Yemen undergoing worst health catastrophe

A Yemeni diplomat has stated that his country is experienceing the “worst health catastrophe” as a direct result of the Saudi-Emirate siege.
“Yemen is experiencing the worst health catastrophe at the
regional level since more than a hundred years ago,” Moataz al-Qurashi, a
health consultant in the Yemeni embassy in Syria, noted.
Al-Qurashi also said that, “Epidemics and diseases such as
Malaria and others have become rampant.”
After the onset of a full-scale war on Yemen in 2015 by the
Saudi-UAE coalition, thousands of civilians have been murdured or injured, and
at least 3.6 million people have had to flee their homes because of a conflict
that involves several regional and international countries.
In 2017, the UN humanitarian chief Stephen O’Brien described
the situation om Yemen as the largest humanitarian crisis since the end of
World War II.
The following is the entire text of the interview conducted
and published by the Tehran Times:
“Q: What messages do the Yemeni missiles send to Saudi
Arabia? Do you confirm that Yemeni forces received missiles from a country in
the region?
A: Yemen, in line with the legitimate defense of itself, has
developed its military options more and more until it reached the long-range
ballistic missiles that destroyed sites in the heart of the Saudi capital Riyadh.
Yemen confronts 6 years of continuous Saudi-Emirati
aggression which started under the title of what they call “Arab coalition”.
Yemeni missiles carry several messages. Firstly, they are
missiles that are characterized by their accuracy and targeting vital strategic
sites.
There is also an ethical message in the style of targeting
while the Saudi-led coalition targets all vital human facilities, specifically
civilian infrastructure, Yemen is committed that the sites it targets must be
military or vital sites that affect the capabilities of the Saudi army and do
not affect civilians or their lives.
The Yemeni armed forces, including the army and the popular
committees, could prove through missile strikes launched by drones, that there
is no fortified location in Saudi Arabia or the Emirates or other allied
countries, and therefore all targets are within the range of Yemeni missiles.
Of course, the Yemeni forces have always refuted all the
allegations that these missiles were produced by other countries or were
smuggled from one of the countries in the region. This foolish accusation comes
to justify the failure of Saudi air defense to confront these missiles, which
the Yemeni army and the popular committees have emphasized are Yemeni missiles
and were developed in Yemen. This is clear in light of the blockade imposed on
Yemen by air, land, and sea where Yemeni territorial waters are under their
warships’ siege.
They have stopped shipment of oil derivatives and even chase
the boats of simple fishermen, so it is not reasonable that smuggling takes
place through the sea. On the other hand, the Yemeni airspace is closed. All
airports are under siege, and even civil flights are forbidden. Also, inland,
they control all land ports.
These allegations are not except for political goals to
undermine the axis of resistance and the countries supporting the resistance.
They know with certainty that these missiles were developed in Yemen, and this
is the result of the efforts of the Yemeni military experts.
Q: What is the economic importance of Yemen and its ports
for Saudi Arabia and the UAE?
A: As you know, Yemen enjoys an important economic and
strategic position in the peninsula besides its access to the Red Sea, the
Arabian Sea, and the Indian Ocean. Saudi Arabia sought not while ago to find a
sea outlet in the Arabian Sea and to carve out part of the eastern regions in
Yemen bordering the Sultanate of Oman, and today we see they are trying to
apply their policies in one way or another. Also, they want to plunder the oil
and gas wealth in the southern and western areas of Yemen, which have a very
huge strategic stock, as well as controlling Yemeni ports.
As you know, Aden was one of the most important ports in the
region before Dubai and before other ports because of its important strategic
location, and therefore countries such as the Emirates seek to control these
ports and operate them under their administration and also by controlling the
Yemeni islands and making them military and security bases for them in the
Arabian Sea region.
Here I should point out Socotra, which is under the
systematic occupation of the United Arab Emirates.
Q: What is the Ansar Allah initiative to establish
sustainable peace in Yemen?
A: Regarding the Ansar Allah peace initiative, the
discussion about peace started at the beginning of the Saudi aggression. The
peace that we talk about in Yemen is a peace based on respect for the will and
decision of the Yemeni people, respect for the territories and sovereignty of
the Republic of Yemen, and non-interference in its internal affairs in return
for Yemen’s respect for its neighbors and the security of its neighbors.
