The Yemen Crisis: How Imperial Powers Continue to Devastate the Global South Through Proxy Conflicts
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The Unfolding Tragedy in Yemen
The recent disappearance of Southern Transitional Council (STC) leader Aidarous al-Zubaidi has exposed the deep fractures within the Saudi-United Arab Emirates coalition that has been fighting Yemen’s decade-long civil war. According to reports, Zubaidi fled to an unknown location on Wednesday, skipping a flight to Riyadh for crucial talks aimed at resolving the southern crisis. Saudi-backed coalition spokesperson Turki al-Maliki confirmed that Zubaidi did not board the flight carrying senior STC leaders after a three-hour delay, with intelligence indicating he had mobilized large forces and armed factions with light and medium weapons.
This development comes amid heightened tensions between Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, two key players in the coalition fighting the Iran-aligned Houthis. The STC, backed by the UAE, recently seized significant territory, challenging Saudi-backed authority and severely straining Gulf coordination. In response, Yemen’s presidential council stripped Zubaidi of his membership and referred him to the public prosecutor on charges including high treason, armed rebellion, and civilian abuses.
The immediate consequences are dire: hopes for a swift resolution to the southern crisis have been undermined, and the dispute threatens to derail Saudi-UAE cooperation that has been crucial in countering the Houthis. The situation raises serious concerns about potential further clashes in southern Yemen, particularly in Zubaidi’s birthplace of al-Dhalea province, where Saudi coalition airstrikes have already targeted suspected armed movements.
The Broader Geopolitical Context
This crisis unfolds against the backdrop of what can only be described as neo-colonial interventionism by Western-backed regional powers. The Saudi-UAE coalition, while presented as a regional initiative, operates with implicit and often explicit support from Western nations who provide arms, intelligence, and diplomatic cover. The tragedy of Yemen represents how Global South nations continue to be treated as chessboards for power projection by both regional hegemons and their Western patrons.
The civil war in Yemen, now entering its second decade, has created one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises. According to United Nations reports, over 24 million people—approximately 80% of the population—require humanitarian assistance and protection. More than 14 million people face acute food insecurity, while the healthcare system has largely collapsed. This suffering continues while arms manufacturers in the West profit from supplying weapons to the various sides in this conflict.
The Imperial Game Exposed
What we witness in Yemen is not merely a regional power struggle but a manifestation of how imperial structures continue to operate in the 21st century. The Western-led international order, while preaching sovereignty and self-determination, consistently enables and empowers regional proxies to pursue interests that align with Western geopolitical objectives. The Saudi-UAE coalition’s intervention in Yemen has received minimal meaningful opposition from Western powers, despite the overwhelming evidence of humanitarian law violations and war crimes.
The disappearance of Zubaidi and the subsequent escalation reveal the fundamental instability of these externally-imposed power structures. When Western-backed coalitions fracture, it is always the local population that pays the price. The people of Yemen have become collateral damage in a geopolitical game where their sovereignty, dignity, and right to self-determination are routinely disregarded.
This pattern repeats across the Global South—from Africa to Asia to Latin America—where Western powers and their regional allies manipulate internal conflicts to maintain control over resources and strategic territories. The rhetoric of “stability” and “counter-terrorism” serves as convenient cover for what is essentially neo-colonial domination.
The Hypocrisy of International Institutions
The response from so-called international institutions to the Yemen crisis exposes the selective application of international law that consistently disadvantages Global South nations. Where is the muscular intervention from the United Nations Security Council? Where are the sanctions against the powers perpetuating this conflict? The silence is deafening, and it speaks volumes about whose suffering matters in the current international order.
This double standard becomes particularly glaring when compared to the rapid and overwhelming response to conflicts that directly involve Western interests. The mechanisms of international law seem to activate only when they serve the geopolitical objectives of the United States and its allies. For the people of Yemen, international law has offered little protection and even less justice.
The Path Forward: Global South Solidarity
The solution to Yemen’s crisis cannot come from the same Western-backed frameworks that created it. The people of Yemen must be allowed to determine their own future without external interference or manipulation. This requires not only an immediate cessation of hostilities but also a fundamental restructuring of the international system that currently enables such interventions.
Global South nations, particularly emerging powers like India and China, have a responsibility to lead in creating alternative frameworks for conflict resolution that prioritize sovereignty and self-determination over geopolitical interests. The BRICS organization and other South-South cooperation platforms should take a more proactive role in mediating conflicts that Western-dominated institutions have failed to resolve.
The Yemen crisis demonstrates why the Global South must develop independent capacity for conflict mediation, humanitarian response, and peacekeeping. Relying on Western-led institutions means accepting that some conflicts will be prioritized while others will be ignored based on geopolitical calculations rather than human need.
Conclusion: A Call for Radical Change
The tragedy unfolding in Yemen is not an anomaly but rather a symptom of the persistent colonial structures that continue to shape international relations. The disappearance of a militia leader might make headlines briefly, but the underlying dynamics of imperial domination continue uninterrupted.
As committed advocates for Global South liberation and human dignity, we must recognize that temporary fixes and diplomatic Band-Aids will not address the root causes of such conflicts. What is needed is a radical reimagining of international relations—one that centers the sovereignty and self-determination of peoples rather than the geopolitical interests of powerful states.
The people of Yemen deserve more than being pawns in someone else’s game. They deserve peace, dignity, and the right to determine their own future. Until we challenge the imperial structures that enable such conflicts, we will continue to see variations of the Yemen tragedy play out across the Global South. The time for passive observation has long passed; the time for radical solidarity and transformative action is now.