Some claim 2016 to be the flexion point of the 21st century — the very year that sparked death, destruction, and disparity widespread — when truthfully, the elements of discordance have always been present.
Yemen is currently living through the worst humanitarian crisis in the world, and there lies the largest population to be in dire need of life-saving assistance.
Unlike the past though, the talk of this prolonged war has become a catastrophe ignored albeit the unbroken tensions that show no endgame. Neglected by the world, the Yemenis continue to bear the brunt of military hostilities that follow illegal practices by inner states and outer regions alike.
Today, these people continue to suffer in silence amid bombs, coalitions, and opposition groups.
The United States (US), United Arab Emirates (UAE), and the United Kingdom (UK) have a history of backing up Saudi-led coalitions, further worsening the humanitarian crisis. As the United Nations persist in their attempts to broker a bilateral cease-fire, the war rages on.
The question now rises as to how much longer the tensions will escalate. And so far, the suspense, it feels, is floating in the air.
But the intricacies of Yemen’s Humanitarian crisis go beyond what we see from this century’s “flexion point”. The history traces to nearly a decade back, and to understand the misfortunes caused by this “forgotten war”, it’s important to take a look at this history.
Ali Abdullah Saleh and the Revolutionary Overthrow
Much of the strain in Yemen roots back to 2011, after political upheaval and unrest began consuming the country under Ali Abdullah Saleh’s presidency.
Following the Tunisian Revolution that resulted in the overthrow of its nation’s overlong president, Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, opposition parties in Yemen aimed to mimic the pattern back in their homeland.
Members of such resistance groups would lead mass protests against Saleh, antagonizing him for human rights violations, the lack of democratic reforms, and a corrupted government run by him and his allies.
“They [the resistant groups] get rid of the corrupt and fight for the people,” a proud, yet hospital-bound, rebel fighter told Newsweek after getting shot in the arm by state security forces.
In the face of an Arab Spring uprising — a series of anti-government protests, unrest, and armed rebellions that trajected across North Africa and the Middle East — Saleh’s chairmanship was forcefully terminated by 2012, ending his 33-year rule over Yemen.
The power was then handed over to vice-president Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi, who previously held his position as a second-in-command since 1994.
However, the governmental overthrow that was supposed to bring peace back into the region then became the failure of a political transition. Although backed by the ruling party and parliamentary opposition, Hadi had profusely struggled to maintain the Yemen government in its entirety.
As the new leader and pro-Saudi representative, he floundered when dealing with numerous issues across the region.
Attacks by jihadists ensued, a separatist movement was taking over south in Aden, Saleh’s security personnel would constantly be at risk, while the government settled to be no less than corrupted, doing no favors other than solidifying unemployment and food insecurity.
Rise of the Houthi
In August 2014, the Houthi movement (formally known as Ansar Allah), a group that accommodates Yemen’s Zaydi Shiites and had led a chain of rebellious acts during Saleh’s presidency, began playing its prominent role in national instability. It had started with anger from a government-implemented removal of fuel subsidies that raised prices on fuel as reforms to subsidy programs.
With the powerful military and wartime capacity, they had easily taken advantage of their new leader’s weakness to branch intraregional control, overpowering their heartland of Saada in the north and neighboring areas as well just weeks into insurrections.
“God is great, death to the US, death to Israel, curse the Jews, and victory for Islam,” became the group’s official slogan and trademark. Ordinary civilians in Yemen, who were already agitated under the watch of Hadi, gradually began showing support to the Houthis instead.
Months later, in late 2014 and early 2015, the rebel group successfully dominated the capital city of Sana’a. Taking a turn for the worst, this revolution was portrayed as a movement against corruption and anti-democratic ideals.
A Saudi-led coalition, backed by eight other Sunni Arab states, intervened in Yemen’s civil war a few months after in March, further downcasting the regional humanitarian crisis into perturbation. Meanwhile, the Houthis and security personnel loyal to Saleh clashed with former Houthi allies, striving to gain control of the entire country, which forced Hadi to flee the nation that same month.
Hadi was a Saudi-enthusiast ruling Yemen. Had he continued to run his administration with such ideals, then the circumstances would have skewed toward pedestalling Saudi Arabia, a tactic in which the leaders of the Saudi region wished to proceed.
Taken back by the fall of what could have been a puppet regime, by the rise of a group believed to be backed by regional Shia powers in Iran, Saudi Arabia then advanced airstrikes with logistical and intelligence support from the US, UK, and France.
