Yemen Conflict Rises
Yemen Conflict rises for what seems to be an approaching all out war for the people in Yemen as they are forced to turn to external allies including neighboring country Saudi Arabia, and main rival in the region, Iran. Conflicts have been rising over the weekend escalating to what pundits are saying might be the worse the country has seen since its 1994 civil war.
The United Nations held a special emergency conference of the U.N. Security Council on Sunday urging the separate Yemen factions to resolve the conflict peacefully. Despite this warning, peace seems a distant hope, as all out fighting in the streets seems to have broken out, and the conflict reaches a new maximum.
“For years Yemen has defied all the odds and proved wrong those who said it was on the brink of civil war and about to collapse,” Farea al-Muslimi, a researcher with the Carnegie Middle East Center said. “But we may have run out of miracles.”
Over the weekend, Iranian backed Houthi Shi’ite Rebel forces sacked the southern city of Taiz and its airport after fighting with those loyal to President Hadi, a U.S. ally. This is after the very recent bombings of two mosques that happened last week in the Houthi controlled capital of San’a. It is believed that the Houthi’s have also taken full control of the Taiz military airbase. Yemeni Foreign Minister Riyadh Yaseen called on Yemen’s allies to prevent the Houthi’s from getting air control.
“We have expressed to the Gulf Cooperation Council, the United Nations as well as the international community that there should be a no-fly zone, and the use of military aircraft should be prevented at the airports controlled by the Houthis,” he told the newspaper al-Sharq al-Awsat.
The U.N. said it was ready to employ its most powerful body to assuage the situation, or take action against any of those who would stand in the way to peace in Yemen.
In a striking decision of late, the U.S. has decided to withdraw all its remaining personnel in the region, including about 100 Special Forces presumably for safety concerns, although it is believed al Qaeda and Islamic State group forces grow in power there. Pundits say that the decision might result in the U.S. losing a key cornerstone in counter-terrorism in Yemen resulting in a somewhat blind spot on terrorist activities. Britain has withdrawn its forces as well, in addition to evacuating their embassy.
