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The players - resources on key people and personalities in Yemen.
Issues and ideas - a selection of articles from GSN's more recent history.
Perspectives: from the GSN archive - articles from GSN's extensive database.
US explores development response to Yemen crisis
Washington’s relations with the Yemeni regime face a key test as the Obama administration develops a new approach to state failure. Ali Abdullah Saleh, meanwhile, is looking to new political formulae to hang on to power
Issue 868, 18 December 2009. 
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GSN interview: Southern Movement chief sets out his agenda
Ali Salem Al-Baydh, new leader of the Southern Movement in Yemen, spoke to GSN on 12 May. Below are his answers to our questions.
Issue 853, 15 May 2009. more
Southern Yemen’s discontent comes to the boil with tribal leader’s defiance
While Western governments have been fretting over Yemen’s jihadist threat, Ali Abdullah Saleh is confronted by other challenges. Overt opposition from the influential Sheikh Tareq Bin Nasser Al-Fadhli is accelerating a gathering confrontation between the Sanaa regime and an embittered and neglected southern population – which holds the risk of a disastrous new conflict splitting the troubled Yemeni state.
Issue 852, 1 May 2009. more
Sheikh Tareq Bin Nasser Al-Fadhli: Afghan CV of Abyan tribal figurehead
Since his early April declaration of opposition to the Saleh regime, Sheikh Tareq Bin Nasser Al-Fadhli has been bombarded with messages of support from expatriate southern Yemenis. His stance is seen as a recognition of local anger at the way Sanaa has governed the south.
Issue 852, 1 May 2009. more
Yemen revisits its old Russian alliance
President Ali Abdullah Saleh in February travelled to Russia for high-profile talks with President Dmitry Medvedev, his mentor Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. While talks mainly centred on arms deals, Saleh also met the head of Russian oil giant Gazprom.
Issue 849, 13 March 2009. more
Yemen’s Saleh manoeuvres his ‘pit of snakes’
Despite approaching legislative elections, Yemen’s president will worry more about northern security, jihadist groups and the return of Guantanamo detainees than the political challenge from a quarrelsome opposition. But no one is yet focused on the real long-term danger – economic disaster as oil revenues collapse.
Issue 846, 30 January 2009. more
Yemen’s new Al-Ahmar generation plays a conciliatory hand towards Saleh
Hamid Al-Ahmar, son of powerful recently deceased parliamentary speaker Sheikh Abdullah Bin Hussein Al-Ahmar, has moved quickly to set a tone of moderate continuity as he stands to inherit his father’s twin leadership of the powerful Hashid tribal confederation and Islah, the main opposition party.
Issue 821, 21 January 2008. more
Saleh’s hidden clout the key to reform success or failure
The government of new Premier Ali Mohammed Majawar has high development ambitions, But it will need comprehensive presidential backing if it is to bring real change.
Issue 805, 11 May 2007. more
Bin Shamlan picks battle ground, Saleh looks safe
The Yemeni opposition will present Saleh with his toughest electoral challenge in next month’s polls, but the government machine and tribal connections should see the incumbent safely through September’s electoral test.
Issue 787, 4 August 2006. more
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Authorities free 82 protesters as Saleh makes overtures to south
The authorities have freed 82 prisoners detained during anti-government protests in the south in a step towards implementing an accord with the opposition.
Issue 882, 30 July 2010. more
Saleh in Cairo and Moscow
President Ali Abdullah Saleh has returned to Sanaa after visits to Egypt and Russia. Following talks with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, Saleh travelled to Moscow to meet senior Russian officials and attend an international exhibition on technology and equipment. Saleh is thought to have discussed Yemen’s bilateral debt with prime minister Vladimir Putin – some of which is related to previous Russian arms purchases.
Issue 881, 16 July 2010. more
Saleh back in Cairo for talks
Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh met his Egyptian counterpart Hosni Mubarak on 29 June at the Al-Etihadiah Palace in Cairo, where they discussed bilateral relations and ways of boosting co-operation.
Issue 880, 2 July 2010. more
Saudi Arabia/Yemen: Border controls
Marib governor Naji Abdelaziz Al-Zaidi in late June said that Yemen continues to work closely with Saudi security and intelligence on border controls. He said close co-operation was especially aimed at preventing Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula from using Marib’s desert area to cross the border.
Issue 880, 2 July 2010. more
Risk management report
Saleh fights crises on ever more fronts as south slides towards armed conflict
Issue 879, 18 June 2010. more
Saleh talks rapprochement, but it could be too late to contain insurgency in southern Yemen
The heavy-handedness of the government’s security operations has forced retired southern soldiers into common cause with the Southern Movement, piling pressure on a creaking regime
Issue 878, 4 June 2010. more
Escalating military action in south Yemen
According to GSN’s contacts in southern Yemen, the federal military is rapidly reinforcing the south. The regime in Sanaa appears to have deftly switched its more capable units from the Saada rebellion from 18 May onwards, bringing an estimated 14 battalions to the south in time for the unification anniversary on 22 May.
