Latest news with #YemenConflict
Al Arabiya
4 days ago
- General
- Al Arabiya
Israeli air forces hit Houthi targets at Sanaa airport in Yemen: Israeli defense ministry
Israeli air forces have hit Houthi targets at Sanaa airport in Yemen, the Israeli defense ministry says in a statement. Developing
Al Arabiya
24-05-2025
- Politics
- Al Arabiya
US strike on Yemen kills al-Qaeda members: Yemeni security sources
Five al-Qaeda members have been killed in a strike blamed on the United States in southern Yemen, two Yemeni security sources told AFP on Saturday. 'Residents of the area informed us of the US strike... five Al-Qaeda members were eliminated,' said a security source in Abyan province, which borders the seat of Yemen's internationally-recognized government in Aden. 'The US strike on Friday evening north of Khabar Al-Maraqsha killed five,' said a second source, referring to a mountainous area known to be used by al-Qaeda. The second security source added that, though the names of those killed in the strike were not known, it was believed one of al-Qaeda's local leaders was among the dead. Washington once regarded the group, known as al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), as the militant network's most dangerous branch. AQAP grew and developed in the chaos of Yemen's war, which since 2015 has pitted the Iran-backed Houthis against an Arab-led coalition backing the government. Earlier this month, the United States agreed a ceasefire with the Houthis, who have controlled large swathes of Yemen for more than a decade, ending weeks of intense American strikes on Houthi-held areas of the country. The Houthis began firing at shipping in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden in November 2023, weeks after the start of the Israel-Hamas war, prompting military strikes by the US and Britain beginning in January 2024. The conflict in Yemen has caused hundreds of thousands of deaths and triggered one of the world's worst humanitarian crises, although fighting decreased significantly after a UN-negotiated six-month truce in 2022.
Al Bawaba
22-05-2025
- Al Bawaba
Initial reports: airstrikes target Sanaa, Yemen
Published May 22nd, 2025 - 07:48 GMT ALBAWABA - initial reports claimed that airstrikes were reported in the Yemeni capital of Sanaa, Israeli news outlet Ynet said on Thursday. A video allegedly showing smoke rising into the sky and a person in the background saying "they attacked Sanaa Airport" was posted on the X platform. In the clip shared online, a person was saying that an airstrike targeted Sanaa Airport, and then he turned the camera as travellers were seen next to a plane. © 2000 - 2025 Al Bawaba (
The National
22-05-2025
- Politics
- The National
35 years since unification, Yemen is more divided than ever
It could be argued that Yemen's conflict is merely a symptom of the Middle East's wider geopolitical issues. Others might say it is a cause in itself, or a contributing factor. But one thing can be agreed: 35 years since its unification between the northern and southern halves of the country – the former once controlled by the Ottomans and the latter once controlled by the British – the country remains more fragmented than ever. In 2014, the Houthis – a tribal militia and religious group from northern Yemen's poor, mountainous Saada region that had evolved into a major political and military force – took over Sanaa, the country's capital. In doing so, the militants, with backing from Iran, removed Yemen's internationally recognised government and went on to expand their rule to most of Yemen's north, where more than half of the country's population lives. This remains the situation today, even after a Saudi-led military coalition helped take back swathes of land from the Houthis in a multi-year war and prevented the rebel group from overrunning the entire country. But this is not a simple, good versus evil conflict; Yemen's present-day divisions are multi-layered and multi-faceted. An eight-member Presidential Leadership Council acts as the executive body of Yemen's internationally recognised government. Led by Rashad Al Alimi, the PLC was supposed to unite an otherwise divided anti-Houthi front. But tensions within the council are a poorly kept secret. Earlier this month, prime minister Ahmed bin Mubarak said he was stepping down after a little more than a year in office, blaming challenges he faced in making "necessary reforms" to state institutions. With different council members having strong military representation on the ground, the PLC has become a tool for exerting power rather than governance. This is largely down to the absence of a proper legal framework regulating the PLC's operations and defining its members' relationship to one another. The ambiguity surrounding the group's exact functions and authority on the ground has inevitably resulted in allegations of overreach and corruption against some of the forces under its members' control. The result of this is a fractured government incapable of asserting itself against militarily and politically against the Houthis' formidable forces. This has knock-on effects for the PLC's ability to provide effective governance for the people living in its territories. In Aden, the interim capital, the halls of Yemen's government have remained