Peter Salisbury (Continuación)

Yemenis who have fled their homes in Saada live in makeshift tents near the city of Amran. Photo by Getty Images.

InternacionalONUMundoOriente Próximo, , ,

Saudi Arabia's foreign policy has become more and more assertive since King Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud ascended to the throne in early 2015. Under its new ruler, and perhaps more importantly his son, the deputy crown prince Mohammed bin Salman, the kingdom has entered the fray of Yemen's civil war and has taken a much more visible role in pushing its agenda at an international level. The new king has reputedly used Saudi Arabia's financial heft as leverage to pressure the UN into limiting its criticisms of the conservative monarchy's actions at home and abroad and used its trade and political ties with Western allies, particularly the UK, to convince them to push for its agenda at the UN and elsewhere.…  Seguir leyendo »

InternacionalONUMundoOriente Próximo, , ,

Saudi Arabia's foreign policy has become more and more assertive since King Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud ascended to the throne in early 2015.

Under its new ruler, and perhaps more importantly his son, the deputy crown prince Mohammed bin Salman, the Kingdom has entered the fray of Yemen's civil war and has taken a much more visible role in pushing its agenda at an international level.

The new King has reputedly used Saudi Arabia's financial heft as leverage to pressure the U.N. into limiting its criticisms of the conservative monarchy's actions at home and abroad and used its trade and political ties with Western allies, particularly the UK, to convince them to push for its agenda at the U.N.…  Seguir leyendo »

MundoOriente Próximo,

The civil war in Yemen, which is now more than a year old, has been called a ‘forgotten’ and ‘hidden’ conflict, an orphan to the interest of the Western media and policy-makers.

Perhaps that is because, to the casual observer, Yemen has always seemed somewhat war-torn; or, conversely, because its war is, relatively speaking, recent. The fighting in Syria is now into its fifth year while Libya has been on a volatile path of decline since the death of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011. Yemen’s civil war, although the latest iteration in a violent struggle for power between the country’s many factions, only entered its latest, most destructive phase about a year ago.…  Seguir leyendo »

A southern resistance fighter is pictured through a damaged door glass as he stands guard at the international airport of Yemen’s southern port city of Aden, July 24, 2015. REUTERS/Faisal Al Nasser

MundoOriente Próximo,

The tide is turning against the Houthis and troops loyal to former President Ali Abdullah Saleh in the south of Yemen. But they and their adversaries now face a tipping point in the four-month-old civil war. Both can recognize that neither side can win outright, and choose peace. Or they can condemn the country to another bout of even more devastating conflict.

Backed by new military hardware, airpower and an influx of Yemeni troops trained in Saudi Arabia, fighters captured the city’s international airport and surrounding areas on 14 July. They now appear to be on the brink of consolidating control over Aden for the first time since the Houthis (an armed group that follows the Zaydi a form of Shi’ite Islam largely unique to north Yemen) arrived on its outskirts in late March.…  Seguir leyendo »