US responsible for Yemen disaster: NYT

Published December 27, 2018
The US is currently abetting in a humanitarian disaster that could ultimately rival those in Syria and Iraq in its destabilising impact on the region and the world, according to the newspaper. ─ File photo
The US is currently abetting in a humanitarian disaster that could ultimately rival those in Syria and Iraq in its destabilising impact on the region and the world, according to the newspaper. ─ File photo

NEW YORK: America’s fingerprints are all over the war in Yemen, the New York Times said on Wednesday.

The US is currently abetting in a humanitarian disaster that could ultimately rival those in Syria and Iraq in its destabilising impact on the region and the world, according to the newspaper.

More than 10,000 people have been killed over the past three years in the civil war pitting the Houthi rebels against Saudi-backed government loyalists.

The tens of thousands of deaths may represent only a fraction of the total victims and the US government seems to be “doing everything it can to make things worse”, an article published in NYT said.

International aid agencies have warned that some 20 million people are at risk of dying of starvation or poverty-related diseases in Yemen and a number of African countries, all of which are facing critical food shortages.

In Yemen alone, Save the Children counts 20.7 million people, half of them children, are in dire need of aid.

A cholera epidemic is raging through the parts of Yemen hit hardest by the war, with at least 360,000 suspected cases. Some 2,000 people have already died because in the epidemic and the number of cases is rising by some 7,000 a day.

Both of these crises are entirely man-made. The famine in Yemen is not a consequence of drought or crop failure because in recent years Yemen has shifted most of its agricultural land to growing the stimulant drug Qat and other cash crops, importing almost 90 percent of its food.

The famine is the result of a two-year blockade imposed on the country by Saudi Arabia with the help of its allies, including the United States, the paper said.

In a deliberate effort to starve the rebel-held areas into submission, the ruthless siege tactics of the Saudi-led coalition are also directly to blame for the cholera outbreak, the NYT wrote.

Published in Dawn, December 27th, 2018

Opinion

Editorial

Smog hazard
Updated 05 Nov, 2024

Smog hazard

The catastrophe unfolding in Lahore is a product of authorities’ repeated failure to recognise environmental impact of rapid urbanisation.
Monetary policy
05 Nov, 2024

Monetary policy

IN an aggressive move, the State Bank on Monday reduced its key policy rate by a hefty 250bps to 15pc. This is the...
Cultural power
05 Nov, 2024

Cultural power

AS vital modes of communication, art and culture have the power to overcome social and international barriers....
Disregarding CCI
Updated 04 Nov, 2024

Disregarding CCI

The failure to regularly convene CCI meetings means that the process of democratic decision-making is falling apart.
Defeating TB
04 Nov, 2024

Defeating TB

CONSIDERING the fact that Pakistan has the fifth highest burden of tuberculosis in the world as per the World Health...
Ceasefire charade
Updated 04 Nov, 2024

Ceasefire charade

The US talks of peace, while simultaneously arming and funding their Israeli allies, are doomed to fail, and are little more than a charade.