Foreign involvement in the Yemeni Civil War

During the Yemeni civil war, Saudi Arabia led an Arab coalition of nine nations from the Middle East and parts of Africa in response to calls from the internationally recognized pro-Saudi[1] president of Yemen Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi for military support after he was ousted by the Houthi movement due to economic and political grievances, and fled to Saudi Arabia.[2]

Nations such as the United Kingdom and the United States support the Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen primarily through arms sales and technical assistance.[3] France had also made recent military sales to Saudi Arabia.[4] MSF emergency coordinator Karline Kleijer called the US, France and the UK part of the Saudi-led coalition, which imposed the weapons embargo and blocked all ships from entering Yemen with supplies.[5] Human rights groups have criticized the countries for supplying arms, and accuse the coalition of using cluster munitions, which are banned in most countries.[6] Oxfam pointed out that Germany, Iran, and Russia have also reportedly sold arms to the conflicting forces.[7] Tariq Riebl, head of programmes in Yemen for Oxfam, said, "it's difficult to argue that a weapon sold to Saudi Arabia would not in some way be used in Yemen," or "if it's not used in Yemen it enables the country to use other weapons in Yemen."[3] Amnesty International urged the US and the UK to stop supplying arms to Saudi Arabia and to the Saudi-led coalition.[8]

It called on the international community, including the United States and United Kingdom to stop "providing arms that could be used in the conflict in Yemen".[9][10][11][12][13] On August 3, 2019, a United Nations report said the US, UK and France may be complicit in committing war crimes in Yemen by selling weapons and providing support to the Saudi-led coalition which is using the deliberate starvation of civilians as a tactic of warfare.[14][15]

## Arab coalition[edit]

Main article: Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen

## Allegations of Iranian involvement[edit]

The coalition accused Iran of militarily and financially supporting the Houthis.[16][17] On 9 April US secretary of state John Kerry said there were "obviously supplies that have been coming from Iran", with "a number of flights every single week that have been flying in", and warned Iran to stop its alleged support of the Houthis.[18] Iran denied these claims.

Anti-Houthi fighters defending Aden claimed they captured two officers in the Iranian Quds Force on 11 April, who had purportedly been serving as military advisers to the Houthi militias in the city.[19] This claim was not repeated. Iran denied presence of any Iranian military force.[20]

According to Michael Horton, an expert on Yemeni affairs, the notion that the Houthis are an Iranian proxy is "nonsense".[21]

According to Agence France-Presse, a confidential report presented to the Security Council's Iran sanctions committee in April 2015 claimed that Iran had been shipping weapons to the Houthi rebels since between 2009 and 2013.[22] The panel further noted the absence of reports of any weapon shipments since 2013.[23]

On 2 May, Abdollahian said that Tehran would not let regional powers jeopardize its security interests.[23]

According to American officials, Iran discouraged Houthi rebels from taking over the Yemeni capital in late 2014, casting further doubt on claims that the rebels were fighting a proxy war on behalf of Iran. A spokeswoman for the US National Security Council said that it remained the council's assessment that "Iran does not exert command and control over the Houthis in Yemen."[24]

On 6 May, Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said, "The Americans shamelessly support the killing of the Yemeni population, but they accuse Iran of interfering in that country and of sending weapons when Iran only seeks to provide medical and food aid."[25]

On 26 September 2015, Saudi Arabia alleged that an Iranian fishing boat loaded with weapons, including rockets and anti-tank shells, was intercepted and seized in the Arabian Sea, 240 km (150 mi) southeast of the Omani Port of Salalah, by Arab coalition forces.[26] In May 2019, Houthi militias launched two attacks to two pumping stations managed by Saudi Aramco. Anas AlHajji, an oil expert, said that such an attack is planned to damage the said pipelines as they replace the Strait of Hormuz's oil passages.[27]

## United States[edit]

See also: U.S. support for Saudi-led operations in Yemen and 2017 United States–Saudi Arabia arms deal

US Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter with Saudi Defense Minister Mohammad bin Salman Al Saud, Pentagon, 13 May 2015

In March 2015, President Barack Obama declared that he had authorized US forces to provide logistical and intelligence support to the Saudis in their military intervention in Yemen, establishing a "Joint Planning Cell" with Saudi Arabia.[28] This includes aerial refueling permitting coalition aircraft more loitering time over Yemen, and permitting some coalition members to home base aircraft rather than relocate them to Saudi Arabia.[29]

According to press reporting, many in US SOCOM reportedly favor Houthis, as they have been effective at combating al-Qaeda and recently ISIL, "something that hundreds of US drone strikes and large numbers of advisers to Yemen's military had failed to accomplish".[30] According to a senior CENTCOM commander, "the reason the Saudis didn't inform us of their plans is that they knew we would have told them exactly what we think—that it was a bad idea." As Yemen expert Michael Horton puts it, the US had been "Iran's air force in Iraq", and "al-Qaeda's air force in Yemen". According to an Al Jazeera report, one reason for US support may be the diplomatic logic of tamping down SA's opposition to the Iranian nuclear deal by backing them. Another is the view among some US military commanders that countering Iran took strategic priority over combating Al-Qaeda and ISIL.[30]

The US Navy has actively participated in the Saudi-led naval blockade,[31] which humanitarian organizations argue has been the main contributing factor to the outbreak of famine in Yemen.[32]

On 30 June, an HRW report stated that US-made bombs were being used in attacks indiscriminately targeting civilians and violating the laws of war. The report photographed "the remnants of an MK-83 air-dropped 1,000-pound bomb made in the US".[33]

