By The United Nations has called the Yemen Civil War “the worst humanitarian crisis of 2018”. More than 10,000 people have been killed and 8.4 million are at risk of starvation, reports BBC.
What is the Yemeni Civil War About?
The Yemeni Civil War is widely accepted to be between the government of Yemen, and a group called the Houthis.
The Houthis are mostly made up of Muslims from the Shia sect, who want change socio-economic and political. Their belief is that the government of Yemen is corrupt, and they certainly don’t like the fact that the U.S. and Saudi Arabia stick their noses in Yemen’s business.
The U.S. simply doesn’t want to admit that “helping” other countries’ governments is damaging to the foundation, and the people of those countries.
In 2014, the Houthis took control of the north of Yemen, along with Sana’a, the capital of Yemen with the help of the former president, Ali Abdullah Saleh, who was killed later on. The Saudis didn’t like the revolution because it would take away their involvement in Yemen’s government. So, they decided to help the government of Yemen, which still has control over the south, to take back the north from the Houthis.
In this goal, the U.S. hasn’t turned its back on its ally, Saudi Arabia, by selling weapons and providing intelligence. Since the beginning, the war has left the devastated civilians of Yemen damaged, and helpless. Both sides of the war have been ruthless on innocent civilians in Yemen by dropping bombs, and taking away food and basic necessities.
The U.S. Debates
Recently, U.S. Congress has shown its opposition to the U.S.’s involvement in the Yemeni Civil War. They argue that there is no authorization for helping the Saudis, and that the U.S.’s involvement in the Middle East is entirely counter-productive.
Of course, in the midst of all this, Iran is blamed for selling weapons to the Houthis despite Iran denying it. Some believe that this war is actually a proxy war between the Shia-majority country of Iran, and the Sunni-majority country of Saudi Arabia. But that couldn’t be farther from the truth, in my opinion. The U.S. simply doesn’t want to admit that “helping” other countries’ governments is damaging to the foundation, and the people of those countries.
Tens of thousands of miles away from war-torn Yemen, in the current Republican-majority Senate, a debate is raging on the U.S.’s involvement in the Yemeni Civil War.
It is very disturbing that the fate of millions of innocent people in Yemen remains in the hands of a couple of powerful countries, that couldn’t care less about the hardships those people have to go through.
As of yesterday, Congress voted to end the U.S.’s involvement in the Yemeni Civil war, but whether they follow through remains to be seen. So, will the U.S. actually pull out of the war? What is the real reason that Congress is just bringing this topic up now? Will the Saudis stop their barrage on Yemen, if the U.S. pulls their support, as they have promised to do? These pertinent questions all hang in the balance, along with the lives of countless Yemenis.
It is very disturbing that the fate of millions of innocent people in Yemen remains in the hands of a couple of powerful countries, that couldn’t care less about the hardships those people have to go through. And this is not the first, nor will be the last of this injustice. We may not have the answers right away, but it is so important that we keep our eyes open. Because too many people have suffered, and enough is enough!