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Saudi Vows to Cover U.N. Aid Call for Yemen, Keeps up Air Raids
[AnNahar] Soddy Arabia...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. When the oil runs out the rest of the world is going to kick sand in the Soddy national face... pledged Saturday to cover the entire $274 million in humanitarian aid sought by the UN for conflict-torn Yemen, which has also been the target of Saudi-led air strikes against Iranian catspaws. The United Nations ...a lucrative dumping ground for the relatives of dictators and party hacks... says hundreds of people have died and thousands of families fled their homes in the war, which has also killed six Saudi security personnel in border skirmishes. At least 27 more people died in the southwestern city of Taez during overnight festivities between loyalist forces and the Iran-backed Shiite Houthis as well as Saudi-led coalition air raids, medical sources said. Saudi King Salman ...either the largest species of Pacific salmon or the current Sheikh of the Burnin' Sands, Cutodian of the Two Holy Mosquesand Lord of Most of the Arabians.... ordered the humanitarian pledge following a United Nations appeal on Friday for $274 million (253 million euros) in emergency assistance for the millions affected by Yemen's war. The kingdom "stands with its Yemeni brothers" and hopes for "the restoration of security and stability," the state Saudi Press Agency said, quoting an official statement. Aid has only trickled into the country, largely because of restrictions imposed by the coalition on the country's air space and sea ports. - Explosions, gunfire - Residents said kabooms and gunfire shook Taez overnight during fighting between Hadi loyalists and the rebels. Nineteen rebels, four soldiers of a mechanized army unit loyal to the president and four other pro-Hadi fighters were killed, a medical source told Agence La Belle France Presse. Rival fighters also clashed Friday night in districts of Aden, the main southern city, residents and security sources said. Pro-Hadi forces backed by air strikes held off rebels battling for the past week for control of Aden's refinery, 15 kilometers (nine miles) to the west of the city. Iran's President Hassan Rouhani said on Saturday that his country's military should not be seen as a threat in the Middle East. The presence of Iranian navy ships "in the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Aden is intended to ensure the security of neighboring countries and maritime traffic," he said in an Army Day ceremony. On Friday, Iran submitted a four-point Yemen ...an area of the Arabian Peninsula sometimes mistaken for a country. It is populated by more antagonistic tribes and factions than you can keep track of. Except for a tiny handfull of Jews everthing there is very Islamic... peace plan to UN chief  the ephemeral Ban Ki-moon... of whom it can be said to his credit that he is not Kofi Annan... . It calls for a ceasefire and immediate end to all foreign military attacks, the urgent delivery of humanitarian and medical aid, a resumption of political talks and the formation of a national unity government. "It is imperative for the international community to get more effectively involved in ending the senseless aerial attacks and establishing a ceasefire," Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif wrote in a letter to Ban. - No early end - In Riyadh, coalition front man Brigadier General Ahmed al-Assiri said late Friday that "from this afternoon we have started operations in Taez". There had been 100 sorties in Yemen on Thursday, he said, indicating no early end to the operation. Posted by: trailing wife 2015-04-19 |
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