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UN establishes new Yemen Mission

January 18, 2019 | Expert Insights

The U.N. Security Council unanimously approved Wednesday the deployment in  Yemen of up to 75 monitors in a new mission to shore up a fragile cease-fire and oversee a pullback of forces from the flash-point port of Hodeida.

Background 

The modern Republic of Yemen is a relatively new state. Prior to becoming the modern state of Yemen, several dynasties emerged from the ninth to 16th centuries to rule the region. The most powerful one was the Rasulid dynasty. In early 20th century, the country was divided between the Ottoman and British empires in the early twentieth century. South Yemen became a communist country and North Yemen remained traditional to its roots. In 1990, the two regions merged.

Yemen, one of the world’s poorest countries in the world, has been devastated by the war between forces loyal to the internationally recognized government of President Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi and those allied to the Houthi rebel movement. The Yemen Civil war began in 2011 with the Arab Spring protests that led to the fall of the then President Ali Abdallah Saleh on charges of corruption and economic grievances. Hadi, his deputy minister at that time, took over the region. However, the increasing political instability in Yemen paved the way for the Houthi, representing the Shiite minority to take over the territory.

A military intervention was launched by Saudi Arabia in 2015, to influence the Civil War in Yemen. A two-year Saudi-led campaign has damaged infrastructure and caused shortage of medicine in one of the poorest Arab countries. Reports have also emerged that there are players within Yemen who actively sponsor terrorism by funding activities conducted by ISIS.

The Saudi-led coalition has been carrying out air strikes against the Houthi rebels for more than 2 years now. Since then, the country has been plunged into a civil war in which the exiled government backed by Saudi Arabia is trying to defeat the Houthi group aligned with Iran.

Analysis 

The United Nations Security Council has approved an observe-and-report mission in the Yemeni city of Hodeida. The unarmed monitors will be sent to Hodeida city and port as well as to the ports of Saleef and Ras Issa for an initial period of six months.

The observer mission was agreed to during talks last month in Sweden between the Saudi-backed government and Houthi rebels and an advance team is already on the ground in the rebel-held city. The port of Hodeida is the entry point for the bulk of Yemen’s supplies of imported goods and humanitarian aid, providing a lifeline to millions on the brink of starvation.

The U.N. says a cease-fire that went into force on Dec. 18 in Hodeida has been generally holding despite some clashes, but there have been delays in the redeployment of rebel and government forces from the city. The Houthis control most of Hodeida, while government forces are deployed on its southern and eastern outskirts.

The resolution calls on U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to “expeditiously” deploy the United Nations Mission to support the Hodeida Agreement (UNMHA), led by retired Dutch Gen. Patrick Cammaert. Guterres has described the mission as a “nimble presence” that will report on violations in Hodeida, which for months was the front line in the war after pro-government forces launched an offensive to capture it in June 2018.

Since the Saudi-led military coalition intervened in support of the government in March 2015, the conflict has unleashed what the U.N. calls the world’s worst humanitarian crisis. Nearly 10 million people in Yemen are on the brink of famine, according to U.N. aid officials, while 80 percent of the population — 24 million people — are in dire need of humanitarian aid.

The United Nations separately announced that the warring sides had agreed to allow aid agencies to reach the Red Sea Mills food warehouses in Hodeida, which hold enough food to feed 3.5 million people for a month. International Crisis Group expert Dan Schneiderman said the resolution was “a step in the right direction” and singled out U.S. support for the measure as a sign that the administration sees value in the new peace process.

Assessment 

Our assessment is that the port city of Hodeida could be the key in stopping the Arab world’s poorest country from falling into further chaos. We believe that Hodeida is the key city for both rebels and government forces and therefore, securing civilians in the city should be a top priority for the international community.