President Joe Biden announced that the United States will end its support, including arms sales, for offensive operations in Yemen, splintering with six years of U.S. policy (White House)
The details of how the Biden administration plans to end its assistance for offensive operations are unclear, and Biden said the United States will continue to help Saudi Arabia “defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity” (Politico)
UN-Backed Talks on Prisoner Swap in Yemen Resume
Talks over a UN-facilitated prisoner exchange between Yemen’s internationally recognized government and the Houthi rebels resumed yesterday. The talks came less than a week after the United States labeled the Houthis a foreign terrorist organization. Yesterday, twenty-two aid groups working in Yemen called on Washington to revoke the designation (Associated Press)
United States Exempts Aid Groups, UN in Yemen
The United States exempted aid groups and the United Nations from its designation of Yemen’s Houthi rebels as a foreign terrorist organization and will also allow the export of agricultural commodities, medicine, and medical devices to the country. UN officials still worry that the designation could push Yemen into a large-scale famine (Reuters)
UN Officials Warn of Famine in Yemen After U.S. Terrorist Designation
UN officials called on the United States to reverse a recent decision to blacklist Yemen’s Houthi rebels, warning that designating the Houthis as a foreign terrorist organization could disrupt food deliveries to Yemen and cause a “large-scale famine” (New York Times)
U.S. Will Designate Yemen’s Houthi Rebels as a Terrorist Group
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the United States will designate Yemen’s Houthi rebels as a foreign terrorist organization and add three of the group’s leaders to a list of global terrorists. The move could take effect one day before President-Elect Joe Biden’s inauguration (Associated Press)
Aid groups and foreign diplomats warned that the designation could worsen Yemen’s humanitarian crisis and complicate UN-brokered peace talks between the Iran-backed Houthis and the internationally recognized government, which have been at war for nearly six years (Washington Post)
Many of the country’s citizens need aid that nongovernmental organizations fear will become harder to deliver because of the U.S. sanctions (Reuters)
Report: Nearly One Hundred Civilians Killed in Yemen Air Strikes Last Year
Saudi Arabia–led coalition air strikes killed at least ninety-nine civilians in Yemen last year, according to a new report by Mwatana for Human Rights, an independent Yemeni monitor (Al-Monitor)
Saudi-led Coalition in Yemen to Start Implementing Riyadh Agreement
The Saudi-led coalition fighting Houthi rebels said that it will start implementing the Riyadh Agreement, which aims to reunite Yemeni parties in the coalition. It was signed by southern separatists and the UN-backed government last year (Reuters)
Separately, a push by U.S. senators to block the Trump administration from selling $23 billion worth of arms, including advanced fighter jets and drones, to the United Arab Emirates failed to garner enough votes. The deal saw bipartisan opposition over the UAE’s involvement in Yemen (Al Jazeera)
Houthi Rebels Claim to Missile Strike on Saudi Oil Facility
Houthi rebels claimed to have fired a missile at a distribution site operated by the Saudi Aramco oil company in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Saudi officials did not immediately confirm the claim (Al Jazeera)
Yemen’s Warring Parties Conduct Largest Prisoner Swap
Yemen’s government and the Houthi rebels are exchanging more than one thousand prisoners in their largest swap of the country’s five-year conflict. A Houthi spokesperson said the swap raised hopes of peace-building (Al Jazeera)
Two U.S. Hostages Released by Yemen’s Houthis in Prisoner Swap
The Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen freed two American hostages in exchange for the release of roughly three hundred rebel prisoners in a surprise deal brokered by the United States. Sandra Loli, an aid worker, had been held hostage for three years, and Mikael Gidada, a businessman, had been held for nearly one year (Washington Post)
UN: Aid Cut Across Yemen
The United Nations said over one-third of its humanitarian programs in Yemen were reduced or discontinued between April and August due to lack of funding, with critical aid slashed at hundreds of health centers (Al Jazeera)
Clashes Resume in Yemen After Talks Suspended
