A repeated scenario is being played out once again by the belligerent regimes of Riyadh and Abu Dhabi to divert the focus of the media away from their unforgivable deeds in Yemen to the so-called "relief packages" offered by them.
A recent report published by IRNA argues how the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, already blacklisted by the United Nations for killing of women and children in Yemen, resort to divisionary tactics every time they are internationally condemned for their abominable crimes in the poorest Arab nation.
Only last Sunday, the world witnessed the harrowing images of a raid executed on a wedding gathering in Hajjah province, northwest of Yemen, leading to a minimum of 33 casualties, including the bride, as well as the 55 injured.
International organizations strongly condemned the attack, with MSF (Doctors without Borders) head of mission in Yemen saying, "None of the attendees were armed, neither were they wearing military fatigues."
In an attempt to offer relief to the now-mourning nation, the UAE announced the upcoming organization of mass weddings for 2,200 Yemeni couples,
Abu Dhabi said it would provide the necessary funds for holding mass wedding ceremonies in eight Yemeni provinces, reported Al Bayan, a Dubai-based newspaper.
Farcical Help
"The coalition is becoming accustomed to using such charm offensives by offering farcical offers of help and relief in a bid to divert public attention and ease the heavy criticism and condemnation mounted on them," the IRNA article said.
This tactic was used once before when Saudis and the UAE donated $930 million to the UN for helping the war-torn Yemenis–a grant that merely covers one third of the Arab nation's problems, as reported by UN officials, it added.
According to the article, when it came to the recent raid, the coalition tried to conceal its vicious intentions under the pretext of miscommunication with the commanding officers–a story too ridiculous to buy even for the naive.
Back in March 2015, a western-backed Saudi-led military coalition was formed to restore Yemen's fugitive government back into office, waging a war against the now-in-power group called the Houthis.
The UAE is a main collaborator in this intervention. The US and European countries have supported this alliance by providing them with weapons.
The Saudi-led intervention has amounted to nothing so far but the loss of thousands of innocent lives, displacement of millions and leaving the nation exposed to various health crises.
One third of coalition airstrikes have targeted non-military sites such as schools, busy markets, hospitals, and in some cases, wedding parties and funerals. Having dubbed Yemen "the world's worst humanitarian crisis", United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called for a "prompt, effective and transparent investigation" into recent airstrikes on civilians, reported Reuters.
