Reducing Yemen's Houthis to 'Iranian proxies' is a mistake.

April 3, 2015 9:04 AM

In coverage of the Yemeni civil war the word "Houthi" is hardly ever mentioned without being preceded by the words "Iran-backed" and "Shiite." And this is true. "The Shiite Houthi rebels are backed by Iran" is a true statement. But the prevalence of this cheap bit of short-hand about a conflict decades in the making does far more to obscure and confuse than it does to enlighten. The Houthi movement are not remotely Iranian cat's paws – no more-so than President Abdu Mansour Hadi, currently residing in Riyadh, is a Saudi one.

The Christian Science Monitor sets the record straight on Iran's influence in Yemen with some background information from Col. (ret) Pat Lang and other scholars.
posted by ennui.bz (80 comments total)

previously
previously
posted by the man of twists and turns at 9:06 AM on April 3, 2015 [1 favorite]

Couple of recent threads on this topic, still somewhat active: Yemen on Brink of Civil War, Connecting the Dots.
posted by effbot at 9:06 AM on April 3, 2015 [2 favorites]

If you have any decent knowledge of Yemen, the coverage in a lot of the popular press has been pathetic. I am glad to see more and more media exploring the nuances of this conflict. It doesn't fit into a "good guy"/"bad guy" conflict, which makes it difficult to frame narratively.
posted by Falconetti at 9:08 AM on April 3, 2015 [3 favorites]

That Dan Murphy article (credit the author, folks!) is excellent; a vital point that is often ignored:

There does not exist a natural affinity between the Yemeni Zeidis and the 12er [i.e. follower of the 12th imam] Shia of southern Iraq and Iran. The zaidiya follows a system of religious law (sharia) that more closely resembles that of the Hanafi Sunni "school" of law than that of the Shia of Iran or Iraq. The Zaidi scholars profess no allegiance to the 12er Shia scholarship of the Iranian teachers... In short there is little religious connection with Iran. For a Zaydi to "convert" to 12er Shiism is as big and alienating a step as "conversion" to Sunnism.

posted by languagehat at 9:21 AM on April 3, 2015 [4 favorites]

If you have any decent knowledge of Yemen, the coverage in a lot of the popular press has been pathetic.

Actually, if you spend five minutes on wikipedia you can learn a lot about the recent history of conflict in Yemen and the fact that Yemeni Shiism has little religious or institutional connection to what is practiced in Iran and Iraq. Murphy is being very politic when he talks about Friedman and other journos using misleading "short-hand."
posted by ennui.bz at 9:37 AM on April 3, 2015

The simplification is for domestic consumption.
posted by rhizome at 10:11 AM on April 3, 2015

Why bother educating people when you can just stroke their egos by telling them things they think they already know?

Good guys and bad guys are for crappy Westerns.
posted by 1adam12 at 10:33 AM on April 3, 2015

Yemen - Tribes at War a quick history, Reposted from the last thread and also a 2011 Aljazeera article about Yemen's Shia dilemma.
posted by adamvasco at 12:11 PM on April 3, 2015

The Popular Committees of Abyan, Yemen: A Necessary Evil or an Opportunity for Security Reform?

The PC seem to be the only forces aside from untrained regular citizens trying to defend Aden from the Houthis, who are reportedly shooting and shelling people at random.

From a while back:

POPULAR COMMITTEES RECLAIM HOUSE OF FORMER SOUTHERN PRESIDENT (Februruary)

#KefayaWar (enough war) is a twitter hashtag being used by Yemenis against the war and not necessarily in support of any of the various factions.
posted by Golden Eternity at 12:19 PM on April 3, 2015

The Worst Reason For War

“If you ask why we’re backing this, beyond the fact that the Saudis are allies and have been allies for a long time, the answer you’re going to get from most people—if they were being honest—is that we weren’t going to be able to stop it,” said an American defense official, speaking on the condition of anonymity because the official was discussing internal government deliberations.

posted by the man of twists and turns at 12:38 PM on April 3, 2015

@BaFana3: "Now : Hadhramaut Tribes Confederacy militia takes over abandoned army camp in Shihr & sets up checkpoints on Al Mukalla-Seiyun road. #Yemen"

Hadhramaut : Rebellion, Federalism or Independence in Yemen?

