| Q |
A |
| What is the recent development in Yemen? |
- A United Nations-backed ceasefire between the Saudi-allied forces loyal to President Abd-Rabbuh Mansour Hadi and Shia Houthi rebels took effect in Yemen.
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| Background of conflict in Yemen and present status? |
- Saudi Arabia and its allies have started bombing Yemen in March 2015 with the obvious goal of reinstating the ousted government of President Hadi and weakening the Shia Houthi rebels who had captured the capital Sanaa.
- But after a year of relentless bombing by Riyadh, the Houthis still hold the capital city and control much of western Yemen.
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| What has been the impact of the conflict? |
- In fact, if anyone has secured a strategic advantage out of the Yemeni war, it is al-Qaeda.
- The stateless chaos amid a disastrous war has helped al-Qaeda expand its footprint steadily in the country, and it now runs a mini state from south-eastern Yemen.
- On the other side, the war has turned Yemen into a humanitarian catastrophe. More than 6,000 people, half of them civilians, have been killed since the Saudi bombing started, and about two million have been displaced.
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| Significance of the ceasefire? |
- It has raised the hopes that the warring factions may purposefully work towards a negotiated solution.
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| Should we be really optimistic? |
- It is not clear how long the truce will hold, given the complexity of the conflict and past experience.
- Three previous attempts to reach a ceasefire had collapsed.
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| So what is the way ahead? |
- The ceasefire, however, is a starting point.
- But for it to get succeed, the regional powers should set aside their geopolitical games and come together to address the humanitarian problem pragmatically.
- The Saudis should realise that, they cannot forcibly keep away from power the Houthis, who claim to represent the country’s Shia community that makes up between 30 and 45% of the total population.
- The Houthis and their Iranian backers should also understand that they cannot just to take over the whole country.
- Any practical solution will require an end to external military intervention and a cessation of violence, followed by the formation of a government of national unity.
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