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‘We Walk Around Death,’ Tweets a Yemeni Blogger About the Horrors of War

Written byNoon Arabia
Read this post in Français, Malagasy, Español, Deutsch
Posted 19 April 2015 18:26 GMT
Buildings targeted in Saudi-led air strikes on Yemen. Photograph shared on Twitter by Sana'a-based blogger @Omeisy

Buildings targeted in Saudi-led air strikes on Yemen. Photograph shared on Twitter by Sana'a-based blogger @Omeisy

Eighteen out of Yemen's 22 governorates have been attacked by the Saudi-led alliance since the war on Yemen began on March 26, says the United Nations. The trail of destruction has left hundreds of people dead, thousands wounded and a nation of 24 million people living in poverty, horror and the lack of basic life essentials.

Although Operation Decisive Storm airstrikes are intended to bomb military facilities and weapon depots to quell the Houthi rebels supported by ousted president Ali Abdullah Saleh, the strikes have resulted in a lot of death, displacement and destruction across the country. Despite the massive number of strikes over the past three weeks, the Houthi/Saleh brutal aggression has spread to the south and intensified, particularly in Aden, killing many civilians and destroying residential neighbourhoods as well.

Backed by its Gulf Arab allies, Egypt, Jordan, Morocco, Sudan and Saudi Arabia launched an airstrike operation against Houthi fighters who took control of Yemen in January. The effort is also being supported by the US, which is providing its Saudi partner with intelligence and logistical support.

The United Nations estimates that around 150,000 people have been displaced, and the World Health Organisation, citing Yemeni Health Ministry sources, reports 767 people had been killed and more than 2,900 wounded in less than a month.

The latest report published by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian gives an overview of the infrastructure that has been destroyed, damaged and disrupted as a result of the fighting.

Those stuck at home have no fuel, cooking gas or water. Food is scarce, and electricity is non-existent.

Living Amid Continuous Air Strikes and Bombardments

Residents in the capital Sana'a and in Aden have been tweeting day and night about the horrors they are facing during the war.

From Sana'a, Osama Abdullah describes life in the capital as “walking around death”:

Hisham Al-Omeisy shares photographs of the damage caused by the air strikes in Sana'a:

And Amal Suqaf describes how scary it is to live such conditions on a daily basis:

Life has come to a standstill as a result of the constant aerial bombardment. Ammar Al-Aulaqi tweets about fuel shortages and power cuts:

Rooj describes living in constant fear, with one meal a day, in the dark:

Haykal Bafana, from Sana'a, says Yemenis are deprived of basic life essentials as well as peace:

And Ibrahim Alhemyari shares what the weather report should read to Yemenis instead of the standard highs and lows of the day:

And while Sana'a is being bombed by the Saudi-led coalition, this horror is resonated in the south, where the Saleh/Houthi alliance is fighting in Aden. Yet it hasn't been getting as much coverage.

Ammar Al-Aulaqi points to this:

And he says schools and universities have been shut since the start of the war:

Spokeswoman for the International Committee of the Red Cross in Yemen, Marie Claire Feghali, said the humanitarian situation across the country was “very difficult … [with] naval, air and ground routes cut off”. Yet she described the situation in Aden as “catastrophic to say the least”. She added: “The war in Aden is on every street, in every corner … Many are unable to escape.”

A British-Yemeni man also recounts to BBC World Service Radio about the difficulty and danger people in Aden are facing.

Other residents in Aden tweeted about the hardship they face.

Nisma, a 20-year-old university student in Aden, describes to BBC World Service Radio the dire living conditions there:

Fakhuus Hashim says Aden is suffering in a war it did not start:

Aden is suffering from a war they didn't start or get involved with in anyway. But bodies dropping so fast. May God have mercy.

Hussain Al-Yafai is reporting snipers shooting at women and children and killing them in Aden:

And Sala Mohammed describes the dire humanitarian situation on the ground:

To sum up, Al-Omeisy notes that all Yemenis are united in their suffering:

Stay tuned for more coverage from Yemen.

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Written byNoon Arabia

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