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TheYemeni crisis began with the2011–2012 revolution against PresidentAbdullah Saleh, who had ledYemen for 33 years.[1][2] After Saleh left office in early 2012 as part of a mediated agreement between theYemeni government and opposition groups, the government led by Saleh's former vice president,Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi, faced challenges in governing Yemen’s divided political landscape and addressing armed opposition fromAl-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula and theHouthi militant movement that had been waging a protractedinsurgency in the north for years.[3][4][5]
In September 2014, the conflict escalated into acivil war when Houthi forces entered the capital ofSana'a and forced Hadi to negotiate a "unity government" with other political factions.[3] The Houthis continued their advance and influence over government operations until, after forces aligned with the Houthis reportedly attacked his presidential palace and private residence, Hadi resigned along with his ministers in January 2015.[6][7]
The following month, the Houthisdeclared themselves in control of the Yemeni government, dissolving theParliament, and installing an interimRevolutionary Committee led byMohammed al-Houthi, a cousin of Houthi leaderAbdul-Malik al-Houthi.[6][7] Hadi escaped toAden, where he declared that he remains Yemen's legitimate president, proclaimed the country's temporary capital, and called on loyal government officials and members of the military to rally to him.[8][9]
On 27 March 2015, theBBC reported that Hadi had "fled rebel forces in the city of Aden" and subsequently "arrived in Saudi Arabia's capital Riyadh" as "Saudi authorities began air strikes in Yemen".[10] Since 2017 the separatistSouthern Transitional Council (STC) has also fought against the government.[3]
The wave of protests known as theArab Spring did not take long to arrive in Yemen after theTunisian revolution (2011–2012). Yemen was one of the poorest countries in the region. Its government faced widespread allegations of corruption, with a large amount of weapons in private hands. By 2011, the country was already facing challenges fromal Qaeda-linked militants andseparatists in the south andZaydīShīʿa Muslim rebels in the north. Yemen had only been unified since 1990, and deep divisions persisted between thenorth andsouth.[3]
Yemen's political instability has been compounded and partly caused by the severeecological crisis in the country. As of 2023, the average Yemeni has access to only 86 m3 of renewable freshwater per year for all uses, (62 gallons per day)[11] compared to a Middle Eastern regional average of approximately 631 m3,[12] both of which are significantly below the internationally defined threshold for water stress of 1,700 m3 per capita per year.[13]Yemen's groundwater is the main source of water in the country but the water tables have dropped severely, leaving the country without a viable source of water. For example, inSanaa, the water table was 30 meters below surface in the 1970s but had dropped to 1200 meters below surface by 2012. The groundwater has not been regulated by Yemen's governments.[14]
Even before the revolution, Yemen's water situation had been described as increasingly dire with some environmental analysts warning that Yemen could be among the first countries to face extreme water scarcity if current trends continue.[15] Agriculture in Yemen takes up about 90% of water in Yemen even though it only generates 6% of GDP - however a large portion of Yemenis are dependent on small-scale subsistence agriculture. Half of agricultural water in Yemen is used to growkhat, a narcotic that most Yemenis chew. This means that in such a water-scarce country as Yemen, where half the population is food-insecure, 45% of the water withdrawn from the ever-depleting aquifers is used to grow a crop that feeds nobody.[14]
This water insecurity has a direct impact on political stability. Outsiders hear most about theproxy war between factions supported by other countries, but according to the Yemeni newspaperAl-Thawra, 70% to 80% of conflicts in the country's rural regions are water-related. The country's Interior Ministry has estimated that across the country, water and land related disputes kill 4,000 people a year - more than terrorism.[16] InAl-Jawf Governorate, a dispute over a well's placement has led to a blood feud that has continued for more than 30 years[14]
In 2007, Yemen's minister of Water and Natural Resources suggested that Sana'a, the capital city, might have to be evacuated if it runs out of water.[17] Although the government was unable to move the capital in an orderly and peaceful way, the war and political crisis have rendered Sana'a and most of Yemen into a battleground that people have been forced to flee.
