Seven-year-old Salma woke up to the sound of a massive explosion on January 25, when coalition warplanes bombed Al-Hafa military camp, east of Sana'a, and fell from her bed in the darkness. Her terrified cries filled the house, and Salma ran looking for her parents in the next room as they raced to hers. The family collided halfway, falling to…

In October 2021, I published a series of reports with the Sana'a Center revealing deep failures in the humanitarian aid system in Yemen. Based on interviews with 73 aid workers, UN staff, analysts and experts, the reports described an inefficient and inappropriate humanitarian response driven by flawed data and beholden to myths. Key issues raised included the control of Houthi…

Relations between Iran and the Houthis were marginal 10 years ago; today, the Houthis are one of the most important partners in the network of armed non-state actors that Iran supports throughout the region. Studying the evolution of the Iran-Houthi partnership is difficult: there is limited publicly available information on the political dynamics between leaders on both sides or on…

The support of northern Yemeni tribes has historically been critical for the ability of the central government in Sana’a to maintain power. During the period of the Zaidi Imamate – the northern religious polity that ended in 1962 – the rulers, or imams, used their social status as descendants of the Prophet Mohammed’s family to win over the two most…

Early political party activity emerged in North Yemen in the 1930s and 1940s in opposition to the imamate, but it was limited in size and influence. In the South, small, weak parties composed of southern elites populated the political sphere, though they lacked a popular base. By the 1950s, with Arab nationalism and Islamic ideological movements on the rise regionally, Yemeni parties adopted the ideals of regional Baathists and Arab nationalists as well as the Arab Left and the Muslim…

The ongoing conflict in Yemen has resulted in protracted crises in public service provision in multiple sectors across the country. In Taiz governorate in central Yemen, the war has driven critical gas shortages, particularly in the besieged capital, Taiz city. Taiz city has been under either total or partial blockade by the armed Houthi movement since August 2015, a situation…

This policy brief addresses the rise of local CSOs in Marib governorate between 2015 and 2020, focusing on the impact of the war on their internal and external working environment and on their activities and performance, including the most important changes civil society has undergone. It presents the views of various key stakeholders in Marib’s civil society and the challenges they faced during that period. It also makes recommendations to improve the work of CSOs and their access to cooperation…

As the war in Yemen enters its seventh year, the situation appears bleak and opportunities for peace grow fewer by the day. Amid the country’s fragmentation, the emergence of de-facto authorities and the almost complete absence of the state, local communities must rely on themselves to maintain peace. In this context, tribes have emerged as a decisive factor in maintaining…

This paper will examine the phenomena of increased social disintegration in one particular governorate, which has become a microcosm of the war in Yemen: Taiz. It will also present proposals on how to avoid further fragmentation through serious attempts to heal rifts, including initiatives from within communities that could be adopted by local organizations.

In examining the Saudi role in southern Yemen, this paper is divided into three sections. The first gives a brief historical overview of the evolution of Saudi policy toward South Yemen, from the latter’s national independence in 1967 to the Houthi movement’s takeover of Sana’a in 2014. The second analyzes the dynamics of the current Saudi role in the south, from Operation Decisive Storm to the conclusion of the Riyadh Agreement. The third addresses the peace dilemma in Yemen: the…