Yemen is home to a diverse group of religions and ethnic groups that lived in relative harmony with one another until the British ceded control in 1967, leaving a massive power vacuum. The northern region formed as the Yemen Arab Republic, backed by Saudi Arabia and the U.S., and the southern region formed as the People’s Democratic Republic, backed by the USSR. The current Republic of Yemen was formed in 1990 after the collapse of the USSR, and Officer Ali Abdullah Saleh from the north assumed leadership of the country. The relations between independent socialist South Yemen and western-oriented North Yemen had been strained and four years after reunification a secessionist movement, the Democratic Republic of Yemen, unsuccessfully attempted to re-establish independent South Yemen.
Today, Yemen remains one of the most conflict-ridden countries in the world, with several violent crises and four active wars. The conflict between al-Houthi rebels and the government escalated from a violent crisis to a full-scale war in 2014, with al-Houthis (also known as Ansaruallah) consolidating their control and seizing the capital Sanaa. Al-Houthis’ advance met increased resistance from Sunni tribal forces in the north and from al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) in the south, with both conflicts constituting limited wars. The al-Houthi conflict with the government intensified as militants took over the presidential palace in January 2015 and in mid-March 2015 when Saudi Arabia led an intervention into Yemen. Saudi Arabia, spearheading a coalition of nine Sunni-majority Arab states, began carrying out airstrikes as part of military intervention, Operation Decisive Storm, in support of the disposed Yemeni government. Fighting between the coalition and the Houthi rebels continues today, with increased attacks and airstrikes on major cities. As of 2022, over 200,000 people have been killed and 4.3 million people are internally displaced. The UNSC called the humanitarian crisis in the country the worst in the world in terms of people in need with 17.4 million people food insecure.
In addition, the conflict between AQAP and the linked Islamist militants of Ansar al-Sharia, on the one hand, and the recent government, supported by the US and the Popular Resistance Committee forces, on the other, has escalated. AQAP attacked government troops, winning territory in the first half of 2016, before being pushed back by US and Saudi airstrikes. AQAP has also been in conflict with the al-Houthi militants in the south of the country, trying to enlist Sunni militia against the rebels.
IS has also infiltrated the country, concentrating its attacks in the southern city of Aden, with suicide bombings mainly targeting government officials and security staff. The US has claimed that IS is cooperating with AQAP in southern Yemen.
Peace attempts:
While the call for unification between North and South Yemen had been made in 1972, it was a 1979 peace agreement that led to the uniting of the two states. More recently, several violent conflicts in Yemen have been marked by failed negotiations. A National Dialogue Conference (NDC) began in 2013 as a transitional dialogue process, but in early 2014, al-Houthi rebels announced (in response to assassinations) that they would not abide by the provisions made by the NDC. After al-Houthi rebels seized control of the capital, a UN-brokered peace deal was struck between the conflict parties. However, the rebels refused to hand over seized weapons and control over Sanaa. Tribesmen and Shia Houthi fighters reached a new agreement to end hostilities – however, al-Houthi militants continued to occupy government buildings in Sanna. The limited war between al-Houthi rebels and Sunni tribal forces also saw unsuccessful ceasefire negotiations, such as the mid-2014 agreement, which failed to materialize. Despite these discouragements, a ceasefire was agreed in May 2015, and initially successfully allowed the delivery of relief and aid to the country’s civilian populations. Unfortunately, this ceasefire was violated almost immediately after the agreement.
Every subsequent agreement to a ceasefire since then has ended within 72 hours after the agreement. In 2018, the UN-led Stockholm Agreement marked a renewed start to negotiations and was able to prevent further disaster in the city of Hudaydah for the time being. Houthi forces violated the agreement within a few short days. In 2019, the Riyadh Agreement was signed, proposed by Saudi Arabia, which aimed to promote reconciliation in the Yemeni government. Yet, it was largely ineffective as it did not provide any form of incentive for the Houthis to cooperate, and was mainly supported by Hadi’s government.
A nationwide ceasefire occurred in April 2022 for the month of Ramadan, which proved to be successful coordination unseen in most recent negotiations. Since then, improvements in ensuring the inclusion of all actors and anti-Houthi forces could mark the beginning of effective peace attempts in the country.
