10/13
A coalition air raid targeted a checkpoint near Jabal Ras in Hudaydah, killing at least six people and injuring others.
10/14
Houthi militia arrested students at San’a University following the October 6th “Revolution of the Hungry” demonstration. Students had their phones confiscated and searched by militia members and a number of students were arrested.
Senator Sanders joined other senators in demanding that the US “withdraw its support from Saudi Arabia in Yemen’s civil war” in response to “allegations that the Saudi government murdered a dissident journalist.”
10/15
The WHO released a report on the current cholera epidemic in Yemen. The report noted that currently, the total number of suspected cholera cases in Yemen between “27 April 2017 to 23 September 2018 is 1,207,596” with “2,510 associated deaths.” Overall, the epidemic has “affected 22 out of 23 governorates and 306 out of 333 districts in Yemen.”
Tropical storm Luban had a “disastrous” impact on the governorate of al-Mahrah, with the governor requesting aid in helping to “evacuate some 50 families suck amid flooding, strong storms, and heavy rain” in the provincial capital, al-Ghaydah.” The tropical storm also produced power outages across most of city and has forced government offices and schools to shut down until service can be restored.
10/16
BuzzFeed News reported that the United Arab Emirates had contracted the services of Spear Operations Group, a US based security contractor staffed largely by ex-special operations forces, to conduct a series of missions, including assassinations, within Yemen. The contracting of mercenaries by foreign governments brings up serious questions about the legality of mercenary services and federal oversight for these “security contracting groups.” The mercenaries interviewed by BuzzFeed claimed responsibility for the killing or attempted killing of several Islah Party officials and clerics in Aden. More than 20 Islah-affiliated figures have been assassinated in Aden since the city was liberated by UAE and Yemeni forces in 2015.
President Hadi fired Prime Minister Ahmed bin Dagher, “blaming him for the economic crisis” in Yemen. Dagher is to be replaced by Maeen Abdulmalik Saeed, who is current the minister of public works in Hadi’s cabinet. This shift comes as the food crisis in Yemen is increasingly exacerbated by economic collapse, generating protests throughout the country.
The Guardian reported that previous estimations of the famine in Yemen underestimated the severity of the crisis. New numbers, taking into account the staggering drop of the Riyal last month, suggest that “between 1.5 million to 2 million more people than initially thought are now at risk of famine”, placing the total number of Yemenis at risk to “14 million.”
Seven civilians were killed while dozens others were wounded just south of Hudaydah as a result of mines placed in the area by Houthi militias, according to a Yemeni government source.
10/17
The Yemen Data Project released an Air Raids Summary for September In the report they noted that “48% of all Saudi led coalition air raids in Yemen in September hit civilian targets” while air raids on military targets only constituted 19% of the raids.
The Nation reported on the current situation on Capitol Hill regarding Yemen and the increasingly dire nature of the humanitarian crisis in the country. The report specifically addressed the history of US support for the Saudi-led coalition and present demands to end “[Congress’] complicity with Saudi-UAE war crimes.”
10/18
Conflict between coalition troops and Houthi fighters in the Bani Hassan district near the Yemen-Saudi Arabian border has forced the internal displacement of “nearly 20,000 Yemenis” since August.
UNICEF reported that increasing economic instability in Yemen and the skyrocketing cost of food, fuel, and water is likely to drastically worsen the already horrific conditions on the ground, as even more “war-weary people face the very real prospect of death and disease.”