Genocide as a Strategy of War in Yemen

Saudi terror-bombing, aided by US aerial bombardment by warplanes and drones, was orchestrated in Washington by the Obama administration, escalated by Trump.

War since March 2015 includes a suffocating land, sea and air blockade, preventing essentials to life in enough amounts reaching desperate Yemenis – enduring the world’s severest humanitarian crisis, worsening daily, mostly ignored by Western media.

On November 16, a statement by Human Appeal, Adventist Development and Relief Agency International, ACTED, ZOA, INTERSOS, CARE, UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, Saferworld, Mercy Corps, Handicap International, Action Against Hunger USA, International Rescue Committee, Relief International, Save the Children, and Premiere Urgence Internationale explained outrage by the humanitarian community in Yemen.

Cruel, inhuman and illegal blockade “prevents the entry of food, fuel, medicines and supplies, exposing millions of people to disease, starvation and death,” the statement said – amounting to a policy of genocide forced on defenseless Yemenis.

Over 20 million people desperately need humanitarian aid, seven million on the brink of starvation, 17 millions not knowing where their next meal is coming from.

“The humanitarian community in Yemen calls on the Saudi-led coalition to immediately reopen all Yemeni ports to commercial and humanitarian cargo, without which millions of people are at risk of starvation and death,” the statement said, adding:

“Humanitarian flights to Sanaa must be allowed to resume immediately to ensure the movement of aid workers and the transport of relief cargo.”

A same day  statement by the World Health Organization (WHO), UNICEF and the World Food Program (WFP) warned that “(m)ore than 20 million people, including over 11 million children, are in need of urgent humanitarian assistance.”

“At least 14.8 million are without basic healthcare and an outbreak of cholera has resulted in more than 900,000 suspected cases.”

Diphtheria is spreading fast, children most vulnerable – one million at risk of contracting the disease, a serious bacterial infection of the nose and throat mucous membranes, affecting the ability to breath.

A second type affects skin, causing pain, redness and swelling, people living in hot climates like Yemen under poor hygiene and crowded conditions most vulnerable.

According to the Mayo Clinic, in advanced stages, it can damage the heart, kidneys and nervous system. Even with treatment, it can cause death, especially in children under age-15.

Lack of fuel led three Yemeni cities to stop their water and sewage operations, compounding the humanitarian catastrophe.

“The clock is ticking and stocks of medical, food and other humanitarian supplies are already running low. The cost of this blockade is being measured in the number of lives that are lost,” the WHO, UNICEF and WFP statement said, adding:

“If any of us in our daily lives saw a child whose life was at immediate risk, would we not try to save her?”

“In Yemen we are talking about hundreds of thousands of children, if not more. We have the lifesaving food, medicine and supplies needed to save them, but we must have the access that is currently being denied.

“On behalf of all those whose lives are at imminent risk, we reiterate our appeal to allow humanitarian access in Yemen without further delay.”

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