War in Yemen is Grossly Under-Reported

Last week the the Saudi-led coalition resumed its bombing of the critical Yemeni port city of Hodeida after a month-long ceasefire.

Mohammed Ali Kalfood and Margaret Coker provide a rundown in "Saudis Escalate Siege of Port in Yemen, Alarming Aid Groups," which is the first non-AP or Reuters dispatch on Yemen that The New York Times has published in a month.

It is fairly well-accepted fact that the war on Yemen is grossly under-reported. Just one example from last month -- there was barely a blip on the media radar when Amnesty International published a report accusing the UAE and the U.S. of war crimes in Yemen torture centers.

There are other grossly under-reported wars as well; Libya and Somalia, to name two. But Yemen is the worst because it is broadly acknowledged to currently represent the world's worst humanitarian catastrophe, and it wouldn't be possible without the active involvement of the United States.

In June, the Saudi and Emirati governments launched the battle for control of Al Hudaydah in an effort to tip the balance of power against the Houthis. The Saudi-led coalition ignored a resounding diplomatic outcry over concern for the safety of the city’s 600,000 residents and the possibility that the fighting could disrupt supply lines for urgent humanitarian assistance to millions of others in Yemen.

Aid arriving in the Red Sea port accounts for about 70 percent of imports in Yemen, a country where two-thirds of the 29 million people rely on international aid.

Less than a month later, the coalition halted the Al Hudaydah ground assault as it faced the hard realities of urban warfare and little progress. Instead the Saudis and Emiratis said they would support United Nations efforts to find a political solution, as well as a possible formula for a wider cease-fire.

Martin Griffiths, the United Nations special envoy, offered a grim progress report to Security Council members. “Recently, and despite all our efforts, the pace of war has increased,” he said, with Al Hudaydah becoming the “center of gravity” for the conflict.

Since the assault on Al Hudaydah started, more than 330,000 people, approximately half the city’s inhabitants, have fled, according to the United Nations.

Mr. Griffiths said he planned to invite the warring sides to Geneva on Sept. 6 for a first round of consultations aimed at convening peace talks. The plan is to “discuss a framework of negotiations and specific plans for moving the process forward,” he said.

On Thursday afternoon, however, the Arab coalition’s aerial forces were pounding several neighborhoods of Al Hudaydah, according to residents and aid workers.

Shortly after 4 p.m., bombs hit the city’s crowded fish market, about 200 yards from Al Thawrah Public Hospital. Medics rushed to the scene trying to save lives, but then about 30 minutes later another strike rocked the street in front of the hospital, where the wounded had been transported from the market.