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Yemen

Escalating death, destitution and destruction as Yemeni civilians left to bear brunt of 7-year war

The human cost of the war in Yemen is rising sharply as the conflict enters its eighth year, with the number of civilian deaths increasing sharply, hunger on the rise and three quarters of the population in urgent need of humanitarian support, Oxfam warned today.

The international agency said another year of war would bring unimaginable suffering to civilians ―almost two-thirds of Yemenis will go hungry this year unless the warring parties lay down their arms or the international community steps in to fill a massive gap in the appeal budget. This year’s aid program is currently 70 percent underfunded, providing just 15 cents per day per person needing help.

The escalating cost of war includes:

  • 4 million people are currently going hungry, with predictions this will rise to 19 million by the end of the year (62 percent of the population and an increase of more than 8 million since the conflict started).
  • 8 million more people need humanitarian assistance than did in 2015, the first year of the conflict.
  • Since UN human rights monitoring was withdrawn in October 2021 the civilian casualty rate has doubled, now reaching well over 14,500 casualties.
  • 24,000 airstrikes have damaged 40 percent of all housing in cities during the conflict.
  • During the last seven years, over four million people have been forced to flee from violence.

The Ukraine crisis has exacerbated the situation, raising concerns over supplies of grain and cooking oil. Yemen imports 42 percent of its grain from Ukraine and Oxfam has been told prices have already started to rise. In Sana’a bread went up 35 percent over the week that fighting broke out (200 Yemeni Rial to 270 Yemeni Rial).

Ali Hassan Hadi from Hajah, who has two children suffering from malnutrition, said: “Sometimes my children sleep hungry. If we have lunch, then we skip dinner. We have to cope with the situation. Sometimes we only eat bread, other times we eat cooked food. Mostly we do not eat well.”

Seven long years of war have also caused a fuel crisis. Prices have risen 543 percent since 2019, trebling in just the last three months. Queues at petrol stations are so long that it can take three days to reach the forecourt.

The increase in fuel prices has a knock-on effect, increasing prices of essential items such as food, water and medicines making them unaffordable for many who are already struggling to meet their daily needs. It is also causing a reduction in humanitarian aid deliveries to more remote areas as the fuel prices have increased so much some remote communities are now experiencing a reduced delivery of water and sanitation support.

Oxfam’s Country Director in Yemen, Ferran Puig said: “After seven years of war, Yemenis are desperate for peace – instead they are facing yet more death and destruction. Violence and hunger are on the increase once more and millions of people cannot get the basics their families need.

“People can’t afford to pump water to irrigate their crops and in remote areas where people rely on trucked drinking water, they can’t afford to pay increased prices meaning they have to use water that is not safe to drink. City dwellers in some areas are experiencing electricity cuts of 10-12 hours a day ―those who have them are relying on solar panels to charge mobile phones and supply a small amount of power.”

Farmers are unable to afford to transport produce to markets, causing prices of fresh produce to rise even further. Buses and motorbike taxis are becoming unaffordable leaving many unable to pay the cost of transport to healthcare facilities and other life-saving services. Health facilities across the country could soon be forced to shut off life-saving equipment because of lack of fuel. During the last few days, local media in Taiz have reported that the Al Thawra hospital has stopped its operations due to the fuel shortage.

Government employees have not been paid since the end of 2016. The COVID-19 pandemic coupled with new restrictive regulations has reduced the number of Yemenis able to work in Saudi Arabia and send money to relatives at home. A spiralling currency devaluation means that what little income people may have buys less and less every day forcing Oxfam and other aid agencies to regularly increase the cash transfers they provide to support vulnerable families.

Civilian deaths and injuries in the conflict have doubled since the UN body responsible for monitoring violations of international humanitarian law in Yemen was removed in October of last year. There have been over 14,554 civilian casualties since recording by the Civilian Impact Monitoring project started in 2017. During the last seven years there have been over 24,600 airstrikes across Yemen. In the last few months, shifting frontlines have led to an increase in landmine deaths and injuries around Marib where retreating forces lay them to slow down their opponents. Civilians using mined roads or gathering firewood in contested land are often victims.