This tribal uprising is merely a symptom, however, of the population’s wider aspirations to gain greater autonomy, or even outright independence, from the central state in Sana’a. These aspirations are based on an identity shared by the people of Hadhramaut, a region not only rich in resources, but also in history.

Al-Qaeda Commander Freed In Yemen Prison Break

The incident underscores the degree to which the country's security forces have collapsed amid months of political chaos and the recent barrage of a Saudi-led bombing campaign.

"Things have completely spiraled out of control in the south," one Yemeni government official told BuzzFeed News. "There's been a total collapse."

Crazy. The remnents of the ousted government has retreated from Sanaa to the South, which had been fighting for greater autonomy and independence from said government along with a growing presence of Al Qaeda, probably tolerated if not supported by that government as a means to delegitimize the indigenous resistance.
posted by Golden Eternity at 2:52 PM on April 3, 2015

A Call to Resist Saudi (and US) Aggression in Yemen

Don't cheer Saudi Arabia's foolhardy war in Yemen
posted by Noisy Pink Bubbles at 7:12 AM on April 4, 2015

Civilian casualties mount amid Saudi airstrikes in Yemen

International agencies have expressed growing alarm over rising civilian casualties. The United Nations said earlier this week that the fighting over the past two weeks has killed more than 500 people, many of them civilians and nearly 100 of them children.

On the outskirts of Sana, nine people from a single family were reported to have been killed when their home was hit, apparently by an errant strike. Officials said Saturday that the strike a day earlier in Bani Matar also wounded five other family members, and that the dead and injured included five children under age 5.

posted by rosswald at 7:43 AM on April 4, 2015 [1 favorite]

The Popular Committee Phenomenon in Yemen: Fueling War and Conflict (FAREA AL-MUSLIMI)

Misadventures in Violence in Yemen: Operation Resolute Storm (Charles Schmitz)

Some focus on the loss of U.S. contact with Yemeni security that provided intelligence for drone strikes. Yet the view that the loss of intelligence for drone strikes will benefit al-Qa‘ida assumes that drones worked. In the six years of intensive drone attacks in Yemen, al-Qa‘ida’s leadership remains intact.

[...]

The rapid rise of Ansar Allah in 2014 is largely attributable to the failure of the Hadi government to provide any hope for real solutions to people’s everyday problems. But Ansar Allah quickly betrayed its promise to correct the failures of Hadi’s government by behaving quite similarly to Saleh’s repressive regime. Ansar Allah physically attacked its political opponents, detained journalists, shot at protesters, and imposed its will on the government. While Yemen’s political leadership did agree with Ansar Allah and the southern movement that Hadi’s interim government had excluded them, Ansar Allah’s unilateral imposition of its solution destroyed the political process of consensual institution building that might lead to a more stable political process in Yemen.

Finally, the Saudi resort to violence in order to assert its dominance over Yemen and the Arab world is a sign of the failure of the traditional Saudi strategy of buying influence with cash in Yemen. Seeing its local clients fail, the Saudi leadership has embarked on an ill-fated adventure to quell its fears of an independent Yemen.

Yemen’s Ansar Allah: Causes and Effects of Its Pursuit of Power (Charles Schmitz)

Opposition to Ansar Allah is not religious, as many commentators seem to think, but instead stems from its violation of the pact of inclusivity—the National Dialogue—that held Yemeni politics together after the fall of Saleh. Ansar Allah’s grab for power is what has caused its faltering, and is therefore not due to its Zaydi Shi‘i leadership.

