Yemen - Civil War | Page 4 | World Defense

Yemen - Civil War

Scorpion

THINK TANK: SENIOR
Joined
Nov 27, 2014
Messages
3,868
Reactions
3,197 56 0
Country
Saudi Arabia
Location
Saudi Arabia
Saudis strike to defend 'legitimate government' of Yemen

Adel Al-Jubeir, the Saudi Ambassador to the United States, speaks about why they've chosen to launch coalition airstrikes against Houthi rebels in Yemen.

Exclusive: Saudi Arabia building up military near Yemen border - U.S. officials


(Reuters) - Saudi Arabia is moving heavy military equipment including artillery to areas near its border with Yemen, U.S. officials said on Tuesday, raising the risk that the Middle East’s top oil power will be drawn into the worsening Yemeni conflict.

The buildup follows a southward advance by Iranian-backed Houthi Shi'ite militants who took control of the capital Sanaa in September and seized the central city of Taiz at the weekend as they move closer to the new southern base of U.S.-supported President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi.

The slide toward war in Yemen has made the country a crucial front in Saudi Arabia's region-wide rivalry with Iran, which Riyadh accuses of sowing sectarian strife through its support for the Houthis.

The conflict risks spiraling into a proxy war with Shi'ite Iran backing the Houthis, whose leaders adhere to the Zaydi sect of Shi'ite Islam, and Saudi Arabia and the other regional Sunni Muslim monarchies backing Hadi.

The armor and artillery being moved by Saudi Arabia could be used for offensive or defensive purposes, two U.S. government sources said. Two other U.S. officials said the build-up appeared to be defensive.

One U.S. government source described the size of the Saudi buildup on Yemen's border as "significant" and said the Saudis could be preparing air strikes to defend Hadi if the Houthis attack his refuge in the southern seaport of Aden.

Another U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Washington had acquired intelligence about the Saudi build-up. But there was no immediate word on the precise location near the border or the exact size of the force deployed.

Hadi, who supported Washington’s campaign of deadly drone strikes on a powerful al Qaeda branch based in Yemen, has been holed up in Aden with his loyalist forces since he fled Sanaa in February. On Tuesday, forces loyal to Hadi drove Houthi fighters from two towns they had seized hours earlier, residents said, apparently checking an advance by the Shi'ite fighters toward Aden.



SAUDIS "DEEPLY CONCERNED"

Saudi Arabia faces the risk of the turmoil spilling across its porous 1,800 km (1,100 mile)-long border with Yemen and into its Shi'ite Eastern Province where the kingdom's richest oil deposits lie.

“The Saudis are just really deeply concerned about what they see as an Iranian stronghold in a failed state along their border,” U.S. Ambassador to Yemen Matthew Tueller told Reuters on Monday at a conference hosted by the National U.S.-Arab Chamber of Commerce in Washington.

But a former senior U.S. official, speaking to Reuters on condition of anonymity, said the prospects for successful external intervention in Yemen appeared slim. He said Hadi’s prospects appeared to be worsening and that for now he was “pretty well pinned down.”

Riyadh hosted top-level talks with Gulf Arab neighbors on Saturday that backed Hadi as Yemen's legitimate president and offered "all efforts" to preserve the country's stability.

Saudi Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal said on Monday Arab countries would take necessary measures to protect the region against "aggression" by the Houthi movement if a peaceful solution could not be found.

In March 2011, Saudi troops, along with those from the United Arab Emirates, entered neighboring Bahrain after weeks of protests by that country’s Shi’ite majority that Riyadh feared could lead to an expansion of Iran’s influence.

A spokesman for the Saudi embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment on any military movements.

Yemen asked the United Nations Security Council on Tuesday to back military action by "willing countries" to combat Houthi militias, according to a letter from Hadi seen by Reuters.

Hadi wants the 15-member body to adopt a resolution that would authorize "willing countries that wish to help Yemen to provide immediate support for the legitimate authority by all means and measures to protect Yemen and deter the Houthi aggression."

Fighting has spread across the Arabian peninsula country since last September when the Houthis seized Sanaa and advanced into Sunni Muslim areas.

U.S. officials said on Saturday that the United States had evacuated all its remaining personnel in Yemen, including about 100 special operations forces, because of the security situation. The end of a U.S. security presence inside the country has dealt a blow to Washington's ability to monitor and fight al Qaeda's Yemen affiliate.

The Houthis have denied taking material and financial support from Tehran. But last year Yemeni, Western and Iranian sources gave Reuters details of Iranian military and financial support to the Houthis before and after their takeover of Sanaa last year.

