Hollywood megastar philanthropist, and campaigner, Angelina Jolie has asked that the world does not forget about the conflict in Yemen amidst the tragedy unfolding in Ukraine.
Jolie travelled to Yemen earlier this month as a United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Special Envoy in order to highlight the hardship of the people of Yemen who have suffered under a brutal civil war for the last 7 years. Yemen was widely regarded before the Russian invasion of Ukraine as the world's most catastrophic humanitarian emergency.
UNHCR’s Special Envoy, Angelina Jolie, arrived in Aden, Yemen, determined to remind the world of the forgotten suffering of millions of people in Yemen. pic.twitter.com/CmggKMCUHE
— UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency (@Refugees) March 6, 2022
Speaking to her 12.4 million Instagram followers, Jolie said:
"I've landed in Aden, to meet displaced families and refugees for UNHCR @refugees and show my support for the people of Yemen. I will do my best to communicate from the ground as the days unfold. As we continue to watch the horrors unfolding in Ukraine, and call for an immediate end to the conflict and humanitarian access, I'm here in Yemen to support people who also desperately need peace. The situation here is one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world, with one civilian killed or injured every hour in 2022. An economy devastated by war, and over 20 million Yemenis depending on humanitarian assistance to survive."
Adding:
"This week a million people were forced to flee the horrific war in Ukraine. If we learn anything from this shocking situation, it is that we cannot be selective about who deserves support and whose rights we defend. Everyone deserves the same compassion. The lives of civilian victims of conflict everywhere are of equal value. After seven years of war, the people of Yemen also need protection, support, and above all, peace."
A post shared by Angelina Jolie (@angelinajolie)
A civil war broke out in Yemen in 2014 after Iranian backed rebels took control of the capital and much of the rest of the nation which sits on the Arabian Peninsula. The president of Yemen then fled to neighbouring Saudi Arabia and since then has backed armed groups to seize back control of the country. Saudi Arabia, along with logistical support from Western governments, has been accused of indiscriminate bombing and the creation of a famine in the country.
It is believed that the war has killed over 150,000 people and that over 20 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance, including 5 million who are said to be on the brink of starvation.
[Based on reporting by: Upworthy]
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