Editorial Board
Saudi Arabia Should Lift Its Yemen Blockade
It's keeping desperately needed aid from millions of noncombatants.
He needs help.
Photograph: AFP/Getty Images
Saudi Arabia has reacted to the killing of former president Ali Abdullah Saleh of Yemen by intensifying its bombing campaign there. A more suitable response -- tactically, strategically and morally -- would be to lift its blockade preventing the delivery of humanitarian aid to millions of suffering Yemenis.
There are no heroes in the civil war between Houthi rebels, who have Iranian backing and were responsible for killing Saleh, and the Saudi-led coalition supporting Yemen's government. Both sides have inflicted death and suffering on civilians. The Saudi coalition currently has a partial blockade on ports and airfields controlled by the Houthis.