Monday, September 22, 2014 Yemen's Shi'ite Houthi Fighters Have Taken Over The Capital Houthis Tighten Grip On Yemen Capital After Swift Capture, P

[Valin]

War News Update:

Sept. 22 2014

 

(Reuters) - Yemen's Shi'ite Houthi fighters tightened their grip on the capital Sanaa on Monday after seizing much of the city in a lightning advance and signing an overnight deal to win a share of power, capping a decade-long guerrilla uprising.

 

 

The Zaydi Shi'ites, who make up 30 percent of Yemen's population of 25 million and ruled a kingdom there for 1,000 years, have complained of being marginalized since their last king in Sanaa was overthrown in a 1962 revolution.

 

 

Houthi followers gathered in the streets, some chanting "Death to America! Death to the Jews! Victory to Islam", while armed supporters in civilian clothes deployed alongside government soldiers across Sanaa.

 

 

Read more ....

 

 

 

http://youtu.be/Ot0HRrIKh1M

[Valin]

Yemen’s Houthis Join the Government at Gunpoint
September 22, 2014

 

Reeling from last week’s attacks on its capital, Sana’a, Yemen’s government has agreed to a power-sharing deal with the Houthi rebel group. As the New York Times reports:

 

(Snip)

 

Negotiations will likely focus on the appointment of a new, Houthi-backed Prime Minister. Given the divisions within Yemen it’s not clear whether any such deal will hold, and some fighting continues. As we noted on Friday, none of this is good news for the Saudis, who have put billions of dollars into the Yemeni government, or for the United States, which uses Yemen as a base in the fight against al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.

 

Iran, however, which has supplied the Houthis with money and weapons, would gain a potential puppet in the new Prime Minister, the better to undermine its two biggest competitors in a new front of the struggle for hegemony in the Middle East.

[clearvision]

Wasn't Yemen an example of how we are going to handle ISIS.

[Valin]

Wasn't Yemen an example of how we are going to handle ISIS.

I've been following Yeman for quite some time, lets just say it gives the term Rats Nest a bad name. It makes Pakistan look like a stable nation.

[Valin]

AQAP rocket strike targets US embassy in Sana'a
Oren Adaki
September 28, 2014

Yesterday, al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) conducted a rocket attack on the US embassy in Yemen's embattled capital, Sana'a. The attack was reportedly carried out by AQAP fighters riding past the embassy on a motor bike.

 

According to Arabic media reports, the rocket fell about 100 meters from the embassy last night and caused no injuries or deaths. Some reports speculate that the concrete slabs directly in front of the embassy may have absorbed much of the force of the blast and thereby spared the embassy's employees and structures. Other reports claimed that Yemeni guards were wounded in the attack.

 

This development comes just two days after the US State Department issued a statement directing some diplomats and government employees working in the Sana'a embassy to leave the country, citing the "changing, unpredictable security situation in Yemen." The statement noted that the embassy would remain open with the majority of staff on site.

(Snip)

 

[Valin]

AQAP steps up attacks against army, Houthis
Oren Adaki

September 29, 2014

 

Over the past 24 hours, al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) claimed credit for at least four separate attacks targeting both the Yemeni military and the Shi'ite Houthi rebels, who have recently taken control of much of the capital of Sana'a. The attacks took place in Shabwa, Maarib, and Baydha provinces and resulted in the deaths of over twenty Yemenis.

 

AQAP's initial attack on Sunday targeted Yemeni soldiers as they drove a truck full of food aid along the road connecting the towns of Gol al Raydah and Rudhoum in the Mayfa'a region of Shabwa province. According to the AQAP statement released later in the day, the terrorist group's fighters drove alongside the truck before opening machine gun fire on the eight Yemeni soldiers on board. AQAP claimed that five soldiers were killed and three others were wounded as a result of the attack. Additionally, the statement boldly claimed that the group's attacks on military personnel and facilities in the Mayfa'a region of Shabwa have claimed the lives of more than 50 Yemeni soldiers in about a month.

 

The remainder of AQAP's attacks on Sunday specifically targeted the Shi'ite Houthi rebels who have been consolidating their power in Sana'a for over a week. AQAP has called for an open war against the Houthi rebels and has simultaneously been using the current chaos in the country to stage attacks outside of its traditional power base in southern Yemen.

 

Sunday's second attack took place during the afternoon in the Majzar region of Marib when an AQAP suicide attacker targeted the al Jafra Hospital with a suicide vehicle-borne explosive device (SVBIED or suicide car bomb).

