19Million Yemenis are in Need of Humanitarian Aid

Jan.21/ Yemeni press

Nearly 19 million Yemenis are in need of humanitarian aid, according to the UN, but the worst of the civilian impact of the two-year civil war in the country has fallen on the district of Tuhayat on the Red Sea coast.

“This once more underscores the need to resolve the situation in Yemen without any further delay,” Farhan Haq, deputy spokesman for the UN general secretary, said in New York. “There’s been a huge humanitarian cost.”

The war has devastated Yemen, which was already the Arab world’s poorest country. UN officials estimate that nearly 19 million people – 80% of the population – are in need of humanitarian aid, and more than 3 million have been displaced.

Saudi Arabia launched the war in Yemen in March 2015 after over the legitimacy of resigned President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi. The Saudi-backed president fled to the southern city of Aden and then to Riyadh. The Saudi campaign is backed by the US and the UK.

But the Saudis have not achieved their objectives and the war has dragged on, leading to a humanitarian catastrophe. Large numbers of child soldiers have been recruited; there have been outbreaks of cholera and many attacks on schools, hospitals and civilian areas.

The Saudi-led coalition has been blamed for most of the civilian casualties. The devastation has also drawn attention to the role of western powers who have continued to provide Riyadh with weapons, logistical support and intelligence.

Yet the destruction of Yemen has garnered little international attention compared with other regional conflicts such as that in Syria, or the battle against Isis in Iraq (Yemen press).