US Representative Ted Lieu has been publicly raising concerns over US support for Saudi-led war in Yemen. In March 2016, he sent a letter to Secretary of State John Kerry and Secretary of Defense Ash Carter. He wrote in the letter that the "apparent indiscriminate airstrikes on civilian targets in Yemen seem to suggest that either the coalition is grossly negligent in its targeting or is intentionally targeting innocent civilians".[34] Following American concern about civilian casualties in the Saudi-led war in Yemen, the US military involvement is mostly ineffective due to coalition's airstrikes targeting civilians and hospitals.[35]

In 2015, the United States deployed The Green Berets to assist the Saudi Arabian military with missile interception.[36]

President Barack Obama, CIA Director John Brennan, King Salman and Prince Mohammad at the GCC-US Summit in Riyadh on 21 April 2016

A March 2016 Human Rights Watch report states that US participation in specific military operations, such as selecting targets and aerial refueling during Saudi air raids "may make US forces jointly responsible for laws-of-war violations by coalition forces".[37] In September The Guardian reported that one in three bombing raids hit civilian sites.[38]

US Secretary of Defense James Mattis with King Salman of Saudi Arabia, Riyadh, 19 April 2017

On 13 October 2016, USS Nitze fired Tomahawk missiles at Houthi-controlled radar sites "in the Dhubab district of Taiz province, a remote area overlooking the Bab al-Mandab Straight known for fishing and smuggling."[39]

In 2017, the United States sent a total of $599,099,937 of foreign aid to Yemen despite being a supporter of the Saudi led military intervention.[40]

US Secretary of Defense James Mattis asked President Donald Trump to remove restrictions on US military support for Saudi Arabia.[41][42] In February 2017, Mattis wanted to intercept and board an Iranian ship in the Arabian Sea to look for contraband weapons, which would have constituted an "act of war".[43] In April 2017, Justin Amash, Walter Jones and other members of Congress criticized US involvement in Saudi Arabian military campaign in Yemen, highlighting that Al Qaeda in Yemen "has emerged as a de facto ally of the Saudi-led militaries with whom [Trump] administration aims to partner more closely".[43]

In November 2017, US Senator Chris Murphy accused the United States of complicity in Yemen's humanitarian catastrophe.[44]

In December 2017, the Trump administration urged restraint in the Saudi military action in Yemen, as well as in Qatar and Lebanon.[45]

US bombs used by the coalition have killed Yemeni civilians throughout 2018, including a Lockheed Martin made bomb that struck a school bus in August, killing 51 people.[46][47]

In the wake of Jamal Khashoggi's murder in October 2018, the US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and the US Secretary of Defense James Mattis have called for a ceasefire in Yemen within 30 days followed by UN-initiated peace talks. Pompeo has asked Saudi Arabia and the UAE to stop their airstrikes on populated areas in Yemen. President of the International Rescue Committee David Miliband called the US announcement as "the most significant breakthrough in the war in Yemen for four years".[48] The US continues its support of the Saudi-led intervention with weapons sales and intelligence sharing.[49] On 10 November 2018, the US announced it would no longer refuel coalition aircraft operating over Yemen.[50] On 13 December, the US Senate voted to end US military assistance to Saudi Arabia over alleged war crimes in Yemen.[51]

President Donald Trump with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman, 28 June 2019

Following the 56-to-41 vote in the US Senate to invoke the War Powers Resolution and to end US military support to Saudi Arabia, the Pentagon presented a bill of $331 million to Saudis and Emiratis for US' support in the Yemen Civil War. The bill was split between $36.8 million for fuel and $294.3 million for US flight hours. The Pentagon stated that Saudi Arabia has not made any payments since the beginning of the war.[52]

In April 2019, Trump vetoed a bipartisan bill which would have ended US support for the Saudi-led military intervention.[53] With 53 votes instead of the 67 needed, the United States Senate failed to override the veto.[54] The legal arguments and policies of the Obama administration were cited as justification for the veto.[55] The US Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense Michael Mulroy stated that US support was limited to side-by-side coaching to mitigate civilian casualties and if the measure had passed it would do nothing to help the people of Yemen and may only increase civilian deaths.[56] Mulroy supported the United Nation's peace talks and he pushed the international community to come together and chart a comprehensive way ahead for Yemen.[57][58][59] Writing in The Nation, Mohamad Bazzi argued that Mulroy's defence of US support as necessary to limit civilian casualties was false, and that "Saudi leaders and their allies have ignored American entreaties to minimize civilian casualties since the war's early days".[60]

In the August 2020 report issued by the Office of Inspector General, it is said that the State Department watchdog detected that Secretary of State Mike Pompeo declared an emergency for selling arms worth billions of dollars to Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Jordan, in compliance with legal requirements. However, the risks posed to civilian lives Yemen, with relation to the arms sale, wasn't thoroughly assessed at the time of declaring the emergency, the report states. The report also cited that the State Department's frequent approval of arms sale to the Gulf states, Saudi and UAE, fell below the limits of AECA.[61]

On February 4, 2021, the new US President Joe Biden announced an end to the U.S. support for Saudi-led operations in Yemen but has backtracked on that goal and is considering returning to the Trump administration's designation of the Houthi rebels in Yemen as foreign terrorists.[62] On June 8 2022, the Biden administration confirmed that United States military personal were deployed and conducting operations within Yemen.[63]

As per the report published by Government Accountability Office (GAO) in June 2022, neither the Pentagon nor the State Department could show if they had properly investigated allegations that Saudi-led coalition used U.S.-provided military support to carry out airstrikes and other attacks that allegedly killed civilians in Yemen. Nearly $55 billion in weapons the U.S. has sold to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates between 2015 and 2021 had been improperly used to harm civilians in Yemen. The report also raised serious doubts about Joe Biden’s foreign policy ending US support for Saudi offensive operations in Yemen because the administration’s move to classify weapons as offensive or defensive was largely meaningless.[64]

