Post on 06-Jan-2017
By:- Harsh Rathore
Yemen Crisis
Capital: Sana’aProvisional Capital:
AdenLanguage: ArabicReligion: IslamHead of the State:
Abdul Rabbuh Mansur Hadi (President)
Some Information About Yemen
Yemen in World
Yemen Map
Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi
Influenced by the Arab Spring, massive protests in 2011
It was against Ali Abdullah Saleh, the former President of Yemen you had been ruling for more than two decades
Disputes ignited between Saleh and his supreme military leader Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar which were already in existence
The country’s military was divided in two factions
Both factions mobilized their troops leading to an internal war
The division crippled the effect of military
History
Ali Abdullah Saleh
Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar
Due to the ineffectiveness of the army, the Houthi rebellions led by Abdul Malik al-Houthi spread throughout the Shia majority, northern Yemen
Iran jumped in and helped the Houthi rebellions
It deployed it’s Naval Vessels in Gulf of Aden under the pre-text of combating piracy but in reality, it was to support the Houthis with financial aid, weapons and military advisors
Responding to it, Saudi started air strikes against the Houthis near the border
Back in Sana’a, both the factions tried to manipulate the people’s uprising in their favor
Then, Saleh tried to assassinate al-Ahmar by giving misinformation to Saudis regarding Houthi target for air strikes which was in truth, the HQ of al-Ahmar
Later on March 21, 2011, al-Ahmar promised protection of anti-government Yemeni protesters
The move was later condemned as “Mutinous” by Saleh
The country was on the brink of a civil war when Saudi jumped in and mediated between the two factions
The Saudis are less concerned about Yemen and more concerned about the increase on Iranian influence in the neighboring regions and they thus needed a stable government in Yemen
Saudis made an agreement that would make sure the resignation of Saleh
But at the last minute, Saleh refused to do so
Renewed protest startedOn June 3, 2011, Saleh was almost killed due
to a bomb blast in a mosque where he and other top officials were praying
4 of his bodyguards died and Saleh suffered burns on 40% of his body
During his absence, the then VP Hadi was acting as an interim president
Saleh returned in Sept and signed the Saudi agreement on Nov 23, 2011
Hadi was now the new President and joined the office, early 2012
By the end of 2012, he relieved al-Ahmar of his duties
Hadi tried to reorganize the military and the government but by doing so in a short span of time, he created a lot of confusion
While all this happened, the Houthi rebels spread their influence and it was transformed into a militia led by Abdul Malik al-Houthi
Accomplished with the help of Iranian weapons and military advisors
Abdul Malik al-Houthi
Al-Qaeda took advantage of the disturbances In short span of time, the al-Qaeda controlled
a significant portion of south of YemenIn early 2013,
President Hadi’s attempt to reorganize the army failed and once again, the army was divided between the Generals and they were fighting among themselves
Hadi, understanding the situation, tried to reorganize the government by federalism and created six provinces hence ensuring the division of power
Every faction argued for a greater area for more resources and revenues
Also, Houthis did not want to become just one of the 6 provinces since they represented about 40% of the Yemeni society
Abdul Malik argued that his faction was entitled to more power in the new system
Since the talks were useless, rebels decided to take by force
July 2014, anti-government campaign by Houthis
The military, which was divided, was already fighting against the al-Qaeda in the south and could not stop the Houthis from seizing the capital
Hadi then transferred his limited military to defend the capital abandoning the southern side to the al-Qaeda
Al-Qaeda gained a lot of territories in a short span of time
In the capital, the Houthis were seizing the capital
Though they were capturing the capital, they did not want to govern the country
They thought that governing a country so divided would only weaken the Houthi Movement, drain their man-power and financial resources
Instead, they wanted to be part of the new govornment
On Sept 21, 2014, Houthis and the government agreed to form a “Unity Government”
In the agreement, Mohammed Basindawa, the PM had to resign
After that, Houthis rejected Hadi’s original choice of the PM, Ahmad Awad bin Mubarak due to his close links to Hadi and the Oil Minister Khaled Bahah was appointed as the PM with consent of the rebels
The General People’s Congress led by Saleh abruptly announced on Nov 8 that they would not take part in the new Government claiming it unacceptable.
The Houthis increased the pressure on the weakened Hadi government
On January 20, 2015, the Houthis stormed the Presidential Palace and then entered the President’s residence
They kept the President under house arrestHadi, PM Khaled Bahah and the cabinet
resigned the following day stating that they could not work under the conditions stated by the rebels
Yemeni Coup d'etat
The House of Representatives had a meet on Jan 25 to discuss over the resignation of Hadi
But the meeting was cancelled as Houthis had taken over the Parliament building
UN tried to negotiate with the Houthi rebelsThe negotiation were fruitless and the movement
to find a solution was not metOn Feb 6, 2015, the Houthis dissolved the
parliament and declared themselves in total control of Yemen
They installed a Revolutionary Committee led by Mohammed Ali al-Houthi
The Committee was given the task to create a new 551 seat parliament which would then select 5-member Presidential Council to rule for 2 years
The Arab League, Gulf Cooperation Council, UN and US along with Houthis' Sunni rivals, Islah Party, and the separatist Southern Movement
Hadi returned to Aden on Feb 21, 2015Since then, there has been constant air
strikes from the side of SaudiHadi declared Aden as temporary capital
It began when the fighting broke out over Aden International Airport on March 19, when special forces loyal to Saleh attempted to seize the airport before they were defeated by troops and militiamen under the Hadi administration
The Houthis, in coalition with forces loyal to Saleh, declared to overthrow Hadi and further pressed to the south
According to UN, from March 2015 to March 2016, over 6,500 people have been killed in Yemen, including 3,218 civilians
The Yemeni Civil War