In mid-November, Washington threatened to list the Iran-linked Houthi rebels as a foreign terrorist organization. The announcement stirred instant condemnation from international aid agencies but was praised by officials of the legitimate government of Yemen and other Houthi opponents. Falling short of the broad threat, the Trump administration recently listed...
As Joe Biden is declared US president-elect, expectations vary from pessimism on the left and among experts in the Middle East to optimism over lessons learned. In the US, the left has already sent the first warnings on expectations, focused on foreign policy and singling out Washington’s relationship with Saudi...
After a five-year-long conflict, hope for a new round of peace talks in Yemen begins to fade away a week into Saudi Arabia’s unilateral halt to military operations. Soon after the announcement on April 9, confusion set in over the intent of the ceasefire and the lack of monitoring. Clashes...
Political infighting and violence have plagued Yemen since the Arab Spring began in December 2010. The hopes and aspirations of Yemen’s youth have dissipated into a near permanent state of war. Five years on from the electrifying momentum toward change sweeping through the Arab world’s poorest nation, an entrenched stalemate...
Who is likely to lead a ground offensive in Yemen? Despite Saudi Arabia declaring an end to Operation Decisive Storm, victory still seems elusive for either side in Yemen as the Saudi-led coalition continues to bomb targets and exerts efforts to coordinate local ground forces. The air campaign has eliminated a...
Oman could serve as a crucial mediator for the conflict in Yemen, where dialogue presents the only way forward. As the conflict in Yemen has taken a turn for the worse, observers believe Saudi Arabia’s military response to calls for assistance by Yemeni President Abdo Rabbo Mansour Hadi has eliminated...
Yemen’s future remains unclear, with regional and international repercussions likely. Although the impact of recent events in Yemen, driven by a brazen rise to power by northern Houthi rebels, has already been felt at the national and international level, it is yet to fully unravel. For observers inside and outside Yemen,...
What does the current turmoil in Yemen mean for the future of the country? Yemen, often in the headlines for US drone strikes and al-Qaeda’s most active franchise, al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), has received heightened media attention for a different reason, a successful military advance by northern Houthi...
Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula has gained a new sense of empowerment from its relations with ISIS. The Yemeni army launched military operations in the southern provinces of Abyan and Shebwa on April 28, in order to thwart the resurgence of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) and its affiliate,...
President Hadi continues to face mounting security challenges amid Houthi rebels and southern secessionists. Challenges posed by Islamist militants are among a myriad of threats to Yemen’s stability. President Abdo Rabbo Mansour Hadi, however, continues to face mounting challenges on two other fronts: the northern province of Amran and the...
