An Cosantóir September 2018 www.dfmagazine.ie
28 |
BY PAUL O'BRIEN MA
I
t seems as if the Middle East has been on a knife edge for
decades, with civil wars, coups and uprisings commonplace
after the region's countries threw off their colonial shackles.
Much of the current bout of strife arose out of the Arab Spring
of 2010 that fuelled hopes of democracy spreading throughout
the Middle East and North Africa. Ten years later and dreams of
freedom have been dashed, with war, pestilence and death now
a daily occurrence throughout the region. Yemen became one of
the casualties of this tragedy.
Since 2015, Yemen, the Arab world's poorest country has been
wracked by a bloody war between Houthi rebels (mainly Shia
Muslims from the Zaidi sect) and supporters of Yemen's interna-
tionally recognised, Sunni Muslim dominated government.
Known officially as the Republic of Yemen, it is the second larg-
est country on the Arab Peninsula, at 527,970 sq kms (203,850 sq
miles). Occupying the southern end of the peninsula, it is bor-
dered by Saudi Arabia to the north, the Red Sea to the west, the
Gulf of Aden and the Guardafui Channel to the south, and the
Arabian Sea and Oman to the east.
Since the 1960s the country has been on the cusp of oblivion
with its internal strife being fuelled by neighbouring countries
taking sides in its various conflicts.
In 2011, President Ali Abdullah Saleh dealt with Arab Spring
demonstrations that had spread to Yemen heavy-handedly. The
deteriorating situation saw the Saudi Arabian dominated Gulf
Co-operation Conference (GCC) broker a deal that saw President
Saleh stepping down, with a promise of immunity from prosecu-
tion. In 2012 Saleh handed over power to his deputy, Adb Rabbu
Mansour Hadi.
Part of the GCC's peace deal included the establishment of