Yemenis faced with these problems are forced to resort to cope any way they can. People live in a cycle of debt, increasing numbers are resorting to begging.

Puig said: “Yemen desperately needs a lasting peace so people can rebuild their lives and livelihoods. Without peace the cycle of misery will continue and deepen. Until then, adequate funding for humanitarian aid is critical.”

 

Notes

The international escalation of conflict in Yemen occurred on 26 March 2015. 

Fuel price increase information up to mid-February: on the unofficial market, diesel is selling for US$40 for 20 litres in the North of Yemen while in the government-controlled Southern areas sources say official prices were raised by 26 percent in mid-January to 17,700 Yemeni rial (YR) for 20 litres (US$70) while sources put unofficial prices at around 28,000-30,000 YR for 20 litres ($111-120). The price of 20 litres of cooking gas has more than trebled in Northern Yemen ―prices are now 17000YR (US$28) on the unofficial market compared the official price of 4750YR (around US$8). 

Impact of fuel crisis on food availability.

Displacement figures. 4279 households = 25,674 people.

Hunger figure of 19 million and 75 percent of population will need assistance this year.

Aid needs: 15.9 million people needed humanitarian assistance – today the figure is 20.7 million.

IPC hunger forecast 2022.

IPC Hunger 2014.

Yemen Humanitarian Needs Overview 2015.

Figure for aid per person = $1.3 billion pledged for 2022 divided by 22.8 million (75 percent of 30.3 million population) = $57 per person in need per year = 15 cents per day for each person in need.

Number of airstrikes in Yemen.

Housing in cities damage.

Yemen: Rise in airstrikes and landmines add to misery for civilians in Marib after year of increased conflict

One year after the battle for Yemen’s resource rich Marib governorate escalated, the humanitarian situation has worsened as shifting frontlines, airstrikes and landmines displace nearly 100,000 people, many of whom have already fled multiple times.

Last month 43 airstrikes hit civilian targets, representing more than a fifth of all airstrikes in the Marib area since fighting increased in February last year. Most of these were on houses and farms, destroying homes and businesses that will take many years to rebuild.

Oxfam’s Yemen Country Director Muhsin Siddiquey said:

“This escalation in conflict, displacement and death that we are seeing in Marib is a snapshot of the suffering faced by communities across Yemen. Ordinary people who have sought refuge in a place once described as an oasis of calm have become collateral damage in a protracted conflict. The only way out of this is for the warring parties to meet and negotiate a permanent peace settlement.” 

Civilians also face danger from missiles and shells fired from the ground as well as landmines and improvised explosive devices. Eight civilians were killed by landmines in Marib governorate in January 2022 compared with five for the whole of 2021, reflecting a worrying rise in the use of these outlawed weapons. Landmines are often placed along roads and tracks across farmland leading to Marib city that are used by civilians bringing in goods to sell and migrants travelling through Yemen.

Siddiquey said:

“Landmines are barbaric. They don’t distinguish between civilians and combatants and their threat, together with unexploded bombs and shells, hangs over communities for decades until they are de-activated. One key road leading to Marib is now a no-go area.  Children have been killed while tending farm animals and even gathering firewood can be deadly. I am particularly worried by reports that records are not kept of where landmines are laid.”

According to UN figures, over one million displaced people live in Marib governorate, either with locals or in one of between 120 and 150 formal and informal sites. However local authorities put the figure at close to two million. Of these, many have now been displaced five or six times.  

Salem* and his family live in Alswidan camp on the outskirts of Marib. He said:

 “People in the camp are always afraid of military actions that could hit them anytime. We all live in anxiety. I can’t even leave the camp for a short time. I live with fear about my family and my family sleep and wake up frightened.”

The UN estimates that 85 per cent of displaced families are unable to pay rent on a regular basis as opportunities to earn money are scarce. Many are anxious about being evicted since some nine in 10 of the settlements are built on private land without occupancy agreements. Rental prices in Marib city have soared after the recent wave of displacements.

