Infrastructure is failing, sewages are not working, garbage is piling up and clean water has become scarce leading now to the worst cholera outbreak in recorded history.

Wait, wait, wait, how did we actually get here?

Yemen has been burdened with old conflicts not only from civil unrest but also from foreign powers. It has changed hands between several dynasties until the 17th century at which stage Yemen had become part of the Qasimid State. Due to the lack of structure in the state and no formal succession plan, the Qasimid State fell into chaos starting in the early 18th century. By the mid-1850’s, the British decided to have their own foothold in the region. The Yemeni territory is located at a choke point for ships using the Suez Canal. The British very much used the latter on the way to India but needed to have a coal depot for its steamers. The port city of Aden was the location picked by the British and subsequently taken by force. The Ottoman, concerned with the British Invasion, took notice and long story short, they split Yemen between themselves until the end of WW1. Then, following the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, North Yemen became independent with the support of Islamic clerics while South Yemen remained a British protectorate but it too gained independence in 1967 adopting Marxism. The two Yemens unified after over two decades marked by sprouts of peace and numerous hostilities as a result of political feuding.

Peace, however, didn’t ensue as a civil war broke out between the two regions in 1994 during which the South was defeated. Ali Abdullah Saleh who had become President of unified Yemen in 1990 after having been named President of the Yemen Arab Republic (North Yemen) became the first directly elected President of Yemen in 1999.

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The current crisis’ start is already set in the history books as 2011 as part of the Arab Spring but its roots can be traced back to the Houthi insurgency that started in 2004. After the questionable practices of the parliamentary elections in 2003 and strong suspicions of Mr. Saleh and his associates looting state funds to the tune of billions of dollars while the GDP per capita remained under $1000 USD resentment of his administration grew further and deeper.

While the Houthis alleged that they were defending themselves against discrimination and government aggression. The Yemeni authorities argued that the rebel forces wanted to overthrow the government and install Shia religious law.

By 2009, when a Saudi border guard died following a Houthi attack on the border, hundreds had already died in the conflict. The Houthis, however, entered Saudi Arabia further and occupied some territory which triggered an official international response to what was on paper a civil war. Saudis launched air strikes against the Houthis and thus backed the Yemeni government still led by Mr. Saleh.

To entrench the crisis even deeper, the Saudi and Yemeni Al Qaeda branches united and based themselves in Yemeni territory. Al Qaeda remained very much a target of the United States armed forces and intelligence services which led to additional airstrikes from the Americans this time.

The conflict came to a turning point in 2011 following the Arab Spring. Mr. Saleh’s time as the head of Yemen came to an end when mass protests erupted leading to his near assassination and he was promptly replaced by Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi, his then Vice-President. This still brought little solace to the Houthis and to the rest of the population of Yemen as the battles tore cities apart and took the lives of many civilians. In 2014, history appeared to repeat itself as a UN-led plan came to fruition, installing a parliament split between North and South Yemen. That didn’t end well then and nor did it end well now. Fast forward to 2015, Houthi rebels seized control of Sana’a, the capital, with a newfound ally, former president, Mr. Saleh, and quickly took over the port city of Aden as well.

Although Houthis gained control of major regions in Yemen, they didn’t appear to have much in the form of long-term plans reminiscent of the Qasimi dynasty. Mr. Hadi who was still formally the head of state asked for help from neighbouring countries in fighting back the rebels and so the Saudis organized a coalition that also included Egypt, Morocco, Jordan, Sudan, Kuwait, the UAE, Qatar, and Bahrain leaving Iran to be the likeliest candidate for the role of the rebels’ ally in chief. The latter appears to have indeed taken on the role happily by providing the very arms the rebels need. Those arms come in the form of missiles, mines and exploding boats amongst others.

The Saudi led coalition promptly proceeded with an air campaign involving air and sea-based missile strikes which then led to boots on the ground pushing the Houthis back but not quite out as they retained Sana’a and other territories in the north.

As if things weren’t ugly enough for Yemen, the worst man-made humanitarian crisis is about to unfold further with no end in sight.

As in many conflicts, both sides commit atrocities but somehow one side in certain instances manages to maintain the moral high ground. This isn’t one of those instances.

While Saudis have, to be blunt, bombed the crap out of Yemen they also seem to be willing to hold up shipments of food, fuel and medicine with their coalition partners. The Houthis, on the other hand, looted the central bank. They allege that the looted money was needed to pay for food and medicine. As a result, in 2016 Mr. Hadi has moved the bank and stopped paying the salaries of public servants in the North. In the meantime, he seems to be also profiteering from the war by creating shortages in resources to then sell those very same resources with a hefty markup.

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The most disconcerting however is the West’s involvement. They have few if any boots on the ground but make no mistake those weapons used by the coalition have helped to fill up the coffers of notably the American, British and French arms manufacturers. Recall Trump’s May ’17 trip to Riyadh in Saudi Arabia where he agreed to sell the Saudis $110,000,000,000 USD worth of tanks, combat ships, missile defense systems and many others. Make no mistake that the Obama administration also showed support for its ally in the region, Saudi Arabia. Trump’s deal, however, was met with protests in Sana’a with over 10,000 Yemenis filling the streets. In 2015, however, the UN did try to get involved but a resolution that would have installed a panel to review the actions and potential abuses in the war was undercut by the American and British. In 2017 the panel was finally approved but with numerous amendments.

You may be wondering why does the UN not simply try to broker peace rather than just analyze the war. Well, it did and several rounds fell through as the government insisted that the Houthis not only lay down their arms but also return the territories they had seized. Those were terms that the Houthis and Mr. Saleh would unsurprisingly not accept.

And so, the fighting on the ground and the bombings carried on – leveling much of Yemen, destroying much of the infrastructure and plunging much of the population in need of humanitarian aid, powerless, at risk of famine and cholera.

Through 2017, Americans also continued to launch their own targeted airstrikes and raids in the country in their fight against not only Al Qaeda which, remember, consolidated its Saudi and Yemeni forces in the latter but also Daesh (aka ISIS).

The former president, Mr. Saleh, decided that, in December ’17, after all this fighting and with Yemen on the verge of virtual collapse, it is best to seek a diplomatic solution with Saudi Arabia. The Houthis didn’t agree. Protests erupted in Sana’a which led to clashes and the eventual killing fo Mr. Saleh.

So here we are today, Mr. Hadi and forces loyal to him are making headway in regaining the government’s lost territory but fighting carries on with no path to an end in clear sight. Both military and civilian casualties are increasing. The number of people displaced keeps rising. Infrastructure is failing, sewages are not working, garbage is piling up and clean water has become scarce leading now to the worst cholera outbreak in recorded history. Hundreds of thousands of cases have been confirmed and the deaths are in the thousands!

Of a population of around 26 million people, Yemen has over 22 million people who urgently need humanitarian aid and protection while over 8 million are on the brink of famine.

While different political, religious, ideological parties in Yemen may have their agendas to pursue, the citizens of Yemen just want the war to end.

At this stage, if you’re still reading then you’re likely wondering what can you do about it. To be perfectly honest, I don’t think I have a definite answer but all I know is that numerous Western companies and governments are profiting off of this war. If that is not something you can accept then the small things you can do are to practice responsible investing and not support those arms dealers but you can also inform your peers of this conflict. You can reach out to your local elected representative and inform them that this is something you are concerned with and would like to ensure that your country does not condone selling arms that will end up in the middle of this conflict. Beyond that, I’d love to hear from you.

What is important however to remember here is that Yemen appears to be the unfortunate field on which a complex proxy war is being fought out with locals fighting not only each other but also foreign and terror forces.

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