Pending* Disaster in Yemen (Re-published Blog)

“With combatants fighting in neighborhoods and Saudi-led coalition warplanes pounding Iran-backed rebels from the sky, Yemen's war is wreaking a particularly bloody toll among civilian.” According to the United Nations, in the past month, there have been more than 550 civilian casualties in the clashes between Saudi Arabian military coalitions and Yemeni Houthi militias.

Amnesty International raises concerns about Saudi Arabia’s compliance with international law, saying that they have failed to take precautions to prevent civilian deaths. Saudi Arabia claimed that they intended on lessening the number of bombings against the Iranian-backed Houthi coalition that are loyal to Yemen's former president. Despite this, Riyadh pounded targets with at least 30 airstrikes within the Thursday and Friday of last week. Many Western countries that have been backing the Saudi’s aerial campaign have indicated their concern for the humanitarian crisis on the ground and about the risk of certain terrorist groups taking advantage of the situation. The fighting is making it very difficult for aid workers to deliver provide any medical or humanitarian aid to Yemeni civilians. To make matters worse, ISIS which initially has had little presence in Yemen released a video pledging to attack the Yemeni Houthis, who are from the Shi’ite sect of Islam (while ISIS is a sunni extremist group).

The situation in Yemen has gone past the point of “a ticking time bomb.” At this point the sheer clashes between the Saudi military and Houthi militia groups have wreaked immense havoc on Yemen. Many refugees have been fleeing or attempting to flee the country furthering the immense refugee crises that have been manifesting in the Middle Eastern region. The large civilian death toll paired with the limited humanitarian assistance is disastrous, since the civilians within Yemen are at great risk for death and the hazard that are the Houthi militia and Saudi military forces. With ISIS on its way to inflame the situation, the fighting in Yemen is on its way to become a huge disaster.

Sources:
http://uk.reuters.com/article/2015/04/24/uk-yemen-security-idUKKBN0NF1I320150424
http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/115-children-killed-start-saudi-led-yemen-offensive-30552494