However, U.S. officials have said that Iranian backing for the Houthi rebels has been largely limited to funding. They say Iran has its hands full providing armed assistance to its allies in Syria and Iraq.

Exclusive: Saudi Arabia building up military near Yemen border - U.S. officials| Reuters
 
Last edited by a moderator:

Falcon29

THINK TANK
Joined
Nov 29, 2014
Messages
2,176
Reactions
1,042 14 0
Country
Palestinian Territory, Occupied
Location
USA
These are defensive measures. Are they expecting Houthis to attack from North? That would be suicidal and drive us into regional war.
 

Scorpion

THINK TANK: SENIOR
Joined
Nov 27, 2014
Messages
3,868
Reactions
3,197 56 0
Country
Saudi Arabia
Location
Saudi Arabia
These are defensive measures. Are they expecting Houthis to attack from North? That would be suicidal and drive us into regional war.

We need a regional war. We are all for it. These aren't defensive measures rather offensive. The Houthi lack basic training and advanced weapons. Our Air Force will bomb the shit out of them. There will not be any ground troops inside Yemen but slowly pushing them and establish a buffer zone inside.
 

Falcon29

THINK TANK
Joined
Nov 29, 2014
Messages
2,176
Reactions
1,042 14 0
Country
Palestinian Territory, Occupied
Location
USA
We need a regional war. We are all for it. These aren't defensive measures rather offensive. The Houthi lack basic training and advanced weapons. Our Air Force will bomb the shit out of them. There will not be any ground troops inside Yemen but slowly pushing them and establish a buffer zone inside.

God knows if they're defensive or offensive. But I do agree, it's going to be a mess trying to repair situation in region. If there is further delay it only means tougher war Saudi Arabia will face. We know that Bahrain will erupt next if nothing is done but it's not strategic threat like Yemen is. If it's true that it is offensive inshallah it doesn't get bad. Last thing we want is blood spilled in our holy cities.
 

Scorpion

THINK TANK: SENIOR
Joined
Nov 27, 2014
Messages
3,868
Reactions
3,197 56 0
Country
Saudi Arabia
Location
Saudi Arabia
God knows if they're defensive or offensive. But I do agree, it's going to be a mess trying to repair situation in region. If there is further delay it only means tougher war Saudi Arabia will face. We know that Bahrain will erupt next if nothing is done but it's not strategic threat like Yemen is. If it's true that it is offensive inshallah it doesn't get bad. Last thing we want is blood spilled in our holy cities.

The Houthi can't/don't have the capability to even get close by. We will push them dow the sea ma man.

Now president Hadi has officially requested from the UN under the charter 7 asking for military intervention although it means nothing to us but you know just following the so called protocol.
 

Falcon29

THINK TANK
Joined
Nov 29, 2014
Messages
2,176
Reactions
1,042 14 0
Country
Palestinian Territory, Occupied
Location
USA
The Houthi can't/don't have the capability to even get close by. We will push them dow the sea ma man.

Now president Hadi has officially requested from the UN under the charter 7 asking for military intervention although it means nothing to us but you know just following the so called protocol.

A cargo shipment of weapons arrived to Aden. So intervention may not be needed. Houthis aren't able to advance any further so far. According to most Yemeni sources.
 

BLACKEAGLE

SENIOR MEMBER
Joined
Dec 5, 2014
Messages
3,623
Reactions
1,989 10 0
Country
Jordan
Location
Jordan
Yemen's Houthi militia poised to take president's Aden base

r


Southern People's Resistance militants loyal to Yemen's President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi take positions on the frontline of fighting against Houthi fighters in the country's southern province of Lahej March 24, 2015.

Credit: Reuters/Nabeel Quaiti


(Reuters) - Houthi militia forces in Yemen backed by allied army units seized a key air base on Wednesday and appeared poised to capture the southern port of Aden from defenders loyal to President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, local residents said.

After taking al-Anad air base, the Houthis and their military allies, supported by heavy armor, advanced to within 40km (25 miles) of Aden, where Hadi has been holed up since fleeing the Houthi-controled capital Sanaa last month.

Unidentified warplanes fired missiles at the Aden neighborhood where Hadi's compound is located, residents said. Anti-aircraft batteries opened fire on the planes.

Yemen's slide towards civil war has made the country a crucial front in mostly Sunni Saudi Arabia's rivalry with Shi'ite Iran, which Riyadh accuses of stirring up sectarian strife through its support for the Houthis.

Sunni Arab monarchies around Yemen have condemned the Shi'ite Houthi takeover as a coup and have mooted a military intervention in favor of Hadi in recent days.

