The Situation Concerning Yemen
BRIEF HISTORY
Yemen , officially known as the Republic of Yemen, is an Arab country in Western
Asia. Yemen's constitutionally stated capital is the city of Sana'a, but the city has been under
rebel control since February 2015. Because of this, Yemen's capital has been temporarily
relocated to the port city of Aden, on the southern coast.
Before 1918,Yemen was divided in North Yemen, occupied by The Ottoman Empire, and
the British occupied South Yemen. In 1918, North Yemen finally got independence from the
Ottoman Empire and in 1962 North Yemen became officially a republic. South Yemen was,
however, still under the influence of the British Empire. When the British totally withdrew from
Yemeni soil in 1967, this part of Yemen established its own government and officially became
South Yemen. In 1970, South Yemen became a Communist state and adopted a Communist
form of government.
In 1990, the two governments reached a full agreement on the joint governing of Yemen,
and the countries were merged on 22 May 1990, with Ali Abdullah Saleh as President.
FOREIGN RELATIONS
The geography and ruling in North Yemen kept the country isolated from foreign influence
before 1962. The country's relations with Saudi Arabia were defined by the Taif Agreement of
1934, which delineated the border between the two kingdoms . The Taif Agreement has been
renewed periodically in 20-year increments, and its validity was reaffirmed in 1995. Relations with
the British colonial authorities in Aden and the south were usually tense.
In February 1989, North Yemen joined Iraq, Jordan, and Egypt in forming the Arab
Cooperation Council (ACC), an organization created partly in response to the founding of the
Gulf Cooperation Council and intended to foster closer economic cooperation and integration
among its members. After unification, the Republic of Yemen was accepted as a member of the
ACC in place of North Yemen (Yemen Arab Republic).
SIDES OF THE CONFLICT
1. The Hadi government led by the current president Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi
2. The revolutionary commitee led by the former president, Mohammed Ali al-Houthi
Support gained by each side
1. The Hadi government:
• Military:
The current president has at his disposal the full force of the Yemeni army as he is,
amongst others, the commander-in-chief. Additionally, the president enjoys the support of
the muslim tribal forces who created their own political party with a significant amount of
military power. As of today, 150.000 army soldiers and 30.000 tribal fighters have been
deployed.
• Popularity:
As Hadi is a member of the Sunni Islam, this gives him the support of the majority of
the yemeni population. Even if he would win in a fair democratic election against the former
president, he is seen as a rather incompetent politician given the way he handled important
diplomatic meetings and public communication.
• Foreign support:
Because Hadi is widely seen as the less of the two evils because he did not initiate
the conflict, and he was the rightful president at the start of the war he has gained various
military support from neighbouring countries. Warplanes from Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Pakistan,
Qatar, Bahrain, UAE, Jordan, Turkey, Sudan, Egypt and Morocco as well as about 100.000
soldiers and other navy units from Saudi Arabia have been sent to aid the government
forces. Diplomatically, USA approved the aid given by these countries while China, France
and The United Kingdom have also pledged their support without sending any military aid.
2. The Revolutionary Committee
• Military:
The main forces aiding the former president are the rebel group of the Houthis, a
Shia-led religious-political movement who suffered loss after loss after the new reforms put
in motion by the new president and the Republican Guard, a branch of the Yemeni Army led
by Saleh’s son. The president of the Revolutionary Committee is also the leader of the
Houthis, Abdul-Malik al-Houthi. Currently, 30.000 Houthi fighters and 90.000 members of
The Republican Guard have been deployed.
• Popularity:
Within the Yemeni borders, the former president and the Houthis are seen as the
ones who ignited the conflict in the first place. However, amongst the non-Sunni citizens of
Yemen, the popularity of the Houthis has grown significantly since the beginning of the war
in 2015.
• Foreign support:
No important country outside of the mainstream Houthi supporters have pledged their
support to The Revolutionary Committee. However, the Houthis have been backed since the
beginning of the conflict by Iran, Syria, North Korea and Russia, but no military aid has been
officially granted. Nevertheless, there are rumours that Iran is sending constant supplies to
the Houthis.
TIMELINE OF THE CONFLICT
The conflict has its roots in the failure of the political transition that was supposed to bring
stability to Yemen following an uprising that forced its longtime authoritarian president, Ali
Abdullah Saleh, to hand over power to Mr Hadi, his deputy, in November 2011.
Mr Hadi struggled to deal with a variety of problems, including attacks by al-Qaeda, a
separatist movement in the south, the continuing loyalty of many military officers to Mr
Saleh, as well as corruption, unemployment and food insecurity.
The Houthi movement, which champions Yemen's Zaidi Shia Muslim minority and fought a
series of rebellions against Mr Saleh during the previous decade, took advantage of the new
president's weakness by taking control of their northern heartland of Saada province and
neighbouring areas.
