Yemen conflict

Yemen is six years into an armed conflict that has killed and injured over 18,400 civilians, consequently meaning that Yemen remains the largest humanitarian crisis in the world whilst experiencing the worst food security crisis in the world with a population of 20.1 million people, requiring food assistance since the beginning of 2020.

Since March of 2015, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirate (UAE) have led a military coalition against a Houthi-led force that took over Yemen’s capital in September of 2014. In the past two years, fighting in northern Yemen increased as the Houthis seized new areas held by the Yemeni government, places where thousands of Yemenis were internally displaced and faced horrid humanitarian conditions alongside an increased risk of COVID-19.

In Southern Yemen, the UAE continues air operations and its support for local Yemeni forces. The Southern Transitional Council (STC), a separtist organization in Yemen, also continued to challenge the Yemeni government in the south.

The conflict has and continues to have devastating impacts on civilians across the country. Civilians are brutally hurt from destroyed infrastructure, lack of fuel and basic services as well as abusive local security forces and a fragile government. Yemen’s economy is completely destroyed due to the years of conflict and many citizens have lost their income due to business closures, leading to increased poverty and dependence on humanitarian aid.

There has also been an increase of COVID cases, creating a toll on the population with 2034 confirmed cases and 588 deaths, a number that underrepresents the effect of the pandemic because of the country’s limited testing capacity.

As the fight continues, airstrikes damage residential homes, hospitals, schools, farms, food stores, school buses and much more. The Yemeni citizens await help from UNICEF and the UN.

Photo from Reuters