10/22
Chancellor Angela Merkel announced that Germany will discontinue its weapon exports to Saudi Arabia in light of the killing of Jamal Khashoggi.
UNICEF warns that fighting around the key port of al-Hudaydah, in addition to Yemen’s economic crisis, continues to exacerbate the humanitarian situation, putting millions of families in a desperate situation without access to clean water, food, or sanitation.
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reported that over 3,000 families were affected by Cyclone Luban. About 2,203 families were displaced from their homes in the districts of al-Masilah, Sayhut, Huswain, Qishn, and al-Ghaydah City in al-Mahrah.
UN Special Envoy to Yemen Martin Griffiths is scheduled for a visit next Sunday to Ta’iz. Also in the works are plans for UN-sponsored meetings with the Yemeni government, Houthi representatives, and other regional and international actors in Nairobi in the near future.
The Hadi government’s Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation collaborated with UN Organization for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in a workshop to address Yemen’s 2019 humanitarian response plan in Aden.
10/24
UN humanitarian chief Mark Lowcock warned the UN Security Council that “there is a clear and present danger of imminent and great big famine engulfing Yemen.” He added that the UN underestimated their predictions that 11 million people “could soon face pre-famine conditions,” putting the current estimate closer to 14 million, half of Yemen’s population.
The Washington Post reported that the Saudi-led coalition has sent reinforcements to Yemen in preparation for a new phase in the fight for al-Hudaydah.
Washington’s senior fellows at think tanks, professors, and politicians alike have continued to call on the United States to reevaluate its seemingly unconditional military support for Saudi Arabia in light of the assassination of Jamal Khashoggi.
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani stated today that Saudi Arabia would not have murdered Jamal Khashoggi without American protection. Rouhani also added, “if there was no American protection, would the people of Yemen still have faced the same brutal bombing?”
Twenty-six NGOs, led by a group of Yemeni civil society organizations, released a joint statement regarding the war and humanitarian disaster in Yemen. Their 10 priorities and appeals to the international community can be found here.
An airstrike hit a vegetable packaging factory in Hudaydah today, killing at least 16 people.
10/26
Yemeni officials have reported that Houthi rebels detained at least 20 journalists in San’a for several hours.
10/29
British MPs have called their country’s support to Saudi Arabia into question over the Khashoggi affair this week. The UK’s Middle East minister, Alistair Burt, and foreign secretary, Jeremy Hunt, will be cross-examined in the Commons over British-Saudi relations.
Houthi-laid mines have injured or killed 713 people in al-Jawf since 2016, according to local officials.
Gen. Joseph Votel, commander of US Central Command, announced today that military relations between the US and Saudi Arabia would not be changing any time soon. He acknowledged concerns regarding this, but stated that Saudi Arabia remains a beneficial partner in the region from a security standpoint.
10/30
A leaked UN document reveals that Saudi Arabia has been demanding that aid agencies working in Yemen speak favorably about Riyadh’s humanitarian role in Yemen. Stipulations set by Saudi Arabia include pressuring aid agencies for good publicity in local Yemeni media, as well as international newspapers like the New York Times and the Guardian.
The Center for International Policy released a report investigating Saudi Arabia’s campaign for influence in Washington. Their Foreign Influence Transparency Initiative program analyzed records from the Foreign Agents Registration Act. The report reveals extensive involvement of Saudi-linked firms in American politics.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo called for a ceasefire and an end to airstrikes in populated areas of Yemen, and for UN-led negotiations to begin next month. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis also spoke in support of the UN effort and encouraged a ceasefire and negotiations within the next 30 days.
24 Baha’is have been charged with espionage and apostasy by the Houthis in San’a. Their persecution, and charges which carry the death penalty, have been denounced by the US Commission on International Religious Freedom and by prominent human rights organizations.