U.S. officials say Saudi Arabia is moving heavy military equipment including artillery to areas near its border with Yemen, raising the risk that the Middle East’s top oil power will be drawn into the worsening Yemeni conflict.

While the battle is publicly being waged by the Houthi movement, many in Aden believe that the real instigator of the campaign is former president Ali Abdullah Saleh, a fierce critic of Hadi.

It was Saleh who was the author of Aden's previous humiliation in 1994, when as president he crushed a southern secessionist uprising in a short but brutal war.

Unlike other regional leaders deposed in the Arab Spring, Saleh was allowed to remain in the country.

Army loyalists close to Saleh on Wednesday warned against foreign interference, saying on his party website that Yemen would confront such a move "with all its strength".

Diplomats say they suspect the Houthis want to take Aden before an Arab summit this weekend, to preempt an expected attempt by Hadi ally Saudi Arabia to rally Arab support at the gathering for military intervention in Yemen.

Yemeni officials denied reports that Hadi had fled Aden.

HOUTHI ADVANCE

The Houthi advance was taking its toll. The bodies of fighters from both sides lay on the streets of the outskirts of Houta, capital of Lahej province north of Aden, residents said.

In Houta, storefronts were shuttered and residents reported hearing bursts of machine gun fire and saw the bodies of fighters from both sides lying in the streets.

Eyewitnesses said Houthi fighters and allied soldiers largely bypassed the city center and traveled by dirt roads to the southern suburbs facing Aden.

In Aden, heavy traffic clogged Aden as parents brought schoolchildren home and public sector employees obeyed orders to leave work. Eyewitnesses said pro-Hadi militiamen and tribal gunmen were out in force throughout the city.

"The war is imminent and there is no escape from it," said 21-year-old Mohammed Ahmed, standing outside a security compound in Aden's Khor Maksar district, where hundreds of young men have been signing up to fight the advancing Shi'ite fighters.

"And we are ready for it.

The northern Houthi militia alongside army units loyal to Saleh have driven back an array of tribal fighters, army units and southern separatist militiamen loyal to Hadi.

Houthi militants took control of Sanaa in September and seized the central city of Taiz at the weekend as they moved closer to Aden.

Houthi leaders have said their advance is a revolution against Hadi and his corrupt government, and Iran has blessed their rise as part of an "Islamic awakening" in the region.

While Hadi has vowed to check the Houthi push south and called for Arab military support, his reversals have multiplied since heavy fighting first broke out in south Yemen on Thursday and the Houthis began making rapid advances southward.

(Reporting By Mohammed Mukhashaf, Sami Aboudi, Mohammed Ghobari and Noah Browning; Editing by Giles Elgood)
Yemen's Houthi militia poised to take president's Aden base| Reuters
 

BLACKEAGLE

SENIOR MEMBER
Joined
Dec 5, 2014
Messages
3,623
Reactions
1,989 10 0
Country
Jordan
Location
Jordan
Public sector workers in Yemen's Aden told to go home: witnesses

ADEN, Yemen Wed Mar 25, 2015 6:07am EDT


(Reuters) - Public sector workers in Yemen's southern city of Aden were instructed to return home and some residents armed themselves, local witnesses told Reuters on Wednesday, amid rapid advances by Houthi attackers opposed to President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi.

Houthi forces backed by allied army units earlier seized al-Anad air base about 60 km (37 miles) north of Aden from defenders loyal to Hadi, local residents said. The Houthis and their allies later advanced to within 40 km of the city, where Hadi has been holed up since fleeing the capital Sanaa last month.

(Reporting By Noah Browning, Editing by William Maclean)

Public sector workers in Yemen's Aden told to go home: witnesses| Reuters
 

Scorpion

THINK TANK: SENIOR
Joined
Nov 27, 2014
Messages
3,868
Reactions
3,197 56 0
Country
Saudi Arabia
Location
Saudi Arabia
@BLACKEAGLE what is the expected scenario we are going to see as to Saudi Arabia reaction towards the situation in Yemen.
 

BLACKEAGLE

SENIOR MEMBER
Joined
Dec 5, 2014
Messages
3,623
Reactions
1,989 10 0
Country
Jordan
Location
Jordan
Two Yemen aides say Hadi remains in Aden

ADEN, Yemen Wed Mar 25, 2015 6:07am EDT


(Reuters) - Two senior Yemeni officials including the head of national security said on Wednesday that President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi remained in Aden and had no plans to leave following advances by Houthi forces towards the city.

