Pro-government Yemeni forces during clashes with Houthi rebels on Nov. 10, 2021, on the Ma’rib front in Yemen. (Credit: AFP)
After four years of “neither war nor peace,” Yemen’s front lines are stirring again. Since July, Houthi rebels have imposed a maritime blockade on Saudi Arabia, targeted ships linked to the kingdom, and struck airports and oil infrastructure on Saudi territory. Fighting has also resumed inside Yemen. But this time, government forces are displaying new military capabilities, including the use of first-person-view (FPV) exploding drones. The shift bears Riyadh’s imprint and follows the unraveling of the division of labor between Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates in Yemen, as tensions between Saudi Arabia and Iran rise again.Since the defeat in January of the southern separatists backed by Abu Dhabi and the subsequent Emirati military withdrawal, Riyadh has sought to centralize the various forces operating in government-controlled...
After four years of “neither war nor peace,” Yemen’s front lines are stirring again. Since July, Houthi rebels have imposed a maritime blockade on Saudi Arabia, targeted ships linked to the kingdom, and struck airports and oil infrastructure on Saudi territory. Fighting has also resumed inside Yemen. But this time, government forces are displaying new military capabilities, including the use of first-person-view (FPV) exploding drones. The shift bears Riyadh’s imprint and follows the unraveling of the division of labor between Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates in Yemen, as tensions between Saudi Arabia and Iran rise again.Since the defeat in January of the southern separatists backed by Abu Dhabi and the subsequent Emirati military withdrawal, Riyadh has sought to centralize the various forces operating in...
