Dear Friends, Seven years have passed since the Sana’a Center’s first publication, and today we find Yemen at an inflection point. With a truce in place since April, the country is experiencing its longest sustained period of relative peace. The truce has been accompanied by a series of dramatic changes we have long advocated for, from overhauling the country’s political…

Heavy seasonal rains in July and August caused flash flooding across Yemen, cutting roads, destroying homes and crops, shifting minefields, and causing a number of deaths. The floods have affected more than 16,000 internally displaced families, who live in rudimentary shelters unable to withstand harsh weather. Many Yemeni houses are built from mud, increasing their susceptibility to structural damage from…

Islah-affiliated commander of the Special Security forces in Shabwa, Brigadier General Abd Rabbo Laakab, survived an assassination attempt by members of the UAE-backed Shabwa Defense forces in Shabwa governorate. Laakab’s convoy was ambushed in Ataq city, the governorate capital, on July 19; two members of the Special Security Forces were killed, and two others were wounded in the attack. The…

Long-running tensions between the Islamist Islah party and the Southern Transitional Council boiled over in Shabwa in July, as political disputes over security posts devolved into clashes between their affiliated forces. Government efforts to assuage the parties were unsuccessful, setting the stage for a battle over the capital, Ataq city, in early August. The Shabwa tensions overshadowed agreement on a…

Mukalla, Yemen – A two-day workshop bringing together a range of local officials, civil society groups, journalists and clerics to assess political, economic and security conditions in Hadramawt governorate concluded today, August 11, in the governorate capital of Mukalla. The workshop, which was organized by the Sana’a Center for Strategic Studies and Saferworld, an independent organization working on conflict resolution,…