The Southern Transitional Council, a separatist group backed by the United Arab Emirates, announced its withdrawal from talks to implement a peace deal brokered by Saudi Arabia. Within hours, clashes resumed between separatist and Yemeni government forces (Associated Press)
Major Flood Kills 130 in Yemen
Floods killed more than 130 people and displaced more than 160,000 in the governorates of Hajjah and Hodeidah, according to the Houthi rebels. Yemen is already grappling with an urgent humanitarian crisis fueled by years of civil war (Deutsche Welle)
Yemen’ Southern Transitional Council End Claim to Self-Rule
Yemen’s separatist Southern Transitional Council (STC) abandoned its claim of self-rule today, ending the country’s “conflict within a conflict” and paving the way for implementation of the Riyadh Agreement, a deal to unite Yemeni forces in opposition to the Houthi rebels (BBC)
UN Envoy Calls for Investigation Into Yemen Air Strikes
The United Nations envoy called for an investigation into air strikes that killed at least eleven civilians earlier this week. It was the third such incident since last month as the country endures a mounting civilian death toll from its civil war (Reuters)
Saudi-Led Coalition Resumes Yemen Bombings
Saudi Arabia began a new military operation in Yemen, where its coalition forces conducted dozens of air raids against the Houthi rebels. Rebel forces launched missiles toward Riyadh last week, the first such attack since a cease-fire was declared due to the coronavirus pandemic (Al Jazeera)
UNICEF: Millions of Yemeni Children at Risk of Starvation
Millions of children in Yemen could be pushed to the “brink of starvation” as humanitarian aid dries up during the coronavirus pandemic, the United Nations Children’s Fund has warned in a new report. Thirty thousand children could suffer life-threatening malnutrition in the next six months and the overall number of malnourished children under the age of five could rise to 2.4 million (UNICEF)
The coronavirus is straining the country’s already shattered health system; cholera, malaria, and dengue were rampant before the coronavirus outbreak. Coronavirus infections are likely much higher than the roughly one thousand cases officially reported (Reuters)
Yemen’s Houthi Rebels Claim Attack on Riyadh
Yemen’s Houthi rebels claimed to have carried out drone and ballistic missile strikes in Riyadh. The attack would be one of the rebels’ biggest on Saudi soil in their conflict with the Saudi-led coalition supporting Yemen’s internationally recognized government (Washington Post)
Saudi Arabia Moves to End Conflict Between Allies in Yemen
Riyadh announced a proposal to end a standoff between members of the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen. The conflict between the country’s Saudi-backed government and the separatist Southern Transitional Council, backed by the United Arab Emirates, has stalled efforts to end Yemen’s war (Reuters)
WHO Suspects False COVID-19 Reporting From Yemen
WHO officials suspect that COVID-19 cases are much higher in Yemen, especially in areas control by Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in the north, where rumors of “mercy injections” and retaliation for reporting COVID-19 cases has potentially contributed to false case and death numbers (Associated Press)
Yemen Aid Threatened After Donations Fall Short of Goal
Despite donors pledging $1.35 billion in humanitarian aid to Yemen, UN emergency relief coordinator Mark Lowcock warned that the funding was would not be enough to combat effectively the spread of COVID-19. The funding fell $1 billion short of the proposed budget to cover essential services in the country through December (BBC)
Houthi Missile Strikes Military Base in Yemen
A Houthi missile attack killed seven people on a military base belonging to the UN-backed government in Marib province (Reuters)
Yemeni Government Says Houthi Rebels Killed in Clashes
The government reported that several Houthi rebels had been killed or wounded during clashes in the al-Bayda region. The report followed a UN envoy’s announcement that Yemen’s warring parties had made progress toward a cease-fire agreement (Al Jazeera)
Senior Houthi Commander Killed in Yemen
Houthi rebel commander Mohamed Abdel Karim al-Hamran was killed in combat, the rebels said. He is the most senior Houthi leader to be killed this year (Associated Press)
Yemeni Separatists Break With Saudi-Led Coalition
Yemen’s Emirati-backed Southern Transitional Council (STC) separatist group broke an alliance with the country’s Saudi-backed government and claimed sole control of areas including the city of Aden. The split came after Riyadh signaled its willingness to de-escalate Yemen’s civil war, which pits the Emirati- and Saudi-backed parties against the Houthi rebels (Guardian)