Arab states unite against Houthis in Yemen

In early February, Houthi rebels, who have held Yemen’s capital, Sana’a, since Jan. 22, dissolved the Yemeni parliament and put President Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi under house arrest in the presidential palace. The Houthis are a Shia Muslim group, and the government officials comprise mostly Sunni Muslims. After being allowed out of Sana’a, President Hadi moved to the city of Aden and declared it the new capital on March 7. 

On March 20, suicide bombers targeted two predominantly Houthi mosques in Sana’a during noon prayers, killing at least 100 people and wounding more than 250.

On March 25, Houthi militia attacked Aden, forcing Hadi to flee the country. During the battles between Yemeni armed forces and Houthi militia, at least 86 people were killed and 599 injured, according to Yemen’s health ministry.

Also on March 25, a Saudi-led coalition of 10 Arab states, including Egypt, Jordan, Morocco and the UAE, began nightly air strikes against Houthi positions near the Gulf of Aden, including in Sana’a. Houthi briefly had control of Aden before being pushed out by the air strikes. Fighting continues.

A naval blockade of Yemen by Egyptian warships, in an attempt to stop weapons and other assistance from reaching Houthi fighters, was also enacted.

Representatives from Arab states at an Arab League meeting held in Cairo on March 29 agreed to form a joint military force to manage cross-border issues, including the presence of al-Qaeda and other terrorist organizations as well as the unrest in Yemen.