Small Wars Journal

Yemen War: 5 Years Since the Houthis' Sanaa Takeover

Sun, 09/22/2019 - 12:21am

Yemen War: 5 Years Since the Houthis' Sanaa TakeoverAl Jazeera

On September 21, 2014, Yemen's Houthi rebels took control of the capital, Sanaa, following a rapid advance south from their northern stronghold of Saada after weeks of anti-government protests.

With the Houthis proceeding to push southwards, the conflict escalated in 2015 when Saudi Arabia and its allies launched a ferocious air campaign to reverse the rebels' territorial gains and restore the internationally recognised government.

The war in the Arab world's poorest country has since spawned what the United Nations calls the worst humanitarian crisis, with tens of thousands of people killed and millions at risk of starvation.

On the fifth anniversary of the Houthis' takeover of Sanna, here is an overview of the five-year conflict…

Read on.