemeni women stressing that “direct and indirect violations of women’s rights and their suffering as a result of the continued aggression and siege of Yemen have led to the killings, forced migration of thousands of Yemenis, health, education and nutrition crises, in addition to their psychological and social consequences.”

In view of the damage inflicted on the civilians of Yemen, a court in the city of Saada in the north-west of the Arab country, controlled by the Ansar Allah (Allah’s Helpers, Houthis) rebel movement, sentenced in absentia the highest officials of Yemen, Saudi Arabia and the United States “to death. executions for the killing and wounding of more than 100 people in an air strike by the Saudi coalition in August 2018 “. At the same time, the court sentenced “several officials in Yemen, the United States and the coalition led by Saudi Arabia, including King Salman bin Abdul Aziz al Saud and Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia Mohammad bin Salman, the President of the United States Donald Trump, Yemeni President Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi., for involvement in the deaths of thousands of Yemeni civilians.”

The court also ruled that “the defendants must pay $ 10 billion to the families of the victims.”

Regarding the assessment of the development of the situation in Yemen, Deputy Head of the Yemeni Parliament Abdulaziz Jabari in an interview with the Qatari TV channel Al-Jazeera at the end of September said that “the real master of the situation in the territories not controlled by the Houthis is the Saudi Ambassador Mohammed Al-Jaber, who treats the Yemenis as his own subordinates”, seeking to carry out instructions from the Saudi kingdom and the UAE to establish “control over political decisions in Yemen.” At the same time, the deputy head of parliament stressed that the Yemenis “will not obey anyone,” and the monarchies of Saudi Arabia and the UAE “want to become strong players in the region at the expense of the Yemenis.”

The representative of the Ministry of Information of Yemen Mohammad Qizan said that “there is no talk about any 80% of the Yemeni territories liberated by the Saudi coalition, the government cannot return to any of the allegedly liberated provinces.”

As noted by regional media, recently, not only Saudi Arabia is trying to strengthen its military presence in Yemen. The UAE and Israel are also actively seeking to increase the number of their military installations, in particular on Socotra Island. For example, Israel plans to build its intelligence facilities on the island, and the UAE has begun building military bases and seizing large strategic territories in Socotra, which is controlled by UAE-backed separatists from the Southern Transitional Council.

At the same time, according to experts, by the end of 2020, trends in the Yemeni war were extremely unfavorable for the Saudi coalition. The foreign intervention that Riyadh began in the spring of 2015 with plans of a fairly rapid capture of East Yemen, the fall of Aden and a number of key cities on the coast, did not initially suggest that the war could drag on for so long. Ansar Allah is increasingly demonstrating that, with proper support, it can not only succeed in the Yemeni war, but also become for Iran what Hezbollah has become in Lebanon. “Ansar Allah”, speaking from the standpoint of protecting the territorial integrity of the country, attracts more and more supporters, including from the ranks of former opponents, who are massively deserting by entire tribes and divisions.

Today it is recognized that 2019 was the beginning of a radical turning point in the course of the Yemeni war. The flow of weapons and other foreign aid allowed Ansar Allah to firmly seize the operational initiative and win a series of landmark victories, while the Saudi coalition has not been able to achieve even small successes at the front for the past two years. By the end of November 2020, Houthi troops reached the approaches to Marib, where an attack on Sana’a was planned in June. There is a high probability that even before the end of 2020, the rebels will be able to take Marib, which may entail a significant destruction of the original plans of the Saudi coalition to resolve the Yemeni issue by force. In addition, the protracted Yemeni war continues to drain Saudi Arabia, whose budget has recently been bursting at the seams.

At the same time, unique opportunities are being created for Iran to deliver direct attacks by the hands of the Houthis on the territory of Saudi Arabia in response to the hybrid actions of the United States, Israel and the kingdom against Iranian forces in Lebanon, Syria or Iraq.

Valery Kulikov, political expert, exclusively for the online magazine “New Eastern Outlook”.

