By - Advik S. Mohan
There is one tragedy of unimaginable human suffering and devastation that has gone virtually unnoticed in the world- that of Yemen, a country in the Middle East. The country has been in the middle of a devastating civil war since 2014 that has killed thousands of people and all but destroyed the existing infrastructure of the country. Since 2015, there has also been a famine in the country in which about 85,000 children have died so far. In the ongoing COVID- 19 pandemic, there has been a rapid deterioration in the ground situation in Yemen. The UN has warned that almost 24.5 million children in Yemen could be malnourished by the end of the year. Over a million people have been infected with or died of cholera- the worst cholera epidemic in history. But, how did the country find itself in its present predicament?
ORIGINS OF THE CONFLICT
The war in Yemen originally began as a movement against the Yemeni president Abdrabbuh
Mansour Hadi in 2014. Hadi was an ineffective leader who had failed in tackling Yemen’s
several problems such as corruption, unemployment, the poor economic condition of the country and terrorism. Furthermore, there were also long religious and ethnic tensions between Yemen’s Sunni Muslim majority and the Zaidi Shia Muslim minority that escalated during Hadi’s years in power. The Shias were powerful in the northern part of Yemen and had a strong military movement to back them known as the Houthis which aimed at defending the Shia sect in Yemen and obtaining greater regional autonomy. The Houthis wanted a federal division of the country and a greater role for the Shia community in national government and politics. The group was supported by Iran, who wanted to expand their influence in Yemen by supporting a group sympathetic towards their interests.
However, the Hadi government either refused or failed to fulfil these demands and so the Houthis began a military campaign and managed to completely takeover their northern strongholds by late 2014. Many ordinary Yemenis who had begun to grow disappointed with Hadi’s government supported the Houthis believing that they would provide stability and peace to a troubled country. Encouraged by this, the Houthis extended their campaign to the rest of the country and by March 2015 had succeeded in overthrowing the Hadi government and taking over power in Yemen. Alarmed by the sudden and rapid rise to power of a fundamentalist group that was supported by Iran, Iran’s Sunni majority rival Saudi Arabia and eight other Sunni majority states formed a military coalition that would launch airstrikes against the Houthis in Yemen and provide military and logistical support to rebel groups fighting against the Houthis. The coalition which was supported and given military aid by the US, UK and France aimed to defeat the Houthis and restore the previous Hadi government in Yemen through its campaign.
THE CONFLICT SINCE THEN
The Saudi- led coalition expected the war to end soon in a matter of just a few weeks. However, now even after over five years, the war is continuing unchecked with little signs of ending anytime soon. Although the coalition managed a few victories and established a capital in the city of Aden, the Houthis still maintain control over the capital Sana’a and north-western Yemen. The Houthis have also launched several ballistic missile attacks on Saudi Arabia most prominently in September 2019, when the eastern oil fields of Abqaiq and Khurais were attacked, disrupting nearly 5% of global oil production.
Militants from terrorist groups like Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State[IS] have also been active
during the war, launching several deadly terrorist attacks and seizing territory in parts of the
country. Tensions between Saudi Arabia and its allies and Iran have only been exacerbated since the war began, meaning there is little hope for lasting peace in the Middle East for a long time. Since November 2017, there has been a blockade of Yemen led by the coalition which aims at restricting supplies to the rebels but has also had repercussions on the Yemeni population due to steep increase in food and fuel prices. In December 2018, the warring parties in the conflict signed a ceasefire in Stockholm but the war still continued unabated in most of the country, dashing expectations that the ceasefire would lead to a political settlement to end the war. In April 2020, Saudi Arabia announced a unilateral ceasefire in the war due to the coronavirus pandemic but it was rejected by the Houthis who demanded a lifting of the blockade of the country before any ceasefire could be agreed upon.
EFFECTS OF THE WAR
For Yemen, which was already one of the poorest countries in the world even before the war
began, it will take decades to recover from this devastating conflict. Over 100,000 people have been killed so far in the war with the actual death toll expected to be much higher. More than 3 million have been displaced from their homes. Diseases, poor health and malnutrition have killed thousands more. About 80% of the population requires humanitarian aid or assistance. The UN has warned that Yemen could soon face the worst famine in 100 years. An estimated 2 million children are acutely malnourished and with Yemen’s healthcare system in collapse and decay, access to proper healthcare, clean water and proper sanitation is a distant dream for many in the country. Yemen has also suffered from the worst recorded cholera epidemic in history with over 2 million confirmed cases and close to 4000 deaths. The UN warned that the coronavirus pandemic could make things in the country even worse.
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