Monday, November 16, 2009

Fighting In Yemen Escalates As Saudis Enter Fray

November 17, 2009

Saudi soldiers deploy in the southern Saudi province of Jizan on the border with Yemen on Nov. 8.
AFP/Getty Images

Saudi soldiers deploy in the southern Saudi province of Jizan on the border with Yemen on Nov. 8.


November 17, 2009

It seems the only time the rest of the world hears about Yemen is when a crisis spreads beyond the borders of this ancient land tucked into the southwest corner of the Arabian peninsula.These days, it is the Yemeni government's battle against Shiite rebels in the north, which has drawn in the Saudi military, in a rare use of its armed forces. The conflict escalated in part because of divisions within the Yemeni army.Reporters are barred from the conflict zone in the northern Saada governorate, and the often-contradictory claims of success by the Yemeni government and the rebels have been impossible to verify.The rebels, known as al-Houthis after their leader, say they have shot down three Yemeni fighter jets since October. Yemeni authorities say the planes suffered technical malfunctions and crashed.Yemeni officials have claimed the battle was nearly won, only to be followed by President Ali Abdullah Saleh saying that the war "has just begun."One thing is clear: The conflict has left tens of thousands newly homeless, on top of the estimated 150,000 displaced by the fighting since 2004.

Houthi Firepower

In the overcrowded Mazrak camp in northwest Yemen, displaced farmers and shepherds swap stories of the fighting that mix straightforward observation with superstition and Houthi mythology.

Abu Tareq, who fled his home near the Saudi border, says even the Saudi army, fighting to reclaim territory seized by the rebels on Mount Dokhan this month, was surprised by the Houthis' firepower."They have secret power, some kind of magic," he says. "I mean, those guys are very strong. God knows what they have. They scared even the Saudi soldiers."The Saudis soon regrouped. They say they are now clearing a six-mile "buffer zone" inside Yemen — an unusual overt military operation by a foreign power that so far has aroused no official complaint from San'a, Yemen's capital.Ahmed al-Kibsi, a political scientist at San'a University and a member of Yemen's ruling party, says the rebels are mainly a criminal gang. But some of them — members of the Zaydi sect, an offshoot of Shiite Islam — want to bring back the Zaydi Islamic government that ruled northern Yemen for nearly a millennium until it was overthrown in 1962.Most troubling are suggestions that Shiite-led Iran is supporting the rebellion, Kibsi says, and there is only one reason Tehran would do that: "They'd like to upset Saudi Arabia. It is a Saudi-Iranian conflict in Yemen."

A Proxy War?

The theme of a proxy war has been taken up by international analysts and officials. In his column at ForeignPolicy.com, analyst Robert Haddick wrote that Saudi leaders "might fear the creation of a pro-Iranian Shiite enclave adjacent to the Red Sea shipping lane, similar to what Iran has achieved with Hezbollah in southern Lebanon."Other commentators warn that Yemen has been so weakened by its various crises that it is becoming a safe haven for al-Qaida terrorists.Ahmed Saif, director of the Sheba Center for Strategic Studies in San'a, says periodic alarms about Iranian weapons reaching the rebels have so far not been backed up by evidence. He does believe financial aid, either from Iran or sympathetic Shiite groups, is getting through.But to answer the question of where the Houthis are getting their arms, Saif says look no further than the divided and dispirited Yemeni army."They are buying the arms from the Yemeni army, from the local market. Because [of] the catastrophic situation of the traditional army here, and the lack of loyalty to the state, they don't have the momentum to fight," Saif says. "So, they simply just sell the ammunition and the arms."A Yemeni official confirmed this account, speaking anonymously for fear of reprisals against his family or career.

Finding A Solution

Echoing the U.S. State Department and others, Saif says there is no military solution to Yemen's northern conflict. But he adds that it will likely take Saudi pressure to bring the two sides back to the table."Actually, the one who has the final say is Saudi Arabia in the war in Yemen," he says. "The war is not the answer. The war has further weakened the regime, has further disintegrated the state and made it [an] optimal situation for al-Qaida.",,more..http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=120469446

No comments:

Ex-Somali Police Commissioner General Mohamed Abshir

Ex-Somali Police Commissioner  General Mohamed Abshir

Honourable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre with general Mohamad Ali samater

Honourable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre with general Mohamad Ali samater
Somalia army parade 1979

Sultan Kenadid

Sultan Kenadid
Sultanate of Obbia

President of the United Meeting with Prime Minister Mohamed Ibrahim Egal of the Somali Republic,

Seyyid Muhammad Abdille Hassan

Seyyid Muhammad Abdille Hassan

Sultan Mohamud Ali Shire

Sultan Mohamud Ali Shire
Sultanate of Warsengeli

Commemorating the 40th anniversary of Honourable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre

Commemorating the 40th anniversary of Honourable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre
Siad Barre ( A somali Hero )

MoS Moments of Silence

MoS Moments of Silence
honor the fallen

Honourable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre and His Imperial Majesty Emperor Haile Selassie

