The war in Yemen has been fought using both economic and military strategies, both of which have contributed to the country’s descent into famine. The belligerents have conducted the war with good knowledge of how their actions will cause mass starvation. The greatest responsibility for the famine lies with Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, followed by the Houthi militia and other armed groups. Yemen was already a poor country with a fragile economy, and before the war there was pervasive hunger, especially in rural areas. The war and targeted economic measures created another layer of food crisis: wider, deeper and more lethal. The famine in Yemen has elements of both food supply decline and collapse in real demand (people’s ability to purchase food), and has many causes.
