01-05-2018, 11:34 PM
*** 6-Jan-18 World View -- Iranian advisors are 'on the ground' with Houthis in Yemen, supplying weapons and intelligence
This morning's key headlines from GenerationalDynamics.com
****
**** Iranian advisors are 'on the ground' with Houthis in Yemen, supplying weapons and intelligence
****
![[Image: g180105b.jpg]](http://Media.GenerationalDynamics.com/ww2010/g180105b.jpg)
Map of Yemen showing areas controlled by Houthis, Saudi-led coalition, and al-Qaeda (Economist)
On Friday, Iran-backed Shia Houthis launched a ballistic missile from
Yemen into Saudi Arabia's southwestern province of Najran. The Saudi
military confirmed the launch, but said that it did no damage, as it
was intercepted by Saudi air defenses of Najran.
The Houthis have launched several missile attacks on Saudi Arabia
recently, and the Iranians have been accused of supplying the Houthis
with these missiles and other weapons.
However, the death of Ali Abdullah Saleh last month provides unique
evidence that not only is Iran supplying weapons to the Houthis, it's
also providing intelligence and possibly directing all the actions of
the entire Houthi force.
Saleh's Sunni forces had been working side-by-side for years with the
Houthis in opposition to the Saudi-led coalition. This alliance was
always a marriage of convenience of two groups that disliked each
other, and it's not surprising when the alliance finally fell apart on
December 4 of last year. Two days later, the Houthis ambushed Saleh
and killed him and his entire family.
The Houthis gained a huge cache of weapons, and they killed many of
Saleh's former aides and fighters, but not all of them, and some of
them fled to Aden.
BBC reporter Nawal Al-Maghafi, speaking on the BBC World Service on
Friday, said she had tracked down Saleh's closest aide, now in Aden.
The aide said:
<QUOTE>"I was with him, and he was defending his home, with
his aides and nephews by his side. Three or four tanks surrounded
his house. They began firing."<END QUOTE>
Al-Maghafi asked the aide about the presence of Iranians, and he said:
<QUOTE>"There are Iranians by their side, and they tell them
exactly what to do. I saw them with my own eyes. They give them
weapons, but it's the information they give that is most
important. I met the Iranian advisers when I was with Saleh.
They were always beside the Houthi leaders."<END QUOTE>
Al-Maghafi said that while she was in Sanaa, she was able to speak
with "other well-placed sources [who] all confirmed the existence of
the Iranian advisers."
Iran's substantial support for the Houthis has been long suspected,
but of course always denied by the Iranians. Al-Maghafi's reporting
provides the first on-the-ground proof of the Iranian support.
AFP and Al Jazeera and Sky News
****
**** Forces realign in the Yemen war following the death of Ali Abdullah Saleh
****
The Yemen war began for real in March 2015, when the Iran-backed
Houthis took control of the capital city Sanaa, forcing the Sunni
government to flee to the port of Aden in the south. Since then, at
least 10,000 civilians have been killed, mostly in airstrikes in the
Saudi-led coalition against the Houthis. There have been 40,000
injuries.
According to UN humanitarian official Mark Lowcock:
<QUOTE>"The situation in Yemen - today, right now, to the
population of the country - looks like the apocalypse.
The cholera outbreak is probably the worst the world has ever seen
with a million suspected cases up to the end of 2017.
[A] terrible new epidemic of diphtheria (a bacterial disease which
should be completely preventable by immunization) has already
affected up to 500 people with dozens and dozens of deaths in the
past few weeks. That is going to spread like wildfire.
Unless the situation changes, we're going to have the world's
worst humanitarian disaster for 50 years."<END QUOTE>
The war worsened substantially when the Houthis launched another ballistic missile on November 4.
It
reached the King Khalid International Airport near Riyadh, about 800
km from the Yemen border, the farthest any Houthi missile had
traveled.
In retaliation, Saudi Arabia broadened a land, air and sea blockade,
preventing even food and medicines from entering Yemen. This was
threatening massive starvation and causing a deepening and increasing
humanitarian disaster that was too much for Ali Abdullah Saleh, who at
that time was still in his marriage of convenience with the Houthis.
Saleh split with the Houthis, and offered to mediate between the
Houthis and the Saudis.
On December 4, the Houthis ambushed Saleh and his family, killing them
all.
Since that time, there's been a realignment of forces. Some of
Saleh's fighters have stayed with the Houthis, but most of them have
headed south to Yemen, joining the official Yemen army still led by
former president Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi.
According to some reports, the Houthis have been losing ground to
Yemen army, backed by Saudi coalition airstrikes, but things are
extremely fluid.
We can now be certain that the Yemen war is a full-fledged proxy war
between Saudi Arabia, which is providing airstrikes and weapons to
Yemen's army, versus Iran, which is providing weapons, intelligence
and direction to the Houthis. It seems certain that the Yemen war is
not nearly over. Al-Ahram (Cairo) and Al-Jazeera and Arab News and
The National (UAE)
Related Articles
KEYS: Generational Dynamics, Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Najran, Iran, Houthis,
Ali Abdullah Saleh, Sanaa, Aden,
Nawal Al-Maghafi, Mark Lowcock, Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi
Permanent web link to this article
Receive daily World View columns by e-mail
Contribute to Generational Dynamics via PayPal
John J. Xenakis
100 Memorial Drive Apt 8-13A
Cambridge, MA 02142
Phone: 617-864-0010
E-mail: john@GenerationalDynamics.com
Web site: http://www.GenerationalDynamics.com
Forum: http://www.gdxforum.com/forum
Subscribe to World View: http://generationaldynamics.com/subscribe
This morning's key headlines from GenerationalDynamics.com
- Iranian advisors are 'on the ground' with Houthis in Yemen, supplying weapons and intelligence
- Forces realign in the Yemen war following the death of Ali Abdullah Saleh
****
**** Iranian advisors are 'on the ground' with Houthis in Yemen, supplying weapons and intelligence
****
Map of Yemen showing areas controlled by Houthis, Saudi-led coalition, and al-Qaeda (Economist)
On Friday, Iran-backed Shia Houthis launched a ballistic missile from
Yemen into Saudi Arabia's southwestern province of Najran. The Saudi
military confirmed the launch, but said that it did no damage, as it
was intercepted by Saudi air defenses of Najran.
