Within
days of starting the war, Saudi Arabia imposed a total land, air and
sea blockade, along with targeting vital agriculture and food supply
infrastructure that sustains life for the 29 million Yemenis — all
of which constitute war crimes under international law.
by
AbdulRahman Qahtan and Mnar Muhawesh
The UN
estimates that nearly 20 million Yemenis could die of starvation by
the end of this year. That’s about 70 percent of the entire
population.
That
horrific number includes more than 2 million children who are already
going hungry, including 500,000 who are suffering from severe
malnutrition.
The
people of Yemen have found themselves struggling not only for
survival, but for a space in the Western media’s war coverage.
In the
shadow of the conflict in Syria, the men, women and children of Yemen
are being deliberately starved and targeted by strategic airstrikes
and an illegal blockade in a war initiated by Saudi Arabia and aided,
massively if not entirely, by the United States.
Since
2015, Saudi Arabia, backed by Washington with over $200 billion in
weapons assistance and billions more worth of military training under
both the Obama and Trump administrations, took the already poorest
nation in the Middle East and manufactured the worst humanitarian
crisis of the modern era.
Within
days of starting the war, Saudi Arabia imposed a total land, air and
sea blockade, along with targeting vital agriculture and food supply
infrastructure that sustains life for the 29 million Yemenis — all
of which constitute war crimes under international law.
Saudi
Arabia opened its checkbook in response to a UN appeal for funds,
contributing nearly $300 million to cover the most urgent
humanitarian aid to Yemen. But that Saudi aid would come at a steep
price, and with more than a few strings attached, considering this
was the same nation bombing Yemen and creating the disaster to begin
with.
While
the UN accepted Saudi money, it also allowed Saudi Arabia to
weaponize humanitarian aid by blocking all aid shipments from
reaching the starving population.
This
meant that medicine, food, water treatment supplies, and basic
necessities for survival were prevented from entering Yemen,
exacerbating the already dire situation.
According
to data collected by local rights groups, Saudi Arabia has waged over
230,000 airstrikes on Yemen since 2015, with the intention of
deliberately targeting Yemen’s lifeline for survival: its food
supply.
Fishing
boats, fishermen and fish markets became targets of the
Saudi-U.S.-backed coalition warships and helicopters in the Red Sea,
depleting Yemen’s access to it’s key food staples.
To make
food-supply matters even worse, the U.S.-backed Saudi air raids
intentionally targeted agricultural fields, marketplaces and
food-storage sites from March 2015 to the end of June 2018, creating
the perfect storm to ignite famine and starvation.
Yemen
relies on maritime imports for more than 80 percent of its annual
staple food supplies.
Although
staples remain available, the Saudi import restrictions, combined
with a rapidly depreciating currency, mean food prices have
skyrocketed.
Millions
of Yemenis can no longer afford to buy food, forcing more than 75
percent of the population to rely on humanitarian assistance — aid
that is mostly controlled and blocked by Saudi Arabia.
As the
crisis rages on with no accountability in sight, Yemen’s last
remaining lifeline is under threat: Hodeida, relied upon by 18
million Yemenis, is home to the major port where virtually all aid
and food must enter the impoverished and war-ravished nation
currently importing 90 percent of its food.
According
to UN estimates, a quarter-million men, women, and children could die
from the military assault alone should the U.S.-backed coalition
continue its invasion of Hodeida. In fact, Saudi warplanes have
already bombed buses of refugees fleeing the airstrikes.
The goal
of the deadly operation, dubbed “Golden Victory,” is to capture
Hodeida: a bustling port city and home to over 600,000 Yemenis.
Although
Saudi Arabia catches most of the heat for this humanitarian
catastrophe and the countless war crimes, another U.S. Gulf coalition
ally, the United Arab Emirates, is leading the assault on Hodeida
port.
An
Emirati-led occupation of Hodeida would put nearly a million people
at risk for suffering not only famine but instances of rape and
torture, as the UAE currently occupies Southern Yemen and has set up
dozens of illegal torture prison sites known for sexual torture.
While
creating a state of affairs that intensifies hunger for over 20
million people, Saudi Arabia has faced no accountability from the
international community. Instead, it has enjoyed receiving billions
worth of weapons from the U.S. and the U.K., training from the U.S.
military, and a major position on a human-rights panel at the UN,
only enabling what can best be described as genocide.
Perhaps
Saudi impunity derives from the fact that this war is also the fuel
that fires up the United States and NATO’s war machine, which
allows for the continuation of resource exploitation, war on terror,
military occupation and destabilization in the small but strategic
and resource-rich nation.
This
cynical agenda has forced Yemen to become the new face of skeletal
children in the 21st century.
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