Yemeni civil war (2014–present)
Ongoing civil war in the state of Yemen / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The Yemeni civil war (Arabic: الحرب الأهلية اليمنية, romanized: al-ḥarb al-ʾahlīyah al-yamanīyah) is an ongoing multilateral civil war that began in late 2014 mainly between the Rashad al-Alimi-led Presidential Leadership Council and the Mahdi al-Mashat-led Supreme Political Council, along with their supporters and allies. Both claim to constitute the official government of Yemen.[134]
Yemeni civil war | ||||||||||
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Part of the Yemeni crisis, the Arab Winter, the war on terror, and the Iran–Saudi Arabia proxy conflict | ||||||||||
Political and military control in Yemen in February 2024: Republic of Yemen (recognized by United Nations), pro-PLC Yemeni Armed Forces and General People's Congress
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Main belligerents | ||||||||||
Supreme Political Council (formerly SRC)
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Republic of Yemen (internationally-recognized; led by the PLC since 2022)
United Kingdom[lower-alpha 3] United Arab Emirates[63][64][65] |
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Commanders and leaders | ||||||||||
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Saudi-led coalition: |
Sa'ad bin Atef al-Awlaki Casualties:
Abu Hafs al-Hashimi al-Qurashi Casualties:
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Strength | ||||||||||
150,000–200,000 fighters[83] |
113,500 soldiers and paramilitary[citation needed] 100 warplanes; 150,000 troops[84] 30 warplanes;[85] 10,000 troops[86] 15 warplanes;[85] 300 troops[87] 10 warplanes; 1,000 troops[85][88] 6 warplanes[85] 6 warplanes;[85] 1,500 troops[85][45] 4 warplanes; 8,000–30,000 troops[89][90][91] 2,100 troops[85][92] 4 warships[93] and warplanes[94] 1,800 security contractors[95] |
IS: 300[100] | ||||||||
Casualties and losses | ||||||||||
"Thousands" killed (per Al Jazeera; as of May 2018) 11,000+ killed (Arab Coalition claim; as of December 2017)[101] |
Unknown 1,000[102]–3,000[103] Saudi losses
Emirati losses
11 soldiers killed[118][119][120] 1 F-16 crashed[121] 4 soldiers killed[122][123] 10 servicemen killed[124][125] 1 F-16 shot down[125] 1 F-16 lost[126] 71 PMCs killed[49] 1 killed American losses | |||||||||
377,000+ people killed overall (150,000+ from violence) (2014–2021) (UN)[128] 85,000 Yemeni children dead from starvation (2015–2018) (Save the Children)[129] ~4,000 dead from cholera epidemic; 2.5+ million cases overall (2016–2021)[130] 4 million people cumulatively displaced (2015–2020) (UNHCR)[131][132] 500+ killed in Saudi Arabia by Houthi attacks (2014–2016) (Saudi Arabia figure)[133] 3 civilians killed in the UAE |
The civil war began in September 2014 when Houthi forces took over the capital city Sanaa, which was followed by a rapid Houthi takeover of the government. On 21 March 2015, the Houthi-led Supreme Revolutionary Committee declared a general mobilization to overthrow then-president Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi and expand their control by driving into southern provinces.[135] The Houthi offensive, allied with military forces loyal to former Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh, began fighting the next day in Lahij Governorate. By 25 March, Lahij fell to the Houthis and they reached the outskirts of Aden, the seat of power for Hadi's government.[136] Hadi fled the country the same day.[137][138] Concurrently, a coalition led by Saudi Arabia launched military operations by using air strikes and restored the former Yemeni government.[41] Although there has been no direct intervention by the Iranian government in Yemen, the civil war is widely regarded as part of the Iran-Saudi proxy conflict.[lower-alpha 4]
Houthi insurgents currently control the capital Sanaa and all of former North Yemen except for eastern Marib Governorate. After the formation of the Southern Transitional Council (STC) in 2017 and the subsequent capture of Aden by the STC forces in 2018, the pro-republican forces became fractured, with regular clashes between pro-Hadi forces backed by Saudi Arabia and southern separatists backed by the United Arab Emirates.[139] Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) and the Islamic State have also carried out attacks against both factions, with AQAP controlling swathes of territory in the hinterlands, and along stretches of the coast.[140]
The UN brokered a two-month nationwide truce on 2 April 2022 between Yemen's warring parties, which allowed fuel imports into Houthi-held areas and some flights to operate from Sanaa International Airport to Jordan and Egypt.[141] On 7 April 2022, the Hadi government was dissolved and the Presidential Leadership Council (PLC) took command of the Yemeni Republic, incorporating the Southern Transitional Council into its new government. The UN announced on 2 June 2022 that the nationwide truce had been further extended by two months.[142] According to the UN, over 150,000 people have been killed in Yemen,[143] as well as estimates of more than 227,000 dead as a result of an ongoing famine and lack of healthcare facilities due to the war.[144][145][146] The Wall Street Journal reported in March 2023 that Iran agreed to halt all military support to the Houthis and abide by the UN arms embargo, as part of a Chinese-brokered Iran-Saudi rapprochement deal. The agreement is viewed as part of Saudi Arabian-led efforts to pressure the Houthi militants to end the conflict through negotiated settlement; with Saudi and U.S. officials describing the concomitant Iranian behaviour as a "litmus test" for the endurance of the Chinese-brokered détente.[lower-alpha 5] On 23 December 2023, Hans Grundberg, the UN special envoy for Yemen, announced that the warring parties committed to steps towards a ceasefire.[147]
The Saudi-led coalition's bombing of civilian areas has received condemnation from the international community.[148] According to the Yemen Data Project, the bombing campaign has killed or injured an estimated 19,196 civilians as of March 2022.[149] Houthi drone attacks targeting civilian areas in Saudi Arabia, UAE, and Southern Yemen have also attracted global condemnation;[lower-alpha 6] and the UN Security Council has imposed a global arms embargo on the Houthis since 2015.[lower-alpha 7] The United States has provided intelligence and logistical support for the Saudi Arabian-led campaign,[39] and despite the Biden administration's pledge to withdraw U.S. support for Saudi Arabia in Yemen, it has announced the sale of weapons to the Saudi Arabian-led coalition.[150][151]