UAE

Editorial March 10, 2023 03:08 MIN January-February 2023 The Saudi-Houthi Talks Are Dangerously Exclusive Reports of bilateral peace talks between Saudi Arabia and the armed Houthi movement have been trickling out since last October, and their recent confirmation in media reports has fueled widespread optimism and speculation. The talks should be welcomed as a step toward ending Yemen’s disastrous war. But to establish a lasting peace, they must quickly expand to include representation of all Yemenis. The current status of Saudi-Houthi negotiations is unclear. They have broached issues that have been on the table since last year’s truce talks, including the provision of public sector salaries, the easing of restrictions at Houthi-held ports, and guarantees on border security. But of fundamental importance is their current exclusivity. The government believes they will soon be brought… Continue reading Analysis March 10, 2023 14:53 MIN January-February 2023 Israel’s Maritime Security in the Red Sea: Historical Competition and the New Houthi Challenge By Ahmed El-Deeb Since the early days of the conflict in Yemen, the Houthi movement has been in control of much of the Red Sea coastline. The waterway serves as the main artery for trade between the Mediterranean Sea and the Indian Ocean, estimated at about US$700 billion a year. Some 4 million barrels of oil pass through Bab al-Mandab Strait every day en route to Europe, and about 25,000 ships, or 7 percent of world maritime trade. As a result, Houthi control over parts of the Red Sea has been a subject of international concern, including in Israel. Asian imports and exports account for about a quarter of Israel’s total foreign trade, transiting mainly via Red Sea routes, making the safety of… Continue reading Yemen Review section March 9, 2023 06:39 MIN January-February 2023 Nation’s Shield Forces Bolster Al-Alimi’s Influence Presidential Leadership Council (PLC) chief Rashad al-Alimi formally announced the formation of the Nation’s Shield forces in late January, a Saudi-funded military force of eight battalions led by Salafi commander Bashir al-Madrabi that was officially declared last September, but which is composed of Al-Yemen Al-Saeed brigades formed over the previous year. The units operate directly under Al-Alimi, who, unlike most other members of the PLC, had no military forces of his own. So far, units have been deployed to Al-Dhalea, Abyan, and Lahj. There are also efforts to bring three Giants Brigades battalions commanded by Hamdi Shukri al-Subaihi under the Nation’s Shield umbrella. Last year Al-Subaihi refused to get involved in the UAE-Southern Transitional Council (STC) battle to oust Islah-affiliated… Continue reading Analysis February 28, 2023 34:17 MIN Leadership from Iran: How Al-Qaeda in Yemen Fell Under the Sway of Saif al-Adel By Hussam Radman, and Assim al-Sabri When Al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri was killed by a US drone strike in Afghanistan last July it had only limited impact for the group’s Middle East branches in North Africa, Yemen, and Somalia. This was in part a result of the internal cohesion created by organizational policies introduced since 2011 that gave regional branches significant autonomy. But it also spoke to Al-Zawahiri’s reduced importance as a leader in recent years as he took on more of a symbolic role as the successor to Osama bin Laden who had obtained the allegiance of Al-Qaeda’s central Shura council. One of the key reasons why leadership on all the key fronts – security, organizational, and financial – shifted away from Al-Zawahiri was the… Continue reading Analysis February 21, 2023 06:00 MIN A Looming Battle over Wadi Hadramawt By Maged Al-Madhaji As the fragile undeclared truce continues between the internationally recognized government and the Houthi movement in Yemen, another cycle of political and military tension is escalating in southern Yemen. In Wadi Hadramawt, polarization over the future of the Seyoun-based 1st Military Region threatens a new round of fighting between groups within Yemen’s anti-Houthi camp. Tensions over Wadi Hadramawt stem from bitter divisions that Yemeni parties have been unable to overcome over the course of the war; in fact, the conflict has served to deepen preexisting rifts. A North-South divide continues to exist in many minds, which has led to demands among some southern groups, most prominently the Southern Transitional Council (STC), to roll back unification and restore the state of… Continue reading The Yemen Review February 20, 2023 27:56 MIN Yemen Annual Review 2022 By Sana’a Center Staff The past year has been one of extreme consequence for Yemen. The war has entered a new phase of low-level violence and economic warfare. Casualties are down since a truce was signed in April, and have remained relatively low even after its acrimonious expiration in October. The internationally recognized government has sworn in a new executive body, but it has been unable to bridge internal rifts or reverse the territorial and economic decline of recent years. The United Arab Emirates has fully re-engaged in Yemen through a variety of proxy groups, most importantly the secessionist Southern Transitional Council (STC), which holds sway across much of southern Yemen. Saudi Arabia is pursuing talks of its own with the Houthis, though