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Yemen Houthis Renew Approval of Al-Hodeidah's Partial Withdrawal Plan

February 10, 2019 

Yemeni child, file, February 21, 2019	UN envoy to Yemen, Martin Griffiths, February 21, 2019

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The following news stories are from the Yemeni independent website Al-Masdar ( http://www.almasdaronline.com/category/42  ):

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Houthis renew approval of al-Hodeidah's partial withdrawal plan

February 22, 2019, ALMASDARONLINE ٢٢ فبراير ٢٠١٩

Houthi spokesman Mohamed Abdul Salam renewed his group's approval of the partial withdrawal plan sponsored  by the United Nations from the city of Hodeidah, under the Swedish agreement.

On his Facebook page, following a meeting with a number of Members of the European Parliament in Brussels, he said his group had approved the plan presented by the leader of the international observer team, Danish general Michael Lolisgaard, "despite our observations on some of its articles".

He noted that the plan was "presented in a non-parallel and uneven manner," but that his group had accepted the withdrawal of its troops for five kilometers, while the pro-government forces would withdraw for only one kilometer.

He accused the Yemeni government of obstructing the plan "in a clear way".

On Monday, Abdul Salam announced in a press statement that his group was ready to carry out the withdrawal from the confrontation lines the following morning, and the UN envoy to Yemen Martin Griffiths announced Tuesday in a briefing to the Security Council that the pullout will be carried out Wednesday.

The Government, however, expressed its rejection of the plan as it stood and declared its conditional agreement on it, so that the withdrawal would be postponed to a date that had not been determined.

UN envoy seeks a round of consultations between the Yemeni parties in late March in Berlin

February 21, 2019, ALMASDARONLINE ٢١ فبراير ٢٠١٩

The UN envoy to Yemen, Martin Griffiths, is seeking a new round of consultations in late March in the German capital of Berlin, a source told Al-Masdar online.

Griffiths presented the issue of the new round of consultations to the legitimate government and Houthi rebels in the recent round of talks between Sanaa and Riyadh, the source said.

France also expressed its willingness to host the consultations, but the envoy ruled it out due to different views between him and the French ambassador in Yemen on some arrangements.

According to the source, the Berlin proposal is a venue to host the consultations, with a German willingness to host the new round of Yemeni peace consultations and according to the harmony between the UN envoy and the Germans, who do not hide their sympathy with the al-Houthi group and make great efforts through their apparatus, diplomacy and German organizations to support the vision of the Houthis.

UN envoy Martin Griffiths is seeking to devote the next round of consultations to the discussion of the political framework as he has achieved great success under the confidence-building measures, and the recent briefing this week by Griffith to the Security Council is more optimistic and talked about great achievements have been made in the file of prisoners and detainees, and Hodeidah file.

Recently, the Yemeni foreign minister and the head of the negotiating delegation, Khalid al-Yamani, said that the Government would not participate in any round of consultations until the completion of all the agreements agreed in the Stockholm consultations, and this statement seems to have been a response to the international pressure aimed at dragging the Government to the consultation table again based on the fictitious achievements in the implementation of the Stockholm accord promoted by Griffiths.

On Wednesday, information leaked about the resignation of the head of the government team overseeing the redeployment process to protest the pressure on them to approve partial implementation of the Stockholm Agreement on redeployment in Hodeidah, where implementation is limited to the withdrawal of troops without addressing the administration of Ports and arrangements for local authority and city security.

Despite the government's theoretical reluctance to attend any consultations unless the outcome of the Sweden round of consultations is implemented, it may find itself compelled to attend the new round under regional and international pressure today to agree to a distorted implementation of the measures in Hodeidah.

This is aided by the government's lack of progress in the civil and military aspects, and as the Houthis attack more than one military front, government forces are committed to defense position.

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The following news stories are from the pro-Houthi website Yemen Extra (http://www.yemenextra.net/):

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The Yemeni army forces take a revenge from the coalition arms deals in billion

Feb 19, 2019, YemenExtra, Y.A

Big losses amid the Saudi-led coalition, backed by the US, on Monday, happened in renewed wave of fire from Yemeni army forces on military positions as the coalition keeps buying arms in billion of dollars.

They attacked the coalition’s paid fighters’ sites off Qais mountain and southern Al-Nar mountain, killing and injuring a number of them in Jizan.

They carried out an offensive on the posts of the paid fighters in Qaniah Front. Dozens of the paid fighters were killed and injured during the offensive, as well as a military vehicle was burnt and another was destroyed. In addition, they launched an offensive on the sites of the paid fighters in Al-Jaradi Front of Al-Zaher district, inflicting them losses on lives and equipment in Baida.

They targeted a gathering of Saudi soldiers , paid fighters and their mechanisms with artillery shells.  The Army and Committees also launched a raid on a site of the Saudi army and its paid fighters west of Sudais, resulting in the deaths and injuries in their ranks.Furthermore, they fired a ballistic missile, Zelzal-1, on the gatherings of paid fighters in the Ajashar desert off Najran.

A ballistic missile, Zelzal-1, was fired at the gatherings of paid fighters , killing and injuring a number of them. They were able earlier in the day to thwart the infiltration attempt by the paid fighters towards Al-Hammad site, resulting in the deaths and injuries in their ranks in Asir.

Spokesman of the Yemeni army, Brig. Gen. Yahya Sarei, on Sunday reviewed the latest achievement of the Yemen army forces on the combat fronts during 48 hours.

In statement, the spokesman said on Monday that the army repelled three attacks of the paid fighters toward the army’s site in Asdr front of Jawf, Hammad square area off Najran and Taiz.

The army carried out 15 military operations against sites of the paid fighters in several Internal and Border fronts , added the spokesman.

