Houthi terrorism destroying Yemen

Shaimaa Hefzi

The year 2019 started with a note of optimism and hope for peace in Yemen. Yemenis were hoping that this year will witness an end to the war in their country and an end to the control the Houthi militia imposes on this country.

Nonetheless, the Iran-aligned militia did nothing in the first three months of the year but violate the truce reached in Stockholm, Sweden.

The Houthis stage unending attacks on infrastructure in Yemen, leaving a large number of Yemenis behind. More Yemenis are even expected to be victimized in the future.

Yemenis, meanwhile, need support, but the Houthis prevent humanitarian aid from entering Yemen.

The Stockholm truce, which was signed in December 2018, focused on the western port city of Hudaydah. It stipulated a total halt of hostilities and a Houthi pullout from the city.

Intentional failure

Yemeni affairs specialist Nourhan Anwar said the Houthi militia continues to control large parts of Hudaydah.

“This puts them in control of the humanitarian aid that arrives into the city,” she said.

She told The Reference that the Houthis have a habit of not honoring their pledges, just like Iran does.

She added there is always a wide gap between what the Houthis say and what they do.

The Stockholm ceasefire was viewed as a milestone on the road to bringing peace and stability back to Yemen.

It stipulates the withdrawal of the Houthi militia from a territory it occupied since it overran most of Yemen four years ago.

In the first three months of 2019, the Houthis launched tens of attacks against Yemeni army troops and Yemeni civilians. The attacked Yemeni army positions with mortar shells and machine guns.

Saudi Deputy Defense Minister, Emir Khaled bin Salman said the Houthis had overlooked an invitation by Saudi Arabia for finding a peaceful solution to the war raging on in their country.

Head of the UN Redeployment Coordination Committee, General Patrick Cammaert, said the Houthis had handed Hudaydah Port over to members of their militias who wear civilian clothes in their bid to get around the ceasefire agreement.

He described the port handover as a delusional process.

The Stockholm ceasefire also stipulates the opening of corridors for the delivery of humanitarian aid from Hudaydah Port to Yemeni capital Sana’a.

Preventing humanitarian aid

The United Nations said the Stockholm agreement would serve the best interests of Yemeni civilians who were negatively affected by the war.

Nevertheless, the Houthis continue to prevent the entry of humanitarian aid to the areas it controls, especially in Hudaydah. In a matter of one month, the Houthis had rejected to give access to more than 28 humanitarian aid shipments into the city.

The Houthis had even burned down food supplies. In February 2019, the Houthis shelled grain silos and warehouses affiliated with the World Food Organization in Hudaydah.

Yemeni is home to the world’s worse humanitarian crisis with 80% of its population of 24.1 million needing humanitarian aid. Around 10 million Yemenis are also close to famine and 7 million others suffer malnutrition.

According to the UN, the aid response in Yemen would require $4.2 billion every now.