AS SA'ADA CONFLICT RAGES, HUMANITARIAN IMPACT

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 SANAA 001555

SIPDIS

FOR NEA/ARP AMACDONALD AND INR SMOFFAT

E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/20/2019
TAGS: MCAP MOPS PGOV PHUM PREF PTER YM
SUBJECT: AS SA'ADA CONFLICT RAGES, HUMANITARIAN IMPACT
SPREADS

Classified By: Ambassador Stephen Seche for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).


1. (SBU) SUMMARY. As fighting continues in Sa'ada
governorate, concern is growing about the conflict's
humanitarian impact, with thousands of newly displaced people
seeking shelter at camps in Sa'ada, Hajja, Amran, and al-Jawf
governorates. President Saleh continues to press a military
solution to the conflict, saying on August 19 that the ROYG
was "determined to destroy" the Houthis. On August 20,
Foreign Minister al-Qirbi convened a meeting with Ambassadors
to present the ROYG's case that the Houthis are committing
abuses against innocent civilians. Qirbi nuanced President
Saleh's hard-line rhetoric from the day before, saying that
the ROYG was battling the Houthis in order to convince them
to return to the negotiating table. Lack of independent
reporting from Sa'ada makes it difficult to verify claims
that the Houthis are engaged in attacks against civilians,
and Post will continue to rely on sources within relief
agencies working in the area. Post awaits favorable
consideration by the Department of its draft statement
calling on the ROYG and the Houthis to stop the fighting,
protect the civlian population, ensure the safety of IDPs,
and return to the negotiating table. END SUMMARY.

HOUTHIS ARE A "CANCER"


2. (U) President Saleh does not appear to be backing down
from his hard-line stance against the Houthis. On August 19,
at a military graduation ceremony at Central Forces Camp,
President Saleh vowed to crush the Houthi rebellion, saying,
"We're determined to destroy this group wherever they are and
we mean what we say. We'll uproot this cancer that exists in
Sa'ada. They pushed us to buy weapons instead of spending
money on building schools."

INTERNAL DISPLACEMENT INCREASING


3. (U) On August 19, the UN convened an international donor
briefing on the humanitarian situation in Sa'ada. The UN and
INGOs Forum Yemen reported that clashes have escalated in
number and intensity in the past week, with daily air strikes
and shelling in at least nine of 14 districts in Sa'ada.
While it is difficult to estimate the number of IDPs, relief
NGOs believe there are 35,000 in and around Sa'ada City,
15,000 in camps in northern Sa'ada governorate near the Saudi
border, 8,500 in Hajja governorate, 28,000 in Amran
governorate, and 4,000 in al-Jawf governorate. There
continue to be problems assisting IDPs in Sa'ada governorate,
as distribution remains on hold at the request of the
authorities due to insecurity. Currently, the aid
community's biggest challenge is not food supplies -- the
World Food Program has enough food in the area to feed
100,000 IDPs for 6 weeks -- but determining which people
entering the camps are fleeing the fighting in Sa'ada and
which are simply poor people seeking food, water, and medical
attention.

MFA MEETING WITH AMBASSADORS


4. (SBU) At an August 20 meeting with Ambassadors to discuss
the Sa'ada war, Foreign Minister al-Qirbi stated, "The
situation in Sa'ada unfortunately has gone into its sixth
war. It is really a war that was forced on the government.
It is not a war of choice." Qirbi went on to describe how,
after the July 2008 ceasefire, the government immediately
began complying with the terms of the Doha Agreement, but
that the Houthis took advantage of these terms to go back to
the mountains and begin training for the next round of
fighting. Because the Houthis "completely ignored" the Doha
Agreement, and because of "public resentment that the
government was silent about what the Houthis were doing" in
communities they controlled, "in the end, the government had
to intervene," launching the sixth round of the war. Qirbi
also remarked upon how the ROYG was "surprised by" Iranian
and Iraqi media reports that the Sa'ada conflict is a war
against the Shi'a sect, describing it as "a clear indication
that there is meddling in the internal affairs of Yemen" that
"will not be conducive to any efforts to mediate."


5. (SBU) In a new development, the ROYG is now painting the
Houthis as responsible for committing serious abuses against
the civilian population. Qirbi distributed a document
listing all of the violent acts committed by Houthis against
civilians in areas they control. He told the Ambassadors
that it was "worth looking at the enormous violence that
Houthis have undertaken against civilians," saying they were
responsible for assassinating local sheikhs, destroying homes
of people who oppose their ideas, and destroying government

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buildings and schools. (Note: Post has not had an
opportunity to review the document, which is in Arabic, nor
is it clear that there will be any way to verify its claims.
End Note.)

EU DECRIES HUMANITARIAN IMPACT


6. (U) Also on August 20, the EU heads of missions in Sana'a
issued a statement on the deterioration of the security and
humanitarian situations in Sa'ada. In it, the EU "calls on
both sides to stop the fighting immediately and to begin
serious negotiations for a full and lasting peace
settlement." The EU also urged both sides to allow civilians
wishing to escape from the conflict to reach safety; to
facilitate access for UN and NGO humanitarian workers; and to
allow emergency medical and humanitarian relief to reach
IDPs. The EU "remains ready to consider urgent humanitarian
assistance to the victims of the conflict."


7. (SBU) Appearing to nuance President Saleh's more hard-line
military rhetoric, Qirbi responded, "We are just as concerned
as you are about civilians and the hardships inflicted upon
them." He reiterated, "This is not a war of choice," but
said that the situation in areas under Houthi control in
Sa'ada had become so dire, that if the government had not
taken action, suffering would continue to increase. He said
it was not only a matter of solving the conflict militarily,
but also politically.

COMMENT


8. (C) Given the lack of access to journalists and relief
workers, it is very difficult to determine if the Houthis are
engaged in brutal attacks against civilians, schools, and
clinics. For example, the ICRC Head of Sa'ada Sub-Delegation
told the DCM on August 19 that it is "absolutely true" that a
school and a clinic in Harf Sufyan (Amran governorate) have
both been "flattened." What is not clear, however, is who
did it and why. The "flattening" was so complete that it
leads the ICRC to believe it was the result of aerial
bombardment, which means the ROYG would be responsible. The
ICRC does not know if the ROYG did it so that they could try
to blame the Houthis, demonstrating that they are indeed
attacking civilians and proving that we should therefore
designate the Houthis as a Foreign Terrorist Organization, or
whether the ROYG did it because the Houthis had commandeered
a government school (during the summer recess) and were using
it as a base for their "Believing Youth" summer camp, a major
provocation in the eyes of the ROYG. ICRC representatives
commented that it would not make sense for the Houthis to
attack civilians, since civilians have been sympathetic to
their cause thus far.


9. (C) COMMENT CONTINUED. The ROYG is not likely to allow
media to report on the situation in Sa'ada. Qirbi said that
despite the security risks to journalists, the ROYG is
considering allowing access, but a major sticking point is
how to distinguish between "committed journalists and
journalists with special agendas." Post will continue to
rely on reports from sources in relief agencies working in
the area, while pressing the ROYG to allow greater access to
journalists, aid workers, and diplomats. Post awaits
favorable consideration by the Department of its draft
statement calling on the ROYG and the Houthis to stop the
fighting, protect the civilian population, ensure the safety
of IDPs, and return to the negotiating table. END COMMENT.

SECHE