Al-Hudaydah

May 10-June 7: Government disputes Houthis' "withdrawal" from Hudaydah, Houthis attack Saudi oil facilities, European labor unions protest arms shipments, US and KSA ratchet up tensions with Iran

Friday, May 10

The Houthis have agreed to unilaterally remove their forces from the ports of al-Hudaydah, Salif, and Ras Isa between May 11 and May 14. Many observers are sceptical of the promise, given the Houthis’ previous failures to follow through on this aspect of the Stockholm Agreements.

The UN is assessing possible damage to grain stored in the Red Sea Mills facility in Hudaydah following gunfire on Thursday. The National reports that the Houthis attacked the mills causing damage to one of the silos and the wheat stored in it.

Saturday, May 11

A Yemeni government minister has said that the Houthis’ handover of the three main ports in Hudaydah is a “show” meant to “disinform the international community.” Last year the Houthis staged a similar withdrawal of the port of Hudaydah, before it was discovered that the Coast Guard forces the Houthis had handed the port to were, in fact, also Houthi fighters. Journalist Baseem al-Jenani notes that this marks the third time in six months that the Houthis have announced their withdrawal from Hudaydah in accordance with the Stockholm Agreement

The Security Council has approved 75 observers to join the monitoring mission in Hudaydah as part of the Stockholm agreement. However, there are currently only 15 observers in Hudaydah while the others are waiting on visas. The observers were intended to monitor the implementation of the deal and assess conditions on the ground, tasks the mission cannot carry out without adequate staffing.

January 19-25: Houthi landmines claim multiple victims, warring parties at standstill in Hudaydah

Saturday, January 19

According to AP, UN experts have found that fuel shipped illegally from Iran is being used by the Houthis to finance their operations.

ReliefWeb published a November 2018 Water, Hygiene and Sanitation (WASH) analysis of the Shara’b al-Salam district of Ta’iz province today. The analysis concludes that 20% of internally displaced persons and 31% of host community households in the district had not been able to meet their water needs in the month prior to the assessment. Furthermore, 76% of IDPs and 70% of host community households in the district reported that leaving garbage in public spaces where it was left uncollected was the most common method of disposal.

Al-Masdar Online reports that two of Ta’iz city’s most wanted individuals were killed today by the Abu al-Abbas Brigades, an armed group with ties to AQAP and the UAE that controls parts of Ta’iz.

Al-Masdar Online tweeted a video in which the mother of activist Zakariya al-Qasim demands to know the fate of her son, who has been imprisoned by UAE forces for approximately one year.

January 12-18: UN Official Fired upon in Hudaydah, Conflict Parties meet in Jordan

Saturday, January 12

According to government sources, 37 civilians were killed and 312 injured by Houthi violations of the Hudaydah ceasefire agreement since it was put in place on December 18. The government is calling on Martin Griffiths to pressure the Houthis into complying with the ceasefire.

Reporter Baseem al-Jenani, meanwhile, tweeted that medical sources say 27 civilians were killed or injured in the city of Hudaydah by Houthi vehicles.

Sunday, January 13

The Guardian reports that the Houthis have threatened to continue drone strikes after the attack on a military base in Lahij province last week.

November 10-15: Coalition temporarily halts al-Hudaydah offensive, Congressional Republicans prevent debate on Yemen

11/10

UN Envoy to Yemen Martin Griffiths pushed back the timeline for peace talks in Yemen, estimating that “they will try to bring them together by the end of the year.” This setback is concurrent with the renewed offensive on al-Hudaydah by the Saudi-led coalition.

October 31st - November 9th: Escalation of fighting despite US calls for ceasefire; Fighting in Hudaydah threatens hospitals

10/31

Defense Secretary Mattis requested that “all parties” of the conflict in Yemen “take part in UN-led peace talks within the next thirty days.” Secretary of State Pompeo also came forward, urging “the Saudi-led coalition battling the rebel Houthi movement to end its air strikes on populated areas” in exchange for an end to Houthi missile attacks on Saudi Arabia.

October 22-30: coalition sends reinforcements to Hudaydah, Pompeo calls for ceasefire

10/22

Chancellor Angela Merkel announced that Germany will discontinue its weapon exports to Saudi Arabia in light of the killing of Jamal Khashoggi.

UNICEF warns that fighting around the key port of al-Hudaydah, in addition to Yemen’s economic crisis, continues to exacerbate the humanitarian situation, putting millions of families in a desperate situation without access to clean water, food, or sanitation.

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reported that over 3,000 families were affected by Cyclone Luban. About 2,203 families were displaced from their homes in the districts of al-Masilah, Sayhut, Huswain, Qishn, and al-Ghaydah City in al-Mahrah.

UN Special Envoy to Yemen Martin Griffiths is scheduled for a visit next Sunday to Ta’iz. Also in the works are plans for UN-sponsored meetings with the Yemeni government, Houthi representatives, and other regional and international actors in Nairobi in the near future.

The Hadi government’s Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation collaborated with UN Organization for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in a workshop to address Yemen’s 2019 humanitarian response plan in Aden.

August 8-13: Airstrike on school bus draws international attention; new report details prison abuses

8/8

International aid groups protested the "symbol of aggression and oppression" the San'a airport has become. There have been 56 coalition airstrikes on the airport in the past two years, an average of one every two weeks.

Yemen’s ambassador to the US, Ahmed Awad Bin Mubarak, argued Wednesday that the US withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal would “contribute to the end of the war in Yemen.”

