Saudi-led intervention in the Yemeni civil war facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Saudi-led intervention in Yemen
Part of the Yemeni civil war and the Iran–Saudi Arabia proxy conflict
An airstrike in Sanaʽa on 11 May 2015 Current (February 2024) political and military control in the ongoing Yemeni civil war      Government of Yemen and allies      Houthis-led Supreme Political Council      Southern Transitional Council and other UAE-backed groups      Local, non-aligned forces such as the Hadhramaut Tribal Alliance      Ansar al-Sharia and Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) (See also a detailed map)
Date 26 March 2015 – ongoing (9 years, 7 months, 1 week and 1 day) Operation Decisive Storm 26 March – 21 April 2015 (3 weeks and 6 days) Operation Restoring Hope 22 April 2015 – present (9 years, 6 months, 1 week and 5 days) Location Yemen Status Ongoing
Belligerents
Saudi Arabia United Arab Emirates  Sudan (2015–19)  Bahrain  Kuwait  Qatar (2015–17)  Egypt  Jordan  Morocco (2015–19)  Senegal Academi contractors (2015–16) Saudi-paid Yemeni mercenaries Supported by:  United States  U.S. Navy  United States Army (Special Forces)  United Kingdom  France  Canada In support of: Republic of Yemen (Presidential Leadership Council) Yemeni Armed Forces Yemeni Air Force Hirak Popular Resistance Committee Al-Islah Movement	Revolutionary Committee/Supreme Political Council Houthis Yemen Army (pro-Saleh and Houthis) (2015–17) Yemeni Republican Guard (2015–17) Iran (alleged, denied by Iran) North Korea (alleged)	Al-Qaeda
Commanders and leaders
Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud Mohammed bin Salman Fahd bin Turki Al Saud (2015–20) Mutlaq bin Salem bin Mutlaq Al-Azima Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah # Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah # Mishal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani (2015–17) Abdel Fattah el-Sisi Abdel Fattah al-Burhan (2015–19) Abdullah II Mohamed VI (2015–19) Macky Sall Rashad al-Alimi (2022–) Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi (2015–22) Mohammed al-Maqdashi Gen. Ali al-Ahmar Gen. Abd Rabbo Hussein  † Gen. Ahmad Al-Yafei  †	Mohammed Ali al-Houthi Mohamed al-Atifi (2016–) Mahdi al-Mashat (2018–) Saleh Ali al-Sammad  † (2015–18) Hussein Khairan (2015–16) Abdul-Malik al-Houthi	Khalid Batarfi Ibrahim al Qosi
Strength
100 warplanes and 150,000 troops 30 warplanes and 15,000 troops 4 warplanes and 15,000 troops 15 warplanes 300 troops 15 warplanes 10 warplanes, 1,000 troops (until 2017) 4 warships and warplanes 6 warplanes 6 warplanes, 1,500 troops 2,100 troops (soldiers not yet deployed in 2016) Academi: 1,800 security contractors	150,000–200,000 fighters 200,000–250,000 Republican Guard: 100,000 Popular Committees: 100,000	al-Qaeda Ansar al-Sharia: 6,000–8,000
Casualties and losses
1,000 –3,000 soldiers killed by 2016; 10 captured 108–130 soldiers killed 1,000 - 4,000 soldiers killed 15 soldiers killed 1 F-16 crashed 4 soldiers killed 10 soldiers killed 1 F-16 shot down 1 F-16 lost Academi: 71 mercenaries killed Unknown	Thousands killed (Aljazeera; as of May 2018) 11,000+ killed (Arab Coalition claim; as of Dec. 2017)	Al-Qaeda AQAP 1,000 killed, 1,500 captured
12,907 Yemeni civilians killed (per the LCRD) 8,672 civilians killed, 9,741 injured by coalition's airstrikes (per Yemen Data Project) 500+ Saudi civilians killed (2014–2016) 377,000+ people killed overall (150,000+ from violence) (2014–2021) (UN)

On 26 March 2015, Saudi Arabia, leading a coalition of nine countries from West Asia and North Africa, launched an intervention in Yemen at the request of Yemeni president Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi, who had been ousted from the capital, Sanaa, in September 2014 by Houthi insurgents during the Yemeni Civil War. Efforts by the United Nations to facilitate a power sharing arrangement under a new transitional government collapsed, leading to escalating conflict between government forces, Houthi rebels, and other armed groups, which culminated in Hadi fleeing to Saudi Arabia shortly before it began military operations in the country.

The first month of the intervention, codenamed Operation Decisive Storm (Arabic: عملية عاصفة الحزم, romanized: Amaliyyat 'Āṣifat al-Ḥazm), consisted of airstrikes on Houthi rebels and a full blockade On 22 April, the Saudi-led coalition declared that it had achieved its initial goals and announced Operation Restoring Hope, which would comprise a "combination of political, diplomatic and military action" while continuing "to prevent the Houthi militias from moving or undertaking any operations inside Yemen". Ground forces were subsequently deployed into the country as part of a broader offensive against both Houthi militants and loyalists of Hadi's predecessor, Ali Abdullah Saleh. Owing to Iran's support of these factions, the conflict is widely regarded as part of the broader Saudi-Iran proxy conflict.

Egypt, Morocco, Jordan, Sudan, and the United Arab Emirates have provided air and ground forces, while Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, and Constellis have headed several ground operations. Djibouti, Eritrea, and Somalia opened their airspace, territorial waters, and military bases to coalition forces. At varying stages, the intervention has been backed by the United States, United Kingdom, France, Germany, and Canada. The U.S. provided intelligence and logistical support, such as aerial refueling and search-and-rescue for downed coalition pilots, accelerated the sale of weapons to coalition states, and continued strikes against AQAP. In 2016, American and British military officials were confirmed to have provided advice and training related to Saudi-led airstrikes in Yemen.

The intervention has received widespread international criticism for killing thousands of noncombatants, destroying civilian infrastructure, and intensifying Yemen's humanitarian crisis. Academics also dispute whether it violates Article 2(4) of the UN Charter. By 2019, the conflict was reported as a "military stalemate", and the following year, Saudi Arabia declared its first unilateral ceasefire. On 29 March 2022, the Saudi-led coalition announced that it would cease all hostilities within Yemen to facilitate political talks and peacekeeping efforts; Houthi and Saudi officials subsequently began bilateral peace talks mediated by Oman under UN auspices, and most restrictions on commercial goods were lifted by April 2023. As of April 2024, open hostilities have largely ceased, though negotiations are ongoing due to complications caused by Houthi attacks on Red Sea shipping since October 2023.

Images for kids

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  Ethnoreligious groups in 2002. Zaydi Shi'a followers make up between 35% and 42.1% of Muslims in Yemen.

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  King Salman of Saudi Arabia and Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir meet with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry in September 2015.

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  Saudi foreign minister Adel al-Jubeir announced a five-day ceasefire in Yemen, 8 May 2015.

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  An airstrike in Sanaʽa, 11 May 2015

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  Protest against the military intervention in Yemen on 14 August 2020

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  Saudi Arabia's UK-supplied Eurofighter Typhoons are playing a central role in Saudi-led bombing campaign in Yemen.

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  Yemen's former president Ali Abdullah Saleh was initially allied with Houthis, until they assassinated him on accounts of treason.

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  Yemen's President Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, 7 May 2015

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  Foreign Ministers of the U.S., the U.K., Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, before a working dinner focused on Yemen, 19 July 2016

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  Protesters against the US-backed Saudi-led war on Yemen were led away and handcuffed by New York police outside the US mission to the UN on 11 December 2017.

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  Registration of Indian citizens evacuating from Yemen, March 2015