Casey Coombs is a researcher at the Sana’a Center for Strategic Studies. Coombs also works as an independent journalist, reporting extensively on Yemen, where he was based between 2012 and 2015. Prior to Yemen, he reported from United Nations headquarters in New York, covering UN Security Council work on the Arab political uprisings.
He holds BAs in English & Anthropology and an MS in International Relations.
Casey's latest contributions
The Baha’is in Yemen: From Obscurity to Persecution and Exile
After a brief look at the history, beliefs and philosophy of the Baha’i faith, this report examines the workings of Yemen’s Baha’i community and how this community fits into Yemen’s religious, social … Read more
Three Weeks in a Houthi Prison
On May 15, 2015, I sat between two Yemeni officers in a police truck behind the Criminal Investigation Department in Sana’a. “You’ll be free in two hours,” one of the officers told me as he stared … Read more
Al-Mahra: Where Regional Powers Define Local Politics
Although far from the frontlines of Yemen’s civil war, Al-Mahra governorate remains an important battleground for Gulf powers competing for influence in the conflict. A Saudi military buildup in … Read more
Shabwa: Progress Despite Turmoil in a Governorate of Competing Identities
Shabwa governorate, perched centrally at the foot of Yemen's mountainous highlands and stretching to the Gulf of Aden, is at a crossroads of Yemeni identity as well as geography. As part of the … Read more
Marib: A Yemeni Government Stronghold Increasingly Vulnerable to Houthi Advances
Marib, a centrally-located governorate connecting Al-Bayda, Shabwa, Hadramawt, Al-Jawf and Sana’a, has undergone a drastic transformation since the war started in 2015, emerging as a booming … Read more