War and Water Insecurity in Yemen

Yemen faces many problems in the years to come; often forgotten is the increasing threat of climate change. The country has long faced issues of water insecurity and scarcity, desertification and overgrazing, but these issues are set to get worse given the global climate and, even more so, the war in Yemen.

July 16-23: No clear progress in negotiations as conditions in Hudaydah worsen

7/17

After months of local protests, the Saudi- and Emirati-led coalition has given up control of al-Ghayda airport in eastern Yemen according to Al Jazeera.

Houthi shelling in Ta’iz killed 3 civilians and injured 6 others today. The Houthis have continued the current spate of shelling for over two weeks.

Fighting in Hudaydah Governorate killed at least 30 civilians in the first two weeks of July.

June 19-24: Fighting continues amid further peace talks

6/19

UN Special Envoy Martin Griffiths has left San’a without a peace deal. This was his second visit to the capital in two weeks.

The United Nations reports that 26,000 have been displaced due to fighting in Hudaydah Governorate. Fighting is centered around the airport compound and residential areas to the south of Hudaydah city. Over forty airstrikes have been reported in other areas across the country as well.

June 5-13: Coalition launches Hudaydah assault despite warnings of humanitarian disaster

6/5

Regardless of months of warnings from humanitarian agencies, the UN, and foreign governments, Yemeni forces backed by the UAE are advancing toward the port and city of al-Hudaydah.  

UN Yemen envoy Martin Griffiths held talks with the Houthis to cede Hudaydah Port to the UN. However, the Houthis launched another ballistic missile into Saudi Arabia after his departure, suggesting that things may have gone very poorly.

Griffiths' brief statement upon leaving San'a was optimistic, but had no details.

A UAE-backed Yemeni offensive commanded in part by Tareq Saleh has secured the main coastal road to Hudaydah, advancing roughly 30 miles within less than four days.

May 21-30: Coalition continues toward Hudaydah as UN officials express concern

5/21

Oxfam’s Scott Paul was featured on an episode of UN Dispatch podcast, explaining the impact of the Saudi-led coalition’s restrictions on shipping on people in southern Yemen.

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs released a statement on the situation in Yemen expressing concern about escalating hostilities in the Tihamah coastal region.

"Just Enough": The Saudi-led Coalition's Humanitarian Plan for Yemen

Concise and insightful analyses of the Saudi-led coalition’s Yemen Comprehensive Humanitarian Operations (YCHO) plan swiftly followed its Monday announcement. Though the top line number -- a pledge of 1.5 billion USD to UN agencies in response to the 2.96 billion requested by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) from the international community -- is commendable, the YCHO’s fine print only underlines the contradictions shaping the plan for the worse: if Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and other coalition governments want to be both warring parties in Yemen’s conflict and the country’s humanitarian saviors, the former will always subsume the latter.

December 4-10: Houthis crack down in San'a, coalition advances toward Hudaydah

12/4/2017

The US Supreme Court ruled that President Trump’s travel ban could be fully enforced while challenges to the ban proceed in lower courts. “The San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals and the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Virginia, will be holding arguments on the legality of the ban this week.”

12/5

US Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis told reporters that the humanitarian situation in Yemen is likely to worsen following Saleh’s assassination. Mattis’ statements were vague, but signalled an increased concern among American officials for the humanitarian crisis.

Why we oppose the coalition's Hudaydah offensive

The Yemen Peace Project and many other advocacy and humanitarian organizations are currently using every tool at our disposal to pressure the White House to try to stop the offensive on al-Hudaydah currently being mounted by Yemeni army, Southern Resistance and coalition forces. This position is controversial. I’ve heard from many Yemeni and Yemeni-American contacts who agree with our stance on this, and from a number who disagree. So I feel it’s necessary to explain, personally, why I think the YPP’s position is the right one, and why we think this offensive should not go forward. I hope those who think I’m wrong will take the time to read it.

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NGOs welcome UN Security Council Statement on Yemen: Words Must Now be Turned into Action

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On Monday, 19 June 2017, the Yemen Peace Project, along with 10 other humanitarian and human rights organizations, released a joint statement commending the UN Security Council presidential statement on Yemen. The statement urges the UNSC to turn their words into action to end Yemen's suffering and find an immediate political solution to the conflict. 

UN Relief Chief and Mwatana Chair address UNSC meeting on Yemen

Stephen O’Brien, the United Nations Under-Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, delivered a statement to the United Nations Security Council during last Tuesday’s Council meeting on Yemen. O’Brien spoke of the humanitarian catastrophe in Yemen, warning that the situation there had become the world’s largest food security crisis and that lack of access to food and clean water created the conditions for the cholera epidemic. While he lauded the United Nations and its partners, along with medical personnel in Yemen, for their work to stem the spread of cholera and other diseases, he criticized the parties to the conflict for putting their own interests above the needs of the Yemeni people, explaining that both lack of access to food and disease are, in the case of Yemen, man-made phenomena that could be avoided if the parties were willing to negotiate an end the conflict.

May 2-8: Tensions between Hadi and UAE, cholera outbreaks threaten public health

Tuesday, May 2, 2017

Reuters reports that Saudi deputy crown prince Mohammed bin Salman has said that the offensive on Hudaydah that Saudi Arabia wants to launch would have heavy casualties for both Saudi-backed forces and their Houthi adversaries. The Washington Post, meanwhile, discusses the concern among U.S. lawmakers over the possibility of an attack on the port city.

AP focuses on statements by Prince Mohammed bin Salman dismissing the possibility of dialogue with Iran as unrealistic and stating that Saudi Arabia would not wait “until there becomes a battle in Saudi Arabia, so we will work so that it becomes a battle for them in Iran….”