Chief of national security Maj. General Ali al-Ahmadi, asked if Hadi was in Aden, told Reuters: "He's here, he's here, he's here. I am now with him in the palace. He is in Aden."

Mohammed Marem, director of Hadi’s office, told Reuters: "President Hadi is in Aden and he is following up the situation ... We urge people to close ranks and we are certain that Yemenis and the Arab people and governments will not accept that Aden be sacked."

(Reporting by Yara Bayoumy in Cairo and Sami Aboudi in Aden, Writing by William Maclean; Editing by Sonya Hepinstall)
Two Yemen aides say Hadi remains in Aden| Reuters

Yemen Houthis capture airbase near Aden: residents

ADEN, Yemen Wed Mar 25, 2015 4:28am EDT


(Reuters) - Houthi forces backed by allied army units seized al-Anad air base about 60 km (37 miles) north of Aden on Wednesday from defenders loyal to President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, local residents said.

The Houthis and their military allies later advanced to within 40 km of the southern port city, where Hadi has been hold up since fleeing the capital Sanaa last month.

(Reporting by Sami Aboudi and Mohammed Mukhashef, Writing by Noah Browning, Editing by William Maclean)
Yemen Houthis capture airbase near Aden: residents| Reuters
 

Scorpion

THINK TANK: SENIOR
Joined
Nov 27, 2014
Messages
3,868
Reactions
3,197 56 0
Country
Saudi Arabia
Location
Saudi Arabia
I don't think there will any ground missions. Only airstrikes and arms the anti-houthi tribes.
 

BLACKEAGLE

SENIOR MEMBER
Joined
Dec 5, 2014
Messages
3,623
Reactions
1,989 10 0
Country
Jordan
Location
Jordan
@BLACKEAGLE what is the expected scenario we are going to see as to Saudi Arabia reaction towards the situation in Yemen.

I think military intervention is unlikely. Iran wants Saudi Arabia to get involved in Yemen to exhaust as much as possible of it's economic and military capabilities noting that Yemen is a big and very wild country just like Afghanistan. Houthies are now very well armed and spread all over Yemen, so fighting them is much harder than 2009 war. Houthies have strong allies which are Saleh and his loyal armed forces. Therefore Saudi fight will not only be against only Houthies but also their former enemy, Saleh. Hadi and his local allies are too weak to survive even with outside help.

Despite all of this, Saudi Arabia will be in great danger if Houthies take control of Yemen, as it will be an extra Iranian circle around Saudi Arabia.

It's complicated my brother. I'm angry at Saudi lazy and slow reaction. It's late now, but not sure if it's too late. However, the only ray of hope I see is Saleh - Houthies conflict after they defeat Hadi.
 

BLACKEAGLE

SENIOR MEMBER
Joined
Dec 5, 2014
Messages
3,623
Reactions
1,989 10 0
Country
Jordan
Location
Jordan
Factbox: Some main factions in Yemen's crisis
Sun Mar 22, 2015 5:53am EDT

r

Anti-Houthi protesters demonstrate in Yemen's southwestern city of Taiz March 21, 2015.

Credit: Reuters/Anees Mahyoub


n">(Reuters) - Yemen's crisis cuts through the country's political, tribal, regional and sectarian layers to create a complex conflict that risks sucking in neighboring oil giant Saudi Arabia and its main regional rival, Iran.

These are some of the most important factions in Yemen's crisis.

* The Houthis, or Ansarullah. The group began as a movement of young men called the Believing Youth set up in 1992 to back the rights of the Zaydi Shi'ite sect that makes up around a fifth of Yemenis and it fought the government from 2003-09. It recently claimed the mantle of a national revolution and swept southwards, seizing Sanaa. The Houthis are allied to Iran, but the extent of the relationship is a matter of speculation.

* Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi. Elected as an interim president in 2012 to lead a political transition towards democracy, Hadi's residence was besieged by the Houthis after they seized Sanaa. He resigned in January and was put under house arrest, but escaped last month to Aden, repudiated his resignation and formed a government there, and called on the army to join him.

* Ali Abdullah Saleh. The ruler of north Yemen from 1978 and of the unified state from 1990 was forced to concede power in 2011 after mass protests, although he stayed ceremonial president until 2012. Western countries accuse him of using his wide influence, military power base, and an unlikely alliance with the Houthis to undermine Hadi in a bid to win back power.

* Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula. AQAP has been the most active wing of the Islamist militant movement for years, plotting attacks on international airliners and launching raids into Saudi Arabia. Despite repeated army campaigns to oust it from its strongholds in the south and east, it has carried out a string of deadly attacks against Yemen's security forces.

