September 24-October 4: US Congress takes up war powers bill, MSF withdraws from al-Dhali'

9/24

Save the Children reported, using data from ACLED (Armed Conflict Location and Event Data), that at least 685 civilians have been killed in Yemen between June and the end of August, with 51% of these casualties (about 349 civilians) attributed to the Hudaydah campaign alone.

9/25

President Trump announced his intention to appoint Christopher Paul Henzel to replace Matthew Tueller as US Ambassador to Yemen. The American embassy has been based in Saudi Arabia since the Houthi-Saleh coup in early 2015.

Human Rights Watch released a report detailing cases of hostage-taking orchestrated by the Houthis, which includes inhumane detention, torture, and murder.

9/26

Lawmakers in the House introduced House Concurrent Resolution 138, which invokes the War Powers Resolution in an attempt to withdraw US support from the Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen.

9/28

UN Special Envoy Martin Griffiths told Al Jazeera he hopes to announce the reopening of San’a airport next week as well as a possible prisoner exchange.

The UN Human Rights Council voted to extend the mandate for the Group of Eminent Experts in favor of continuing an inquiry into human rights abuses and war crimes in Yemen.

10/02

Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) has been forced to remove their staff from al-Dhali' and suspend their medical programs until further notice. This comes after their facilities were targeted with explosives for the second time in less than a week. Their inability to operate in this area of southern Yemen will only exacerbate the extreme humanitarian crisis there.

Save the Children is reporting that suspected cholera cases have nearly tripled in Hudaydah since June. According to the World Health Organization, 30% of these cases are children under the age of five. Fighting in Hudaydah has killed hundreds of civilians in recent months, and has damaged local sanitation and water facilities.  

Saudi Arabia has donated $200 million to Yemen’s Central Bank in an effort to stabilize the Yemeni riyal. As of this week, the riyal has traded 800 to the dollar (almost four times the pre-war exchange rate), a striking example of how the conflict has impacted the economy and thus affected Yemenis’ access to basic needs.

10/03

Two sons of former president Ali Abdullah Saleh were released by the Houthis today following mediation from Omani officials and UN envoy to Yemen, Martin Griffiths.

UNICEF suspended cash payments for the third time since the launch of its assistance program in August 2017. Their decision to withhold the funds comes after complications to establish a call center for the purpose of connecting with beneficiaries. Two anonymous sources reported that this obstruction came directly from Houthi activities.

10/04

Yemeni journalists on twitter have reported that massive protests took place today in Ta’iz due to continued currency depreciation and inflation of food prices.