♪ >> this is al jazeera, these are the top stories. united states is working on plans to reduce europe's dependence on russian gas as tension builds over ukraine. washington and european allies are scouring global markets for alternate sources in case moscow squeezes supply in retaliation for sanctions. russia is hosting military drills in the region and crimea. many american weapons and

ammunition arrived in ukraine to help against the invasion. more from washington, d.c.. >> it's interesting he is trying to get a united front across the u.s.. one thing he insists on doing is putting his 8500 troops on heightened standby. none of them will be going to ukraine, he says, but if there were any nato allies like in poland or countries bordering ukraine, he would be more than happy to send them there if there was a need. >> the coast guard is searching for survivors after reports that the boat capsized. a man was found clinging to a boat about 70 kilometers inland of fort pierce. others were on the boat when it left saturday night. the coast guard is treating it as a suspected case of human smuggling. international condemnation of the military coup in burkina faso. hundreds of been celebrating in

support of the army since tuesday. they took power because of the government's failed attempt to protect them from armed groups. police in the u.k. hosting investigations about alleged parties during lockdown. boards johnson says he will comply and is facing calls to stand down. crowds gathering in australia to protest against what they call invasion day. january 26 marks the day ships from england landed, they say colonization should not be celebrated and took land from indigenous people. more news coming up after inside story. ♪

♪ >> as a dangerous new phase of the war in yemen hives -- has arrived, could the gulf region be dragged into the conflict? inside story. ♪ >> welcome to the program. the capital of the united arab emirates is 1002 hundred kilometers from the battlefields of yemen's civil war. despite the distance and being separated by saudi arabia, abu dhabi is now the target of

ballistic missiles. what appears to be a new front in the six-year conflict opened last monday and was repeated seven days later. two missiles were launched in abu dhabi -- toward abu dhabi and they were intercepted, but flights were disrupted. three workers killed nearly airport in last week's attack, fuel tanks destroyed. they are part of the saudi collision -- coalition in yemen. they say that foreign people should leave the hub. coalition commanders intensified. one killed at least 80 people. another report knocked out the internet for four days. iran is calling for talks. >> we consider the expansion of

the war in yemen worrying and weak demand saudi arabia and the uae take measures to end the siege, and the war and establish cease-fire and urge the yemenis to enter talks amongst themselves. the situation will not be to the betterment of the region or either of the countries involved in the crisis. ♪ >> let's bring in our guests. an academic and researcher focusing on the gulf region in stockholm -- region. in stockholm, someone from the human rights watch and a former u.s. diplomat in yemen and senior fellow of the atlantic councils center for the middle east. welcome. this begin here. is this an escalation or a case

of chickens coming home to roost since the withdrawal in 2019? >> i think this is a dangerous escalation. when we see our capitals in the region, our cities being attacked by missiles, it is obviously -- it obviously does not work well for the region and brings the war to our towns and destroys our facilities and of course the reputation of the region being a safe one for investment and tourism. i think this was expected in a way. as the continuation of the war has ended in the situation. the gulf states that interfered have not been able to end it and negotiations have not lead anywhere. it seems the war is getting out of context and out of control. the gulf states are being

attacked. this is a dangerous almond for the dutch all men for the region -- omen for the region. >> the americans have been morning of the gulf could be part of the war if it continued. yet negotiations have not gone anywhere. this was to be expected, wasn't it? >> yes. i don't think the emirates can expect to be playing in this war directly and indirectly without somehow getting affected. the latest upscale infighting is all about a battle for natural resources of yemen. in the end, and any peace scenario possible, those resources would have to be shared by all of the regions of yemen. so those working on mediation right now should focus on making

sure there is a formula for everybody to share in these natural resources and therefore, no need for fighting. >> a few people have died in abu dhabi, yet 4.5 million people have been displaced and hundreds of thousands have died in yemen. yet the international community is up in arms about a few attacks in the gulf. that seems unfair. >> yeah. logically speaking, jan. the recent escalation also sends a clear message that civilians are caught with lack of accountability for these violations, by parties, to the conflict. in yemen and the uae or saudi arabia, civilians should never be an object of attack. but the recent escalation shows parties to the conflict show an

increasing disregard for civilian life, civilian infrastructure, and for any prospect for ending the suffering of millions of civilians. whether in yemen or even targeting civilians in saudi arabia and the uae. when i say the lack of accountability, we have been in this conflict for seven years without anyone getting accountable for any of these violations. and recently, the u.n. ended the mandate of the only international, impartial investigation to document war crimes in yemen. that gives a clear -- or sends a clear message to the parties of the conflict to continue doing violations and attacking civilians without any consequences.