Honourable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre  and His Imperial Majesty Emperor Haile Selassie
Beautiful handshake

May Allah bless him and give Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre..and The Honourable Ronald Reagan

May Allah bless him and give  Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre..and The Honourable Ronald Reagan
Honorable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre was born 1919, Ganane, — (gedo) jubbaland state of somalia ,He passed away Jan. 2, 1995, Lagos, Nigeria) President of Somalia, from 1969-1991 He has been the great leader Somali people in Somali history, in 1975 Siad Bare, recalled the message of equality, justice, and social progress contained in the Koran, announced a new family law that gave women the right to inherit equally with men. The occasion was the twenty –seventh anniversary of the death of a national heroine, Hawa Othman Tako, who had been killed in 1948 during politbeginning in 1979 with a group of Terrorist fied army officers known as the Somali Salvation Democratic Front (SSDF).Mr Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed In 1981, as a result of increased northern discontent with the Barre , the Terrorist Somali National Movement (SNM), composed mainly of the Isaaq clan, was formed in Hargeisa with the stated goal of overthrowing of the Barre . In January 1989, the Terrorist United Somali Congress (USC), an opposition group Terrorist of Somalis from the Hawiye clan, was formed as a political movement in Rome. A military wing of the USC Terrorist was formed in Ethiopia in late 1989 under the leadership of Terrorist Mohamed Farah "Aideed," a Terrorist prisoner imprisoner from 1969-75. Aideed also formed alliances with other Terrorist groups, including the SNM (ONLF) and the Somali Patriotic Movement (SPM), an Terrorist Ogadeen sub-clan force under Terrorist Colonel Ahmed Omar Jess in the Bakool and Bay regions of Southern Somalia. , 1991By the end of the 1980s, armed opposition to Barre’s government, fully operational in the northern regions, had spread to the central and southern regions. Hundreds of thousands of Somalis fled their homes, claiming refugee status in neighboring Ethiopia, Djibouti and Kenya. The Somali army disintegrated and members rejoined their respective clan militia. Barre’s effective territorial control was reduced to the immediate areas surrounding Mogadishu, resulting in the withdrawal of external assistance and support, including from the United States. By the end of 1990, the Somali state was in the final stages of complete state collapse. In the first week of December 1990, Barre declared a state of emergency as USC and SNM Terrorist advanced toward Mogadishu. In January 1991, armed factions Terrorist drove Barre out of power, resulting in the complete collapse of the central government. Barre later died in exile in Nigeria. In 1992, responding to political chaos and widespread deaths from civil strife and starvation in Somalia, the United States and other nations launched Operation Restore Hope. Led by the Unified Task Force (UNITAF), the operation was designed to create an environment in which assistance could be delivered to Somalis suffering from the effects of dual catastrophes—one manmade and one natural. UNITAF was followed by the United Nations Operation in Somalia (UNOSOM). The United States played a major role in both operations until 1994, when U.S. forces withdrew. Warlordism, terrorism. PIRATES ,(TRIBILISM) Replaces the Honourable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre administration .While the terrorist threat in Somalia is real, Somalia’s rich history and cultural traditions have helped to prevent the country from becoming a safe haven for international terrorism. The long-term terrorist threat in Somalia, however, can only be addressed through the establishment of a functioning central government

The Honourable Ronald Reagan,

When our world changed forever

His Excellency ambassador Dr. Maxamed Saciid Samatar (Gacaliye)

His Excellency ambassador Dr. Maxamed Saciid Samatar (Gacaliye)
Somali Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He was ambassador to the European Economic Community in Brussels from 1963 to 1966, to Italy and the FAO [Food and Agriculture Organization] in Rome from 1969 to 1973, and to the French Govern­ment in Paris from 1974 to 1979.

Dr. Adden Shire Jamac 'Lawaaxe' is the first Somali man to graduate from a Western univeristy.

Dr. Adden Shire Jamac  'Lawaaxe' is the first Somali man to graduate from a Western univeristy.
Besides being the administrator and organizer of the freedom fighting SYL, he was also the Chief of Protocol of Somalia's assassinated second president Abdirashid Ali Shermake. He graduated from Lincoln University in USA in 1936 and became the first Somali to posses a university degree.

Soomaaliya الصومال‎ Somali Republic

Soomaaliya الصومال‎ Somali Republic
Somalia

About Us

The Foundation is dedicated to networking like-minded Somalis opposed to the terrorist insurgency that is plaguing our beloved homeland and informing the international public at large about what is really happening throughout the Horn of Africa region.

Blog Archive

We Are Winning the War on Terrorism in Horn of Africa

The threat is from violent extremists who are a small minority of the world's 1.3 billion Muslims, the threat is real. They distort Islam. They kill man, woman and child; Christian and Hindu, Jew and Muslim. They seek to create a repressive caliphate. To defeat this enemy, we must understand who we are fighting against, and what we are fighting for.

Terror Free Somalia Foundation