United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Stephen O’Brien addressed the United Nations Security Council on Friday to appeal for relief funding for Yemen. “The Yemeni people’s suffering has relentlessly intensified,” he said, noting that 7 million Yemenis were on the brink of famine and that 16 million lacked access to water
August 14-21: Reports that war has intensified; leaked memo acknowledges that coalition targeted civilians
Monday, August 14
Yemeni Central Bank Governor Mansr al-Qaiti accused the Saudi-led coalition of disrupting the flow of cash into Yemen. According to a report by The Independent, al-Qaiti said the coalition was “strangling” the Yemeni economy by preventing the government of Abdu Rabbu Mansour Hadi from paying the salaries of a million civil servants. He mentioned 13 instances of the coalition blocking flights from transporting cash via Aden.
August 7-14: Conversation over San'a Airport continues; further clashes between AQAP and pro-Hadi forces
Monday, August 7
The State Department released a report on terrorism in Yemen, which argued that the ongoing civil war benefits al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP). Read more here.
Science News published an article describing the work of Rowa Mohammed Assayaghi, a medical microbiologist at San’a University, in combating the spread of cholera in Yemen.
July 31-August 6: Military offensive opens against AQAP in Shabwah; civilians killed in Sa'dah
Monday, July 31
Yemen expert Peter Salisbury penned an article for Chatham House warning that the country’s war economy, in which President Abdu Rabbu Mansour Hadi, militia leaders, and others have stakes, is undermining efforts toward a diplomatic solution to the ongoing civil war. Read more here.
Tuesday, August 1
Reuters reported that the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps has begun using a new route to transport weapons to the Houthis. The route, which was selected in order to evade the blockade on Yemen, reportedly runs through Kuwaiti waters. The Kuwaiti foreign minister denied the report.
Ambassador Seche and Mr. Pelofsky: Recommendations for promoting the peace process in Yemen
In an article in Just Security over the weekend, Stephen Seche and Eric Pelofsky provided recommendations to US policymakers regarding efforts to restart the peace process in Yemen, based on their meetings this month with Yemeni and Saudi officials in Riyadh. Stephen Seche, a former US ambassador to Yemen and the executive vice president of the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington, and Eric Pelofsky, a visiting fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy and a former special assistant to the president and senior director for North Africa and Yemen at the National Security Council, warned that “today, there appears to be no viable path to peace in Yemen.” They pointed out several challenges, including internal tension between actors on both major sides of the conflict and Yemeni President Abdu Rabbu Mansour Hadi’s refusal to endorse the UN Roadmap for Yemen as a basis for negotiation
UN humanitarian leaders address UNSC meeting on Yemen crisis
The United Nations Security Council convened on Wednesday for a meeting to address the ongoing conflict and humanitarian crisis in Yemen. United Nations Under-Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Stephen O’Brien addressed the Council, emphasizing the food security crisis and the cholera outbreak in Yemen. He stressed that the Yemeni health system has collapsed, pointing to the facts that 65% of health facilities in the country have closed and that 30,000 health workers have not received their salaries in nearly a year. He also noted that UNOCHA’s Yemen Humanitarian Response Plan is only 33% funded. Finally, he called for more serious international action to hold the parties to the conflict accountable for violations of international humanitarian law and to demand the opening of the airport in San’a and the protection of the port in al-Hudaydah
Analysis: the causes of the Saudi-Qatari rift
The recent diplomatic crisis between several Arab states, headed by Saudi Arabia, and Qatar has caused ripples across the region and the world. Yemen, the site of military interventions by both Saudi Arabia and Qatar, has been particularly affected as Qatari troops withdraw from the country and certain Salafi elements protest Saudi tactics. Gabriele vom Bruck, senior lecturer in Social Anthropology at the University of London’s School of Oriental and African Studies, penned an analysis in Le Monde Diplomatique about the Saudi-Qatari rift, entitled “Qatar crisis: Saudi Arabia as anti-hero?” highlighting the significance of the spat for Yemen.
June 12-19: Senate Resolution of Disapproval Nearly Passes; Airstrikes on Market Kill 25
Monday, June 12
The Intercept reported that the Trump administration made its argument in favor of an arms sale of over $500 million to Saudi Arabia in a top-secret briefing organized by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. Yemen Peace Project Advocacy Director Kate Kizer said of the meeting, “It’s really unfortunate that Senate majority leadership decided to hold this briefing in secret. Americans deserve to know the conduct of our allies, especially when the U.S. is intimately involved in starving potentially millions of Yemeni civilians by continuing to provide unconditional support to the Saudi-led coalition.”
UNSC issues Presidential Statement on Yemen
The United Nations Security Council released a presidential statement today regarding the conflict and humanitarian crisis in Yemen. The statement expresses concern about the humanitarian impact of the conflict, highlighting the cholera epidemic and the risk of famine. It calls on all parties to the conflict to adhere to international humanitarian law, emphasizing the importance of distinguishing between civilians and combatants in selecting targets, of allowing unhindered access for the distribution of humanitarian aid, and of ending the recruitment and use of child soldiers.
June 5-June 12: Support for Senate Resolution of Disapproval Grows; Houthis Declare Boycott of UN Envoy
Monday, June 5
The Yemeni government cut off diplomatic ties with Qatar, accusing it of supporting its opponents, the Houthis, and extremist groups.
Congress must investigate military's use of humanitarian logistics networks in Yemen
The New York Times reported on Tuesday that Scott Darden, an American citizen who served as Yemen country coordinator for logistics firm Transoceanic Development, maintained secret ties to the United States military during his time in Yemen.
Darden, who was detained for several months by the Houthi militia in 2015, worked on behalf of the New Orleans-based company to manage shipments for humanitarian organizations including UNICEF and ICRC. He also oversaw Transoceanic’s offices in San’a, Aden, and al-Hudaydah. At the same time, he and his employer secretly worked with the American military to assist with logistics for Special Operations units.
UN Relief Chief and Mwatana Chair address UNSC meeting on Yemen
Stephen O’Brien, the United Nations Under-Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, delivered a statement to the United Nations Security Council during last Tuesday’s Council meeting on Yemen. O’Brien spoke of the humanitarian catastrophe in Yemen, warning that the situation there had become the world’s largest food security crisis and that lack of access to food and clean water created the conditions for the cholera epidemic. While he lauded the United Nations and its partners, along with medical personnel in Yemen, for their work to stem the spread of cholera and other diseases, he criticized the parties to the conflict for putting their own interests above the needs of the Yemeni people, explaining that both lack of access to food and disease are, in the case of Yemen, man-made phenomena that could be avoided if the parties were willing to negotiate an end the conflict.