so civilians are paying the price for being caught between two fires. >> in moscow, often when escalation like this occurs it is because one party is desperate to strike a blow that may be definitive or puts pressure for people being brought into the talks. is that what is going on? do they want to bring an end to this or is it an escalation and they have nothing left to play for? >> is a complex war and publix because. from my own reading, both sides are fatigued now because of this war. they are working very hard to control an oil-rich region. and that help them sort out some

of the economic and financial issues they're facing. with the uae supported brigade that drove them out of this, they are now trying to escalate. i believe also the coalition is getting tired of this. it is a costly war in terms of economics and in terms of reputation and politics. i think everybody wants to end the war. but nobody really wants to talk about the reality on the ground. they want to end the war under the conditions it started and that is going to be difficult because things have changed. i thinklso both sides to bring it to the forefront of other regional and international crises. the yemen crisis, despite the fact that it is costing the yemenis and their human lives

and to stronger country, no one seems to care as much given the multitude of different crisis, whether in the region or outside of it. it seems that by escalating, pushing this forward to bring international and regional powers, united nations, etc., to start to push for more negotiated settlements. that is the only way this conflict is going to be resolved. i don't think there is a military solution and it is only if we can get all of the parties to sit down and talk reasonably to end the war because enough is enough. the yemeni people have suffered enough and we are seeing that the -- we have been implicated in the gulf in this war and our cities are being attacked. i think it is about time this war ends. >> is about time that this war ends, but that is a very long way away. we still have, and i'm going to

use the term proxy war going on between saudi arabia and iran, key players. how difficult is it going to be to get those people around the table on this issue when they cannot agree on several other issues outside of yemen? this is low down the agenda for saudi arabia and iran. >> i think you're right. unfortunately, i do not think anybody is really tired of this war except for the civilians, who are the main target and the main victims of this war. everybody else is gearing up and this war could go on for 10 more years. the job is for the mediators, both from the united nations and the u.s., to step up their game. in the end, this war is a search

for power inside yemen to fill the gap left by -- the gap left. all sites have ambitions to dominate. these admissions are over-the-top. there is no one side that can dominate the whole country. in the end, they have to share power. and a formula has to be imposed if necessary to make sure that everybody will have a share in ruling this country. but they cannot dominate. the region of powers intervening are all intervening for their own purposes, not for the purpose of helping yemen. this is the job for the big powers, especially the u.s., to get that regional players out of yemen once and for all. >> we will continue to talk up a politics in a moment, but i want to bring her in and talk about the human rights side.

it seems that every side in the conflict has human rights abuses on its ledger. can you talk us through what sort of human rights abuses we are looking at? >> there is no conflict between these destructive policies and the human rights violations. if there were any consequence or mechanism to hold abusers accountable, we would see some progress, whether politically or in the human rights realm. so as the war drags on, so many armed groups are -- were created along the continuation of the conflict. starting from that armed group, or the coalition and uae backed yemeni forces and saudi backed

yemeni forces in the south, different groups have been committing a wide range of violations against civilians. so you have a crisis of forcible detention, arbitrary detention, forcible disappearance, starvation, unlawful attacks whether using rockets. the hostility is reckless from every party in this conflict. at the same time, you have backers and supporters from the u.s., u.k., france, germany, you name it that they see these mounting documentation of violations from international human rights groups like human rights watch and other groups, they see these document asians and reports even coming from

u.n. human rights council reports about -- that show there is widespread violation. in some of them, that could amount to war crimes, in yemen. yet these states in europe and the u.s., these world leaders continue to support parties to the conflict without any consideration to the human life and human cost in the conflict. it is bizarre and frustrating. the bias that you see at the moment, while the yemenis are being bombed since the uae was attacked on 17 of january. it tells you how the international community is under pressure and being biased to saudi arabia and the uae thanks to their big influence. >> let us talk about that.

our guest in washington, d.c. and our other said this could go on for another 10 years. however, is there any thinking in the uae right now, given the litany of human rights abuses we have just heard about, given the escalation into uae territory, that enough is enough and we do need to stop this war because it is coming to our doorstep? the system is working, the uae have managed to destroy the missiles that can this is the tip of the iceberg. >> i agree. it is very difficult to defend against such attacks. and maybe one can be successful, and only needs one missile to get through and it is the psychological impact rather than the attack itself that has an impact on the region. when the cities in the gulf that are going through development

