Introduction
The
civil war in Yemen has raged on for six years, creating one of the world’s
biggest humanitarian crisis in the 21st century. Influenced by various historical, political,
cultural, economic, and social dimensions, the Yemeni Civil War has grown into
a multifaceted conflict that involves local, regional, and international actors
and institutions. The role and policies
of the United States in Yemen is essential to the continued trajectory and
conclusion of the civil war. The Yemeni Civil War is a perfect case study into
21st century humanitarian disasters in conflict zones given various
dimensions that influence the course of the war, the overwhelming evidence of
crisis within the country, drawing in the international community and US
response, and possible solutions to end the conflict.
Background
Yemen has a troubled history that influences the
unresolved nature of the Yemeni Civil War.
Since Yemeni unification in 1990, the country has never entirely erased
the religious, cultural, and political differences that have resulted in armed
conflict in 1994 and from 2004 to 2010 (Laub & Robinson, 2020). Between 1990 to 2012, Yemen’s leader was Ali
Abduallah Saleh, a former military officer accused by various human rights
groups of running a corrupt and autocratic government (Laub & Robinson,
2020). Saleh was subject to an overthrow
during the 2011 Arab Spring by political and military rivals that failed;
however, mounting international pressure forced Saleh to resign in 2012 after
receiving promises of immunity from prosecution (Laub & Robinson,
2020). Vice President Abd Rabbu Mansour
Hadi stepped in as interim president as part of a transition deal brokered by
the Saudi-led Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), the United Nations, and the
United States (Laub & Robinson, 2020).
The GCC and UN-brokered National Dialogue Conference (NDC) effort failed
as various Yemeni factions moved to armed conflict to seize power by 2014,
unable to resolve their differences.
According to Laub and Robinson (2020), there are several
reasons for the widening rift in Yemen between 2012 to 2014 that caused the
current crisis rooted in subsidy backlash, Houthi takeover, military division,
and the Saudi intervention. The Hadi
administration removed fuel subsidies in July 2014 that was part of the
conditions of a $550 million loan from the International Monetary Fund;
however, the Houthi movement organized significant mass protests to lower fuel
prices and demand a new government (Laub & Robinson, 2020). The Houthis moved to gain control of Yemen’s
capital Sanaa and northwestern Yemen in mid-September 2014 as the Houthis gave
up on a UN peace deal made earlier that month, which resulted in the collapse
of the Hadi government and Hadi flee into exile in Saudi Arabia (Laub &
Robinson, 2020). These moves by the
Houthis cascaded into the Yemeni military, effectively fracturing it as
soldiers started backing different anti-Hadi factions and furthering the
divisions within Yemeni society. The
collapse of peaceful mediation by the GCC shifted the mindset of regional
powers like Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates from mediators into
active players in the Yemeni conflict through engagement in a military campaign
against the Houthis to restore the Hadi government (Laub & Robinson, 2020). The various local factors leading to the
Saudi-led intervention in Yemen began with the existing and widening fissures
in Yemeni society that has been elusive to repair in the six-year-long war.
Factions
in the Yemeni Conflict
There are several factions on the ground in Yemen's
conflict: the Republic of Yemen Government (ROYG), headed by President Hadi,
Houthi forces, Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), and the Southern
Transitional Council (STC), led by General Aidarous al Zubaidi (Sharp, 2020, p.
4). Additionally, several regional
actors assist these local actors: Saudi Arabia supporting the ROYG, Iran
supporting Houthi forces, and the United Arab Emirates supporting the STC (Sharp,
2020, p. 4). There are a few non-regional
nations involved in Yemen, as well as several international organizations. The United States is engaged in Yemen,
providing material support to the Saudi-led intervention and conducting
anti-terrorism operations against AQAP.
Nations such as the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Russia, and China
have provided weapons sales to various Gulf states or local proxies (Werkauser
& Human Rights Watch, 2020).
