The region encompassing the Middle East, North Africa, and the Sahel is studded with complex and multi-layered conflicts in which local and international dynamics interact. While this may sound like a simple truth, it has important implications regarding conflict management. Across the region, few wars are limited to one country and are internally resolvable. In most cases (Russia, Libya, Mali, Yemen), local and regional actors, foreign players, and international organizations have become protagonists of these crises’ destinies.
The fundamental challenge in achieving a sustainable resolution of the current conflict in Yemen is that the issues at stake are fundamental to Yemen’s identity and history. In fact, it reflects the core issues that have undermined peace and security in the country since at least the 1960s when a successful revolution in North Yemen ended the millennium-old imamate and a quasi-Marxist revolt in the south ended Britain’s protectorate.
The MED This Week newsletter provides expert analysis and informed insights upon the most significant developments within the MENA region, bringing together unique opinions on the topic and reliable foresight on possible future scenarios. Today, we turn the spotlight on Yemen, where the expiry of a six-month ceasefire threatens to rekindle the war and aggravate the condition of millions of people.
Lo Yemen ha vissuto un’estate di contrasti. Da una parte, la tregua nazionale fra gli houthi, il movimento-milizia sciita zaidita del nord sostenuto dall’Iran, e il governo riconosciuto del paese ha sostanzialmente retto, anche se aumentano le violazioni, in particolare a Taiz e Hodeida. Dall’altra, nelle regioni meridionali si è vistosamente riaperto lo scontro interno al “campo dei governativi”.
In Yemen, new economically-rooted challenges currently add to longstanding political and economic obstacles facing Security Sector Reform (SSR). The sharp collapse of the currency in the territories held by the Internationally Recognized Government of Yemen (IRG), as well as the global socio-economic impact of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, have compounded historical hindrances to SSR in Yemen, which include—but are not limited to—corruption, an accountability deficit, and poor professionalism.
Force Integration in a Post-Hybrid Landscape
Come per molti altri paesi della regione, la guerra in Ucraina e le sue numerose implicazioni hanno condizionato fortemente l’Algeria in questi primi mesi del 2022. Innanzitutto, l’invasione russa dell’Ucraina e la forte reazione dell’Occidente hanno causato un certo disagio ad Algeri, sebbene la partnership di lunga data con Mosca non sia in discussione.
Una tregua e una nuova leadership: dopo sette anni di guerra[1], lo Yemen attraversa una fase di opportunità politiche. La tregua nazionale, mediata dalle Nazioni Unite fra tutte le parti in conflitto, è in vigore, per due mesi, dal 2 aprile: nonostante alcune violazioni, la buona notizia è che la tregua sta reggendo e il numero di vittime e feriti civili si è dimezzato dal suo inizio[2].
The MED This Week newsletter provides expert analysis and informed comments on the MENA region’s most significant issues and trends. Today we turn the spotlight on Yemen, where a nationwide truce serves as the backdrop for the inauguration of a new presidential council tasked with managing the country and leading the peace efforts with the Houthis.
As the conflict in Yemen drags on, an interesting dynamic has marked the last year of war: the rise of popular protests in many Southern regions, the areas which are not directly hit by airstrikes and fighting. Demonstrations are mainly driven by worsened economic conditions: Yemenis peacefully take to the streets, organise sit-ins or go on strike to express their dissent against unstoppable inflation, lack of public salaries and services, electricity shortages and limited access to clean water.