Analysis by Oxfam of data from January 2021 to February 2022 found that 431 airstrikes using U.S. or UK provided weapons resulted in at least 87 civilians killed and 136 wounded. Osfam stated 13 airstrikes had hit hospitals and clinics.[65]

## United Kingdom[edit]

UK military export licences for Saudi Arabia
[GBP millions]
Source: UK Department for Business, Innovation and Skills[66]

340  |

1,735  |

109  |

1,602  |

80  |

2,836  |

2010  | 2011  | 2012  | 2013  | 2014  | 2015*
*Q1-Q3 only

The UK is one of the largest suppliers of arms to Saudi Arabia,[67][failed verification] and London immediately expressed strong support for the Saudi-led campaign.[68] Six months into the bombing, Oxfam said the UK was "quietly fuelling the Yemen conflict and exacerbating one of the world's worst humanitarian crises" by keeping its arms pipeline to Saudi Arabia open;[69] the Campaign Against Arms Trade (CAAT) agreed that "UK arms and UK cooperation have been central to the devastation of Yemen."[70] In mid-September 2015, the deputy chief executive of Oxfam complained that the government even refused to reveal to Parliament the details of the 37 arms export licences it had granted for sales to Saudi Arabia since March that year.[71] The attack on Yemen saw sales of UK bombs for 2015 increase from £9m to over £1bn in three months.[72] Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have shown that UK arms are being used on civilian targets.[73][74] Furthermore, the UK government has been repeatedly accused of violating domestic, EU, and international law, in particular the Arms Trade Treaty, by maintaining its flow of weapons to the Kingdom.[69][75][76]

Despite this, it was reported in November 2015 that the UK planned a number of high-level visits to Saudi Arabia over the following three to six months with the aim of securing major arms deals.[77]

In January 2016, it emerged that UK military advisors were assisting Saudi personnel in the selection of targets.[78] On 2 February 2016, the International Development Select Committee finally added its call for the UK to cease exporting arms to Saudi Arabia and to end its opposition to an independent international inquiry into the way the military campaign had been conducted thus far.[79] The committee's call went unheeded; indeed, just weeks later, on the day the EU held a non-binding vote in favour of an arms embargo on the country because of its destructive bombing of Yemen, Prime Minister David Cameron boasted about the "brilliant" arms, components, and other military technology that the UK would continue to sell to Saudi Arabia, Oman, and other Gulf states.[80]

Saudi Arabia's UK-supplied Eurofighter Typhoons are playing a central role in Saudi-led bombing campaign in Yemen.[81]

Angus Robertson, the SNP's Parliamentary Group Leader, said David Cameron should admit to British involvement in Saudi Arabia's war in Yemen: "Isn't it time for the Prime Minister to admit that Britain is effectively taking part in a war in Yemen that is costing thousands of civilians lives and he has not sought parliamentary approval to do this?"[82] A few months later, leading American security expert Bruce Riedel noted: "If the United States and the United Kingdom, tonight, told King Salman [of Saudi Arabia] 'this war has to end,' it would end tomorrow. The Royal Saudi Air Force cannot operate without American and British support."[83]

As well as supplying materiel and targeting support for the bombing of Yemen, the UK has assisted the coalition diplomatically. For example, the UK response, provided by Middle East Minister Tobias Ellwood, to the leaked report of a UN panel in January 2016, which documented more than one hundred instances of coalition air strikes that had violated international law, was to say that the Saudis had made "mistakes" and claim that other cases may have been "fabricated" by the Houthis.[84]

Theresa May succeeded David Cameron as prime minister in July 2016, but maintained her predecessor's policy because, she claimed, close ties with the Saudis "keep people on the streets of Britain safe".[85] In September 2016, her foreign minister, Boris Johnson, refused to block UK arms sales to Saudi Arabia,[86] saying there remained no clear evidence of breaches of international humanitarian law by Saudi Arabia in the war in Yemen, and that it would be best for Saudi Arabia to investigate itself.[87] Amid reports from Yemen of famine conditions[88] and "emaciated children [...] fighting for their lives",[89] CAAT observed that the notion of self-investigation would rightly never pass muster if it were proposed for Russia's bombing in support of Assad in Syria.[90] Indeed, in October 2016, Boris Johnson commended the notion of referring allegations of Russian and Russian-backed war crimes to the International Court of Justice.[91] The previous month, Johnson had rejected a proposal for the UN Human Rights Council to conduct an inquiry into the war in Yemen.[92] Furthermore, Britain blocked such an inquiry from taking place.[92] Foreign Office lawyer and whistleblower Molly Mulready claimed that Johnson was uninterested and "joked around" when briefed about war crimes committed with British weapons.[93]

UK Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson participates in a meeting on Yemen with counterparts from the United States, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Oman, on 16 February 2017

In October 2016, it emerged that the United Kingdom was continuing to provide instruction to pilots of the Royal Saudi Air Force, both in the UK and in Saudi Arabia.[85]

Andrew Mitchell, the former cabinet minister in David Cameron's government, stated that "Britain is complicit in creating" a famine in Yemen.[94]

Some British soldiers were involved in gun battles with, and been wounded by, Houthi fighters. At least five members of the SBS were wounded.[95] An SBS source said, "The guys are fighting in the inhospitable desert and mountainous terrain against highly committed and well-equipped Houthi rebels, The SBS's role is mainly training and mentoring but on occasions, they have found themselves in firefights and some British troops have been shot".[96] The report also claims that British Special Forces are fighting on the same side as jihadists and militia which use child soldiers.[97] After the report, The shadow foreign secretary Emily Thornberry, questioned these allegations in the British parliament suggesting that the British forces may have been witnesses to war crimes, if the allegations were true. She claimed that as many as 40% of the soldiers in the Saudi coalition were children, a breach of international humanitarian law.[98] In response, the UK Foreign Office minister Mark Field called the allegations "very serious and well sourced" and promised to get to the bottom of these allegations.[98]

