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Conflict in Yemen and the Red Sea
Saudi-Led Coalition, UN Spar Over Yemen
- The Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen accused the United Nations of “bias” in favor of rebels after a UN official, in remarks on civilian casualties, called the war “absurd.” Yesterday, the thousandth day of the war, the United Nations reported that 109 civilians had been killed over ten days (CNN)
- The U.S.- and UK-backed coalition carried out intensified air strikes over that period in response to Houthi rebels shooting a ballistic missile toward Riyadh (Guardian)
Seventy-One Civilians Killed in Yemen Over Two Days
- At least seventy-one civilians were killed over two days of air strikes in Yemen carried out by the Saudi-led coalition, according to local reports (Al Jazeera)
Cholera Cases in Yemen Reach One Million
- Some one million Yemenis have contracted cholera and two thousand died from the disease since the outbreak began in April 2017, the Red Cross and the United Nations announced (NPR)
Airstrikes in Yemen Kill More Than One Hundred Civilians
- At least 136 civilians, including more than a dozen children, have been killed in eleven days of air strikes by the Saudi-led coalition fighting to restore Yemeni President Abed Rabbo Mansour al-Hadi to power, according to the United Nations (Al Jazeera)
Houthi Rebels Target Riyadh With Ballistic Missile
- Rebels in Yemen fired another ballistic missile into Saudi Arabia, again targeting the capital of Riyadh. The missile was intercepted by Saudi air defenses, according to officials (ABC News)
Iran Giving Weapons to Yemeni Rebels, Haley Says
- U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley said yesterday that the United States will build a coalition “to push back against Iran” after she accused the country of violating international agreements by supplying weapons to rebels in Yemen (New York Times)
U.S. Issues Rare Rebuke Over Saudi Blockade
- The Trump administration has called on Saudi Arabia to immediately lift a blockade of Yemen to allow food and supplies to reach the millions of Yemeni people in desperate need of aid (Bloomberg)
Yemen Fighting Intensifies After Saleh’s Death
- Yemen’s president in exile has called for an escalation of the fight against Houthi rebels in the country following the killing of former Yemeni leader Ali Abdullah Saleh. The call by President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi came as warplanes from the Saudi-led coalition seeking to restore Hadi carried out more than a dozen airstrikes on the Houthi-held capital of Sana’a (Al Jazeera)
Yemen’s Former Leader Killed
- Former Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh was killed in an attack south of the capital, Sana’a, amid fighting between his supporters and their former allies, the Houthi rebel movement. Since last Wednesday, fighting in Sana’a has killed more than 125 people and wounded more than 230 (BBC)
UK Calls on Saudi Arabia to Ease Yemen Siege
- UK Prime Minister Theresa May, during a three-day Middle East tour, said Saudi Arabia must ease its blockade on Yemen to avoid worsening the “humanitarian catastrophe” there (Al Jazeera)
- The Red Cross said it has made an “unsustainable” decision to purchase a month’s worth of diesel fuel for pumping and sanitation to supply clean water to two Yemeni cities (BBC)
International Aid Group Says 130 Children Die Every Day in Yemen
- Fifty thousand children in Yemen are believed to have died from hunger and disease this year, according to the charity Save the Children. The organization said a continuing blockade by a Saudi-led coalition will likely increase the child mortality rate there (Associated Press)
United States Releases Funds to Yemen
- In a boost to the Saudi-backed government fighting Houthi rebels in Yemen, the United States released about $205 million in central bank funds that were frozen during the Barack Obama administration to pressure warring sides in Yemen to reach a political solution (Financial Times)
Lawmakers Declare U.S. Support in Yemen Unauthorized
- The U.S. House of Representatives has overwhelmingly passed a nonbinding resolution declaring U.S. assistance to a Saudi-led coalition fighting Houthi rebels in Yemen was not authorized under existing legislation. The resolution acknowledges the Pentagon’s sharing of targeting information and refueling warplanes for the coalition (Politico)
Saudi Arabia to Reopen Yemeni Ports
- The Saudi mission to the United Nations said it will reopen all Yemeni ports under its control and requested that UN inspectors monitor the areas to prevent weapons smuggling (Wall Street Journal)
UN Warns of Famine in Yemen
- Following a UN Security Council briefing, the UN under-secretary general for humanitarian affairs told reporters yesterday that if the blockade of Yemen by the Saudi-led coalition continues there will be a famine, warning of the “largest famine the world has seen for many decades with millions of victims” (BBC)
Saudi Blockade Imperils Aid to Yemen
- The United Nations and Red Cross has called Saudi Arabia’s closure of all routes into Yemen “catastrophic” for delivery of aid to the war-torn country (BBC)
Dozens of Saudi Strikes Reported Around Yemeni Capital
- Locals reported at least twenty-nine air strikes in and around the province of Sana’a yesterday after Saudi Arabia accused Houthi rebels in Yemen of launching a ballistic missile toward its capital Riyadh (Al Jazeera)
- Saudi Arabia said it will temporarily close all air, land, and seaport access to Yemen to stem weapons flows to Houthi rebels from Iran (Reuters)
Twenty-Five Yemeni Civilians Killed in Strike
- Local sources have reported that an air strike on a street market in the northwestern province of Saada yesterday killed at least twenty-five civilians. The area has been repeatedly targeted by a Saudi-led coalition carrying out air strike campaigns in Yemen since 2015, after Houthi rebels took control of the capital (New York Times)
Medical Charity: Yemen Cholera Outbreak on Decline
- The medical charity Doctors Without Borders has announced it will close most of its cholera treatment facilities in Yemen as an outbreak of the disease appears to wane. The organization said millions are still in “dire” health situations without access to basic health care (BBC)
UN to Probe Reports of Civilian Deaths in Yemen Strike
- The UN is investigating reports that an air strike by a Saudi-led coalition on a hotel north of Sana’a killed dozens of civilians.The air strike marked the first time in about two months the coalition struck targets around the capital (New York Times)
WHO: Yemen Cholera Cases Pass Half a Million
- The number of suspected cholera cases in Yemen in 2017 has surpassed five hundred thousand, according to the World Health Organization. At least 1,975 people have died since the disease began to spread rapidly in April 2017 (BBC)
U.S. Forces Partner with UAE to Back Yemeni Forces
- U.S. special operations forces and advisors from the United Arab Emirates are backing hundreds of Yemeni troops in an operation to drive out al-Qaeda militants from Yemen’s southern Shabwa province (New York Times)
One Quarter of Yemen’s Population Nearing Famine
- Nearly seven million people in Yemen are nearing a state of famine, according to the UN’s country development chief, who called the food crisis “a man-made disaster” (Voice of America)
UN Blames Saudi Coalition for Attack on Migrant Boat Fleeing Yemen
- A UN report concluded that coalition forces in Yemen led by Saudi Arabia were likely responsible for an attack on a boat carrying migrants that killed more than forty people (New York Times)