Additional environmental catastrophes have battered Yemen as the war has progressed. In late 2015,two historic cyclones struck the country. The first of these,Cyclone Chapala, struck the island ofSocotra before hitting the port ofMukalla on Yemen's south coast, where it caused catastrophic flash flooding.[18] This storm, combined with the followingCyclone Megh, left enough moisture in the soil forlocusts to breed. These locusts can fly 100 miles in a day and destroy any crop they encounter.[19]
Yemen's political crisis began in 2011, amid theArab Spring and the ongoingHouthi insurgency,South Yemen insurgency, and theAl-Qaeda insurgency in Yemen.
Popular protests broke out in early 2011, led by both secular andIslamist opposition groups.[20] Longtime rebel groups like theHouthis and theSouthern Movement also participated in the protests.[21][22] Saleh responded with a violent crackdown, and the country nearly disintegrated into an all-out civil war as several army elements broke with the government and joined the protesters, beginning in March.[23][24]
Saleh was almost killed when a bomb went off in a mosque where he and other top government officials were praying on 3 June, apparently in an assassination attempt.[25][26] While his condition initially appeared grave, Saleh recovered and returned to work on 23 September after several months of medical treatment inSaudi Arabia.[27] He left Vice President Hadi in charge during his absence. As acting president, Hadi met with the opposition and reportedly expressed openness to political reforms. However, he rejected the idea of forcing Saleh from power without the president's consent.[28]
TheGulf Co-operation Council applied no small amount of pressure on Saleh to negotiate an end to the uprising by stepping down.[29] Weeks after returning from Saudi Arabia, Saleh finally agreed on 23 November to resign in exchange for immunity. As part of the deal, the opposition agreed to allow Hadi to stand unopposed for the presidency in 2012.[30]
Meanwhile, theinsurgentHouthis in northern Yemen laid siege to aSalafi town inSaada Governorate,Dammaj. Fighting was worst in November and December. The Yemeni military was unable to restore order due to the crisis elsewhere in the country.[31]
TheYemeni Revolution came to an apparently successful conclusion in 2012 for the opposition, as Saleh left office. However, unrest continued in both northern and southern Yemen.
Hadi's election on 24 February 2012 peacefully introduced a new government in Yemen, with only a small percentage of voters spoiling their ballots in the single-candidate contest.[32] Hadi, a southerner, especially enjoyed support in former South Yemen, quieting the murmurs of separatism,[33] although theSouthern Movement boycotted the presidential election, as did the Houthis.[34] Hadi did not give the restive Houthis any seats in his cabinet.[1]
Theconflict in Dammaj was renewed in April when fighting broke out between Houthi tribesmen and Salafi students. Both sides accused the other of breaking a truce agreement.[35]
National reconciliation talks were held with the participation of many separatist elements, as well as the Houthis.[1][33]
Nine years after the death ofHussein Badreddin al-Houthi, the Yemeni government turned over the remains of the Houthi patriarch to his family and he was buried in northern Yemen in June 2013, with a representative of the Hadi administration in attendance.[36]
Hadi visited theUnited States, a key overseas ally, in July 2013. The U.S. also lifted a ban on transferring detainees from itsGuantanamo Bay detention camp inCuba to Yemen.[37]
Meanwhile,Saudi Arabia deported as many as 300,000 to 400,000 Yemeni migrant workers to their home country during 2013, causing an influx of poor, landless Yemenis into northern Yemen.[38]
The conflict between Houthis and Salafis inSaada Governorate was renewed in October and November. Saada government officials accused Houthi fighters of attacking a Salafi mosque inDammaj in an attempt to drive theSunnis out, while the Houthis accused the Salafis of using the religious institute as a staging ground for foreign Sunni fighters. The government attempted to intervene to stop the fighting.[39]
Sectarian fighting inAl Jawf Governorate lasted throughout the year.Dhamar Governorate also saw clashes between the Houthis and Salafis toward the end of the year.[40]
In a dramatic turn of events, the rebel Houthis took broad control of northern Yemen, including the capital of Sana'a itself, in 2014.[editorializing][citation needed]