Moreover, the label “Shi‘i rebels” mischaracterizes Ansar Allah. The al-Houthi family does include a long line of prestigious religious scholars of Zaydi Islam, and the movement did begin as a reassertion and revival of Zaydi practice among youth in the north. And religion has played some symbolic role in Ansar Allah’s rise, such as when Sana was decorated by Ansar Allah’s forces for the celebration of the Prophet’s birthday, which clearly marked the new power of Ansar Allah in the capital. But celebrating the Prophet’s birthday is not a Zaydi tradition, and Ansar Allah does not pretend to represent Yemen’s Zaydi elite. The Zaydi Sada (elite) are not united behind Ansar Allah; there are Sada dispersed among all of Yemen’s political factions. More significantly, Ansar Allah’s fighters are not battling for Zaydism. Ansar Allah recruits fighters from everywhere and from every sect,[3] and its ability to build militias depends upon funding for fighters and credible leadership.

Nonetheless, some Yemenis fear a new sectarian divide. There is a new verb in Yemen, “to Iraqize,” and al-Qa‘ida hopes to exploit sectarian divisions for its own purposes.

Houthis seek to restore their ally Al-Beidh to South Yemen (2014)

It's mazing that the Houthis were allies of those seeking autonomy in South Yemen just a few months ago. Didn't turn out to be such great allies after all.

This situation seems massively FUBAR(ed?). How can there be a democratic process with the Houthis and Saleh who have betrayed everyone? How could KSA possibly reinstall Hadi, who has no popular support and whose failure at governing the country is probably the biggest cause of the crisis.
posted by Golden Eternity at 11:33 AM on April 4, 2015 [1 favorite]

Saudi cleric sentenced to execution for “undermining national unity”
posted by Golden Eternity at 3:47 PM on April 5, 2015

Police officer killed in security raids on Saudi Arabia's Eastern Province

Activists said at least 30 people were injured and accused authorities of launching the assault to quell calls for protests against military intervention in Yemen.

[...]

Residents of the oil rich but poverty stricken province told MEE “hundreds” of armoured security vehicles stormed Awamiyah village at 330pm (1230 GMT) on Sunday.

“From 4pm until 9pm the gunfire didn’t stop,” a local activist and Awamiyah resident, who asked to remain anonymous, told MEE. “Security forces shot randomly at people’s homes, arrested a lot of people, and closed all but one of the roads leading in and out of the village.”

[...]

The Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia is home to the country’s Shiite minority – who make up 10 to 15 percent of the kingdom’s 29 million population. Locals say the government discriminate against them in employment and education among other areas, which has led to sporadic protests since 2011 that have been brutally put down by security forces leading to tens of people being killed.

posted by Golden Eternity at 4:54 PM on April 5, 2015

Link: Police officer killed in security raids on Saudi Arabia's Eastern Province
posted by Golden Eternity at 5:09 PM on April 5, 2015

No refuge but the sea - fleeing Yemen's war by boat

Fire, smoke in Bahrain as protests flare against Yemen airstrikes
posted by Noisy Pink Bubbles at 7:51 AM on April 6, 2015

In Yemen, U.S. citizen killed by mortar strike

stuckinyemen.com is collecting information on US citizens "abandoned" by the US government

Saudis Seek Pakistani Troops for Yemen Campaign, Official Says
posted by Noisy Pink Bubbles at 6:05 PM on April 6, 2015

@amalsuqaf: Children are playing over a broken tank despite the war & fear in #Aden , hope wins the battle #yemen (pic)
posted by Golden Eternity at 9:55 AM on April 7, 2015

“The Fight for Yemen,” Safa Al Ahmad, Frontline, 07 April 2015
posted by ob1quixote at 10:02 PM on April 7, 2015 [2 favorites]

Pakistani Lawmakers Pass Resolution Urging Neutrality in Yemen Conflict However, the resolution does state that Pakistan may get involved militarily if Saudi is invaded, which seems like a possibility.
posted by Noisy Pink Bubbles at 6:42 AM on April 10, 2015

