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CNN Report: Yemen: The 'forgotten war'

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Oersted

Member
161006111217-01-yemen-shadow-of-syria-large-169.jpg


Dozens of schools and hospitals have been bombed. Foreign powers have carried out deadly airstrikes. Political chaos has created a vacuum for militant groups like ISIS to flourish and sieges have cut off rebel-held areas from desperately needed aid.
You might think this is a picture of war-torn Syria, but it is in fact Yemen, where a bloody civil war has created what the UN calls a "humanitarian catastrophe."

Since the conflict began in 2015, an estimated 10,000 people have been killed, according to the UN.
Harrowing photos of children wasting away are undoubtedly the most telling images of Yemen's war. UNICEF reports that 1.5 million children are currently malnourished in the country, 370,000 of them severely. On top of this, 178 schools have been attacked, according to data collected by the Yemen Post.

"The scale of suffering as a result of the ongoing conflict in Yemen is shocking. An estimated 21.2 million people, which constitutes nearly 80% of the total population, need humanitarian assistance. Almost half of those in need are children," said UNICEF Yemen Representative Meritxell Relano.

On the day before Eid al-Adha -- considered by many to be the holiest Muslim holiday -- the coalition pounded a group of farmers digging a well in rebel-held Beit Saadan, north of Sanaa, killing at least 48 people, including first responders and children, according to three security sources in Beit Sadaan, who did not want to be named.
Abdul Malik Ali Wajeeh, a local resident and witness, lost his cousin, who was trying to rescue those buried in rubble from the initial strike.

"It's not the first time rescuers have been attacked by Saudi airstrikes, and people are aware that could happen. But you can't watch loved ones die and do nothing to help," he said.

But the Yemen Post collated information from official sources that at least 69 other civilians were killed in strikes the following week, including several as they slept in their homes and others as they celebrated Eid. The media has been largely silent on these attacks.

The conflict

The conflict began in early 2015, when Houthi rebels -- a minority Shia group from the north of the country -- drove out the US-backed government, led by President Abdu Rabbu Mansour Hadi, and took over the capital, Sanaa.

The crisis quickly escalated into a multi-sided war, which allowed al Qaeda and ISIS -- other enemies of the Houthis -- to grow stronger amid the chaos.
The Houthis are backed by Iran and its members follow the Shia Islamic branch of Zaidism. Zaidis make up around a third of Yemen's population and ruled the country's north for almost 1,000 years until 1962.

A coalition led by neighboring Saudi Arabia began its air raids on the country in support of Hadi's government in March last year.

Why Yemen barely gets attention

"It's a complicated and messy conflict, it's hard to report on well, and it's hard to find a good guy and a bad guy," said Peter Salisbury, an associate fellow from the Middle East and North Africa Program at London-based Chatham House.
"There are a lot of issues with accessibility -- it's very hard to get into Yemen during the war, and if you do, it's not the easiest environment to get around in.
"It's expensive and it's not full of freelance journalists. It's a hard to sell to editors," he said.

"The Yemen war remains regional because there is no major international backer on the other side of the conflict. And the Americans and the UK don't have any real strategic interest in Yemen, which is why they have decided to back the Saudis. For them, the strategic imperative in Yemen is really to keep the Saudis happy and to maintain a degree of stability in the Gulf," Salisbury said.

More here

http://edition.cnn.com/2016/10/06/middleeast/yemen-conflict/index.html

The picture of a malnourished boy might be unsettling to some

160914070338-05-yemen-conflict-large-169.jpg




Lock if old
 
My mind regularly wanders to Yemen, and it saddens me things really haven't eased at all on the country. The 80% of the population thing though... yeesh.
 

AKyemeni

Member
I've had several cousins and friends kidnapped by Houthi rebels. One of them had their brand new Toyota Hilux stolen and used for battle.

The country is fucked.
 
FYI a Saudi coalition airstrike just killed 155 and wounded many others in Sanaa' (Saudis deny it of course).

http://edition.cnn.com/2016/10/08/middleeast/yemen-airstrikes/index.html

But judging by the current climate, no one's going to give a shit, they're just Yemenis, not Syrians, Zaidis and not Sunnis.

They don't give a shit about Syrians either, it's just a matter of our enemy being behind the govt of Syria. The conflict in Yemen is a perfect example of utmost hypocrisy on the Wests part if anyone will want to see.
 

Beefy

Member
I wouldn't really call it a war. I would call it mass murder.
They don't give a shit about Syrians either, it's just a matter of our enemy being behind the govt of Syria. The conflict in Yemen is a perfect example of utmost hypocrisy on the Wests part if anyone will want to see.
But that oil and investment? What's a few lives before profit...
 

commedieu

Banned
They don't give a shit about Syrians either, it's just a matter of our enemy being behind the govt of Syria. The conflict in Yemen is a perfect example of utmost hypocrisy on the Wests part if anyone will want to see.
There it is. And very telling that this bump happened and still under 10 replies.

Global politics is so complicated am i right..?
 

score01

Member
SA have got a lot to answer for here. Lots of innocent blood on their hands. So sad to see all this playing out and being practically ignored by news/media.
 

dabig2

Member
SA have got a lot to answer for here. Lots of innocent blood on their hands. So sad to see all this playing out and being practically ignored by news/media.

I wonder who gave them all those weapons?

Yeah, the USA is pretty complicit here. We have not been idle bystanders. The entire situation is beyond FUBAR'd and more innocent people are going to be needlessly slaughtered and for what?
 
There it is. And very telling that this bump happened and still under 10 replies.

Global politics is so complicated am i right..?

