So Long, Saleh

Meredith Lou ‘20

On December 4th, Houthi rebels killed former Yemeni president Ali Abdullah Saleh, broadcasted in a brusque video of his dead body being thrown into a pickup truck. This comes only days after Saleh broke the fragile tactical alliance between his loyalists and the Houthis by publicly criticizing the Houthi movement and changing his loyalties.

Saleh stepped down from his presidency in 2012 when overseas forces promised immunity from prosecution for his actions. A number of people condemned this exchange as Saleh escaped punishment for his many human rights violations throughout his presidency. Instead of retiring quietly like most had hoped, Saleh remained in Yemen. He eventually gathered up his supporters while forming a precarious coalition with the Houthis, the group that eventually overthrew the government run by his successor Vice President Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi.

The unlikely alliance ended when Saleh announced that he was no longer cooperating with the Houthis and would instead help Hadi’s internationally recognized government, referencing the Houthis’ alleged crimes against Yemenis. He encouraged Saudi Arabia and its allies who support Hadi to intervene and stop the ongoing civil war; however, this comment proved to be fatal for him when Houthi leader Abdul-Malik al-Houthi issued a televised proclamation that Saleh had been killed for committing traitorous acts.

The death of Saleh has split Yemen even further. The Yemeni capital of Sana is left in chaos with the infighting worsening. The continued civil battles also heighten the humanitarian crisis in Yemen. Yemen remains as one of the poorest countries in the Arab region. Now, Yemenis must endure through a Saudi Arabian blockade, put into place to combat the Houthis. The ongoing crisis in Yemen is disastrous with at least 17 million people are affected by the hunger crisis, 7 million Yemenis at risk of starving, and almost one million confirmed cases of cholera [1]. Humanitarian aid groups have been calling for the end of Saudi Arabia’s blockade due to their inability to deliver much-needed emergency supplies to Yemenis, including at least three full United Nations airplanes. As Matthew Luu ‘20 notes, “the current conditions of Yemen have only declined since the death of Saleh.”

The United States government has been described as complicit in the crisis of Yemen. The rampant famine stemmed from Saudi Arabia’s blockade in its efforts to starve the rebel territories into submission, which its allies, including the United States, took place in. Additionally, with the aid of the United States, Saudi Arabia has bombed several civilian hospitals and crucial water systems, worsening the cholera outbreak. Under the Obama administration the sales of bombs and munitions were blocked after realizing Saudi Arabians were attacking citizens with weapons supplied by America. However, with Trump in power he has resumed the sales and his administration is seeking to increase involvement in Yemen.

The future of Yemen now remains as unpredictable as ever. Analysts’ fears have been confirmed: more and more violence approaches the capital. Both sides are left vulnerable and the humanitarian crisis threatens an even larger number of Yemenis. While the odds are looking gloom, Adam Baron, visiting fellow at European Council of Foreign Relations, optimistically claims, “Even when people want to play on the ground in Yemen from outside, internal dynamics have a way of shifting in a way that nobody really expected [2].”

 

[1]https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/08/world/middleeast/yemen-saudi-blockade.html

[2]https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/dec/05/ali-abdullah-saleh-killing-changes-dynamics-yemen-civil-war