US, UK, France Urged to Stop ‘Stoking the Flames of a War’ in Yemen – Statement

An appeal by prominent global figures was made in an open statement marking the 1000th day of the Yemeni crisis. The signatories to the statement said that we’re now at a “tipping point.”

According to Sputnik, over 350 high-profile figures, including Nobel peace prize laureates, former generals, politicians and celebrities, have called on the leaders of the United States, Britain and France to use their power in order to “prevent further catastrophe” in Yemen.

“December 2017 marks 1000 days of a war that has turned the Middle East’s poorest country into the world’s largest humanitarian crisis, leaving Yemen ravaged by preventable diseases and on the verge of a historic famine. Every ten minutes, a child dies from hunger or disease. Three-quarters of the population – 22 million people – need humanitarian assistance to survive,” the statement read.

The statement criticized the international community for failing to act in order “to end this man-made catastrophe.”

“The US, UK, and France, as permanent members of the UN Security Council and major weapons suppliers to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, bear a special responsibility to use the full extent of their leverage to press their partners in the region to end the crisis. Instead of stoking the flames of a war that is strangling an entire population and risks destabilizing the entire region, they could be the brokers of peace,” the statement read.

The Saudi-led Arab coalition has imposed a blockade of Yemen. The blockade resulted in a humanitarian crisis in the country, where, according to the UN, about 8.4 million people are “a step away from famine.”

H.M