Conflict in Yemen

This item appears on page 18 of the July 2015 issue.

In Yemen, a short-term cease-fire between Houthi rebels and a Saudi-led coalition of Arab states ended on May 18 as the coalition resumed shelling and air strikes against Houthi positions, most heavily in the southwestern city of Aden. Strikes have avoided the airport in the capital, Sana’a, and the port city of Al Hudaydah to allow food aid to be delivered.

The Houthi, a Sunni Muslim ethnic group, took control of Sana’a in January and eventually forced president Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi to flee the country on March 25. The Saudi-led strikes against the Houthi began the same day.

On May 21-22, rocket attacks from Yemen into Saudi Arabia killed two civilians, including a child. An estimated 1,850 people have been killed in conflicts in Yemen since March 19, with more than 500,000 people being displaced.