“More than five years of war have devastated the lives of tens of millions of Yemenis, brought state institutions to the verge of collapse and reversed development by decades.
With the coronavirus pandemic, the urgency of reaching a negotiated political settlement to end the conflict has only grown. There are more than 2,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Yemen. But experts estimate that there are possibly up to 1 million affected by the virus, with a fatality rate as high as 30 per cent, as war has decimated the country’s health facilities. “
UN Secretary General, 17 Sept 2020
Bombing raids have created the worst humanitarian crisis in the world. According to Campaign Against Arms Trade (CAAT), UK-made fighter jets, bombs and missiles have all played a central role in the bombing. Since the bombing of Yemen began in March 2015, the UK has licensed the following sales to military forces currently engaged in the war:
· £5.4 billion worth of arms to Saudi Arabia
· £715 million worth of arms to United Arab Emirates
· £91 million worth of arms to Egypt
· £74 million worth of arms to Bahrain
Find out more: the impact of war on Yemeni women
https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/wps/2020/03/27/now-is-the-time-for-women/ and the global arms trade https://sipri.org/
Action: Email your MP via CAAT : https://www.caat.org.uk/get-involved/act-now/lobby/un-yemen-report