Sana'a

Yemen Review section April 9, 2024 05:29 MIN Quarterly: January-March 2024 Childhood Lost: No Respite in the Recruitment of Yemen’s Child Soldiers By Saqr Al-Sunaidi Although short-lived, Yemen’s truce, brokered in April 2022, led to a period of relative calm. Many hoped that the thousands of child soldiers recruited by the different warring parties — reportedly 2,233 in the period from July 1, 2021, to December 31, 2022, alone would leave combat and return to finish their education. Sadly, this has not been the case. A 2021 UN report, Education Disrupted, noted that former child soldiers were not returning to schools, partly because they lacked the support to do so. It noted “growing concern that if out-of-school children or those who have dropped out recently are not properly supported, they may never return to school.” This underlies the alarming, long-term effect of the recruitment of… Continue reading Yemen Review section April 9, 2024 26:36 MIN Quarterly: January-March 2024 The Economy — The Yemen Review, Quarterly: January-March 2024 By Wadhah Al-Awlaqi The re-designation of the Houthis as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist group (SDGT) by the Biden administration, which took effect on February 16, has sparked a complex debate. The move follows a series of Houthi missile attacks on commercial vessels in the Red Sea and Bab al-Mandab Strait. The designation allows the US Treasury to impose sanctions on individuals and entities affiliated with the Houthis, potentially hindering their ability to fund activities deemed “terrorism” by the US. American citizens and companies are now prohibited from doing business with the Houthis unless they receive special permission. Even companies partially owned by the Houthis or related blacklisted groups are off-limits. Outside the US, the designation sends a strong message to other countries… Continue reading Yemen Review section April 9, 2024 12:41 MIN Quarterly: January-March 2024 Military and Security — The Yemen Review, Quarterly: January-March 2024 By William Clough Houthi attacks on commercial shipping have continued unabated since the beginning of the year, undeterred by a series of countermeasures from the United States and its allies, including retaliatory strikes, a terrorist designation and associated financial sanctions, and the formation of multiple anti-Houthi naval operations. Since January 1, the Houthis have targeted 34 commercial vessels, 13 of which they have successfully hit. Of the targeted ships, at least 13 had clear ownership links to the US or United Kingdom, and an additional eight had ties to companies affiliated with US-, UK-, or Israeli-based entities. Other sources have claimed attacks on an additional four ships, but the Sana’a Center was unable to independently confirm this information. The majority of ships were… Continue reading Yemen Review section April 9, 2024 06:15 MIN Quarterly: January-March 2024 Crafting a Police State: Houthis Tighten Grip Amid Red Sea Attacks By Maysaa Shuja Al-Deen As the world’s attention is drawn to developments in the Red Sea, the impact of Houthi attacks on the global economy and the peace process in Yemen, and the risks of further escalation and wide repercussions for Yemen’s domestic landscape, should not be overlooked. The Houthis' involvement in the Gaza war has fundamentally changed the course of events as the group tries to fully exploit this opportunity. Yemenis of all factions have strong sympathy and unequivocal support for the Palestinian cause. This has facilitated the Houthis’ decision to involve themselves in the ongoing Gaza war. The group has used the war as an opportunity to consolidate its power domestically, especially since it broke out at a time when they were… Continue reading Main Publications March 21, 2024 31:19 MIN The Impact of Flooding on Agricultural Communities in Yemen By Musaed Aklan Yemen's agricultural communities face a perfect storm of growing ecological threats amid protracted conflict. Flash floods destroy farms, crops, and irrigation systems. Late rains risk drowning mature harvests, and waterlogged fields hinder root growth. Coastal areas battle salinization, and collapsed roads and buried wells hamper recovery. As flooding and changing rainfall patterns undermine yields, farmers struggle to sustain their livelihoods. Over half of Yemen's population is dependent on farming and agricultural work for income. Terrain altered by flooding has stirred tensions as property lines and irrigation channels shift, displacing communities already uprooted by the war. Traditional flood management faces pressure from uncoordinated development and fading communal cooperation, and information gaps persist due to outdated estimates and limited monitoring capacity. Stakeholders… Continue reading Main Publications March 8, 2024 47:08 MIN Development is Coming: Be Careful What You Wish For By Dr. Nadia Al-Sakkaf, Alex Harper, and Joel Thorpe Since 2021, Yemenis have become more strident in their calls for new and better ways of providing aid. Yemeni experts have warned that prolonged cycles of short-term humanitarian aid can entrench dependence and have called for a transition toward development approaches that could set the foundation for a sustainable post-conflict economy. Despite vastly different interpretations and positions over what development means in practice, this shift is now happening, albeit slowly. New frameworks and coordination mechanisms are emerging from the UN compound in Sana’a, the World Bank offices in Amman's Abdali Boulevard, and the conference rooms of Riyadh and Brussels, which