Yemen has
constantly been in a civil war for more than a decade. Its current conflict
escalated in March 2015 when a Saudi-led coalition intervened on behalf of the
internationally recognized government against Houthi rebels aligned with the
former president Ali Abdullah Saleh.
What was defined as
a war in the poor country is now described as a 'humanitarian catastrophe'. Riyadh
expected its air power, backed by regional coalition including the United Arab
Emirates, could defeat the Houthi insurgency in a matter of months.
The Cause
Yemen Civil war has
its roots in Arab Spring. President Ali Abdullah Saleh was forced to resign in
order to end his 33-year rule as protestors marched on the streets. He replied
by giving economic concessions but refused to resign.
By March 2011
tensions rose in the capital due to which many protestors died at the hands of
the military.
Abd Rabbu Mansour
Hadi, the only candidate to lead the transitional government and the
vice-president made its mark to become the president in February 2012 due to a
international brokered deal. His attempt to reform constitution and budget were
rejected by Houthi rebels from the north.
The Houdis belong
to a small branch of Shia Muslims known as Zaydis. They captivated the capital
which forced Hadi to flee finally to Riyadh. There is also a strong
secessionist movement in the south. Arguably too many sides benefit financially
from the status quo.
What Is the Human Cost?
UN has verified the
deaths of at least 7,700 civilians by March 2020, with the most caused by
Saudi-led coalition strikes.
Monitoring groups
believe that death tolls are more. The US -based Armed Conflict Location and
Event Data Project (ACLED) declared in October 2019 that it had recorded more
than 100,000 fatalities, including 12,000 civilians killed in direct attacks.
More than 23,000
fatalities were reported in 2019, making it the second most lethal year of the
war by so far.
Thousands more
civilians have passed away due to preventable diseases such as malnutrition,
hunger and poor health. The charity, Save the Children estimated that 85,000
children with severe acute malnutrition might have died between April 2015 and
October 2018.
About 80% of the
population - 24 million people - need humanitarian assistance and protection.
Some 20 million people need help securing food, according to the UN. Almost 10
million are considered 'one step away from famine'.
An estimated 2
million children are acutely malnourished, including almost 360,000 children
under five years old who are struggling to survive.
With only 3,500
medical facilities functioning, almosy 20 million people lack adequate
healthcare and almost 18 million do not have enough clean water or access to
adequate sanitation.
Consequently,
medics have struggled to deal with the outbreak of cholera ever recorded in
October 2016 with 2.2 million cases suspected and 3895 related deaths.
The UN has warned
that Covid 19 is another reason for the shoot in rates in various aspects. It
also filed for a desperate plea for financial aid, saying its operations in the
country, including vital health services were severely underfunded.
The war has
displaced more than 3.65 million from their homes.
Is Britain Supporting the Saudi-Led Coalition?
The British play
dual role as military advisers to the South coalition in Riyadh and diplomatic
pen holders on Yemen file at the UN Security Council. This implies to some
context that British is trying to be in the invidious role of broker and
belligerent.
Claims like 'it has
influence over not just Saudi military but also its diplomatic thinking,
restraining the Saudis for instance from launching an all out assault on the
port city of Hodeidah' are made by UK diplomats, including some Saudi sceptics.
What About the Peace Process?
After five months
of knotty discussions a small part of the agreement has been implemented on the
ground. The event took place after the UN brokered an agreement in Stockholm in
December to demilitarize the Red Sea City of Hodeidah.
The Houthis
promised to a two- phase redeployment out of the city and agreed that an
alternative force- which was poorly defined in the Stockholm agreement will take security in the areas
vacated. However, conversations between Houthi and the UAE- backed government
forces procrastinated over the details.
The UN sanctioned
unilateral Houthi withdrawal from three main ports on Yemen's red sea coast-
Hodeidah, Ras Issa and Saleef as it had reached to a dead end. The government
claimed it as fake, denoting that the Houdis had merely rebadged their fighters
as coastguards.
UN's special envoy
for Yemen, Martin Griffiths was urged to resign. He ultimately resigned as not
everyone in the Yemen government agreed with the analysis.
No changes or
advancement has taken place in phase two redeployment or the exchange of
political prisoners. To say the time is ripe for wider political talks on a
transitional government to be held in Bonn, Griffith has now tried to secure
enough progress in Hodeidah to get it off the hook.
Is Yemen Becoming Connected With the Wider Gulf
Tension?
Yes. The Houthis
with a controversial level of assistance from Iran, have escalated their use of
drones and missiles strike in Saudi Arabia.
However, UAE and
Saudi in turn have claimed that these attacks are engineered by Tehran to put
pressure on Saudi, America's chief ally, so as to make Iran renegotiate the
nuclear deal and end its regional intrusion.
The Houthis claim
that the attack is a justified retaliation for the repeated Saudi airstrikes.
Why Should This Matter to the Rest of the World?
What happens in
Yemen to aggravate regional tensions. It troubles west of the threats they
could receive from al-Qaeda or IS affiliates- exhale from the country as
tensions rise.
The conflict is
also seen as a part of the regional power struggle between Shia-ruled Iran and
Sunni-ruled Saudi Arabia.
Backers of
president Hadi- Gulf Arab states have accused Iran of bolstering the Houdis
monetarily and militarily, though Iran has denied of this.
Yemen is also strategically important as it is
situated on a strait linking the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden, through which
most of the world's oil shipment pass.
Written by - Peter
Fernandes
Edited by – Adrija Saha
Social