and want to attract investments, tourism, etc. and are now being attacked, this is going to have an impact, especially in the uae. because unlike saudi arabia, the uae does not have the strategic depth saudi arabia has. and this is going to affect badly. i believe that the leadership in the united arab emirates is going to work very hard to try and de-escalate, and possibly now they got more involved in the war, they probably will have a say as they did not do before in trying to end the war. because now they are implicated in the war more than they were before. obviously the withdrawal was outside of the states, now they are back and they are being attacked. i think maybe they united arab emirates now can push for further de-escalation and further talks. i believe there is something

going on at the moment. it is difficult to tell, but i think there are some meetings taking place where they united arab emirates wants to play a role in trying to resolve this conflict. because negotiations between them and saudi arabia has not lead anywhere in the past and the legitimate government. and it requires pressure from the global powers, especially the united states, the european union, china and russia, the united nations. they must end this war. obviously a war like this, there is a war economy, people who benefited from the war and want to continue. but i think the states themselves are tired in a way. this has been very costly for saudi arabia. financially but also in terms of reputation. i do not think that saudi's on this to continue either. but i think everybody has to

come to a recognition that you cannot continue bombarding cities and you cannot continue this war. and everybody has to give up something for a peaceful resolution of the conflict. this is a complicate is conflict, probably more complicated than the palestinian israeli conflict. there are some of the different factions and interests in this. >> you have just heard what our guest in moscow has had to say. do you still think this could go on for another 10 years? to his words give you any hope for a quick or quicker resolution to the conflict? >> unfortunately, i was a bit optimistic at the beginning of the biden administration due to their focus and their sending special envoy to help and the war, but now a year past and that mark, absolutely nothing has been achieved.

my optimism has evaporated. the uae should be motivated for peace, but i don't see them making any moves for mediation or for peace. they have been establishing a maritime empire that spreads from dubai through the horn of africa and up the suez canal to north africa. they are very ambitious. and with that ambition, i do not see them that concerned. they have good defenses and the main cities will probably be defended against any incoming rockets. and it will not change the balance of power that much. the balance of power is overwhelmingly in the air, on the side of the arab coalition.

on the ground it is a different matter. think it is the mediator's job to really focus. he made a very good -- but they cannot impose anything. if both sides do not accept to come to the table, they can only offer ideas. but at the end of the day, it is the big powers at the united nations, the united security council, that must agree with one another and that most impose a solution. you are absolutely correct about the bias and i am shamed that our own state department, after what happened, they fired if you rockets. >> we are running out of time and i do want to come to her, this is the worst humanitarian crisis currently on the planet.

and with everything our guests have just been talking about, there is no quick solution. it is only going to get worse. yet, not only do we have fatigue when it comes to dealing with the can't -- conflict, but political fatigue as well. people do not want to get involved. >> yeah. as you mentioned, this is the world's worst military in crisis, and at the same time, in my opinion, it is the worst political crisis. there seems to be political fatigue, donor fatigue, at the same time, the u.s. administration is talking about considering to redesignate a terrorist group, which will have serious implications for millions of civilians. both sides, attacks cannot be justified by other side unlawful

attacks. what we need here is no peace, note justice -- no justice, no peace. what they have been able to do, because there is no consequence, with the saudi led coalition have been able to do is because there is no consequences, yemen is in desperate need of accountability. the bias that was mentioned is shameful and disgraceful. and the international community should condemn abusers and violators of all sides. this is the least thing that not only enemies, all civilians -- not only yemenis, all civilians deserve. they deserve that from international committee. >> we are running out of time and i want to come to you. given everything you have heard from stockholm and washington, d.c., you still believe this

attack could lead to a quicker resolution to the conflict another the -- it has come to the uae's borders? >> i don't think it will lead to a quicker resolution, but i think it will move the waters a little bit. i think we have seen that the international, the u.n. special envoy, the u.s. special envoy are in that region and they are talking, there are a lot of discussions on non-between the leaders in the region. so i think it is -- it has nudged the conflict a little more to the forefront of international politics. as it has been neglected for many reasons. and that is wrong because we are seeing people being killed and suffering next to us. there is a huge military in crisis. and the world at large ignore this conflict, letting them get on with it. sorry think this is going to at least wring this to the

forefront. and there are some discussions. the more attacks happen to the cities, even if they do not succeed, the fear of those attacks and the reputational damage is going to have an effect in the gulf states. we are small countries, peaceful countries and trying to build their economies on diversification, investment and so on. this is going to have a bad reputation for uae and saudi arabia and the whole region at large if this is going to continue for a long time. i think there must be a solution. >> i want to thank all of our guests, and i want to thank you as well for watching. you can see the program again any time by visiting our website, al jazeera.com and for further discussion go to our facebook page,.com -- fa cebook.com/ajinsidestory.

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