Military

June 22-28: Houthis Attack Civilians in KSA, UN Envoy Meets Yemeni Government in Riyadh

Sunday, June 23

Another Houthi drone attack targeting Saudi Arabia's Abha Airport killed one Syrian resident and injured 21 other civilians from several different nations. The attack was the second in less than two weeks against the same Saudi airport. Ansar Allah claims the airport is used for military operations against Yemen, but publicly available flight data confirms that it is a civilian commercial airport serviced by a number of domestic airlines.

Tuesday, June 25

Saudi officials announced that Saudi and Yemeni special forces captured the leader of Islamic State’s branch in Yemen, Abu Osama Al-Muhajir, earlier this month. An American official speaking on anonymity confirmed that seizure took place on June 3rd in a raid aided by elite US forces and American intelligence. The Saudi statement made no mention of a US role in the capture.

The Houthi militia blocked a food shipment from the World Food Programme meant to feed 100,000 families. The Houthis ordered over 8,000 tons of food to leave the Red Sea port of Hodeidah, claiming it was contaminated with dead insects.

Risks to Gulf states posed by Yemen's civil war: Incentives to invest in reconstruction

A recent report from the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington, authored by senior resident scholar Karen Young, discusses the Yemen civil war and its cost for Yemen’s Gulf neighbors, urging Gulf Cooperation Council states to end their contributions to the cycle of violence in Yemen. The report notes that the future cost of the ongoing war for Gulf states may be greater than GCC states anticipate due to the reverberations that civil wars tend to have in neighboring states. The author makes policy suggestions for GCC states that seek to minimize the impact of the war in Yemen both on Yemeni society and on Yemen’s neighbors.

Difficult Decisions for Student-Soldiers in Taiz

A recent report from Middle East Eye focuses on the struggles of students trying to complete their university degrees in the embattled city of Taiz. Taiz is Yemen’s third-largest city and has been under siege for nearly two years; the constant conflict has caused many factories and private companies to close, while government employees have not been paid since August of last year. In an economic environment that leaves locals with few options, many residents, including students, are taking up arms to support themselves and their families.