Journalist lashes out at Qatar's betrayal in Yemen

Dubai - He said the media industry has been struggling with fake news producers whose aim is to stir propaganda.

The situation in Yemen is a clear betrayal of Yemeni people, and if it wasn't for the interference of the Saudi-led coalition backed by the GCC, the situation would have been a disaster, according to a correspondent. 
Mohamed Al Arab, correspondent at Al Arabiya News Channel, said that the Hamdeen regime of Qatar betrayed the Yemeni war and funded militias that killed thousands of people in Yemen. Al Arab also called for the developed world and human organisations to say enough to the Qatari regime. 
"What happened in Yemen has been a genocide attempt against the Yemeni people and a conspiracy against the Yemeni culture and civilisation," said Al Arab during a session titled 'The Fight Against Fake News' at the 17th edition of the Arab Media Forum. 
"Why did three Qatari soldiers leave before the raid on Safer camp that killed 45 UAE soldiers, five Bahrainis, 10 Saudis and 30 Yemenis? Why are the five biggest car exporters to Yemen owned by Qatar?" 
"Third of Yemeni monuments have been smuggled through Ethiopia, and soon we will see the Yemeni artifacts in Europe, just like what happened in Iraq," said Al Arab.
Al Arab, who had covered 10 wars throughout his 25-year media career, said media industry needs a new trained generation of war correspondents to deliver the accurate image of regional conflicts.
He said the media industry has been struggling with fake news producers whose aim is to stir propaganda through delivering an image that doesn't reflect the war zone.
A successful war correspondent must be present in warzones and report the news visually to gain people's trust.
In battlefields like Yemen, correspondents face the challenge of reporting while being the target of Iran-backed militias and terrorist groups of Al Qaeda and Daesh.
"How do you present a professional Arab media if you're a target? You have to prove to people that you're on site, witnessing what's happening? But do we have professional war correspondents in the Arab World? Unfortunately, war reporting became a tool for people who want to make a name for themselves."
Al Arab urged having trained war correspondents or journalists with an army background to report on the sensitive issues that have been talks of people in the region.
sherouk@khaleejtimes.com

• Dubai