Eight years into the conflict, the War in Yemen pressed the pause button

On November 24, 2021, local time, the capital of Yemen, Sana'a, Houthi armed men were guarding. According to a report released by the United Nations, the number of people who died in the civil war in Yemen at the end of 2021 has reached 377,000. (People's Vision/Photo)

Hearing the news that the truce in Yemen has been extended again, Dr. Mansour Vazei of the city of Taiz was sincerely pleased, telling Southern Weekend reporters, "The situation is good here, and Taiz has great hopes of lifting the blockade." ”

Taiz is the third largest city in Yemen, after the capital Sana'a and the seaport city of Aden. Since the war, Taiz has been on the front lines of firefights between the Houthis and government forces. The hospital where Mansour works, only 4 kilometers from the line of fire, "when working, you can hear the gunfire of the battle".

On August 2, 2022, The Un Special Envoy for Yemen, Hans Glendberg, said in a statement that the Yemeni government and the Houthi armed forces agreed to renew the ceasefire agreement. This is the second time since April 2022 that the two sides have reached a ceasefire "renewal". It was also the longest ceasefire since Yemen's eight-year war.

According to the United Nations, by the end of 2021, the war in Yemen had killed 377,000 people and threatened millions of people with famine and drug shortages. Dr Mansour told Southern Weekend that it was difficult for people to get treatment near the line of fire in Taiz City.

"At present, the game of multi-party political forces in Yemen is complex, and the Yemeni government, the Houthi armed forces, the Southern Transitional Council and al-Qaida have formed a situation of separation, which further increases the uncertainty of the future situation." Qian Xuming, an associate researcher at the Middle East Research Institute of Shanghai Chinese University, told Southern Weekend, "On key issues such as the formation of the coalition government and the distribution of power, there are huge differences between the Yemeni government and the Houthis, and the prospects for Yemen's security situation are still difficult to be optimistic." ”

civilian

After the outbreak of the war, Dr. Mansour Vazei remained in his hometown of Taiz.

The "capital of culture" was torn apart by the front lines, with the Houthis and government forces on one side. The battle lines crossed the city, and people walked through the checkpoints. Patients on one side take 5 hours to reach the hospital on the other side, and in the past, it only took them 5 minutes.

Mansour works at the Emin Humanitarian Physical Rehabilitation Centre. The hospital where the rehabilitation center is located was formerly the Taiz Revolutionary General Hospital in Yemen, which china built in 1975. In 2015, Chinese medical teams withdrew from the building after the outbreak of war, but China's Spring League remained on the hospital's porch, writing: "Welcome the New Year and prosper, And celebrate the festival." ”

Mansour has always had a fondness for the East, he studied in India and has always wanted to bring friends to China to see.

But the war left Taiz in a quagmire. "I can't leave," Mansour said, "there aren't many doctors here, and we have to stay with the patients." ”

In Taiz, he and his team developed a rehabilitation course for post-amputation patients to adapt and adjust their prosthetics, "needing to care for about 669 post-amputated children and 59 post-amputation women in the city."

Mansour remembers a patient who had lost two legs, one hand and one eye when he was taken to a rehabilitation center. "I cried that day, he's still so young." They later became friends, and the patient was first sent to The Assorian Arabian Peninsula in Syria for treatment and later back to Yemen.

Mansour has repeatedly stressed that his patients need to survive and live their lives. But people who are injured near the line of fire are difficult to get treated, "we can't get to them."

The Houthis blocked the main roads out of the city in the eastern suburbs, and the transportation of medical supplies was also affected. Mansour's rehabilitation centre is located on the government side, reaching the Gulf of Aden via a government-controlled road where medical supplies from international organizations can be rescued can take 6-7 hours.

Since the ceasefire in April 2022, because the Houthi armed groups have not opened the road of Taiz as promised after the truce, there has been a lot of noise from the Houthis and government forces accusing each other of violating the ceasefire agreement, and the civilian casualties caused by sporadic exchanges of fire have also occurred.

