On August 2, Yemen’s warring parties agreed to extend the country’s ongoing truce for an additional two months, until October 2. The deal came after intensive shuttle diplomacy by the UN and the US, and the arrival of an Omani delegation in Sana’a on July 31. UN Special Envoy Hans Grundberg was unable to secure terms for a broader six-month…
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UAE- and STC-Affiliated Forces Win the Second Battle for Shabwa
The most prominent military developments in August concerned intra-PLC clashes in Shabwa governorate between Islah-aligned and UAE-backed forces. The roots of the Shabwa fighting extend back to late July, when clashes between Islah-aligned government security forces and the STC-aligned Shabwa Defense forces culminated in the July 19 assassination attempt of Islah-aligned commander Abdu Rabu Laakab, who the UAE viewed as…
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Summer Flooding Affects Thousands
Flooding continued to devastate areas across Yemen in August, with at least 51,000 households reportedly affected since April 2022. In mid-August, a spokesperson from the Houthi Supreme Council for Management and Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs announced that in the areas under their jurisdiction, 91 people had been killed and close to twenty-five thousand families affected by flooding and heavy rains…
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Avoiding the Fate of a Powerless President
Former President Ali Abdullah Saleh was in many ways an absolute ruler, exercising his authority in a manner that often exceeded his constitutional powers. In doing so he was following the traditional practice of governance since the era of the Imams, which the republic in effect inherited and adapted. Now the tables have turned and Yemen has moved from being…
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The Sana'a Center Editorial Saving the Truce
The five-month-old truce in Yemen has been a net good for Yemenis and preserving it should be a priority. After more than seven years of ruinous war, the truce has brought the relief of quiet frontlines, the suspension of air strikes, the reopening of the port of Hudaydah for fuel shipments, and the resumption of civilian air flights in and…
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Showdown in Shabwa Shakes Government – The Yemen Review, August 2022
Long-running tensions between the Islamist Islah party and UAE-backed groups in Shabwa erupted into open conflict in August, with the Giants Brigades and STC-aligned Shabwa Defense forces driving Islah-aligned military and security forces from the governorate. The expulsion of Islah from Shabwa and the STC’s subsequent takeover of much of neighboring Abyan governorate raised questions about the ability of the…
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Reclaiming Inclusive Peace: Scaling the Poetics of Conflict
In conflict zones, peacebuilding processes are often driven by the binary framing of victim and perpetrator. Peacebuilding within such a narrative is mainly about securing truces like those being strung together in Yemen today, ending an ongoing militarized war or signing a peace agreement. In the context of Yemen, there is also a tendency by the international community to localize and reduce the conflict, emphasizing it solely as a civil war while disregarding the roles of many countries involved that…
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Exploring Local Solutions to Challenges in Al-Mahra
Al-Ghaydah, Al-Mahra - A two-day workshop bringing together a range of local officials, activists, and community leaders to explore local solutions to urgent issues in Al-Mahra governorate concluded on Sunday, August 21. This workshop, attended by Al-Mahra provincial deputy for youth affairs, Bader Kalashat, and provincial deputy assistant for women, Khadija Bakrit, is part of the second phase of a…
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Sana’a Center Workshop Tackles Urgent Issues in Shabwa
Shabwa, Yemen – The Sana’a Center for Strategic Studies held a workshop to assess and discuss the most urgent challenges facing the governorate of Shabwa, addressing security, political, economic, and service issues.. During the workshop, held on August 17 and 18, a range of local officials, activists, community leaders, women’s organizations, civil society groups, and journalists identified a number of…
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Defeat in Shabwa Forces Islah to Reckon With New Political Reality
Long-running tensions in Shabwa devolved into heavy fighting in the governorate capital Ataq on August 8, pitting Islah-affiliated security forces against UAE-backed units. Back-and-forth fighting over three days ended on August 10 with the Giants Brigades and Shabwa Defense forces, supported by UAE drone strikes, securing control of the city and Islah-affiliated commanders fleeing the governorate. The battle in Shabwa…
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