WRAPUP 2-Fighting and air strikes across Yemen, dialogue remains distant

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ADEN, March 29 (Reuters) - Yemeni fighters loyal to the Saudi-backed President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi clashed with Iranian-allied Houthi fighters on Sunday in downtown Aden, the absent leader's last major foothold in the country.

Hadi loyalists in the southern port city reported a gun battle in the central Crater district in which three people were killed, and said they recaptured the airport, which has changed hands several times in several days of fighting.

The Health Ministry, loyal to the Houthi fighters who control the capital, said Saudi-led air strikes had killed 35 people and wounded 88 overnight. The figures could not be independently confirmed.

The Houthi fighters, representing a Shi'ite minority that makes up around a third of Yemen's population, emerged as the most powerful force in the Arabian Peninsula's poorest country last year when they captured the capital Sanaa.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/03/29/yemen-security-idUSL6N0WV08E20150329?rpc=401

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1. Yemen Foreign Minister Says Fighting Isn't Sectarian

CAIRO — Despite ongoing fighting between Iranian-backed Houthi rebels, who are Shia, and Saudi Arabian-backed loyalist forces, who are Sunni, Yemen's foreign minister on Sunday insisted that his country is not in the grips of a sectarian war.

"There is no war between Sunnis and Shiites,," said Foreign Minster Riyadh Yaseen. "We use the same mosques. There is no Sunni mosque or Shiite mosque."

He also dismissed calls by Russia for negotiation between the two sides, saying, "We can talk about dialogue if the Houthis drop their weapons."

A Saudi-led coalition of Gulf states began bombing Yemen on Thursday — targeting the Houthis and their allies, which include forces loyal to Yemen's former leader, Ali Abdullah Saleh.

http://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/yemen-foreign-minister-says-fighting-isnt-sectarian-n332131

[Jefferson23]

2. I guess when you need a friend, almost anyone will do..even the Saudi leaders.

Is it me, how the hell do you give tactic support to the Saudis even in a carefully
worded statement and not piss off Iran..unless you figure your support is dried
up there anyway? I recall Mashal met with the Saudis not long ago.

I don't get it if they imagine they can swing both ways.

Hamas voices tacit support for Saudi attack on Yemen
http://www.maannews.com/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=760158

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5. I had seen hints of that, Hamas and the Saudis making up, and al Sisi.

They want that image of Sunni unity right now, and Hamas has little choice.

I think Hamas-Hezbollah-Iran was always a marriage of convenience, bound not to last. But useful to both at the time.

[Jefferson23]

6. I find that of great interest, not because Hamas has any real negotiating power but

that agreement by the Arab league to include Saudi Arabia when they accepted
the changes Kerry wanted on their Arab Peace Initiative..the land swaps that would
leave Israel with the major settlement blocks. Since then, the Saudis are not happy
with Obama's negotiations with Iran, so I wonder what it is Hamas was trying to
secure with the Saudis in exchange for their support.

Thanks for your input, interesting to consider..the less powerful are all scrambling.

[KoKo]

3. Good Update from Reuters with more latest info....

That they captured an airfield is interesting news. Figured all of that would have been taken out in the Saudi Airstrikes Thursday/Friday.

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4. Yeah.

I'm taking the day off from this. I think they are all having tense meetings in smoke filled rooms now, talking strategy and plotting exit routes. Anyway the firehose of "News" seems reduced. Perhaps they all get tired of repeating the same stuff over and over after a few days.

Anyway, I do find Arutz Sheva entertaining at times, this guy "specializes in security issues":

Op-Ed: The Saudis Should Break Iran’s Weakest Link: Assad

The Sunni Arab world has finally congealed against the waxing Persian/Iranian menace. Iran has exploited its false Shiite Muslim veneer to enslave the entire Sunni and Shiite Arab world. In response to a blatant Iran coup, Saudi Arabia has commenced bombing Shiite Houthi strongholds throughout Yemen. Egypt has tasked 4 warships to regain control of the Yemeni side Mandab Straits.

But, what next? A southward Saudi ground war against the Houthis where northwest Yemen is just one huge mountain range is, at best, a long war. The Saudis will have to fight up mountains 3,666 meters high. Five and half years ago, the Houthis started a border war against the Saudis, and the fighting was brutal. Even with Yemeni Army help, and Jordanian commandos, after several hard months of fighting over only a 500-meter high mountain, the Saudis lost 133 soldiers.

Here, with no Yemen Army help, the Saudis would need to scale 3000-meter mountains against the battle-hardened Iran-heavily-armed Houthis in their home turf. From the south, a Saudi-Egyptian injection of special forces into the southern Yemen cities without a clear supply-line, and where the Sunni traitor Saleh already has deployed his indigenous forces, is equally dangerous. The Saudi/Egyptian ground force entry into Aden could easily end in Gallipoli-like bloodbath for Egyptians.

I posit that the Yemeni’s Houthis military position in Yemen is now Iran’s strongest military link in its daisy-chain of Persian evil. On the other hand, Iran’s governor Assad in Syria is Iran’s weakest military link. Assad is also currently the greatest mass-murderer of Sunni women and children in the world. Hence, the Sunnis best course of action is to militarily harass and degrade the Houthis and Saleh by blocking Iran’s air and sea resupply of the Houthis, while liquidating Iran’s Assad on the ground.

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/Articles/Article.aspx/16707

[KoKo]

7. He's not biased much is he....

He doesn't even get his facts straight to acknowledge that Assad is Alawite, not Shiite, and I assume that's because in his own mind there is no difference. Probably gets his "Talking Points" from a source that doesn't care much about historical accuracy and counts on "Persian" Hate and other dog whistles to sell a point of view.

Enjoy your break...and thanks for your many informative links.

Just a snip of this guy's ranting:

"The Saudis must husband their order of battle to prepare for the worst...Any reliance on Obama, or an Obama-ordered US defense of Saudi Arabia, is a fool’s game.

However, in liquidating the Assad Regime, the Saudis will have killed three Shiite birds with one stone. One, the Shiite mass-murderer Assad will be eliminated. And two, the Obama-Iran nuclear talks will be weakened, and may even collapse, under the weight of Obama’s failure to protect Assad. Three, the Saudis will put Obama in the shade.

Third, Syria is 80% Sunni and 12% Shiite, while Yemen is 55% Sunni and 45% Shiite. And both Syria and Yemen have roughly the same size populations of about 24 million people for each country. By eliminating Assad, a greater number of Sunnis will be freed and in less time"

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8. He hasn't got the foggiest idea what he is talking about.

I was much taken with the Arab world "congealing against the waxing" and other sentences he produced there.

He does seem to understand that mountains make war difficult and expensive, a good thing to know.