Dear Doha Diary

The war in Yemen has been raging now for 6 months.  The destruction across the country is incalculable and the official death toll stands at more than 4,000 but a lack of water, food, fuel and medical care has killed many thousands more. Following the 'liberation' of several key southern states and the strategic port city of Aden in particular, the Saudi coalition is now focusing its attention on Sanaa and the North.  They are intensifying their bombardment to push the Houthis and the followers of former President Saleh into a political resolution to the conflict and reinstate exiled President Hadi. In Aden, the clean up has begun and families are beginning to return and rebuild.  One might think that the success in the south of the country bodes well for the coalition and that those forces who bravely ousted the Houthis from Aden can continue north and repeat that success in Sanaa and elsewhere.  Unfortunately, its not as simple as that.  As the map below shows, the co

I don't often start my blog with a quote from British Prime Minister, David Cameron, but bear with me on this one.  After the horrific attack on tourists on a Tunisian beach in June, David Cameron was quick to reassure the British public of his resolve to tackle terrorism…. "We can only defeat terrorism by promoting the British values of 'peace, democracy, tolerance and freedom". We've become all too familiar with the subject of terrorism at the top of news agendas on an almost daily basis;  the dreadful Charlie Ebdo attack in Paris, the murder of soldier, Lee Rigby in Britain, the terrible recent events in Tunisia and the coverage of Islamic State activities in Iraq or elsewhere, not to mention the re-emergence of Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula as  a threat. It appears to be a clear cut case of the good guys vs the bad guys… Or more eloquently put by Mr Cameron….. "They are cowards who murder defenceless people on a beach. They stand for oppre

So here's the thing……. President Hadi flees to Saudi Arabia following a coup by the Houthis in Yemen.  But did he in fact allow this coup to take place because he wasn't in control of Yemen at all?  Was Yemen being run in the background by the ousted former President Saleh, who was kicked out in 2011 following arab-spring style demonstrations? An Al Jazeera documentary, The Road to Sanaa, has shed light on what led up to the apparent 'soft coup' in September 2014 when the Houthis took control of the capital Sanaa without any real opposition from the Government.  I remember at the time being mystified by this turn of events.  What kind of Government simply opens the gate like that unless there is something more sinister going on behind the scenes? The Al Jazeera investigation centres around the fight for Amran, a city north of the capital and a key gateway to Sanaa for the Saada based Houthis.  Lead by General Al Qushaibi, the Yemeni Army brigade sent in to defend

When I first came to Qatar, one of the things I missed the most was cycling.  I'd been a committed commuter cyclist in London, loving the daily weave and dodge through the London traffic, literally going into battle with taxis, buses and delivery drivers, all vying for position at traffic lights, cutting the corners of junctions, driving and parking in cycle lanes and trying desperately to prove their wheels are faster than yours…….. until they're stuck in an endless jam along High Holborn and I go sailing past, victorious and not to mention just a little self righteous ;-) I got to the point that I would cycle every day no matter what the weather -rain, snow, ice…. bring it on.   I loved it.  Loved the challenge, loved the adrenalin, loved the change in my body - id never been so fit, never felt so energetic.  It was fabulous…… and then I moved to Qatar. Doha is a relatively small, flat city, compared to London of course, and the roads are good and well maintai

The war in Yemen has raged now for 6 weeks and is only intensifying in ferocity, but given the lack of time given to the story by the English speaking media (with the exception of Al Jazeera), the narrative has slipped into describing the division along sectarian lines - Shia (Iran/Ex-President Saleh/Houthis), vs Sunni (Saudi Arabic/President Hadi & rest of Yemen) - with the main story focusing on Saudi Arabia and Iran - the proxy war which could explode into a regional conflict, perhaps drawing Russia and USA in on opposing sides. It is of course a lot more complicated than that and many of the guys fighting on the ground aren't the least bit interested in the bigger picture.  And when the press keep repeating that those fighting in Aden are forces allied to President Hadi, this also isn't wholly true.   Most of the guys who are opposing the Houthis are not soldiers.  80% of the Yemeni army is apparently not involved.  Yemen's armed forces were allied to the ex-P