There is a somewhat lighthearted moment in the Frontline doc. when a (Houthi/Houthi-supporter) farmer on the Yemen side of the Yemen/SA border talks about how people commonly use acid on the Saudi border fence to cross into SA. I doubt these things would result in much more than border skirmishes, but it did just add another facet to how unstable the situation is.
posted by rosswald at 9:15 AM on April 10, 2015

'Two Iranian Revolutionary Guard officers captured in Yemen'
posted by Joe in Australia at 6:25 PM on April 12, 2015

To Win Its War in Yemen, Saudi Arabia May Have to Split the Country in Two

One day, the men said, they would control Yemen's south, ending a 25-year-old union of two separate states that created modern Yemen. But it was hard to take them seriously. Aside from a couple of older, hard-looking men, the group of about 30 looked like a gaggle of wide-eyed overgrown boys, and they seemed no different from many others in Yemen's notoriously disorganized and chaotic southern secessionist movement.

But they were different, they insisted. They would one day lead the south to independence.

* * *

Six months later, the same young men are now running through the streets of Aden, fighting for their lives with battered Kalashnikovs they are not trained to use and for which they do not have enough bullets. They are dying in droves as they battle a far more experienced, better-supplied enemy that already controls much of Yemen's northwest and western seaboard. It is an enemy that has proven willing to indiscriminately shell the city in an attempt to bludgeon the nascent resistance movement into acquiescence.

Time and again we leave decent people attempting to develop civil society stranded to fend for themselves against jihadists and dictators. It's sickening. And once again Vice News is somehow one of the only outlets to get it right.

Two South Yemen popular committee fighters
posted by Golden Eternity at 11:20 PM on April 12, 2015 [1 favorite]

It's very easy to say that someone is decent and a democrat when they're fighting for power. When they actually gain power they almost always seem to turn into clones of the people they were fighting. I don't know whether this says more about resistance fighters, or just people in general.
posted by Joe in Australia at 11:41 PM on April 12, 2015 [1 favorite]

A rather pathetic (if I may editorialize) op-ed by Hadi

Drone Strikes in Yemen Said to Set a Dangerous Precedent (says the Open Society Justice Initiative)

U.S. Drone Kills a Top Figure in Al Qaeda’s Yemen Branch (well, just because the US evacuated its troops from Yemen doesn't mean the US will stop bombing Yemen, I guess!)
posted by Noisy Pink Bubbles at 6:38 AM on April 15, 2015

Former Yemeni leader asks Gulf states for safe exit
posted by Golden Eternity at 8:24 AM on April 16, 2015

Top Yemen Generals Switch Allegiance Amid Rebellion
posted by Golden Eternity at 2:18 PM on April 16, 2015 [1 favorite]

Air Strikes, Political Intrigue, and Al Qaeda: The UN's Envoy to Yemen Explains Why He Quit

"What motivated me at that time was the fact I was able to be part of a process to assist these youth who had descended and occupied all the squares in Yemen, these youth who were demanding democracy, human rights, and change."

posted by Golden Eternity at 10:21 AM on April 17, 2015

@MQahtanite: Protest in Washington, D.C. Today to stop all internal and external aggression against the #Yemen-i people #KefayaWar
posted by Golden Eternity at 12:04 PM on April 18, 2015

Iranian ship convoy moves toward Yemen, alarming US officials
posted by Golden Eternity at 3:41 PM on April 18, 2015 [1 favorite]

Saudi-led Yemen air war's high civilian toll unsettles U.S. officials

Navy has seven combat ships around Yemen as Saudi-led blockade continues

Iran says Saudi airstrike hit near its embassy in Yemen

Aid agency Oxfam condemns Saudi air strike in Yemen [on Oxfam facility]
posted by Noisy Pink Bubbles at 8:11 AM on April 20, 2015

@adammbaron: "Being told of a horrific scene in Faj Attan--whole apartment buildings flattened, civilians trapped under rubble, dozens dead. #yemen"

