Yemen 2016 onwards: an intractable war?

[Azor]

Stratfor Situation Report: https://worldview.stratfor.com/situa...mpaign=article

Houthi forces in Yemen who claimed to be targeting a Saudi warship struck a Saudi oil tanker in the RedSea, causing slight damage.

Why It Matters: Because attacks on oil tankers often alarm the international community, the incident could give the Saudi-led coalition a new justification for military action in Yemen.

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For Background:

Stratfor Assessment: Missiles Remain a Potent Houthi Weapon (https://worldview.stratfor.com/artic...mpaign=article)

• Despite continuous pressure from Saudi-led air operations, Houthi and Saleh loyalists in Yemen continue to pose a threat using ballistic missiles.
• It appears that local engineers have been able to modify ballistic missiles to increase their capabilities, and continue to have access to stockpiles to further their activities.
• There are no indications that rebels are near the indigenous production of missile systems, however. At this point Houthi and Saleh missile capabilities remain entirely dependent on existing stockpiles and foreign supply.

[AdamG]

Here we go again with the opening monologue from the ROAD WARRIOR playing over the evening news.

DUBAI (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia said on Thursday it was suspending oil shipments through the Red Sea’s Bab al-Mandeb strait, one of the world’s most important tanker routes, after Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis attacked two ships in the waterway.

https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-ye...-idUKKBN1KF0WN

[davidbfpo]

A short paper (19 pgs) by Elisabeth Kendall, a SME on the Yemen and who has visited parts recently. The Summary explains:

Regional conflict and internal chaos have allowed militant jihadi groups to rise and flourish in Yemen. This paper analyzes two f the most prominent such groups, al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) and the Islamic State in Yemen (ISY), by scrutinizing the factors that led to their respective ascents, and examining the challenges and pressures that have caused their respective declines. By comparing and contrasting their operations, respective styles of leadership, and varying levels of community integration, this paper charts the path of jihadi militancy in Yemen and assesses its future in Yemeni politics and society.

Link:https://www.mei.edu/sites/default/fi..._Kendall_7.pdf

[davidbfpo]

Hardly a surprise, this AP report covers several places in the Yemen.
Link:https://apnews.com/f38788a561d74ca78c77cb43612d50da

[AdamG]

Saudis intercept Al Houthi missile Al Houthis have launched 176 ballistic missiles towards the kingdom so far

Riyadh: Saudi Arabia’s Royal Air Defence Forces intercepted a ballistic missile launched by Iranian-backed Al Houthi militia towards the kingdom, the Arab coalition command said in a statement. No injuries or casualties were reported.

https://gulfnews.com/news/gulf/yemen...sile-1.2267700

[AdamG]

Report to Congress on Yemen Civil War
August 28, 2018 8:03 AM

The following is the Aug. 24, 2018 Congressional Research Service report, Yemen: Civil War and Regional Intervention.

From the report
This report provides information on the ongoing crisis in Yemen. Now in its fourth year, the war in Yemen shows no signs of abating. On June 12, 2018, the Saudi-led coalition, a multinational grouping of armed forces led primarily by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), launched Operation Golden Victory, with the aim of retaking the Red Sea port city of Hudaydah. The coalition also has continued to conduct air strikes inside Yemen. The war has killed thousands of Yemenis, including combatants as well as civilians, and has significantly damaged the country’s infrastructure. According to the United Nations (U.N.) High Commissioner for Human Rights, from the start of the conflict in March 2015 through August 9, 2018, the United Nations documented “a total of 17,062 civilian casualties – 6,592 dead and 10,470 injured.” This figure may vastly underestimate the war’s death toll.

https://news.usni.org/2018/08/28/rep...emen-civil-war

[AdamG]

WASHINGTON — U.S. Navy sailors seized more than 1,000 AK-47s from a small, disabled boat in the Gulf of Aden this week after boarding the vessel to determine its nation of origin, service officials said Thursday.

Sailors aboard the guided-missile destroyer USS Jason Dunham on Monday observed unmarked packages being transferred onto a skiff from a small, masted sailing vessel, known as a "dhow." U.S. sailors boarded the craft Tuesday to investigate, according to Navy officials. The skiff was sailing in international waters near Yemen without flying a country’s flag and determined to be “stateless,” the officials said.

https://www.stripes.com/news/middle-...yemen-1.545177