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☆ In Yemen, Renewed Conflict and Rising Hunger Stalk a Lean Ramadan
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-31 | by ( Saeed Al-Batati | Vivian Nereim | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

In the years before war and hunger upended daily life in Yemen, Mohammed Abdullah Yousef used to sit down after a long day of fasting during Ramadan to a rich spread of food. His family would dine on meat, falafel, beans, savory fried pastries and occasionally store-bought crème caramel. This year, the Islamic holy month looks different for Mr. Yousef, 52, a social studies teacher in the coastal city of Al Mukalla. But conflict, poverty and hunger have overtaken much of Yemen. As rapid inflation eats away at their spending power, middle-class Yemenis like Mr. Yousef have found themselves sliding into economic collapse.

Persons: Mohammed Abdullah Yousef, Yousef, Al Mukalla, “, ” Mr, Ramadan Locations: Yemen, Al

The Yemen-based branch of Al Qaeda said on Sunday that its leader, Khaled Batarfi, had died. Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, known as A.Q.A.P., released a video announcing Mr. Batarfi’s death, showing images of him wrapped in a white funeral shroud overlaid with a black Al Qaeda flag. The United States government once considered Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula to be one of the world’s most dangerous terrorist organizations. The United States previously offered a $6 million reward for information about Mr. al-Awlaki, and $5 million for tips about Mr. Batarfi. Born in Saudi Arabia, Mr. Batarfi traveled in the 1990s to Afghanistan and fought alongside the Taliban before joining Al Qaeda’s branch in Yemen, according to a U.S. informational sheet about him.

Persons: Al Qaeda, Khaled Batarfi, Batarfi’s, ”, Gregory D, Johnsen, “, Ibrahim Al, Batarfi, Saad bin Atef, Awlaki Organizations: Al, United, Gulf States Institute Locations: Yemen, Al, Al Qaeda, United States, American, Washington, Sudanese, Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan, Al Qaeda’s

The United States carried out a new military strike against Houthi ballistic missiles in Yemen on Tuesday, the U.S. military said, but the latest salvo against the Iran-backed group left the White House grappling with how to stop a battle-hardened foe from disrupting shipping lanes critical for global trade. The Houthis damaged a U.S.-owned commercial ship on Monday after attempting to hit an American warship the day before. President Biden could order another blitz of strikes against Houthi air defenses, weapons depots, and facilities for launching and producing an array of missiles and drone, but analysts say that would risk widening the war even more. Or he could settle for more limited tit-for-tat exchanges, like Tuesday’s strike, but that would not necessarily resolve the threat to commercial ships, analysts say. Mr. Kirby defended the strikes last Thursday and Friday that American and British attack planes and warships carried out against more than 60 targets using some 150 precision-guided bombs and missiles.

Persons: Biden, “, John F, Kirby Organizations: Houthi, U.S, White, Pentagon’s, Command, American, Kirby, National Security Council Locations: States, Yemen, Iran, U.S, American, Gaza, British

The explosions woke Ali Al-Sunaidar and his children in the middle of the night — a familiar feeling after years of war. He knew that the ancient mud-brick buildings in Yemen’s capital, Sana, could collapse under the pressure released by bombings, so he opened the windows in his home, letting in the winter air. “We were terrified and anxious,” said Mr. Al-Sunaidar, a photojournalist in Sana, after dozens of American-led airstrikes hit Yemen on Friday local time, targeting the Houthi militia that controls much of the country’s north. “We’ve been living in tension, dread and horror for the last nine years.”A day later, the United States struck again, bombing a radar facility in Yemen, U.S. officials said. For nearly a decade, Yemen has been at war, pummeled by a Saudi-led military coalition supplied with American bombs in an effort to defeat the Houthis — a once-scrappy tribal militia backed by Iran that has evolved into a de facto government in northern Yemen.

Persons: Ali Al, Sunaidar, ”, Sana, “ We’ve Locations: Yemen’s, Sana, Yemen, United States, U.S, Saudi, Iran

Yemen’s Houthi militia claimed an attempted attack on southern Israel on Tuesday, saying it had launched a “large batch” of ballistic and cruise missiles as well as drones toward Israeli targets. The Israeli military did not say who was behind the attacks. Last week, Abdulaziz bin Habtour, prime minister of the Houthi government, said the Houthis might attack Israeli ships in the Red Sea. Even the potential of Houthi attacks on southern Israel means that “Israel must now allocate capabilities that otherwise would have been used elsewhere,” Mr. Sobelman said. The Israeli military, in contrast, maintains high-tech air defense systems and is backed by staunch U.S. government support.

Persons: Yemen’s, Yahya Sarea, Sarea, Israel “, Israel —, ”, Ahmed Nagi, Abdulaziz bin Habtour, Farea, Yemen —, Daniel Sobelman, ” Mr, Sobelman, Nagi Organizations: U.S . Department of Defense, Lebanese, Hezbollah, Crisis, of, Chatham House’s, United Arab, Harvard Kennedy School’s, East Initiative, Iron, U.S Locations: Israel, Iran, Gaza, Palestine, Yemen, Sana, Saudi, Iraq, Red, East, North Africa, United Arab Emirates, Abu Dhabi, Eilat, Iranian, Saudi Arabia

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