Famine, Poverty, and a Lethal Blockade
In August 2015, the ground troops of this fiery coalition had landed in Aden, which is the southern port city and, what is now, the temporary capital of Yemen. Over the continuing months, they had driven out the Houthis and their allies out of the south, enabling Hadi to establish his still-bruised government in Aden and resume as the constitutional president for the time being.
This became the start of a war that Saudi officials had bumptiously predicted to last a few weeks in the beginning, only to remain ongoing 5 years later. Meanwhile, the Houthis maintained their symbolic, power-play control over the capital Sana’a, eventually shifting to besiege the third city of Taiz, all the while launching bombastic missile and drone attacks on Saudi Arabia.
Amidst all the chaos that ensued, however, al-Qaeda militants in the Arabian Peninsula and its affiliates, associated with the competing Islamic State group, served to be the agitators of the mob. Taking advantage of the discord in Yemen, they were able to capture Southern territory and carry out a series of deadly attacks in Aden, even seizing the provincial capital of Lahij, al-Houta District.
The Saudi-led coalition then instituted an air, land, and sea blockade on Yemen, one which the US eventually joined in on, constricting imports and exports into the region. With bombs and missiles shot toward Riyadh three years later in 2017, the Saudi Arabian militants and warships tightened blockade, a detrimental act that resulted in widespread starvation and a decline in the most basic necessities for survival.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres stressed the importance of political cooperation in a press encounter on the pledging conference on Yemen: “Humanitarian resources are very important, but they are not enough. It is essential that they reach the people in need.”
Concerns elevated among the United Nations, World Health Organization, and human rights establishments alike. Yet, Saudi officials asserted the cruciality of stopping Iranians from smuggling weapons to the dissenters — an act that Iran had denied taking part in.
“We need unrestricted access into Yemen; and we need unrestricted access everywhere inside Yemen; and we need all the parties to the conflict to respect international humanitarian law, and to protect civilians; and above all, we need a serious political process to lead to a political solution,” Secretary-General Guterres continued.
Food and fuel prices skyrocketed consequently, and the exponential growth of food insecurity became harsh given by then.
No aid ships could go in or out, so the government and society stopped functioning as a whole. The entire country suffered from severe supply shortages, families were poverty-stricken, medical supplies ran out at an impressive rate, while children could only rummage through mass street rubbish in hopes of feeding their families.
In a population preceding 24 million, UNICEF reported 12 million children to be in need of humanitarian aid while a good 2 million are malnourished and struggling to survive.
The Cholera Outbreak Epidemic
In the mid-breaks of 2017, a cholera outbreak resurfaced fresher than ever — and it is the largest to ever be reported. Steering clear of this fatal disease seems simple enough: use clean water, wash your hands with soap and clean water, and only eat food that is boiled or cooked.
Clean water, unfortunately, is an unobtainable luxury in the expanse of Yemen. With unpaid healthcare workers and sanitation systems cut off directly as a result of heavy conflict, nearly half a million cases of cholera were reported with an estimated 3,000 deaths – a spiking 58% being children.
“Acute watery diarrhea can be caused by a bacteria called Vibrio cholera or other infections and may result in severe dehydration leading to death unless treated quickly and properly,” reinstated Rajat Madhok, the chief of communications, advocacy and partnerships at UNICEF.
The Lancet Global Health, a weekly medical journal, reported 77.7% of cholera cases and 80.7% of cholera-based deaths to poise over Houthi-controlled governorates in comparison to land areas controlled by the government.
But the state of affairs could only go downhill for average civilians.
Months later, the compact between Ali Abdullah Saleh and the Houthi crumbled with lethal hostilities occurring as powerplay over the biggest mosque in Sana’a. Saleh had formally pronounced a separation from the alliance, calling on his people to take back the country — a televised decision that got him killed by Houthi fighters two days later.
Jeopardizing Yemen’s Lifeline
In early June of 2018, the coalition then took a shot at cutting the stalemate by instigating an offensive on the cardinal lifeline for an estimated two-thirds of the Yemenis population — the Red Sea city of Hudaydah.
“A military attack or siege on Hodeidah will impact hundreds of thousands of innocent civilians,” Lise Grande, the UN Humanitarian Coordinator for Yemen, said in a statement.
Although the UN had warned against this attempt, stating that nearly one-half of the 600,000 residents could resultantly be in serious danger, their words of caution went ignored. The port city was largely needed to get food imported into the country, yet it went disarrayed numerous times due to war — and not long after, the four cranes of the port were demolished along with several other warehouses.