@omeisy: If u thought airstrike was worst part of today's nightmare, read conversation from ground zero/Faj Attan Sanaa #Yemen
posted by Golden Eternity at 9:20 AM on April 20, 2015

Navy officials: US warship heads to Yemeni waters to intercept Iranian weapons shipments
posted by Golden Eternity at 11:21 AM on April 20, 2015

This is seriously fucking insane on the US's part. First they're basically getting involved in a war because Saudi Arabia told them to and they either don't know any better or are scared shitless of disrupting the US-Saudi relationship. A war that has no objective, is going to empower extremist jihadi groups (that is, the opposite of the US's purported international policy goals) and is creating a humanitarian disaster.

But now, as if that wasn't enough, they're going to broaden the conflict by starting shit with Iran. A country who they are currently *trying to negotiate a treaty with*.

Seriously, how many chances does the US get to shoot itself in the foot before it actually hits its target?
posted by Noisy Pink Bubbles at 3:48 PM on April 20, 2015

The USA has a large and genuine interest in preventing an Iranian takeover of the Red Sea. I agree that the present US position is ridiculously conflicted, though.
posted by Joe in Australia at 4:51 PM on April 20, 2015

That report was contradicted by another press release just after I posted it, saying they had no such mission. However, there are also reports that an aircraft carrier has been sent to the region.

If certainly appears that if there is no intervention than the Houthis (and possibly Saleh) are going to take over the South and the entire country except areas controlled by al-Qaeda. All indications are that that would be awful. However, airstrikes without ground forces are not going to be able to stop them, are only going to kill thousands of people, create a humanitarian catastrophe, and turn the population against the coalition. If the USA was going to participate they should have pushed for an actual strategy. It seems to me the "coalition" must send in ground forces to protect Aden and other critical installations, insure humanitarian aid gets to civilians, fight al-Qaeda, and allow for the election of a new government. I don't think ground forces should go into Sanaa or Houthi areas unless/until the civilians there demand it.
posted by Golden Eternity at 6:00 PM on April 20, 2015

Iran Warned Houthis Against Yemen Takeover
posted by Noisy Pink Bubbles at 7:30 AM on April 21, 2015 [1 favorite]

WHO warns of imminent collapse of health care services in Yemen
posted by Golden Eternity at 8:58 AM on April 21, 2015

Mission Accomplished.
posted by Drinky Die at 11:30 AM on April 21, 2015

@AJENews: "Developing: Senior Houthi leaders say political deal to end Yemen conflict has almost been reached, Reuters reports"
posted by Golden Eternity at 2:01 PM on April 21, 2015

Putin Invites Saudi King to Russia as They Discuss Yemen Crisis

@russiannavyblog: "This Russian flagged ship's last port was Chahbahar Iran & is lost if it's next declared port is supposed to be Dubai"

@russiannavyblog: "Another oddly 'lost' Russian ship in the Gulf of Aden"
posted by Golden Eternity at 7:38 PM on April 21, 2015

Russian troops have a history of getting lost near the borders of countries undergoing civil wars. I hope they're OK.
posted by Joe in Australia at 8:30 PM on April 21, 2015 [3 favorites]

Mission Accomplished.

Well, that was short lived...

Airstrikes Hit Yemen After Saudis Declare End to Bombing
posted by Noisy Pink Bubbles at 3:51 PM on April 22, 2015

Saudi Arabia announced a $274 million donation for "humanitarian operations in Yemen". This is the same Saudi Arabia that just bombed an Oxfam warehouse. Here's an extract from Monday's Daily Press Briefing by the Office of the Spokesperson for the Secretary-General [video]:

Question: Stéphane, you have heard about this attack today, aerial attack on (inaudible) in the western Sana’a, attack which rocked the whole city, and video is coming from there showing the explosion. Speak about unconventional weapons used in that attack, dozens of people perished immediately and many are going to hospitals, choked by the gases coming from the attack. Does the United Nations have anything to say about that?

