The Yemen war which has been largely ignored entered in its 1000 day on Wednesday this week. According to various media reports, nearly 17 million people in Yemen are on the brink of famine and this humanitarian crisis can be largely attributed to the lack of global attention to the deadly war in Yemen. The various NGO’s working in Yemen recently made a startling revelation that in every ten minutes one Yemeni child dies of malnutrition; besides, the United Nations has estimated the death toll to over ten thousand and wounding of over forty thousand others.
All the three major parties involved in the Yemen war (Saudi Arabia, United States and Iran) have so far showed no concern for the sufferings of Yemeni people. The rivalry between the two powerful Muslim states (Saudi Arabia and Iran) has left the majority of Middle East in ruins; the two rivals have left their fingerprints on every ongoing conflict in the region.
When the Arab Spring was sweeping across the Arab world in late 2010 against the long time autocratic rulers, in Yemen the uprising resulted in the ouster of President Ali Abdullah Saleh who ruled the country for almost 34 years. The power was transferred to his deputy Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi in Nov 2011 who continues to be the UN recognized President of Yemen. But this shift of power turned out to be a trigger for the civil war in Yemen and also created a power vacuum in the region. The civil war gained momentum after a powerful movement was led by the Houthis against suppression and discrimination at the hands of Hadi government. From 2015 onwards, the war has become worse due to the involvement of regional and International powers.
Iran’s apparent dominance in Iraq, Syria and Lebanon is posing many challenges to the Saudi Arabia and its all-weather friend United States. Saudi Arabia and United States are seeking control over the neighboring territory of Iran. Yemen, which is located in the backyard of the Saudi Arabia, holds a geo-strategic importance for the latter, which is why it is attempting to dominate the country of Yemen both politically and military.
With the Houthis having gained the control of Sana city, the capital of Yemen, the Iran backed militia group controls nearly 30 percent of the country’s provinces. On the other hand, the Internationally-recognized government of President Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi manages to control the rest of the provinces nearly 70 percent. In the recent past, a few small provinces in Yemen have come under the control of Al-Qaeda and ISIS.
The Houthi-controlled Hodeidah port which is the only gateway for the foreign aid including food and medicines continues to remain open. The port was closed by the Saudi Arabia for nearly three weeks following the attack on Riyadh airport in November which led to the shortage of food and medicines in the Yemen for which the country has sought foreign assistance since the oubreak of war.
As I write this, the media reports from Yemen suggest that the West-led Saudi coalition carried out overnight strikes which resulted in the killing of at least nine civilians.
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