International organizations such as the United Nations, Human Rights
Watch, Amnesty International, World Health Organization, and International Red
Cross provide various levels of assistance to the Yemeni people. The non-localization of the Yemeni conflict
with so many states being involved in varying degrees is a significant cause of
non-resolution to Yemen's war.
Current
Situation of the Yemeni Civil War
In 2020, Yemen's situation remains a
place of significant violence abounding with abject poverty, poor government, a
collapsed economy, and famine. The
United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA)
considers Yemen's situation the world’s worse humanitarian crisis (OCHA,
2020). OCHA (2020) estimates 80% of the
population or 24 million people require some form of assistance. OCHA statistics paint a grim picture of Yemen's
situation by stating 20 million Yemenis are food insecure, and 7.4 million are
at risk of famine (OCHA, 2020).
Additionally, about 4.3 million people have fled their homes, with 3.3
million internally displaced (OCHA, 2020). Yemen’s public sector services are
significantly constrained, with 51% of health centers remain operational, and
4.7 million children require some form of educational assistance as non-payment
of salaries for teachers has impacted access to education (OCHA, 2020). In the six years of fighting, the US-based
Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED) estimates that about
100,000 Yemenis have died since 2015 (Sharp, 2020, pg. 4). According to Human Rights Watch (2020), all
parties in the conflict have been observed performing various human rights
abuses, from unlawful airstrikes, children pressed into armed conflict,
landmines, torture, and blocking and impeding humanitarian access. Amnesty International reports that 4.5
million Yemenis have disabilities facing discrimination and humanitarian
organizations have difficulty giving appropriate aid to those with disabilities
(Debre, 2020).
One of the most significant current
humanitarian issues in Yemen is access to humanitarian assistance and control
of aid. Human Rights Watch notes that
all parties fighting on the ground in Yemen have done some access violations,
whether from the Saudi-led coalition blockading Houthi controlled ports and
airport to the Houthis restricting movements on aid in the city of Taizz (Human
Rights Watch, 2020). The port city of
Hodeidah is one of the main ports for food and humanitarian assistance; the
city has been a focal point of heavy fighting by the Houthis and the Saudi-led
coalition since 2018 (Ghobari, 2019).
Issues with aid delivery continue as the United Nations has accused the
Houthis that food aid has been stolen for other purposes, such as reselling supplies
in black markets (Michael, 2018). UN
employees in Yemen have faced retaliation through the form of visa revoking and
being forced out of the country if they report on the Houthis, conflicted
between doing the right thing and maintaining aid access (Michael, 2018).
UN Response to the Yemeni Conflict
The UN has been
involved in Yemen for many years before the current Yemeni Civil War, being a
mediator in the political transition process after President Saleh resigned in
2011 (Laub & Robinson, 2020).
Despite UN efforts to manage Yemen's political divisions, the conflict
escalated into large-scale military operations throughout the country; thus,
the UN’s responsibility grew further into mediation and humanitarian assistance
management. Asseburg, Lacher, and
Transfeld (2018, p. 44) note the UN has a near-impossible task of mediating
Yemen's political divisions caused by a national level vacuum and ever-shifting
local, regional, and international alliances make conflict resolution elusive. The UN has performed piecemeal negotiations
to stem the violence; however, large-scale peace remains out of reach because
of the collapse of unified Yemen.
External influences from parties like Iran or the United States help
bolster local actors' perceptions of power and ability to sustain their
interests, explaining that the conflict’s longevity is by design (Asseburg,
Lacher, & Transfeld, 2018, p. 56).
US Policy Response and Obligations in Yemen
The longstanding US policy in Yemen
is primarily grounded around anti-terrorism efforts against AQAP and maintain
good relations with Saudi Arabia. The
Yemeni Civil War has immensely complicated US anti-terrorism efforts; however,
those operations have been sustained throughout the conflict (Asseburg, Lacher,
& Transfeld, 2018, p. 49-50). The US
has provided weapons to the Saudi-led coalition. Some of those weapons have
been reportedly turned over directly to local Yemeni forces in possible
violation of the US foreign military sales agreement (Sharp, 2020, p. 11). The US has provided over $2.4 billion in
humanitarian assistance to Yemen through USAID to support the World Food
Programme (WFP) operations in Yemen, with an additional $30 million in direct
bilateral aid to Yemen (Sharp, 2020, p. 13).
