Yemen Crisis Suffers Wide International Neglect

The Anglican weekly newspaper, Church Times, said in a report by geopolitical analyst Gerald Butt that military, political and humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan is pushing the largely forgotten war in Yemen into more international uncertainty.

“The fear is that it is inevitable that current events in Afghanistan will be headlines for some time. International staff have been there in large numbers over the past years, whether in the military or in various NGOs. On the other hand, Yemen has not been on the radar of most EU and North American citizens” Archdeacon in the Gulf, Dr. Bill Schwartz, said.

“The tragedy in Yemen continues without much change. It is difficult for the media to create different shots and images of poverty, destruction, deforestation, refugees and children in Yemen’s hospitals” He added.

Dr. Schwartz explained that it is necessary to find a way to shift the international focus to Yemen.The most important dynamic in all of this is for even one superpower to commit to ending the conflict in Yemen.

The newspaper quoted what the Secretary-General, Khaled Khiari, said in a briefing to UN Security Council last week, which considered the timing of the fading focus on Yemen worrying, and that he does not see an end to the conflict, as no progress has been made by the parties to reach a political solution to the war, which has entered its seventh year.He told the Security Council that military activity continues to ebb and flow, and sporadic fighting continues.

The newspaper noted that the city of Marib is still the main strategic hub of the land war, because it acts as a gateway to an important oil and gas producing region. The UN official called on all parties to stop attempts to achieve gains by force “completely and immediately.”

Henrietta Fore, Executive Director of UN Children’s Fund, UNICEF said “Little has changed since her last briefing two years ago, and every day, violence destroys the lives of children and their families.”