Les attaques des rebelles yéménites dans la mer Rouge pénalisent les exportations du pays et risquent de plonger l’économie locale, déjà confrontée à l’inflation et la pénurie de devises, dans l’anémie.

Le trafic maritime sur le canal de Suez est en chute libre. Avec la multiplication des attaques des houthistes en mer Rouge en représailles à la guerre menée par Israël dans la bande de Gaza, treize des plus grands armateurs mondiaux, représentant à eux seuls près de 40 % du marché mondial, ont annoncé dérouter leurs navires vers le cap de Bonne-Espérance. Face à ce détournement soudain des navires commerciaux, c’est une artère vitale de l’Egypte qui est en danger, au risque de plonger l’économie du pays, déjà morose, dans un état d’anémie.

En temps normal, pas moins de 12 % du commerce mondial passe par cette artère, longue de 193 kilomètres et étroit d’environ 300 mètres, reliant la mer Rouge à la Méditerranée. Une cinquantaine de cargos, tankers et autres porte-conteneurs traversent quotidiennement le canal. A chaque passage, ces vaisseaux commerciaux versent une taxe aux autorités égyptiennes, représentant une source de devises étrangères essentielle pour le pays.

En janvier, les revenus ont diminué de 40 % comparé à l’année 2023, a fait savoir le directeur de l’Autorité du canal de Suez (SCA), l’amiral Osama Rabie, précisant que le nombre de navires franchissant le passage a chuté de 30 %. Encore difficile à quantifier, le manque à gagner pour l’économie égyptienne s’annonce important. 

L’économie égyptienne en pleine crise

Cette rente pour l’Egypte est d’autant plus vitale que l’Etat croule sous les dettes. Depuis des mois déjà, l’inflation ne cesse d’augmenter, exacerbée par une dévaluation de la monnaie de près de 50%, en contrepartie de ces aides financières.

En août, l’inflation a ainsi atteint +39,7%, son plus haut niveau historique dans ce pays dont la crise économique ne cesse de s’aggraver, tant les réformes réclamées par ses créanciers tardent à venir.

A l’inverse, le gouvernement finance des projets pharaoniques. Entre méga-projets du président Abdel Fattah al-Sissi, subventions sur de nombreux produits et politique monétaire de soutien de la livre égyptienne, sa dette extérieure a donc explosé. Elle atteint 90% du PIB. L’Egypte n’a pas hésité à tirer davantage de ressources financières du canal alors que le gouvernement doit négocier avec le Fonds monétaire international (FMI).

Le Caire a ainsi obtenu en décembre son quatrième prêt du FMI depuis 2017, mais les trois milliards de dollars qui lui seront versés sur environ quatre ans pèsent peu, le seul service de la dette pour 2022-2023 s’élevant à 42 milliards de dollars.

Selon l’agence Moody’s, le pays est l’un des cinq qui risque le plus de ne pas rembourser sa dette extérieure.

Pire, 71,5 millions d’Egyptiens dépendent encore du programme public de subventions alimentaires qui inclut le pain, mais aussi le riz, le sucre ou encore les pâtes. En un an, les prix de l’alimentation ont bondi de 71,9%, ceux des transports de 15,2% et ceux de l’habillement de 23,6%.

Résultat, 60% des habitants vivent sous le seuil de pauvreté ou tout juste au-dessus. Le pays de 105 millions d’habitants, premier importateur de blé mondial, subit de plein fouet la guerre entre l’Ukraine et la Russie, ses deux principaux fournisseurs.

La flambée du dollar par rapport à la monnaie affecte directement les ménages, puisque la grande majorité des biens sont importés en dollars en Egypte.

World Opinions – Le Monde

L’article L’Egypte fragilisée par la baisse du trafic maritime dans le canal de Suez est apparu en premier sur زوايا ميادين | Mayadin Columns.

Des combats font rage depuis quelques jours dans la province de Chabwa entre sécessionnistes du Sud, des unités proches des Frères musulmans et des troupes des Émirats arabes unis. Tous appartiennent pourtant théoriquement au même camp, celui du tout récent Conseil présidentiel, qui avait été créé dans l’espoir de cimenter l’unité de ces différentes factions face aux rebelles houthistes.