On May 6, 2020, the US announced $225 million in continued funding to
the WFP aid operation just in time as the UN announced they would have to scale
down operations due to lack of funding (Pamuk, 2020). For the most part, US policy has stayed
consistent between the Obama and Trump administration in the key objectives of
anti-terrorism, support of the Saudi-led coalition, and humanitarian
assistance.
Conclusion
The Yemeni Civil
War should be seen as a war of significant political differences between the
local Yemeni actors. Each fight is to weaken each other’s position at any
negotiation table. The UN should
maintain its forefront approach to negotiating, despite the UN Security
Council's bias on which councilmembers support which sides of the conflict,
realizing that the bigger peace at the regional level will remain elusive for
some time to come. A reunified Yemen
before is off the table, and the UN should negotiate towards a possible
power-sharing agreement. Parties in the
conflict need to have some way to facilitate compromise and devalue the
mechanism of returning to fighting to gain more leverage. Figuring out local interests and resolving
the array of political issues in Yemen will eventually resolve the conflict,
although it will not be a quick process.
The US should seek greater
accountability of its weapons sales if it chooses to continue selling weapons
to the Gulf states. The US should
provide whatever clout it can provide to back up UN-brokered negotiations to
end Yemen's fighting and humanitarian crisis.
Resolution of the Yemeni Civil War in a peaceful manner that considers
all local actors on the ground could alleviate other pressing policies such as
combating AQAP and reducing Iranian influence in Saudi Arabia’s vicinity. Peace in Yemen would enhance regional
security and bolster critical areas of concern in US national security in the
region. Eventually, these moves would
eliminate the need to provide Yemen humanitarian aid and put future economic
support to enhance Yemen's economic development.
References
Human Rights Watch. (2020,
January 14). World Report 2020: Rights Trends in Yemen. Human Rights
Watch. https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2020/country-chapters/yemen.
United Nations. (2020,
March 12). About OCHA Yemen. United Nations Office for the Coordination
of Humanitarian Affairs. https://www.unocha.org/yemen/about-ocha-yemen.
Asseburg, M., Lacher, W., &
Transfeld, M. (2018, October 1). Mission Impossible? German Institute
for International and Security Affairs. https://www.swp-berlin.org/en/publication/mission-impossible-un-mediation-in-libya-syria-and-yemen/.
Debre, I. (2019, December
3). Amnesty: Yemen's disabled are neglected, and suffering. AP NEWS. https://apnews.com/article/d89f85756cb94af99352b1398667d1f2.
Ghobari, M. (2019, May 15).
Fighting grips Yemen's Hodeidah port, complicating peace moves. Reuters.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-yemen-security/fighting-grips-yemens-hodeidah-port-complicating-peace-moves-idUSKCN1SL09C.
Laub, Z., & Robinson,
K. (2020, July 29). Backgrounder: Yemen in Crisis. Council on Foreign Relations.
https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/yemen-crisis.
Michael, M. (2018, December
31). AP Investigation: Food aid stolen as Yemen starves. AP NEWS. https://apnews.com/article/bcf4e7595b554029bcd372cb129c49ab.
Pamuk, H. (2020, May 6). US
announces $225 million in emergency aid to Yemen. Reuters. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-yemen-aid/u-s-announces-225-million-in-emergency-aid-to-yemen-idUSKBN22I2M8.
Sharp, J. M. (2020, April
23). Yemen: Civil War and Regional Intervention. Washington DC; Congressional
Research Service. https://fas.org/sgp/crs/mideast/R43960.pdf.
Werkhauser, N. (2020,
February 4). Germany sells arms to members of Saudi-led Yemen coalition: DW:
02.04.2020. Deutsche Welle. https://www.dw.com/en/germany-sells-arms-to-members-of-saudi-led-yemen-coalition/a-53000044.
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