DefenceTalkIgnoring the rumble of heavy artillery, Yemeni commander Nasr al-Dibani points at Huthi bases from a jagged clifftop, outlining his push to break a grinding stalemate on the frontline outside Sanaa. “Whoever controls Nihm controls Sanaa,” Dibani, flanked by armed loyalists, said from atop a newly captured hill, Al-Humra, on the outskirts of the Yemeni […]https://www.defencetalk.com/on-mountain-frontline-yemen-army-makes-push-for-sanaa-71406/

DefenceTalkGerman Chancellor Angela Merkel’s administration has been criticized for massively increasing arms sales to Middle East dictatorships Saudi Arabia and Egypt. One opposition lawmaker branded the trade “reprehensible.” The German government approved nearly €450 million ($526 million) worth of weapons exports to Saudi Arabia and Egypt in the third quarter of 2017, more than five […]https://www.defencetalk.com/germany-quintuples-arms-sales-to-saudi-arabia-and-egypt-70815/

DefenceTalkYemen’s Huthi rebels, who are locked in a deadly war with the Saudi-supported government, on Sunday said they had downed a drone on the northern outskirts of the country’s capital. The Huthi-run Al-Masirah television channel said the Shiite rebel camp’s anti-aircraft defence had brought down a Saudi-operated MQ-9 Reaper, an unmanned aerial vehicle which is […]https://www.defencetalk.com/yemen-rebels-claim-drone-shot-down-near-sanaa-70576/

DefenceTalkGermany has approved more major weapons deals with the UAE, including deliveries of high-caliber ammunition. The UAE is involved in a conflict in Yemen that has caused famine and humanitarian disaster. Germany is supplying more weapons to belligerents in the Yemen conflict, even though the ongoing war in the Middle East’s poorest country has triggered […]https://www.defencetalk.com/germany-sells-arms-to-uae-despite-yemen-conflict-69763/

DefenceTalkIran poses the most significant threat to U.S. Central Command’s complex area of responsibility, Centcom commander Army Gen. Joseph L. Votel told the Senate Armed Services Committee today. Centcom has dealt with a number of significant challenges over the past 12 months, including in Iraq and Syria, Pakistan, Yemen, Egypt and the Sinai, the Bab-el-Mandeb […]https://www.defencetalk.com/iran-poses-threat-to-centcoms-area-of-responsibility-votel-says-69447/

DefenceTalkThe White House has blocked the transfer of precision munitions to ally Saudi Arabia, amid anger about the civilian death toll from the kingdom’s bombing campaign in Yemen. “We have made clear that US security cooperation is not a blank check,” a senior administration official told AFP, echoing long-standing concerns about how Riyadh is prosecuting […]https://www.defencetalk.com/us-cancels-weapons-transfers-to-saudi-over-yemen-campaign-68676/

DefenceTalkThe Pentagon was preparing for possible new strikes in Yemen on Thursday after US missiles hit Huthi rebel targets, but officials stressed America wants to avoid getting embroiled in yet another war. The US Navy earlier launched five Tomahawk cruise missiles at three mobile radar sites in Huthi-controlled territory on Yemen’s Red Sea coast, after […]https://www.defencetalk.com/pentagon-prepares-for-possible-new-strikes-in-yemen-68387/

DefenceTalkThe United States bombed three radar sites controlled by Huthi rebels in Yemen, the first direct US strike against the group following missile attacks against US warships last week, the Pentagon said. The strikes in Huthi-controlled territory on Yemen’s Red Sea coast, authorized by President Barack Obama, were conducted with Tomahawk cruise missiles fired by […]https://www.defencetalk.com/us-strikes-huthi-rebel-targets-in-yemen-pentagon-68368/

DefenceTalkUnited Nations: More than 140 people were killed and more than 525 injured Saturday when air strikes hit a funeral ceremony in Yemen, a United Nations official said, with Huthi rebels blaming the attack on the Saudi-led coalition. The UN humanitarian coordinator in Yemen, Jamie McGoldrick, said aid workers were “shocked and outraged” by the […]https://www.defencetalk.com/more-than-140-killed-in-air-strikes-on-yemen-funeral-un-68332/

DefenceTalkCanada called Sunday for a prompt investigation into the air strikes that killed more than 140 people and wounded hundreds of others at a funeral ceremony in Yemen’s capital. The Iran-backed Huthi rebels blamed the Saudi-led coalition for Saturday’s attack, one of the deadliest since it launched a military campaign against the Shiite insurgents in […]https://www.defencetalk.com/canada-demands-probe-of-yemen-funeral-air-strike-68327/