As of November 18, the Houthi rebels in Yemen have declared they would stop the drone and missile strikes against the Saudi-led military group. This followed the Saudi coalition decision to stop its progress onto the port of Hudaydah. Also, in the UN there are talks of bringing this three year long war to a close. According to the UN, “At least 6,660 civilians have been killed and 10,560 injured in the fighting, according to the United Nations. Thousands more civilians have died from preventable causes, including malnutrition, disease and poor health.” These numbers also make the war a major humanitarian crisis. I believe that this civil war will come to an end relatively soon, as there is a UN-led discussion which will likely have both the Houthi rebels and the Saudi Coalition attending. This opens the opportunity to come to an agreement between these groups ending the war and humanitarian crisis.
In Saudi Arabia, there is more info being found out about the death of Jamal Khashoggi. Khashoggi was a well known journalist known for covering many major stories including the Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan and the rise of Osama Bin Laden. He had to go into the Saudi Consulate to get papers clarifying a previous divorce, and he never made it out. This happened on October 2nd, and the U.S. has yet to find whos behind this murder but believe it to be done by Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman (MBS). However, Saudi Arabia denies all such claims. I agree with the U.S. about this situation, especially since the CIA has found a phone call made by the brother of Mohammed bin Salman directly to Khashoggi telling him it was safe to come to the Consulate. Also, according to Frank Gardner of BBC news “A second intercepted phone call was from the hit team on the day of the murder to someone inside MBS’s inner circle in the Saudi capital Riyadh.” This evidence when combined with the many inconsistencies in the Saudi explanations gives reason to believe that it was done by the state, and they are attempting to cover it up.