The conflict in Yemen is not as widely known as military operations in Syria or Iraq. Although it was a full-blown civil war that lasted several years. At the end of 2018, it became known that a ceasefire had been reached, but then military clashes resumed again. This article will discuss the causes of the conflict, its main stages and the impact of this bloody war on world politics.
Background
The conflict in Yemen was preceded by a Shiite rebellion. It all started in 2004. Shiite rebels living in the north opposed the alliance of Yemen with the US authorities. They called for the restoration of the theocratic monarchy that existed in northern Yemen before the military coup that took place in 1962.
In 2009, active hostilities began. On the one hand, Shiites participated in them, and on the other, the armies of Saudi Arabia and Yemen. To intervene in the conflict of the armed forces of a neighboring country, which is controlled by the Sunni government, the formal reason was the killing of two border guards who became victims of the rebels.
Already in 2010, a truce was concluded, but then armed clashes resumed.
Yemen History
Initially, the territory on which this country was located was considered one of the oldest centers of civilization. It was here that the ancient states of Main, Kataban, the Himyarite kingdom and many others were located. To understand the causes of the conflict in Yemen, you need to delve deeper into the history of the state.
At the beginning of the VI century, Yemen was influenced by the kingdom of Aksum, which even led to its Christianization. In 628, the Islamic conquest took place. Then the rule of the Ottoman Empire was established here.
The modern history of the country begins in 1918, when North Yemen gained independence. In 1962, Prince Muhammad al-Badr became the ruler, who took the throne after the death of King Ahmed. The change of power took advantage of the military, who carried out a coup in the country. The dominant theocratic monarchy was overthrown, the Yemeni Arab Republic was proclaimed instead. After the overthrow of the monarchy in the country, a civil war broke out between the Republicans and the Royalists, which lasted 8 years.
South Yemen, which was a British protectorate, gained independence in 1967. His leadership leaned to the side of the Soviet Union. For 20 years, a fierce struggle continued between the countries, which ended in 1990. This is an important date in the history of Yemen, as both states merged into one republic.
True, peace and tranquility did not last long. In 1994, a civil war broke out in the country again. Leaders of former South Yemen declared independence, but the "northerners" prevented their attempt to secede by crushing the rebellion.
Conflict
The next round of the history of the conflict in Yemen began after the uprising of the Hussites, who felt within themselves the strength to return the theocratic monarchy that existed earlier.
By July 2014, the landmark battle for Amran ended, it was a convincing victory. The fighting in Yemen after this erupted with renewed vigor, as the rebels felt the strength in themselves. In September, in just 5 days, the Ansarall paramilitary group captured the capital of Sana'a.
By that time, the situation in Yemen was exacerbated to the limit. Husites staged mass demonstrations throughout the country. They called for an open opposition to the reduction of subsidies for oil products by the authorities, which led to a doubling of gas prices. The main demand was the resignation of the government, which was openly accused of corruption.
September in the history of the conflict in Yemen went down in history as the month when fierce clashes between security forces and protesters began in the capital Sana'a. The resistance of the power structures was finally broken after two days. The rebels occupied a number of districts of the capital, established roadblocks throughout the city, settled in the territory of state institutions.
On January 18, the presidential office was seized. The next day, a photo of Yemen spread over all the news agencies. As a result of an armed clash between security personnel of the President of the Republic Abdul Hadi and the Hussites, 9 people were killed and more than 60 were injured.
After the presidential palace was occupied by the rebels, a member of the political council of the anti-government movement Ansar Alla, Hamza al-Khusi, announced that the rebels were not aiming to overthrow the incumbent president. Nevertheless, clashes with units of the personal presidential guard were provoked by the military personnel themselves. Allegedly, they refused to transfer weapons from arsenals located on the territory of the palace complex of the head of state to the rebels. Those were going to take it for storage.
Resignation
On January 21, 2015, Yemeni President Hadi reached a preliminary ceasefire with the Hussites. Official information was published on the agreement between the parties. It implied the adoption of a new constitution, which would turn Yemen into a federal state. It also obliged to represent different groups of the population at all levels of power, including allowing Husites to rule the country.
The rebels agreed to retreat from the government facilities they occupied, to free the prisoners, including the head of the presidential office, Ahmad Mubarak.
The next morning, news agencies came out with another shocking news: Yemeni President Hadi wrote a letter of resignation. At the same time, the parliament refused to approve it. Earlier it was reported that members of the government applied for the resignation to the head of state. The provisional body in the country was the created Revolutionary Committee, composed of Hussites.
In mid-February, the rebels launched an assault on Aden. The president managed to escape after spending about a month under house arrest. Meeting with leaders of the country's southern provinces, he officially announced the withdrawal of his resignation letter.
Saudi intervention
A new round of armed conflict in Yemen began after the end of February 2015 when the coalition forces of the Arab states invaded the country under the leadership of Saudi Arabia. By August, the interventionists entrenched in the southern provinces, having begun to advance north with battles. The coalition was based on units of the armed forces of the United Arab Emirates, as well as the infantry of the People’s Committees, which were on the side of President Hadi.
Dozens of armored vehicles in the Lahj province have been reported in world media reporting on the armed conflict in Yemen. In March, the battle for Aden began. The Arab coalition made an attempt to drive out the Hussites who occupied the city, which it successfully succeeded. By August, control over Aden was completely transferred to the forces supporting the current president. The provinces of Ed-Dali, Aden, Lahj and Abyan also came under the control of the coalition.
