Local Editor
As Yemen is about to enter its fourth year of Saudi-led intervention, millions of Yemenis are on the brink of famine and one of the worst humanitarian catastrophes in the world.
According to the UN, the Yemeni war has left 24 million in need of urgent humanitarian assistance, 3.1 million displaced while more than 60,000 have been killed since March 2015 and thousands were hit by a deadly cholera outbreak.
The Saudi-led coalition launched its war on Yemen in 2015 and it has been supported by arms sales from the US and UK.
For the US, Congress had recently voted for the second time in two months to withdraw military aid from the war in Yemen in face of Trump administration’s continuous efforts to defend Saudi Arabia.
It has not been different in the UK, which is considered the largest arms suppliers to Saudi Arabia along with the US. More human rights organizations, activists and politicians have been calling their government to halt arms sales to Saudi Arabia, however, the pressure was not enough.
This week, several international non-governmental organizations; including UN, Save the Children UK, Amnesty and others have been protesting against UK government arms sales through a campaign called: “Yemen Can’t Wait”.
Through the campaign, the organizations aim at highlighting a proposed sale of more jets to Saudi Arabia which is illegal, according to the international law and human rights.
It also intends to put more pressure on the UK government to take serious action and stop being part of the humanitarian crisis.
On hashtag #YemenCantWait, hundreds of tweets by Yemenis and UK activists urging the UK government to stop their breach of human rights and stop selling arms to Saudi Arabia.
Many also used the hashtag to remind the world of the humanitarian disaster taking place currently in Yemen under an ongoing Saudi-led war destroying what is left of homes, schools, and hospitals.
Source: Al-Bawaba, Edited by Website Team