On 25 March 2019 Mark Lancaster told the UK parliament that Britain's Royal Air Force (RAF) was providing "engineering support" and "generic training" to Saudi Arabian military.[99][100]

According to the Guardian News agency, more than 40 Saudi officers have been trained at prestigious British military colleges since the Saudi intervention in Yemen started.[101] This officers mostly trained at Sandhurst, the RAF's school at Cranwell and the Royal Naval College in Dartmouth since 2015.[101] The MoD refused to state the earned money from the Saudi contracts, because it could influence Britain's relations with the Saudis.[101]

In April 2020, Campaign Against the Arms Trade (CAAT) analyzed the annual report of BAE Systems and revealed that Britain's leading arms manufacturer sold weapons worth £15bn to Saudi Arabia. CAAT also stated that supply of weapons continued during Riyadh's involvement in Yemen civil war, while BAE generated £2.5bn in revenues from the Saudi military in 2019.[102]

Abdul-Malik Badreddin, The Houthi leader condemned the UK military cooperation and arms sales to Saudi military.[101] According to a Sky News analysis, The UK has sold at least £5.7bn worth of arms to the Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen since 2015.[101]

Priyanka Motaparthy, senior emergencies researcher at Human Rights Watch, said: “These revelations confirm once again how the UK military is working hand in glove with the Saudis.[101]

On August 24, 2020, a British soldier, Ahmed Al-Babati was arrested for protesting outside the Ministry of Defence (MOD) in London, against arms sales to Saudi Arabia that were being used in the Yemen war. He accused the UK government of having ‘blood on their hands’.[103]

On 27 October 2020, the Campaign Against Arms Trade (CAAT) decided to launch a judicial review into the UK's decision to renew selling arms to Saudi Arabia, which has been involved in the Yemen war. According to CAAT, the weapons sales to the Kingdom would further fuel destruction in Yemen, where thousands of civilians were asserted to have died because of the widespread bombing.[104]

In January 2021, the UK government was reportedly put under pressure for not maintaining the record of a series of air strikes that took place in Yemen, involving civilian casualties, in the Ministry of Defence's confidential log of reported breaches of the IHL or International Humanitarian Law by the warring parties. The database, which had been maintained by the MoD since 2015, came under limelight after the UK arms manufacturers were involved in a legal challenge over export licenses provided to Saudi for sale of weapons used in Yemen. Saudi Arabia leads an Arab coalition that has been accused of causing the most number of human rights violations in the conflict. Reportedly, the weapons were claimed to be used in the breach of IHL. As per the questions raised in October 2020 by Emily Thornberry, a range of such airstrikes were identified as well as reported by the non-profit organization Yemen Data Project and not in the MoD database.[105]

The anti-arms trade campaigners, CAAT reportedly won to challenge the UK government in the high court for its decision to resume arms sales to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, which is possibly used in the Yemen war. A complete hearing will be conducted in the coming months of 2021, which will renew the legal battle between the British government and the campaigning group. A similar battle previously led to halting the sales of arms to the Saudi government.[106]

On 20 October 2021, a London based law firm, Guernica 37 filed a complaint to British police accusing senior government and military officials in Saudi Arabia and the UAE of conspiring in war crimes in Yemen. The dossier was submitted to London’s Metropolitan Police Service and the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), calling for the individuals to be immediately arrested as soon as they enter the UK. Guernica 37’s legal team focused on three events, including a 2018 air attack on a school bus in northern Yemen that killed around 26 children, and a 2016 aerial bombing of a funeral in Sana'a that killed 140 people.[107]

## France[edit]

France is also a significant arms supplier to Saudi Arabia.[108] It has supplied over 2 billion dollars including armored vehicles, air defense systems, and aircraft subsystems.[109] France has also supplied the UAE with arms, despite the UAE and the militias it backs being implicated in war crimes and other serious violations.[110] In late September 2021, two NGOs filed a legal case in the Paris administrative court ordering the French customs to disclose their records in order to investigate the war equipments exported to countries like the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, having involvement in the Yemen war. The case was filed after the French customs denied disclosing the required documentation in the probe of potential links to the sale of weaponry in Yemen war, as per ECCHR and Amnesty International France. Investigative media firm namely, Disclose was also one of the plaintiffs in the case.[111]

## Private military involvement[edit]

On 22 November 2015, The New York Times reported the United Arab Emirates had contracted Academi to deploy 450 Colombian, Panamanian, Salvadoran and Chilean mercenaries to Yemen in October.[112]

On 9 December, Australian media reported an Australian mercenary commander was killed in Yemen alongside six Colombian nationals after Houthi fighters and Saleh army units attacked Saudi-led forces in the country's south-west.[113][114]

## Others[edit]

On 17 September 2020, a United Nations panel named Canada as one of the countries helping fuel the war in Yemen. A coalition of 39 human rights, arms-control and labor groups, including the Public Service Alliance of Canada, signed a letter urging Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to end arms exports to Saudi Arabia.[115]

The Italian government announced suspending the sales of 12,700 missiles to the Saudi Arabian government along with UAE, which was initiated under the centre-left government led by Matteo Renzi. The missiles were part of a 2016 sales agreement made for the allotment of a total of 20,000 missiles, worth more than $485 million. The government cited its commitment towards the restoration of peace in Yemen and the protection of human rights as the reason for ending the weapons sale. Renzi stirred a controversy when he attended the Future Investment Initiative in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and called the country the vision of a “New Renaissance”.[116]