Clashes in Dammaj spread to theAmran Governorate by January 2014.[41] The Houthis achieved victory in Saada when the Yemeni government brokered a deal under which Salafi fighters and their families were evacuated to the neighboringAl Hudaydah Governorate.[42] According to reports, the Houthis then blocked government troops from fully deploying throughout the territory, in spite of a signed agreement.[43]
Fighting in the Amran Governorate intensified during the year, with clashes between Houthis and supporters of the IslamistIslah Party eventually leading to a Houthi takeover of the entire governorate. The conflict spread to theSanaa Governorate by July.[40]
TheHouthis began protesting against Hadi's government to demand concessions in order to resolve a years-longinsurgency they had been waging against the Yemeni state in mid-2014.[44] The uprising escalated dramatically as Houthi fighters swept intoSana'a, the capital, and effectively seized control of the city from the Yemeni military within a couple of days in September. The forces of GeneralAli Mohsen al-Ahmer surrendered to the Houthis after a brief fight.[45]
Ali Abdullah Saleh, the former president, was widely suspected of aiding the Houthis behind the scenes and helping pave the way for their takeover.[46] Prime MinisterMohammed Basindawa resigned on 21 September as part of a deal meant to end the standoff.[47]
The Houthis and the government agreed on 21 September to form a "unity government" within one month.[48] However, the Houthis rejected Hadi's original choice of prime minister,Ahmad Awad bin Mubarak,[49] and Oil MinisterKhaled Bahah was appointed instead with the armed group's approval.[50] The Houthis and theGeneral People's Congress led by Saleh announced abruptly on 8 November that they would not participate in the unity government, claiming it was unacceptable to them.[51] The boycott prompted sanctions against Saleh and senior Houthi leaders from theUnited Nations Security Council and theUnited States Department of the Treasury.[52]
Yemen was riven in 2015, with the Houthis establishing a new government in Sana'a and Hadi retreating with his supporters to Aden, and later Saudi Arabia. The Arab League, led by the Saudis, began a bombing campaign and mobilization of various armed forces in the region for a possible invasion.
The Houthis stepped up their pressure on Hadi's weakened government, seizing thepresidential palace and strategic military installations inSanaa and shelling the president's private residence on 20 January. The following day, they took control of Hadi's home, stationing armed guards outside to keep him under virtual house arrest.[53]
Hadi, Prime MinisterKhaled Bahah, and the cabinet resigned the following day, saying they could not continue to work under the conditions the Houthis had imposed. The rebel group welcomed Hadi's resignation, but continued to keep him under house arrest. The news prompted four southern governorates to announce they would disregard all orders from Sanaa.[54]
TheHouse of Representatives was to meet on 25 January to discuss whether to accept or reject Hadi's resignation under theYemeni constitution, but the session was cancelled after the Houthis took control of the parliament building. TheUnited Nations stepped in to attempt a negotiated resolution to what many in Yemen regarded as a Houthi coup.[55]
UN negotiations were fruitless, and a Houthi ultimatum to Yemen's political factions to find a solution was not met. On 6 February, the Houthis declared themselves in total control of the Yemeni government, dissolving parliament and installing aRevolutionary Committee led byMohammed Ali al-Houthi to lead the state in an interim capacity. The announcement sparked protests in Sana'a and other cities, especially in the south.[56][57]
Reactions to the Houthi takeover were broadly negative, with theArab League,Gulf Cooperation Council,United Nations, andUnited States refusing to recognise the "constitutional declaration" and severalgovernorates rejecting the Houthis' authority. With most political parties criticising the coup,Jamal Benomar, the UN envoy to Yemen, announced a resumption ofnational talks over the future of Yemen on 8 February. Benomar said the Houthis had agreed to participate in the talks.[58] UN Secretary-GeneralBan Ki-moon called for Hadi to be reinstated as president.[59]
