By DANIEL LARISON
Despite a modest easing of the Saudi-led coalition’s blockade of Yemen over the last month, the civilian population is still being starved of essential goods:
Thirty days after Saudi Arabia eased its crippling blockade on Yemen, humanitarian aid groups say only a sliver of critical fuel and commercial goods are getting through.
The coalition blockade was already contributing significantly to the famine and cholera crises in the country before it was tightened in November, and Yemen’s humanitarian catastrophe will continue to get worse as long as the coalition impedes the delivery of aid and commercial goods. Short of a full and permanent lifting of the blockade, Yemeni civilians will continue to be cruelly deprived of essential goods and countless lives will be lost to preventable starvation and disease.
Oxfam reports that Yemen is still being starved to death:
“Despite a month-long suspension of the blockade, millions of Yemenis are still starved of food. The U.S. must act now to prevent even further deterioration of the world’s worst humanitarian crisis,” said Scott Paul, Oxfam America Senior Humanitarian Policy Advisor.
So long as the U.S. enables the Saudi-led war on Yemen, the coalition will continue to starve and wreck Yemen. The world’s worst humanitarian crisis isn’t getting any better, and it cannot be ended under current conditions. The Saudis and their allies are still trying to strangle Yemen into submission, and we shouldn’t be fooled into thinking that they have relented if they briefly relax their grip.
