Yemen: A War Unnoticed

Yemen is a country that holds great significance for the Middle East and the rest of the world. It is not only because of the ancient sites or the strategic location acting as a port of call before boats flock north to Europe through the Suez Canal. The unrelenting truth of Yemen is in the war ravaging there today. Yemen’s war was discussed at one time as an important issue. That fleeting place has now been forgotten yet people continue to die and the war rages unbaited.

A Doctor’s Without Borders clinic was attacked in Northern Yemen earlier this month. Four people died and the event signalled a kaleidoscope of war ravaging the country. In the attack 10 further people were injured. Nearly 3 000 civilians have been killed in Yemen since last March. Pardon my mention of another attack, but while this closely aligns to the number of casualties who perished on September 11, no one is watching those dying in Yemen.

The rebels fighting the state have taken the capital Sana’a. This is particularly interesting as one of the world’s richest countries sits comfortably above Yemen. That country is Saudi Arabia, and its state-owned oil company may be publicly floated soon. Estimates of the company’s wealth numbers in the trillions. You read right, the trillions. The Saudi Government has sent many to fight the dominating rebels, known as Houthi, who support President Hati in some regard.

The Saudi Arabian Government has also come under scrutiny from the United Nations, who have condemned some attacks hitting civilian premises as unwarranted. The UN has made clear its position that the Yemen conflict is causing civilian deaths in a catastrophic manner. Ban Ki Moon, Secretary-General of the United Nations, has labelled these Saudi efforts as War Crimes – a worrying label.

The Yemeni port city of Mokha is one site famous for naming our chocolate fueled caffeine refreshment, mocha. It is also where Saudi-led coalition warplanes dropped bombs on innocent civilians, and Human Rights Watch (HRW) is one group that unequivocally condemns these attacks. A voice so faint when issues such as Paris, New York or London flood our TV screens and we are quick to point fingers in one direction.

But what about Islamic citizens? They are dying at an alarming rate in Yemen and the world is too busy to notice. An important thing to note is that President Hadi and the Houthis do not support Al-Qaeda. Al-Qaeda, famous for the Twin Tower attacks, has consistently created more situations of conflict. Another player, one but many, is the US and they have also continued to bomb, in an effort to stabilise the area.

Yemen is a land of conflict and it should be noticed today.

 

Paul McMahon is an up and coming author as a result of an accident where he fell 3.5 floors from a building, but survived amazingly well. Paul also studied Social Policy and Latin American Studies. He has a Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/paulmcmahonauthor that you can follow if you like the story or like his travel blog available on the page. The message is that the worst accident in the world can still direct you into bliss and prosperity.

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