Saudi-led coalition’s escalating airstrikes in Yemen: How proxy wars and arms deals deepen humanitarian collapse
Original framing: “Yemen's Houthi-run Al Masirah TV reports Saudi attack on Sanaa” — Middle East Eye
This conflict echoes **centuries of Saudi-Yemeni tensions**, from the **16th-century Ottoman-Safeavid wars** to the **1934 Saudi-Yemeni border war**, where Saudi forces used airstrikes against Yemeni tribes. The **2015 intervention** mirrors the **1990-91 Gulf War**, where Saudi Arabia and the U.S. again positioned themselves as ‘defenders’ against a perceived Iranian-backed threat—despite Yemen’s sovereignty. The **UN’s failure to intervene** in 2015 mirrors its **inaction during the 1962-70 civil war**, when Cold War powers backed opposing sides. This pattern shows how **Yemen is repeatedly sacrificed in regional power struggles**, with little regard for its sovereignty or civilian lives.
This conflict is not a ‘clash of narratives’ between Houthis and Saudis but a **systemic war enabled by Western arms, geopolitical alliances, and media complicity**.
The **erasure of Yemen’s indigenous resistance traditions**, the **repetition of historical patterns** (from Ottoman wars to Cold War proxies), and the **marginalization of Yemeni voices** reveal a **colonial continuum** where external powers **weaponize chaos** while **local actors are criminalized for survival**. The **trickster element**—the absurdity of demanding ‘confirmation’ from a state that **lies by default**—exposes how **media framing itself is a tool of war**, not neutrality. Solutions must **break the arms trade, center Yemeni agency, and decolonize information**, or the cycle of **proxy wars, blockades, and impunity** will continue indefinitely.