As you know, Aden was one of the most important ports in the
region before Dubai and before other ports because of its important strategic
location, and therefore countries such as the Emirates seek to control these
ports and operate them under their administration and also by controlling the
Yemeni islands and making them military and security bases for them in the
Arabian Sea region.No one can impose his political view on Yemen or eliminate
the Palestinian cause from Yemenis’ minds and hearts, and Yemen cannot accept
an end to the aggression in exchange for normalization of ties with Israel.
Yemen’s relationship with the axis of resistance and its
adherence to the belief and principles of this axis is something that cannot be
discussed because it is one of the Yemeni people’s principles and the only one
who decides and says the last word is the Yemeni people.
The peace we call for is the “peace of the braves”, a peace
based on respect for the will of the Yemeni people.
Regarding security and military issues, we follow this basic
principle. Undoubtedly, Yemen has no aggressive intentions against others, and
all that Yemen has done and achieved has grown within the framework of
legitimate self-defense operations and confronting this criminal aggression
that targeted everything. Therefore, we emphasize peace in exchange for peace
and security in exchange for security on the basis of mutual respect.
Q: Do you think that Saudi Arabia will continue its
aggression against Yemen after Donald Trump quits the White House?
A: Saudi Arabia will continue its aggression, and this
matter is not related to the presidency of Trump or anyone else. We have not
forgotten that the aggression was approved by Washington, while the
administration there was under President Barack Obama, and the war continued
during the era of Donald Trump.
I do not think that this course will change. And American policy is clear through its
aggressive approaches in the region and it does not differ whether a Democratic
or a Republican rules (the United States). There is a consensus among the
American politicians that the aggression on Yemen serves America's interest,
and we know that this aggression is in fact an American plan, and what Saudi
Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are doing is nothing but the implementation
of the American policy in the region. The war will continue, and if the
Americans wanted to stop the war, they would have stopped it from the first
day.
Q: How do you see the health and economic conditions in
Yemen in the light of the daily Saudi bombings?
A: With regard to the health, humanitarian and economic
aspects, it must be pointed out that Yemen is experiencing the worst health
catastrophe at the regional level for more than a hundred years ago, and
epidemics and diseases such as Malaria and others have become rampant. During
the outbreak of the Corona pandemic, the level of humanitarian aid to Yemen has
been almost negligible.
International and humanitarian organizations that work in this
regard could not cover a quarter of the health needs of the Yemeni people, not
to mention the impact of the airport blockade and the inability of the sick and
the wounded to leave for treatment abroad in light of the shortage of
facilities in hospitals.
Of course, this
matter coincides with the crisis posed by the lack of oil derivatives and its
impact on the health sector. The Saudi-led coalition deliberately detained
ships and oil derivatives for more than two hundred days, and the quantity that
is entering does not meet more than twenty percent of Yemen's real need for
petrol and diesel, and the number of vessels detained for oil derivatives has
reached more than ten vessels so far, and this constitutes a very large
economic burden in terms of the accumulated fines for the seizure of ships, as
the lack of oil derivatives affects the industry, transport, and trade, and
greatly and directly affects the health and humanitarian sector, as well as
agriculture, and constitutes a crisis in the food sector. Consequently, the
Saudi-led coalition uses economic and humanitarian weapons to bring Yemen to
its knees and control its resources.
Q: Do you see a role for Israel and America in supporting
the Saudi-led coalition against Yemen?
A: Israel and America know that they have a fundamental role
in this war. They have a basic plan against Yemen. Saudi Arabia and the United
Arab Emirates are nothing but tools to implement this plan. Israel has
important goals in what is going on in the aggression against Yemen, since
Yemen moves within the liberation line that it chose after the September 21
revolution, led by Mr. Abdul-Malik Al-Houthi.
Yemen, indeed, has changed radically and is going to be the
main pillar in the axis of resistance. Yemen is today in its most important
position, especially because it is surrounded by tyrannical regimes. The Arab
states are tools of America to develop its hegemony over the region, therefore
the battle of Yemen is a fateful battle for the axis of resistance, and the
victory of Yemen is a victory for all this axis and a breakthrough towards
major victories that will culminate in the liberation of Al-Quds and the end of
the Zionist occupation.
That is why the Zionist regime feels a sense of danger from
Yemen and its expansion to the rest of the (Persian) Gulf countries. This is
what they seek to thwart, but this revolution will continue with steadfastness,
support, and sacrifices of the Yemeni nation until its goals are achieved and
the aggression ended.”
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