Have British-made weapons been used by Saudi Arabia in air strikes that caused mass civilian casualties in Yemen this week? The question was raised yesterday in the Daily Telegraph, a popular newspaper among Britain’s military top brass.
While the Telegraph merely reported calls for an...
Blog archive: Yemen
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2nd April 2015
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1st April 2015There was a very informative and wide-ranging discussion of the situation in Yemen earlier today, which I had the privilege of chairing. It was organised by CAABU, the Council for Arab-British Understanding. The speakers were Abubakr al-Shamahi, a British-Yemeni journalist, and Baraa Shiban who...
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30th March 2015The words "Iranian-backed" and "Houthi" are now coupled together in virtually every media report about the conflict in Yemen. Nobody – least of all, the Iranians – would deny that Iran supports the Houthis. But how extensive is that support and what forms does it take? Where some kinds of...
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25th March 2015Almost constantly since its foundation in 1932, Saudi Arabia has been involved in Yemen politically and sometimes militarily – often with negative consequences for Yemen. The article below looks at the history of this relationship. Click on the links to jump to different sections of the...
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5th February 2015Yemen may be facing a "nearly catastrophic" scenario "to the point where it resembles the worst characteristics of Somalia and Afghanistan", Sir Alan Duncan, the British government's special envoy to Yemen, warned yesterday: "If things get markedly worse we could see a dysfunctional...
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13th January 2015In what appears to be yet another blow against religious tolerance, an Iranian member of the Bah'ai faith is to go on trial in Yemen – charged with spying for Israel. The Yemeni government news agency, Saba, reports that 51-year-old Hamid Mirza Kamali Srostani, was arrested last year...
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9th November 2014Amid objections from the Houthi movement and supporters of ex-president Saleh, 30 out of 36 members of Yemen's new government were sworn in on Sunday. Three of the new ministers named on Friday have declined to take up their posts: Ahmed al-Kuhlani (Minister of State for...
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8th November 2014Almost a month after being asked to form a new government, Yemen's prime minister designate, Khaled Bahah, yesterday announced his ministerial line-up. Coinciding with that, the UN security council imposed sanctions on ex-president Ali Abdullah Saleh and two military commanders of the...
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7th November 2014Saleh supporters gathering in Tahrir Square, Sanaa. Photo posted by @omeisy. Supporters of ex-president Ali Abdullah Saleh are gathering in Sanaa this morning to protest against "foreign interference" in Yemen. The "interference" in question is a move by the UN security council, at...
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30th October 2014A controversial NGO headed by a man who once ran a fake university in Norway is playing a central role in efforts to solve Yemen's political crisis. The Global Network for Rights and Development (GNRD), together with Yemen's National Center for Human Rights and Democratic Development (...
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17th October 2014One of the less-discussed effects of political turmoil in Yemen over the last few years has been the proliferation of media. Despite widespread illiteracy, Yemen now has around 90 newspapers published weekly or more often and the state's monopoly on broadcasting has been broken; there are several...
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26th September 2014LAST WEEKEND Houthi fighters took over key parts of the Yemeni capital, Sanaa, and celebrated with a massive fireworks display (see video above). Government security forces are now said to be cooperating with them in guarding the city. This extraordinary turn of events has...
