Marib is the capital city of Ma'rib Governorate, Yemen. It was the capital of the ancient kingdom of Sabaʾ, which some scholars believe to be the ancient Sheba of biblical fame. It is located approximately 120 kilometres east of Yemen's modern capital, Sana'a, and is in the region of the Sarawat Mountains. It has a current population of 16,794.
The Houthi movement, officially called Ansar Allah and colloquially simply Houthis, is an Islamic political and armed movement that emerged from Sa'dah in northern Yemen in the 1990s. The movement was called Houthis because its founder is from the Houthi tribe. They are of the Zaidi sect, though the movement reportedly also includes Sunnis. Under the leadership of Hussein Badreddin al-Houthi, the group emerged as an opposition to former Yemeni president Ali Abdullah Saleh, whom they charged with massive financial corruption and criticized for being backed by Saudi Arabia and the United States at the expense of the Yemeni people and Yemen's sovereignty. Resisting Saleh's order for his arrest, Hussein was killed in Sa'dah in 2004 along with a number of his guards by the Yemeni army, sparking the Houthi insurgency in Yemen. Since then, except for a short intervening period, the movement has been led by his brother Abdul-Malik al-Houthi.
The Al-Qaeda insurgency in Yemen refers to the armed conflict that started in 1998 between the Yemeni government with United States assistance, and al-Qaeda-affiliated cells in Yemen. The strife is often categorized as a sub-conflict in the greater Global War on Terror.
Shaybah Oil Field is a super-giant disputed oil field under the control of Saudi Arabia and is located in the northern edge of the Rub' Al-Khali/Empty Quarter desert. It is located about 10 km south of the border to Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, which is a straight line drawn in the desert. It is 40 km south of the eastern part of Liwa Oasis of Abu Dhabi.
Saleh Ali al-Sammad was a Yemeni political figure from the Houthi movement who served as the president of Yemen's Supreme Political Council until his death.
The Yemeni Civil War is an ongoing conflict that began in 2015 between two factions: the Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi led Yemeni government and the Houthi armed movement, along with their supporters and allies. Both claim to constitute the official government of Yemen.
The Saudi-led intervention in Yemen, also called the Arab coalition, is an intervention launched by Saudi Arabia in 2015, leading a coalition of nine countries from West Asia and Africa, in response to calls from the internationally recognized pro-Saudi president of Yemen Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi for military support after he was ousted by the Houthi movement due to economic and political grievances, and fled to Saudi Arabia.
Al Anad Air Base is a military airbase in the Lahij Governorate, Yemen. It is the biggest air base in Yemen.
A Saudi Arabian-Yemeni border conflict between Saudi Arabian troops and Yemeni Houthi insurgents has been taking place, in the southern regions of Asir, Jizan, and Najran, since the onset of the Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen in 2015.
There have been many human rights violations committed by various groups after the Yemeni Civil War. There are two main groups involved in the ongoing conflict: forces loyal to the current Yemeni president, Abh Rabbuh Mansur Hadi, and Houthis and other forces supporting Ali Abdullah Saleh, the former Yemeni president. On 29 November 2017, fighting between forces loyal to Ali Abdullah Saleh and the Houthis began in Sana'a. Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant have also carried out attacks in Yemen. All sides of the conflict have been accused of human rights violations. Coalition forces led by Saudi Arabia and backed by the United States and other nations have also been accused of violating human rights and in some cases, breaking international law. The coalition forces intervened at Hadi's request, in an attempt to defeat the Houthis and restore Hadi's government. Coalition attacks, especially airstrikes, have been accused of causing large scale civilian deaths, but Saudi Arabia disputes these claims. The use of force by these groups has exacerbated the humanitarian crisis situation in Yemen, as critical infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed in attacks. In addition to the attacks, blockades of critical resources, such as fuel, to Yemen by Saudi Arabia have hindered the transport of food in Yemen, and the ability of civilians to travel to locations where there are adequate medical facilities. The situation in Yemen has been described as "one of the worst crises in the world" by the United Nations Humanitarian Coordinator for Yemen.
The following is a timeline of the Yemeni Civil War (2015–present), which began in March 2015 and is ongoing.
The Battle of Al Hudaydah, codenamed as Operation Golden Victory, is a major Saudi-led coalition assault on the port city of Al Hudaydah in Yemen. It is spearheaded by the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia and has been considered as the largest battle since the start of Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen in 2015.
The following lists events in the year 2019 in Saudi Arabia.
The Abha International Airport attack was a cruise missile attack carried out by the Yemeni Houthi rebels which occurred on 12 June 2019 at 12.21 AM (BST). The attack targeted the arrivals hall of Abha International Airport in southwestern Saudi Arabia and injured 26 civilians.
The 2019 Persian Gulf crisis is an escalation of military tensions between Iran and the United States following the deployment of military assets to the Persian Gulf by President Donald Trump due to intelligence suggesting a planned campaign by Iran and allies against US forces and interests in the Persian Gulf and Iraq. This followed a rise in political tensions between the two countries during the Presidency of Donald Trump, which included the withdrawal of the United States from the nuclear deal, the imposition of new sanctions against Iran, and the designation of the IRGC as a terrorist organization. In response, Iran designated the US CENTCOM as a terrorist organisation.
On 14 September 2019, drones were used to attack the state-owned Saudi Aramco oil processing facilities at Abqaiq and Khurais in eastern Saudi Arabia. The Houthi movement in Yemen claimed responsibility, tying it to events surrounding the Saudi Arabian intervention in the Yemeni Civil War and stating they used ten drones in the attack launched from Yemen, south of the facilities. Saudi Arabian officials said that many more drones and cruise missiles were used for the attack and originated from the north and east, and that they were of Iranian manufacture. The United States and Saudi Arabia have stated that Iran was behind the attack while France, Germany, and the United Kingdom jointly stated Iran bears responsibility for it. Iran has denied any involvement. The situation has exacerbated the Persian Gulf crisis.
The Samad is a family of long-range UAVs of unidentified origin used in the Middle East. The Samad is available in three variants: The Samad-1, the Samad-2, and the Samad-3. The Samad family of UAVs is primarily used by the Houthi movement in the Yemeni civil war, where the drone's long range is used to strike targets in Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
Operation Victory from God was a military operation reportedly carried out by Yemeni forces loyal to the Houthi-led Supreme Political Council from late August to late September 2018, targeting Saudi Arabia and allied forces along the Saudi-Yemeni border.
