Yemen is currently a war-stricken country that is in the middle of a major civil war. The civil war has been going on for over 5 years now and has led to many civilian casualties. The war is being fought between an anti-government group backed by the Houthi rebels and a pro-government group back by the current president of Yemen Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi. The pro-government group is also backed by the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia.
Recently there has been a Cholera breakout in the coastal region of Yemen, where contaminated drinking water is the likely cause of the major outbreak. Save the Children, a London based NGO, reported that Cholera cases have risen by over 150 percent in the last three months. The outbreak comes as a result of the destruction of sanitation facilities by air strikes.
The coastal region of Yemen has seen an increase in fighting between the Houthis and the Saudi-UAE coalition in the coastal region, making it harder for water treatment supplies and clean water to be transported to the civilian populations living there.
There are some many aspects to this war and for me the biggest is the humanitarian crisis and the high number of civilian deaths. Before doing regional reports, I had heard little to nothing about the Yemen civil war. I knew that there was a conflict going on there but I did not realize the extent of the conflict and how it affected some many countries. Now knowing not only the extent of the war but also the humanitarian crisis, I would have expected there to be more news coverage and more attempts to put an end to the humanitarian crisis.
At first, I did not understand why the United States would support the Saudi-UAE coalition, but now I know that it is because the Iranians were supplying and backing the Houthis and Iran is a major opponent of the United States. So it now makes sense why the United States would side with the Saudis on this issue.