This is how Angelina Jolie visited the refugee camps in Yemen. She being one of the most actively involved Hollywood actresses in various humanitarian missions. Therefore, we will talk in detail about the actress against the war in Yemen.
Angelina Jolie has spent several years closely linked to a variety of projects with countries in conflict and poor. She tries at all times to help in a committed way, not simply giving visibility with her presence, but getting actively involved.
Why did Angelina Jolie visit Yemen?
Angelina Jolie is probably one of the most active Hollywood actresses when it comes to humanitarian missions. As part of one of those missions, Angelina Jolie has paid a visit to Yemen. Traveling to the coastal city of Aden, where the internationally recognized government has established its headquarters.
The UN has placed great hopes on this trip that the actress has made. Announcing that he hopes Angelina Jolie’s visit will draw attention to the growing humanitarian needs in Yemen. Considered the poorest country in the entire Arab world, before what is the Annual Conference of High Level Commitments for Yemen on March 16.
In one of her presentations as UNHCR ambassador, Angelina Jolie has commented on the situation in the country. As the horrors of the Russia-Ukraine war continue to be watched and calls for an immediate end to the problem and humanitarian access, she is in Yemen to offer support to people who also desperately need peace.
This is a situation that has been classified as one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world. Jolie has walked through the refugee camps where millions of Yemenis are found. She recalling that it is a country that has an economy devastated by war and there are more than 20 million Yemenis who depend on humanitarian aid to survive.
In a post she posted on social networks, Angelina Jolie has also spoken about the Russia-Ukraine war. She shows solidarity with the thousands of Ukrainians who have been forced to leave their country, but asking the world not to forget the people who have been living in the same situation for many years.
This week, a million people have had to flee the horrible Russia-Ukraine war. If there is anything to be learned from this dire situation, it is that you cannot be selective about who deserves support and whose rights are defended. Everyone deserves compassion equally. The lives of civilian victims of troubles everywhere are of equal value. After seven years of war, the people of Yemen need support, protection and especially peace.
What are the causes of the war in Yemen?
Yemen is the poorest Arab country in the world and has been plagued by a terrible civil war for several years. The problem has its beginnings in the Arab Spring of 2011, when an uprising forced the country’s authoritarian president, Ali Abdullah Saleh, to relinquish power to the vice president, Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi.
The idea was that the political transition would bring stability to Yemen. However, President Hadi faced several setbacks. Among these are attacks by al Qaeda and also by a separatist movement in the south. Food insecurity, corruption, and the fact that large numbers of the military remained loyal to Saleh.
A movement called the Houthi defends Yemen’s Zaidi Shiite minority, which has also fought various rebellions against Saleh in the preceding decade. It had taken advantage of the weakness of the new president, with the aim of seizing control of the northern province of Saada and nearby areas.
Disillusioned by that transition, many Yamenis, including Sunnis, supported the Houthis. And by the end of 2014 and the beginning of 2015, the rebels took Sanaa, which is the capital, forcing Hadi to go into exile.
What are the opposing sides in the conflict?
The problem escalated dramatically in March 2015, when Saudi Arabia and eight other Arab countries, mostly Sunni and supported by the United States, France and the United Kingdom, launched airstrikes against the Houthis. Upholding the stated objective of restoring the Hadi government.
The association feared that the Houthis’ success would spill over to Iran. That it is a regional rival and a majority Shiite country. Being a foothold in Yemen, Saudi Arabia’s neighbor to the south. According to the latter country, Iran is supporting the Houthis with logistical support and weapons. And this is a charge that Iran denies.
Both sides have been hemmed in by internal battles. On the other hand, the Houthis broke with Saleh and his own fighters killed him in December 2017.
What has happened since the start of the fighting?
In 2015, the association’s troops managed to establish themselves in the southern city of Aden. Expelling the Houthis and their allies from a good part of the south of the country. Despite the fact that the Hadi government has temporarily established itself in Aden, the president is still in exile.
Meanwhile, the Houthis have not been able to be expelled from Sana’a. And they have managed to hold a siege inside the southern city of Taiz. From which they fire rockets and artillery across the remaining border into Saudi Arabia.
Jihadist militants from al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula or AQAP and their rivals. Groups that are affiliated with the self-styled Islamic State (IS) have taken advantage of all the chaos and taken territory in the south of the country. In which they have carried out deadly attacks, particularly in Aden.
The launch of a ballistic missile at Raid, which is the capital of Saudi Arabia, in November 2017, caused the Saudi association to strengthen its blockade against Yemen. The coalition said the goal was to stop the smuggling of arms from Iran to the rebels. Being an accusation that Tahran denies.
However, the UN says the restrictions could lead to the biggest famine the world has seen in many decades. Despite several efforts organized by the UN to try to negotiate a peace agreement, all have ended in failure.
The high human cost
According to the United Nations, the situation in Yemen is considered the worst humanitarian disaster that has been caused by man. More than 6,800 civilians have died and at least 10,700 people have been injured since March 2015. Where more than half of the injuries and deaths have been caused by airstrikes by the Saudi coalition.
According to the UN Human Rights Council, civilians have repeatedly been the victims of relentless violations of international humanitarian law. Even a cholera outbreak affected a million people, of whom more than 2,000 died, mostly children.
That was the fastest and largest epidemic that has been recorded. And its rapid extension occurred due to the destruction during the war of the sanitation and sewage systems. 22.2 million people, corresponding to 75% of the population, require urgent humanitarian assistance. Including 11.3 million who are in a serious situation, who need immediate help to survive.
The situation has deteriorated so much that, according to the United Nations, there are 14 million people who suffer from food insecurity. Where 8.5 million people wake up every day not knowing if they will get at least one meal. Severe acute malnutrition is a threat to the lives of 400,000 children under 5 years of age.
Only half of the country’s 3,500 health facilities are fully functional. This means that 16.4 million people do not have basic medical assistance. Likewise, the war has forced thousands of people to flee their homes. Two million are still displaced.
Angelina Jolie in Yemen: giving visibility to a forgotten war
Despite how serious the humanitarian situation is, the problem in Yemen has been classified as a forgotten war, due to the little attention it receives from the rest of the world. However, what happens there may also aggravate regional tensions. Apart from the fact that Western countries fear the threat posed by attacks that may come from that country, as it becomes more unstable.
Western intelligence agencies have considered al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula to be the most dangerous branch of al Qaeda, due to its technical expertise and global reach. And for this reason there is concern about the rise of Islamic State affiliates in Yemen.
Font:
The World, The Vanguard, BBC.