The US ends its support to its allies in Yemen for the offensive operations after the devastating six-year-long war. Due to which more than around 110,000 people are believed to have died.
In the first major foreign policy speech, President Joe Biden said: “The war in Yemen must end”. Mr Bidens last two predecessors have backed the coalition led by Saudi Arabia against the Houthi rebels in Yemen.
The long-lasting conflict has caused suffering to millions of Yemenis to the extent of starvation.
The fighting began around 2014 between a weak Yemeni government and the Houthis rebel movement. It escalated a year later, when Saudi Arabia and eight other Arab states, backed by the US, the UK and France – started to do airstrikes against the Houthis.
Mr Biden also announced that there would be a significant increase in the number of refugees accepted by the US as another change in the US Foreign policy. Mr Biden broke many such policies by former President Donald Trump in his speech.
The new President gave his response when asked about his plans regarding nations like Russia. He added that he made it very clear to President Vladimir Putin that unlike his predecessor the United States rolling over and tolerating the Russias aggressive actions are now over. However, it drew severely fierce criticism from the Kremlin as Mr Putin’s spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told that the comments felt very aggressive.
Consequences of the announcement
The result of Thursday’s Yemen announcement is the stop of support for offensive operations. It includes the sales of precision-guided munition to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). A temporary halt has already been put on arms sales to Saudi Arabia and UAE. However, this will not affect the ongoing operations against al-Qaeda in the Arabian peninsula.
Mr Biden’s actions mark the complete change of tack from the previous Mr Trump’s administration, which supported the coalition.
Yemen is the world’s worst humanitarian crisis, where 80% of the population needs aid or protection.