largely empty as officials fail to hold the meetings needed to move the country forward. Outside, the streets are frequently filled with protesters calling for better services and a higher standard of living. There is a lack of reliable electricity. The city is often without power – a potentially deadly outcome in Yemen's scorching summer heat, in which temperatures can exceed 40°C. Protesters have also focused on what they see as an overall worsening quality of life as well as the decline in the value of the Yemeni riyal. Constitutional reform that clarifies and limits the role of the PLC's members while strengthening the government as a whole would go a long way to resolving these issues. It would help to improve governance on the ground and the ability to provide basic services and provide a better quality of life for people who have escaped Houthi-run areas to government-held territory. In the meantime, the Houthis continue to fire ballistic missiles towards Israel and ships in the Red Sea that they claim are linked to Israeli commercial interests, ostensibly in protest at its unrelenting offensive in Gaza. Yemen's government has long been cut out of attempts to reach a peace deal with the Houthis, whether in 2023 when Saudi Arabia brokered a roadmap for a permanent ceasefire or, more recently, when US President Donald Trump announced a deal to end American air strikes on Houthi-held territory. Yemen's situation is becoming even more complex with a secessionist Southern Transitional Council that not only calls for the south's independence – a return to Yemen's pre-1990 partition – but also holds three out of the PLC's eight seats. A silver lining could be seen if the situation in Yemen were clearer and – even if bad – at least stable. But it's not. Matters have become worse, with US and Israeli forces targeting vital facilities like the port of Hodeidah, a lifeline for millions of Yemenis who rely on the humanitarian assistance that flows through it. Such attacks have put Yemen's already fragile humanitarian response at further risk, worsening people's lives further still, fuelling their anger and deepening rifts between them and those in power. Meanwhile, amid Yemen's enduring poverty and even as conflicts continue to rage in Gaza and Sudan, funding is dwindling for humanitarian relief efforts. In February, the World Health Organisation's Yemen country office appealed for $57.8 million to reach more than 10 million people with emergency health assistance. Yemenis who have lost faith in their respective rulers – whether in Houthi or government-controlled areas – are now looking elsewhere for hope. Talks between the US and Iran about a new nuclear agreement are continuing and experts believe that Iran could make concessions, including pulling its financial and intelligence support to the Houthis in exchange for sanctions relief. The declaration of the Republic of Yemen on May 22, 1990, was a decisive moment for the country. But the optimism that greeted this new start has long since faded. Whether Yemen's conflict is the cause of some of today's problems in the Middle East, or simply a reflection of them is a moot point for ordinary Yemeni civilians who, once again, have fallen victim to decisions made by local and regional powers, when all they really need is food on the table, hospitals to treat them and a nation they can call home.
Asharq Al-Awsat
16-05-2025
- Politics
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Yemen PM, EU Discuss Future Partnership
The European Union has informed the Yemeni government that it will issue a statement about the situation in Yemen that will tackle the Houthi attacks on Red Sea navigation and the harm they have incurred in the country, region and world, informed sources told Asharq Al-Awsat. The EU last made such a statement in appreciation of the government three years ago. This time, it will be more explicit in condemning the Houthis, the sources added on condition of anonymity. Yemeni Prime Minister Salem Saleh bin Braik held talks on Wednesday with Managing Director for Middle East and North Africa in the EU's European External Action Service Helene Le Gal and EU Ambassador to Yemen Gabriel Vinals. The sources continued: 'The EU believes that the damage caused by the Houthis was no longer just a Yemeni problem, especially after their attacks on Red Sea shipping.' This will determine EU policy and how to handle Yemen, they said. Wednesday's meeting covered the current and future partnership between Yemen and the EU and the diplomatic, humanitarian and economic support it is providing to the war-torn country. It tackled support to the Yemeni coastguard in their efforts to combat smuggling and protect international navigation, as well as joint coordination in confronting regional and international challenges, reported the Yemen's Saba news agency. The meeting reviewed the government's service and economic priorities and its comprehensive reform efforts. The gatherers discussed Yemen's humanitarian needs and efforts to ease the suffering of the people that has been compounded by Houthi attacks on oil facilities and Red Sea shipping. They covered current and future cooperation and the EU's support for Yemen and its preparations to hold a humanitarian conference in Brussels later this month.
