\n Impoverished Yemen is mired in a devastating conflict between Iran-backed rebels and government forces, which intensified after Saudi Arabia led a military intervention five years ago.\n<\/p>\n
\n Here is a broad overview:\n<\/p>\n
\n - Arab intervention -\n<\/p>\n
\n In September 2014, Huthi rebels from the country's Zaid Shiite minority in northern Yemen enter Sanaa, seizing the government headquarters.\n<\/p>\n
\n Backed by Shiite Iran, the rebels ally themselves with military units loyal to ex-president Ali Abdullah Selah, who was forced to quit after a 2011 uprising.\n<\/p>\n
\n As well as the capital, they seize swathes of territory, including the Red Sea port of Hodeida, a crucial entry point for imports and humanitarian aid.\n<\/p>\n
\n In February 2015, President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi flees to the southern port of Aden.\n<\/p>\n
\n A coalition led by Sunni-ruled Saudi Arabia, the bitter regional rival of Iran, enters the conflict on March 26, 2015 with air strikes on the rebels.\n<\/p>\n
\n Around a dozen countries form part of the coalition, including five from the Gulf, notably the United Arab Emirates.\n<\/p>\n
\n Washington says it contributes logistics and intelligence.\n<\/p>\n
\n As the rebels advance southwards on Aden, Hadi flees, taking refuge in Saudi Arabia.\n<\/p>\n
\n In July, Aden becomes the de facto capital of the country and in October pro-government forces announce they have retaken control of the Bab al-Mandab strait, a key waterway for international shipping.\n<\/p>\n
\n - Battle for aid port -\n<\/p>\n
\n In June 2018, government fighters, backed by Saudi and Emirati ground forces, launch an offensive to retake the port of Hodeida.\n<\/p>\n
\n UN-brokered talks between the warring parties open in December, yielding a series of breakthroughs including a ceasefire in Hodeida where combat largely ceases.\n<\/p>\n
\n - Southern separatists -\n<\/p>\n
\n The anti-Huthi camp is also divided, notably in the south with fighting between separatists and unionist forces loyal to the government. The separatists occupy the presidential palace, before Saudi-Emirati forces intervene and end the battle.\n<\/p>\n
\n South Yemen was an independent state until it united with the north in 1990, and separatists remain powerful.\n<\/p>\n
\n In August 2019, clashes in Aden pit separatists from the UAE-trained Security Belt against government troops backed by Riyadh.\n<\/p>\n
\n In November, a power-sharing accord is signed between the two parties, but is never applied.\n<\/p>\n
\n - Saudi Arabia targeted -\n<\/p>\n
\n In September 2019, twin attacks on Saudi oil installations, claimed by the Huthis but widely blamed on Iran despite its denials, knock out half of the kingdom's production.\n<\/p>\n
\n Saudi Arabia has regularly been targeted by missiles and drones launched by the rebels.\n<\/p>\n
\n - New escalation -\n<\/p>\n
\n After a relative lull in violence, fighting resumes in mid-January 2020 to the east of Sanaa.\n<\/p>\n
\n On January 18, a missile strike on a loyalist military camp blamed on the Huthis kills 116 people and injures dozens.\n<\/p>\n
\n In early March, the Huthis seize key provincial capital Al-Hazm after heavy fighting with government troops.\n<\/p>\n
\n The victory puts them on the road to Marin, a key city held by government forces situated 170 kilometres (105 miles) to the east of Sanaa.\n<\/p>\n
\n - Humanitarian crisis -\n<\/p>\n
\n Yemen's conflict has killed tens of thousands of people, mostly civilians, relief agencies say.\n<\/p>\n
\n More than 24 million Yemenis, or more than two thirds of the population, need assistance, according to the United Nations which describes Yemen as \"the world's worst humanitarian crisis\".\n<\/p>\n
\n Both sides stand accused of committing violations that could amount to war crimes.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Impoverished Yemen is mired in a devastating conflict between Iran-backed rebels and government forces, which intensified after Saudi Arabia led a military intervention five years ago. Here is a broad overview: - Arab intervention - In September 2014, Huthi rebels from the country's Zaid Shiite minority in northern Yemen enter Sanaa, seizing the government headquarters. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":60,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[553],"tags":[],"ji_location":[],"class_list":["post-44040","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-live-feed"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n