Yemen :- The Forgotten War? or The Forgotten Country?
- The Youth's Lens
- Jun 23, 2018
- 4 min read
Updated: Jun 28, 2018
An analysis of the current political and humanitarian condition of the Yemen under President Hadi while extremist issues such as those in Syria hog the limelight in international media, and predictions of the future by Chandan Samal.
Never heard about this war....
This conflict started with the Arab Spring uprising that forced its longtime authoritarian president, Ali Abdullah Saleh, to hand over the power to his deputy Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi, in 2011. However, due to of failure of transition of power, the new president had to deal with various of problems such as a separatist movement in the south, the loyalty of many military officers to Mr. Saleh with corruption, unemployment and food insecurity.
Observing this as an opportunity to take power in the country, The Houthi movement, which promotes Yemen's Zaidi Shia Muslims, took advantage of the weakness of transition of power by taking control of their northern heartland of Saada and neighbouring areas. Blinded by the failure of transition, many Yemenis, which also included the opposing Sunni population, supported the Houthis and took over Sanaa (capital of Yemen) as the president escaped to the southern part of the country.
The Houthis and security forces were loyal to Mr. Saleh, so their are many possible theories that the previous leader planned this coup to regain power. However, these rebels were successful to take control of the entire country, forcing their president to fly abroad.
What is the international response?
The alarming situation believed to be backed by military by the regional Shia power Iran, Saudi Arabia and eight other mostly Sunni Arab states led to a series of air campaign to restore President Hadi's government. The coalition has reportedly received logistical and intelligence support from the US, UK and France.
Three United Nations organised efforts to negotiate a peace deal have failed. Pro government forces (Sunni tribesmen and other who are loyal to President Hadi) have been successful in stopping rebels take control of few areas such as Aden which came at a price of four-month deadly battle.
Coalation aground troops have landed in Aden in August 2015 and helped drive the Houthis and other rebel allies our of much of the south till date. President Hadi's government established a temporary home in Aden, although he still remains powerless.
What's the current situation?
Houthi fighters have launched an operation to take full control of the capital late 2017 and announced that Mr. Saleh had been killed in an attack. Adding to the situation, separatists are seeking independence for south Yemen, which was a separate country long ago before 1990, and are forming an uneasy alliance with the troops loyal to President Hadi. The situation right now has worsened with divisions within the Saudi-led coalition, making the humanitarian situation alarming in that part of the world.
What about the civilians?
Here are some quick stats for you guys to understand the situation in the country...
According to the UN more thant 9,500 people have been killed and around 60,000 injured since 2015
At least 5,500 of those killed and 9,000 of those injured are innocent civilians, and the main cause of this is Saudi-led coalition air strikes
About 75% of the population - 22.2 million people - are in need of humanitarian assistance, including 11.3 million people in acute need who urgently require immediate assistance to survive - an increase of 1 million since 2017
Some 17.8 million people do not know where their next meal is coming from and 8.4 million are considered at risk of starvation. Severe acute malnutrition is threatening the lives of almost 400,000 children under the age of five
3,500 health facilities only are left fully functioning, at least 16.4 million people are lacking basic healthcare. Medics have struggled to cope with the world's largest cholera outbreak, which has resulted in more than 1 million suspected cases and 2,248 associated deaths since April 201
What are the attempts made to solve the humanitarian crisis?
There have not been many attempts made to help solve the situation for the victims of this ferocious war, however the international community has responded very rapidly in supporting the president with winning the war.
In 2015, Saudi Arabia formed a coalition of Arab states to defeat the Houthis in Yemen. The coalition includes Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Egypt, Morocco, Jordan, Sudan and Senegal. Several of these countries have sent troops to fight on the ground in Yemen, while others have only carried out air attacks.
The US government regularly launches air attacks on al-Qaeda and Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS) targets in Yemen, and recently admitted to having deployed a small number of troops on the ground. The US, along with other western powers such as the UK and France, has also supplied the Saudi-led coalition with weapons and intelligence.
Iran has denied arming the Houthi rebels, but the US military said it intercepted arms shipments from Iran to Yemen this March, claiming it was the third time in two months that this had occurred. Iranian officials have also suggested they may send military advisers to support the Houthis
The United Nations is continuously trying to carry out donation camps on their website to establish heath centres and refugee camps in the nearby areas, however it its my strong believe that the other nations should focus more on the civilian casualties instead of worsening the situation in the country.
What next?
Judging by the continuous failures of the UN to restore peaceful talks, and the actions of many egocentric leaders or diplomats to jump to war orders/conclusions, the situation is most likely to worsen before countries start responding to humanitarian crisis.
The fight has also become a part of the middle eastern cold war, therefore almost making it impossible for it to end until one side acknowledges defeat, which hasn't happened in the past few decades.
However, all of you reading this now know enough to start your own initiative for the innocent Yemenis suffering, because its time for the future generation to act for the present.
Bibliography and References
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-29319423
https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/2395690/yemen-war-saudi-arabia-death-toll-houthi-rebels-golden-victory/
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2016/06/key-facts-war-yemen-160607112342462.html
https://www.pwsmun.in/unsc
Written By Chandan Samal
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