Dear Sponsors, Dear Members, Dear Yemen Friends
Sabri Saleem, the founder and director of the YCMES (Yemen College of Middle Eastern Studies) in Sana´a and now also the GILS (German International Language School) at Idar-Oberstein in Germany kindly forwarded a compiled study of the war in Yemen for our readers:
Internationally neglected Conflict in Yemen
By Sabri Saleem
The bloody war in Yemen has been continuing for by now five years. I do not see an end of this war for the following main reasons:
- Saudi Arabia is supporting Hadi.
- The United Arab Emirates are seeking to divide Yemen into south and north by training and equipping the Southern Yemen Separatists (Southern Transitional Council).
- Iran is supporting the Houthis.
- The Yemenis are divided politically into three groups.
- The western world has benefited from this war by selling weapons to kill Yemenis.
Before going into detail let me point out the current situation in Yemen. Every single family has lost a generation of highly educated members, thousands of young Yemenis have been injured and have become handicapped. What is the future for these young people? The infrastructure of Yemen has been devastated on purpose: health, education, roads, electricity, water, agriculture, you name it.
It is sad to see Yemenis killing each other without a future vision for the benefit of the Yemeni people. This war and the daily loss of blood in Yemen are to meet regional and international interests. Weapons keep being shipped to Yemen instead of food and medicine.
The Arab spring protests first broke out in Yemen in 2011 and developed into a bloody civil war.
Every single-family in the country has seen a relative or a friend killed.
For several decades Saudi Arabia has been financing individual’s tribes and government officials, intervening in almost every government institution. Iran and Qatar are supporting the Houthis in the northern part of Yemen (Sadah). The former President Saleh ruled Yemen for 33 years hoping with his family and the military that they will rule Yemen forever.
In 2011as a consequence of the Arab spring the Islah party and the Houthis tried to take over. Saleh was forced to resign and installed Hadi as head of the legal government. All of a sudden he supported the Houthis (he had fought in six terrible local wars before) speculating that by doing so he could remain a mighty figure, and encouraged them to invade and occupy Sana’a and the surrounding territory. Hadi and his government fled to Saudi Arabia.
(When Saleh realized that his cooperation with the Houthis would not bring the desired return to power he tried to coalesce with Saudi Arabia and was assassinated by the Houthis when they discovered this).
The Arab coalition with the main players Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates had started the war against the Houthis, on the pretext of reestablishing the legal government.
As a matter of fact, the UAE installed a new military force in the southern part of Yemen, concentrated in Aden, referred to as Southern Transitional Council. Mr. Azabidi is the Council´s president and ruling Aden. President Hadi and his government remain in Saudi Arabia.
This explains the present three governments in Yemen: Hadi and his government in Saudi Arabia, Azabidi´s military engagement in Aden and the Houthis´ rebel activities in Sana’a.
I’m afraid to state that the Arab coalition is not interested in a unity of Yemen. The Southern Transitional Council is getting stronger and more ambitious every day. The Houthis have almost proceeded to Marib. President Hadi is the only representative of the legal government recognized internationally, although he is in Saudi Arabia. Every day more solders lose their lives in bloody conflicts.
The end of the war is not in the hands of Yemenis. They are killing each other every day for the benefit of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Iran. The western world continues selling weapons to Saudi Arabia and the UAE to kill as many Yemenis as possible…
The war will, in all probability end when the war players agree on how to divide the Yemeni cake among them.
But the war mongers might not be aware of a special feature of YEMEN:
Throughout history no one has succeeded to conquer Yemen for good. Not the Ottomans, not the British, not Russia, not Egypt …
May the present powers realize that they are leading a war that cannot be won, that the thousands of year old culture and history of this country will once again become undeniable, and may this happen soon!