On the afternoon of 24 July, 6-year-old children in Taiz city, Albara Murad Abdullah Al-Sharif, were shot and killed under mortar bombardment, and 11 other children playing outside the house were injured. Protesters took to the streets, holding up photographs of injured children, protested the ongoing siege and "the Houthi militia continued to massacre civilians".

"After the truce, the Houthis did not stop bombing and sniping, and still blocked the road in and out of the city." Asma, a 25-year-old freelance photographer, told Southern Weekend that just one day after the august 2 truce was extended, Houthi snipers killed a resident in the line of fire named Abdullah Hassan Saif.

Asma focuses his lens on civilians at war, showing the tragedies that Yemenis are experiencing: destroyed schools, displaced people, mine victims, children with unknown futures. He also likes to photograph Yemen's mountains and rivers and the smiling faces of its people, showing the beautiful side of the country, "I don't want destruction and war to represent all of Yemen".

The meaning of photography in Asma is to convey all this — the tragedy of war, and life and hope.

The war changed people's lives, and Asma's college studies were interrupted by the war. In April 2015, houthis arrived in Taiz and bombed residential areas. Asma and her family left their homes to begin two years in rural exile: "Those years were fatal emptiness for me. The war took away his cousin, and at least 7 friends.

Dr. Mansour's eldest brother also died in the war, and for safety reasons, Mansour's wife and children moved from the city to the countryside, and what used to be a 1-hour visit to relatives now takes 8 hours or more. "There are many more things like this." Mansour said.

Fast forward to 2014, when 17-year-old AsmaShane was studying in the capital, Sana'a. In that scorching summer, the Yemeni government announced a sharp cut in fuel subsidies and a sharp increase in domestic fuel prices, "gasoline and diesel prices rose by 60% and 90% respectively." This not only leads to a spiral in the cost of living, but also deepens the rift that is escalating within the country.

Meanwhile, Yemen's Houthi groups set out from their stronghold, Saada province, and set foot on the amran province, the "last step in front of the door" in the capital Sana'a, killing the main commanders of the region.

"I remember the moment when the Houthis entered Sana'a to seize power." "They launched a military coup against the legitimate government as all the parties were about to complete the national dialogue, and that was a glimmer of hope for those of us," Asma said. ”

"Cheese"

In 2013, a national dialogue meeting was held in Yemen, organized by the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf. Political forces on all sides are plotting to compete for a piece of "cheese" in the meeting and gain more power in the new constitution.

The National People's Congress was founded by Yemen's former President Saleh. The first president of the Republic of Yemen ran the Yemeni regime for 33 years and promoted the unification of North and South Yemen. But also because of his long dictatorship, Yemen is full of internal contradictions and many people's grievances. After his downfall, Vice President Abdul Rab Al-Mansour Hadi became the interim president of the country, but was unable to escape the power of the Saleh family.

The other two new political forces should not be underestimated. The "Southern Movement" organization is committed to pursuing the interests of the South and the independent status of the southern capital, Aden. The Houthis, which originated in Yemen's northern provinces, have also gained a foothold in years of struggle.

"The crisis of governance in the later years of Saleh's rule provided the soil for the growth of the Houthis." Qian Xuming, an associate researcher at the Middle East Research Institute of Shanghai Chinese University, analyzed to southern weekend reporters that in the late period of Saleh's rule, Yemen's state control capacity declined, resulting in the coexistence of multiple armed forces in Yemen. Saleh's government was unable to quell the Houthis once and for all, leading to the rise of the Houthis in Yemen.

"The Houthis believe that their Zaidi Shia religious beliefs give them the right to rule. Historically, this has stood. Michael Gunter, a professor of political science at the Tennessee University of Science and Technology, analyzed it to Southern Weekend reporters.

The predecessor of the Houthis is the Youth of Faith group, founded in 1992 by Mohammed Houthi, the leader of the Shiite Zaidi sect of Islam. Zaidiism is one of the shia factions of Islam, and before the 1962 Yemeni Republican Revolution, the zaidi religious elite ruled North Yemen under a monarchy and was overthrown by a Sunni-led republican uprising.

