June 13-18: Hudaydah offensive displaces thousands, Griffiths seeks a last-minute deal

6/14

Civilians are fleeing Hudaydah as the Saudi-led bombardment intensifies near the airport, which lies south of the city.

President Hadi and other government officials arrived in Aden after being in exile for over a year. The trip follows Hadi’s recent visit to the UAE.

More than six months after his assassination, a video of former president Ali Abdullah Saleh recorded hours before his death has been released. In the video, Saleh gives his last speech, criticizing the Houthis and blaming Yemen’s crisis on them.  Saleh calls on all Yemenis to revolt and join the fight against the Houthis. The speech was broadcast to coincide with the start of the Hudaydah ground offensive, part of which is being led by Saleh’s nephew, Tariq.

6/16

Civilians continue to evacuate the districts surrounding Hudaydah’s airport as coalition forces move through the area.

The UN special envoy for Yemen arrived in San’a for crisis talks on Hudaydah.  Houthi officials deny the government’s claim that coalition forces have captured the airport.

6/18

The Houthis have responded to Saudi airstrikes by launching drone attacks in western Yemen.

UAE foreign minister Anwar Gargash called for an unconditional withdrawal by the Houthis from Hudaydah, potentially undercutting the UN special envoy’s latest efforts in the capital.

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.

May 31-June 4: US weighs support for Hudaydah attack

5/31

Facing a manpower shortage, Houthi militias are reportedly forcing government employees to fight alongside them on the front lines.

Amid several defeats in Sa’dah and Hudaydah, the Houthis have reportedly turned to Oman to help put forward an urgent initiative to reach a political solution to the conflict.

The Yemen Data Project released statistics on civilian casualties resulting from Saudi-led coalition airstrikes in April 2018, finding that the targeting of civilian vehicles intensified while overall air raids decreased by 12% from the monthly average.

On a visit to Marib, the Saudi Ambassador to Yemen announced reconstruction and development projects that include a regional airport. Previous Saudi promises, such as commitments to improve the ports of Aden and Mukalla, have not been honored.

May 21-30: Coalition continues toward Hudaydah as UN officials express concern

5/21

Oxfam’s Scott Paul was featured on an episode of UN Dispatch podcast, explaining the impact of the Saudi-led coalition’s restrictions on shipping on people in southern Yemen.

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs released a statement on the situation in Yemen expressing concern about escalating hostilities in the Tihamah coastal region.

May 15-20: Intense Fighting in al-Hudaydah; UN Envoy Works Toward Peace Negotiations

5/15

UK Aid just completed the first phase of a cholera vaccination campaign in five districts around Aden. The upcoming rainy season increases the risk of cholera, but these vaccines are expected to protect 455,000 people.

A US airstrike reportedly killed three alleged al-Qaeda agents in the southern province of Shabwa.

May 8-14: Tensions rise in Soqotra; Coalition launches Hudaydah Offensive

5/8

Turki al-Maliki, Spokesperson for the Saudi-led Coalition, gave a lengthy press briefing claiming that the strike on the Yemeni Presidential Palace was aimed at taking out prominent Houthi leaders Mahdi al-Mashat and Mohammed al-Houthi. Okaz believes both of these men to be dead alongside sixty-six other Houthis. Local sources reported mainly civilian casualties from the strike.

April 16-30: Yemeni-American immigration woes, fighting in Ta'iz, Aden detention center hunger strike

4/16

The Prime Minister of Yemen, Ahmed Obeid bin Daghr, claimed his return to Aden will bring stability to the city because government forces will use all of their capabilities to combat threats to security. High-level government officials have been largely absent from the city that officially serves as their provisional capital.

April 9-15: Intense fighting in Hajjah, New Analysis of Iran's Objectives in Yemen

4/9

Last week, the Houthis killed dozens of Sudanese troops in an ambush, which provoked intense fighting between the coalition and the rebel group. The coalition now claims it is close to driving the Houthis completely out of Midi, a district in Hajjah. The Coalition made this same claim in 2016.

March 26-April 2: US & UN respond to Houthi missiles, new UN envoy begins work

3/26

“If the warring sides care about Yemen, they should make concessions and save us from this plight,” says Suha Salem, a Yemeni woman, in an al-Jazeera article reporting female civilians’ experiences with the war.

A YouGov poll in France showed that 75% of French people want President Macron to suspend arms exports to Saudi Arabia and other countries involved in the Yemeni war.

An International Rescue Committee report found that the Saudi-led coalition is depriving civilians in Yemen of basic healthcare, killing far more than the fighting itself. According to the report, 9.3 million Yemenis are denied life-saving health services, while only half of health facilities in Yemen are operational.

March 12-19: Secret Houthi-KSA talks revealed, Hadi redraws Shabwa borders

3/12

President Hadi has reportedly offered the Chinese government the opportunity to manage the port of Aden.

WHO, UNICEF, and Yemeni organizations have immunized 2.7 million children across the country. Since it was first reported in October 2017, the disease has spread quickly, killing more than 70 people so far.

March 7-14: MbS visits UK, Trump fires Tillerson

3/7

CNN highlighted the recently introduced Senate Joint Resolution 54 as a long overdue effort to end US support to the Saudi-led intervention in Yemen.

Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman embarked on a controversial three-day visit to the United Kingdom that was met with widespread protests over the ongoing Saudi military campaign in Yemen. During this visit, UK Prime Minister Theresa May urged the Saudis to allow full humanitarian access in Yemen.

February 28- March 6: Senators introduce Joint Resolution 54; US, UK, France, and Germany condemn Iran

2/28

Peter Salisbury outlined why the UN-led peace process in Yemen has been unsuccessful thus far, and what steps Martin Griffiths, a former British diplomat who takes over the post of UN special envoy at the end of this month, can take to be more successful than his predecessors.

February 20 - 27: Russia vetoes UNSC resolution condemning Iran; 14 killed in suicide bombing in Aden

2/21

The World Health Organization reported that 66 people have died of diphtheria in Yemen in the past several months. The diphtheria outbreak has coincided with the more widespread cholera epidemic.

Gulf News reported that the city of Marib has become an oil-rich boomtown and oasis of stability during a war that has fractured most of the rest of the country. Due to its oil and gas reserves and proximity to the Saudi border, Marib was spared from the worst of the conflict.

2/22

Fifteen people were killed after Saudi-led coalition airstrikes hit three vehicles traveling along the main road linking Sa’dah and San’a.  

2/24

At least 14 people were killed and 40 were injured, many of them civilians, by a suicide bomb in Aden. IS claimed responsibility for the attack that occurred outside the headquarters of a counterterrorism unit.

The Houthi leadership submitted a proposal to the United Nations. The document, titled “An Initiative to End the Tragedies Caused by the Aggression in Yemen” called for a reconciliation committee and condemned the UN Security Council’s failure to act.

2/25

According to Mareb Press, the UAE has been importing toxic fuel into Yemen which could have negative economic and environmental ramifications.

Coalition-backed Yemeni forces reportedly made gains over AQAP in their continuing campaign in Hadhramawt. Al Arabiya reported 20 suspected AQAP members were killed during the operation to take the town of Wadi al-Misini.

2/26

Russia vetoed a UN Security Council resolution that aimed to put pressure on Iran. The British-drafted UNSC resolution condemned Iran, after the recent report by the UN’s Panel of Experts on Yemen concluded Iran had broken the arms embargo by failing to prevent weapons of Iranian origin from arriving in the possession of the Houthis. The UK’s draft made no mention of violations by the Yemeni government or the Saudi-led coalition. A Russian-drafted resolution was approved on Monday instead, which renewed the arms embargo and the Panel of Experts’ mandate, but omitted any mention of Iran’s involvement in supplying arms to the Houthis.

Transportation Minister Saleh al-Gabwani of the internationally-recognized Yemeni government accused the UAE of setting up tribal and regional armies, fragmenting the country further. “We can’t accept a continuation of the situation,” he said in a government meeting, al-Jazeera reported.

Saudi Arabia replaced several key military commanders, including the chief of staff and the head of ground and air forces, offering no explanation for the overhaul.

The UAE-backed Shabwa Elite Forces launched “Operation Decisive Sword” on Monday against suspected AQAP members in the Upper Directorate of Shabwa province.

February 6-19: US Calls for UN action against Iran following Yemen report; UAE launches offensive against AQAP

The Saudi-led coalition has announced plans to finance and install four cranes in the ports of Aden, Mukalla, and Mokha as part of its unilateral humanitarian plan for Yemen, which has been criticized by several NGOs. The YPP pointed out the plan’s shortcomings in a recent blog post.  

January 8-15: US official optimistic about port access; WaPo previews UN Expert Panel report

1/8

The Economist published an article on the recent movements of the Yemeni National Army. The Army had previously been trapped in a year-long stalemate, but have recently started making progress toward Hudaydah, as well as making gains in al-Jawf in the north and Shabwah in the south. The Economist attributed these recent movements to the opportunities that have been created from shifting alliances since Saleh’s death in December.


Afrah Nasser asserted in an article published by openDemocracy that Yemen continues to be the worst humanitarian crisis in the world. One point of particular concern to Nasser is the face that the number of civilian deaths reported is inconsistent with the level of suffering that is occurring on the ground.

January 1-7: Houthis launch another missile at KSA, UN reports on aid access

1/1

Al Arabiya identified four members of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard who have allegedly been advising the Houthis in San’a.

In the international arena, President Bashir of Sudan confirmed the Sudanese government's continued support of the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen.

1/2

The Office of the Governor in al-Mahrah issued a statement asking local customs to refuse the entry of materials such as trucks, fertilizers, pipes, and motorcycles, which could have long-term negative economic effects on farmers as well as food production.

December 18-31: Coalition airstrikes kill hundreds in two weeks; Houthis shell homes in Ta'iz and Baydha

12/18

In another sign of the collapse of the Houthi-Saleh Alliance, Critical Threats reported that forces loyal to deceased President Saleh have stopped supporting the Houthis and have begun supporting the Emirati-led offensive to retake the Red Sea coast.

12/19

The Spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Rupert Colville, released a statement claiming there were 136 verified civilian deaths caused by Saudi-led coalition airstrikes from December 6th to December 16th. These deaths took place in San’a, Sa’dah, al-Hudaydah, and Ta’iz governorates.