ONLY ON AP Yemen future looks bleak despite possibility of peace
413 views · Published 8 December 2018 · 3:00 · Indexed 19 October 2026
Channel: AP Archive · 2018 · News & Politics
(3 Dec 2018) Two years after al-Qaida militants withdrew from Yemen's eastern city of Mukalla, troops from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates patrol the streets in armoured vehicles keeping an eye out for jihadi sleeper cells. The city on the Gulf of Aden, hundreds of miles (kilometres) from the front lines of the devastating war with Houthi rebels, offers a glimpse at the other conflicts simmering in Yemen. It is these conflicts that threaten to boil over, even if the latest international push for a truce succeeds. Yemen's war pits the Houthis - Shiite militants who hold the capital, Sanaa, and much of northern Yemen - against an internationally-backed government that is heavily dependent on Saudi and Emirati forces and is allied with various local armed groups. Initially a civil war, Yemen's conflict has grown into a regional battle. Saudi-led warplanes using American weaponry have hit hospitals and markets, killing large numbers of civilians, while Iran has supplied arms ranging from assault rifles to ballistic missiles to the Houthis, according to the UN and Western nations. Tehran supports the Houthis but denies arming them. The US has recently come under increasing pressure to pull out of the war on Yemen, however there is no sign of American involvement wavering. But the lingering instability in Mukalla and other areas raises questions about whether a truce would bring peace to the impoverished country - or simply free up the warring parties to settle other scores. The collapse of the central government allowed al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula to seize control in 2015. The militants, part of what Washington considers to be the deadliest branch of the terror group, seized weapons from military stockpiles and made off with an estimated 100 million US dollars. In April 2016, the UAE and allied forces retook Mukalla, in part by negotiating a secret deal with the militants to withdraw, The Associated Press reported earlier this year. Over two years later, Mukalla still feels on edge. Despite Saudi and Yemeni officials insisting that the port city is safe, journalists on a recent trip organized by Saudi Arabia were not allowed outside of an army base without armored vehicles and a massive security detail. More than 10,000 people have been killed in the war, with experts estimating a much higher toll. The fighting has displaced two million others, spawned a cholera epidemic and pushed the country to the brink of famine, with emaciated children dying of malnutrition. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter: https://twitter.com/AP_Archive Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/APArchives Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/APNews/ You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/96a2fa1af8e12d124230654374cd3359