* Southern Hirak. The movement is an unwieldy coalition of groups who want to reverse the state's 1990 reunification and revive the old South Yemen. Hirak can mobilize large numbers of people in the streets of southern cities such as Aden, but has no coherent leadership to translate its popular support into action.

* Islah. A party which combines Islamist and tribal interests, Islah has widespread support across Yemen and looked poised to win more power during the transition, but it lost out in the Houthi advance. Its military might came from an alliance with General Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar, who held the loyalty of key brigades, but has fled to Saudi Arabia.

(Compiled By Angus McDowall, editing by Noah Browning, William Maclean, Sami Aboudi and Louise Heavens)

n">(Reuters) - Yemen's crisis cuts through the country's political, tribal, regional and sectarian layers to create a complex conflict that risks sucking in neighboring oil giant Saudi Arabia and its main regional rival, Iran.

These are some of the most important factions in Yemen's crisis.

* The Houthis, or Ansarullah. The group began as a movement of young men called the Believing Youth set up in 1992 to back the rights of the Zaydi Shi'ite sect that makes up around a fifth of Yemenis and it fought the government from 2003-09. It recently claimed the mantle of a national revolution and swept southwards, seizing Sanaa. The Houthis are allied to Iran, but the extent of the relationship is a matter of speculation.

* Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi. Elected as an interim president in 2012 to lead a political transition towards democracy, Hadi's residence was besieged by the Houthis after they seized Sanaa. He resigned in January and was put under house arrest, but escaped last month to Aden, repudiated his resignation and formed a government there, and called on the army to join him.

* Ali Abdullah Saleh. The ruler of north Yemen from 1978 and of the unified state from 1990 was forced to concede power in 2011 after mass protests, although he stayed ceremonial president until 2012. Western countries accuse him of using his wide influence, military power base, and an unlikely alliance with the Houthis to undermine Hadi in a bid to win back power.

* Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula. AQAP has been the most active wing of the Islamist militant movement for years, plotting attacks on international airliners and launching raids into Saudi Arabia. Despite repeated army campaigns to oust it from its strongholds in the south and east, it has carried out a string of deadly attacks against Yemen's security forces.

* Southern Hirak. The movement is an unwieldy coalition of groups who want to reverse the state's 1990 reunification and revive the old South Yemen. Hirak can mobilize large numbers of people in the streets of southern cities such as Aden, but has no coherent leadership to translate its popular support into action.

* Islah. A party which combines Islamist and tribal interests, Islah has widespread support across Yemen and looked poised to win more power during the transition, but it lost out in the Houthi advance. Its military might came from an alliance with General Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar, who held the loyalty of key brigades, but has fled to Saudi Arabia.

(Compiled By Angus McDowall, editing by Noah Browning, William Maclean, Sami Aboudi and Louise Heavens)
Factbox: Some main factions in Yemen's crisis| Reuters
 

Scorpion

THINK TANK: SENIOR
Joined
Nov 27, 2014
Messages
3,868
Reactions
3,197 56 0
Country
Saudi Arabia
Location
Saudi Arabia
I think military intervention is unlikely. Iran wants Saudi Arabia to get involved in Yemen to exhaust as much as possible of it's economic and military capabilities noting that Yemen is a big and very wild country just like Afghanistan. Houthies are now very well armed and spread all over Yemen, so fighting them is much harder than 2009 war. Houthies have strong allies which are Saleh and his loyal armed forces. Therefore Saudi fight will not only be against only Houthies but also their former enemy, Saleh. Hadi and his local allies are too weak to survive even with outside help.

Despite all of this, Saudi Arabia will be in great danger if Houthies take control of Yemen, as it will be an extra Iranian circle around Saudi Arabia.

It's complicated my brother. I'm angry at Saudi lazy and slow reaction. It's late now, but not sure if it's too late. However, the only ray of hope I see is Saleh - Houthies conflict after they defeat Hadi.

Most tribes in Yemen don't support Al-Houthi and are welling to fight them. I don't think Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries are going to dispatch ground troops but might conduct some surgical airstrikes to slow the movement of the Houthi. I disagree with you on Houthi being well trained well armed. They are bunch un-confronted kids. What should be done is create a buffer zone, evacuate civilians and then boom destroy all military airports that are under their control and then destroy arms warehouses and check points. Next step is arm the tribes with some sophisticated weaponry and ask them to march from the east and the south while the RSAF and navy launch attack from the west through the sea and using artilleries from the north. This way is going to push the Houthi to the center and have them by the hook.

The mission should be executed as fast as possible with no mercy.
 
Top