Sanaa (AFP)

Long-sleeved jerseys and wheelchairs, Yemeni women compete on the floor of a basketball court during a championship in Sana'a for people with disabilities, particularly affected by the war that has devastated the country for more than five years .

"If the Yemeni people suffer from the war, then the disabled people suffer twice as much," said Amal Hizam, herself in a wheelchair, who organized the local competition.

The war between government forces and Houthi rebels since 2014 has plunged Yemen, already the poorest country on the Arabian Peninsula, into the worst humanitarian crisis in the world according to the UN.

Two years after an agreement concluded in December 2018 under the aegis of the United Nations, hopes for peace are evaporating, especially in Sana'a, in the hands of the rebels for more than six years.

In this context, sporting events for the disabled are "practically non-existent", explains Ms. Hizam, who is participating in this second edition of the wheelchair basketball tournament.

On the floor, nine teams compete, including five groups of women.

Sportswomen dribble, pass the ball and wish to shine in order to be better accepted, which is often seen as a burden in times of war.

The players of the defending champion team wear an orange jersey with the slogan "Al-Erada" ("the will" in Arabic), while their opponents, in black, brandish "Al-Mostaqbal" ("the future") ).

- "Inclusion" -

Abdou Mohammed Zayed, who coaches all the teams, deplores the lack of specialized basketball courts for the disabled.

One of the objectives of the project is "to offer social and moral support to people with disabilities and to enable them to show their abilities and creativity", he said.

In dotted stands, two teenage girls squirm in their seats, cheering on the teams.

"I hope that society does not look down on those who are disabled, that it sees our abilities," said Tahani al-Omari, a 28-year-old basketball player.

“We need special wheelchairs to play and, above all, moral support,” she adds, calling for more “inclusion”.

While there is no official record on people with disabilities in Yemen, Amnesty International estimates, based on World Health Organization data, that there are 4.5 million Yemenis with disabilities.

"The millions of people with disabilities in Yemen have not only endured years of armed conflict but are among the most excluded," lamented the NGO last year.

Tens of thousands of people have been killed in the conflict since 2015, when a Saudi-led military coalition intervened in the war to support the government in the face of the Iran-backed Houthis.

As a result of the conflict, some 3.3 million people have been displaced and more than 24 million - nearly 80% of the population - depend on some form of humanitarian assistance, according to the UN.

© 2020 AFP