Angelina Jolie highlights crisis in Yemen, compares situation to Ukraine

Angelina Jolie, an envoy of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, landed in Aden, Yemen, on Sunday, seeking to draw attention to the ongoing civil war there and the related refugee crisis, which she compared to the situation in Ukraine.

“As we continue to watch the horrors unfolding in Ukraine, and call for an immediate end to the conflict and humanitarian access, I’m here in Yemen to support people who also desperately need peace,” Jolie wrote in an Instagram message. 

"The situation here is one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world, with one civilian killed or injured every hour in 2022. An economy devastated by war, and over 20 million Yeminis depending on humanitarian assistance to survive," the Oscar-winner added.

Yemen's citizens have since 2014 endured a civil war between its Saudi Arabia-backed government and Houthi rebels that has claimed the lives of 100,000 citizens.

"This week a million people were forced to flee the horrific war in Ukraine. If we learn anything from this shocking situation, it is that we cannot be selective about who deserves support and whose rights we defend. Everyone deserves the same compassion," Jolie wrote. "The lives of civilian victims of conflict everywhere are of equal value. After seven years of war, the people of Yemen also need protection, support, and above all, peace."

International refugees are not the only cause close to the "Eternals" star's heart. Last month, she visited Capitol Hill to urge lawmakers to pass the Violence Against Women Act.