Yemen War: An Overview of the Armed Conflict and Role of Belligerents

Abstract

Since 2004, Yemen is facing a rebellious movement by a Shiite militant group called the Houthis1. The Houthis established a parallel rule in northern part of the country and occupied the capital Sana'a. Due to involvement of regional powers including Iran, UAE and Saudi Arabi the nature of conflict became both sectarian and separatist. Following the Arab uprising in 2011, the roots of recent conflict lies in the failure of political transition between the former President Ali Abdullah Saleh and his opposition. The geopolitical situation and support of Iran for the Houthis made the station in Yemen more complex. Therefore, the Gulf countries particularly Saudi Arabia was concerned because of the strategic and political situation of its fragile neighbor. This paper provides an insight to the conflict in various aspects including the role of conflicting parties, role of proxies, role of world powers and regional actors to analyze the conflict in a detailed manner. At the end study also discusses the most recent political and strategic developments having implication on the region.

Eksternalisasi Konflik Internal Yaman Dalam Kerangka Analisis Internationalization of Conflict Theory

“…Pada tahun 2004 konflik mulai terjadi lagi antara kelompok Islam aliran syiah Zaidi di Yaman Utara yang dikenal dengan kelompok Houthi melawan pemerintah Yaman. Kelompok Houthi merasa bahwa komunitas Zaidi mengalami diskriminasi dan tidak mendapatkan hak yang sama dengan masyarakat lainnya (Dosari and George, 2020). Kelompok Houthi melihat adanya marginalisasi dalam hal politik, ekonomi dan agama oleh pemerintah Yaman terhadap kaum syiah Zaidi di wilayah utara.…”

“…Menariknya, setelah meminta intervensi militer dari negara-negara Teluk untuk melindungi negaranya, Mansyur Hadi kembali ke Aden, dan menarik kemunduran dirinya. Beberapa waktu kemudian, sebuah aliansi yang dipimpin oleh Arab Saudi mengumumkan sebuah operasi militer untuk mengembalikan pemerintahan Mansyur Hadi dan melawan kelompok Houthi di Yaman (Dosari and George, 2020). Sementara itu, jauh sebelum keterlibatan Arab Saudi, Kelompok Houthi telah lebih dulu mendapat dukungan dari Iran melalui pelatihan militer dan bantuan militer secara tersembunyi sejak tahun 2009 (Hakiki and Sari, 2022) Konflik internal yaman yang awalnya hanya melibatkan pemerintah Yaman dan pemberontak Houthi kemudian mengalami transformasi menjadi konflik internasional yang melibatkan aktoraktor lain.…”

Toward a Theory of Sportswashing: Mega-Events, Soft Power, and Political Conflict

“…A key point all too often lost in discussions of sportswashing is that in seeking the redistribution of reputational power, sportswashers can simultaneously unlatch the gate toward brass-knuckle military intervention. In the case of Saudi Arabia, sportswashing distracts attention from the country's ongoing war on Yemen (Al Dosari & George, 2020). Beginning in 2015, when military operations commenced against Houthi forces, Saudi Arabia has repeatedly violated international humanitarian law, killing thousands of civilians (Human Rights Watch, 2022a).…”

Intertribal conflict, educational development and education crisis in Yemen: A call for saving education

“…Therefore, they believe the intertribal conflict in Yemen is divided into two phases. The first was started in 1994 between the South and North, and the current one began in 2004 and continues to date between the Houthi and Yemen governments (Al Dosari & George, 2020).…”