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In Pictures

Gallery|Humanitarian Crises

Struggle and survival in war-torn Yemen

Civilians are struggling to cope with the devastating consequences of the three-year conflict.

Yemen war/ Please Do Not Use
Soldiers of the self-styled Security Belt, the armed wing of Yemen's Southern Transitional Council, in the strategic enclave of al-Aqabah, from where they control the port and the main city road. [Judith Prat/Al Jazeera]
By Judith Prat
Published On 7 May 20187 May 2018
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In 2015, Yemeni President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi established his government in the southern city of Aden after being forced by Houthi rebels to flee the capital, Sanaa.

As the threat of the rebels grew, southern forces closed ranks around Hadi to defend the coastal city and other areas in the south with the support of a military coalition led by Saudi Arabia.

However, from the very beginning, this was a forced alliance in a region where separatist feeling prevailed even before the war. The south was an independent state until unification with the north in 1990. 

Today, after three years of conflict and despite the expulsion of the Houthis from most of the southern territory, distrust among separatists towards Hadi has only grown.

In January, the Southern Transitional Council (STC) broke its alliance with the Yemeni government and, after several days of clashes, the Security Belt – STC militias – took control of Aden. Since then, the flags of the former People’s Democratic Republic of Yemen have once again been seen flying in the city, signalling renewed aspirations for southern independence.

In the south, the conflict with the Houthis feels increasingly distant. However, the region is affected by the threat of al-Qaeda, a problem that has taken root in some southern areas experiencing frequent deadly attacks.

Caught in the long-running conflict, civilians keep bearing the brunt. More than 40,000 displaced people, who arrived in Aden from other areas of the war-torn country, scrape by in slums and makeshift desert settlements, abandoned to their own fate.

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The difficulty of accessing potable water has led to outbreaks of diseases such as cholera and dysentery. Children are particularly affected. The health crisis is aggravated by the lack of medical personnel in public hospitals, where workers have not been paid for several months.

Years of fighting and corruption have also led to oil scarcity at public petrol stations, which has in turn triggered huge price rises at private ones and on Aden’s black market. As a result, power cuts are frequent and residents are often unable to run generators due to the fuel scarcity.

Yemen war/ Please Do Not Use
A checkpoint run by the Security Belt in Kraytar, a frequent target of al-Qaeda attacks in Aden. On the right is the flag of the former People's Democratic Republic of Yemen, symbolising the independence aspirations of the south. [Judith Prat/Al Jazeera]
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Yemen war/ Please Do Not Use
The al-Qatea area in Aden, which comprises a multitude of official buildings and banking entities, was vigorously attacked by the Houthis in 2015. Today, access to the area is restricted, with soldiers standing guard against any possible al-Qaeda attacks. [Judith Prat/Al Jazeera]
Yemen war/ Please Do Not Use
Every day, Aden residents form long queues to buy cooking gas due to a widespread shortage of supplies. [Judith Prat/Al Jazeera]
Yemen war/ Please Do Not Use
A boy carries drinking water in one of the existing points of sale and supply in Aden. [Judith Prat/Al Jazeera]
Yemen war/ Please Do Not Use
A man fills his motorcycle tank with gasoline bought on the black market in the centre of Aden. [Judith Prat/Al Jazeera]
Yemen war/ Please Do Not Use
A petrol station employee in al-Aresh informs a customer that there is no gasoline. The lack of fuel at stations is a huge problem in Aden and has caused prices to skyrocket on the black market. [Judith Prat/Al Jazeera]
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Yemen war/ Please Do Not Use
Asha with her sister-in-law and her grandchildren in a small house in Gawala in Aden, where they have taken refuge since they fled war-torn Taiz three months ago. [Judith Prat/Al Jazeera]
Yemen war/ Please Do Not Use
Inside a room at Ibn Khaldon Hospital in the city of Lahj, mothers are treating their sick children suffering from measles. The hospital has hardly any staff, since doctors and nurses have not received their salaries for months. There is also a lack of medicines and cleaning staff. [Judith Prat/Al Jazeera]
Yemen war/ Please Do Not Use
Four-month-old Faisal, seen here with his mother in the Lahj-based hospital, suffers from malnutrition and dysentery. They are from a small rural village where access to food and drinking water is much more difficult than in cities. [Judith Prat/Al Jazeera]
Yemen war/ Please Do Not Use
After leaving Sabaha, their home town, due to violence and poverty, this woman and her son now live in a small tent near the city of Aden. [Judith Prat/Al Jazeera]
Yemen war/ Please Do Not Use
This small tent and improvised crib serve as home to a family displaced by the war in the surroundings of Aden. [Judith Prat/Al Jazeera]
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Women and children displaced by the conflict now scrape by in tents in the middle of the Omran desert, a few kilometres from Aden. Some organisations provide them with water to survive and withstand the high temperatures. [Judith Prat/Al Jazeera]
Yemen war/ Please Do Not Use
A man with psychological problems remains chained to his small tent in the Omran desert. Left to fend for themselves on the outskirts of Aden, the man and his family manage to survive despite being unable to purchase the medicines needed to treat his illness. [Judith Prat/Al Jazeera]
Yemen war/ Please Do Not Use
A checkpoint of southern militias in Salah al-Deen. The flag of the former People's Democratic Republic of Yemen is seen once more in the south of the country. [Judith Prat/Al Jazeera]


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