With few advances in Yemen’s formal peace track since the 2016 Kuwait negotiations, the UN-led effort to achieve a sustainable peace must be better integrated with Yemeni initiatives if it is to succeed. This was the premise of the Yemen International Forum (YIF), held on June 17-19, 2022, in Stockholm, Sweden, which brought together international actors with Yemeni political stakeholders, individuals involved in parallel initiatives to the formal political process, youth and civil society representatives, experts and academics. By providing…

The truce between Yemen’s internationally recognized government and the armed Houthi movement, in place since April, was allowed to expire without renewal on October 2. The UN-facilitated agreement birthed the longest sustained period of relative peace since the conflict began, with a concomitant drop off in civilian casualties. September was dominated by fruitless negotiations to extend and expand the agreement.…

The truce between the internationally recognized government and the armed Houthi movement, in place since April, was allowed to expire without renewal on October 2. The UN-facilitated agreement engineered the longest period of relative peace of the war. September saw intensive negotiations to extend and expand the truce, and optimism was high throughout the month, but talks broke down when…

Economic developments in September centered on the fuel crisis in Houthi-held areas and the continued delay of the Saudi-Emirati economic support package to the government. In early September, Houthi authorities initiated an emergency plan in areas under their control amid reportedly severe fuel shortages. Houthi authorities accused the coalition of being behind the shortage, citing a backup of fuel ships…

The military situation between government and Houthi forces remained largely stable in September, with no major military operations undertaken by either side despite ongoing low-level clashes, mostly in Marib, Taiz, Hudaydah, Al-Bayda, and Al-Dhalea governorates. An uptick in Houthi attacks was reported along these fronts in the days following the expiration of the truce on October 2, but government military…

Photographer Ahmed al-Basha visited the Ibrahim Aqeel School on the western outskirts of Taiz city, which became a battleground when Houthi forces tried to seize control of nearby Taiz University in 2016. Artillery fire, landmines and other explosive devices destroyed some of the school’s buildings and severely damaged others. Still, finding no other nearby options, the school’s 800 students, boys…

Yemen received some rare good news in September when the UN announced it had finally reached the threshold (retroactively reduced from $80 to $75 million) to begin the first phase of the operation to salvage the FSO Safer. Despite the expiration of the truce, preparations surrounding the FSO Safer operation appeared to continue in early October. Although weather conditions improved…

Amman, Jordan – A three-day workshop tackling urgent issues for Yemeni women in the peace process concluded on September 20, with participants identifying political, social, economic, and security priorities that should be reflected and represented in future peace talks. The workshop, “Voices Absent from the Peace Process: Challenges, Solutions, and Implementation Mechanisms”, was held in Amman, Jordan, and organized by…