Iran support for Yemeni rebels

Saudi Troops Join UAE on Socotra Island in Yemen

Saudi forces have landed on the island of Socotra for training exercises with the Yemeni troops according to Saudi military forces. Locals on the island protested last week the arrival of troops from the United Arab Emirates (UAE), as their troops arrived without the invitation of the Yemeni government and since no Houthi rebels are in Socotra.

Turki al-Malki, a spokesman for the Saudi-led coalition, said on Sunday the Saudi soldiers are on a training and support mission with Yemeni forces.

Saudi, UAE, and Yemeni forces will conduct joint training exercises in coordination with the Yemeni government.

Protests broke out in Socotra last week as locals rejected the deployment of forces belonging to the UAE because there are no rebels on the island.
Demonstrators marched through the streets of Socotra’s capital, Hadibu, rejecting what they described as UAE intervention in the internal affairs of the province without seeking government approval.
“These forces are present in Socotra and al-Mahra in numbers that can’t be understood,” said Abdullah bin Issa al-Aafra of the Al-Mahra and Socotra People’s General Council.
The Emirati soldiers arrived on Thursday, forcing out Yemeni troops and taking over strategic locations, including the airport and the seaport.
Socotra, in the Indian Ocean, is located about 350km from the southern coast of Yemen.
Located just off the coast of Somalia with access to major shipping routes, Socotra is also a World Heritage Site known for its unique and pristine environment.
The UAE and the government of Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi are allies in a war against the Houthi rebels.
Relations between the two have soured, however, because of the UAE’s expanding influence in southern Yemen, home to a resurgent separatist movement.
The UAE’s attempt to exert control over Socotra is seen by many as the latest move by the Gulf state to spread its influence well beyond its borders.

The UAE is building its influence in the area and is attempting to spread across the region, after taking Socotra, they are also building bases across the gulf in Eritrea in Assab, in Somaliland and also in Somalia in Bosaso without the blessing of the central government.

To read the entire article from Al Jazeera, click here:

Photo screenshot Al Jazeera video

Green Berets Helping Saudis Target Missile Sites in Yemen

Despite publicly stating that they are trying to stay out of the Saudi Arabia – Yemen conflict, the Pentagon is expanding their presence by sending Green Berets to help allied Saudi forces target and knock out Houthi missile sites.

Late in 2017, a team of Special Forces soldiers deployed to Saudi Arabia to aid the targeting of Houthi missile sites. The Houthi rebels are closely allied with Iran.

Details of the Green Beret operation, which has not been previously disclosed, were provided to The New York Times by U.S. officials and European diplomats.
They appear to contradict Pentagon statements that U.S. military assistance to the Saudi-led campaign in Yemen is limited to aircraft refueling, logistics and general intelligence sharing.
There is no indication that the U.S. commandos have crossed into Yemen as part of the mission.
But sending U.S. ground forces to the border is a marked escalation of Western assistance to target Houthi fighters who are deep in Yemen.
Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., a member of the Armed Services Committee, on Thursday called the Green Berets mission a “purposeful blurring of lines between train-and-equip missions and combat.” He cited the report in The New York Times and called for a new congressional vote on the authorization for the use of military force, war-powers legislation used by three successive presidents in conflict zones around the world.
Beyond its years as a base for al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, Yemen has been convulsed by civil strife since 2014, when the Shiite Muslim rebels from the country’s north stormed the capital, Sanaa. The Houthis, who are aligned with Iran, ousted the government of President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi, the main U.S. counterterrorism partner in Yemen.
In 2015, a military coalition led by Saudi Arabia began bombing the Houthis, who have responded by firing missiles into the kingdom. Yet there is no evidence that the Houthis directly threaten the United States; they are a group with no operations outside Yemen and have not been classified by the U.S. government as a terrorist group.
The Green Berets, the Army’s Special Forces, deployed to the border in December, weeks after a ballistic missile fired from Yemen sailed close to Riyadh. The Saudi military said it intercepted the missile over the city’s international airport, a claim that was cast in doubt by an analysis of photos and videos of the strike. But it was enough for Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to renew a long-standing request that the United States send troops to help the kingdom combat the Houthi threat.

The commander of the US Central Command, General Joseph Votel told Congress in March that the U.S. was authorized to help the Saudis protect their border through intelligence sharing, logistics support and through military advice. Just a few weeks ago the Armed Services Committee in the Senate was briefed that there are 50 U.S. personnel in Saudi Arabia and they are “largely helping on the ballistic-missile threat.”

To read the entire article from Seattle Times, click here:

File Photo Wikipedia of a Special Forces soldier targeting insurgents

Yemen Rebels Launch a Barrage of Missiles at Saudi Arabia

The Saudi Arabian capital of Riyadh was targeted by a barrage of missiles fired from Yemeni Shiite rebels on the third anniversary of the war’s start. Missile fragments killed one Saudi resident and wounded two others.

The rebels known as Houthis said they launched a missile attack targeting Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport and other sites, again showing their ability to strike deep into the neighboring kingdom amid the stalemated war in Yemen, the Arab world’s poorest country.
A spokesperson for the embassy of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia says “seven ballistic missiles were shot toward Saudi Arabia from within Yemen.” A press conference will be held Monday at 1 p.m. ET “to provide more details about this aggressive act.”
The officials detailed the targets for each: Three were centrally poised in the direction of Riyadh, one toward the southwest in Khamis Mushait, one along the Southern border targeting Najran, two aiming for the southern city of Jizan and one was randomly launched with the intent of hitting a densely populated civilian area.
“With credit to the Saudi Royal Air Defense Forces, all seven ballistic missiles were intercepted and destroyed. According to preliminary information, the interception resulted in fragments raining on a few residential neighborhoods and, at the issuance of this statement, the loss of life of an Egyptian resident, in addition to material damage to civilian objects-the details of which will shortly be announced by the relevant authorities,” according to Col. Turki Al Maliki, spokesperson for the coalition forces to support the legitimate government in Yemen.
The barrage likely will spark new criticism of Iran’s role in the conflict as well, as the Houthis identified some of the missiles fired as a type that the United Nations and the West say comes from Tehran.
A watchdog group said Monday that roadside bombs disguised as rocks in Yemen bear similarities to others used by Hezbollah in southern Lebanon and by insurgents in Iraq and Bahrain, suggesting at the least an Iranian influence in their manufacture. The report by Conflict Armament Research was dismissed by the Iranian mission to the U.N.

U.S. supplied Patriot Missiles launched by the Saudis as part of their air defense network intercepted the missiles according to official reports. Of course, Iran has denied that supplies any material support for the rebels, despite contradicting evidence.

To read the entire article from CBS News, click here:

Photo courtesy Wikipedia