## See also[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Operation Decisive Storm.

* Famine in Yemen
* Airstrikes on hospitals in Yemen
* Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen
* United Arab Emirates takeover of Socotra
* Iran–Saudi Arabia proxy conflict

## References[edit]

1. ^ Buchanan, Patrick J. "With Friends Like the Saudis". The American Conservative.
2. ^ "Yemeni leader Hadi leaves country as Saudi Arabia keeps up air strikes". Reuters. 26 March 2015.
3. ^ a b Gatehouse, Gabriel (11 September 2015). "Inside Yemen's forgotten war". BBC News. Archived from the original on 29 October 2015.
4. ^ "US: Reject Bomb Sales to Saudi Arabia – Coalition Failure to Investigate Civilian Deaths in Airstrikes on Yemen". Human Rights Watch. 18 November 2015. Archived from the original on 22 November 2015.
5. ^ Kleijer, Karline (9 November 2015). "Yemen: 'The children have a game called airstrike in which they fall to the ground'". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 10 November 2015.
6. ^ Nichols, Michelle (22 December 2015). "U.N. blames Saudi-led coalition for most attacks on Yemeni civilians". Reuters UK. Archived from the original on 25 December 2015.
7. ^ "UK arms sales fuelling Yemen crisis in potential breach of law says Oxfam". Oxfam UK. 11 September 2015. Archived from the original on 3 January 2016.
8. ^ Sandhu, Serina (8 October 2015). "Amnesty International urges Britain to stop supplying arms to Saudi Arabia – Airstrikes in Yemen have killed thousands of civilians". The Independent. Archived from the original on 23 November 2015.
9. ^ Sanchez, Raf (28 August 2018). "UN experts call on UK to stop giving Saudi Arabia bombs to use in Yemen". The Telegraph. Retrieved 28 August 2018.
10. ^ Wintour, Patrick (28 August 2018). "All sides in Yemen may be responsible for war crimes, say UN experts". The Guardian. Retrieved 28 August 2018.
11. ^ "UN details possible war crimes in Yemen". BBC News. 28 August 2018. Retrieved 28 August 2018.
12. ^ Vonberg, Judith; Elbagir, Nima (28 August 2018). "All sides in Yemen conflict could be guilty of war crimes, says UN". CNN. Retrieved 28 August 2018.
13. ^ Cumming-Bruce, Nick (28 August 2018). "War Crimes Report Accuses Saudi Arabia and U.A.E. in Yemen". The New York Times. Retrieved 28 August 2018.
14. ^ "UN Report on Yemen: US, UK Accomplices to Atrocities, While Inaction Continues". The Real News. 4 September 2019. Retrieved 4 September 2019.
15. ^ Wintour, Patrick (September 3, 2019). "UK, US and France may be complicit in Yemen war crimes – UN report". The Guardian. Retrieved September 4, 2019.
16. ^ "Yemen crisis: Who is fighting whom?". BBC News. 26 March 2015. Retrieved 10 April 2015.
17. ^ "Iranian support seen crucial for Yemen's Houthis". Reuters. 15 December 2014. Retrieved 8 April 2015.
18. ^ "Yemen crisis: Kerry warns Iran over Houthi rebel 'support'". BBC News. 9 April 2015. Retrieved 10 April 2015.
19. ^ "Yemeni Militiamen Claim Capture of Iranian Military Officers". Newsweek. 11 April 2015. Retrieved 11 April 2015.
20. ^ "Iran denies military advisors captured in Yemen". Reuters. 12 April 2015. Retrieved 15 April 2015.
21. ^ "US generals: Saudi intervention in Yemen 'a bad idea". "Later, in a telephone interview, Horton expanded on that. "These constant reports that the Houthis are working for the Iranians are nonsense, but the view is right out of the neocon playbook," he said. "The Israelis have been touting this line that we lost Yemen to Iran. That's absurd. The Houthis don't need Iranian weapons. They have plenty of their own. And they don't require military training. They've been fighting Al-Qaeda since at least 2012, and they've been winning. Why are we fighting a movement that's fighting Al-Qaeda?""
22. ^ "Iran arming Yemen's Huthi rebels since 2009: UN report". Yahoo! News. Agence France-Presse. 30 April 2015.
23. ^ a b "UPDATE 3-Iran pledges to protect shared security interests with Yemen". Reuters. 2 May 2015.
24. ^ "Iran Warned Houthis Against Yemen Takeover". HuffPost. 20 April 2015.
25. ^ "Iran leader says US backing 'immense crimes' in Yemen". Yahoo! News.
26. ^ "Yemen conflict: Iranian boat 'carrying weapons' seized". BBC News. 30 September 2015. Retrieved 1 October 2015.
27. ^ "Attacks on Saudi Arabia, UAE energy facilities likely coordinated, analysts say". Arab News. 2019-05-15. Retrieved 2019-05-24.
28. ^ "Saudi Arabia launches air attacks in Yemen". The Washington Post. 25 March 2015.
29. ^ Akbar Shahid Ahmed (10 August 2016). "Obama Could End The Slaughter in Yemen Within Hours". HuffPost. Retrieved 8 October 2016.
30. ^ a b Mark Perry (17 April 2015). "US generals: Saudi intervention in Yemen 'a bad idea'". Al Jazeera.
31. ^ "U.S. carrier moving off the coast of Yemen to block Iranian arms shipments". USA Today. 20 April 2015.
32. ^ McKernan, Bethan (7 November 2018). "Battle rages in Yemen's vital port as showdown looms". The Guardian. Retrieved 7 November 2018. "The port has been blockaded by the Saudi-led coalition for the past three years, a decision aid organizations say has been the main contributing factor to the famine that threatens to engulf half of Yemen's 28 million population."
33. ^ "Saudi airstrikes in Yemen violate laws of war, rights group says". The McClatchy Company. Retrieved 13 July 2015.
34. ^ Norton, Ben (17 March 2016). "'Look like war crimes to me': Congressman raises concerns over U.S. support for Saudi war in Yemen". Salon. Retrieved 12 October 2016.
35. ^ Steve Visser (21 August 2016). "US military distances itself from Saudi-led war in Yemen". CNN. Retrieved 21 August 2016.
36. ^ "Army Special Forces Secretly Help Saudis Combat Threat From Yemen Rebels". Retrieved 17 November 2018.
37. ^ "Yemen: Embargo Arms to Saudi Arabia" Human Rights Watch, 21 March 2106
38. ^ "One in three Saudi air raids on Yemen hit civilian sites, data shows" The Guardian, 16 September 2016
