Conflict in Yemen: Lessons for Citizen Environmental Monitoring

May 15, 2015 | Andy Garrity
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The conflict in Yemen is likely to have produced a range of TRW threats for the civilian population but in common with other conflicts, data on environmental risks has been largely absent from the discourse or has been subject to media distortion. Andy Garrity considers whether the approaches used to document the use of cluster munitions during the fighting could help inform citizen and activist data collection on conflict pollution.

The Houthi militia uprising in Yemen in 2014 saw the internationally recognised President Abd Rabbuh Mansu Hadi flee to neighbouring Saudi Arabia and the beginning of a military intervention by a coalition of nine Arab states. As violent clashes between troops loyal to President Hadi and the Houthi militias spread, Hadi called for international assistance and operation Decisive Storm was launched on the 25^th March 2015.