خطوط دفاع مأرب تنهار: معسكر الماس في أيدي قوّات صنعاء

الأخبار

 رشيد الحداد السبت 14 تشرين الثاني 2020

جرى التحام مباشر بين قوّات هادي وصنعاء قبيل سقوط المعسكر (أ ف ب )

أحكمت قوّات صنعاء، بعد أسبوعَين من المعارك، سيطرتها على معسكر الماس الاستراتيجي الذي يُعدُّ آخر وأهمّ خطوط الدفاع عن مدينة مأرب. تَطوّرٌ فَتح الطريق أمام الجيش و«اللجان» للتقدُّم في اتجّاه المدينة، سواء من صحراء الجدعان، أم من الخطّ الرئيس الرابط بين صنعاء ومأربصنعاء | سقط معسكر الماس الاستراتيجي الواقع غربي مدينة مأرب بأيدي قوّات صنعاء، فجر يوم أمس، ما أدّى إلى انهيار مَن تبقّى مِن قوّات موالية للرئيس المنتهية ولايته، عبد ربه منصور هادي، في محيط المعسكر. هذا التقدُّم الاستراتيجي الذي خاضت قوات الجيش و”اللجان الشعبية” من أجله معركةً مصيريّة مع قوّات هادي، في الأسبوعين الماضيين، يتيح المجال للتقدُّم نحو مدينة مأرب من صحراء الجدعان، أو من الخطّ الرئيس الرابط بين العاصمة ومأرب.

سقوط المعسكر الذي يُعدُّ آخر وأهمّ خطوط الدفاع عن مدينة مأرب، مَنح قوات الجيش و”اللجان الشعبية” هامشاً واسعاً للسيطرة على ما تبقّى من المناطق الصحراوية المحيطة بالمدينة، والتقدّم في اتّجاه منطقة الدشوش المطلّة على معسكرَي صحن الجن وتداوين ووزارة دفاع هادي الواقعة عند البوابة الغربية لمأرب، وكذا السيطرة على مساحة جغرافية كبيرة في صحراء الجدعان المحيطة بالمدينة، وتأمين القوّات المتقدّمة نحو مأرب من أيّ هجمات غادرة من الخلف، أو أيّ التفاف عسكري للقوّات المعادية.

وأكّد مصدر قبلي في مأرب، في حديث إلى “الأخبار”، سقوط معسكر الماس الاستراتيجي ووادي الماس وجميع المناطق والأودية والمواقع المحيطة به، مشيراً أيضاً إلى سقوط الخطّ الإسفلتي الرئيس الرابط بين صنعاء ومأرب بعد سيطرة الجيش و”اللجان الشعبية” على منطقة حلحلان بالكامل، ونقل المعركة إلى ما بعد نقطة الكسارة في اتّجاه مأرب. وكانت قوات صنعاء أحكمت سيطرتها، بعد معارك عنيفة، مساء الثلاثاء، على مفرق معسكر الماس ونقطة الشرطة العسكرية، وصولاً إلى صحراء اللسان التي كانت تُستخدم من قِبَل المرتزقة كخطّ إمداد أخير للدفاع عن المعسكر. وعلى رغم محاولة الطرف الآخر بناء التحصينات والاستبسال في الدفاع عن المعسكر، إلّا أن طائرات العدوان استهدفت الموالين له، في اليومين الماضيين، بعد غارات هستيريّة شنّتها لإعاقة تَقدُّم قوّات الجيش و”اللجان الشعبية” نحو المعسكر. من جهته، وصف قيادي في قوّات هادي، يدعى سلطان الروسا، المواجهات “الفاصلة” التي جرت مساء الخميس قبيل سقوط المعسكر بـ”الحرب التي لا تشبه أي حرب”، مشيراً، في تغريدة عبر “تويتر”، إلى أن “عناصر الطرفين التحما وجهاً لوجه للمرة الأولى”.

فرّت قوّات هادي في أعقاب سقوط معسكر الماس، نحو صحراء الجدعان

هذا التطوّر المهمّ تزامن مع سقوط معظم مناطق وقرى مديرية رغوان الواقعة بالقرب من معسكر الماس بأيدي قوّات الجيش و”اللجان الشعبية” في الأيام الماضية، ونجاح وساطات قبليّة بتفعيل اتفاقات كانت قوات صنعاء أبرمتها مع قبائل رغوان في تموز/ يوليو الماضي، والتزمت بموجبها يتجنيب القرى والمدن التابعة للمديرية ويلات الدمار وعدم اعتراض أبناء قبيلة الجدعان المنسحبين من صفوف قوّات هادي، في مقابل السماح لها بالدخول سلميّاً إلى مناطقهم. اتّفاقات توسّعت ودفعت كبار مشائخ قبيلة الجدعان التي تمتدّ أراضيها من شرق صنعاء وصولاً إلى غرب مأرب وشرق الجوف، إلى زيارة صنعاء الأربعاء الماضي، وإعلان الولاء لقيادة “أنصار الله”. هذه الخطوة أثارت جدلاً واسعاً في أوساط قوّات هادي التي اعتبرت تأييد قبيلة الجدعان لصنعاء، صدمة معنوية كبيرة ستفقد الجبهات الموالية لـ”التحالف” التوازن والصمود في المعركة، لكون أبنائها قاتلوا في صفوفه على مدى ثلاث سنوات، وقتل 700 منهم في جبهات القتال.