The spiralling currency depreciation coupled with an ongoing fuel crisis has seen prices of food, fuel and medicines more than double. Many people are forced to borrow money and are trapped in a cycle of debt, unable to afford their basic needs.

Yemen is now in its fourth wave of Covid and many displaced people lack access to basic facilities such as latrines and clean water.  Nearly eight years on from the start of the conflict only about half of healthcare facilities are still operating leaving two out of three Yemenis without access to health services.

Oxfam is working in Marib to improve water supplies, provide latrines and to provide cash transfers so families can buy basic essentials.  During the last year Oxfam helped 95,928 people in Marib including providing access to drinking water for 60,000 and cash transfers to 14,875.

The United Nations has issued a statement reminding warring parties that being at war does not absolve them of their obligations under international humanitarian law, which strictly prohibits disproportionate attacks and requires that all feasible precautions be taken to avoid civilian harm.

Since the Group of Eminent Experts on Yemen – the UN appointed body responsible for monitoring human rights abuses in Yemen – was disbanded in October last year there is no international monitoring of human rights violations. All parties in Yemen’s protracted conflict have been responsible for civilian casualties.  

A boy plays with a goat in Yemen
A father sits with his young son against a green background
Salem and his family live in the Alswidan camp on the outskirts of Maribl, Yemen. Photos: Kaff Media, Oxfam

Notes

Oxfam reaction to recent civilian deaths in airstrikes, Yemen

Following recent airstrikes in Yemen, Muhsin Sidiqquey Oxfam’s country director in Yemen said; “The increase in fighting in Yemen is having a deadly impact and once again it is civilians that are paying the price. The people of Yemen have been caught in the crossfire of this violent conflict for nearly seven years. They can’t wait any longer for peace -the international community must urgently negotiate an immediate cessation in hostilities and a lasting end to the conflict.“ All parties to the conflict must respect international humanitarian and human rights law and ensure the safety and protection of civilians.”

Notes:

  • BBC Arabic report –at least 11 civilians killed in Sana’a yesterday https://www.bbc.com/arabic/middleeast-60025576
  • Last week alone, 29 civilians including three children were killed and 23 were injuredaccording to figures from the Civilian Impact Monitoring Project Weekly Highlights 6-13 January 2022

As fighting intensifies, thousands displaced by Yemen conflict could be forced to flee again, Oxfam warns

A recent increase in fighting across Yemen has forced over 100,000 people to flee their homes in the last three months, prompting Oxfam to warn that further mass displacements are imminent. Over 120 civilians have been killed in the last two months with people facing danger from airstrikes, missile and shell fire, landmines and improvised explosive devices (IEDs).

Fighting has increased in recent weeks, particularly in resource rich Marib governorate where fierce clashes are concentrated to the south and west of Marib city around the Balaq mountains. Since September, 46,000 people have fled to Marib city or the Al Wadi district to the east, according to the International Organisation for Migration (IOM). Local authorities in Yemen have put the number at over 96,000.

Marib City had a population of 41,000 people only seven years ago but now hosts over one million people who have sought a safer place to live. Marib governorate is home to between one and two million displaced people.

Oxfam Yemen’s country director Muhsin Siddiquey said:

“There is fighting on all frontlines around Marib – previously it was only in certain areas. We are worried that we will not be able to reach some displaced people because they are so close to active frontlines. We are constantly trying to support more people in Marib but we need to be able to help them safely. We’ve already had to move our cash distributions as frontlines shift. Our team keep witnessing shelling in populated areas every week.”

As well as trying to flee the fighting, displaced people are dying in the harsh winter conditions. Local media have reported that an elderly lady and a young baby died at the weekend. 

Many people have been forced to flee several times and Oxfam is concerned that they have nowhere left to run. Land to the east of Marib is dry and with scarce resources.