Issue 878, 4 June 2010. more
Northern tensions remain
Ten people have been killed in clashes between northern Houthi rebels and government-allied tribesmen.
Issue 878, 4 June 2010. more
Upstream update: Yemen – revenues up but outlook for crude production gloomy
While Sanaa will be pleased to see its oil revenue increase dramatically in Q1 10 – a record $665m according to the Central Bank of Yemen, having recovered from a significant downturn in 2009 on the back of lower exports and a drop in oil price – Yemen’s oil industry remains difficult and relatively unproductive after several years of decline.
Issue 877, 21 May 2010. more
Yemen’s national dialogue set for revival as Saleh seeks new trick to overcome old problems
Ali Abdullah Saleh’s visits to Cairo and Amman have stoked speculation that he is planning a new initiative to reconcile southern leaders before Yemen’s divisions become irreversible
Issue 877, 21 May 2010. more
Prospects for the State of Hadramawt
Fear of the consequences of a fragmented opposition preoccupies the Joint Meeting Parties (JMP) and President Ali Abdullah Saleh, with the possible fragmentation of the secessionist Southern Movement opening the way for long-held thoughts about a new political dispensation in the Hadramawt.
Issue 877, 21 May 2010. more
600,000 weapons confiscated since August 2008
In an effort to counter Yemen’s reputation as the world’s most heavily armed country on a per capita basis, the Ministry of Interior on 15 April said the authorities had confiscated more than 600,000 weapons since August 2008, following a campaign to ban the open carrying of weapons in major cities, which started in 2007.
Issue 875, 23 April 2010. more
World Bank water supply facility
The World Bank has approved a $5m grant to expand access to water for poor households in peri-urban areas.
Issue 875, 23 April 2010. more
Second LNG train starts production
Yemen LNG Company has started production from a second train of its natural gas export project ahead of schedule, according to main shareholder Total, which has a 32.62% stake. The second unit at its terminal at Balhaf on the Gulf of Aden came on stream on 1 April, a month early, and will increase output to full capacity of 6.7m t/yr.
Issue 874, 9 April 2010. more
International community confronts terror links, oil revenue drops
Risk management report
Issue 873, 19 March 2010. more
Yemen’s neighbours tackle aid delays as country pins hopes on ten-point plan
While a meeting of GCC states worried over international aid not getting through to Sanaa, Yemeni officials were touting the government’s latest reform package
Issue 872, 5 March 2010. more
Clashes in southern Yemen
The government on 27 February declared a state of emergency in the southern province of Al-Dhalee, where separatists were preparing demonstrations as a message to donors meeting in Riyadh
Issue 872, 5 March 2010. more
Oil Search reports gas find
Oil Search Ltd has announced finding “high levels of gas” from its Al-Meashar-1 well in Block 7, drilled to 3,390 metres according to a 4 March statement.
Issue 872, 5 March 2010. more
Mixed results for DNO
Norway’s DNO said its Nabrajah-10S/S2 appraisal well on Block 43 had flowed at only 38 b/d of crude, while producing 523 b/d of water.
Issue 872, 5 March 2010. more
The US holds its nose and considers increasing military aid to Yemen
President Barack Obama has committed the US to providing more assistance to the Sanaa government, but such promises carry real risks, especially when the donor has so little confidence in the recipient
Issue 871, 12 February 2010. more
Patterns of US assistance in Yemen
US security assistance to Yemen has been patchy over the last half decade, reflecting the ebb and flow of the US-Yemeni relationship.
Issue 871, 12 February 2010. more
Five ways to start fixing Yemen
The world is finally paying attention to Yemen, stirred by its link to the ‘underpants bomber’, renewed sightings of Al-Qaeda in southern Arabia and the Al-Houthi bloodshed. A London donor conference and national dialogue in Sanaa are but two of a number of initiatives to reverse a deteriorating situation.
Issue 870, 29 January 2010. more
Bajamal’s return sets Yemeni rumour mill spinning
As beleaguered President Ali Abdullah Saleh faces a range of pressing domestic problems, the timely return of a controversial former prime minister could help rally support – and mend fences with Saudi Arabia
Issue 870, 29 January 2010. more
Oil output ‘to rise by 10%’
Yemen plans to boost oil output by up to 10% to more than 300,000 b/d this year and is in talks with firms including China’s Sinopec to upgrade its Aden refinery, oil minister Amir Al-Aidarous said.