“Rashad Al-Alimi peut-il tenir face aux événements de Chabwa ?” s’interrogeait ce jeudi 11 août le journal yéménite Aden Al-Ghad, en référence au chef du Conseil présidentiel formé en avril dernier, à l’instigation de l’Arabie saoudite, pour perpétuer le pouvoir dit légitime du Yémen.

Ce Conseil présidentiel avait depuis réussi à prolonger par deux fois un accord de cessez-le-feu avec les rebelles houthistes, qui contrôlent le nord du pays, et à engager des négociations avec toutes les parties en vue d’une paix durable dans ce pays déchiré par huit ans de guerre. Mais alors que le cessez-le-feu entre belligérants reste fragile, c’est à l’intérieur du camp de Rashad Al-Alimi lui-même qu’un conflit armé vient d’éclater.

Chabwa, “microcosme d’un conflit par procuration”

Cela se passe dans la province de Chabwa, située entre la côte sud du pays et les environs de la ville de Marib. Cette région stratégique constitue “le microcosme d’un conflit régional entre acteurs par procuration”, écrit Farea Al-Muslimi, du centre d’analyse Sanaa Center..

World Opinions – Courrier International

L’article Désunion. Au Yémen, une nouvelle guerre dans la guerre, malgré la trêve est apparu en premier sur زوايا ميادين | Mayadin Columns.

The UN has condemned an airstrike on a detention centre in northern Yemen as the death toll rose to more than 80.

The airstrike in the rebel-held Sa’ada province on Friday morning followed a Houthi drone attack on the United Arab Emirates on Monday that killed three people. It marks an intensification of violence in the seven-year civil war between the government, supported by a Saudi-led coalition, and the Iranian-backed rebels.

Hundreds of people were injured in the attack on the detention centre. Médecins Sans Frontières reported that al-Gumhourriyeh hospital in Sa’ada had taken in about 200 wounded patients was unable to provide care for any more.

MSF also said 82 deaths had been confirmed, citing figures from the health ministry in Sana’a. At least 266 people had been injured, it said.

The Saudi-led coalition denied reports that it had bombed the prison in a statement on Saturday morning.

“The coalition will inform the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Yemen and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) on the facts and details,” the official Saudi news agency said, citing a coalition spokesman. The coalition also said the prison had not been on a no-targeting list agreed with the UN and and had not been reported by the Red Cross.

The UN secretary general, António Guterres, said in response to Friday’s attacks that the “escalation needs to stop”. In a statement issued by his spokesperson, he said the airstrikes, which included other parts of the country, had resulted in child casualties, and he reminded all parties that “attacks against civilians and civilian infrastructure, are prohibited by international humanitarian law”.

A separate strike in the port city of Hodeida hit a telecommunications centre, reportedly killing three children playing in a football field and downing the country’s internet access.

Hundreds also wounded as Saudi-led coalition denies reports it bombed detention centre in Sa’ada

MSF’s head of mission in Yemen, Ahmed Mahat, said: “There are many bodies still at the scene of the airstrike, many missing people. It is impossible to know how many people have been killed. It seems to have been a horrific act of violence.”

The strikes on rebel-held parts of Yemen came after a drone attack on Monday in Abu Dhabi for which the Houthi leadership claimed responsibility.

The UN security council condemned the Houthi attack, which killed three people and wounded six, in a statement on Friday: “The members of the security council condemned in the strongest terms the heinous terrorist attacks in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, on Monday 17 January, as well as in other sites in Saudi Arabia,” it said.

“The members of the security council underlined the need to hold perpetrators, organisers, financiers and sponsors of these reprehensible acts of terrorism accountable and bring them to justice.”

The UN estimates that the war in Yemen had killed 377,000 people by the end of 2021, both directly and indirectly through hunger and disease. Millions more have been displaced. It said earlier this week that the level of violence this month could soon surpass that witnessed in December, because of the number of airstrikes, drones and rockets launched, with an alarming number used against civilians and non-military targets.

