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User:Tarafa15/MBS Military interventions

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Military interventions in Syria and Yemen

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See also: Famine in Yemen (2016–present), Human rights violations during the Yemeni Civil War (2015–present), and Saudi Arabian involvement in the Syrian Civil War
Palestinians protest in the Gaza Strip, 9 December 2017

On 10 January 2016, The Independent reported that "the BND, the German intelligence agency, portrayed...Saudi defence minister and Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman...as a political gambler who is destabilising the Arab world through proxy wars in Yemen and Syria."[1][2][3][4] German officials reacted to the BND’s memo, saying the published statement "is not the position of the federal government".[5]

Protest in London against Crown Prince's state visit to the UK, 7 March 2018

Mohammed bin Salman leads the Saudi-led intervention in Yemen against the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels, who in 2015 seized Sana’a and ousted the Saudi-backed Hadi government, ending multilateral efforts towards a political settlement following the 2011 Yemeni uprising.[6][7][8] Coalition airstrikes during the intervention have resulted in thousands of civilians killed or injured,[9] prompting accusations of war crimes in the intervention.[10][11][12]

Following a Houthi missile attack against Riyadh in December 2017, which was intercepted by Saudi air defense, airstrikes killed 136 Yemeni civilians and injured 87 others in eleven days.[13][14] In August 2018, the United Nations reported that all parties in the conflict were responsible for human rights violations and for actions which could be considered war crimes.[15]

Prince Mohammed is considered the architect of the war in Yemen.[16][17] The war and blockade of Yemen has cost the kingdom tens of billions of dollars, further aggravated the humanitarian crisis in the country and destroyed much of Yemen's infrastructure, but failed to dislodge the Shiite Houthi rebels and their allies from the Yemeni capital.[18][19][1] More than 50,000 children in Yemen died from starvation in 2017.[20][21][22] The famine in Yemen is the direct result of the Saudi-led intervention and blockade of the rebel-held area.[23][24] In October 2018, Lise Grande, the United Nations Humanitarian Coordinator for Yemen, warned that 12 to 13 million Yemenis were at risk of starvation if the war continued for another three months.[25] On 28 March 2018, Saudi Arabia, along with its coalition partner the UAE, donated $930 million USD to the United Nations which, according to UN Secretary-General António Guterres, "...(will) help to alleviate the suffering of millions of vulnerable people across Yemen". The funds cover almost one-third of the $2.96 billion required to implement the UN's 2018 Yemen Humanitarian Response Plan.[26] Following the Houthi missile attack against Riyadh in December 2017, which was intercepted by Saudi air defense,[27] Mohammed Bin Salman retaliated with a ten day barrage of indiscriminate airstrikes against civilian areas in Yemen held by Houthi forces, killing dozens of children.[28]


Following the murder of Khashoggi, the United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations approved a resolution to impose sanctions on people blocking humanitarian access in Yemen and suspend arms sale to Saudi. Senator Lindsey Graham said America’s relationship with Saudi Arabia “is more of a burden than an asset.” He also said, “The crown prince [of Saudi Arabia] is so toxic, so tainted, so flawed.”[29]

After UN peace talks in Geneva in September 2018 failed in the absence of the Houthi delegation, subsequent talks in Sweden that December between the government of Yemen and the Houthi rebels resulted in an agreement to a ceasefire in the port city of Hodeidah to ensure the passage of imports and aid.[30][31]

