Paper Sample on Yemen: World's Worst Humanitarian Crisis of the Decade

The overthrowing of Yemen's government by a Zaydi Shiite movement known as the Houthis and the following offensive by Saudi Arabia has led to the biggest crisis of the decade in Yemen. The nation is being faced with threats of famine, medical shortage, and cholera outbreaks as a result of the war and the blockade by Saudi that was to enforce arms restrictions (Blackburn, Lenze, & Casey, 2020). Yemen's humanitarian crisis is being termed as the worst in the world by the United Nations.

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As the fighting continues, the Houthis are still in control of some countries such as Sanaa and the capital. However, the coalition led by the pro-government forces and Saudi has managed to recapture some of the parts previously under the Houthis. The fights have granted the Arabian Peninsula franchise known as al-Qaeda to find a grip on the nation. The support of the Houthis by Iran is the main reason of Saudi intervention in the crisis. With the United States of America's involvement, the war is feared to be a supremacy conflict.

The unification of Yemen Arab Republic formed current Yemen from the northern part of the country, which was backed by the US and Saudi with the Democratic Republic of Yemen from the south, which was supported by the USSR in 1990. Following the unification, various Yemen faced various threats to its unity. The main challenges were the religious differences between the north and the south, colonial experiences, and the Arabic dialects. Between 2004 and 2010, the Houthi movement of the north has risen against Saleh's government severely as a result of political differences.

The political differences in Yemen have caused great divisions between the two groups. Various factors have caused the widening of the division-leading to an unending military war. Among the causes of the divisions include the removal of fuel subsidy by Hadi’s government. This was a result of pressure from the IMF, which offered Yemen a $550 million loan to facilitate economic reforms in the country. Following the lifting of the subsidy, the Houthi movement began mass protests in parts of the country, demanding a new government and lower fuel prices. Counter rallies were also held by Al-Islah, the Muslim Brotherhood associated movement, and Hadi’s followers.

The takeover by the Houthi, who had taken control of the more significant part of Sanaa, has also widened the division hence the current crisis. Despite the peace talks by the United Nations, they continued their advancement southwards and took control of the capital. This caused pressure on the Hadi’s government, which was forced to resign and led to Hadi fleeing to Saudi Arabia (Qureshi, 2020).

Division among the military units is also a contributing factor to the crisis. The Houthis got support from the military units that were aligned to Saleh. This contributed majorly to their success in war. The loyal military units to Hadi’s government and the other militias aligned themselves and rose against the Houthi-Saleh's group. Saudi's intervention in the war after Hadi had fled to exile caused great division (Qureshi, 2020). A military campaign was launched by Riyadh to restore Hadi’s administration and push back the Houthis. The campaign’s operations were mainly in the air.

Currently, the United Nations has verified over 7500 deaths as a result of the civil war. The airstrike from the Saudi-led coalition causes most of the reported deaths. However, different monitoring groups claim the fatalities were more than 23000 by the end of 2019. The majority of the deaths are said to be children and women (Day & Brehony, 2020). Despite being considered the Gulf's most impoverished nation, the wars have destroyed Yemen politically, socially, and economically. The supply of essential goods and other humanitarian aids have been stopped by the military forces trying to control a vital port for Hodeidah. As a result of the war, hospitals have are being overwhelmed by injured people, malnourished children, and the sick (Day & Brehony, 2020). Farmers have been forced to evacuate their lands hence abandoning their crops.

By the worsening humanitarian crisis in the country, the already bad economy has been dramatically affected by the conflict. Most people have no steady source of income since the wars' eruption while the civil servants are not receiving salaries as a result of the situation. Journalists and Yemeni's activists have been threatened and harassed on several occasions by the Houthi forces and the coalition (Qureshi, 2020). Thousands of people have been detained and taken into hostage and forcibly disappeared by the Houthi forces, the UAE, UAE-backed Yemeni forces and government-affiliated forces. During the war, the coalition has been involved in numerous disproportionate and indiscriminate airstrikes that have caused many civilian deaths. The strikes which are in violation of the war laws have hit civilian structures. Weapons used in these strikes are mostly bought from the United Kingdom, the United States, among other countries (Day & Brehony, 2020). The Houthi forces and the coalition use illegal landmines, incautiously firing artillery in the cities and recruiting children into the fight.

After years of war, diseases, infrastructure destruction, hunger displacement, and economic collapse, Yemen is also faced with another crisis of COVID-19. With the ongoing crisis, the spread of the disease is alarming, with recent UN data indicating a rising number of deaths and illnesses in the country compared to many other countries.

With the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Yemen, various actions need to be taken to fix the situation. For peace to prevail in the country, a third-party country needs to come into the situation and try to bring to terms the Houthis and the Yemen government. By so doing, this will reduce the constant experienced attacks. As the peacemaking process continues, the foreign powers backing different groups should completely withdraw from the country's activities. To help sustain the citizens' life and livelihoods, the conflicting sides should allow UN deliveries and other humanitarian aid and doctors to reach the needy people. Once the aids are within a particular group territory, the group should offer protection to the civilians and the aid givers. To prevent aid givers from being attacked, the conflicting sides should agree with the ISIL and Al Qaeda groups since they are likely to attack any visitor in the areas of control. With the third-party mediator in place, the parties should develop a power-sharing plan that will help the country overcome the crisis.

Upon overcoming the humanitarian crisis, the Houthis should be given a chance to air their concerns, and fair elections should be conducted in the country. With the many lives at stake in Yemen, these actions need to be urgently considered, and a peacemaking process should start as soon as possible.

Being faced with the worst crisis in the world, the study on Yemen's crisis is essential to any reader in noticing the effects of political divisions in a country. In case any political issue arises, countries should quickly address the problems before it becomes hard to manage the results. Yemen's case shows how negative interventions to a particular country's issues can severely affect the country. Every nation should embrace dialog and peace in solving its interior matters.

Reference

Blackburn, C. C., Lenze, P. E., & Casey, R. P. (2020). Conflict and cholera: Yemen's human-made public health crisis and the global implications of weaponizing health. Healthsecurity, 18(2), 125-131.

Day, S. W., & Brehony, N. (2020). Global, Regional, and Local Dynamics in the Yemen Crisis. Palgrave Macmillan.

Qureshi, W. A. (2020). The crisis in Yemen: Armed conflict and international law. NCJ Int'l L., 45, 227.