ConflictBarometer_2016

MIDDLE EAST AND MAGHREB
YEMEN, SAUDI ARABIA (AL-HOUTHI)
Intensity: 5 | Change: | Start: 2004
Conflict parties:
Conflict items:
al-Houthi, troops loyal to former president
Saleh vs. government, Saudi
Arabian led coalition, popular resistance
forces, tribal forces
national power, subnational predominance
The war between the al-Houthi-forces, supported by military
units loyal to former president Ali Abdullah Saleh, on the one
hand, and the government of President Abdrabbuh Mansur
Hadi, supported by the coalition led by Saudi Arabia, fighters
of the Southern Mobility Movement (SMM), and popular resistance
forces, on the other hand, continued throughout 2016.
The Saudi-led coalition comprised most notably the United
Arabian Emirates, Bahrain, Kuwait, and Qatar.
The UN reported more than 10,000 fatalities since the start
of the Saudi-led intervention in March 2015. On February
16, the UN Security Council called the humanitarian crisis the
worst world-wide in terms of people in need. More than 3.2
million people remained internally displaced, approximately
180,000 fled the country, while slightly more than 100,000
fled from the Horn of Africa into Yemen. 14.1 million people
are classified as food insecure while another 7million are
considered to be severely food insecure. On November 30,
Fahem Group, Yemen's largest importer of wheat, reported
that it will be unable to complete any new contracts due to insufficient
funding. On October 6, the WHO reportedacholera
outbreak in the governorates Sana'a and Taiz, which subsequently
spread to other governorates and reached more than
12,500 cases by the end of December. The situation was aggravated
by the fact that more than 45% of Yemen's medical
facilities have been destroyed during the war.
Throughout the year, fighting between al-Houthi forces and
government troops, supported by local popular resistance
forces and the Saudi coalition, continued in various governorates.
Taiz city, which remained under Houthi control since
late 2014, and the eponymous governorate, remained one
of the focal points of fighting. After the government had
launched an offensive on Taiz on March 11, an al-Houthi
counter-attack in western Taiz left 35 people dead on March
19. Al-Houthi fighters also attacked a market in Taiz on June
3 with snipers and rockets, killing at least nine civilians and
wounding another 24.
Throughout the year, Midi port in Hajjah governorate was repeatedly
embattled. On January 6, pro-Hadi forces landed
in the port-city of Midi and reportedly pushed back Houthi-
Saleh forces, supported by coalition airstrikes. Fighting between
Houthis and pro-Hadi forces for the port on March 27,
reportedly left 378 dead. Clashes and airstrikes around Midi
city and the port continued throughout the year.
Two government brigades took control over two districts in
southern Ma'rib and northwestern Shabwah governorates
in March. Clashes between al-Houthis and pro-government
troops continued in April in the governorates Sana'a, Ma'rib,
al-Jawf, and Taiz. During clashes at the border between the
contested governorates Shabwah and Ma'rib on May 29, at
least 19 government fighters and 28 Houthi fighters were
killed. Heavy clashes also erupted in al-Bayda governorate
on June 7, with the al-Houthis using tanks and heavy artillery.
Airstrikes by the Saudi-led coalition inflicted the highest number
of casualties in the conflict throughout the year. For instance,
in Hajjah governorate on March 15, airstrikes resulted
in 90 dead and more than 40 injured. An assessment by the
UN human rights office from August attributed roughly 60
percent of the civilian fatalities in the conflict to coalition
airstrikes. On October 8, a coalition airstrike hit the funeral
of al-Houthi Major General Jalal Ali al Rowaishan in Sana'a.
The attack killed about 155 civilians and injured more than
500, being the highest number of civilian losses in a single
action since the beginning of the Saudi-Arabian intervention.
Criticizing the coalition airstrikes for their high civilian casualties,
several European arms exporters like Great Britain and
the Netherlands canceled arms deals with the Saudi kingdom.
Nevertheless, several countries continued to provide
weapons to all actors in the conflict. Iran was blamed for supplying
weapons to the al-Houthi forces. While on December
13 US President Barack Obama blocked a sale of guided ammunition
kits and cluster bombs, the United States continued
to deliver other weaponry to Saudi Arabia.
Despite direct negotiations, prisoner exchanges, and several
small ceasefires, fights between al-Houthis and Saudi Arabian
forces continued along the Saudi-Yemeni border with
the former frequently launching missiles into Saudi territory,
targeting military, economic and civilian sites. The majority
of the missiles was intercepted by Saudi Arabian air defence,
while some caused casualties and damages. Al-Houthi forces
also engaged in ground attacks, such as on January 6. The
coalition deployed Kuwaiti, Emirati and Bahraini troops as
well as Kuwaiti artillery to the southern governorates.
Tensions on sea also increased significantly, especially in the
strategically important Bab al Mandeb strait.
Enforcing the UN arms embargo, US, French, and Australian
naval ships intercepted several vessels transporting
weapons, supposedly meant for al-Houthi forces, containing
among others AK-47 assault rifles, sniper rifles, machine
guns, RPGs, and anti-tank rockets. After two failed missile attacks
on the USS Mason in the Red Sea on October 9and 12,
allegedly by al-Houthi forces, the US Navy destroyed three
al-Houthi radar sites in al-Hudaydah governorate with cruise
missiles on October 13. This marked the first direct US-action
against al-Houthi forces.
The UN-sponsored negotiations between the two sides continued
in 2016. Starting on April 20, the talks between the
main conflict parties held in Kuwait were canceled after three
months when the al-Houthi installed a ten-member governing
body in Yemen. The body was formed after an agreement
between former president Saleh's General People's Congress
(GPC) and the political arm of the Houthis, Ansar Allah on July
28.
The Hadi government was unable to gain full control over its
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