Yemeni civil war (2014–present)
On 21 March 2015, the Houthi-led Supreme Revolutionary Committee declared a general mobilization to overthrow then-president Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi and expand their control by driving into southern provinces.[145] The UN brokered a two-month nationwide truce on 2 April 2022 between Yemen's warring parties, which allowed fuel imports into Houthi-held areas and some flights to operate from Sanaa International Airport to Jordan and Egypt.[149][133][150] The Wall Street Journal reported in March 2023 that Iran agreed to halt all military support to the Houthis and abide by the UN arms embargo, as part of a Chinese-brokered Iran-Saudi rapprochement deal.Meanwhile, the group "Friends of Yemen" was created, initially to stop al-Qaeda on the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) after evidence pointed at it as the main perpetrator behind multiple attacks on US military bases and equipment.[172][173] Then during the early stages of the Yemeni Revolution in 2011, Houthi leader Abdul-Malik al-Houthi declared the group's support for demonstrations calling for the resignation of President Ali Abdullah Saleh.[174] Later that year, as Saleh prepared to leave office, the Houthis laid siege to the Salafi-majority village of Dammaj in northern Yemen, a step toward attaining virtual autonomy for Sa'dah.[179] After several weeks of street protests against the Hadi administration, which made cuts to fuel subsidies that were unpopular with the group, the Houthis fought the Yemen Army forces under the command of General Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar.[191] After the 20 March 2015 Sanaa mosque bombings, in a televised speech, Abdul-Malik al-Houthi, the leader of the Houthis, said his group's decision to mobilize for war was "imperative" under current circumstances and that Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula and its affiliates—among whom he counts Hadi—would be targeted, as opposed to southern Yemen and its citizens.[h] The United States, Saudi Arabia, UAE and various Western commentators have accused various IRGC networks of assisting Houthis through arms supplies, military training, logistics, strategic co-ordination and media support.[206][207][208] Saudi Arabia views activities by the Quds Forces and Hezbollah in neighboring Yemen as part of Iranian attempts to establish a satellite state in the country and trap them into a stalemate.[213][214] The Wall Street Journal reported in March 2023 that the Iranian government agreed to halt all military support to Houthis and abide by the UN arms embargo, as part of a Chinese-brokered Iran-Saudi rapprochement deal.[222] In May 2019, State Secretary Mike Pompeo announced an "emergency" to push through $8.1 billion of arms sales to Gulf allies like Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Jordan, citing Iranian activity in the Middle East.[223] In response to rumors that Saudi Arabia could intervene in Yemen, Houthi commander Ali al-Shami boasted on 24 March 2015 that his forces would invade the larger kingdom and not stop at Mecca, but rather Riyadh.[229] Al Jazeera reported that Mohammed Ali al-Houthi, a Houthi commander appointed in February as President of the Revolutionary Committee, was injured by an airstrike in Sanaʽa on the first night of the campaign.In an Op-Ed in The Washington Post, Yousef Al Otaiba, the UAE ambassador to the United States, described that the intervention has reduced AQAP presence in Yemen to its weakest point since 2012 with many areas previously under their control liberated.These figures were revealed a few days after the UK government decided to resume the arms sales to Saudi Arabia, which could be used in the Yemen war, just over a year after the court of appeal ruled them unlawful.[250] Since the mid-2000s, the United States has been carrying out targeted killings of Al-Qaeda militants in Yemen, although the U.S. government generally does not confirm involvement in specific attacks conducted by unmanned aerial vehicles as a matter of policy.In light of the serious security deterioration for ICRC personnel, the international organization has called for all parties of the conflict "to provide it with concrete, solid and actionable guarantees so that it can continue working in Yemen.""[292] In August 2018, a report by UN experts said all parties to the conflict may have committed war crimes, including the governments of Yemen, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, and the Houthi movement.The report criticized Saudi-led airstrikes and accused parties of unlawful violations such as "deprivation of the right to life, arbitrary detention, rape, torture, enforced disappearances and child recruitment".