The Houthis have launched several missile attacks on Saudi Arabia
recently, and the Iranians have been accused of supplying the Houthis
with these missiles and other weapons.
However, the death of Ali Abdullah Saleh last month provides unique
evidence that not only is Iran supplying weapons to the Houthis, it's
also providing intelligence and possibly directing all the actions of
the entire Houthi force.
Saleh's Sunni forces had been working side-by-side for years with the
Houthis in opposition to the Saudi-led coalition. This alliance was
always a marriage of convenience of two groups that disliked each
other, and it's not surprising when the alliance finally fell apart on
December 4 of last year. Two days later, the Houthis ambushed Saleh
and killed him and his entire family.
The Houthis gained a huge cache of weapons, and they killed many of
Saleh's former aides and fighters, but not all of them, and some of
them fled to Aden.
BBC reporter Nawal Al-Maghafi, speaking on the BBC World Service on
Friday, said she had tracked down Saleh's closest aide, now in Aden.
The aide said:
<QUOTE>"I was with him, and he was defending his home, with
his aides and nephews by his side. Three or four tanks surrounded
his house. They began firing."<END QUOTE>
Al-Maghafi asked the aide about the presence of Iranians, and he said:
<QUOTE>"There are Iranians by their side, and they tell them
exactly what to do. I saw them with my own eyes. They give them
weapons, but it's the information they give that is most
important. I met the Iranian advisers when I was with Saleh.
They were always beside the Houthi leaders."<END QUOTE>
Al-Maghafi said that while she was in Sanaa, she was able to speak
with "other well-placed sources [who] all confirmed the existence of
the Iranian advisers."
Iran's substantial support for the Houthis has been long suspected,
but of course always denied by the Iranians. Al-Maghafi's reporting
provides the first on-the-ground proof of the Iranian support.
AFP and Al Jazeera and Sky News
****
**** Forces realign in the Yemen war following the death of Ali Abdullah Saleh
****
The Yemen war began for real in March 2015, when the Iran-backed
Houthis took control of the capital city Sanaa, forcing the Sunni
government to flee to the port of Aden in the south. Since then, at
least 10,000 civilians have been killed, mostly in airstrikes in the
Saudi-led coalition against the Houthis. There have been 40,000
injuries.
According to UN humanitarian official Mark Lowcock:
<QUOTE>"The situation in Yemen - today, right now, to the
population of the country - looks like the apocalypse.
The cholera outbreak is probably the worst the world has ever seen
with a million suspected cases up to the end of 2017.
[A] terrible new epidemic of diphtheria (a bacterial disease which
should be completely preventable by immunization) has already
affected up to 500 people with dozens and dozens of deaths in the
past few weeks. That is going to spread like wildfire.
Unless the situation changes, we're going to have the world's
worst humanitarian disaster for 50 years."<END QUOTE>
The war worsened substantially when the Houthis launched another ballistic missile on November 4.
It
reached the King Khalid International Airport near Riyadh, about 800
km from the Yemen border, the farthest any Houthi missile had
traveled.
In retaliation, Saudi Arabia broadened a land, air and sea blockade,
preventing even food and medicines from entering Yemen. This was
threatening massive starvation and causing a deepening and increasing
humanitarian disaster that was too much for Ali Abdullah Saleh, who at
that time was still in his marriage of convenience with the Houthis.
Saleh split with the Houthis, and offered to mediate between the
Houthis and the Saudis.
On December 4, the Houthis ambushed Saleh and his family, killing them
all.
Since that time, there's been a realignment of forces. Some of
Saleh's fighters have stayed with the Houthis, but most of them have
headed south to Yemen, joining the official Yemen army still led by
former president Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi.
According to some reports, the Houthis have been losing ground to
Yemen army, backed by Saudi coalition airstrikes, but things are
extremely fluid.
We can now be certain that the Yemen war is a full-fledged proxy war
between Saudi Arabia, which is providing airstrikes and weapons to
Yemen's army, versus Iran, which is providing weapons, intelligence
and direction to the Houthis. It seems certain that the Yemen war is
not nearly over. Al-Ahram (Cairo) and Al-Jazeera and Arab News and
The National (UAE)
Related Articles
- Three crises accelerate: Yemen's Saleh killed, Brexit collapses and North Korea war looms (05-Dec-2017)
- Yemen war changes direction with collapse of Iran-backed Houthi coalition (03-Dec-2017)
- Saudi Arabia blockades Yemen, threatening millions to die in famine (10-Nov-2017)
- Yemen's Houthi missile attack on Riyadh called a 'dangerous escalation' (06-Nov-2017)
KEYS: Generational Dynamics, Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Najran, Iran, Houthis,
Ali Abdullah Saleh, Sanaa, Aden,
Nawal Al-Maghafi, Mark Lowcock, Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi
Permanent web link to this article
Receive daily World View columns by e-mail
Contribute to Generational Dynamics via PayPal
John J. Xenakis
100 Memorial Drive Apt 8-13A
Cambridge, MA 02142
Phone: 617-864-0010
E-mail: john@GenerationalDynamics.com
Web site: http://www.GenerationalDynamics.com
Forum: http://www.gdxforum.com/forum
Subscribe to World View: http://generationaldynamics.com/subscribe