39. ^ Stewart, Phil (13 October 2016). "U.S. military strikes Yemen after missile attacks on U.S. Navy ship". Reuters. Retrieved 17 October 2016.
40. ^ "U.S. Foreign Aid by Country". explorer.usaid.gov. Retrieved 17 November 2018.
41. ^ "Trump administration weighs deeper involvement in Yemen war". The Washington Post. 26 March 2017.
42. ^ "Pentagon Weighs More Support for Saudi-led War in Yemen". Foreign Policy. 26 March 2017.
43. ^ a b "America's Support for Saudi Arabia's War on Yemen Must End". The Nation. 5 April 2017.
44. ^ "Congress Votes to Say It Hasn't Authorized War in Yemen, Yet War in Yemen Goes On". The Intercept. 14 November 2017.
45. ^ US to Saudis: Temper actions on Yemen, Qatar, Lebanon; Al Jazeera; 8 December 2017; http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/12/tillerson-saudis-measured-yemen-action-171208151146607.html
46. ^ Kristof, Nicholas (26 September 2018). "Be Outraged by America's Role in Yemen's Misery". The New York Times. Retrieved 24 October 2018.
47. ^ "How the War in Yemen Became a Bloody Stalemate — and the Worst Humanitarian Crisis in the World". The New York Times. Retrieved 2 November 2018.
48. ^ "US calls for ceasefire in Yemen within 30 days, sparking hopes of diplomatic breakthrough". The Telegraph. 31 October 2018.
49. ^ "U.N.: A Yemeni Child Dies Every 10 Min. from War-Caused Disease, Hunger". DemocracyNow!. 5 November 2018. Retrieved 7 November 2018.
50. ^ Ryan Browne, Barbara Starr (10 November 2018). "US to stop air refueling of Saudi-led coalition in Yemen". CNN. Retrieved 11 November 2018.
51. ^ "Senate Votes to End Aid for Yemen Fight Over Khashoggi Killing and Saudis' War Aims". The New York Times. 13 December 2018.
52. ^ "Washington Sends the Saudis a Long-Overdue Bill". The Atlantic. Retrieved 15 December 2018.
53. ^ Pilkington, Ed (April 17, 2019). "Dismay as Trump vetoes bill to end US support for war in Yemen". The Guardian. Retrieved April 18, 2019.
54. ^ Demirjian, Karoun; Ryan, Missy (May 2, 2019). "Senate fails to override Trump's veto of resolution demanding end to U.S. involvement in Yemen war". The Washington Post. Retrieved May 4, 2019.
55. ^ Olsen, Gunar (April 20, 2019). "Add Trump's Yemen Veto to Obama's Spotty War Legacy". The New Republic. Retrieved April 21, 2019.
56. ^ "DOD Official: Ending US Support for Yemen Fight Would Worsen the Crisis". Air Force Magazine. 2019-04-29. Retrieved 2019-12-29.
57. ^ "Senate fails to override Trump's veto of resolution demanding end to U.S. involvement in Yemen war". Washington Post.
58. ^ Demirjian, Karoun; Ryan, Missy; Post, The Washington (May 2, 2019). "Senate doesn't override Trump's veto of resolution demanding end to U.S. involvement in Yemen". StamfordAdvocate. Retrieved May 5, 2019.
59. ^ Demirjian, Karoun; Ryan, Missy; Post, The Washington (2 May 2019). "Senate doesn't override Trump's veto of resolution demanding end to US involvement in Yemen". The Hour.
60. ^ Bazzi, Mohamad (17 May 2019). "Both Saudi Arabia and the United States Are Probably Guilty of War Crimes in Yemen" - via www.thenation.com. `{{cite magazine}}`: Cite magazine requires `|magazine=` (help)
61. ^ "Review of the Department of State's Role in Arms Transfers to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates" (PDF). Office of Inspector General. Retrieved 11 August 2020.
62. ^ "Biden announces end to US support for Saudi-led offensive in Yemen". The Guardian. 4 February 2021. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
63. ^ "Letter to the Speaker of the House and President pro tempore of the Senate regarding the War Powers Report". 8 June 2022. Archived from the original on 2022-06-08.
64. ^ "GAO: US failed to track if arms used against Yemen civilians". Washington Post. Retrieved 15 June 2022.
65. ^ Sabbagh, Dan (11 January 2023). "Yemen: 87 civilians killed by UK and US weapons in just over a year". The Guardian. Retrieved 11 January 2023.
66. ^ Slemrod, Annie (11 February 2016). "Why does no one care about Yemen?". IRIN. Archived from the original on 13 February 2016.
67. ^ Craig, Iona (19 December 2015). "Britain: Saudi Arabia's silent partner in Yemen's civil war". The Independent. Archived from the original on 19 February 2016.
68. ^ Osborn, Andrew (26 March 2015). "Britain says backs Saudi military intervention in Yemen". Reuters UK. Archived from the original on 4 July 2016.
69. ^ a b Loveluck, Louisa (11 September 2015). "Britain 'fuelling war in Yemen' through arms sales, says charity". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 17 November 2015.
70. ^ Walker, Peter; Norton-Taylor, Richard (25 November 2015). "UK-made missile hit civilian target in Yemen, say human rights groups". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 7 February 2016.
71. ^ Lawrence, Penny (17 September 2015). "Letters: Yemen and the scandal of UK arms sales to Saudi Arabia". The Guardian. Retrieved 11 February 2016.
72. ^ Stone, Jon (3 February 2016). "Ministers wined and dined by arms trade hours after MPs demand ban on selling weapons to Saudi Arabia". The Independent. Archived from the original on 3 February 2016.
73. ^ "Yemen: Coalition used UK missile in unlawful airstrike". Amnesty International. 25 November 2015. Archived from the original on 4 February 2016.
74. ^ "Yemen: Coalition Used UK Cruise Missile in Unlawful Airstrike – UK Should Stop Selling Air-to-Ground Munitions to Saudi Arabia-led Forces". Human Rights Watch. 25 November 2015. Archived from the original on 26 November 2015.
75. ^ "Press release: UK Government breaking the law supplying arms to Saudi say leading lawyers". saferworld.org.uk. 16 December 2015. Archived from the original on 15 February 2016.
76. ^ Mason, Rowena (19 January 2016). "UK arms sold to Saudi Arabia may breach international law in Yemen, Labour says". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 4 February 2016.