[293] In February 2020, British law firm Stoke White appealed the authorities in Britain, the U.S., and Turkey to arrest senior officials from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for allegedly carrying out war crimes and torture in Yemen.[311] Emphasizing the dire humanitarian needs for about 23.4 million people, UNFPA reported the lack of access to sexual and reproductive health and protection services, and exposure to death in pregnancy and childbirth and life-threatening violence.[160] The United Nations representative Baroness Amos, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, said on 2 April 2015 that she was "extremely concerned" about the fate of civilians trapped in fierce fighting, after aid agencies reported 519 people killed and 1,700 injured in two weeks.[391] On 27 September 2020, the United Nations announced that the Iran-backed Houthi rebels and the Hadi government supported by the Saudi-led military coalition, agreed to exchange about 1,081 detainees and prisoners related to the conflict as part of a release plan reached in early 2020.However, the implementation of the plan clashed with military offensives from Houthis and the Saudi-led coalition, which aggravated the humanitarian crisis in Yemen, leaving millions suffering medical and food supply shortages.[398] The Wall Street Journal reported in March 2023 that Iran agreed to halt all military support to Houthis and abide by the UN arms embargo, as part of a Chinese-brokered Iran-Saudi rapprochement deal.The agreement was concluded with the objective to put pressure on Houthi militants to end the conflict through negotiated settlement; with Saudi and US officials describing the concomitant Iranian behaviour as a "litmus test" for the endurance of the Chinese-brokered détente.The agreement was concluded in the background of Iran's international isolation following the escalation of its nuclear program, an ongoing crackdown on Mahsa Amini protests and its support to Russian invasion of Ukraine.The island was considered a strategic location for anyone who controls it, offering power for operations into the Gulf of Aden, the Red Sea and East Africa, and for easily launching airstrikes into Yemen's mainland.[421] In October 2016, Robert Fisk reported that there is strong evidence suggesting that the agricultural sector in Houthi-controlled territory was being deliberately destroyed by the Saudi-led coalition, thus exacerbating the food shortage and leaving the Houthis dependent solely on imports, which are difficult to obtain in view of the blockade.
Yemeni civil warYemeni crisisArab Winterwar on terrorIran–Saudi Arabia proxy conflictRepublic of YemenUnited NationsYemeni Armed ForcesGeneral People's CongressSouthern Transitional CouncilYemeni National ResistanceHadrami Elite ForcesSupreme Political CouncilHouthi movementAl-Qaeda in the Arabian PeninsulaSaudi ArabiaIsraelOngoing, ceasefire since 2 April 2022 with some periodic clashesHouthis take control of SanaaSaudi Arabian-led coalition forces interveneHadi-led governmentPresidential Leadership CouncilRashad al-AlimiPresidentAidarus al-ZoubaidiVice Presidentan offensiveIslah partydiplomatic relationsRed Sea crisisOperation Prosperity Guardian2024 missile strikes in YemenMain belligerentsPopular CommitteesHezbollahNorth KoreaRepublican GuardUnited Arab EmiratesTihamah ResistanceGiants BrigadesHadhramaut Tribal AllianceAl-IslahBani DhabyanPopular Resistance CommitteesSaudi-led coalitionSenegalMoroccoKuwaitBahrainAcademiUnited StatesU.S. NavyUnited States ArmyUnited KingdomFranceCanadaSouth KoreaNational Intelligence ServiceMalaysiaAustraliaAl-QaedaAnsar al-ShariaDhi Na’imIslamic StateIslamic State - Yemen ProvinceAbdul-Malik al-HouthiMohammed al-HouthiMahdi al-MashatSaleh Ali al-SammadMohamed al-AtifiHussein KhairanSadeq Amin Abu RassAli Abdullah SalehMohsen Mohammed Al-DaeriAbdrabbuh Mansur HadiMohammed Al-MaqdashiMahmoud al-SubaihiMohammed Nasser AhmedAhmed SalehTareq SalehSalman bin AbdulazizMuhammad bin SalmanKhalifa bin ZayedMohammed bin ZayedAbdel Fattah BurhanMacky SallMohamed VITamim bin HamadIbrahim al QosiKhalid BatarfiNasir al-WuhayshiQasim al-RaymiNasser al-AnsiIbrahim al-RubaishAbu Hafs al-Hashimi al-QurashiAbu Bilal al-HarbiAbu Osama al-Muhajeraircraft losthelicopters lostdrones lostfrigatewatercraft4 drones shot down1 helicopter lost1 tiltrotor craft lostdead from starvationSave the Children~4,000 dead from cholera epidemic; 2.5+ million cases overall3 civilians killedRevolution(2011–12)Sana'aDammajAnsar al-Shariah campaign (2011–14)Zinjibar2012 Sana'aNov 2013 SanaaDec 2013 Sana'aRescue operationsHouthi rebellion (2014)2nd Dammaj2nd Battle of Sana'aHouthi takeover1st ShabwahSaudi-led interventionHouthi–Saudi Arabian conflictMarib governorateMarib cityairport