Spokesman: Well, we're… I was just looking at the press reports coming in. We've asked our colleagues to look into these reports. Obviously, just at first glance, these kinds of reports are extremely disturbing when you see a probability of a high level of civilian casualties. I don't have any further details, and we will look into it and speak further… further to it. But I think all… all the violence that we've seen over the weekend, I think, serves as a reminder for the parties to heed the Secretary‑General's call on Friday for cessation of hostilities and for a ceasefire, which he talked about in Washington.

Correspondent: He spoke about aid coming from Saudi Arabia to… there were also reports that attacks are happening by the Saudi aircraft or fighters against convoys carrying wheats and fuel and other things.

Spokesman: What we talked about is the Saudi Government has said it would fund OCHA's flash appeal for Yemen. This is… again, this is not the full yearly appeal. This is a flash appeal. This will help a number of people in the immediate term to finance these operations, but clearly we need a cessation of hostilities to be able to deliver aid on a grand scale and to bring people the assistance they need. And, again, as we've stress from here repeatedly, even before this round of violence, Yemeni civilians were in dire need of humanitarian assistance. So there's a much larger need which is still unfunded. This was very much a flash appeal. I'll come back to you. Matthew.

Translation: Shut up, today's message is TWO HUNDRED AND SEVENTY FOUR MILLION DOLLARS, not some damn aid workers in a warehouse.

But surely other NGOs have Oxfam's back! Here, for instance, is Joe Stork from HRW:

“The US should disclose whether it was involved in the Oxfam warehouse strike and, if so, participate in a proper investigation,” Stork said. “If the coalition air campaign ends, the US will still have an interest in seeing that alleged unlawful attacks are investigated and victims are compensated.”

Remarkably absent from that sentence: any mention of Saudi Arabia.
posted by Joe in Australia at 6:23 AM on April 23, 2015 [1 favorite]

Signs of hope for Yemen? - Saudi readjustment suggests potential for a political solution

Hopes for peace now focus on the emerging role of Vice President and Prime Minister Khaled Bahah. He is widely seen as the national figure best placed to lead negotiations, as he is trusted, at least to some extent, by most factions in the country. Many observers believe that the fortunes of Bahah and those of a negotiated agreement to end the conflict are closely linked, if not interdependent. They will be viewing the level of his prominence and engagement at the center of national politics as a barometer for the likelihood of a workable deal to end the fighting.

posted by Golden Eternity at 10:22 AM on April 23, 2015

Fighting escalates across Yemen, first air strikes on capital Sanaa Interesting nugget in this piece: "foreign warships" are shelling the country... I wonder which country those warships belong to?

Yemeni Rebels Lash Out at Saudis on Border

‘We’ve arrived’: ISIS wing in Yemen releases first video, threatens Houthis
posted by Noisy Pink Bubbles at 7:06 AM on April 26, 2015

It seems the warships doing the shelling are Egyptian dancing to the tune of their Saudi and US masters no doubt.
posted by adamvasco at 11:07 AM on April 26, 2015

rats that link is a month old, though I believe Egypt still has warships in the offing.
Still just "foreign" warships - no identity yet.
posted by adamvasco at 4:19 PM on April 26, 2015

Egypt has a huge interest in stopping the flow of Iranian arms to the Sinai Peninsula, and probably just as much interest in protecting the passage of ships through the Red Sea. I'm surprised Europe isn't involved yet; a large fraction of their trade goes through the Suez Canal, and Iran-supplied forces are now threatening it both by land (in the Sinai) and sea (the Bab el Mandeb).
posted by Joe in Australia at 5:21 PM on April 26, 2015 [1 favorite]

That being said, I presume it's the USA fleet doing the shelling: they're in the area and their capacity must be so much greater.
posted by Joe in Australia at 5:30 PM on April 26, 2015

