'Blockade is war': US-led coalition weaponizing food to choke Yemen

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Al Mayadeen Net
6 Jan 2023 21:45

Yemenis take to the streets in massive marches under the title "Blockade is war" in a clear message to the US-Saudi-led coalition that its illegal blockade on Yemen amounts to a war crime.

Massive marches under the title "Blockade is war" in Yemen

Demonstrators in Yemen marched on Friday to protest against the illegally imposed blockade on the country and warned the US-led coalition of the consequences of their ongoing siege on the Yemeni people.

Earlier today, the Yemeni governorates of Saada, Dhamar, and Al-Jawf witnessed massive demonstrations under the slogan "Blockade is war," denouncing the ongoing blockade of the US-Saudi-led coalition on Yemen, according to the Saadah march statement.

The statement says, "Starvation and siege are just one of the aspects of the unjust and criminal American war against the Yemeni people," noting that "the US-Saudi aggression coalition weaponized food and the blockade against all the Yemeni people."

It described the blockade as a war crime that fits all the criteria of genocide as per the United Nations charters and laws.

📹 بعض شعارات رددها اليمنيين
اليوم في مسيرة #الحصارحرب
"نفطنا والرواتب ينهبها الحلف الغاصب"#اليمن #صنعاء #السعودية #الإمارات pic.twitter.com/LZ9BsOrZx1
— أبو جرهم (@abojrhom) January 6, 2023

The statement further pointed out that "the periods of armistice and the aftermath of fanfare and negotiations proved that the coalition of aggression, led by the US, is in no way committed to alleviating the suffering of the Yemeni people."

The statement stressed that "the aggression absolutely refuses to pay the salaries of employees from the looted national wealth, but rather tightens the siege against the Yemeni people."

The looted oil and gas from Yemen

The statement further added that "the aggression considers the people's legitimate demands as impossible and unacceptable," pointing out that "it exploits Yemen's suffering in order to dismantle and destabilize the national front in a way that enables the coalition to achieve its goals and ensures that its facilities are not exposed to missile and air strikes. This is an unfair and unacceptable equation."

مسيرات جماهيرية حاشدة في كل المحافظات الجمهوريةاليمنية تندد بالحصار المفروض على شعبنا اليمني العظيم تحت شعار #الحصار_حرب
و بيان المسيرات الكبرى في اليمن: نحذّر العدوان من عواقب أي تصعيد عسكري يقدم عليه في أي جبهة وبأيّ شكلٍ وقد أعذر من أنذر pic.twitter.com/PFQHS0jrYM
— بدرالدين القاعدي (@FZxiPmFElv2a6pM) January 6, 2023

The head of the Sanaa negotiating delegation, Muhammad Abdul Salam, confirmed a few days ago that "Sanaa has proven, during the year 2022, an important equation in the framework of the military confrontation, through the progress achieved on the fronts, and the targeting of the Saudi and Emirati depths."

Earlier, a member of the Supreme Political Council in Yemen, Muhammad Ali Al-Houthi, said that "we cannot live in a state of 'No peace, No war'," adding that "there are several obstacles in light of the illegal blockade. Hence, the extension of the armistice was refused."

The head of the Supreme Political Council in Yemen, Mahdi Al-Mashat, confirmed that "there can be no truce if the other side does not respond to the just and legitimate demands of the Yemeni people which include paying the salaries of all state employees and opening all airports and ports."