In light of the deteriorating situation in Yemen, some Arab observers believe that Houthi rebels and Shiite militias in southern Yemen have joined forces after US President Joe Biden's remarks on Iran's nuclear program, as well as criticism of the Saudi Crown Prince.
Intense attacks have
begun on the areas. The United Nations has warned that the rapidly
deteriorating situation in Yemen could not only be a major
humanitarian catastrophe but could engulf the entire region.
Role Houthi
rebels in Civil War of Yemen
Houthi rebels and Shiite
militias recently attacked Marib City, 70 miles from the Yemeni capital Sanaa,
with ballistic missiles, rockets and bombs, displacing thousands of Yemeni
displaced people in camps on the outskirts of the city.
Killed and injured Yemenis
trapped in camps say where should we go after the camps are destroyed. It
should be noted that so far more than two million Yemenis have been
displaced, more than one and a half million people have been killed and
millions of dollars worth of property have been destroyed.
Uprising in the
Arab and Civil war in Yemen
The 2011 uprising
in the Arab world against the dictatorial Arab rulers included Yemen,
where a movement against President Abdullah Saleh, who has ruled Yemen
for more than three decades, was launched.
President Abdullah Saleh
had to step down and his deputy, Abdullah Mansour Hadi, had to hand over power,
but Mansour Hadi's government has long had a weak, corrupt regime with all
major issues such as poverty, unemployment, inflation, and injustice. It also
suffered heavy attacks from Houthi rebels and militias.
Fighting by Houthi
rebels and other separatist elements of the Zaidi Shiite sect in the
north, which had started earlier under Abdullah Saleh, continued under
President Abdullah Mansour Hadi and intensified. If we look at the current situation in Yemen, we have to look at the past.
It so happened that in
1918, when Saudi Arabia and most of Yemen were annexed by the Ottoman
Empire, the religious leaders of the Zaidi Shiite sect of northern Yemen
began a struggle to liberate northern Yemen from the Sunni majority in the
south. They wanted their homeland. There have been major clashes between Arab
tribes and Turkish forces in the region. Under these circumstances, the British
government had been providing support to the Arab tribes against the Turks.
The civil war in Yemen
Saudi Arabia has been ruled by a Saudi family since 1932. Since Yemen is the oldest Arab country, it has maintained ties with all the tribes in the region. Wars took place, friendship and cooperation continued, but relations between the tribes of northern Yemen and the tribes of the southern region of Saudi Arabia remained mostly strained, with a major religious interference.
As the activities of northern Yemeni tribes and Houthi rebels intensified, Saudi Arabia allocated a whopping 8.5 billion in 2007 to build a fence and wall on the 1,100-mile-long Saudi-Yemeni border. The New York Times wrote in a statement that Saudi Arabia wanted to protect its southern border by spending so much money to stop major sources of human trafficking, including al-Qaeda, Houthi rebels, drug and arms smugglers.
Yemen
had protested against a campaign to build a fence on the Saudi border, but
Saudi Arabia rejected it. The whole controversy escalated when Iran began
providing large-scale aid to Houthi rebels in northern Yemen.
In a way, the proxy war
between Saudi Arabia and Iran is being fought in Yemen, but now the Houthi
rebels have launched direct rocket attacks on Saudi Arabia in response to the
Saudi bombing. As a result, tensions in the region are rising sharply.
Role of Western power in Civil war in Yemen
Some Western powers, including
the United States, are concerned that if tensions in the Middle East continue
to escalate, the entire region, including North Africa, could be plunged into a major war, a situation that does not immediately appear to be in the United
States' interest. And focuses on the Indian Ocean region, with a large
gathering of the US and Chinese forces in the South China Sea.
This region is considered
to be the most delicate region. On the one hand, tensions between Iran and
Saudi Arabia in the Middle East, on the other hand, in some other African
countries, including North Africa, the situation could worsen due to extremism,
terrorism, Civil war, and severe disorder.
The Yemeni government accuses
Iran of withholding monthly stipends from some Yemeni leaders,
high-ranking officials and other figures, all of whom facilitate rebels against
the Yemeni
government.
In other words, the Yemeni
government argues that Iran has created instability in Yemen by supporting Yemeni
anti-government forces and figures and is fueling sectarian tensions in the
region, while the Iranian government has denied all such allegations. Has been
refusing. In addition, Saudi Arabia is concerned about Iran's nuclear program,
while Israel is also concerned, as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
has repeatedly expressed.
This is not just a
coincidence, but one of the most important events and news that needs to be
considered, related to the situation in the Middle East and its environs, the
news of Pope Francis' recent visit to Iraq. Pope Francis met with prominent
Shiite leader Ayatollah al-Sistani, and also paid a brief visit to the historic
cities of Erbil and Mosul.
The pope spoke with
Shiite clerics and spiritual leaders about the important issues of peace and
coexistence between Muslims and Christians. It was a farewell visit by two
important spiritual leaders to one another's religions. The situation is
understandable if one considers the timing of Pope Francis' visit.
Pope Francis' visit is being hailed as a landmark event around the world. Also, keep in mind
why Pope
Francis met with al-Sistani, the leader of the largest Shiite sect in
Iraq.
The simple answer is that
for a long time, Shiites in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, and Pahriman, both in the
majority and in the minority, have been facing problems, and now some factions
have come to war. The growing tension between Iran and Saudi Arabia could turn
into a major tragedy.
