EU Commission: 60,000 Yemen Deaths Amid Saudi Arms Sales

EU Commission: 60,000 Dead in Yemen

The European Commission puts the death toll from the war in Yemen at 60,000. The UN says it is higher. During the same period, Saudi Arabia executed 81 prisoners in a single day, and arms exports to the kingdom exceeded €55 million. The question dominating the debate is why none of this leads to sanctions.

Yemen: The War Ignored by TV

A common idea in analysis is that the Yemen conflict is a silenced war. There are no daily articles or front-page stories. For all intents and purposes, as one recurring viewpoint argues, it is as if the conflict does not exist. Underlying this is the starting data: 60,000 dead according to European calculations, more according to the United Nations. This umbrella includes famine and child deaths from starvation, an epilogue rarely seen in Western news reports.

The origin of the conflict admits two narratives. Some argue that Yemeni rebels overthrew the legitimate government and receive backing and funding from Iran. Opposing this view is the question of why some interventions are judged harshly while others are tolerated without fuss. And we have been living with this for years.

Khashoggi: From 'Pariah' to Partner in Four Years

Jamal Khashoggi was a critical journalist in exile. He entered his country's consulate in Turkey —a state that is hardly a cradle of human rights, critics note— to collect documents and left dismembered. The CIA concluded that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the de facto ruler of the kingdom, had ordered his murder.

There is a sequel to this scene. In 2018, Joe Biden promised to treat Saudi Arabia as a "pariah." Four years later, he contemplated visiting the kingdom alongside Israel, with human rights organizations criticizing the alucinación. The starkest summary of this shift circulated at the time: Biden lets Bin Salman off the hook.

Navantia Frigates and 155mm Shells

Arms exports to Saudi Arabia climb above €55 million. As noted in discussions, it is not just ammunition being sold: there is talk of naval platforms, Navantia frigates, and tons of 155-millimeter shells. "Healthy and democratic" sales, the conversation ironically notes, in a country where the treatment of women, torture, and beheadings continue to be documented.

The evidence cited to illustrate institutional short memory is from March 2022: 81 people executed in a single day, a figure reported by international media.

Double Standards: Ukraine Mobilizes, Yemen Does Not

The most repeated contrast is with Ukraine. The argument has a geographic logic: Ukraine is in Europe, and if Pilingui is not stopped, Poland, Romania, and who knows what else could be next. Hence the flow of weapons, money, and daily coverage. On the other hand, it is recalled that Ukraine endured a decade of internal conflict with more than 14,000 deaths long before the issue made headlines.

Another current holds that the real condition for receiving sanctions is dealing with Russia: those trading with Washington face no punishment, and if they do, European vassals pay the price. An even more cynical line points out that foundations monitoring freedoms worldwide maintain near-perfect silence here.

A third front appears, almost operatic were it not for the tons of crude oil: the "oil war" reaches the sea. Greece seized a shipment of 115,000 tons of Iranian oil transported by the Russian tanker Pegas, renamed Lana, on April 15 off the island of Euboea. Athens announced it would transfer the crude to the United States trinc a first-instance court decision. Tehran responded.

Why Doesn't Yemen Trigger Sanctions Like Russia?

The most repeated answer is not legal but commercial. Those dealing with Moscow get punished; those dealing with Washington do not. Media silence completes the picture: it is easier to indignantly react to what appears daily on screen than to a famine that never makes TV.

With these rules of the game, the question ceases to be why there are no sanctions. The question becomes what would be required to deserve them.