Yemen's Houthi rebels began pulling back their forces from three key ports at the weekend in what the UN hopes will start a gradual de-escalation of the conflict and improve the flow of humanitarian aid. However, the ousted Yemeni government – which is backed by a Saudi-led military coalition...
Blog archive: Yemen
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13th May 2019
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7th October 2018As the humanitarian situation in Yemen continues to worsen, there are signs that the Houthis who seized control of the capital in 2014 face a growing challenge in the form of public discontent. On Saturday more than 50 people were arrested outside Sana'a University while protesting against...
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3rd October 2018Isa Blumi is a senior lecturer at Stockholm University and author of a book published earlier this year – "Destroying Yemen: What Chaos in Arabia Tells Us about the World". It's a "superb" book according to a commentator on RT, the Russian propaganda channel, and Vanessa Beeley, a prominent...
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10th September 2018Fighting near the Yemeni city of Hodeidah intensified at the weekend after peace talks in Geneva were abandoned before they had even begun. The talks foundered over a dispute about travel arrangements which meant that representatives of the Houthi rebels who control much of northern...
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4th August 2018Deadly explosions that hit the Yemeni city of Hodeidah on Thursday have been widely attributed to Saudi-led airstrikes but emerging evidence suggests they were probably the result of mortar fire. Hodeidah, on the Red Sea coast, is seen as a key battleground in the Yemen conflict. It is...
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12th July 2018In a move that appears to license war crimes, the Saudi king has issued a pardon for "all military men" involved in the Yemen conflict. An announcement by the government news agency on Tuesday said the pardon would apply to "military and disciplinary penalties, in regard of some...
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13th June 2018In Yemen, the long-expected military assault on the port city of Hodeidah began this morning. Hodeida is currently held by the Houthis who control much of northern Yemen. According to local reports it is being attacked from the south by the Amaliqa ("Giants") Brigades – a surviving section...
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5th March 2018A recent report by a UN panel of experts painted a grim picture of the situation in Yemen. "Yemen, as a state, has all but ceased to exist," it said. "Instead of a single state there are warring statelets, and no one side has either the political support or the military strength to reunite the...
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19th February 2018A 329-page report by the UN's panel of experts on Yemen was published last week, and it makes grim reading. Yemen, as a state, has all but ceased to exist, it says. It also notes that during the three-year conflict there have been "widespread violations of international humanitarian law and...
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2nd February 2018Russia has so far kept a low profile in the Yemen conflict – in contrast to its role in Syria – but that is now changing. Over the last few months it has been stepping up political and diplomatic contacts and advertising itself as a potential mediator. Given Russia's position in Syria, allied...
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30th January 2018The official aim of the Saudi-led military intervention in Yemen is to restore the "legitimate" government of the internationally-recognised but unconstitutionally-elected President Hadi. That was always something of a fantasy and events during the last couple of months have made it even more...
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29th January 2018Fighting broke out in Aden yesterday between southern separatists and forces loyal to Yemen's internationally recognised president, Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi. This was not the first time they have clashed but yesterday's outbreak was the most serious so far. At least 10 people are reported to...