77. ^ Kerr, Simeon (6 November 2015). "UK and Saudi Arabia step up diplomacy to secure arms deals". Financial Times. Retrieved 23 February 2016.
78. ^ Kiley, Sam (7 January 2016). "Exclusive: UK Helping Saudi's Yemen Campaign". Sky News. Archived from the original on 4 February 2016.
79. ^ Wintour, Patrick (3 February 2016). "MPs call for immediate halt of UK arms sales to Saudi Arabia". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 4 February 2016.
80. ^ Mason, Rowena (25 February 2016). "David Cameron boasts of 'brilliant' UK arms exports to Saudi Arabia". The Guardian. Retrieved 25 February 2016.
81. ^ "Saudis' UK-made war jets outnumber RAF's". The Daily Telegraph. 5 May 2015.
82. ^ "David Cameron accused of silently taking Britain into Saudi Arabia's war in Yemen". The Independent. 20 January 2016.
83. ^ Emmons, Alex (10 October 2016). "Photos Show Fragments of U.S. Bombs at Site of Yemen Funeral Massacre". The Intercept. Retrieved 11 October 2016.
84. ^ Green, Chris (28 January 2016). "Saudi Arabia: Evidence of attacks on Yemen civilians may have been fabricated by rebels, says UK minister". The Independent. Retrieved 23 February 2016.
85. ^ a b Merrick, Rob (22 October 2016). "Revealed: The UK is training Saudi pilots amid accusations of war crimes in Yemen". The Independent. Retrieved 22 October 2016.
86. ^ "Boris Johnson urged to back probe into international law violations in Yemen". The Independent. 21 September 2016.
87. ^ "Boris Johnson defends UK arms sales to Saudi Arabia". The Guardian. 5 September 2016.
88. ^ Mamoon, Amal (11 October 2016). "Babies starved of milk as Yemen slides towards famine". Middle East Eye. Retrieved 12 October 2016.
89. ^ Graham-Harrison, Emma (4 October 2016). "Yemen famine feared as starving children fight for lives in hospital". The Guardian. Retrieved 12 October 2016.
90. ^ Smith, Andrew (10 October 2016). "Meet the British firms helping arm Saudi Arabia as it drops its bombs on Yemen". International Business Times UK. Retrieved 11 October 2016.
91. ^ Wintour, Patrick (11 October 2016). "Russia should be investigated for Syrian war crimes, says Boris Johnson". The Guardian. Retrieved 11 October 2016.
92. ^ a b Doward, Jamie (25 September 2016). "UK accused of blocking UN inquiry into claim of war crimes in Yemen". The Guardian. Retrieved 11 October 2016.
93. ^ Kennard, Matt; Miller, Phil. "New film exposes English village key to bombing Yemen". Declassified UK. Retrieved 16 January 2023.
94. ^ "Britain 'complicit' in Yemen famine, Tory ex-cabinet minister warns amid calls to end arm sales". The Independent. 31 October 2018.
95. ^ "UK Labour Party demands answers on British troops in Yemen". www.aljazeera.com. Retrieved 2019-03-30.
96. ^ Channon, Max (2019-03-25). "Royal Navy Special Forces commandos injured in Yemen battles". plymouthherald. Retrieved 2019-03-30.
97. ^ Wheeler, Richard; Thomas, Josh; Channon, Max (2019-03-26). "Probe into Royal Navy Special Forces child soldiers claim". plymouthherald. Retrieved 2019-03-30.
98. ^ a b editor, Patrick Wintour Diplomatic (2019-03-27). "'Serious' questions over SAS involvement in Yemen war". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2019-03-30. `{{cite news}}`: `|last=` has generic name (help)
99. ^ Jones, Henry (13 March 2019). "RAF maintaining Saudi aircraft being used against Yemen, minister reveals".
100. ^ "Saudi Arabia: Military Aid:Written question - 228761". UK Parliament.
101. ^ a b c d e f Quinn, Ben (10 April 2019). "Dozens of Saudi military cadets trained in UK since Yemen intervention". theguardian.com. The Guardian. Retrieved 10 April 2019.
102. ^ "Azerbaijan: BAE Systems sold £15bn worth of arms to Saudis during Yemen assault". The Guardian. 14 April 2020. Retrieved 14 April 2020.
103. ^ "Soldier backed over Whitehall protest against Yemen war". The Guardian. 27 August 2020. Retrieved 27 August 2020.
104. ^ "UK faces new legal challenge over arms sales to Saudi Arabia". The Guardian. 27 October 2020. Retrieved 27 October 2020.
105. ^ "Lethal airstrikes in Yemen 'left off' confidential UK record". The Guardian. 3 January 2021. Retrieved 3 January 2021.
106. ^ "High court to hear legal battle over UK arms sales to Saudi Arabia". The Guardian. 22 April 2021. Retrieved 22 April 2021.
107. ^ "Saudi Arabia and UAE targeted in UK petition for Yemen war crimes investigation". Independent. 21 October 2021. Retrieved 21 October 2021.
108. ^ Angela Dewan, CNN Graphics by Henrik Petterson (23 November 2018). "These are the countries still selling arms to Saudi Arabia". CNN. Retrieved 2019-02-16. `{{cite web}}`: `|author=` has generic name (help)
109. ^ "Who is arming the Yemen war? (And is anyone planning to stop?) | Reinventing Peace". 28 February 2018. Retrieved 2019-02-16.
110. ^ "This type of weapon is being wielded by UAE-backed militias in Yemen's conflict. So why is a Belgian company marketing it at a global arms fair?". Amnesty International. 14 February 2019. Retrieved 2019-02-16.
111. ^ "NGOs bring case against French customs over weapons exports". Swiss Info. Retrieved 23 September 2021.
112. ^ Emily B. Hager and Mark Mazzetti (26 November 2015), "Emirates Secretly Sends Colombian Mercenaries to Fight in Yemen", The New York Times
113. ^ "Australian mercenary killed in Yemen alongside Colombian troops". The Australian. Australian Associated Press. 9 December 2015. Retrieved 9 December 2015.
114. ^ "Australian mercenary killed in clashes while fighting in Yemen". news.com.au. Australian Associated Press. 9 December 2015. Retrieved 9 December 2015.
115. ^ Chase, Steven (17 September 2020). "Trudeau urged to end arms exports to Saudi Arabia after Canada cited for fueling Yemen war". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 17 September 2020.
116. ^ Squires, Nick (29 January 2021). "Italy blocks arms sales to Saudi Arabia and the UAE over deadly Yemen war". The Telegraph. Retrieved 29 January 2021.

