Ending the war in Yemen

What is the issue?

• As one of the first key foreign policy decisions, U.S. President Joe Biden decided to end the U.S.’s support for Saudi Arabia’s six-year-long war on Yemen.
• In this backdrop, here is a look at the course of the war over the years and the possible options for an end.

What are Biden’s recent decisions?

• Biden halted weapons sales to Saudi Arabia.
• He appointed a Special Envoy for Yemen.
• He also removed the Shia Houthi rebels from the list of foreign terrorist organisations.
  • Shia Houthi rebels control the north-western parts of Saudi Arabia.
• Both former Presidents Barack Obama and Donald Trump looked away from Yemen.
• Yemen was notably amidst a multipolar civil war and Saudi bombing.
• It descended into chaos and witnessed a humanitarian catastrophe.

What is the war in Yemen all about?

• Saudi Arabia, the UAE and their allies went to Yemen in March 2015.
• They had clearly defined objectives to -
  1. drive the Houthi rebels, who are backed by Iran, out of the capital Sana’a
  2. stabilise the country under the government of Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi that they support
• The Saudi-led coalition imposed a blockade on Yemen.
• They hoped this would eventually weaken the Houthis.
• They also started a bombing campaign aimed at wrecking the rebels militarily.
• This campaign was however a failure.

How is it evolving?

• The 6 years of war prove that the Saudi strategy of blockade and bombing was a failure.
• The Houthis continued to amass weapons, even technologically advanced drones.
• They continue to use these to attack Saudi targets across the border, despite the blockade.
• The Houthis entrenched themselves in the north-west despite the military and economic challenges.
• The only success for the Saudis, seen tactically, was that the Houthis were limited to the north-west.
• But the Saudi-backed government failed to consolidate its position even in the south.
• A separatist group, the Southern Transitional Council (STC), has established its rule in southern Yemen.
• The UAE, which backs the STC, has pulled out of the Saudi-led coalition.
• All this is happening while the humanitarian situation in Yemen is worsening by the day.
• The war has killed over 10,000 people.
• It has pushed the country to the brink of a famine.
• According to the UN, 50,000 Yemenis are starving to death and 16 million will go hungry in 2021.
• They are depending on food assistance to survive.
• But the war is making it difficult for aid groups to operate in the country.
• Many more are dying due to preventable diseases.
• Yemen already lacks proper health infrastructure and essential medicines.

What should the priority now be?

• The crisis in Yemen is not only about the Saudi-Houthi conflict.
• It has many more dimensions such as humanitarian, civil, geopolitical and sectarian issues.
• Finding a solution to such a complex, multipolar conflict is challenging.
• The immediate focus of the international community should thus be on tackling the humanitarian situation in Yemen.
• The UN recently held a conference to raise up to $2.41 billion for aid works in Yemen.
• But it got pledges only for $1.35 billion, which means the aid operations would be impacted further.
• Even the limited humanitarian work cannot be sustained if there is no reprieve in the fighting.

What is the way forward?

• The Saudis should reconsider if it should continue with a failed strategy.
• The situation in Yemen keeps worsening; the Yemeni people continue to suffer.
• Also, the continued Houthi rocket and drone attacks have left a hole in Saudi Arabia’s national security umbrella.
• The Houthis are also under pressure.
• If they want international legitimacy, they should stop fighting and start talking with other stakeholders.
• A ceasefire is in everybody’s interest. But who will initiate is the question now.
• The Biden administration should use its leverage to pressure Riyadh to lift the blockade, which is a key Houthi demand too.
• The U.S. should take this up as a confidence-building measure and push for talks for a lasting ceasefire.
• Once a ceasefire between the two main rival blocs is achieved, the U.S. and its regional allies could call for a multilateral conference.
• This should involve all stakeholders to discuss Yemen’s future.
• Yemen can find a way out of the current crisis only with an immediate end to the war and further diplomatic assistance.

Source: The Hindu