Before officially entering the political arena, the armed force, which originated in northern Yemen, had been wrestling with the government for years.

In June 2004, Yemen's Saleh government and houthi clashed over the imposition of a religious tax, triggering the first round of clashes between the Houthis and the government. The leader of the organization, Hussein Houthi, was killed in the first round of clashes, and his brothers controlled the leadership of the organization, hence the name "Houthi".

During six rounds of conflict between 2004 and 2009, the Houthis gradually took control of Saada province. Taking advantage of the anti-Saleh momentum of the Arab Spring in 2011, the Houthis expanded their sphere of influence. Encouraged by the trumpet of victory, the political ambitions of the Houthis were further inflated.

In 2014, Yemen's fuel crisis added the last fire.

In August of the same year, the Houthis moved to the capital Sana'a. In a televised address, Houthi leader Abdel Malik Houthi demanded the reinstatement of previously slashed fuel subsidies and urged the dissolution of the current government and the re-establishment of the cabinet.

On January 22, 2015, after houthis occupied the presidential palace, official residence, and important military installations, President Hadi and his cabinet submitted their resignations in Aden, the temporary capital. Immediately following the resignation of the top government officials, security officials in southern cities such as Aden announced that they would no longer obey the central government in Sana'a.

The delicate balance of factions within Yemen has fallen apart.

"Sandbox"

The constant hustle and bustle of Yemen has attracted external peeping.

"As part of the Middle East, Yemen is in a very important geostrategic position between Europe and Asia, and also plays a role in controlling the passage of the Suez Canal." Professor Gunter analyzed to southern weekend reporters, "This is a proxy war between Iran and Saudi Arabia for the main influence in the Middle East, and it is also a traditional Sunni-Shiite conflict and an Arab-Persian conflict." ”

On March 15, 2015, at the request of Yemen's Hadi government, Saudi Arabia and the Gulf Cooperation Council (except Oman) issued a statement saying that they would intervene in Yemen's affairs at the request of the Hadi government.

Subsequently, saudi Arabia launched Operation Decisive Storm, which initially bombed the Houthis and later rose to sea blockades and deployed ground forces. With the help of Saudi warplanes, Hadi's government fled to Riyadh and began "telecommuting" in another wealthy piece of land.

Since then, external forces have been deeply involved in Yemeni politics. In this Saudi-led multinational coalition, the UAE has helped maintain the "stability of the situation" in South Yemen, and has jointly established a joint committee with Saudi Arabia, while the United States has become a strong "backup" to support Saudi Arabia and the UAE in the war against the Houthis and counter-terrorism through arms sales, aerial refueling, personnel training, intelligence sharing and other means.

On the other hand, the Houthis also have foreign helpers.

On the eastern side of the Persian Gulf, Iran is accused of providing weapons, funding and training to Yemen's Houthi militias. In 2013, the Jihad One transport ship was seized by the Yemeni government on charges of "smuggling weapons from Iran to local rebels." Iranian-produced attack drones also often appear on the Houthi weapons list. However, in its official statement, Iran has always denied sending weapons to the Houthis.

"Yemen's protracted North-South and tribal rivalries have facilitated Saudi Arabia and the UAE's prop-up proxies against the Iranian-backed Houthis." Yemen's Shiite-Sunni conflict has intensified, fueling Iran and Saudi Arabia to support and nurture sectarian forces respectively, and providing important religious sentimental support against pagan forces. Qian Xuming said.

The populace did not appreciate these outsiders who claimed to be "invited to war.".

After the Saudi coalition entered the war, Asma and her family were embroiled in a political manhunt in which the Houthis accused some Yemeni citizens of becoming proxies of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Asma was imprisoned for 6 hours, and her relatives and friends mediated and guaranteed her many times before she finally saved her from escape.

"Saudi Arabia and the UAE are not intervening in Yemen, as they claim — to support the legitimate government." "They intervene for their ambitions to control ports, oil and all the wealth of Yemen, and they don't want Yemen to live in stability and peace," Asma said. ”

Faced with the "foreign aid" of the Hadi government, the Houthis, which initially appeared on the political stage as rebels, quietly changed their identity.