its… Continue reading Analysis November 14, 2022 03:59 MIN October 2022 Failed Truce Reflects Houthi Willingness to Leverage Gov’t Divisions, Global Needs By Omar Munassar The UN-brokered truce in Yemen that collapsed October 2, despite efforts to prolong it, disappointed Yemenis and those in the international community who had hoped it could be the groundwork for a lasting peace agreement ending more than seven years of war. During the preceding six months, the truce lessened some of the conflict's devastating effects. Economically, it allowed for restrictions to be lifted on foreign fuel shipments entering the Hudaydah port as well as on commercial flights from and to Sana’a International Airport. Politically, it quieted frontlines, especially in flashpoint regions like Marib, and increased popular optimism for lasting peace. Aside from that, it shielded Saudi Arabia from energy security threats that had been prevalent for years due to… Continue reading Analysis September 20, 2022 04:50 MIN Weak and Divided, the General People’s Congress Turns 40 By Tawfeek Al-Ganad The General People’s Congress (GPC) is going through an unprecedented period of weakness as it recently marked the 40th anniversary of its founding on August 24. The party was born from the national dialogue conducted in the early 1980s following a brutal civil war, and every Yemeni president since has been a high-ranking member of the party. Former President Ali Abdullah Saleh was the chairman of the GPC and ruled under its name until he stepped down following massive protests in 2011. His vice president and second in command in the GPC, Abdo Rabbu Mansour Hadi, became president in February 2012. After Hadi was removed from power in April of this year, another high-ranking member of the GPC and a… Continue reading Analysis April 7, 2022 03:29 MIN March 2022 US Assistance to Saudi-Led Coalition Risks Complicity in War Crimes By Afrah Nasser The protracted conflict in Yemen has killed almost a quarter of a million people directly or indirectly due to inadequate food, health care and infrastructure. It has included unlawful attack after unlawful attack, with homes, hospitals, schools and bridges among the civilian objects that the warring parties have targeted. Fighting has internally displaced more than 4 million people from their homes. Food insecurity is on the rise. The conflict that began in 2014 between the Houthi armed group and the government of President Abdo Rabbu Mansour Hadi morphed in 2015 into a conflict between the Houthis and the US-backed coalition led by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Today the fighting includes nearly 50 other battle fronts. The… Continue reading The Yemen Review March 3, 2022 279:55 MIN The Graveyard of Hubris – Yemen Annual Review 2021 Through most of 2021, the armed Houthi movement appeared unstoppable. As their forces pushed relentlessly toward Marib city, the fall of the last government stronghold in the north began to seem inevitable. Rich in oil and gas, its loss would be a mortal blow to the spiraling economy and political legitimacy of the internationally recognized government. Along frontlines across the country, Houthi forces either held their ground or advanced, showing a cohesiveness, discipline and effectiveness unmatched by the motley array of armed groups opposing them. Houthi drones and ballistic missiles flew across the border into Saudi Arabia, and continued even in the face of retaliatory airstrikes, heightening the cost of conflict for the coalition. Houthi military efforts were buttressed by… Continue reading The Yemen Review July 14, 2021 94:51 MIN Eye on the East – The Yemen Review, June 2021 Through periods of tolerance and persecution, marginalization has remained a constant in the treatment of racial and religious minorities in Yemeni society. During the ongoing conflict, however, violence and subjugation against these marginalized groups has increased dramatically, to the point that it is fundamentally reshaping Yemeni society. For Yemen as we know it to continue to exist it needs to assure the existence of its minorities, as something fundamental to the makeup of a nation dies when its minorities perish. Yemen’s Jewish community, with a history tracing back millennia, played a foundational role in developing Yemeni culture and commerce, and creating much of the artisanal industries for which the country is known. While the community had already been dwindling in… Continue reading News May 10, 2021 02:33 MIN Director of the Office of the President of Yemen: We are ready for direct negotiations with the Houthis Director of the Office of the President of Yemen, Abdullah Al-Alimi, said during the Yemen Media Call – a media briefing session organized by the Sana’a Center– that Yemen’s internationally recognized government was ready to go into direct negotiations with the armed Houthi movement, adding that it was also in favor of reopening Sana’a airport as well the port of Hudaydah as part of a Houthi ceasefire. He added that the government was not represented in the recent Muscat meetings, and said that the armed Houthi movement insists on escalating hostilities in Marib and politicizing the humanitarian file. He also accused the Houthis of thwarting recent negotiations led by UN Special Envoy for Yemen Martin Griffiths and US Special Envoy… Continue reading