I think the US would rather use a proxy. They will of course provide that proxy with all target intelligence.
posted by adamvasco at 6:38 PM on April 26, 2015

It's hard to believe the US would be shelling without announcing it. Seems to me it would be pretty hard to keep secret.
posted by Golden Eternity at 7:25 PM on April 26, 2015

But it is being kept secret, whether it's the US, Egypt, or the Man in the Moon.
posted by Joe in Australia at 8:52 PM on April 26, 2015

Naval shelling isn't usually the way that the US rolls, either. They usually prefer cruise missiles or drone strikes, which have more precision (I think?). Although, most of their targets are further inland so naval shelling probably isn't even an option in most cases.

Although, the only source for this shelling is unnamed eyewitnesses in Aden, who are caught in the middle of a very confusing and chaotic situation where many things are going boom for many different reasons and responsibility and causation are not so easily traced...

Additionally, if this shelling were to have actually occurred, one would think we would hear more accusations as to who was behind it, since there are so many interested parties eager to place blame on their political rivals...
posted by Noisy Pink Bubbles at 9:35 PM on April 26, 2015 [1 favorite]

By the way, the list of ships that the US has around Yemen are here (helping with the Saudi blockade) and here (moved in to dissuade Iran's convoy). One of the ships most recently brought near Yemen has been moved back to the Persian Gulf. Some of these ships definitely have shelling capabilities, so it's not completely out of the question that the US could be shelling Yemen. (This also assumes that we are getting accurate information from the US military.)
posted by Noisy Pink Bubbles at 9:51 PM on April 26, 2015

I thought it was pretty clear they were shelling the Houthi/Saleh forces invading Aden. From Ahram in March: Egyptian warships shell Houthis outside Yemeni city of Aden
posted by Golden Eternity at 10:22 PM on April 26, 2015

This is the current report:

There were at least five air strikes on military positions and an area near the presidential palace compound in the Houthi-held capital Sanaa at dawn on Sunday, while warships pounded an area near the port of the southern city of Aden, residents said.

I don't think you would shell a port to stop invaders; you'd do it to destroy stores and to deny them the use of the port. It makes a lot of sense if they're expecting deliveries of Iranian weapons.
posted by Joe in Australia at 10:51 PM on April 26, 2015

They are probably hitting fighting positions. But who knows - if Egypt and KSA are doing the targetting. I thought Saleh had successfully landed fighters there by sea, which was a big part of how they got into Aden in the first place. If Egyptian ships were doing the shelling before, it seems safe to assume they are now as well. Maybe others are participating, but I doubt the US would be shelling without announcing it. Anyway, it seems like a full blown civil war at this point.

@adammbaron: "The latest demonstration of the flaws of the 'arm anti-Houthi tribal fighters, ask questions later,' policy.":

@ammar82: Local sources tell me that airdropped weapons/munitions in Abyan/Shabwa are becoming a source of tribal rivalry &may escalate to wars within"

posted by Golden Eternity at 1:13 AM on April 27, 2015

How could "drop a big box of killing machines where it's too dangerous to land" go wrong?
posted by rhizome at 11:45 AM on April 27, 2015

Bloomberg: Egypt Drops Out of U.S. Inner Circle Even as Aid Resumes
posted by rosswald at 12:18 PM on April 27, 2015 [1 favorite]

@omeisy: "Utter impunity & audacious dirct targeting of residential areas in OpRestoreHope will make us soon pray for return of OpDecisiveStorm #Yemen"
posted by Golden Eternity at 9:08 PM on April 27, 2015

Al Arabia: Iran seizes U.S. ship, 34 sailors

@AmichaiStein: "Sr. #US Navy officials tell @NBCNews that report of Iran forcing Navy cargo ship into an Iranian port are false"
posted by Golden Eternity at 7:54 AM on April 28, 2015

Reuters
U.S. says Iranian forces fire on and board cargo ship in Gulf.
Heavy MV Maersk Tigris: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know
posted by adamvasco at 9:54 AM on April 28, 2015 [1 favorite]

