In the modern world, sadly war is not uncommon, but has it become such a norm that we have learnt to detach ourselves from it? It would seem that the world has done just that to the cruelty hidden behind the ongoing Yemen civil war. The war involves the conflict between Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi’s government, supported by a coalition led by Saudi Arabia which includes the UK and US and the Houthis (Ansar Allah) who are supported by forces loyal to the former Yemeni president Ali Abdullah Saleh after the Houthi leader, Hussein Badreddin al-Houthi, was killed for protesting government policies. This led to continuous violence in the years leading upto 2015 as the Houthis protested the Hadi government. In 2015, the Houthis took over the Yemeni capital of Sana’a, forcing President Hadi to resign and flee to Aden. They still retain control over Sana’a despite the efforts of the Saudi-led coalition to reinstate Hadi’s government. The tensions between Shiite Iran and Sunni Saudi Arabia are thought to have aggravated the war with Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) and Islamic State (IS) also carrying out violent attacks.[1]
The severity of the crisis has resulted in the involvement of many Persian Gulf monarchies as well as Western countries including the UK, the US and France who have engaged in the sale of weapons to Saudi Arabia.[2] Since the start of the conflict in 2015, it is estimated that the UK has sold over £4.6 billion worth of arms to Saudi Arabia and both the UK and US have been condemned for prioritising their own commercial interests over the brutality of war[3] particularly after US Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo made the decision allow US support for Saudi airstrikes to continue.[4] Amnesty International accused both nations of hypocrisy after UK and US delegates attended and signed the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) in Geneva which prohibits the transfer of weapons which could be used in war crimes when they knew that providing weapons for the Saudi-led coalition would undoubtedly undermine this Treaty.[5] It could be argued that this attitude towards such a horrific conflict reflects the nonchalance of the Western world to the Yemen war.
The living nightmare of war is a harsh reality for many but for Yemeni civilians, it has become frightfully disturbing after Saudi Arabia created a blockade which prevented essential imports including food, clean water and emergency medicine from reaching civilians.[6] As one of the world’s poorest countries, notably ninety percent of the food comes from imports[7] leading to catastrophic effects. This has resulted in 13 million people going hungry while 6 million are at risk of starvation out of a population out of 26 million.[8] These figures are startling and the UN reports that Yemen could be facing “the worst famine in the world in 100 years.”[9] Ultimately, this means that this war has and continues to take lives in more ways than one with “1.8 million Yemeni children being extremely subject to malnutrition in 2018.”[10] This illustrates how wars have more deadly killers than bloodshed alone leading to a crisis that can only be described as “biblical.”[11]
The war has proved merciless in terms of the war crimes committed with Yemeni refugee female and children becoming increasingly vulnerable to human trafficking[12] and child marriages due to the hostile environment they are forced to survive in. The UN reports this to be the world's worst humanitarian crisis, and that the governments of Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Yemen, may be responsible for war crimes, such as rape, torture and the use of child soldiers.[13] Consequently, the Yemen civil war can be seen as a conflict borne out of hatred that has created a landscape where it is very difficult for humanity to survive.
The suffering of innocent people as a consequence of this war has destroyed the fragile infrastructure of Yemen with 22.2 million people in need of humanitarian assistance.[14] Unfortunately, the future for Yemen looks bleak, however with increasing security in some areas there is some promise in Yemeni youth. It must not be forgotten that Yemen, although it has faced struggle and continues to do so, has unrivalled architecture and a vibrant culture[15], hidden underneath the dark mask of war. This at least suggests, that one day, when the mask falls away it will re-emerge as a country with hope and new potential.
Suleha Baig
Middle East Section Feature Writer
23 March 2019
[1] “Yemen crisis: Why is there a war?” BBC News (Middle East, 18 December 2018)
[2] Ibid
[3] Joe Sommerlad, “Yemen civil war: The facts about the world's 'forgotten war’” The Independent (Middle East, Monday 15 October 2018)
[4] Ben Wolfgang, “Mike Pompeo: U.S. sticking with Saudis in brutal Yemen war despite mounting civilian casulaties” The Washington Times (Washington, Wednesday 12 December 2018)
[5] Rasha Mohamed, Rasha Abdul Rahim, “Yemen's horror exposes the deadly hypocrisy of arms exporters like the UK and the USA” (Amnesty International, 26 August 2016) <https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2016/08/yemens-horror-exposes-the-deadly-hypocrisy-of-arms-exporters-including-britain-and-the-u/> accessed 10 February 2019
[6] “Yemen: The forgotten war” (Amnesty International) <https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2015/09/yemen-the-forgotten-war/> accessed 10 February 2019
[7] Farea Al-Muslimi, Mansour Rageh, “Yemen’s economic collapse and impending famine: The necessary immediate steps to avoid worst-case scenarios” (Sana’a Centre for Strategic Studies, 5 November 2015) < http://sanaacenter.org/publications/main-publications/26> accessed 10 February 2019
[8] Ibid
[9] Ibid [n 1]
[10] Declan Walsh, “Yemen Girl Who Turned World’s Eyes to Famine Is Dead” The New York Times (Middle East, 1 November 2018)
[11] Stoyan Zaimov, “Famine of “Biblical Proportions” Descending Upon Yemen; Child Dying Every 10 Minutes” The Christian Post (Friday 5 May 2017)
[12] Kristin Deasy. “Human trafficking a growing concern in Yemen: Minister” (PRI, 25 March 2013) <https://www.pri.org/stories/2013-03-25/human-trafficking-growing-concern-yemen-minister> accessed 10 February 2019
[13]Jamey Keaten, “UN experts: Possible war crimes by all parties in Yemen” (AP News, 29 August 2018) <https://apnews.com/358660bf2da344cfb1c5b24136b4c029 > accessed 10 February 2019
[14] Ibid [n 6]
[15] Muneer Binwaber, “Can we be Optimistic about the Future of Yemen?” (International Policy Digest, 22 July 2018) <https://intpolicydigest.org/2018/07/22/can-we-be-optimistic-about-the-future-of-yemen/ > accessed 10 February 2019
Disclaimer: The views expressed are that of the individual author. All rights are reserved to the original authors of the materials consulted, which are identified in the footnotes above.
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