“In a prolonged worst case, we fear that as many as 250,000 people may lose everything— even their lives,” Ms. Grande continued. “Cutting off imports through Hudaydah for any length of time will put Yemen’s population at extreme, unjustifiable risk.”
Fortunately, the Saudi did agree to a ceasefire in September in several cities, including the capital Sana’a, which is controlled by the alleged Iranian-backed Houthi fighters. The two opposing parties agreed to the Stockholm agreement in Sweden, which mandated them to pull out forces from the Hudaydah and share power between the Republic of Yemen Government and the Southern Transition Council.
The Riyadh Agreement Following Illegal Airstrikes
By June 2019, missile attacks and fire exchanges persisted, but the United Arab Emirates began removing military presence from Yemen in correlation to the rising Iran-US tensions that took place. A month later, they had announced a fragmentary withdrawal of troops in the face of traction between Iran and the Persian Gulf.
The United Arab Emirates was later accused of launching airstrikes over Aden in a location where Yemeni forces were heading down to restrain separatists backed by the UAE — an attack that had reportedly killed 30 people.
Deputy Foreign Minister Mohammad al-Hadhrami reacted with the tweet that said the following: “The Yemeni government condemns the Emirati airstrikes against government forces in the interim capital Aden and in Zinjibar, which resulted in civilian and military casualties.”
Separatists were urged by the coalition to bring all military actions in southern Yemen to a complete stop.
Soon after, the Riyadh agreement was put into place that November, publicizing a power-sharing deal that will strengthen the role of Yemeni state institutions politically and economically. It was a “hopeful” resolution signed in Saudi Arabia and what was considered to be a wider political solution to the numerous complications hailing the country.
2020 and Yemen’s Humanitarian Crisis
At the start of 2020, however, the hostilities could only escalate, rendering the agreement useless. Deafening sounds of ballistic missiles pervaded the air, the world’s worst famine in 100 years continued to degenerate, and the vast population would constantly live in fear and anxiety of being the next targets of an incoming airstrike.
One example would lead back to April when a bomb shelling landed in the Taiz prison’s section for women. With 5 women killed and 11 others injured, the attack drew attention from the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, who labeled this move as a violation of international humanitarian law.
“At the time of the attack, there were reportedly no armed clashes between the warring parties in the area. Furthermore, there was no apparent military presence in the vicinity of the prison. Such an attack cannot be justified in any circumstances,” the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, said in a statement.
“This attack appears to be in breach of international humanitarian law, and depending on the circumstances could amount to a war crime.”
With the coronavirus pandemic setting its pace, the coalition had called for ceasefire — although the proposal was one-sided. Despite their verbal warranties, the Saudi-led air launches have been indefatigable in short periods.
The Human Rights Watch also accused Saudi forces and Saudi-backed Yemeni forces of conducting serious human rights violations against Yemeni civilians in al-Mahrah, Yemen’s far eastern governorate. The abuses added to torture by military personnel, arbitrary arrests, enforced disappearances, and the illegal transfer of detainees into Saudi Arabia.
Up until July, The Guardian had publicized persistent airstrikes and illegal dealings.
The United Kingdom was accused of ignoring a landmark court ruling that banned UK arm sales to Saudi Arabia. The UK government allegedly continued to unlawfully ship arms for use in Yemen, contributing to a coalition that is reportedly responsible for more than 8,000 civilian deaths since 2015.
Still, the living conditions in Yemen could only get worse. Over 80% of civilian residents fall under the poverty line, fighting continues just earshots away, and anti-personnel mines are situated all over the country and much of Aden, severely injuring and dismembering anyone who would accidentally step on the explosive grounds.
Airstrikes and civilian casualties have declined to a small extent since 2018, but the need for humanitarian aid remains higher than ever, and nearly all numbers of the population — especially children — risk starving to death on a daily basis. Much of the Yemenis struggle to bear the threats of war, the scarcity of natural resources, and the rising prices on market food and products.
Despite everything, Yemen’s crisis had grown to only be a little more than a ‘forgotten war.’ Journalists are extremely sparse in the ongoing war zone – and now, so are the talks about Yemen’s crisis in the media.
Even with the exchange of peace deals — albeit the possibility of any treaties appearing minimal this year — the damages from this conflict have driven far too deep. Alas, the civilians will have to bear repercussions for years, or possibly decades to come.