World Opinions – theguardian.com

L’article UN condemns airstrike in Yemen that leaves more than 80 dead est apparu en premier sur زوايا ميادين | Mayadin Columns.

Les combats entre forces gouvernementales et rebelles à Marib au Yémen ont fait au moins 65 morts ces dernières 48 heures et les insurgés continuent de progresser dans cette province du nord du pays en guerre, ont indiqué des sources militaires gouvernementales dimanche.

Les rebelles cherchent à prendre le contrôle de la province de Marib, dernier bastion du pouvoir dans le Nord, et se trouvent désormais à seulement six kilomètres du chef-lieu éponyme, en dépit du soutien aérien de la coalition dirigée par l’Arabie saoudite, qui aide militairement les forces gouvernementales, selon les mêmes sources.

Au moins 65 combattants sont morts au cours des dernières 48 heures dont 26 membres des forces gouvernementales, incluant quatre officiers, ont indiqué à l’AFP ces sources.

Les rebelles communiquent rarement sur les pertes dans leurs rangs. Ils ont pris le contrôle total du front de Kassara, dans le nord-ouest de la province et se rapprochent de la capitale provinciale.

Appel à une trêve

La perte de Marib serait un coup dur pour le gouvernement yéménite et pour son allié saoudien.

En mars, Ryad, qui tente de se sortir du bourbier yéménite, a proposé un cessez-le-feu total, une proposition accueillie froidement par les Houthis qui réclament une levée complète de l’embargo aérien et maritime imposé par les Saoudiens.

L’offensive rebelle contre Marib se poursuit en dépit de nombreux appels pour une trêve dans le pays dévasté par la guerre depuis 2014.

Le conflit a provoqué le plus grand désastre humanitaire au monde, selon l’ONU, avec des millions de déplacés et une population au bord de la famine.

World Opinions News – ATS

L’article Les combats dans la ville yéménite de Marib font une soixantaine de morts est apparu en premier sur زوايا ميادين | Mayadin Columns.

The Islamic fasting month of Ramadan, which started this week, is the biggest period of giving for UK Muslims.

According to research by the Muslim Charities Forum, in 2018 the UK’s estimated 3.5 million Muslims donated more than £120m to global charitable causes during Ramadan, at a rate of £46 every second.

This year, after the UK government’s decision to drastically slash aid to Yemen, some of the leading Muslim charities in the UK are focusing on Yemen for their Ramadan campaigns. The cuts have been widely condemned.

Yemen is grappling with the world’s largest humanitarian crisis, and is on the brink of famine. About 80% of Yemen’s population – more than 24 million people – are in need of humanitarian assistance, including more than 12 million children, according to Unicef. Nearly 2.3 million children under the age of five will suffer acute malnutrition in 2021.

Muslim Hands is hoping the festival period will help it raise the £6m it wants to spend in the country this year. In 2020, the charity raised £32m – £10.6m of it during Ramadan. About £1.1m went towards its work in Yemen.

Abdul Rahman Hussein, country director for Yemen, said the UK government cuts were “shocking” and would have a huge impact. “Imagine, every 10 minutes one child under five dies in Yemen,” he said.

“They need to increase not decrease the funds,” he added. “After six years of war, it has gone from bad to worse.”

On a recent trip to the country, Hussein said he saw children as young as six fainting from hunger at school.

At one aid centre, a family asked him to take their children because they couldn’t provide for them any more. “They said ‘we can’t feed them, can you just take them?’” Hussein recalled.

Muslim Hands provides packs of basic food items – including flour, rice, oil and beans – to feed a family of seven for a month.

“A simple pack of food is the difference between life and death,” Hussein said. “[Millions of Yemenis] don’t know when they’re going to have their next meal.”

As Britain cuts aid to war-torn country on brink of famine Muslim charities are directing donations towards feeding population

The charity has set up three bread factories in two cities. It costs about £360 a day to feed 5,000 people with two loaves of bread at each of these facilities. It hopes to expand the number of factories to five.

“If we don’t provide these loaves of bread, people simply don’t eat. If we don’t give these food parcels, people don’t eat,” Hussein said.

