Yemeni fighters, backed by a Saudi-led coalition, will launch weapons during a clash with the Houthi rebels on the front line of Kassala near Malibu, Yemen, on Sunday, June 20, 2021.
Nariman Elmofty / AP
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Nariman Elmofty / AP
Yemeni fighters, backed by a Saudi-led coalition, will launch weapons during a clash with the Houthi rebels on the front line of Kassala near Malibu, Yemen, on Sunday, June 20, 2021.
Nariman Elmofty / AP
Cairo — Twice last week, Yemeni rebels launched missile and drone attacks on the United Arab Emirates. This is a major escalation to one of the longest conflicts in the world.
The attack highlights how a war that has lasted more than seven years in a corner of the Arabian Peninsula could endanger the region. One of this week’s attacks targeted the Emirati military base, which hosts the US and British troops.
Already, the conflict has killed tens of thousands of civilians and combatants in Yemen, causing years of humanitarian disaster in the poorest countries in the Arab world.
The war puts an internationally recognized government backed by a coalition, including Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, against Iran-backed Houthi rebels. It began in September 2014 when the Houthis occupied most of the capital Sana’a and northern Yemen. At that time, with the support of the United States, the coalition participated in the war in March 2015 and supported the government of President Abd Rabbo Mansur Hadi.
Let’s take a look at the latest development.
Why was the war escalated?
The Houthis blamed Emirates for recent serious battlefield losses within Yemen, which virtually ended efforts for full control of the northern part of the country.
Primarily, they are trying to retaliate after an attack aimed at occupying Malibu, Yemen’s important central city.
The Houthis launched an attack last year, and sometimes it seemed that they might succeed in robbing the city of the city. Capturing Malibu will seal their control over the entire northern part of Yemen, handing the relative wealth of the state into their hands and empowering them in future peace talks.
The Houthi reached just outside the city, despite the great casualties of the coalition airstrikes. The coalition has stepped up ground support for the city’s defenders. But this month, the flow really changed when a unit backed by Emirati, known as the Giants Brigade, coordinated and promoted in Shabwah, the southern state. After pushing out the Houthis and regaining the Shabwa, they cut off the main Houthi supply line in Marib and are now expanding into the state.
The escalation prevented the Houthi from getting Malibu into the hands of the Houthi, but said it “needed a political restructuring” within the coalition, said Peter Salisbury, a Yemeni expert at the International Crisis Group. He said Saudi Arabia had to undermine Hadi’s allies, which had been competing with the United Arab Emirates for many years, and allow them to empower the army supported by Emirati.
Houthi reaction
The Houthi’s reply was to launch a drone loaded with ballistic missiles and explosives, initially in Saudi Arabia and now in the United Arab Emirates.
On Monday, the UAE and the U.S. military said they had intercepted two ballistic missiles over Abu Dhabi. Rebels said they had targeted the Al Dhafra Air Base, which houses both US and British troops.
Last week, rebels claimed another attack on Abu Dhabi targeting airports and fuel depots. The strike killed three people and injured six.
This satellite image shows the aftermath of a Yemeni Houthi rebel attack on the fuel depot of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company in the Musaffah district of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, on Saturday, January 22, 2022 by Planet Labs PBC. increase.
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This satellite image shows the aftermath of a Yemeni Houthi rebel attack on the fuel depot of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company in the Musaffah district of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, on Saturday, January 22, 2022 by Planet Labs PBC. increase.
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This attack threatens Emirates’ business-friendly, tourism-focused reputation.
Earlier this month, the Houthis seized an Emirati ship in the Red Sea off the coast of Hodeida, a port of rebels that both sides had long fought. They claimed that the ship had weapons. The coalition said it carried medical equipment from a dismantled Saudi Arabian field hospital on Socotra Island, Yemen. The coalition threatens to attack the Houthi’s port if it does not release the ship.
Rebels also launched missiles and drones in Yemeni government-owned areas, often landing in private facilities.
Seemingly retaliation, the coalition has launched violent airstrikes on areas controlled by Sana’a and other rebels. The strike killed dozens of civilians in detention centers in northern Sada, including more than 80.
Another coalition airstrike in a telecommunications building knocked Yemen out of the internet for a few days before it was restored early Tuesday.
Lyman al-Handani, a visiting researcher at the European Council on Foreign Relations, said the Houthis is trying to bring the UAE back into conflict.
He said the fight was “an example of a lack of willingness to reach consensus in every respect.”
Efforts for stalled peace
Both escalations have led to criticism from Western nations tired of trying to mediate peace in Yemen. Most of that frustration now seems to be concentrated in rebels.
US President Joe Biden’s administration is considering overturning last year’s decision to lift the Houthi terrorist designation.
Its delisting was aimed at officially ending US support for the coalition, as well as boosting peace efforts and relieving tensions in the hope of addressing humanitarian needs. Yemeni and Saudi Arabian officials claim that US measures have only made the Houthi bold.
The US and UN diplomatic measures could not bring both sides into the negotiations as the Houthi pushed Malibu aggressively. In July, US State Department spokesman Ned Price said the Biden administration was “sick” of the Houthi.
The Houthi is also showing a tough stance in other respects. They have not allowed visits since the appointment of Yemen’s UN Special Envoy Hans Grundberg in August. Rebels confiscated the currently closed US embassy in Sana’a and detained dozens of local employees. They also detained two UN personnel working at the UN Human Rights Department and UNESCO.
Some speculate that Iran could play a role in the escalation of their Houthi allies.
Analyst Al Handani is reluctant to give too much credit to the idea that Iran is pulling a string.
The Houthis may be due to Iran’s support, but Iran cannot order them to do anything, he said. “This only happens when it’s convenient for both.”