  1. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference mostdangerousman was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ "Risk-taking Saudi prince gambling with stability". Lfpress. 8 February 2017.
  3. ^ "Prince Mohammed bin Salman: Naive, arrogant Saudi prince is playing with fire". The Independent. 10 January 2016. Archived from the original on 10 January 2016.
  4. ^ "Saudi Prince Mohammed bin Salman has Western leaders very worried". News. 13 January 2016. Archived from the original on 25 July 2016.
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference NYT rebukes was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Robertson, Nic (21 June 2018). "Mohammed bin Salman is on a make or break mission". CNN. Retrieved 1 September 2018.
  7. ^ "Yemen crisis: President resigns as rebels tighten hold". BBC. 23 January 2015. Retrieved 1 September 2018.
  8. ^ Carapico, Sheila (25 February 2015). "Yemen on brink as Gulf Co-operation Council initiative fails". BBC. Retrieved 1 September 2018.
  9. ^ Raghavan, Sudarsan (29 July 2018). "US allies have killed thousands of Yemenis – including 22 at a wedding". The Independent. Retrieved 1 September 2018.
  10. ^ "Saudi Arabia accused of Yemen war crimes as crown prince completes UK visit". The Herald. 10 March 2018.
  11. ^ MacAskill, Ewen (27 January 2016). "UN report into Saudi-led strikes in Yemen raises questions over UK role". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 2 February 2016.
  12. ^ "Airstrikes hit Médecins Sans Frontières hospital in Yemen Archived 29 December 2016 at the Wayback Machine". The Guardian. 27 October 2015.
  13. ^ Paul, Katie; El Gamal, Rania (19 December 2017). "Saudi Arabia intercepts Houthi missile fired toward Riyadh; no reported casualties". Reuters. Riyadh. Retrieved 3 October 2018.
  14. ^ "Over 130 civilians killed in 11 days in airstrikes in Yemen, reports UN rights office". news.un.org. United Nations. 19 December 2017. Retrieved 3 October 2018.
  15. ^ Vonberg, Judith; Elbagir, Nima (28 August 2018). "All sides in Yemen conflict could be guilty of war crimes, says UN". CNN. Retrieved 1 September 2018.
  16. ^ "The war in Yemen is disastrous. America is only making things worse". The Guardian. 11 June 2018.
  17. ^ "Saudi Crown Prince Aids Yemen as He Hits It With Airstrikes". Time. 6 April 2018.
  18. ^ Kristof, Nicholas (31 August 2017). "The Photos the U.S. and Saudi Arabia Don't Want You to See" – via www.NYTimes.com.
  19. ^ Cite error: The named reference rattlessaudiarabia was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  20. ^ editor, Patrick Wintour Diplomatic (16 November 2017). "Saudis must lift Yemen blockade or 'untold' thousands will die, UN agencies warn" – via www.theguardian.com. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  21. ^ Press, Associated (16 November 2017). "50,000 children in Yemen have died of starvation and disease so far this year, monitoring group says". Chicago Tribune.
  22. ^ "Is Intentional Starvation the Future of War?". The New Yorker. 11 July 2018.
  23. ^ Kristof, Nicholas (31 August 2017). "The Photos the U.S. and Saudi Arabia Don't Want You to See" – via www.NYTimes.com.
  24. ^ "In blocking arms to Yemen, Saudi Arabia squeezes a starving population". Reuters. 11 October 2017.
  25. ^ Cite error: The named reference LiseGrande_worldworstfamine100yrs was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  26. ^ "UN receives nearly $1 billion from Saudi Arabia and UAE for humanitarian response to Yemen crisis". United Nations. Archived from the original on 29 March 2018. Retrieved 30 March 2018.
  27. ^ "Saudi Arabia says it intercepts Houthi missile fired toward Riyadh, no reported damage". cnbc.com. 19 December 2017. Retrieved 22 October 2018.
  28. ^ Emily Thornberry. "Britain's red carpet for the Saudi ruler is shameless". The Guardian. Retrieved 22 October 2018.
  29. ^ "Menendez and Graham announce resolution on Saudi Arabia in wake of Khashoggi killing". Fox News. Retrieved 13 December 2018.
  30. ^ Stephanie Nebehay (8 September 2018). "Yemen peace talks collapse in Geneva after Houthi no-show". Reuters. Retrieved 19 December 2018.
  31. ^ Aziz El Yaakoubi; Johan Sennero (13 December 2018). "Yemen's warring parties agree to ceasefire in Hodeidah and U.N. role". Reuters. Retrieved 19 December 2018.
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