For the regime change in Yemen in September 2014, Saudi Arabia and its allies described it as a "iranian-backed houthi-sponsored coup"; In the Houthis narrative, the Saudi side launched a war of aggression in an attempt to reduce Yemen to a vassal state.

Professor Qian Believes that in this war, the image of the Houthis has changed from an armed group representing religious, tribal and local interests to a "progressive force" that resists foreign aggression, upholds international sovereignty and territorial integrity, and resists pro-American regimes, and is supported by the people of northern Yemen. The Hadi government, on the other hand, lacks the universal support of the domestic population and relies heavily on international legitimacy for its survival, resulting in insufficient means to control multiple armed forces.

Grudges

In March 2022, the war that affected Yemen and beyond entered its eighth year, and the long war years have left a rift in the unbreakable alliance.

In October 2019, the UAE Armed Forces General Command announced the withdrawal of troops from Aden Province, Yemen, handing over responsibility for maintaining security to the local Saudi garrison. In February 2021, U.S. President Joe Biden called in Washington for an end to the war in Yemen and for an end to support and arms sales to the Saudi-led military alliance.

"Since Biden took office, the United States has implemented strategic contraction in the Middle East, balanced the relationship between Saudi Arabia and Iran, and stopped supporting Saudi military operations in Yemen." Qian Xuming introduced that since 2021, the overall improvement of relations between countries in the Middle East, Qatar and Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain have resumed diplomatic relations, and Iran and Saudi Arabia have held direct talks, creating a good external environment for the ceasefire and peace talks in Yemen.

After external interference abates, signal lights for yemen's internal peace talks begin to flicker.

On March 30, 2022, the two warring parties "tacitly" reached a ceasefire. The parties agreed to "cease all offensive military operations, including air, land and sea operations, within Yemen and across borders".

In June and August 2022, the ceasefire in Yemen was extended twice at the urging and good offices of the United Nations.

It was the longest truce since the Eight Years' War in Yemen. According to the United Nations, the number of civilian casualties fell sharply during the ceasefire, fuel shipments through the port of Hodeida increased significantly, and commercial flights at Sana'a's main airport were resumed nearly six years later.

Qian Xuming analyzed to the Southern Weekend reporter that after years of confrontation, the Yemeni government and the Houthi armed forces have formed a situation of equal strength, both sides are consuming a lot, and no one is willing to continue to consume. Since the military intervention in Yemen in 2015, the multinational coalition led by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates has been unable to calm down the chaos and the effect has been lackluster, and in recent years, saudi arabia and the United Arab Emirates' oil facilities, airports and merchant ships have frequently suffered from Houthi drone attacks, with heavy losses, and they also hope to cease fire as soon as possible.

The war has stopped, but the "enmity" between the two sides is still difficult to eradicate.

On the issue of Yemen, Saudi Arabia has shown a reluctance to compromise. Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud has accused the Houthis of "rejecting a peaceful solution and betting on military options."

"The Houthis have made it clear that they do not want to share power and continue to hold summer camps in the occupied territories to spread their ideology and even mobilize people, including children." Professor Gunter said.

In addition to government forces supported by the Houthi and Saudi coalition forces, yemen currently has forces such as al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, The Islamic State, and southern rebel groups. "The security situation in Yemen remains unspeakably optimistic." Qian Xuming said.

Under the shells flying high in the sky, the Yemenis held hands.

Mansour and his team reached out to anyone who came to the door for help: "I would never ask those who came to me, 'Where are you from, Houthi-controlled or government-controlled?'" 'We help, that's all. He looks forward to seeing people sit down and talk to each other one day: "If they can come together, we can solve all the problems." ”

When the news of the extension of the armistice agreement had not yet been sent, southern weekend reporters asked Mansour what his plans were if the war stopped in the future, and Mansour thought about it: "I will go abroad to continue my doctorate and rest for a while." ”

"Then go back to Yemen."

Southern Weekend reporter Mao Shujie Southern Weekend intern Li Sihan Yang Tian