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Today we bring to you an informative article Yemen humanitarian crisis which is the biggest cause of concern for the international community after the Corona Virus Pandemic.
The Yemeni Civil War is an ongoing conflict between two factions: Shia Houthi rebels and the current government. It began in 2015. Shia Houthi rebels are loyal to the former President, Ali Abdullah Saleh, while current government led by Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi is supported by Saudi coalition, including France, UK and USA. Houthi rebels are backed by Iran, which is in conflict with Saudi Arabia as well as the USA.
Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), two terrorist groups have also been involved in the conflict zone.
The current Yemeni President Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi is in Riyadh, the Saudi capital, while the former president Saleh is still in Yemen. The rebels have captured Yemeni capital Sana’a.
CONSEQUENCES
There is no functional government in Yemen the war has led to destruction of public infrastructure, killing lakhs of civilians, and displaced nearly half of its population. Food and aid supplies are hard to reach the masses. There is widespread hunger, health care systems have collapsed and a cholera outbreak has killed more than 2000 people in the region.
According to a UN report, around 16,000 people have been killed in Yemen, including 10,000 civilians from 2015 to 2017. Yemen is among the poorest countries in Asia.
THE HUMANITARIAN CRISIS
Saudi led coalition air strikes in Yemen have caused at least 7700 civilian deaths according to the UN. Many believe that the real number is much higher. According to US, more than 1 Lakh people have been killed in the conflict zone, of which 12000 are civilians, till date. In short, Yemen is experiencing the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.
Many more civilians have died from malnutrition and other diseases. About 80% of the population which is nearly 24 million people need some kind of humanitarian assistance and protection. People lack adequate healthcare with no access to clean water. The conflict has displaced more than 3.6 (36 lakh) million from their homes.
YEMEN’S HISTORY
The modern Yemeni state was formed in 1990 with the unification of the Yemeni Arab Republic, in the north, backed by Saudi and the US, and the USSR backed People’s Democratic Republic of Yemen (PDRY), to the south. Ali Abdullah Saleh, who had ruled North Yemen since 1978, was given the leadership of the new country.
ARAB SPRING
In 2011, mass protests broke out in the whole Arab world. When the regimes changed in Tunisia and Egypt, Yemen was also inspired to change its political system and rallied against rule of President Saleh. He had to step down. Deputy President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, in 2012, was given a two-year term to oversee the transition to a democratic system. But his transitional government & the Shia rebels remained in conflict and in 2014; Houthi rebels took control of capital Sana’a.
OPERATION RAHAT
Operation Rahat (meaning Relief) was launched in March to expatriate Indians from war-torn Yemen. INS Mumbai, INS Tarkash and INS Sumitra were sent to Yemen to bring back the stranded Indians.
THE ROAD AHEAD
While the humanitarian crisis is being talked about in all parts of the world, no country is doing anything significant to help to end the civil war. Both Saudi and Iran are looking for their interests only. Both the parties need to come to some sort of agreement, only then something could come of it. Efforts by the UN have proved to be in vain. So the future looks gloomy for Yemen and situation would become liveable only with start of a ceasefire and dialog process.
So, now we’re aware of this crisis. In our next blog, we will be discussing other current issues of national and international importance. If you don’t want to miss out on the next important blog, click here!
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