Admiral Tonkin says there's nothing to worry about.
posted by rhizome at 12:22 PM on April 28, 2015

@crazyyafai: "DANGER: Friends from #Aden say #Houthis now warning KorMaksar district residents to evacuate their houses by tomorrow or it'll be destroyed!"
posted by Golden Eternity at 2:29 PM on April 28, 2015

@YemenPostNews: MOTHER & her two children sleep on Aden streets after Houthis destroyed their home. #Yemen
posted by Golden Eternity at 3:50 PM on April 28, 2015

Aid flights blocked after Saudi Arabia bombs runway.
posted by adamvasco at 4:25 PM on April 28, 2015 [1 favorite]

... in order to stop an Iranian plane landing. The Iranians said that the plane was carrying aid, but that's what you'd expect them to say. Airports in besieged cities are an obvious military target; they will inevitably be attacked unless they're shielded for humanitarian reasons. The besieger is not going to let the enemy use an airport; any attempt to land a supply plane must be seen as a provocation.

So why did Iran provoke an attack? I think it implies that Iran doesn't expect to maintain control of the airport indefinitely. So Iran made a strategic sacrifice, simultaneously making KSA look bad and preventing KSA from reacquiring a working airport. In the meantime, people are dying.

Poor bloody Yemenis.
posted by Joe in Australia at 4:45 PM on April 28, 2015

Even if KSA had evidence that the Iranian plane was carrying military cargo, in my opinion destroying the runway - preventing any humanitarian aid from being flown in to Sanaa where people soon may face starvation and unimaginable suffering - is not the most moral action KSA could have taken in this case. Blaming it on an "Iranian provocation" is a bit Putinesque.
posted by Golden Eternity at 9:34 PM on April 28, 2015

Well, it was an Iranian provocation. It's wartime. KSA can't allow Iran to send arms into an area it controls. If you want to call anything Putinesque, how about Iran claiming that they were delivering aid, and not ammunition?
posted by Joe in Australia at 9:42 PM on April 28, 2015 [1 favorite]

Despots gotta do what despots gotta do.
Saudi king, facing challenges in Yemen, fires his heir.
posted by adamvasco at 12:01 PM on April 29, 2015 [1 favorite]

@Kelledy7: "#Huthi militants killed 64 persons & burned 48 houses in #Khormaksar area in #Aden city, South #Yemen
#KefayaWar"
posted by Golden Eternity at 9:07 PM on April 29, 2015

Russia: U.N. Security Council should stay out of Burundi dispute - Vitaly Churkin told reporters, "it's not the business of the Security Council and the U.N. Charter to get involved in constitutional matters of sovereign states."
posted by rosswald at 12:23 PM on May 1, 2015

Yemen: A View from Marib
posted by Golden Eternity at 8:40 PM on May 2, 2015

@AFP: "#BREAKING: Yemen confirms 'limited' coalition ground force in Aden"
posted by Golden Eternity at 4:29 AM on May 3, 2015

Who is "Yemen"? Serious question.
posted by Joe in Australia at 5:36 AM on May 3, 2015

Longer AFP article: "A 'limited' number of Saudi-led ground troops deployed in Yemen's second city Aden on Sunday to support loyalist militia fighting rebels, a government official and a militia commander said."
posted by effbot at 5:51 AM on May 3, 2015

Reuters: "Commenting on reports that the coalition had deployed troops to Aden, Brigadier General Ahmed Asseri said the alliance has not started any major ground offensive in the city. He told Reuters there were no non-Yemeni forces fighting in Aden, but said the coalition would continue to assist local militias fighting the Houthis. [...] 'All of these options are on the table and we use it to give those loyals the capabilities to be able to protect themselves and civilians,' he said. 'If some such thing happens (a special forces operation), we cannot talk about it in the media.'"
posted by effbot at 6:34 AM on May 3, 2015