Child killed by Saudi bombing of Yemen.
Twenty million people in Yemen, the poorest country in the Arab world, are at risk of dying from hunger or thirst. That’s 80% of the country’s population, which, according to UN agencies, badly needs emergency supplies of food and water, along with fuel and medicine.
This almost unimaginable crisis sounds like something out of a disaster movie. But the cause is not an earthquake or a tsunami.
The main reason for all this suffering is months of merciless bombardment and blockade led by the richest Arab countries — Saudi Arabia and its neighbouring petro-princedoms — and backed by the United States. Washington is providing the attackers with technical assistance, intelligence and top-shelf armaments.
The countries bombing Yemen are targeting a rebel group they claim is a proxy for Iran. The evidence for that is very thin.
In fact, the conflict in Yemen is rooted in internal disputes.
In 2011, a nationwide uprising akin to those in Tunisia and Egypt deposed the country’s autocratic leader, Ali Abdallah Saleh. There was no democratic election before his successor, the Saudi- and US-backed former vice-president, Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi, took over — he ran unopposed in elections stage managed by the Saudi-led Gulf Cooperation Council. And there was no relief from the terrible poverty, unemployment and government corruption that brought about the popular revolt.
So a few months ago, a reformist movement and militia called the Houthis — which had launched a handful of rebellions against Saleh in the past — took advantage of widespread discontent to conquer the capital, Sanaa. Hadi fled into exile, and the Saudis started bombing shortly thereafter.
Since then, local militias in central and southern Yemen have fiercely resisted the Houthis and army units still loyal to Saleh, who is now allied with his former foes. Meanwhile, a local franchise of al-Qaeda is fighting everybody.
In short, it’s terribly complicated, and the bombs aren’t helping.
The Yemenis caught in this crossfire were already thirsty and hungry before the war — unlike their Saudi neighbours, they don’t have a lucrative oil supply. Now, with Yemen’s borders closed, its airports shut down and Arab navies enforcing an embargo at sea, the situation is breathtaking in its desperation.
Saudi Arabia and its friends, including the US, support Hadi. Yet they have no discernible plan for winning beyond reducing Yemen to rubble and besieging civilians in the hope of securing the Houthis’ surrender.
The Obama administration probably does not believe the Saudis’ nonsense about the Houthis and Iran, but it has shown no interest in stopping the war.
In fact, the US has even announced a full suspension of aid to Yemen for a year, undercutting its occasional murmurs of humanitarian concern. By endorsing this Saudi-led shooting match, Washington may hope to calm the Saudis’ nerves about the ongoing nuclear talks with Iran, which Saudi Arabia opposes.
[Abridged from Middle East Research and Information Project (MERIP).]
Like the article? Subscribe to Green Left now! You can also like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.