How The UK Government Continues To Fuel The War in Yemen

Yemen has been suffering from what has been dubbed “the forgotten war” since conflict broke out in 2011. The war unfolded over several years, starting with the Arab Spring, which saw millions of anti-government/pro-democracy protests across the Middle East and North Africa attempting to overthrow oppressive and authoritarian regimes. Some countries were successful, such as Egypt and Tunisia, who toppled their governments with the demand of a better standard of living. However, many protesters were meet with violence from the country’s military, resulting in millions of people being pushed into some of the worst humanitarian crises.

The uprising against the Yemen government forced president, Ali Abdullah Saleh, to hand over power to his deputy, Abd-Rabbuh Mansour Hadi. An election was held in February 2012 and Hadi was the only candidate. The transfer of power and Hadi’s attempts at constitutional and budget reforms created an uproar from Houthi rebels from the north. The Houthi movement is predominately made up of Shia Muslims known as Zaydis, which is the minority group, in comparison to Sunni Muslims. They are backed by former president, Saleh, and allegedly Iran, which Iran has denied.

Houthi Rebels gradually took over the capital city, Sana’a, between 2014 and 2015 - eventually leading to Hadi being forced to flee. The Houthi insurgency has led to a full-scale civil war. At the time of the takeover, a Saudi-led coalition intervened to defeat the rebel group. This intensified the war into the humanitarian crisis we know today.

There have been many concerns over war crimes being committed since Saudi Arabia began deploying troops and fighting in Yemen. Yemen is the largest humanitarian crisis in the world, with more than 24 million people in need of humanitarian assistance, this includes 12 million children.

According to a report from the UN, published in December 2020, the country’s death toll is estimated around 233,000, which includes 131,000 from indirect causes such as, food insecurity, health services - only half of the country’s health facilities are functioning - and infrastructure. More than 3,000 of these deaths are children. The UN has also warned that 16 million will suffer from hunger in 2021. Additionally, the UN has reported that 400,000 Yemeni children under the age of five could die from starvation this year, unless there is an immediate intervention, as malnutrition rates soar due to conflict and Covid-19.

An overlooked aspect of the war in Yemen, is the countries from the West that back the Saudi-led coalition – arguably being responsible for not only the war, but fueling the humanitarian catastrophe. Countries such as the UK, America, Canada and France have supplied billions of pounds worth of weaponry sales to Saudi Arabia.

The UK is one of Saudi Arabia’s biggest suppliers, exporting bombs, missiles, as well as military and diplomatic support. In 2019, a report by a UN panel of experts compiled a list of 160 military officers and politicians who would potentially face war crime charges. Included in this list was; Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, the Houthi rebel movement, Yemeni government military forces, the US, France and the UK. The court of appeal found the UK government’s arms export policy to be unlawful. The UK still continues and has increased arms sales, despite campaigners demanding that the UK government halt all sales to Saudi Arabia for the “immoral” use of weaponry and accusing the government of turning a blind eye to evident war crimes.

During the global Covid-19 pandemic, in 2021, British officials authorised the sale of almost £1.4bn of weaponry to Saudi Arabia, after the UK had resumed unrestricted arms sales early in July. Around the same time, US president, Joe Biden, halted all arms sales to Saudi Arabia amidst the pandemic, but the UK did not do the same - which they received heavy backlash for. Ironically, within the same week, the UK Foreign Secretary called for immediate ceasefires in war-torn areas, such as Yemen, to allow for mass Covid-19 vaccinations, as it was feared millions of people would miss out due to on-going conflict.

In March 2021, it was announced at a virtual donor’s conference that the UK will cut its aid for Yemen by nearly 60% – while the US pledged to increase their aid for Yemen. They also announced other massive cuts to some of the world’s poorest countries, including; Syria, Somalia, Libya, Nigeria and Lebanon. This isn’t the first time the UK have made drastic foreign aid cuts during the pandemic. The government were accused of “secretly” cutting the foreign aid budget by £2.9bn in 2020.

The budget cuts happened in the same year the UK government increased arms sales to Saudi Arabia by billions of pounds, prime minister, Boris Johnson, spent nearly £1m giving his private jet a makeover, and the government wasted £22bn on a test-and-trace system that didn’t work. The government has stated these budget cuts are due to the “economic impact” brought on by Covid-19.