| For the new administration, helping to end the Syria and Libya wars, as well as Yemen’s, would be a further sign that “diplomacy is back,” a goal of US President Joe Biden. The Middle East’s three running wars have been nothing short of catastrophic for those countries and the region. In the World Bank classification of states in fragile and conflict-affected situations, Yemen, Syria and Libya fall into the top, high “intensity” conflict category, meaning those battle-torn countries with the greatest likelihood to suffer from deep, chronic poverty (the only other states in this group are Afghanistan, the Central African Republic, Somalia and South Sudan).
• In Yemen, 250,000 lives have been lost since the war began six years ago. And it remains grim. A UN report this week said rapidly deteriorating conditions are “a death sentence for millions of families.” The war began in 2015 with US backing for a Saudi-led international coalition to support the Yemeni government. Since then, Yemen has become the kingdom’s Vietnam — a no-win quagmire with no military solution. Iran backs the Ansar Allah (the Houthis), a penny-stock investment to bleed Saudi Arabia and stain its international standing. The terrorist group al-Qaeda is also active in this blistered landscape. The suffering of the Yemeni people — including famine and disease — is incidental to these calculations, or so it seems.
• In Syria, approximately 500,000 people have been killed and about half the population displaced in the 10-year war, according to a UN report this month. The Syrian economy has “suffered multiple shocks,” including rising food insecurity and stunted growth and development in children, according to UN humanitarian chief Mark Lowcock. The Islamic State and various al-Qaeda progeny continue to terrorize civilians, and then there are the human rights abuses of the Syrian government. The United States, Russia, Iran, Turkey and Israel are all engaged militarily, backing the Syrian government or various armed groups, or via direct military action.
• In Libya, as many as 43,000 have been killed since a US-led NATO bombing campaign backed an insurgency that overthrew former Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi. Of Libya’s 7 million people, 392,000 are displaced and 1 million are in need of assistance, as we wrote here earlier this month. Libya’s health system is in disrepair and water and electricity are sometimes unavailable for up to 18 hours a day, according to the UN.
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