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Sana’a power vacuum hampers aid response

Yemen Sana
Thousands of Houthi supporters gather in Tahrir Square for a victory celebration on 23 September 2014 in Sana’a, Yemen.

SANA’A, (IRIN) – For several days, Um Ibrahim’s walls shook as she tried to keep her two children calm. Her 18-year-old son and 21-year-old daughter are both physically and mentally handicapped, unable to walk on their own, so she had little choice but to stay put in her one-bedroom shelter in the Hasaba neighbourhood as areas of the Yemeni capital Sana’a were rocked by clashes.

“We hid in the kitchen. Neighbours offered to help us leave, but how was I to move [my children]?” asked the woman, who was one of the few to remain in her area as the sound of shelling unfolded around her.

“A week after a ceasefire agreement that ended days of fighting in the city, Um Ibrahim is among thousands of civilians hoping for support as they look to return to their normal lives.”

Clashes broke out on 16 September in Al-Qabel village just outside Sana’a and quickly moved deep into the capital as armed Houthi rebels (a Zaidi Shiite group concentrated in the country’s north) gained territory in a battle with a mix of government troops and militias affiliated to Islah – Yemen’s most powerful Sunni Islamist grouping.

After days of fighting in neighbourhoods in northwestern Sana’a, shelling finally ceased on 21 September as the Houthis captured a major military complex which had been under the command of Gen Ali Mohsen Al-Ahmar, a leader in the Islah Party and a military adviser to the president.

Following their victory, the Houthis quickly took control of other government facilities. At the same time, political parties endorsed a UN brokered deal that officially brought an end to the fighting. The agreement, signed by the Houthis and major political parties with President Abdu Rabu Mansour Hadi’s endorsement, called for the creation of a new government, a reduction in fuel prices and granted the Houthis a larger say in governmental decisions.

Over 270 dead

According to Ali Sariya, the emergency manager at the Ministry of Public Health, over 270 people died and more than 500 were injured in the clashes. At least 60 civilians are among the dead, but Sariya explained that there could be dozens more because families probably buried casualties without reporting them.

While the ceasefire may have stopped the bullets, civilians, many of whom are slowly returning to their homes after being displaced, say they paid the heaviest price for what many see as a political power struggle that turned violent.

“I don’t know who to be mad at,” said Ali Al-Kamaly, a 28-year-old engineer living near 30 Meter Street in northwestern Sana’a, where much of the street fighting took place. “All these people died for nothing – or was it for politics?”

Al-Kamaly and his family weathered the shelling and, like Um Ibrahim, decided to remain in their homes. While Um Ibrahim had limited means to leave, Al-Kamaly chose to stay for fear of abandoning his property. As clashes ensued, he saw militias from both sides occupying homes, setting up camps and storing weapons in private property.

Al-Kamaly spoke to IRIN after the peace deal had been signed but said he still did not feel safe. During the fighting his car was caught in the crossfire. As his brother ran out for supplies, his friend was shot in the arm. Al-Kamaly and his family felt compelled to bury the bodies of four soldiers that were left in the street. An aid organization later came to retrieve the bodies.

“One solider [we found dead] had 70 riyals [33 US cents] in his pocket. Not even enough to buy water,” Al-Kamaly said.

Planning a response

Aid organizations are still determining how to assist civilians as they return home. In several neighbourhoods electricity was out for a week, but restored services have encouraged many to return. There has been no final tally of families displaced, but the Yemen Red Crescent Society’s (YRCS) initial estimates put the internally displaced persons (IDP) figure at 3,000 households.

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Source: IRIN

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