Why Are We Ignoring the War on Yemen?
By Sonali Kolhatkar
Yemen has been the target of a brutal U.S.-backed war led by Saudi Arabia. While ordinary civilians are suffering horrific violence and starvation, there is deafening silence from the U.S. and others who claim to be defenders of human rights.
The situation is so bad now that nearly every major global human rights organization has issued dire warnings of the humanitarian catastrophe unfolding in the Persian Gulf’s poorest nation.
Since the Saudi regime began a bombing campaign in March, the situation has deteriorated rapidly as access to food and other aid has been stymied. In response, the United Nations in early July declared a Level 3 humanitarian emergency—the highest level possible. U.N. Envoy Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed described Yemen as “one step away from famine.”
But the bombing has had direct consequences, too. In late July, Human Rights Watch accused Saudi Arabia of war crimes after an airstrike on two residential buildings killed 65 civilians. Ten of the victims were children. “With no evident military target, this attack appears to be a war crime,” said an HRW researcher.
Amnesty International also published a scathing report with a title that says it all: “Yemen: Bloody trail of civilian death and destruction paved with evidence of war crimes.” Echoing the HRW report, Amnesty researchers found “a pattern of strikes targeting heavily populated areas including civilian homes, a school, a market and a mosque. In the majority of cases no military target could be located nearby.”
Children are especially vulnerable. UNICEF called attention to their plight in Yemen, citing the unimaginably high number of 10 million children in need of immediate assistance. Nearly 400 children have been killed and 600 injured since March. According to the report, “Yemen is one of the most terrifying places in the world to be a child.”
Overall, more than 4,000 people have been killed in Yemen, more than a thousand estimated to be civilians.
On Aug. 11, Peter Maurer, president of the International Committee of the Red Cross, added his voice to the chorus of warnings. “The humanitarian situation is nothing short of catastrophic,” he said after a three-day visit to Yemen. “Every family in Yemen has been affected by this conflict. … Medicines can’t get in so patient care is falling apart. Fuel shortages mean equipment doesn’t work. This cannot go on. Yemen is crumbling.”
The same day, Teresa Sancristóval, who heads up Doctors Without Borders’ Emergency Unit, also warned of multiple crises, including a severe water shortage, lack of medicines and vaccines, and needless deaths exacerbated by the incessant bombing. She wrote, “In some moments, I felt that the conflict in Yemen is much more of a war against civilians than a war against armed groups.”
Ignoring the outcry from these high-profile human rights groups, Saudi Arabia just bombed yet another port, a main one used to transport aid to civilians in northern Yemen. In response, Save the Children’s Edward Santiago said, “The bombing of Hodeida port is the final straw. ... The impact of these latest air strikes will be felt most strongly by innocent children and families.”
Not only has the United States blessed the brutal Saudi air war on Yemen, it has taken an active role in it. Recently “the Pentagon more than doubled the number of American advisors to provide enhanced intelligence for airstrikes,” the Los Angeles Times reported. This has directly contributed to a surge in airstrikes and subsequent civilian casualties. The L.A. Times rightly pointed out that Yemen’s plight has been “vastly overshadowed” by the U.S. war on Islamic State.
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