The coalition’s forces were inflicted heavy losses in lives and military equipment during the military operations and destroyed 11 military vehicles of the paid fighters over the past two days, Sarei added.

On Sunday, the United States Army says it is still providing support for the war, which Saudi Arabia and its allies are waging against Yemen.

In the same day,Tens of thousands of people have taken to the streets across Yemen to slam some of the country’s fellow Arab states’ attempts at normalization of relations with Israel.

The United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia’s main partner in a Riyadh-led coalition invading Yemen, bought around $1.8 billion worth of American arms at an Abu Dhabi military exhibition.

Monday marked the second day of the International Defense Exhibition and Conference (Idex), which is to last through Thursday.

The coalition’s paid fighters  on Tuesday fired more than 19 katyusha rockets and artillery shells at Hodeidah province, whereas the shelling were fired at civilians’ farms in Faza area of Tuhaita district.

In March 2015, the US -backed –Saudi-led coalition started  a war against Yemen with the declared aim of crushing the Houthi Ansarullah movement, who had taken over from the staunch Riyadh ally and fugitive former president Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi, while also seeking to secure the Saudi border with its southern neighbor. Three years and over 600,000 dead and injured Yemeni people and  prevented the patients from travelling abroad for treatment and blocked the entry of medicine into the war-torn country, the war has yielded little to that effect.

Despite the coalition claims that it is bombing the positions of the Ansarullah fighters, Saudi bombers are flattening residential areas and civilian infrastructures.

However, Saudi Arabia relies heavily on the US in its brutal war on Yemen. Washington has deployed a commando force on the Arab kingdom’s border with Yemen to help destroy arms belonging to Yemen’s popular Houthi Ansarullah movement. Washington has also provided logistical support and aerial refueling.

What you don’t know about the lifeline of Yemenis!

Feb 21, 2019, YemenExtra, Y.A

Hodeidah city, a lifeline for millions of Yemenis, has seen some of the heaviest fighting in the Saudi-led coalition, backed by the US, war .

The National Delegation headed by Mohammed Abdulsalam concluded a three-day official visit to Brussels, in which they met with some officials in the European Union.

The Delegation held a number of important meetings with members of the European Parliament to discuss the developments of the coalition against Yemen and its political, humanitarian, economic and military impact. They, also, discussed progress of the Stockholm Agreement, Hodeidah’s situation, the Prisoners exchange and the cease-fire in Taiz.

The Delegation presented a number of suggestions to reach comprehensive solution in Yemen, pointing out at the same time that any solutions other than a political solution wont last for long.

Mohammed Abdulsalam, said on Thursday, on response to the pro-aggression forces demands, that “bypassing Stockholm agreement to demand a political or security role without a comprehensive political solution is a miserable attempt to obstruct the solution in Hodeidah,” adding that “there are parties their interests and survival in power depends on the continuation of the aggression against Yemen.”

“The aggression is using the economic war, hunger and humanitarian needs to bend the Yemenis to pass their plots and unjust projects in Yemen, to control its resources and its important location,” said Abdelsalam during Brussels visit.

The Australian government continues to approve sales of weapons systems to Saudi Arabia, despite growing international concern over alleged war crimes in Yemen.

Defense chiefs were questioned at a senate estimates hearing on Wednesday as to why they had not stopped the weapons sales or applied sanctions to the kingdom.

Paid fighters ,loyal to the coalition ,meantime, continued their breaches of the ceasefire agreement in Hodeidah province by targeting several populated areas and homes and property of citizens.

A military official told YemenExtra that the paid fighters fired more than 63 artillery shells on residential areas and citizen’s property in al-Faza area of al-Tuhayta district and the July 7 area.

The paid fighters also fired from medium machine guns on Hodeidah Airport, the 50th Street and al-Shajan area, as well as targeting citizens’ homes western al-Durihemi city with a 23 caliber machine gun.

Governor of Hajjah province Hilal al-Sufai praised the constructive positions by the tribes and sheikhs of the province in confronting the coalition and its paid fighters.

During his meeting with several sheikhs of the province, the governor stressed on the importance of facing challenges and difficulties experienced by the country.

Sufai affirmed that the state is obliged to maintain security and stability in all areas that under its authority and will not allow anyone to shake the security.

A southern newspaper quoted residents from Lahj province, southern Yemen, as saying that paid fighters loyal to the coalition in Marib province had jailed their sons after being recruited for fighting with the coalition against the Yemeni army forces.

Al-Ayyam newspaper reported on Thursday that the fate of young recruits has remained unknown for months after they tried to return to their areas and refused to participate in fighting on the fronts.

The recruits’ relatives in Toban and al-Hutta districts of Lahj on Wednesday carried out a protesting vigil, during which they called on the exiled Hadi’s government and Islah Party paid fighters to release the recruits.

In March 2015, the US -backed –Saudi-led coalition started  a war against Yemen with the declared aim of crushing the Houthi Ansarullah movement, who had taken over from the staunch Riyadh ally and fugitive former president Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi, while also seeking to secure the Saudi border with its southern neighbor. Three years and over 600,000 dead and injured Yemeni people and  prevented the patients from travelling abroad for treatment and blocked the entry of medicine into the war-torn country, the war has yielded little to that effect.

Despite the coalition claims that it is bombing the positions of the Ansarullah fighters, Saudi bombers are flattening residential areas and civilian infrastructures.

However, Saudi Arabia relies heavily on the US in its brutal war on Yemen. Washington has deployed a commando force on the Arab kingdom’s border with Yemen to help destroy arms belonging to Yemen’s popular Houthi Ansarullah movement. Washington has also provided logistical support and aerial refueling.

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