OT/MISC Russia says Yemen ambassador was NOT shot and killed after unconfirmed reports

[Witness]

Russia's Foreign Ministry has confirmed its ambassador in Yemen was not shot and killed. Unconfirmed reports said Vladimir Dedushkin was shot in Sanaa on Saturday (14 January).

After IBTimes UK contacted the Russian Foreign Ministry, a spokesman for the office said they have made contact with the ambassador and as such, the initial reports were false.

Dedushkin has been "keeping a close eye" in war-torn Yemen, where Saudi Arabia has waged a bombing campaign against Iran-backed Houthis.

Last February, in an interview with Russia's TASS news agency, Dedushkin said: "The war in Yemen has created fertile ground for the growth of activity of terrorist groups of every stripe and colour.

"According to incoming reports, the extremist groups that have mushroomed on the vast areas of the country's eastern and southern parts are not only replenished with gunmen from Syria.

"They are even trying to use the experience of Syrian smugglers to illegally export oil and oil products from Yemen."

On 19 December, Russia's ambassador to Turkey Andrey Karlov was gunned down by police officer Mevlut Mert Altintas in Ankara.

Following the death, Russian President Vladimir Putin reportedly said ambassadors will need a higher level of protection to be arranged "in certain countries," but it is not clear if any further action was taken.

Dedushkin was appointed by Putin on 16 August 2013 and replaced the outgoing Sergei Kozlov.

http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/russian-ambassador-yemen-shot-killed-sanaa-reports-1601079

 

[Witness]

http://www.express.co.uk/news/world...sador-assassinated-Yemen-Sanaa-Gunmen-Embassy

THIS NEWS REPORT SAYS HE WAS

SUPPOSED VIDEO OF POLICE CARS SPEEDING TO LOCATION

Russian ambassador 'assassinated after armed gunmen storm embassy in Yemen', reports claim
A RUSSIAN ambassador has been shot and killed in Yemen, according to unconfirmed reports in Saudi Arabian media.
PUBLISHED: 12:42, Sat, Jan 14, 2017 | UPDATED: 15:43, Sat, Jan 14, 2017

Ambassador Vladimir Dedushkin was reportedly "keeping a close eye" in the war-torn country.

The diplomat was reportedly assassinated in the capital Sanaa.

The assassination was reported by Saudi Arabia's Barq news agency.

Russian embassy YemenGETTY
Gunmen stormed the embassy and shot the envoy dead

But some reports claim Mr Dedushkin has not died.

The Russian Embassy in Yemen has reportedly said “no one’s been shot”, telling NBC no one had been attacked.

A Russian official quoted in Zvezda, a Russian nationwide TV station run by the Ministry of Defence, has denied the reports of an assassination attempt.

The Washington Post said that it had spoken to a duty officer at the embassy in the Yemen and he had denied there had been any attack and said the ambassador was fine.

A Spokesman for the Russian Foreign Ministry said that they had made contact with the Ambassador and said the initial reports were false.

Andrey Karlov was killed in TurkeyGetty
Russia's Ambassador to Turkey Andrey Karlov who was assassinated
ASSASSINATED: Andrei Karlov, Russia's ambassador to Turkey shot dead
Mon, December 19, 2016
Andrei Karlov, Russia's ambassador to Turkey has been shot dead while visiting an art exhibition in the capital, Ankara

This picture taken on December 19, 2016 shows Andrei Karlov (2ndR), the Russian ambassador to Ankara, lying on the floor after being shot by a gunman (R) during an attack during a public event in Ankara.
Andrei Karlov, the Russian ambassador after being shot dead
Andrei Karlov, the Russian ambassador, was shot dead as he prepared a speech
'The gunman who shot the Russian ambassador'
Andrei Gennadiyevich Karlov poses during a photo session at the Russian embassy in Pyongyang
Turkish police secure the area near an art gallery where the Russian Ambassador to Turkey Andrei Karlov was shot in Ankara

Mr Dedushkin was appointed by Russia’s President Vladimir Putin on August 16, 2013 and replace the outgoing Sergei Kozlov.

Mr Dedushkin said in November last year that Saudi Arabia was key to solving the crisis in the Yemen.

He said: "Saudi Arabia, in my view, has a decisive role in resolving this [Yemeni] conflict. The key to its settlement is in the hands of Riyadh.”
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Yemen has been engulfed in a military conflict between the government and Shiite Houthi rebels, the country’s main opposition faction that forced the Yemeni government to resign last January.

In December last year Andrey Karlov, the Russian Ambassador to Turkey, was assassinated by policeman Mevlut Mert Altintas who shouted “Allah Akbar” and “Don’t forget Aleppo”.

 

[Dozdoats]

Well, who is going to believe anything the Russians say these days? After all, they INTERFERED WITH OUR ELECTION!

 

[packyderms_wife]

What in the world does Yemen have that all of these countries are over there bombing the hell out of it? Aside from direct access to the ocean.

 

[Warthog]

What in the world does Yemen have that all of these countries are over there bombing the hell out of it? Aside from direct access to the ocean.

Why is Yemen important to the world oil market?
Yemen is only a small oil producer, but it lies at the heart of some of the most important energy routes. It shares a long border with southwest Saudi Arabia, world’s top oil exporter, and is adjacent to the Bab el-Mandeb strait, the fourth-biggest shipping chokepoint in the world by volume. About 3.8 million barrels a day of petroleum passed through the strait in 2013, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Closing the strait could keep tankers in the Persian Gulf from reaching the Suez Canal and the SUMED Pipeline, diverting them around the southern tip of Africa, EIA said on its website.

http://blogs.wsj.com/briefly/2015/0...er-to-the-worlds-oil-market-the-short-answer/

 

[Dozdoats]

What in the world does Yemen have

Sunnis

Shias

Houthis

Need I say more?

 

[packyderms_wife]

Why is Yemen important to the world oil market?
Yemen is only a small oil producer, but it lies at the heart of some of the most important energy routes. It shares a long border with southwest Saudi Arabia, world’s top oil exporter, and is adjacent to the Bab el-Mandeb strait, the fourth-biggest shipping chokepoint in the world by volume. About 3.8 million barrels a day of petroleum passed through the strait in 2013, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Closing the strait could keep tankers in the Persian Gulf from reaching the Suez Canal and the SUMED Pipeline, diverting them around the southern tip of Africa, EIA said on its website.

http://blogs.wsj.com/briefly/2015/0...er-to-the-worlds-oil-market-the-short-answer/

I knew they had oil. Makes me wonder if they have rare earths minerals as well.