Since March 25th, 2015, Yemen has been embroiled in a civil war that has paralyzed the nation. This is not the first time Yemen has witnessed a civil war. What we consider to be the Republic of Yemen today is a result of a civil war that led to the unification of North Yemen and South Yemen on May 22nd, 1990. Ali Abdullah Saleh was the first president of the united Yemen. The current war is being fought between the Houthis, who are natives of Yemen, and a coalition force spearheaded by Saudi Arabia with the active support of Egypt, Bahrain, Kuwait, Jordan, UAE. Key logistical and intelligence support is being provided by the US and the UK.
President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi had risen to power in Yemen in February 2012 after the Arab Spring uprising against Saleh. Interestingly, the election for the presidency saw no other candidate running against Hadi. Moreover, it was only supposed to be a two year term which was to end in February 2014, followed by fresh elections. It is worth noting that Hadi actually resigned from his post in January 2015. Therefore, for a number of Yemenis, Hadi had no “legal right to ask the Saudis to intervene.” Many don’t even consider him to be a “legitimate president” anymore.
The origin of the current conflict can be traced back to August 2014, when the Houthis called for mass protests as the government began to slash fuel subsidies. The Houthis started to move towards the South and managed to seize Sana’a, the capital of Yemen. The group dissolved parliament, and in February 2015, voiced its intention to set up a transitionary government. This is when President Hadi appealed to the Gulf and Arab states to undertake a military intervention on his behalf. Hadi then fled to Saudi Arabia and didn’t return to Yemen until September 2015.
Instead of de-escalating the Houthi rebellion, the Saudi-led intervention has only exacerbated the conflict, resulting in a loss of more than 3,000 lives with more than 80% of the population in urgent need of some sort of humanitarian aid. In order to fight the Saudis, the Houthis have forged an alliance with former president Saleh and his loyal fighters. (It is ironic because Saleh is the man who, when in power, used to bomb the Houthis!) Contrary to popular belief, it is not due to Iran’s support that Houthis have acquired substantial ground in Yemen; it is due to the alliance with Saleh, resulting in access to his military resources. The Houthis are not the “Yemeni Hezbollah.” It may well be that Iran is backing the Houthis, but the fact of the matter is much of the weaponry that the Houthis use are manufactured in Europe and the United States.
The consequences of the conflict have been terrible for the ordinary Yemeni citizens. Food, water, medicine, and fuel are scarce, and they have almost no electricity. According to the World Health Organization, about a third of the population need urgent medical care, but many hospitals have been forced to close. A Saudi-led airstrike in June 2015 destroyed a UNESCO World Heritage site in Sana’a—a site that was 2500 years old. About 4,000 civilians have been wounded, according to the UN Human Rights Council. The Saudis have maintained a block on Yemen that prevents the import of food, medicine, and other necessities.
It must be noted that Yemen has to import most of the food its citizens consume, along with other essential items. According to two Human Rights Watch investigations, the Saudis have been using cluster bombs, which were banned by the 2008 Convention on Cluster Munitions because they kill civilians long after the fighting has stopped. Two out of the three types of cluster munitions identified in Yemen have been manufactured by the United States and supplied by the US government. In April, Iranian president Hassan Rouhani called for an immediate ceasefire and for dialogue between the two warring sides. Instead of supporting the initiative, the Obama administration sped up the weapons shipments to the Saudis while also increasing intelligence and logistics support.
As former American ambassador to Yemen, Stephen Seche, commented, “If you’re looking for logic here, you’re not going to find much.” No solution can result from incessant airstrikes. There has to be a dialogue between Hadi, Houthis, and all other Yemenis in order to chart the future of Yemen.
Photo Credits: By Ibrahem Qasim (Own work) [CC BY-SA 4.0], via Wikimedia Commons
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