Then and now: Yemen’s civil war

How did the Yemen war erupt?

The Saudi-led Arab coalition, which includes the UAE, entered the Yemeni war in 2015 just months after an Al Houthi coup forced internationally-recognised Yemeni president Abd Rabbo Mansour Hadi out of power. Saudi Arabia and the US have accused Iran of illegally smuggling weapons into Yemen to sustain Al Houthi war efforts. One such Iranian-made ballistic missile was fired towards Riyadh earlier this year. Although it was intercepted, Riyadh called it an ‘act of war’.

Why Hodeida is important

Since then, the Saudi-led coalition has been in a quest to liberate Hodeida. They see it as the only way to stop the illegal smuggling of weapons into Al Houthi hands.

The problem is that most of Yemen’s aid and goods come through the Red Sea City port and an all-out war there risks placing the entire country in a serious humanitarian crisis.

That is why there has been a concerted effort by the international community to stave off an offensive there.

The coalition wants Al Houthis to hand over control of the port completely which Al Houthis have refused to do.

In June 2018 government fighters, backed by Saudi and UAE forces, launched an offensive to retake the rebel-held port of Hodeida, a vital entry point for food imports and international aid.

Within days they halted their advance to allow for negotiations.

How important are these talks?

The peace talks will be Yemen’s first in more than two years. attempt by Griffiths last September to restart peacemaking in Yemen fizzled out after the Al Houthi delegation failed to appear in Geneva, the venue of the talks at the time.

Previous UN efforts to end Yemen’s devastating war went nowhere. However, Al Houthis have been weakened militarily since the June ofensive and could be more open to compromise this time.

UAE Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Dr Anwar Gargash called the Sweden talks “critical”.

What do parties hope the talks will accomplish?

An

The UN envoy will push for further confidence-building steps from both sides in Sweden. They include ending the Al Houthi siege of the south-western city of Taiz, the alliance’s reopening of the rebel-held Sana’a airport, and heading off an all-out offensive in Hodeida as well as facilitating aid deliveries.

The coalition wants, of course, Al Houthis to completely relinquish control of Hodeida port.

It also wants Al Houthis to abide by UN Security Council resolution 2216 which calls for an Al Houthi withdrawal from the areas they have seized since the late 2014 coup and surrender of heavy weapons.