generalspeaking

Yemen: In The Face of Death

"We are all working in streets that have killing corners and death might await us somewhere in any street. Those attacking militiamen stopped water to four districts to Aden. They shoot at ambulance cars. Khaled was killed by a sniper while he was helping to extinguish fires in the neighbourhoods."
"Sally, a female activist, did not pay attention to a sniper who took her life when she was assisting a wounded person. We have moments to cry and moments to laugh and remain human in the face of death."
Aden Rescue Campaign member

Aden's 800,000 citizens are facing a tragic upheaval, one that threatens their city and the lives of its residents. This is the second-largest city in the country. It has an ancient lineage, dating back to the Old Testament. Located on a vital trading route, until 1990 under British rule it was the capital of the Democratic Republic of South Yemen. Since then, Aden was restored as the temporary capital of Yemen when President Hadi fled from Sana'a, the country's official capital.

The raiding Houthi Shiites who have marched to capture the entire country, under the tutelage and with the encouragement and arming of the Islamic Republic of Iran, anxious to tuck yet another failed state under its welcoming wing, have installed Yemen's former president, Ali Abdullah Saleh, in Sana'a, and they are intent on capturing Aden as well, forcing President Hadi to flee yet again, to Riyadh, for haven.

Although Saudi Arabia has assembled an Arab Sunni state air campaign to battle the Houthis allied with the militias loyal to former President Saleh, the residents of Aden are fighting back against the Islamist tide. They are making use of what they can to defend themselves, even as the Houthis are bombing them, using heavy artillery, snipers, blockades and, taking a page out of Bashar Assad's attack on Sunnis and Palestinians in Syria, have encircled and cut off water and electricity to the city.

Aden is considered by the Houthi-Saleh forces the last barrier to full control of Yemen. But in Aden, Popular committees along with another group Hirak ('movement' in Arabic) comprised of young activists, some tribal leaders and youth neighbourhood watch committees have formed the Aden Popular Resistance. Saudi Arabia recently parachuted in military supplies in support of the resistance efforts.

Access to food, medical supplies, prescription drugs, water and electricity have been cut by the Houthi-Saleh blockades, by infrastructure destruction, and by sniper fire. Long lines of desperate people form in search of basic commodities, even while money to purchase these badly needed items becomes limited as banks and other funding sources dry up. Hirak youth activists formed the Aden Rescue Campaign.

The United States Agency for International Development funded the Hirak Youth Project where young people developed organization skills at workshops which they are now applying in implementation of an action plan to aid fellow citizens in the dangers of war. They help to extinguish Houth-Saleh-set fires in buildings. They organize neighbourhood reconnaissance volunteers. They clean streets and collect garbage to prevent the spread of epidemics.

They formed ambulance teams with the Red Crescent and other relief agencies working in Aden to convey the critically injured to medical care. Some of the teams have recorded human rights violations and combatants targeting historical assets, factories and businesses, while others recruit and train volunteers on how to help people who have sustained injuries, and how best to avoid sniper fire.

"Since last February, we had no regular supplies to the hospital", explained the operating director of the state hospital. "Those courageous men and women kept the supplies coming." Elsewhere, youth find the romance of violent Islamist jihad enthralling, and they are eager to join the ranks of Islamic State, fighting to extend their territory in Iraq and Syria.

In Yemen, an impoverished country struggling to sustain itself and its sovereignty, youth strive to protect their follow citizens from yet another manifestation of sectarian jihadist terrorism.

Labels: Conflict, Iran, Jihadists, Saudi Arabia, Yemen

posted by Pieface @ Saturday, April 11, 2015