By Melissa Li
Yemen, the poorest country in the Middle East, is in the midst of a humanitarian crisis as conflict flares between Shiite rebel groups and outside Sunni forces. The rebel group, called Houthis, forced the Yemeni president, Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi, to flee his presidential home this February. The Houthis have since taken over the capital city of Sanaa and 9 of the country’s 21 provinces. This conflict is fueled by ongoing sectarian tensions between the Shiite rebels and Sunni government of Yemen. Military forces have been divided between the two camps, and civil war looms.
Yemen is a strategically important country, located on a Red Sea waterway through which most of the world’s oil supply passes. It’s also heavily involved in the major regional power struggle between Shiite Iran and Sunni Saudi Arabia. Egypt and Saudi Arabia feared a Houthi takeover would threaten free passage through the seas and responded with their own military action. The Saudis led airstrikes against the rebels over a monthlong period. While these bombings received logistical support from the US, they have been criticized for massive civilian death tolls. At the same time, it’s unclear whether these strikes have been strategically useful. In the power vacuum left by the departure of President Hadi, the Houthis have formally seized power, dissolving parliament and installing an interim assembly. So far, the airstrikes have not advanced the Saudi goal of reinstating the Yemeni government under President Hadi. Instead, the only result has been what the International Red Cross describes as a “catastrophic humanitarian situation”.
This Wednesday, Saudi officials declared an end to their bombing campaign, sparking hopes for a peaceful political dialogue in Yemen spearheaded by the United Nations. Unfortunately, those hopes were quashed as airstrikes continued just hours after the cease-fire announcement. The Saudi Arabian ambassador to the US, Adel al-Jubeir, explains that bombings will continue as long as the Houthis refuse to deescalate their attacks. Ironically, the Saudis are calling this new bombing campaign “Renewal of Hope”. But as airstrikes continue to destroy homes, kill thousands, and displace many more, it seems like hopes for peace in Yemen are far from fulfilled.
