As Yemen war continues

Houtis had the advantage of having nothing to lose

After the UN Secretary General called for stopping all wars and just hours after UN Yemen Envoy Martin Griffiths called for a ceasefire in light of the coronavirus pandemic, Saudi Arabia and Houthi rebels in Yemen continued firing rockets at each other. Ironically, Yemen’s government, the Houthis, the Saudis, and Iran had all praised the UN after its call for calm. The Saudi-UAE coalition carried out between 19 and 25 airstrikes on Yemen’s capital Sanaa. No human casualties were initially reported by local media, although 70 horses were apparently killed and 30 injured, according to some reports. Airstrikes also hit several towns in Hodeidah province, including the Salif and Bayt al Faqih districts.

The attacks on Sanaa were in response to the Houthis firing two ballistic missiles towards Riyadh and southern parts of the kingdom. The Saudis intercepted both. Although Yemen has not reported any cases of the Covid-19 coronavirus yet, this is partly because the country is already in the middle of the biggest humanitarian disaster in the world. The fact that Saudi strikes have frequently hit hospitals and relief camps means that Yemen’s already weak healthcare system had become non-existent after years of war. The strikes also marked a slide back to even worse times, as Sanaa had not been hit by the Saudis ever since they began indirect talks with the Houthis in September.

The escalation came after a relatively calm start to the year and further reduced hopes that a peace agreement of some sort might be in the offing. Some analysts have been debating why the Houthis would have escalated fighting at this time. The short answer is that they had the advantage of having nothing to lose. With the world, including Saudi Arabia, focusing on the coronavirus pandemic, the Houthis, who have reportedly been gaining ground in the war, did not want to give up their advantage. But the way Saudis returned fire serves as a reminder that in this war, like most others, nobody really wins.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 1^st, 2020.

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