وفرّت قوّات هادي في أعقاب سقوط معسكر الماس، نحو صحراء الجدعان التي تمتدّ من المدخل الغربي لمدينة مأرب إلى شرق الجوف. وتفيد المصادر بأن قيادة القوات المشتركة وصلت مساء الخميس إلى معسكر تداوين، أحد أهمّ مقرات قوّات التحالف السعودي – الإماراتي شمال غرب مدينة مأرب، حيث عَقدت اجتماعاً طارئاً بحضور ضبّاط سعوديين لتدارس الموقف، في ظلّ اشتداد المعارك غربي المدينة. إلّا أن صاروخاً بالستياً، لم تُعلِن صنعاء مسؤوليتها عنه، كان لهذا الاجتماع بالمرصاد، ليتسبّب في وقوع عدد كبير من القتلى والجرحى، منهم قيادات عسكرية كبيرة موالية لهادي، وثلاثة ضباط سعوديين تفيد المعلومات بمقتلهم. وجاء الهجوم الصاروخي على الاجتماع بعد يومين من مقتل قائد اللواء أول مشاة جبلي الموالي لهادي، العميد محمد مسعد جعبان، في جبهة مدغل في ظروف غامضة، وذلك عقب خلافات تصاعدت بينه وبين رئيس أركان قوّات هادي، اللواء صغير بن عزيز. ولا يستبعد مراقبون أن تصاعد الغارات “الخاطئة” التي تستهدف بعض مجاميع قوّات هادي في جبهات مأرب، تندرج في إطار التصفيات بين الأجنحة المتصارعة في جبهات مأرب والجوف.

وكانت قوات هادي قد صعّدت عسكرياً، خلال الساعات الـ72 الماضية، في جبهات خب والشعف في محافظة الجوف، محاولةً بذلك تخفيف الضغط على جبهات غرب مأرب، ورفع معنويات عناصرها المنهارة، فردّت قوات صنعاء، الخميس، بشنّ هجوم واسع في اتّجاه منطقة اليتمة الواقعة على الحدود مع السعودية، لتسيطر على مناطق الدحيضه والتبة الحمراء وقرن السعراء شرق الجوف.

زورقان وطائرات مسيّرة تستهدف السعودية

بعدما هدّدت “أنصار الله”، قبل أيّام، عشية “قمّة العشرين” المزمع عقدها في الرياض يومَي 21 و22 الجاري، باستهداف مواقع عسكرية واقتصادية حيويّة في الداخل السعودي، بدأت الحركة تنفيذ تهديداتها اعتباراً من مساء الأربعاء، حين هاجمت بزورقين مفخّخين مسيّرين منصّة تفريغ عائمة تابعة لمحطّة توزيع المنتجات البترولية في جيزان جنوب المملكة، ما أدّى الى اندلاع حريق في المنشأة، بحسب اعتراف السلطات السعودية. اعترافُ جاء على لسان “مصدر مسؤول في وزارة الطاقة” أكّد في حديث إلى وكالة الأنباء السعودية، “واس”، أنه “تمّ التعامل مع حريق اندلع يوم الأربعاء بالقرب من منصّة تفريغ”، مشيراً إلى أن”الحريق اندلع بعدما اعترض التحالف (…) زورقين مفخّخين في جنوب البحر الأحمر”، ما أدّى إلى “اندلاع حريق في الخراطيم العائمة في المنصة، وقد تم التعامل مع الحريق، ولم تحدث أي إصاباتٍ أو خسائر في الأرواح”. كذلك، أعلن التحالف السعودي – الإماراتي، يوم أمس، “اعتراض 5 طائرات مسيّرة تابعة للحوثيين، اثنتان منها في الأجواء اليمنية”، كانت قد أطلقتها قوات صنعاء في اتجاه أهداف داخل الأراضي السعودية.
(الأخبار)

فيديوات مرتبطة

مقالات مرتبطة

• برعاية سعودية.. دولة جديدة نحو التطبيع مع العدو
• بدعم إماراتي .. مشروع تهويدي في وادي الجوز بالقدس المحتلة
• داعش» في اليمن… قصة البداية والنهاية
• عشية «قمّة العشرين»… صنعاء تتوعّد الرياض
• السعودية ترشو بايدن: إعلان متجدّد لوقف العمليات
• عام على «اتفاق الرياض»: راوح مكانك