(Snip)

[Valin]

Opinion: Sanaa could be the Houthis graveyard

Abdulrahman Al-Rashed

Oct. 1 2014

 

In 1948, some Yemeni tribes besieged the capital Sanaa and threatened to seize it following battles between the rebels and ruler Imam Yahyas forces. Abdullah Al-Wazeer, the rebel leader, traveled to Jeddah seeking the help of Saudi ruler King Abdulaziz. The Saudi King reprimanded Wazeer, telling him that bloodshed only leads to bloodshed, and that Wazeer was with the Muslim Brotherhood, which betrayed Imam Yahya and killed him. He also asked Wazeer how he could declare himself Yemens ruler. The King refused to support the rebels, despite the fact that he did not agree with the imam. Sanaa was thus taken by Yahyas son Imam Ahmad, and a new round of intra-communal wars began in Yemen.

 

Sanaa has witnessed and suffered from many conspiracies and betrayals during the past seven decades. Imam Ahmad was assassinated in 1961 and his son, Al-Badr, besieged the capital after rebels seized it. Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser sent 70,000 troops to support the rebels in a war that lasted around eight years, and in which Nasser lost around half of his army.

 

Meanwhile, Israel struck Egypt in 1967 while Nasser was fighting against Yemeni tribes. Before these Egyptian attempts to gain influence in Yemen, there were other attempts by the British and the Ottomans, though they all failed to impose their rule on the country. This is a brief history of bloody wars in Sanaa, which I offer here in an attempt to explain recent events in the capital that have left many people baffled. The Houthis, who have taken control of Sanaa, are a tribal party, which became affiliated with the Iranians during the 1990s upon the encouragement of former Yemeni president Ali Abdullah Saleh, who thought he was capable of playing three cards at once by supporting the Muslim Brotherhood, the Houthis, and other tribes. In the end, however, he was ousted from power thanks to mass protests in 2011.

 

Iran is bragging about the victory of its Houthi allies. Analysts and commentators who support the Iranian regime consider the recent developments in Yemen the most important victory for Iran in the region until now. But when taking a thorough look at the fall of Sanaa to the Houthis Ansar Allah movement, we can see that in reality this will not change much in geopolitical terms. Unfortunately, it increases the suffering of the Yemeni citizens who have endured poor governance for decades. The Houthis will not be able to manage the Yemeni state, even if the president himself flees his castle and they take over.

 

(Snip)

[Pepper]

@Valin,

Thanks for posting these great success stories of the Obama administration's Foreign Policy.

[Valin]

@Valin,

Thanks for posting these great success stories of the Obama administration's Foreign Policy.

 

Do I detect the merest hint of sarcasm?

 

 

[Pepper]

@Valin

 

Why even have a US embassy in Yemen?

 

According to http://travel.state.gov embassies and consulates with consular officers available to provide assistance to American citizens abroad. Remove the American citizens and you remove the need for an embassy there.

 

After Benghazi, you would think the administration could be proactive and remove American assets / people from the US Embassy in Sana'a.

[Valin]

@Valin

 

Why even have a US embassy in Yemen?

 

 

Keeping an eye on The Bad Guys. Pulling out of places like Yemen, is what the Islamic terrorist want. Also look at a map Yemen is in a very important place. In spite of it being a rats nest we have to be there.

[Valin]

AQAP continues escalation throughout Yemen
By Oren Adaki
December 2, 2014

As Yemen's political and security situations continue to devolve, al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) has been pressing forward in its terrorist campaign targeting both the Yemeni military and Houthi rebel positions throughout the country.

 

Since Nov. 24, AQAP has claimed credit for a total of 17 attacks in eight different Yemeni provinces, from Hadramout in the east to Hodeidah in the west. The terrorist group's escalation in Yemen is notable not only for the quantity of the attacks but also their quality. AQAP is increasingly carrying out brazen suicide operations and coordinated attacks on military/rebel positions, as well as targeting higher-level Yemeni and Houthi military personnel. Additionally, on Nov. 27, AQAP claimed a double IED attack at the US Embassy in Sana'a.

 

Recent attacks in Sana'a

 

AQAP claimed credit for three separate attacks in Sana'a on Dec. 1, including one plot that was foiled. At 6:42 a.m. on Dec. 1, AQAP fighters detonated a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device (VBIED) built into a motorbike. AQAP claimed that the VBIED was made of 36 kilograms of TNT and that the explosion was so strong that it was heard 10 kilometers away and completely destroyed the targeted Houthi center.

 

On the same morning, AQAP claims, its fighters also detonated an improvised explosive device (IED) at the residence of Houthi leader and judge Mohammad al Marwani. The AQAP statement claimed that the IED was comprised of seven kilograms of explosive material and that the attack seriously damaged the Houthi leader's house. Another attempted IED attack, targeting a tribal leader accused of "cooperating with the Houthis," was apparently aborted due to an unknown malfunction in the device.

(Snip)