The Houthis and other factions reached a tentative agreement, announced on 20 February, to keep theHouse of Representatives in place despite the "constitutional declaration" dissolving it two weeks prior. The agreement also stipulated that a "people's transitional council" would be established to represent southerners, women, youth, and other political minorities.[60] The next day, Hadi traveled toAden, where he said all Houthi-directed actions since 21 September 2014 were invalid, and condemned the coup d'état.[61][62]
Fighting broke out overAden International Airport on 19 March, with special forces loyal to ex-presidentAli Abdullah Saleh attempting to seize the airport before they were defeated by troops and militiamen under orders from the Hadi administration.[63] The following day, in an apparently unrelated incident, four suicide bombersdetonated themselves in Sana'a mosques packed with Houthi congregants, killing at least 142. TheSunni Islamist groupIslamic State of Iraq and the Levant'sYemen branch claimed responsibility.[64][65]
Hadi declared Aden to be Yemen's temporary capital on 21 March while Sana'a remains under Houthi control.[66] The next day, Houthi forces advanced toward Aden, capturing key parts of Yemen's third-largest city,Taiz.[67] They consolidated their grip on much of the south andseized much of Aden itself by early April.[68]
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On 26 March 2015,Saudi Arabia and several other countries announced that they had begun military operations in Yemen against Houthi rebels.Bahrain,Kuwait,Qatar and theUnited Arab Emirates issued a statement along with Saudi Arabia saying their goal is to "repel Houthi aggression" in Yemen.Egypt,Jordan,Morocco, andSudan are also members of the coalition.[69]
In addition to airstrikes against targets throughout Yemen, which the General People's Congress blamed for causing dozens of civilian casualties,[70]Egyptian warships reportedly shelled a Houthi column as it advanced toward Aden on 30 March,[71] and Saudi and Houthi forces traded artillery and rocket fire across the border between Saudi Arabia and Yemen.[72]
The 8 October 2016 attack by theSaudi Arabian-led coalition killed at least 140 people and injured more than 600 inSana'a. This was one of the single worst death tolls in the two-year war. Saudi Arabia and its allies accepted the internal review's finding, by the Joint Incidents Assessment Team (JIAT), that the coalition's bombardment of this funeral ceremony was based on faulty information, i.e., that this was a gathering of armed Houthi leaders.[73][74]
The crisis in Yemen is one of the world's biggest crises.[75] Over one third of the three million refugees have been uprooted within Yemen between 2015 and 2020.[76] Roughly 80% of the Yemen population, containing over 12 million children, requires humanitarian aid.[75] In 2020, an estimated 7.8 million children had no connection to education, and 10 million lacked water and sanitation.[77] In addition to the lack of resources for children, there have also been multiple accounts of children being forced into conflict.[78]
Children are enticed to shoot weapons on behalf of the Houthis in exchange for monetary gain or social status as in Yemen shooting guns at a young age is normalized. Children are seen in the eyes of many militias as valuable assets or an advantage in conflict.[citation needed] Yemen also has an array of treaties with the United Nations, one which specifies an agreement to the treatment of children.[79]
TheConvention on the Rights of the Child assembly resolution was signed November 18, 1959 and ratified on November 20, 1989.[80] In reality, due to a lack of intervention, many Yemeni children are being neglected treatment, resources, and basic rights during this humanitarian crisis.[citation needed]
In April 2021, it was stated that the country is witnessing “the worst humanitarian crisis in the past 100 years”, as it is facing famine and 80% of the population of over 30 million need humanitarian aid, according to the director of Muslim Hands’ Yemen operation.[81]
A severecholera epidemic began in Yemen during the civil war. In July 2017, theUnited Nations Humanitarian Relief coordinator said that over 320,000 cases had been reported.[82] He also blamed the epidemic on the war and on international forces supporting the combatants.[82] As of October 2017, it was already described as the worst cholera outbreak in recorded history, with over 800,000 cases.[83]
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