UN Special Envoy

January 5-11: UN officials report on ceasefire implementation, Houthis launch drone attack on government base

Saturday, January 5

Independent journalist Baseem al-Jenani reported that four factory workers were injured in al-Hudaydah when their factory was shelled. He also described Houthi practices in Hudaydah of repressing local community organizations and NGOs and looting their assets.

Sunday, January 6

President Trump has confirmed that Jamal al-Badawi, one of the al-Qaeda operatives responsible for the 2000 attack on the USS Cole in Yemen, was killed in an airstrike in Marib Governorate on January 1.

Monday, January 7

The UN Secretary General's report was released on the implementation of the Stockholm Agreements as of today. The report notes that the Houthis have delayed the opening of key roads, and mutual ceasefire violations have been reported but not verified by the UN. Meanwhile, the Houthis have also failed to issue visas and clearances for UN personnel and equipment intended for Hudaydah. Meetings continue to be held with both sides.

August 8-13: Airstrike on school bus draws international attention; new report details prison abuses

8/8

International aid groups protested the "symbol of aggression and oppression" the San'a airport has become. There have been 56 coalition airstrikes on the airport in the past two years, an average of one every two weeks.

Yemen’s ambassador to the US, Ahmed Awad Bin Mubarak, argued Wednesday that the US withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal would “contribute to the end of the war in Yemen.”

August 1-6: Attacks in Hudaydah continue; coalition ties with al-Qaeda revealed

8/1

After facing criticism and threats for attacking vessels in the Red Sea, the Houthis announced a halt on naval military activity. The ceasefire will take place from August 1 to 15, according to Houthi leader Mohammed al-Houthi, who said this period could be extended with the cooperation of the coalition.

June 25-July 1: Hadi pressures Houthis, coalition halts attack on Hudaydah

6/25

Yemeni officials report that coalition airstrikes have killed a family of eight in Amran, north of San’a. An additional twenty were injured in the attacks.

Coalition forces are moving closer to the Hudaydah city center, as fierce fighting has broken out out near Hudaydah University.

The Al Jazeera Listening Post dissects how the US and the UK media are misrepresenting the war in Yemen as a proxy war between Iran and Saudi Arabia, rather than a conflict that the two countries are deeply involved in.

June 19-24: Fighting continues amid further peace talks

6/19

UN Special Envoy Martin Griffiths has left San’a without a peace deal. This was his second visit to the capital in two weeks.

The United Nations reports that 26,000 have been displaced due to fighting in Hudaydah Governorate. Fighting is centered around the airport compound and residential areas to the south of Hudaydah city. Over forty airstrikes have been reported in other areas across the country as well.

June 5-13: Coalition launches Hudaydah assault despite warnings of humanitarian disaster

6/5

Regardless of months of warnings from humanitarian agencies, the UN, and foreign governments, Yemeni forces backed by the UAE are advancing toward the port and city of al-Hudaydah.  

UN Yemen envoy Martin Griffiths held talks with the Houthis to cede Hudaydah Port to the UN. However, the Houthis launched another ballistic missile into Saudi Arabia after his departure, suggesting that things may have gone very poorly.

Griffiths' brief statement upon leaving San'a was optimistic, but had no details.

A UAE-backed Yemeni offensive commanded in part by Tareq Saleh has secured the main coastal road to Hudaydah, advancing roughly 30 miles within less than four days.

UN Special Envoy Statement to the Security Council

On October 10, 2017, the United Nations Special Envoy for Yemen briefed the Security Council on the ongoing War in Yemen. The envoy, Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed, reported that intense fighting continues on all major fronts including Ta‘iz, Marib, al-Jawf, al-Baydha, Hajjah and Sa‘dah governorates, and the Saudi-Yemen border areas. Civilian casualties also continue to mount due to a disregard for international humanitarian law by all parties to the conflict. On August 25, 2017, an airstrike in San‘a killed fourteen civilians while injuring an additional sixteen. Shelling of residential areas by Houthi-Saleh forces also continues. The envoy reported civilian deaths, including eight children, in Ta‘iz from rocket fire.

UNSC discusses Yemen's humanitarian crisis

United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Stephen O’Brien addressed the United Nations Security Council on Friday to appeal for relief funding for Yemen. “The Yemeni people’s suffering has relentlessly intensified,” he said, noting that 7 million Yemenis were on the brink of famine and that 16 million lacked access to water

UN Special Envoy releases details of plan for al-Hudaydah

Last week, UN Special Envoy for Yemen Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed announced the details of a plan to effectively remove the governorate of al-Hudaydah from the Yemeni civil war. The plan does far more than propose a ceasefire for the vital port city; it also includes the payment of salaries to civil servants, and spells out the role of the international community. If implemented, the “al-Hudaydah Plan” could serve as a model for a nation-wide peace agreement. The Government of President Hadi and the Government of Egypt have reportedly announced their support for the plan, it is not yet clear whether any of the other warring parties will agree to the plan. Below is the YPP’s English translation of the plan, as presented by the UN Special Envoy to the Arab League.

UNSC issues Presidential Statement on Yemen

The United Nations Security Council released a presidential statement today regarding the conflict and humanitarian crisis in Yemen. The statement expresses concern about the humanitarian impact of the conflict, highlighting the cholera epidemic and the risk of famine. It calls on all parties to the conflict to adhere to international humanitarian law, emphasizing the importance of distinguishing between civilians and combatants in selecting targets, of allowing unhindered access for the distribution of humanitarian aid, and of ending the recruitment and use of child soldiers.

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June 30–July 6: UN envoy pushes for humanitarian pause, civilian toll rises

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Following last month’s failed peace talks in Geneva, the past week started with renewed efforts by UN special envoy Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed to achieve a humanitarian pause during the holy month of Ramadan. Last week the envoy met with the exiled government in the Saudi capital Riyadh, where a seven-point proposal was tendered; on Sunday Ahmed arrived in Sanʻa to discuss the proposal with Houthi and GPC leaders. But a Scud missile, which was fired late on Tuesday night at a Saudi airbase outside Riyadh, added new tension to the process of the political negations. Saudi forces have traded missile attacks across the border with Houthi-Saleh units, which have also carried out hit-and-run assaults on Saudi military sites outside Jaizan and Najran cities near the boundary. The Houthi leadership reportedly refused the exiled government’s first cease-fire proposal, which called for the deployment of regional observers.

Toward the end of the week, the UN—along with both US State Department and EU officials—attempted to put pressure on Saudi Arabia to reach a deal. But Saudi airstrikes intensified in several cities, where dozens of civilians have been killed, a move that was seen as a Saudi response to the UN-backed efforts. The capital Sanʻa has since been hit by heavier bombardment, after a lull of nearly five days. On Monday, a Saudi airstrike reportedly hit a public market in Lahj, just north of Aden, killing 45 civilians and injuring dozens more.

Over the weekend, Houthi delegates in the Omani capital, Muscat, met with the UN envoy; “a humanitarian pause was discussed,” according to press accounts. On Sunday, the Houthi supporters in Sanʻa staged a mass rally, condemning “the Saudi aggression and the UN’s careless position on the humanitarian situation,” hours after Special Envoy Ahmed arrived at the city’s international airport.

While the Houthis mull over forming a new government or a presidential council, Saleh’s GPC party and the Yemeni Socialist Party have both refused such a move.