In Ancient Yemeni City, Violence Turns Inward by Sudarsan Raghavan – Washington Post
Saudi-led forces waging war have backed local militiamen. Now the gunmen are turning on each other.
The Saudi-led coalition waging war in Yemen has armed and financed local militias, including some with alleged links to Islamic extremists, that are now turning on one another in a competition for territory, wealth and control over the country’s future.
This internecine fight is aggravating a humanitarian crisis now considered the most dire in the world and clouding the prospects for peace in this crippled country.
The violent saga unfolding here in Taiz, the country’s third-largest city, reveals how the wartime decisions made by Saudi Arabia — and its de facto leader, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman — are threatening to fuel turmoil in Yemen for years if not decades to come.
“We thought, ‘Thank God they have gotten rid of the Houthis,’ ” said Abdul Karim Qasim, 38, who lives on a street lined with hollowed-out buildings and bullet-pocked houses. “But unfortunately, they have started fighting each other.”