A report
from the Sana’a-based Yemeni government has revealed that the
conflict in Yemen — sometimes called the “Forgotten War,” owing
to sparse international media coverage — continues to grow more
dire with each passing day.
Among
the report’s most troubling findings are the staggering number of
people who were displaced by fighting last year, with 3.8 million
people forced to flee their homes, many of them from the
still-besieged port of Hodeida, over the course of 2018. Many of
these refugees have sought refuge in or near the Yemeni capital of
Sana’a, whose international airport remains under blockade from the
Saudi Arabia-led and U.S.-supported coalition.
Another
highly troubling aspect of the situation in Yemen, as revealed by
this recently released report, is the continued closure of key food
warehouses – including those controlled by the World Food Program
and the World Health Organization – that are storing food for as
many 3.5 million people. While these facilities remain closed, an
estimated 18 million Yemenis face severe food insecurity and
starvation, including 5 million children. Worse still,
the report noted that the Saudi-led coalition bombed four such food
warehouses in addition to two trucks carrying food aid, just during
the month of December.
The
statistics released by the government in Sana’a also reveal the
continuation of the Saudi-led coalition’s targeting of critical
civilian infrastructure, such as farms and water pumps. According to
government figures, during December 2018, the coalition razed 94
farms and damaged another 128 while destroying 68 water pumps and
water storage tanks. One hundred and thirty two livestock were also
killed by coalition bombs. The U.S. military intelligence has been
“fine tuning” the coalition’s airstrike target list since last
June, making the U.S. complicit in these crimes against Yemeni
civilians.
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