In September, Kuwait joined the Arab coalition, which began the mass dispatch of its troops to participate in the conflict in Yemen against the Hussites.
In May 2016, the Americans joined in the fighting. They sent helicopters and special forces to Lahj province. A detachment of ground forces has also arrived at the request of the Government of the United Arab Emirates to support the Saudi coalition. In America itself, the main emphasis was placed on the fact that troops are sent to fight against international terrorists, including the Al-Qaeda organization (a terrorist organization banned in the Russian Federation). The US Air Force took an active part in the military conflict in Yemen, starting to strike at terrorists.
Husite positions have received tangible damage. In the middle of 2016. The United Arab Emirates officially announced the withdrawal of troops from the conflict zone in Yemen.
The denouement came in 2018. In April, UAE special forces landed on Socotra Island, capturing it. On the archipelago they did not show any resistance. In June, a coalition led by Saudi Arabia launched an offensive on the city of Hodeida. On the second attempt, he was taken by storm.
In December, the US Senate called for an end to the military campaign in Yemen. The relevant resolution was supported by senators.
It is known that in mid-2018, the head of the Hussite political council Mahdi Al-Mashat sent an official telegram to the Russian government with a request to take part in resolving the conflict. As a result, it was decided not to intervene in another war in the Middle East.
The killing of Saleh
In 2017, a major scandal erupted in Yemen, at the center of which was former President Ali Abdullah Saleh. He led the country from 1994 to 2011. He was the first head of the republic.
The reason was his speech, in which Saleh accused the Hussites of the massacres of civilians. He also said that he would no longer provide them with any support. Saleh's proposal was to “turn a new page in the history” of Yemen. He believed that it was necessary to proceed to negotiations with Saudi Arabia in order to once and for all resolve the heated conflict.
This speech provoked unrest in the country. In particular, in the capital of Yemen, Sana'a, fights began between the guards of the ex-president and the Hussites, in which even tanks were involved. During these clashes, at least 245 people were killed.
Opponents of the Hussites welcomed the split in the camp of rivals, on the side of which Saleh had previously played. President Hadi decided to give orders to the loyal military units to launch an attack on the capital.
Quite quickly, pro-government forces managed to establish control over most of the territory of Sana'a. On December 4, the rebels broke through to the residence of the former president, but they did not find him. Saleh tried to escape from the capital, but on the outskirts of the city his car was blown up. The politician himself was killed with a control shot.
This act of the Hussites vividly demonstrated how ruthlessly they are ready to act with their former supporters who decide to change their position.
Humanitarian disaster
Speaking briefly about the conflict in Yemen, it is necessary to pay attention to the humanitarian situation in the region. In 2017, the leadership of the United Nations called for attention to the problem in that country. According to their estimates, at that time 2 million people needed immediate help. The question of their life and death was acute. About 500 thousand children suffered from malnutrition.
Food supplies were interrupted due to the sea blockade imposed by the Arab coalition to prevent the supply of weapons to the rebels.
At the same time, unprotected sections of the population lost help from the government, more than one million civil servants did not receive a salary.
Having analyzed the situation of child mortality from malnutrition, international organizations came to the conclusion that about 85 thousand minors died of hunger during the conflict.
At the end of 2017, the Hussite leader Abdel Malek al-Khusi began to threaten Saudi Arabia with a serious blow if it does not lift the blockade from Yemen. The coalition made concessions, starting to let in humanitarian aid cargoes.
According to UN estimates, since 2015, about 6.5 thousand civilians have died in Yemen. Most were the victims of the blows inflicted by the Arab coalition.
Truce
In December 2018, a truce was concluded between the warring parties. Negotiations took place in Sweden, they were held under the auspices of the UN.
In particular, they managed to discuss issues related to the release of prisoners and prisoners, the problem with the Central Bank of Yemen, the blockade of Taiz, the situation around the airport of Sana'a, and the delivery of humanitarian aid to the republic.
The ceasefire regime officially entered into force on December 18.
Resumption of hostilities
To the dismay of the world community, the world did not last long. The fighting resumed on January 5, 2019. In time, they coincided with a visit to the country of UN Special Envoy Martin Griffiths.
Rebel units and government forces accused each other of violating the ceasefire in the port of Hodeida. Eyewitnesses reported a large-scale fire that occurred in the area of warehouses where humanitarian aid was stored.
A few days later, a Hussite drone attacked a government military base when a military parade took place on it. At least 6 dignitaries were injured, and 6 dead and several dozen wounded were also reported. The military conflict flared up with renewed vigor.
Effects
Large-scale oil deposits are located on the territory of the country, so military operations immediately began to affect the price of black gold. Assessing the conflict in Yemen and its consequences, experts note that one of the main conclusions that can be drawn as a result of what happened is that the United States and leading Western European countries can no longer cope with the role of arbiter in the Middle East. The countries to which they provide assistance are plunged into chaos anyway.
The result is the rise to power of Islamists who are not ready to negotiate. Trying to rectify this situation, the Americans sent their troops to Yemen.
As a result, the conflict in Yemen had a significant impact on world politics, although it seemed at first local. The situation on the territory of this state showed a real alignment of forces in the Middle East. First of all, the desire of Americans to distance themselves from the role of the world gendarme. This desire was especially apparent after the defeat of the Bush Jr. team in Iraq.
It is believed that in the long run, Americans will reorient themselves to the Asia-Pacific region, having begun multifaceted cooperation with China. In the near future, the countries of the Middle East will have to independently determine the vectors of their development.