are set to fundamentally change the way aid is delivered in Yemen over the coming decade. The effect of these… Continue reading The Yemen Review February 15, 2024 42:27 MIN The Yemen Annual Review 2023 Peace talks between Saudi Arabia and the Houthi group (Ansar Allah) dominated Yemeni politics over the last year. The negotiations began as backchannel discussions in October 2022 after the Houthis resisted UN pressure to renew a truce first agreed in April 2022 by making a series of eleventh-hour demands. The talks continued despite Houthi attacks on oil terminals in southern Yemen in late 2022 that effectively put the internationally recognized government under a form of economic blockade. As the months progressed, the government’s increasingly dire economic situation pressured it to accept the Saudi policy of seeking a settlement with Houthi authorities, seemingly at almost any price. The broad terms of a Saudi-Houthi agreement first became public in January, when international… Continue reading Analysis January 12, 2024 08:04 MIN US and UK Strike Houthi Targets in Yemen: Reaction from Sana’a Center Experts By Abdulghani Al-Iryani, Maysaa Shuja Al-Deen, Hussam Radman, Maged Al-Madhaji, and Bilqees Al-Lahbi The United States and Britain carried out air and missile strikes against Houthi targets in the early hours of January 12, following two months of Houthi attacks on commercial shipping in the Red Sea. The maritime attacks caused major shippers to reroute, disrupting international commerce and threatening a new round of global inflation. The airstrikes appear to have struck targets in Sana’a, Sa’ada, Hajjah, Hudayadh, and Taiz governorates. Houthi authorities said five people were killed and six wounded, and vowed to continue Red Sea operations as long as Israel’s war on Gaza continues. The United States has accused Iran of providing the military capabilities and intelligence behind the Houthi attacks. The US-UK action was supported militarily by Australia, Bahrain, Canada,… Continue reading Editorial December 27, 2023 03:45 MIN November and December 2023 Red Sea Conflict Gambles with Yemen’s Future With a series of drone and missile attacks targeting Israel and international shipping in the Red Sea, the Houthis seem to have succeeded in their long-held ambition to exercise regional power. The scale and impact of Houthi operations seems to have surprised some observers, who still tend to dismiss the group despite its survival through almost a decade of war against a US-backed Saudi and UAE military campaign. It’s hard to deny that Houthi operations are gaining them plaudits across the Arab and Muslim world. While it’s not surprising that the authorities in Sana’a can mobilize thousands of people for weekly demonstrations in solidarity with Gaza, even domestic adversaries are praising the group. As one senior pro-government military commander recently… Continue reading Yemen Review section December 27, 2023 09:07 MIN November and December 2023 Houthi Strategy Evolves in Red Sea Attacks What was a surprising and uncharacteristic series of attacks by Houthi forces in the Red Sea in late October has now evolved into a highly coordinated naval offensive as Houthi forces continue to target Israeli-affiliated ships and territory, along with commercial vessels strategic waterway. Since the start of the conflict in Gaza in early October, Houthi forces have launched more than a dozen missile and drone barrages, hijacked a ship, and disrupted major international shipping routes by forcing companies to divert thousands of kilometers around the Cape of Good Hope – posing the question of if and when Israel and/or allied forces will retaliate. Houthi strategy in the Red Sea region has witnessed several minor yet important shifts that affect… Continue reading Yemen Review section December 27, 2023 11:23 MIN November and December 2023 Houthi Red Sea Attacks Increase Shipping Costs By Wadhah Al-Awlaqi The seizure of an Israeli-linked ship by Houthi forces in the Red Sea and repeated attacks on commercial shipping threaten to pile additional pressure on Yemen’s economy by raising the costs of imports. Shipping to Yemen already incurs increased transport and logistics costs due to its designation as a “high risk” area. According to a 2021 UNDP assessment, war premiums, covering the potential loss or damage to vessels, resulted in insurance costs for shipping to the port of Aden port to be 15 times the regular rate. These additional insurance costs, totaling more than US$20 million per year, are ultimately borne by Yemeni consumers. While the full economic ramifications on shipping to Yemen following the Houthi seizure of the Galaxy… Continue reading Main Publications December 19, 2023 32:42 MIN Challenges to Yemen’s Public Revenues By Ned Whalley, and Wadhah Al-Awlaqi Since April 2022, the war in Yemen has mutated from a high-casualty conflict to a protracted stalemate with relatively stable frontlines. The contest is now over the economy, as the Houthi group (Ansar Allah) leverages negotiations and its military power to put fiscal pressure on the internationally recognized government. The current phase has been marked by the expansion of economic warfare, with the Houthi authorities shutting down trade from government-controlled areas, stoking discontent as public utilities break down and the currency tumbles. The Houthi attack on government revenue streams began last fall with a blockade of oil exports and has expanded into competition for customs revenues and a ban on cooking gas produced in government-held areas. The precipitous decline in… Continue reading