Fire in Houthi Warehouse Kills Fifteen Children in Yemen
According to a new report by Human Rights Watch, a fire last month at a warehouse in Sanaa used by Houthi rebels to store volatile materiel caused the building to detonate, killing at least fifteen children (Human Rights Watch)
UN Regains Access to Grain in Yemen
Yesterday, the United Nations regained access to donated grain stored in the contested Yemeni port city of Hodeidah, as part of an effort to salvage the food before it rots (Reuters)
UN Study Highlights Reversed Development in Yemen
A UN Development Program (UNDP) study released this week estimates that Yemen’s ongoing war and humanitarian crisis have caused the country to fall behind by at least twenty-one years in terms of development (Agence France-Presse)
Trump Vetoes Congressional Bid to End War in Yemen
President Donald J. Trump overturned a bipartisan congressional resolution yesterday seeking to end U.S. assistance to the Saudi-led bombing campaign against Houthi rebels in Yemen. The United States has provided arms, aerial refueling, targeting information, and intelligence to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (Al Jazeera)
Yemen’s Houthi Rebels Seek Ties with the United States
Hisham Sharaf Abdullah, foreign minister of the Houthi’s self-proclaimed National Salvation Government, announced the militant group’s willingness to establish ties with the United States while seeking to find a solution in the UN-led peace talks (Voice of America)
Explosion in Yemen Kills Thirteen
An explosion at a warehouse in Houthi-controlled Sana yesterday killed at least thirteen people and wounded over one hundred others. While Yemen’s state-run news agency in Aden claimed that the rebels stored weapons in the warehouse, the militants denied responsibility and said the Saudi-led coalition targeted the building in an air strike (Associated Press)
Congress Ups Pressure on Trump Over U.S. Role in Yemen
Sixteen Republicans joined Democrats in the House of Representatives to pass a resolution to end the U.S. military’s support for the Saudi-led coalition fighting Houthi forces in Yemen. The measure was already passed by the Senate. President Trump could issue his second veto of his presidency to overturn it (New York Times)
Children Reported Killed in Saudi Strike in Yemen
Four children and a health worker were among the seven people killed in an air strike by the Saudi-led coalition on a hospital in northwestern Yemen, according to the charity Save the Children. The group’s deputy director in Yemen said it lodged a complaint with the coalition, which he said knew the hospital’s location (New York Times)
Yemen’s Houthi Militants Threaten Coalition Over Hodeida Peace Deal
Yesterday Yemen’s Houthi militants warned that they stand ready to strike Riyadh and Abu Dhabi with their growing “stockpile of missiles,” if the implementation of a UN peace deal in the contested port city of Hodeida is violated (Reuters)
Separately, the Yemeni army announced yesterday that its forces captured villages in the last Houthi stronghold of Saada (Middle East Monitor)
U.S. Senate Issues Fresh Rebuke Over Yemen War
The resolution, which must still be passed in the House of Representatives, marks the second time the Senate has voted to end U.S. support for the Saudi-led coalition fighting Houthi forces in Yemen. Lawmakers are not expected to secure enough votes to override a veto by President Donald J. Trump (Washington Post)
$2.6 Billion Pledged for Humanitarian Aid to Yemen
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the $2.6 billion raised in a fundraising drive for humanitarian aid to Yemen “can be considered a success.” Some humanitarian groups criticized the United Nations for accepting donations from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, which have led a military campaign in Yemen (Deutsche Welle)
American Hostage in Yemen Released
The White House said U.S. citizen Danny Burch was released with the support of the United Arab Emirates. It remained unclear which group abducted Burch, an engineer for a Yemeni oil company who was held for nearly eighteen months (New York Times)
Houthi Forces Agree to Withdraw From Two Yemeni Ports
