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  • Commentary: Divergent Saudi-Emirati Agendas Cripple Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council

    The PLC was established in April 2022 with a dual mandate: to lead the internationally recognized government of Yemen and to unify anti-Houthi factions against their common adversary. The eight-member council is chaired by former interior minister and deputy prime minister Rashad al-Alimi. The UAE and  KSA are the PLC’s main backers, but their different agendas and approaches constrain the council’s operations.

  • UN Warns of Four-Month Lean Period in Yemen

    The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) warned that Yemen would be facing a lean period from June to September due to a decrease in humanitarian food assistance in Houthi-controlled areas and a projected increase in food prices in areas held by the legitimate government. In its quarterly food security update, the FAO said that despite a brief relief experienced from mid-March through April this year due to augmented social support (zakat) during the holy fasting month of Ramadan, food security is anticipated to deteriorate from June to September, marking “the peak of the lean period in the country.” FAO noted that during the first quarter of 2024, the food security situation deteriorated compared to the same period last year.

  • Hans Grundberg: Mediation in Yemen

    Well, there's nothing that says that the United Nations has a monopoly on mediation, but there is an advantage of having the United Nations as the mediator. The reason is that you get some long-term approach from the United Nations. You get an organization that will engage on a certain conflict with a long-term vision in mind. That won't change depending on the situation in the world. But also, the additional value that you have using the United Nations as a mediating entity is the fact that it's the only universal intergovernmental organization there is. With that comes a certain relative impartiality. I say “relative” because impartiality will always be contested, but you will not find a party that is more impartial than the United Nations. When I mediate, I represent the global community.

  • ‘Let’s help Yemen regain ability to chart its own future,’ US envoy Tim Lenderking tells Arab News

    “The onus (is) on the Houthis to stop the Red Sea attacks,” he said. “That can prompt us all to begin to dial back, to de-escalate, to return the situation in Yemen to where it was on Oct. 6, which had considerably more promise and possibility than what exists now, and that’s where we want to return the focus.”

  • Why British and US strikes on Yemen are not working

    On Jan. 11, 2024, Britain and the US initiated airstrikes in Yemen with the stated goal to degrade the capabilities of the Ansarullah movement—better known as the Houthis. The decision was prompted by the Iran-backed movement’s claim of targeting ships headed to and from Israel since Nov. 2023, in an effort to allegedly force a ceasefire in Gaza. However, the western strikes have not been effective. Paradoxically, they have instead emboldened the Houthis to escalate their attacks.

  • Perspective: Saudi Arabia’s Eastward Turn: Shifting Relations with Yemeni Tribes

    Saudi Arabia’s relationship with Yemeni tribes has undergone many changes over recent decades, focused mainly on cultivating direct ties with Yemeni tribal sheikhs. With a shared 1,800 km-long border, the Kingdom has closely monitored developments inside Yemen, placing significant importance on its relationship with tribal leaders as a means of “influenc[ing] internal political decision-making in Yemen in line with its interests.”[1] Such ties, however, are neither fixed nor homogeneous and have evolved based on the mutual interests of both parties. Saudi Arabia’s Eastward Turn: Shifting Relations with Yemeni Tribes - The Yemen Review, Quarterly: January-March 2024 - Sana'a Center For Strategic Studies https://sanaacenter.org/the-yemen-review/jan-mar-2024/22287

  • Opinion: The Gulf states will not move against Yemen’s Houthis without decisive Western intervention

    Mere strikes on the rebel group will not be sufficient to convince the Gulf states to join in any action in the quagmire that is Yemen from which they have just managed to extract themselves, nor will guarantees of support if they agree to do so. The Gulf states may be more wary than ever of promises from the West, and will not be swayed without first seeing decisive and independent Western military action.

  • U.S. Special Envoy for Yemen Lenderking’s Travel to Saudi Arabia and Oman

    U.S. Special Envoy for Yemen Tim Lenderking is traveling to Saudi Arabia and Oman this week to meet with partners to discuss the need for an immediate cessation of Houthi attacks in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, which are undermining progress on the Yemen peace process and the delivery of humanitarian assistance to Yemen and other countries in need.
    The United States remains firmly committed to supporting a durable peace in Yemen and alleviating the complex humanitarian and economic crises harming the Yemeni people. The United States supports a return to UN-led peace efforts once the Houthis halt their indiscriminate attacks.
    Special Envoy Lenderking will meet with regional counterparts to discuss the steps to de-escalate the current situation and renew focus on securing a durable peace for the Yemeni people.

  • Yemen’s Houthis Tell China, Russia Their Ships Won’t Be Targeted

    The Yemen-based Houthis have told China and Russia their ships can sail through the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden without being attacked, according to several people with knowledge of the militant group’s discussions. China and Russia reached an understanding following talks between their diplomats in Oman and Mohammed Abdel Salam, one of the Houthis’ top political figures, said the people, who asked not to be named discussing private matters.

  • The Challenge With the Deter and Degrade Approach in Yemen

    Over the course of the past month, the United States and, on occasion, the United Kingdom have conducted an ongoing series of strikes against Houthi targets in Yemen. These strikes have two goals. First, the United States wants to deter the Houthis from carrying out future attacks on commercial shipping in the Red Sea. Second, and relatedly, the United States is seeking to compel the Houthis to cease their attacks by inflicting pain on the group – degrading the Houthis’ military capacity to the point that they are either unwilling or unable to carry out more attacks in the Red Sea.