It is also noteworthy
that the Islamic Organization of more than fifty countries seems incapable of
playing a significant role in these sensitive issues. Another important reason
is that there is no leader in the entire Islamic world who can speak bluntly on
the problems of the Muslim world and resolve disputes, while the spiritual
leader of the Catholic sect, the largest sect of Christianity.
When Pope Francis returned to
the Vatican from Argentina in 2013, he first called on Christians to stay with
Muslims, to stay away from prejudice, and to resolve disputes peacefully. Was
It should be noted that Catholic Christians in Europe, including the United
States, attach great importance to the Pope and are listened to all over the
world.
However, the potential in
Muslim countries are very high. Islam is the second-largest religion in the
world. It would be more appropriate for the Muslim World to be flexible on
matters of creed, color, race, and language. It is now clear that no country can
occupy another country by force. Conservative Arab and non-Arab assumptions also
need to be reconsidered in this regard. Even so, there are clear guidelines for
Islamic teachings regarding color, race, and language.
In all these contexts, it
is necessary to consider the point that almost all Muslim countries are worried
about the proxy war between Tehran and Riyadh. Much of the Middle East is
engulfed in anarchy, Civil war, and religious extremism,
while the land belongs to Muslims, fighting among Muslims, killing and
destruction among Muslims, but there are also elements among Muslims who
support their extremism or whatever. The reason is that they call each other
infidels on the basis of sect.
The sad fact is that this the irrational chain seems to be gradually lengthening, so-and-so is infidel for
so-and-so, infidel for so-and-so, but why don't these elements and their allies
think that we have our own distorted or illusory ideas and incomplete ideas?
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Due to this, a fatwa of
disbelief is affixed on any Muslim, but in the eyes of non-Muslims, he is also
a Muslim. What difference does it make to non-Muslims who are Shia, who are
Wahhabi, who are Deobandi, who are Salafi, and who are Barelvi or Ahlul-Hadeeth,
in their eyes, they are all Muslims. All Muslims need to think calmly about
this.
Another problem for Saudi
Arabia is that the number of Shiites in the area around the oil wells is
relatively high and it is natural to say that they will be sympathetic to Iran.
۔ an important issue is that Saudi Arabia recently agreed to form a joint army
of Muslim countries. The alliance includes about a dozen African Muslim
countries, and ironically, almost all countries have ethnic, religious, tribal, and political conflicts.
The issue of concern
among Western diplomats is the unrest, violence, religious and sectarian
extremism on the African continent, especially in North and Central African
countries. Because of these prejudices and extremism, the societies of African
countries are suffering from severe unrest and turmoil.
Unemployed youth in most
African countries are joining various extremist organizations. Three hundred
schoolgirls were recently abducted by a terrorist organization in Nigeria. The
terrorists released the students after a deal with the government, which is a
very worrying incident. Earlier, kidnappings for ransom, bombings, and other
violent incidents in Sudan, Ethiopia, Mozambique, Congo, and Sierra Leone.
Role of ISIS in Civil War of Yemen
ISIS is also expanding
its organization in African countries, including Boko Haram, al-Shabab, al-Aqsa
group, al-Ishtar group, Harakat al-Shabab, Jamaat-e-Nusrat al-Islam and
al-Qaeda. All of these religious extremist organizations and their affiliates
and factions are spread across North, West, and East and Central African
countries. Boko Haram and al-Shabab are more powerful and organized terrorist
organizations. In this case, the states of the Middle East, especially Yemen,
which is closer to the African coast and where the situation of Civil
war and unrest there is alarming, could be a threat to the entire
region.
Recent steps were taken by the US
President Joe Biden for the Middle East includes stopping Saudi Arabia from
intervening and bombing Yemen, negotiating with warring
factions to bring peace to Yemen, halting arms sales to the UAE
and Iran. Urges talks on nuclear deal
The United States and
most European countries are also angry with Israel's policy, but given the
policies of US President Joe Biden, it can be said that the United States is
ready to go to any lengths to implement its policy. Is. Yet US President Joe
Biden does not want an immediate war in the Middle East. Other regions are
among his immediate priorities right now. ۔
Researchers at the Moshe
Dayan Research Center at Tel Aviv University says the problem in Yemen
is complex. The region is home to many tribes that have never been subject to
the central government and have been embroiled in war. The Zaidi Shiites in
northern Yemen, known as the Houthis, differ from the Iranian Shiites in
their beliefs and are said to believe in the Twelve Imams.
Former President Abdullah
Saleh, who has been in power for more than three decades, is responsible for
all the turmoil and political instability in Yemen, the economic
crisis, and human rights abuses. When the people started protesting, he left
power, but along with his supporters, he has been waging an armed struggle
against the government. Former President Abdullah Saleh faces serious charges
of corruption, nepotism, injustice, and poor governance, as well as imprisonment
for killing opponents.
Saudi Arabia's position
is to end political instability in Yemen, to evacuate the rebel-held
territory, to disarm the rebels, so that lasting peace can be established in Yemen.
But observers say a ceasefire could be difficult and the war could drag on.
Saudi Arabia and its Arab allies have been bombing Yemen since 2015.
The result is still
unresolved. The situation in a poor country like Yemen is very dire.
Observers say Saudi Arabia's main intervention in Yemen is aimed at rooting
out Houthi rebels and securing the Bab al-Mandoub waterway, as 70 percent of
Saudi oil is exported from the waterway, but currently, Yemen faces serious
threats.
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