The World Food Programme (WFP) delivered the first shipment of humanitarian aid in six months on 15 January 2019 to the cities of Tuhayat and Darayhimi in western Yemen, while the rest of the conflict-affected country remains in dire condition. WFP spokesperson Hervé Verhoosel indicates that the delivery was successful due to a partial ceasefire deal reached in UN-led talks between government and rebel forces in the west of the country. WFP’s stated aim in the coming weeks is “to reach 12 million people to help avert famine in the country,” which existed before, and has been exacerbated by, the civil war.
The current conflict can be traced to 2011, when the transition of power between President Ali Abdullah Saleh and Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi failed due to conflict with the militant Huthi rebel group, who conquered Yemen’s capital, Sana’a, in 2014 and dissolved Yemen’s parliament in 2015. The same year, in light of escalating clashes between pro- and anti-Huthi forces, President Hadi appealed to Gulf and Arab states to intervene militarily. Saudi Arabia formed and currently leads a military coalition in Yemen, which has launched airstrikes in numerous civilian-populated areas throughout the country. In November 2017, the Saudi-led coalition tightened its partial sea and air blockade on Yemen, which, in addition to the indiscriminate bombing and shelling by all parties to the conflict, has devastated Yemeni civilians and has led to a spiralling humanitarian crisis.
While direct talks between the conflicting parties have not been reached yet, the UN has facilitated inconsistent de-escalations of fighting to allow the delivery of humanitarian aid from both Hudayah, a Houthi stronghold, and Aden, which is controlled by Hadi-supporting forces. UN spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric reports that the UN Redeployment Coordination Committee is “seeking to find a mutually acceptable way forward for the redeployment of forces from the three ports and critical parts of the city associated with humanitarian facilities.” Further talks towards a lasting peace settlement for Yemen, which would allow greater distribution of humanitarian aid throughout the country, rely on a ceasefire holding.
To know more, please read:
https://news.un.org/en/story/2019/01/1030462
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ym.html
https://news.un.org/en/focus/yemen
https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2015/09/yemen-the-forgotten-war/
