Like the Yemen Civil War, Wars have been a reality of the world since man has understood the concept of power. World War I and II took the lives of thousands of people and destroyed enormous countries just in moments through atomic bombing. Yet humans have not learned the severity of wars and the damage they lead to. Wars and conflicts cause economic loss to the states and leave long-lasting imprints on the minds of people who survive wars.
World history is crowded with numerous wars taken place in the past decades and centuries.
Some wars lasted for a few years, and others stretched for decades leading to a colossal loss of human lives and economy. However, a few wars are not much talked of, even though they destroy the present and future of many people living in those regions.
One such conflict is the war of Yemen.
War of Yemen
UN calls the Yemen war as the “The world’s worst humanitarian crisis” involving the lives of citizens of Yemen and causing health hazards alongside deaths due to bombing. A stirring 6,872 civilians have lost their lives in the conflicts between Yemen, and its civil forces.
When did the war begin?
Yemen’s history has never been entirely smooth. Yemen came into being a country when South Yemen and North Yemen decided to merge in 1990. The thoughts of both regions were never similar, which led to conflicts between them despite collaborating and choosing to work as a country collectively.
While the two could not come to comprehensive decisions, the Houthi rebels fought against Yemen’s present government. The clash continued, and ultimately, in 2011, the Houthi rebels pressured the president Ali Abdullah Saleh to resign.
After the resignation of Ali Abdullah Saleh, the government’s hold shifted to the deputy president of that time Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi.
The rebels knew the situation well, and they were sure that Hadi would not be able to fight them the same way, and their position would become strong. The war did not stop and killed thousands of people from both parties.
Declaration of Civil war in Yemen
In Hadi’s tenure, the Houthi rebels begin working more swiftly, making plans to take over parts of the country. With their continuous efforts, they finally succeeded in taking over Sanaa, the capital of Yemen. The rebels had already taken over some parts of the country. But the possession of the state capital by the Houthi came as a shock. The loss of hold from the capital led to the declaration of a civil war.
President Hadi established a temporary capital in another city named Aden. He later flew to Saudia Arabia to ask for help and take exile in the country. The country’s situation can be estimated by the fact that the government is in exile in Saudia Arabia.
Saudi Arabia created a coalition with other countries of the region to back up the Yemeni government. The alliance included Kuwait, UAE, Bahrain, Qatar, Sudan, and Egypt, backed by the United States of America and the United Kingdom.
In March 2015, Saudia Arabia, with its affiliating countries, began bombing Yemen to support the Yemeni government. According to Saudia Arabia, bombs’ striking was an effort to discharge the Houthi from the capital city. Though the UK, USA, and France supported the bombings, Houthi rebels stand firm in the city, and president Hadi is still in Saudia Arabia.
Effects of the war on Yemeni people
Frederic H. Howe said, “War demand sacrifice of the people. It gives only suffering in return.” It is true, not only for the war in Yemen but also others where people only had to suffer without having a say in the whole situation.
In the war condition, Yemen has seen an extreme low in the past five years and continues to suffer through a state of “financial crisis.”
Moreover, the scarcity of resources in the war-struck region has deteriorated the health condition of residents.
In 2017, people in Yemen faced a cholera outbreak due to poor sanitation and healthcare facilities. The disease spread wildly, depriving many people of life from the absence of a proper healthcare system.
The current situation in Yemen
The lack of medical facilities in Yemen has also affected people’s health relating to the current pandemic and caused numerous deaths in a small time-frame.
From the first case reported in April, 537 people have lost their lives to the deadly disease with no adequate medical care.
The Saudi government anticipated that the war might end in a few weeks. However, it has been five long years, and the end is nowhere near to be seen. UN has been trying to implement a ceasefire among both the parties since 2018. Both groups committed to a cease war in December 2018 in Sweden, yet the agreement was looked-over just a few minutes after the talks.
The UN understands the need to stop this war for the better life of people living in the region and is again exerting pressure to call ceasefire since April 2020.
Will The Yemen War End?
The war has not proved to be of any good to any of the parties. Instead, the attacks killed numerous civilians and turned the world of people living in the country, upside down. Half a million people have left their place and moved to some other part of the world. The closing of borders is not letting them move to any other place either, which is only multiplying their agony.
Several NGOs are working to provide quality care and healthy life to people in Yemen, which is not wholly possible until the clashes stop.
Leading a peaceful life is the right of every human being but Yemeni people remain unknown to this term.
Thus, it falls on the international community to find a solution to Yemen’s problem so life may get to normal. Other way around, war will not end unless the world powers interfere.