Disillusioned with the transition, many ordinary Yemenis - including Sunnis - supported the
Houthis and in September 2014 they entered the capital, Sanaa, setting up street camps and
roadblocks.In January 2015, the Houthis reinforced their takeover of Sanaa, surrounding the
presidential palace and other key points and effectively placing Mr Hadi and his cabinet
ministers under house arrest.
The Houthis and security forces loyal to Mr Saleh then attempted to take control of the entire
country, forcing Mr Hadi to flee abroad in March 2015.
Alarmed by the rise of a group they believed to be backed militarily by regional Shia power
Iran, Saudi Arabia and eight other mostly Sunni Arab states began an air campaign aimed at
restoring Mr Hadi's government.
After more than a year-and-a-half of fighting, no side appears close to a decisive military
victory.
Pro-government forces - made up of soldiers loyal to President Hadi and predominantly
Sunni southern tribesmen and separatists - were successful in stopping the rebels taking
Aden, but only after a fierce, four-month battle that left hundreds dead.
But in the past year, despite the air campaign and naval blockade continuing unabated, progovernment forces have been unable to dislodge the rebels from their northern strongholds,
including Sanaa and its surrounding province.
Jihadist militants from al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) and rival affiliates of socalled Islamic State (IS) have meanwhile taken advantage of the chaos by seizing territory in
the south and stepping up their attacks, notably in government-controlled Aden.
CIVILIAN AND ECONOMICAL IMPACT
By early October, at least 4,125 civilians had been killed and 7,207 others injured, according
to the United Nations. With just under half of the population under the age of 18, children
constituted a third of all civilian deaths during the first year of the conflict.
The destruction of civilian infrastructure and restrictions on food and fuel imports have also
led to 21 million people being deprived of life-sustaining commodities and basic services.
The UN says 3.1 million Yemenis are internally displaced, while 14 million people are
suffering from food insecurity and 370,000 children under the age of five are at risk of
starving to death.
More than 1,900 of the country's 3,500 health facilities are also currently either not
functioning or partially functioning, leaving half the population without adequate healthcare.
INTERNATIONAL IMPORTANCE
What happens in Yemen can greatly exacerbate regional tensions. It also worries the West
because of the threat of attacks emanating from the country as it becomes more unstable.
Western intelligence agencies consider AQAP the most dangerous branch of al-Qaeda
because of its technical expertise and global reach, and the emergence of IS affiliates in
Yemen is a serious concern.
The conflict between the Houthis and the elected government is also seen as part of a
regional power struggle between Shia-ruled Iran and Sunni-ruled Saudi Arabia.
Yemen is strategically important because it sits on the Bab al-Mandab strait, a narrow
waterway linking the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden, through which much of the world's oil
shipments pass.
PAST UN RESOLUTIONS AND CONFERENCES
Over the past years, the UN and the Security Council have struggled to improve the
situation in Yemen. Since then, the committee published a series of resolutions:one in 2016, and
two in 2015.
The Security Council is expressing concern at the ongoing political, security, economic and
humanitarian challenges in Yemen, including the ongoing violence, and threats arising from the
illicit transfer, destabilizing accumulation and misuse of weapons,
http://www.securitycouncilreport.org/atf/cf/%7B65BFCF9B-6D27-4E9C-8CD3CF6E4FF96FF9%7D/s_prst_2016_5.pdf - Statement by the President of the Security Council
http://www.securitycouncilreport.org/atf/cf/%7B65BFCF9B-6D27-4E9C-8CD3CF6E4FF96FF9%7D/s_res_2342.pdf - 2016 resolution
http://www.securitycouncilreport.org/undocuments/search.php?IncludeBlogs=10&limit=15&tag=%22Security%20Council%20Resolutions
%22+AND+%22Yemen%22&ctype=Yemen&rtype=Security%20Council%20Resolutions&cbtype
=yemen SC resolutions
Sources:
1 - The bombing of a funeral in Sana’a draws attention to a forgotten war - The Economist
2 - The Houthis - Wikipedia
3 - “Yemen crisis: Who is fighting whom?“ - BBC News
4 - “Saudi ‘Decisive Storm’ waged to save Yemen“ - AL Arabiya News
5 - The Yemeni Civil ar - Wikipedia
6 - The Yemen Conflict, Explained - Ventures Africa
7 - http://www.heritage.org/index/country/yemen
- Economy
8 - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yemen#Human_rights
-Yemen
9 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CwwP3SiBIC8
10 - http://www.unocha.org/yemen
Affairs
- UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian
11 - http://www.securitycouncilreport.org/un-documents/yemen/
Yemen
- UN Documents for