Southern Yemen Leader Renews Calls for Independent State
Southern Transitional Council leader Aidarous al-Zubaidi’s comments follow productive talks between the Houthi rebels and the Saudi officials, signaling that the body may not sign a deal that does not carve out a separate southern Yemeni state (AP)
HRW: Migrants Face Mass Killings at Saudi-Yemen Border
A Human Rights Watch Report alleges that Saudi border guards killed hundreds of Ethiopian migrants trying to cross from Yemen between March 2022 and June 2023 (HRW)
Saudi Arabia Says Five Days of Yemen Peace Talks Yielded ‘Positive Results’
A delegation of Houthi rebels had traveled to Riyadh for the first time since 2014 to gather for talks focused on ending the eight-year conflict in Yemen; Reuters reported that the discussion made some progress on matters including a timeline for foreign troops exiting Yemen, and indicated more consultations are to come (Reuters)
Yemen’s Houthi Rebels Travel to Saudi Arabia for Peace Talks
The visit by the Iran-backed rebels comes as a UN-brokered cease-fire in Yemen’s civil war largely holds and after Iran and Saudi Arabia announced a surprise rapprochement in March; a Houthi official said the rebel delegation would be in Riyadh for five days (AFP)
U.S. Envoy Attends Talks on Yemen Peace
U.S. Special Envoy for Yemen Tim Lenderking is visiting the Gulf in order to meet with Emirati, Omani, Saudi, Yemeni, and other international envoys about a UN-mediated peace process for the country, the State Department said (Reuters)
Attack Kills Secessionist Commander and Three Fighters in Southern Yemen
Officials suspect al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) carried out the attack against a convoy of the Security Belt Forces, an armed group loyal to the Southern Transitional Council (Al Jazeera)
Suspected AQAP Attack Kills Five Soldiers in Southern Yemen
Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) has occasionally clashed with the Southern Armed Forces, which is loyal to the secessionist Southern Transitional Council (Al Jazeera)
Saudi Arabia Grants Yemen $1.2 Billion in Economic Aid
Amid a lull in fighting with the Houthis, southern Yemen has faced a weak currency and rising prices; the aid will allow the government to continue paying wages and funding essential services (Reuters)
Yemen’s Army Warns of Possible Houthi Offensive
Military officials said the Houthis had renewed attacks on Taiz, seeking to move toward the city center, but had so far failed to make progress (Arab News)
Two Suspects Arrested Over Killing of WFP Official
Yemeni police believe the two individuals were involved in the killing of Moayad Hameidi, a senior World Food Programme official, in Turbah, southern Yemen (AP)
Protests Erupt in Southern Yemen over Plummeting Currency
After months of stability, the sinking value of the Yemeni riyal sparked violent protests against devaluation in Aden and other cities controlled by the internationally-recognized government (Arab News)
Saudi Arabia Boosts Presence in Aden, Southern Yemen
Seen as an indication that Saudi Arabia is looking to end its involvement in Yemen’s civil war, the country has begun to set up administrative councils in areas controlled by the Southern Transitional Council; the councils could help reconcile competing southern factions ahead of a Saudi exit (DW)
Houthis Launch Attacks in Yemen’s Al-Dhale Governorate
Amid international appeals to end the conflict, the Houthis reportedly employed tanks, mortars, and heavy machine guns in an attack that killed six Yemeni soldiers (Arab News)
Houthis Threaten Open War if Yemen Truce Ends
The group’s spokesperson said the solution is in the hands of the Saudi-led coalition but that the Houthis will not hesitate to return to war if necessary (Middle East Monitor)
Yemeni Vice President Says Divided Yemen is the Solution
Aidarus al-Zoubaidi, who simultaneously leads the Southern Transitional Council (STC), said peace talks had to take the division as a permanent political reality and warned against allowing the Iranian-backed Houthis to control the strategically important sea lanes, ports, and oil fields of southern Yemen; the STC is a separatist organization that has long called for southern Yemen to break away (Guardian)
After weeks of Saudi-hosted talks to end the eight-year conflict in Yemen, Saudi Arabia and the Houthi rebel group exchanged sixty-four fighters’ bodies at the Saudi-Yemeni border yesterday (Reuters)
Yemen to Continue Prisoner Exchange Talks
After Saudi Arabia and the Houthis exchanged nine hundred prisoners in April, the Yemeni government and the Houthis have begun talks that include negotiations for the release of a former high-level Yemeni official imprisoned since the start of the war (Al Jazeera)
Landmark Flight Carries Yemenis from Sana’a to Mecca
The flight, one of five planned from the rebel-held capital for this year’s Hajj, implies a thawing of ties between Saudi Arabia and the Houthis, who have been engaging in Omani-hosted bilateral peace talks without the Yemeni government (Al Jazeera)
U.S. Secretary of State Meets Gulf Officials in Saudi Arabia
Secretary of State Antony Blinken is in Riyadh today for a meeting with foreign ministers from the Gulf Cooperation Council where they are set to discuss the conflicts in Yemen, Sudan, Syria, and the Palestinian territories, a spokesperson for Qatar’s foreign ministry said (AFP)
Yesterday in Jeddah, Blinken met with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for nearly two hours. The pair discussed prospects for a lasting peace deal in Yemen, the potential normalization of Saudi-Israeli ties, and efforts to mediate the conflict in Sudan (CNN)
Houthis Detain and Disappear Seventeen Baha’is in Sanaa
Houthi leader Malek Al-Houthi previously called Baha’is “infidels” and called on Yemenis to “defend their country from the Baha’is and members of other religious minorities” (HRW)
UN Envoy Reports Progress Toward Yemen Peace Deal
UN Special Envoy Hans Grundberg expressed optimism that all sides are committed to making progress toward a deal, and humanitarian efforts have benefited from hostility levels that remain significantly lower than before the April 2022 truce (UN News)
Top U.S. Security Advisor to Visit Saudi Arabia
White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan will meet with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman this weekend; Sullivan’s Indian and Emirati counterparts will also be in Saudi Arabia, where the officials are expected to discuss the war in Yemen and new areas of cooperation between India and Arab Gulf states (AP)
UN Seeks Funding for Yemen Oil Tanker Operation
To begin recovering the 1.1 million barrels of oil from a decaying vessel stranded off Yemen’s coast, the UN hopes to raise the last $29 million of the $129 million it needs to offload the oil at a conference this week (Reuters)
Meanwhile, the State Department said that U.S. special envoy Tim Lenderking is on a trip to Oman and Saudi Arabia in an effort to advance peace efforts in Yemen (Reuters)
UK Navy Investigating ‘Incident’ Near Yemen
Authorities from the United Kingdom (UK) said they are investigating an “incident” in which unidentified assailants fired at a UK vessel off the coast of Yemen (Bloomberg)
Yemen’s Health System in Trouble
According to the World Health Organization, due to a variety of factors and shortages, 46 percent of Yemen’s health facilities are partially functioning or out of service; Dr. Annette Heinzelmann of the WHO is advocating for more international funding to prevent further deterioration of Yemen’s health system (UN News)