Blog archive: Yemen

  • 13th February 2017
    By
    Brian Whitaker
    Amid escalating tensions within Yemen's "liberated" zone, two rival militias tussled for control of Aden airport at the weekend. Forces commanded by Saleh al-Amiri Abu Qahtan and reputedly paid by the Emiratis have been protecting Aden airport since 2015. On Friday they brought flights to a...
  • 3rd February 2017
    By
    Brian Whitaker
    At a bizarre press conference yesterday, the Trump regime's chief spokesman falsely blamed Iran for an attack on an American warship – an attack that never happened.  The story behind this fictitious incident provides an object lesson in how anonymous sources, a gullible reporter, a...
  • 1st February 2017
    By
    Brian Whitaker
    On Monday Houthi fighters struck a Saudi warship off the coast of Yemen, killing two of its crew and wounding three others. On Tuesday, under a banner saying "EXCLUSIVE", Fox News came up with a startling and hard-to-believe claim. Citing unnamed officials at the Pentagon, it said the "...
  • 31st January 2017
    By
    Brian Whitaker
    When Donald Trump issued his now-notorious travel ban on Friday it was couched mainly in terms of protecting the US from terrorism. Framing it in this way gave its racist undertones an aura of respectability, though thankfully there were millions of people who refused to be fooled. Many opponents...
  • 30th January 2017
    By
    Brian Whitaker
    Donald Trump, America's new ruler, had an hour-long phone conversation yesterday with his Saudi counterpart, King Salman, and allegedly they agreed on just about everything. The Saudi government news agency reported: "The views of the two leaders were identical on the files that were...
  • 29th January 2017
    By
    Brian Whitaker
    Donald Trump ended his first week as president by signing an executive order that means citizens of Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen will not be allowed to enter the United States. Although the travel ban is one of a series of measures aimed – according to Trump – at "...
  • 25th January 2017
    By
    Omar Mashjari
    A guest post by Omar Mashjari The countries making up the Arabian Peninsula are no strangers to British influence, none are more impacted by this influence today than Yemen. Unlike the dominant Gulf States which were never formally colonialised by Britain, Yemen’s second city, Aden, was a...
  • 18th January 2017
    By
    Brian Whitaker
    Yesterday I received a disturbing message from a young man in Yemen who fears for his life – not because of the tragic war there but because of something that he wrote. Twenty-year-old Mohammed Atboush (seen in the video above) is a medical student in Aden and the son of a judge. He...
  • 20th December 2016
    By
    Brian Whitaker
    After a delay of more than six months Saudi Arabia finally admitted yesterday that its coalition forces have been using British-made cluster bombs in Yemen. A statement issued through the Saudi government news agency said the coalition had now "decided to cease usage" of those made in...
  • 14th December 2016
    By
    Brian Whitaker
    Amid concern about civilian casualties in Yemen, the United States is cutting back on arms sales to Saudi Arabia – at a time when the Britain, the kingdom's other main supplier, is trying to increase them. The US has decided not to go ahead with a $350 million sale of 16,000 guidance systems...
  • 15th November 2016
    By
    Brian Whitaker
    The war in Yemen has reached a point where all parties now want to halt the fighting, former vice-president Khaled Bahah said on Monday. But he warned that if they fail to seize the moment there may not be another opportunity for six months. The latest peace efforts are focused around a...
  • 10th November 2016
    By
    Brian Whitaker
    Four weeks ago there was a flurry of media excitement over Iranian warships that were supposedly about to confront the US Navy off the coast of Yemen. In case you are wondering how the battle went, it didn't happen and was never likely to happen. On October 13, Fox News reported...

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