With the start of a new year, it is, perhaps, time to take a look at the world's worst humanitarian crisis at the moment: The civil war in Yemen.
Since the civil war 'phase' of the Yemen conflict started in 2015, at least 6,660 civilians have been killed and 10,563 injured according to a UN report. A large number of these casualties have been caused by the air strikes launched by a coalition of gulf states led by Saudi Arabia.
What is the Yemen civil war?
The Yemen civil war had its origins in the insurgency launched in the north of the country by Shia fighters led by Hussein al-Houthi in 2004. The insurgency remained dormant during the opposition protests against the rule of dictator Ali Abdullah Saleh, which began in 2008, before turning, effectively, into a sectarian 'Shia vs Sunni' conflict in the early years of this decade.
The ongoing civil war, between the internationally recognised government of Yemen and the Houthis, erupted in 2015 with the intervention of the Saudi-led coalition. The Saudi coalition entered the conflict to stem the growth of Iranian influence in the country; Tehran had armed and supported the Houthis.
The Saudi coalition, which consisted of forces from Sunni nations like Egypt and the UAE, was backed by the US, UK and France.
Situation in Yemen
The situation in Yemen has all the makings of a humanitarian crisis. The civil war has resulted in the deaths of thousands of Yemeni citizens and injuries to numerous others. The victims get injured or killed daily due to the fighting that takes place between the rival forces while they go out to buy daily essentials or fetch water from the wells.
According to the UN, the crisis has worsened with a famine threatening nearly 13 million people in Yemen. International charity Save the Children claimed in November 2018 that nearly 85,000 children have died of starvation in Yemen since the civil war began in 2015.
The reason that famine is looming over Yemen has been attributed to the Saudi coalition's blockade of all the humanitarian aid going into Yemen. On the pretext of blocking arms supplies to the Houthi forces from Iran, the Saudi coalition has strangled all means of transportation in and out of the Houthi-controlled areas.
The US has been blamed for being unable, or unwilling, to stop the Saudi involvement in the Yemen conflict. While the US military has stopped providing in-flight refuelling for Saudi fighter jets operating over Yemen, Washington still provides training and military assistance to the coalition members.
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The UN has also failed to provide a peaceful solution to the conflict in Yemen with its attempts at advocating for a humanitarian corridor on the Hudaydah–Sana’a highway in December last year not being effective.
War crimes
UN investigators had recently accused the Saudi-led coalition of multiple war crimes like launching air strikes on civilian targets, torture, rape of civilians and use of child soldiers. The UN has claimed Saudi and UAE air strikes have caused the largest number of civilian casualties. The Saudi forces were noted as being uncooperative with investigators on questions over their targeting procedures. The coalition has also been accused of failing to consult its own 'no strike list', which includes over 30,000 places in Yemen such as refugee camps and hospitals.
The response
Beyond the UN, no government or organisation has done much to alleviate the plight of the Yemeni people. The Saudi coalition has continued to perform air strikes in Yemen despite facing growing criticism and outrage from the international community.
The West has been reluctant to crack the whip on the Saudi coalition over the Yemen civil war given the intricacies of oil politics and the need to contain the spread of Iran's influence in the region.