Skip to main content

Saudi’s deadly strike to Yemen

June 19, 2017 | Expert Insights

On 17th June 2017, a Saudi-led coalition air strike in Yemen in the Northern Saada province led to the deaths of at least 25 people. This attack is the latest in a string of deadly incidents in the 27-month-old conflict.

Air strikes by Saudi Arabia

The Saudi-led coalition has been carrying out air strikes against the Houthi rebels for more than 2 years now. Since then the country has been plunged into a civil war in which the exiled government backed by Saudi Arabia is trying to defeat the Houthi group aligned with Iran.

In March, 22 people died and several were wounded because of a Saudi-led attack in western region near the Red Sea fishing town of Khoukha. In the recent attack on Saturday, the Director of the Houthi Health Department Office in Shaada said the aircraft conducted 2 raids on al-Mashnaq market leading to multiple causalities.

The Yemen war has led to 10,000 deaths and more than 3 million people have been displaced. According to United Nations Food Program, nearly half of Yemen’s population is on a verge of famine.

The Yemen crisis

Yemen, one of the world’s poorest countries in the world, has been devastated by the war between forces loyal to the internationally recognized government of President Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi and those allied to the Houthi rebel movement.

The war began in 2011with the Arab Spring protests that led to the fall of the then President Ali Abdallah Saleh on charges of corruption and economic grievances. Hadi, his deputy minister at that time, took over the region. However, the increasing political instability in Yemen paved the way for the Houthi, representing the Shiite minority to take over the territory.

Saudi Arabia shares an 1100 mile border with Yemen. It being predominantly a Sunni region, has increasingly become concerned with the rise of Houthi movement. It views the Houthi movement as a proxy war of the Shiite majority regional rival, Iran. This has led Saudi Arabia to form a coalition with other Sunni majority countries. It has also been backed by US along with UK and France who have supplied the Saudi led coalition with weapons and intelligence.

Assessment

Due to the ongoing crisis in Yemen, al-Qaeda has created a strong hold in the region. The two factions in Yemen must start focusing on national interests over personal issues. If the Houthi’s continue with their struggle, the internal conflict will turn into a civil war.  Major Powers like US, UK and France should refrain from assisting Saudi Arabia in order put an end to the humanitarian crisis.

Additionally, the ongoing crisis has affected many Indians residing in the region. Recently, 4000 Indians were rescued from the region. From an economic perspective as well, the return of the Indians from Yemen will lead to a reduction in the repatriation profits for India.