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.

Chatham House Urges the International Community to Make The South A Higher Priority

Peter Salisbury warns about growing southern autonomy in a new Chatham House report titled “Yemen’s Southern Powder Keg.” He urges the international community to integrate southern voices into the peace process. He classifies Yemen as a “chaos state,” which means it consists of warring mini-states. One such de-facto state is the south, which has gained greater autonomy as the war has progressed.

On Anniversaries

Originally, we at the Yemen Peace Project had decided to refrain from commenting on the third “anniversary” of the Saudi-led coalition’s intervention in Yemen. Mostly this is because we recognize March 26, 2015 as the severe escalation, but not the beginning, of Yemen’s civil war. That dishonor goes to the Houthis and Ali Abdullah Saleh, who took a faltering transitional government hostage by occupying San’a on September 21, 2014.

Senate Takes Historic Vote on Ending US Involvement in Yemen's Civil War

WASHINGTON - In response to today’s Senate vote on the joint resolution to direct the president to withdraw US armed forces from participating in the Saudi-led coalition’s hostilities in Yemen, the Yemen Peace Project’s director of policy and advocacy, Eric Eikenberry, issued the following statement:

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.

The Case for Senate Joint Resolution 54

S.J.Res.54 invokes Congress’ Article I authority to end U.S. military support for the Saudi-led coalition’s intervention in Yemen’s civil war. This document counters superficial arguments some have made to oppose the resolution, demonstrates the larger implications S.J.Res.54 can have for future Congressional oversight over war-making, and explains how the resolution can play a positive role in pushing for an end to the coalition’s the intervention in Yemen.

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.

YPP responds to DoD letter concerning S.J.Res.54

On February 27, 2018, Acting General Counsel of the Department of Defense (DoD) released a letter explaining the legal grounds for the DoD’s opposition to Senate Joint Resolution 54, binding legislation that directs the President to remove US armed forces from unauthorized hostilities in Yemen within 30 days. The DoD letter both misrepresents the content and constitutional basis of S.J.Res.54 and seeks to undermine longstanding congressional war powers more generally. The Yemen Peace Project’s advocacy director, in conjunction with the organization’s legal advisors, has prepared the following response to the DoD letter.

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.

S.J.Res.54 Latest in a Chain of Congressional Action on Yemen

Senators Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Mike Lee (R-UT) introduced Senate Joint Resolution 54 on February 28, which, if passed, would require President Trump to remove all US personnel from their activities in support of the Saudi-led military coalition in Yemen and halt US logistical support to coalition air raids--including in-flight refueling, intelligence sharing, and targeting assistance--that have consistently targeted civilian schools, markets, and homes. Furthermore, S.J.Res.54 reasserts Congress’ power to approve and oversee the president’s deployment of the armed forces, as mandated by the War Powers Resolution. This assertion is not only a welcome congressional effort, as multiple presidential administrations have failed to push for an end to the war in Yemen; S.J.Res.54 is also the latest manifestation of a positive upward trend in congressional engagement on ending US complicity in and perpetuation of Yemen’s catastrophe.

YPP Urges the Senate: End US Involvement in Yemen's Civil War

Washington, DC -- On Wednesday, Senators Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Mike Lee (R-UT), Chris Murphy (D-CT) introduced a joint resolution to force a congressional debate and vote on the United States’ involvement in Yemen’s civil war. The War Powers Resolution of 1973, passed in the aftermath of the Vietnam War, gives Congress the authority to end any military action ordered by the president without congressional authorization. This resolution directs the president to remove US personnel participating in Yemen’s hostilities within 30 days. The Yemen Peace Project urges all members of the Senate to vote in favor of the joint resolution.

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.

UN Panel of Experts' Report Describes a Fragmented Conflict, with Humanitarian Law Violations on All Sides

On January 26, the UN Panel of Experts on Yemen released its annual report on the conflict in Yemen. The report described several of the most significant events of the war in 2017, including the Houthis’ missile launch that landed near an airport in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, the dissolution of the Houthi-Saleh alliance in December, and the Houthis’ consolidation of control in northern Yemen.

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.  

Houthis reeducate civil servants with "cultural courses"

This guest post comes to us from a trusted contact in Houthi-controlled San'a, and it represents the author's own opinions. The YPP has not been able to independently verify the incidents reported herein.

The Houthis have left no chapter of human rights law unviolated. They have committed all kinds of violations from murder, intimidation and torture against intellectual and political opponents as well as activists. In most cases, the violation of human rights is a forced and compulsory act of power or of arms. The Houthis have gone beyond attacking opponents and activists to peaceful citizens under their authority. People in the Houthi controled areas can no longer show any kind of resistance or rejection, even in their most basic culture and ideological rights. The Houthis are not as backward and ignorant as some think, but they are a group with extensive experience in sociology. Therefore, their behavior can not be random, but is rather very deliberate. The Houthis are a radical ideological organization, not only a political or social group. Consequently, the most important concern of this group is to control the faith of people and their values nd beliefs.

Pomeps papers show the fractional nature of Yemen's war

In November, The Project on Middle East Political Science at George Washington University brought together scholars from Yemen, Europe, and the United States to discuss the situation in Yemen. This workshop produced a series of short papers that illustrate the fractional nature of Yemen’s war and contemplate the challenges behind any future negotiated settlement.

January 16-30: Separatists seize control of Aden, EU states halt arms sales to coalition

1/16

Yemen’s government publicly called on the UAE to “stop destroying” Soqotra island, and asked the UN Security Council to take action to curb the actions of the UAE “occupying forces.” The minister of tourism said in his statement that the UAE had, among other offenses, asked the residents of Soqotra to vote on a referendum to secede from Yemen and join the UAE.

1/17

Saudi Arabia deposited $2 billion to the Central Bank of Yemen to prevent further collapse of the Yemeni riyal, which has dropped to its lowest-ever rate of exchange.

1/18

Human Rights Watch released a new report detailing how all parties in Yemen’s war are exacerbating the humanitarian crisis.