Houthi forces agreed today to withdraw from the ports of Saleef and Ras Isa. Houthi forces will reportedly withdrawal from areas of the port city of Hodeidah as part of a second step, coupled with a retreat by surrounding Saudi-led coalition forces (Reuters)
House Votes to End Support for Saudi Arabia in Yemen
The House of Representatives voted 248–177 yesterday to end U.S. military assistance for the Saudi-led coalition fighting Houthi forces in Yemen. The previous Senate passed a similar resolution in December, but it did not receive a vote in the then Republican-controlled House (New York Times)
UN Warns Over Food Aid in Yemen
The United Nations called on parties to the conflict in Yemen to allow aid groups access to silos in the port city of Hodeidah holding grain that is now at risk of spoiling. The grain, provided by the World Food Program, is enough to feed some 3.7 million people for a month (Al Jazeera)
Report: UAE Diverting U.S. Weapons to Yemen Militias
U.S. armored vehicles, mortar systems, and firearms intended for the United Arab Emirates are being diverted to “largely unaccountable” UAE-backed militias in Yemen, according to a new report. Western nations have provided the UAE at least $3.5 billion in weapons since the start of the Yemen conflict (Amnesty International)
Yemen’s Government, Houthi Rebels Meet to Discuss Hodeidah
Representatives of Yemen’s government and Houthi rebels met on a UN-chartered ship off the coast of Yemen in the Red Sea to continue negotiations on a truce regarding the contested port city of Hodeidah (Al Jazeera)
Houthi Militants Attack UN Team in Yemen
Houthi rebels opened fire on members of a UN bomb safety team who planned on clearing land mines in an area in the port city of Hodeidah that contains grain silos (Arab News)
Vehicle of UN Monitoring Team in Yemen Hit by Gunfire
An armored convoy carrying retired General Patrick Cammaert, who leads an international team monitoring a cease-fire in the port city of Hodeidah, was hit by a round of gunfire after leaving a meeting with Yemeni government officials yesterday, according to a UN spokesperson; Cammaert was not injured. The United Nations said it has no information yet on the source of the gunfire (Washington Post)
Houthi Drone Targets Yemen Military Parade
A drone operated by Houthi rebels exploded at a military parade for Yemeni government forces in the country’s south today, killing five soldiers and wounding several senior officers, according to a Houthi spokesperson. A Yemeni army official said the attack happened far from the parade and no one was injured (Al Jazeera)
Pentagon: U.S. Personnel Not Involved in Yemen Prison Abuses
In a report to lawmakers, the U.S. Defense Department said its personnel have “neither observed nor been complicit” in abuses of detainees in Yemen prisons that are being run by the United Arab Emirates and allied forces. The Emirati government has denied reports alleging torture and sexual abuse of prisoners (Associated Press)
Plotter of U.S. Navy Destroyer Attack Killed in Yemen
Jamal al-Badawi, who was indicted by a U.S. federal grand jury in 2003 for planning the 2000 bombing of the USS Cole, was killed last week in a U.S. air strike in Yemen’s Ma’rib Governorate, according to the U.S. Central Command (New York Times)
Cease-Fire Starts in Yemen’s Hodeidah
A cease-fire in the Yemeni port city of Hodeidah began today following an accord between Houthi rebels and the internationally recognized Yemeni government last week in Sweden. Residents had reported heavy fighting and air strikes in the city in recent days (Agence France-Presse)
Senate Votes to Curb U.S. Role in Yemen
The U.S. Senate voted 56–41 to end U.S. support for the Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen; the Yemen resolution is not expected to pass the House of Representatives (Al Jazeera)
The Pentagon announced yesterday it will bill Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates $331 million in unpaid services and fees for aerial refueling in Yemen (Defense News)
Yemen Peace Talks Conclude With Cease-Fire Deal
Warring parties in Yemen have agreed to a cease-fire in western Hodeidah Governorate and to a troop withdrawal from that region’s major port city, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Thursday. The two sides also agreed to exchange some fifteen thousand prisoners, as well as to hold a next round of talks in late January (Associated Press)