What’s happening in Yemen today

Asteris Masouras
the reported.ly team
3 min readApr 7, 2015

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4.7.2015 edition

By the Reported.ly Team

We are creating a daily rundown of events in Yemen as Saudi Arabian-led airstrikes against Houthis that began March 26 continue. The Houthi militia has been fighting the Yemeni government for nearly a decade, and in recent months has made enormous gains across the country, including capturing the capital, Sana’a.

For an explanation of what happened in the first few days of the military action, read our synopsis.

Update 6:00 p.m. PT (1:00 a.m. GMT)

Half of Yemen's governorates have been targeted by airstrikes

UNOCHA has said a total of 14 out of 22 governorates have now been affected by airstrikes or armed conflict, according to report they’ve received.

The affected areas today include: Sa’ada, Lahj, Abyan, Hajjah, Ibb, Sana’a, Aden, Taizz, Marib, Al Jawf, Dhamar, Amran, Shabwah, Al Bayda, Al Hudaydah and Al Dhale’e.

After helping evacuate citizens from 26 countries, India ends evacuations

So far India has helped thousands of citizens leave Yemen, assisting 26 countries, including the United States.

Today, Syed Akbaruddin, spokesperson for India’s Ministry of External Affairs, said those operations will end April 8.

Five flights will leave Djibouti to India tonight, carrying more than 1,000 Indian nationals.

U.S. Deputy Secretary of State: We have expedited weapons deliveries

Deputy Secretary of State Tony Blinken and Pentagon spokesman Colonel Steve Warren said that the U.S. was looking to deliver more weapons to the coalition.

“We have expedited weapons deliveries, we have increased our intelligence sharing, and we have established a joint coordination planning cell in the Saudi operation centre,” Blinken said to Al Jazeera.

During a daily press briefing, Marie Harf, acting spokesperson for the U.S. State Department said that Blinken’s statements weren’t correct.

“Those actually aren’t entirely accurate representations of the conversations on the ground,” she said.

Harf said she believes the statements were meant as a re-iteration of existing policies and strategies.

Update 9:53 a.m. PT (4:53 p.m. GMT)

Children killed, injured, displaced in conflict

UNICEF said yesterday at least 74 children are known to have been killed and 44 maimed since the Yemen conflict started. Today, the UN agency puts the displaced from the conflict at over 100,000.

“Children are paying an intolerable price for this conflict. They are being killed, maimed and forced to flee their homes, their health threatened and their education interrupted” -UNICEF Yemen Representative Julien Harneis.

Situation in Aden “catastrophic”

International aid agencies paint the situation in Aden in dire colors.

“Hospitals are overflowing, and even ambulances have been hijacked.” -UNICEF Dr. Gamila Hibatullah in Aden

International Commitee of the Red Cross (ICRC) officials called Yemen’s second-largest city a “ghost town,” where “war is on every street.” The Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) team in Aden reported that access to their hospital is obstructed by fighting. The team treated over 580 injuries in the past two weeks, during which time they have been on lockdown in the hospital, unable to safely send ambulances out.

“I’ve seen men in their 20s come in with their legs blown off — I’ve never seen injuries like it before. We’ve also had children who have been badly injured while they were playing.” -MSF Project Coordinator Valerie Pierre

Logistics problems continue to obstruct aid delivery

The ICRC managed to land a passenger plane with staff in Sana’a on Monday, but delivery of critical aid continued to be delayed, due to logistical problems. The ICRC representative in Sana’a told Al Jazeera: “We are still trying to find a cargo plane that can carry our supplies to Sanaa.” On Tuesday, a solution appeared to have been found:

Countries turning to India for help with evacuations

The number of countries that requested help from India to evacuate their citizens are now at 26, including several European countries and the U.S.

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Asteris Masouras
the reported.ly team

Freelance journo/global newsfilter @reportedly, @globalvoices editor, human rights, film/games/scifi geek. Social justice/stay human