Yemen’s shameful war

By konigludwig on April 1, 2017 • ( 0 )

Two years ago, a tribal conflict in Yemen widened into a full-scale war after intervention by Saudi Arabia. Today, two-thirds of the population is starving. The world can no longer look away…

By Matthias von Hein

The richest country in the Arab world is bombing the poorest country back into the Stone Age – a situation that’s been ongoing for two years now. And Western countries are willing assistants. The United States is helping to refuel fighter jets midair for the Saudi-led coalition. They would otherwise not be able to reach their targets in Yemen. Britain and the US are selling weapons, including internationally outlawed cluster bombs. Since the beginning of the attacks, they’ve delivered some 5 billion dollars’ (47 billion euros’) worth of weapons to the Saudis.

US increasing assistance to Saudi Arabia

The fact that the bombs far too often claim civilian lives appears to be of no concern to the military partners. Just the opposite: The US has now announced plans to strengthen its cooperation with Saudi Arabia in the Yemen conflict. The supposed goal is the suppression of Iran’s influence in Yemen. But Tehran’s influence on the Houthi rebels is not nearly as big as Saudi Arabian propaganda would have us believe. The Houthis in Yemen cannot be compared with Hezbollah in Lebanon; they are not there to carry out Tehran’s bidding. If that were true, they would have respected Tehran’s warning to stay out of the capital, Sanaa, instead of going in and taking over the city.

The Houthis are not in need of weapons deliveries from Iran. Nor are they even possible: The ports are blocked by the Saudi coalition. And that’s also one of the reasons why, according to UN information, there are some 7 million Yemenis who don’t know where their next meal is coming from. Half a million children are suffering from severe malnutrition. More than two-thirds of the population is dependent on food aid. These people are deliberately being starved to death.

Deutsche Welle