Yemen

The civil war in Yemen has been going on for ten years, and the world has pretended not to notice. It is only when the conflict spills over to neighbouring countries and regions that we see a flurry of activity, usually of the wrong kind. This was the case when targets in UAE and Saudi Arabia came under attack, or more recently when shipping in the Red Sea was targeted by Yemen’s current ruling group, the Houthis.

A US journalist was inadvertently included in a group chat in which Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Vice President JD Vance and other top officials discussed upcoming strikes against Yemen's Huthi rebels, the White House confirmed Monday. President Donald Trump announced the strikes on March 15, but in a shocking security breach, The Atlantic magazine's editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg wrote that he had hours of advance notice via the group chat on Signal.

The US has launched what it called a decisive and powerful wave of air strikes on Houthi targets on Saturday as part of efforts to stop Houthi attacks on shipping in the Red Sea. Yemen's Houthi rebels say there have been fresh US strikes against them, with the number of dead rising to 53, including five children. Targets in the Al Jaouf and Hudaydah areas were hit early on Monday, according to the rebel group, while the US Central Command said its forces had continued operations throughout the weekend. Washington says some key Houthi figures are among the dead, but the group has not confirmed this.

The US State Department on Tuesday reinstated the “foreign terrorist organization” designation for Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi group fulfilling an order announced by President Donald Trump shortly after he took office. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced the department had restored the designation, which carries with it sanctions and penalties for anyone providing “material support” for the group.

The UN's International Organisation for Migration (IOM) reported on Sunday (25 August) that at least 13 people have died and 14 others are missing after a boat sank off the coast of Yemen on Tuesday (20 August). The dead include 11 men and two women, while a search is underway for the missing, including the Yemeni captain and his assistant, the IOM said. The cause of the shipwreck remains unknown.

At least 1,000 Yemeni pilgrims are stranded in Saudi Arabia after the Houthis seized Yemenia Airways flights that were to take them from the kingdom to Houthi-held Sanaa, the Yemeni government said on Saturday (29 June). Last week, the Houthis took control of three Yemenia planes at Sanaa airport, preventing them from returning to Jeddah airport in Saudi Arabia to take Yemeni pilgrims home. The Yemeni government accused the Houthis of "hijacking" the planes and worsening the plight of the Yemeni people.

Debris and oil have been found in the Red Sea, where the Liberian-flagged, Greek-owned bulk carrier M/V Tutor was attacked by Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis on 12 June 2024. According to the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO), the vessel is believed to have sunk. One crew member, believed to be in the Tutor's engine room at the time of the attacks, remains missing.