Salem* and his family had to live in caves and drink pond water when they were first displaced. They fled to two different camps before eventually reaching Alswidan camp on the outskirts of Marib. Each time, he and his family would leave everything behind and walk for hours to reach their next safe location. He said:

“People in the camp are always afraid of military actions that could hit them anytime. We all live in anxiety. I can’t even leave the camp for a short time. I live with fear about my family and my family sleep and wake up frightened.”

Marib is not the only area affected by the recent increase in violence. Civilians have suffered losses in attacks carried out by different warring parties across the country. In October, fierce fighting near Al-Abdiyah severely restricted humanitarian access and access to hospitals, leading to concerns that situation may be repeated in Marib.

During nearly seven years of conflict, over four million people have been forced from their homes and there have been over 18,500 direct civilian casualties. Over two-thirds of Yemenis are now in need of humanitarian assistance.

The UN Human Rights Council voted to end the mandate of the Group of Eminent Experts on Yemen, the body responsible for monitoring human rights in Yemen, in early October. All parties in Yemen’s protracted conflict have been responsible for civilian casualties.  

Siddiquey said:

“Humanitarian Law clearly states that civilian areas must not be targeted in any conflict. Yet civilians continue to be killed and homes and other civilian infrastructure continue to be destroyed. This crisis is getting worse, as is daily life for Yemeni civilians caught in the crossfire. The international community must urgently negotiate a lasting peace.”

 

For more information please contact:

David Bull, Oxfam Aotearoa

+64 274 179 724

 

Notes

Oxfam staff member killed in Yemen

Oxfam confirms the death of colleague Fathi Mahmoud Ali Salem Al-Zurigi in Yemen on the evening of Tuesday May 25, after a shooting incident on Monday May 24. 

Fathi, a Yemeni citizen, 42, was traveling with another Oxfam colleague and a contracted driver when they were caught in what appears to be a crossfire at a checkpoint in southern Yemen, traveling to Aden. The three men were taken to hospital where Fathi succumbed to his injuries. The driver is still in intensive care, and stable; the second Oxfam staff member was discharged earlier in the day. Oxfam has no reason to believe the three people were targeted. All security protocols were being followed at the time of the incident.

Fathi had been with Oxfam for more than six years. He was the agency’s Senior Logistics Officer, working on Oxfam’s program response in Yemen.

“It is a heart-wrenching sadness to lose a colleague particularly in such terrible circumstances, someone who was working in his own home country for the humanitarian cause, trying to help his fellow citizens. Humanitarian workers across the world, like Fathi, risk their own lives every day. We stand in solidarity with them all. Our thoughts and sympathies are with Fathi’s family and loved ones,” said Oxfam International Executive Director Gabriela Bucher.
 

Yemen at tipping point as Covid-19 second wave hits amid renewed fighting and famine fears – Oxfam

Evidence is mounting that a second wave of Covid-19 is already underway in Yemen, Oxfam warned today, with a 22-fold increase in recorded cases in recent weeks. It comes at a time when it is feared renewed fighting will force hundreds of thousands of people to flee to safety.

Oxfam said that a second spike would be devastating for a country entering its seventh year of war.  The UN is already warning that Yemen faces the worst famine the world has seen for decades and amid intense fighting in Marib governorate which it is feared will force almost 400,000 people to flee. The arrival of the rainy season – expected in May – is expected to see a renewed threat from cholera, which combined with Covid will overwhelm a health system battered by six years of war and economic collapse. Despite this huge level of need Yemen’s aid programme is more than 50 per cent underfunded.

Recorded cases of Covid in the first two weeks of March were 22 times higher than the number of cases in the first two weeks of February.  The figures indicate a sharp rise in the number of people being admitted to healthcare facilities with severe symptoms as these are the only people who are tested.

Muhsin Siddiquey, Oxfam’s Country Director in Yemen said: “Yemen is at a tipping point – millions of people are already teetering at the edge of a precipice, now Covid, cholera and an intensification of the conflict threatens to push them over.

“In cities around the country people are living through intensified fighting and a second Covid spike. Many people don’t go to hospital when they have symptoms – even where treatment is available many cannot afford medical bills.