Like I say, everyone is hypocritical, the Chinese will claim something while doing another, the Russians same, the West same. One who chooses to be a staunch warrior of one side or the other is one who chooses to be ignorant.
 
I truly think Yemen will split next year

I mean we are already at the old South, North borders
and the South doesn't want anything to do with the North
I pray for the Houthis and that this senseless slaughter ends.

the Houthis are murderous people too

you should see Taiz, etc...

what you should pray for is the Yemeni people tossed into the middle of this that are not on either side yet still have to suffer due to people's egos.
 
I truly think Yemen will split next year

I mean we are already at the old South, North borders

and the South doesn't want anything to do with the North


the Houthis are murderous people too

you should see Taiz, etc...

what you should pray for is the Yemeni people tossed into the middle of this that are not on either side yet still have to suffer due to people's egos.

All Houthis? Everywhere?
 
I wonder who gave them all those weapons?

LMAO.

If only there was a super power that could have stopped this from happening. Or that could have not escalated the civil war. Or that could have not toppled the countries political hierarchy.

Oh please. Don't put all the blame on them. I blame the superpowers who have enabled if not basically condoned their bad behavior.

trust me guys n gals....I have just as much salt for those you reference... but for now my disdain lies with the Saudis
 

Mr.Sumal

Member
I mean the military faction not the Zaidis


indeed it is

all hope for unification ended in 2011

basically the country now has two separate governments, separate banks, separate armies, etc...

what is shocking is that the North will likely be the first one to split

The poor country already has millions displaced, billions in losses. and tens of thousands dead. Hopefully, this proxy war comes to an end after all like you said it's already divided.
 

TarNaru33

Banned
I
But that oil and investment? What's a few lives before profit...

Its not even about profit... it really is about the fact that the gulf states hold and I will say literally, the world economy hostage.

Even if U.S and company started telling the Saudis to stop, that is really all they can do without hurting themselves. Sanctions against these groups would hurt the world more than the Gulf states. So this goes far beyond just enemies and interests. The west have silently recognized the extent of the destruction Saudi Arabia is causing to Yemen, this is why they slowly started backing out.

As much as I would love to see U.S strong arm the Saudis, I think too many of you believe U.S actually has a true strong influence of these Gulf states. They do not "need" U.S if U.S leaves their interests in the dust. Until/if oil becomes less of a vital resource to the world, this will remain so.

While I do not like it and disagree with the approach, the realist in me do not see a better approach here as it would take a lot to sever the ties of the Saudi's from the other Gulf states, which would be a requirement to reign the Saudi's in with the least amount of economic damage possible.

We are talking about a nation that produces 11 million barrels of oil a day.. This isn't an Iran-like situation and that was them isolated from the other Gulf states.
 
More. The US just bombed Yemen and no one's talking about it.

The cruise missile salvo ramps up the already significant US military involvement in deeply divided and desperately poor Yemen. While it’s true that the US has launched drone strikes on al-Qaida targets in Yemen for years, sometimes killing civilians and even US citizens, this particular military engagement has the potential to drag the US straight into a protracted and escalating conflict. And, as everyone knows, America has an uncanny ability to enter protracted and escalating military conflicts.

Yet we’ve heard absolutely nothing about this from our presidential candidates.

If we investigated, we would find that the Pentagon justified this attack as retaliation. Last week, missiles were fired on two separate occasions at another navy destroyer off of Yemen’s southern coast. Those missiles fell harmlessly into the water, but they were enough of a provocation that the navy responded with its own bombardment.

But we would also find that immediately prior to those incidents, on Saturday 8 October, a 500lb laser-guided US-made bomb was dropped on a funeral procession by the US-sponsored Saudi-led coalition fighting the rebels who, the Saudis say, are backed by Iran. This bomb killed more than 140 people, mostly civilians, and wounded more than 525 people. Human Rights Watch called the incident “an apparent war crime”.
 

except what they bombed were already destroyed Radar sites that the coalition bombed a year ago

more likely a show of force in retaliation of the Houthis attack the frigate

on the one hand they got two prisoners freed...
on the other just a few hours ago they got attacked again
US also stated

which goes in line with all the other arms stopped via French and other navy ships


Iran on the other hand

speaking of Aden... (News that really doesn't get any news below... seeing as it makes this whole thing more complex and also as if news agency will actually go in depth with everything )

October 14th All of South Yemen held a independence rally in Aden


Also it seems the Saudi's did a statement and agreed to compensation about their recent attack... while continuing more airstrikes around Sa'naa



Statement goes on about "accident" but here is some of the people that died in this attack





Retaliation/Revenge bombings by forces against coalition (Houthi/Saleh) towards a pro Hadi funeral
https://twitter.com/MiddleEastMnt/status/787293761957167104

While they Houthi/Saleh continue to shell Tiaz



Meanwhile a northern expedition has intensified

Both sides pushing hard

claim things




-----
phew that was exhausting and that wasn't even everything this week



Anyway I and a ton of actual people who are actual analyst (unlike me) assume that likely we won't be seeing a unified Yemen in the near future

basically the South is free from Houthis/Saleh and they don't want to come back to that forced marriage with the north ever again which ironically was pushed and done by the US and the Saudis in order to end the communist South which is now supported by the US and the Saudis

:/

war guys... literally everything is the opposite now

and about the press lately on all conflicts that are going on right now... idk if it is due to the US election season or what but they are all literally some shallow non in-depth, half assed articles that literally try and stroke as much things as possible with one brush

I mean I want to read up on Yemen but most of the stuff is literally tossing Saa'na as the whole entire country and anything that is happening there is literally the opinion of all of Yemen... when that isn't the case.
 
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