The war in Yemen has entered its eighth year. Earlier this month, a two-month truce was declared. What does this mean for the Yemeni people? What is the role of the U.S. in this ongoing crisis?

Today, we return our attention to the situation in Yemen with Kawthar Abdullah from the Yemeni Alliance Committee and Fatima Abo Alsrar from the Middle East Institute.

Kawthar Abdullah is a Yemeni American and an organizer with the Yemeni Alliance Committee, where she leads the New York chapter. She is also a manager of a non-profit organization in NYC dedicated to the empowerment of women. Kawthar holds a bachelor’s degree in Middle Eastern studies and international relations.

Fatima Abo Alasrar is a non-resident scholar at the Middle East Institute. Before joining the Institute, she was a senior analyst at the Arabia Foundation in Washington DC, MENA Director for Cure Violence, research associate at the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington, a Mason Fellow at the Kennedy School of Government, and an International Policy Fellow at the Open Society Foundation. From 2006 to 2012, she worked as an advisor for the Embassy of Yemen in Washington, DC.

Cover photo: Activists in London oppose US and UK involvement in Saudi and UAE–led attacks in Yemen, 2018 by Alisdare Hickson, shared under CC BY-SA 2.0

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