Yemen

Conflict Status: Non-International Armed Conflict (NIAC) – Potentially “Internationalized”

Conflict Start: 2015

Parties:

  1. The internationally recognized Yemeni government, led by Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi.
  2. Houthi armed movement, along with their supporters and allies
  3. Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant

 

Background: On 21 March 2015, after taking over Sana’a and the Yemeni government, the Houthi-led Supreme Revolutionary Committee declared a general mobilization to overthrow Hadi and further their control by driving into southern provinces. The Houthi offensive, allied with military forces loyal to Saleh, began on the next day with fighting in Lahij Governorate. By 25 March, Lahij fell to the Houthis and they reached the outskirts of Aden, the seat of power for Hadi’s government; Hadi fled the country the same day. Concurrently, a coalition led by Saudi Arabia launched military operations by using airstrikes to restore the former Yemeni government; the United States provided intelligence and logistical support for the campaign. According to the UN and other sources, from March 2015 to December 2017, 8,670–13,600 people have been killed in Yemen, including more than 5,200 civilians, as well as estimates of more than 50,000 dead as a result of an ongoing famine due to the war. The conflict has widely been seen as an extension of the Iran-Saudi Arabia proxy conflict and as a means to combat Iranian influence in the region. In 2018, the United Nations warned that 13 million Yemeni civilians face starvation in what it says could become “the worst famine in the world in 100 years.”

Important Documents:

OHCHR – Yemen

UNSC Resolutions

Feb 26 2019
S/RES/2456
This resolution extended for an additional year the Yemen financial and travel ban sanctions, reaffirmed the provisions of the targeted arms embargo, and renewed the mandate of the committee’s Panel of Experts.

Jan. 16 2019
S/RES/2452
This established the UN Mission to support the Hodeidah Agreement (UNMHA) for an initial period of six months.

Dec. 21 2018
S/RES/2451
This resolution endorsed the agreements reached by the parties during the consultations held in Sweden, and authorised the Secretary-General to establish and deploy, for an initial period of 30 days an advance team to begin monitoring and facilitate implementation of the Stockholm Agreement.

Human Rights Watch 2018 Yemen Report