Yemen crisis may eclipse Syria
Humanitarian aid workers say fighting might cause starvation, mass displacement
BEIRUT— The fighting in Yemen threatens to cause widespread hunger and thirst and displace huge numbers of people, creating another humanitarian disaster in a region already reeling from the crisis in Syria, according to analysts and aid workers.
The impoverished Arabian Peninsula nation of 25 million people was struggling with alarming malnutrition levels even before an offensive by Shiite rebels, called Houthis, prompted a military intervention last month by a coalition led by Saudi Arabia.
Now, the Saudi-led coalition’s airstrikes as well as the fighting at the country’s airports and seaports are impeding access to food and other supplies.
According to the United Nations and humanitarian aid agencies, major urban centres, including the southern city of Aden, which has a population of about 1 million, may run out of drinking water.
The fighting has displaced thousands of Yemenis, and a continuation of the unrest could produce waves of refugees reminiscent of the flight of Syrians from cities and towns en- gulfed in that country’s civil war, analysts and aid workers say. About 4 million people have poured out of Syria and 6 million more are internally displaced because of the fighting.
Looking to exploit Yemen’s chaos are extremist groups such as Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) and the Islamic State, said Fawaz A. Gerges, professor of Middle Eastern politics at the London School of Economics.
“If Yemen descends into all-out war, which is a likely scenario, we could witness a greater humanitarian crisis than that of Syria, in terms of refugees and mass starvation,” he said. “You could end up with Al Qaeda being the main winner after this conflict.”
Grant Pritchard, Oxfam’s director in Yemen, expressed concern about “a humanitarian disaster on our hands in the coming weeks and months” if the fighting does not stop. Even before the current bout of fighting, he said, about 16 million Yemenis relied on humanitarian assistance. About 10 million did not have enough food to eat, while 9 million lacked basic medical care and 13 million did not have access to clean drinking water.
Most international aid workers have left the country because of the danger, and their organizations have had to scale back operations.
Fawaz Abdulrahman Abdullah, 22, an employee at a hotel in Riyadh, the Saudi capital, said he nearly broke down in tears the last time he reached his family by telephone in their village outside Aden.
“They begged me, ‘Where is the money?’” he said. “I told them, ‘I can’t find any way to send it.’”
He looked for someone travelling to Aden who could carry the cash in hand. But the Saudi military has closed the border.
For those struggling in Yemen, such as Mohammed Alawi Mohammed, a 34-year-old father of two, a lack of food is a major concern. Supermarket shelves are increasingly bare. According to some estimates, Yemen imports more than 90 per cent of its food.
“I worry that even basic foods will vanish and prices will rise significantly,” said Mohammed, an IT consultant.
Adam Baron, a Yemen analyst and visiting fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations, said that such a breakdown has been occurring for some time but that the Saudi assault has accelerated it.
He referred to the disintegration of the military and deteriorating authority in cities such as Aden, where civilians are arming themselves.