War, Disease & Famine: Yemen Crisis at Breaking Point
Millions of Yemenis are on the brink of starvation while the country is in the midst of the world’s fastest-growing cholera epidemic. Civil war, foreign military intervention, and a naval blockade have caused death and disease on a massive scale.
Yemen can no longer sustain itself following a prolonged and bloody insurrection and a brutal bombing campaign waged by the Saudi-led coalition since March 2015.
In spite of UN warnings about extremely high collateral damage caused by the airstrikes, the US and UK continue to supply Saudi Arabia with billions of dollars in arms.
The coalition of nine Arab states has carried out 5,676 airstrikes in Yemen so far this year, far surpassing the 3,936 launched in 2016.
Over 4,000 civilians, including 1,332 children have died as a direct result of the fighting, while the overall death toll since the civil war began has surpassed 10,000.
What began as a bombing campaign has now morphed into a naval and economic blockade which continues to this day.
The destruction of critical water and sanitation infrastructure has also generated the worst cholera outbreak in the world, with more than 500,000 cases reported by the WHO.
A recent analysis by a team of researchers at London’s Queen Mary University found that the Saudi-led intervention in Yemen played a key role in the cholera epidemic.
“[T]he government is supported by a Saudi-led coalition, and this alliance commands far greater resources than the rebels. As a result, Houthi-controlled areas have been disproportionately affected by the conflict, which has created conditions conducive to the spread of cholera,” the researchers wrote.
“Saudi-led airstrikes have destroyed vital infrastructure, including hospitals and public water systems, hit civilian areas, and displaced people in crowded and unsanitary conditions. A Saudi-enforced blockade of imports has caused shortages of, among other things, food, medical supplies, fuel and chlorine, and restricted humanitarian access.”
RT
R.S