“With little testing, we can’t quantify the true scale of the problem, but we do know that Covid is accelerating fast. I’m hearing daily of fresh tragedies – people who have died of Covid-like symptoms without receiving medical attention.”

Oxfam said it was concerned that by forcing people to flee for safety, the recent surge in fighting will speed the spread of the virus around the country.

The escalation in hostilities around Marib, where a number of Covid cases have been reported recently, is one of a number of worrying developments as the war in Yemen enters its seventh year.  Renewed fighting around Taiz, Hajjah, Hudaydah and Aldhale’e which have seen multiple airstrikes and renewed tensions in Aden and have brought fresh misery to those cities.

Since February, more than 11,000 IDPs in Marib have been displaced again, with some entire camps forced to evacuate. Many have been displaced four or five times as the frontlines of Yemen’s war have shifted. Local officials have told Oxfam they think the UN figure is an underestimate and as many as 3 million people are actually displaced in the area.

More than 4 million people have so far been displaced by the conflict and nearly 68 per cent of Yemenis need humanitarian assistance. The UN estimates 1.2 million people have fled to Marib, which until recently was considered relatively safe and hosts the largest internally displaced population in Yemen. 

Muhsin Siddiquey said: “People in Marib are desperate, they face a stark choice between staying put risking their lives and their children’s lives or fleeing into the desert where there is no water or food.

“In cities around the country people are living through intensified fighting and a second Covid spike. I’m hearing terrible reports of children being killed, houses in residential districts being hit and people being forced to flee.”   

Official figures record 3418 cases and 751 deaths from Covid in Yemen giving a mortality rate of nearly 22 per cent – one of the highest in the world. But with little testing and widespread reports of illness and deaths, the actual Covid death toll is undoubtedly far higher. So far no-one in

Yemen has been vaccinated against Covid, although the country is expecting to receive vaccines later this month. 

Yemen’s health system is estimated to be operating at half of its pre-war capacity despite the massively increased need for it. Many healthcare staff have been unpaid for months while there are just 700 ICU beds and 500 ventilators for a population of 30 million.

The country has struggled with cholera since the world’s worst outbreak began five years ago with more than 2 million reported cases.

Earlier this month the UN held a donor pledging conference asking for $3.85 billion but received less than $1.7 billion, less than was received in 2020 and $1 billion less than the amount pledged at the 2019 conference.

Muhsin Siddiquey, Oxfam’s Country Director in Yemen said: ““Even people who escape the missiles and bullets face a daily struggle to survive in the face of disease and destitution. Yemenis have suffered for six long years – it is time for the world to say, enough.

“This is a man-made conflict and these deaths are avoidable. With efforts from the UN Envoy and a recommitment to peace from the new US administration, the international community must seize this moment to collectively pressure all sides to end the suffering. Peace is possible if governments put lives ahead of politics.”

/ends

 

Notes for editors:

The international escalation of conflict in Yemen occurred on March 26th 2015.

Case studies from Marib available on request

Yemen 2021 Humanitarian needs overview https://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/Yemen_HNO_2021_Final.pdf

Yemen covid data – https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/data/mortality

Covid Vaccine distribution https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/covid-vaccine-tracker-global-distribution/

2018 Hudaydah displacement figures : https://www.iom.int/news/yemen-hudaydah-displaced-population-now-estimated-336846

https://www.iom.int/sites/default/files/situation_reports/file/en_iom_yemen_displacement_in_marib_flash_update_5_11_march_2021.pdf

Local officials estimate 3 million IDPs in Marib https://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/iom-yemen-displacement-marib-flash-update-23-february-2021 

Between April 2017and December 2018, there were over 1.3million suspected cholera cases and 2,760 associated deaths in the country –one of the worst outbreaks in recent history.(UN YHNO –December 2018)

The World Health Organisation reported an increase in suspected cholera cases in 2019, with over 861,000 suspected cases and 1025associated deaths recorded. http://yemeneoc.org/bi/

Between January 1st and June 30th 2020 there have been 150, 849 suspected cases recorded

https://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/2019_Yemen_HNO_FINAL.pdf

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