* War portal

* v
* t
* e

Yemeni Civil War (2014–present)

* Timeline
* Yemeni Crisis (2011–present)

Background|

* Houthi insurgency in Yemen
* Houthi takeover in Yemen
* Aftermath of the Houthi takeover in Yemen
* Battle of Sanaa (2014)
* Human rights in Yemen

Battles
and attacks|

* Shabwah Governorate offensive (2014–present)
* Battle of Aden Airport
* 2015 Sanaa mosque bombings: March and September
* Marib Campaign
* Battle of Dhale
* Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen
* Battle of Aden (2015)
* Abyan campaign (March–August 2015)
* Lahij insurgency
* Houthi–Saudi Arabian conflict
* Shabwah campaign (March–August 2015)
* Battle of Mukalla (2015)
* Taiz campaign (2015–present)
* September 2015 Marib Tochka missile attack
* Aden unrest (2015–present)
* October 2015 Aden missile attack
* 2015 Aden car bombing
* Aden Christian attack
* 2016 Aden car bombing
* 23 May 2016 Aden bombings
* August 2016 Aden bombing
* December 2016 Aden suicide bombings
* Zinjibar and Jaar
* December 2015 Taiz missile attack
* Nihm Offensive
* Battle of Port Midi
* Hadramaut Insurgency
* Southern Abyan Offensive (2016)
* Abyan conflict (2016–2018)
* Battle of Mukalla (2016)
* May 2016 Yemen police bombings
* June 2016 Mukalla attacks
* 2016 Sanaa funeral airstrike
* Raid on Yakla
* Raid on Al Hathla
* Battle of Sanaa (2017)
* Battle of Aden (2018)
* Battle of Al Hudaydah
* Dahyan air strike
* Abha International Airport attack
* Battle of the Jabara Valley
* 2019 Abqaiq–Khurais attack
* January 2020 Marib attack
* Al-Jawf offensive
* Al Bayda offensive
* August 2020 Marib attack
* 2020 Aden attacks
* Battle of Marib
* 2021 Aden bombings
* 2022 Abu Dhabi attack
* Saada prison airstrike
* 2022 Jeddah missile attack
* 2022 Southern Yemen offensive

Reactions|

* Foreign involvement in the Yemeni Civil War
* Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen
* Blockade of Yemen
* Yemeni peace process
* United Arab Emirates takeover of Socotra

Impacts|

* Famine in Yemen
* 2016–2021 Yemen cholera outbreak
* Airstrikes on hospitals in Yemen
* Refugees on Jeju Island
* War crimes and human rights violations

Belligerents|

| Alimi government|

* Pro-Alimi security forces
* Saleh loyalist defectors
* Al-Islah
* Popular Resistance
* Popular Committees
* Southern Movement
* Southern Transitional Council
* Republican Guard

|

Houthi government|

* Supreme Political Council
* Houthis
* Pro-Saleh forces
* Supreme Revolutionary Committee

People|

| Alimi government|

* Rashad al-Alimi
* Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi
* Mahmoud al-Subaihi
* Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar
* Khaled Bahah
* Hussein Arab
* Ahmed Saleh
* Tareq Saleh

|

Houthi government|

* Saleh Ali al-Sammad
* Mohamed al-Atifi
* Mohammed al-Houthi
* Hussein Khairan
* Abdul-Malik al-Houthi
* Ali Abdullah Saleh

Related|

* Reactions to the Saudi-led military intervention
* List of aviation shootdowns and accidents during the Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen

*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template