Updates on Yemen Crisis, 2021
Warfare
After six years of relentless fighting, hundreds of thousands of civilian deaths, and the forced displacement of millions, Yemen cannot afford any more war. In 2018, the two major parties in the war in Yemen—the Saudi-led coalition and the Houthi Movement—sat down for peace talks, sparking anxious hopes across the world for de-escalation and an end to the conflict. Yet, Yemen finds itself nearly three years later in a position more dire than ever before. The Saudi-imposed de facto blockade on the country, coupled with other impediments to imports and the free flow of goods and people, has contributed to mass starvation and disease. In 2021, the Houthis launched drone attacks on Saudi Arabia after rejecting a ceasefire proposal made by Saudi Arabia, because it excluded the lifting of the air and sea blockade imposed by the Saudi-led coalition. Seen by some as a proxy war between Saudi Arabia and Iran, warring parties continue to commit indiscriminate attacks and bombing campaigns in civilian areas that have inexcusably killed thousands of innocent people.
“Peace is only possible if and when the parties make the responsible decision to put Yemenis first and lay down the arms.” —Martin Griffiths, UN Special Envoy to Yemen (19 March 2020)
COVID-19 in Yemen
With a broken healthcare system and nearly half of the population lacking access to safe drinking water and sanitation, Yemen was already vulnerable to a potential COVID-19 outbreak. The country is already dealing with rampant malaria, dengue, and the largest cholera outbreak in recorded history—with more than a million cases. Weathered by years of widespread war and disease, the health sector in Yemen was entirely unequipped to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic, but the virus still made its way to Yemen as the country confirmed its first case of the virus on 10 April 2020. As the virus entered Yemen last year, ventilators, oxygen cylinders, and protective equipment were scarce; many doctors stopped going to work due to lack of pay. Houthi officials have been accused of downplaying the extent of the COVID-19 crisis in Yemen and the country has a limited capacity for testing—making it virtually impossible to know the true numbers. Nevertheless, by February 2021, the WHO reported 5,280 confirmed cases with 1,032 associated deaths. The situation is likely to get worse, as UN officials projected that the virus could infect 16 million people, which is 55% of the population.
Health
Nearly half of the healthcare facilities in Yemen are no longer functioning. Based on a 2020 report by Mwatana for Human Rights and Physicians for Human Rights, there were 120 attacks against medical facilities from March 2015-December 2018. In 2020, Mwatana recorded 42 incidents of the warring parties intervening in health infrastructure, including denying access to medical supplies and shelling health facilities. The Saudi-led coalition continues to further strain the healthcare system by restricting fuel access in Houthi-controlled territory. By debilitating and crippling Yemen’s health system, all warring parties, including the Saudi-led Coalition, the internationally recognized government of Yemen, and the Houthi Movement are undoubtedly guilty of war crimes.
Relief
Yemen remains home to the “world’s worst humanitarian crisis.” 20.1 million people—almost two-thirds of its population—need food. Approximately 18 million people have limited-to-no access to safe drinking water. Nearly 2.3 million children under five are set to suffer acute malnutrition this year. Of these children, 400,000 may die if they do not receive immediate treatment. Last February, UN relief coordinator Mark Lowcock warned the Security Council that five million Yemenis are ‘one step away from famine.’ As Yemen is a country that imports the vast majority of its food and drugs, it has continued to face a crippling land, sea, and air blockade by the Saudi-led coalition. The Houthis recent offensive on the Marib Governorate could make things worse by prolonging the crisis and threatening diplomatic efforts to end the war. Considering this, it is important to remember that Yemen is a man-made catastrophe. As Director of the Norwegian Refugee Council Jan Egeland stated: “Yemenis aren’t falling into starvation. They are being pushed into the abyss by men with guns and power.”
Solidarity
The conflict has sucked in major regional and international powers. In 2015, Saudi Arabia formed a military coalition of eight Sunni Arab states and intervened to defeat the Houthis. This coalition de facto included the US and UK who gave and still give military support to the coalition. Throughout this conflict, the coalition has played a key role in exacerbating the humanitarian situation through their air and naval blockade. The stated aim of the blockade is to prevent the Houthis from smuggling weapons into the country; however, according to a recent CNN investigation “the US-backed Saudi blockade is leading to deadly fuel and food shortages in Yemen.”
Last month the World Food Programme executive director David Beasley pleaded, “It is hell on earth in many places in Yemen right now,” and, “That [fuel] blockade must be lifted, as a humanitarian act. Otherwise, millions more will spiral into crisis.” Thus, further efforts must be taken to end the blockade and war altogether. Fortunately, there have been grassroots efforts dedicated to this cause. About 400 organizations from around 30 countries held a series of rallies, including ten of thousands of people, this past January to demand an end to the war on Yemen and to the Saudi-led blockade. Two weeks later President Joe Biden announced a plan to halt US support for offensive operations by the Saudi-led coalition. Activists from the Yemeni Liberation Movement in the US recently completed a hunger strike calling on President Biden to end US support for the Saudi blockade. Therefore, for Yemen, relief is critical and lifesaving, but ultimately only a band-aid. If Yemen is to escape this man-made catastrophe, its main hope lies within grassroots movements that include Yemeni women and youth and their diaspora counterparts.