The charity also runs school feeding programmes and a medical centre in the Abyan region. The centre treats up to 90 people a day, mainly children. It offers emergency care, nutrition and immunisation services, as well as reproductive and maternal care. It costs £350 a day to run the centre.

Hussein, who is a Yemeni and has lived in the UK for the past 23 years, said he used to travel to his homeland almost every year.

“It’s a country that I don’t recognise any more. I’ve never seen a situation like this in my entire life,” he said.

Ramadan is the biggest fundraising campaign for Islamic Relief, the UK’s largest Muslim charity. Last year, the holy month brought in more than 40% of its annual income. The organisation said a large number of Muslims choose the Ramadan period to pay their compulsory charity, known as zakat.Advertisement

Islamic Relief said it raised more than £3.5m for Yemen last year, 80% more than in 2019. Its Yemen appeal has continued to grow over the past 12 months.

The charity has projects in 17 of the country’s 22 governorates. It supports nutrition programmes in 155 health centres and builds and repairs water and sanitation facilities.

“Every month, we support 2.3 million people’s access to food,” said Muhammad Zulqarnain Abbas, Yemen country director for Islamic Relief.

Abbas said many families in Yemen who are fasting are not able to have proper food at the time of Sahur, the pre-dawn meal before the fasting starts, and the Iftar, the evening meal that marks the end of the day’s fasting.

“This makes their life really miserable,” he said. “And sometimes we have witnessed by our own eyes in different areas when we are in the field that people are compelled to break their fast in the evening with simple water and that water is even not clean.”

Abbas said the situation with Covid-19 in Yemen is critical. “If you go to the graveyard to a funeral for one person, you’ll find three to four other bodies coming for burial.”

Fadi Itani, from the Muslim Charities Forum, described the crisis in Yemen as “a political problem as a result of the failure of the international community”.

“Although charities are doing amazing work their intervention is like a little plaster on a very deep wound,” he said.

By Saeed Kamali Dehghan – theguardian.com

L’article ‘If we don’t give, people don’t eat’: Yemen focus of UK Ramadan giving est apparu en premier sur زوايا ميادين | Mayadin Columns.

Two best friends who set up a lemonade stand to raise money for the people of Yemen received a donation from a very unexpected source – Angelina Jolie.

Six-year-olds Ayaan Moosa and Mikaeel Ishaaq, from east London, created the stand after learning about the crisis.

The actress read about their campaign on the BBC News website and sent them a note saying she was sorry she could not buy any lemonade but wanted to donate.

Ayaan’s mother said it had been “a bit bizarre but amazing” for the appeal.

Angelina Jolie is a UNHCR special envoy and has previously spoken about the Yemen crisis

Adeela Moosa explained the Hollywood star had first contacted her UK representative after finding out about Ayaan and Mikaeel’s campaign, and they had then got in touch with the family.

At the weekend the boys, who live in Redbridge, received the “lovely note” from Ms Jolie along with “a very generous donation”, Ms Moosa said.

The actress and director apologised that she could not buy any of the boys’ lemonade

Asked what the boys had first thought when they found out about it, Ms Moosa said they initially did not know who Ms Jolie was although “their dads were very excited”.

They soon realised who the Tomb Raider and Maleficent star was after being shown various clips and films.”Now they’re getting the enormity of it all,” she said.

The pair have sent a video message in response thanking Ms Jolie, telling her that: “If you ever come to London, feel free to buy a glass of fresh lemonade.”

Along with their community, Ayaan and Mikaeel have raised more than £67,000 for Yemen

Tens of thousands of people have been killed during the civil war in Yemen, while another 24 million are estimated to need humanitarian aid to survive.Ms Jolie, who is a UNHCR special envoy, has previously spoken about the crisis in Yemen.

Ms Moosa said her donation had raised more awareness about the boys’ efforts and they were being sent money from across the world for their ongoing online campaign, which has so far raised more than £67,000.

As for the best friends, they have both returned to school this week.

“It was much needed for all parties involved,” Ms Moosa said.

World Opinions News – bbc.com

L’article Angelina Jolie donates to boys’ lemonade stand for Yemen.. Video est apparu en premier sur زوايا ميادين | Mayadin Columns.