A Long Time Coming: Saudi-Made Famine in Yemen

Rasa - The world needs to act now because according to a new report by the World Food Program, Yemeni civilians are enduring a famine.

News ID: 441967

Date: 08 December 2018 - 12:14

RNA - The agency plans to designate several besieged cities as areas of famine as well, because of lack of available food for roughly 73,000 inhabitants in the areas. According to the UN body, Yemen, which is in the midst of a Saudi-led war and blockade, is the site of some of the worst humanitarian conditions on Earth. More than 3.3 million in the area are facing food shortages that do not fall under extreme famine conditions. Millions are without enough to eat, clean water to drink, and other basics like health care as well.

This comes at a time when US Senators have voted to move a resolution to the full Senate floor that would end US support for the Saudi-let military aggression in Yemen, which has been criticized as unduly dangerous to civilians and re-examined by lawmakers on Capitol Hill following Saudi Arabia's admission of involvement in the killing of Jamal Khashoggi, a Washington Post columnist at Saudi consulate in Istanbul on October 2.

This also comes at a time when representatives of Yemeni warring factions have gone to Sweden to discuss ceasefire and peace. They want to end the conflict which has killed thousands, displaced millions, created the worst cholera epidemic, and brought about 14 million Yemenis to the brink of starvation. Desperate to escape the Saudi-made famine, to be reunited with their loved ones, and to save the future of their children, the negotiators are picking through the scattered signs of hope that this unnecessary conflict might end.

That could happen if:

1- The world community supports the ongoing peace talks, forces Saudi Arabia and its allies to end their airstrikes and blockade, and allow international humanitarian aid into the famine-hit areas, including the port city of Hodeida. The Saudis must suspend their belief in the possibility of a single military victory in battle-hardened Yemen to win the upper-hand in talks. That will never happen. They should also stop blaming Iran for their defeat as Iran has no presence in Yemen and has always maintained that there is no military solution to the protracted conflict.

2- The political consultations are the first step toward putting Yemen on the path to peace. The country needs a solution for its famine right now. The international civil society is united in the desire to end this conflict. Many UN member states have demonstrated their full cooperation with the ongoing political process. The Saudi war was never authorized by the United Nations. It is illegal, all the reason why the United States and its NATO should also end their support for the Saudi aggression.

3- The ongoing famine and soaring civilian death toll has brought even more to the side of ending Western support for the conflict. Several EU countries have halted arms sales to Saudi Arabia. There is negotiation underway within the US Congress for a series of combined deals, including a non-binding resolution saying Saudi Crown Prince Mohamed Bin Salman is complicit in the grisly murder of Washington Post Khashoggi. They should do the next best thing: Vote for ending the Saudi-led war on Yemen.

4- The Trump administration refuses to tamp down the panic-mongering and cheap political theater of “Iran presence in Yemen”, supplies the Saudis with weapons with which to flatten Yemeni neighbourhoods and kill civilians, generate more refugees, and strengthen ISIL and Al-Qaeda. This makes the US government complicit in Saudi war crimes, as they are deliberately targeting hospitals and clinics in Yemen. This appalling trend disrespects the neutrality of health facilities.

5- According to the UN Human Rights Office, the indiscriminate bombing campaign has killed and wounded thousands of civilians. The spiralling civilian death toll and humanitarian crisis has brought international shock and condemnation, so much so that Washington has been forced to react. In the words of some US officials, “The White House has been increasingly frustrated as it is starting to see the war as de facto support for Saudi war crimes.” Regardless of the tired tropes and doublespeak, they have facilitated the conflict and are hence responsible for the bloodshed and mass starvation.

According to Fars News Agancy, it is evident that the Saudis cannot win this unwinnable war. The ongoing blockade and escalation is a humiliating attempt by the Saudis to save face. The world can't be blinded to this shock and terror. The Saudis must be forced to stop the bombing raids and allow the world to see what they have done to the Yemeni people and their hopes for peace. The world community should discount the Saudi lobbyists and censure all war makers and profiteers who masquerade as providers of security for the region and beyond.

The United Nations should create an international commission of inquiry to investigate the Saudi violations of international law as well. This should include the US for taking part in the naval blockade, assisting the Saudi coalition, supplying weapons, intelligence and in-flight refuelling of fighter jets and widening the man-made famine. No one should be let off the hook.

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