Measles Cases Spread Across Houthi-Ruled Areas

A charitable campaign to help eye patients at a health center in Sanaa. (EPA)
A charitable campaign to help eye patients at a health center in Sanaa. (EPA)
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Measles Cases Spread Across Houthi-Ruled Areas

A charitable campaign to help eye patients at a health center in Sanaa. (EPA)
A charitable campaign to help eye patients at a health center in Sanaa. (EPA)

UN reports revealed a 260 percent increase in measles cases in Yemen, with the majority recorded in areas under Houthi control. This coincides with the widening spread of famine, as well as the deterioration of health and education sectors.

As the legitimate Yemeni government, based in the temporary capital of Aden, continues a comprehensive measles vaccination campaign in its controlled areas, international data indicates that the majority of reported cases are concentrated in provinces under Houthi control. The Houthis persist in obstructing vaccination campaigns and restrict access to vaccines at certain health centers.

This comes at a time when over a third of the Yemeni population is suffering from severe hunger amid the deterioration of both the health and education sectors. Also, more than eight million children are in need of humanitarian assistance, as reported by the international organization Oxfam.

United States Agency for International Development revealed in its latest report that Yemen has witnessed soaring cases of rubella and measles. It added that 60 percent of suspected cases are in Houthi-ruled provinces.

It further noted that the anti-vaccines campaign led by Houthis contributed to the outbreak of measles and other diseases that could have been prevented by vaccines.

The UN World Health Organization (WHO) recorded approximately 40,130 suspected cases of measles and 362 suspected deaths across Yemen in 2023 as of September 26, more than double the number of cases recorded during the same period in 2022.

"Over a third of the Yemeni population are facing extreme hunger, with rates of child malnutrition amongst the highest in the world. One year on from the expiration of the temporary peace agreement, Oxfam is calling on all sides of the conflict to strive for a sustainable and inclusive peace," Oxfam said in a press release.

"Since war broke out, Yemen has suffered one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises. Over 21 million people —two-thirds of the population— are in need of humanitarian assistance," it added.

The conflict has resulted in thousands of casualties, forced over four million Yemenis to flee their homes, and led to a collapse of the economy.

A temporary peace was brokered, bringing a glimmer of hope to millions of Yemenis, a 60 percent reduction in casualties, and easier access to essential services.

But the political uncertainty has hampered the country’s recovery.

According to Oxfam, the Yemeni economy is in dire straits, as rounds of currency depreciation have been compounded by high levels of inflation.

"Food prices have more than doubled and many ordinary Yemenis can no longer afford to buy enough food to eat."

Around 8.5 million children need humanitarian assistance and face the daily threat of food shortages, diseases, displacement, and an acute lack of access to basic social services.

The health response is currently only seven percent funded while the education response is just two percent funded.

"And the picture is set to get worse. The number of people facing crisis or emergency levels of hunger is forecast to increase by 20 percent. 2.2 million children under the age of five need treatment for acute malnutrition —one of the highest in the world," continues the press release.

It also cited a recent survey which showed that "almost one third of families have gaps in their diets, and hardly ever consume foods like pulses, vegetables, fruit, dairy products, or meat." "

Only the little ones get to eat three meals a day."

The report shed light on Yemen's suffering from the effects of climate change, "with periods of drought and heavy rains destroying crops, homes, and livelihoods. More climate shocks look likely as the rainy season continues to test an infrastructure ill-equipped to cope with floods."

Oxfam reiterated its call on all sides of the conflict and the international community to renew their efforts "to deliver sustainable, inclusive peace and to rebuild the country. Payment of salaries, reopening vital roads, and a plan for rebuilding the economy must be central to any deal."



Houthi Network Recruits Hundreds of Yemenis to Fight in Ukraine

Honoring a Yemeni fighter in the ranks of the Russian forces (local media)
Honoring a Yemeni fighter in the ranks of the Russian forces (local media)
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Houthi Network Recruits Hundreds of Yemenis to Fight in Ukraine

Honoring a Yemeni fighter in the ranks of the Russian forces (local media)
Honoring a Yemeni fighter in the ranks of the Russian forces (local media)

In a nearly one-minute video, a young Yemeni man tells how he and his colleagues traveled to Russia on the promise of lucrative employment in fields such as “security” and “engineering”, but ended up fighting for Russia in Ukraine.
The young man, whose face was covered, expressed with his colleagues their desire to return to Yemen. They said they did not wish to suffer the same fate as their friends and get killed.
Last Sunday, The Financial Times said in a report that Russia’s armed forces have recruited hundreds of Yemeni men to fight in Ukraine, brought by a shadowy trafficking operation that highlights the growing links between Moscow and the Houthi militant group.
Later in video recordings, young Yemeni men spoke about the practice of Houthi smugglers who take advantage of the difficult economic conditions of Yemenis to recruit hundreds of them, and send them to fight alongside Russian troops.
The network of traffickers operate from Yemen and other Arab countries, and coordinate with others within Russian territory.
The Houthi network recruited hundreds of Yemenis and sent them to fight in Russia, according to sources close to their families and others in the Yemeni government.
In one of the videos, a group of Yemeni recruits said they worked in Oman, when a medical equipment company founded by a Houthi politician, Abdulwali Abdo Hassan al-Jabri, lured them by promises of lucrative employment in fields such as “security” and “engineering” in Russia.
They said they were promised a salary of $2,500 per month. But arriving in Moscow, they were received by a representative from the Russian Defense Ministry who told them they will work as security guards at Russian facilities.
Two days after their arrival, the recruits were sent to camps, where they trained for combat and received a salary of between $185 and $232 a month. They are now calling on the Yemeni government to intervene to return them to their country.
But another Yemeni, Ahmed, who is familiar with a group of recruits, explains that he and his friends had warned these young men not to go to Russia where they risk getting involved in the ongoing war.
The recruits told him that they could escape to Europe and seek asylum as hundreds of Yemenis did before.
However, after arriving with the help of a Houthi-linked medical company, many have apparently been coerced into the Russian military, forced to sign fighting contracts at gunpoint and sent to the front lines in Ukraine.
A member of the Yemeni community in Russia told Asharq Al-Awsat that smugglers are luring Yemeni young men to go to Russia to work for salaries of up to $2,500 per month and are then transferred to Arab capitals, including Muscat, Beirut and Damascus, to be then transferred to Russian territory.
After their arrival, he said, the recruits are taken to weapons training camps, allegedly as employees of a security company. But they are later sent to fight on the front lines with Ukraine along with mercenaries from other nationalities.
Activists and members of the Yemeni community in Russia estimate that there are about 300 young Yemenis who refuse to join the fighting in Ukraine and want to return to their country.
“Those men were tempted by the dire economic conditions in Yemen due to the ongoing war,” the activists said.
A Yemeni recruit of the shadowy trafficking operation said that Abdulwali Abdo Hassan al-Jabri, a prominent Houthi politician, is one of the main recruiters. He is assisted by his brother Abdul Waheed, who was appointed by the group as director of Al-Masrakh districts in Taiz Province.
The recruit said that the group of traffickers includes Hani al-Zarriqi, who has been living in Russia for years, and Mohammed al-Iyani, who lives in a Yemeni neighboring country.
Two relatives of the recruits accuse al-Jabri and his aides of arranging the transfer of the young men from Yemen to a neighboring country, and from there to Moscow, on the pretext of working for private security companies. The traffickers receive a commission of between $10 and $15 thousand per person.