Issue 870, 29 January 2010. more
IMF facility comes into view
In the run up to announcing that Sanaa would negotiate a new agreement, the International Monetary Fund, on 8 January announced the conclusion of its 2009 Article IV Consultation with Yemen. This underlined a difficult, but not impossible, economic situation, in which Sanaa is expected to seek an IMF extended credit facility.
Issue 870, 29 January 2010. more
Al-Qaeda’s Yemen connection concentrates minds
AQAP’s move to the global stage means President Ali Abdullah Saleh is back in fashion in Washington, and the US is sending increased military and development aid to Sanaa.
Issue 869, 15 January 2010. more
Radicalisation sparks international concern as economic pressures mount
Risk Management Report, Issue 869, 15 January 2010. more
US explores development response to Yemen crisis
Washington’s relations with the Yemeni regime face a key test as the Obama administration develops a new approach to state failure. Ali Abdullah Saleh, meanwhile, is looking to new political formulae to hang on to power
Issue 868, 18 December 2009. more
Southern Movement fragments in Yemen’s other conflict
Yemen’s little-noticed southern unrest has finally gained some serious recognition with the 15 December publication of a Human Rights Watch report into the brutal reaction of state security services to the mostly peaceful southern protests. The report – In the Name of Unity: The Yemeni Government’s Brutal Response to Southern Movement Protests – documents the heavy-handed suppression of the Southern Movement (Al-Thawra Al-Janoubi) coalition.
Issue 868, 18 December 2009. more
Saudi military action confirms gloomier scenarios for Yemen’s future
Economic as well as political problems are adding to fears that Yemen is sliding towards state failure. The Kingdom’s military acceleration along the border in November illustrates the considerable force with which Saudi Arabia is prepared to intervene in its neighbour’s affairs
Issue 867, 4 December 2009. more
Also see Issue 867, 4 December 2009. Al-Qaeda, Saudi Arabia and the Yemen connection: some key dates in 2009
Unrest increases in north and south, but LNG shipments have started
Risk Management Report ,Issue 867, 4 December 2009. more
Southern Movement adapts to survive Saleh onslaught
Fearful of being painted by President Ali Abdullah Saleh and international opinion as an ally of the Al-Qaeda fringe or Iran, the Southern Movement (Al-Thawra Al-Janoubi) campaign for self-determination has overhauled its leadership and is revamping its approach to the media.
Issue 865, 20 November 2009. more
Southerners work to outflank Saleh in Yemen’s other conflict zone
The Saudi bombing of targets in Yemen has underlined the potential for the crisis in the poor and populous southern Arabian state to flare into wider conflict. Escalation of the crisis also poses major problems for opposition forces within the country, who are well aware of President Ali Abdullah Saleh’s ability to turn a political and humanitarian drama to his advantage (GSN 864/1, 861/4).
Issue 865, 20 November 2009. more
‘Scorched earth’ in Yemen further raises regional temperature as US considers Iranian angle
Humanitarian concerns have forced a ceasefire in Yemen’s murderous Al-Houthi conflict amid signs that the Arab-Iranian ‘cold war’ is hotting up. With Saudi Arabia and Egypt joining the US in seeing wider regional significance in what has long been understood as a localised conflict, Ali Abdullah Saleh is looking to exploit a difficult situation
Issue 864, November 2009. more
In alliance against the Houthis, cold war partners accuse Iran
The government has stressed the Iranian connection in recent communiqués on the northern conflict. Houthi leader Badreddin Al-Houthi exposed his movement to charges of Iranian backing by contacting Shia marjas (spiritual leaders) in Najaf and Qom, drawing stern criticism of government crackdowns from Shia notables such as Iraq’s Grand Ayatollah Ali Al-Sistani. Iranian state media has strongly criticised the Yemeni government’s handling of the Houthi issue.
Issue 864, November 2009. more
Yemeni jets feel the strain in rebel fighting
The fighting in northern Yemen has long had a severe humanitarian impact, but it was only in October that refugee agencies were able to raise the profile of the crisis, after bombing attacks that struck civilian targets
Issue 864, November 2009. more
Disputes and power struggles distract regime as Al-Ahmar steps up opposition
Emerging family and tribal squabbles threaten to destabilise the Yemeni regime, as Ali Abdullah Saleh struggles to solve problems in the north and safeguard his dynastic legacy
Issue 862, 9 October 2009. more
Al-Houthi conflict hits boiling point but Yemen’s regional grievances remain unresolved
The latest bloodbath in Saada, causing tens of thousands of civilians to flee, has made international news. The roots of the crisis, and the continuing confrontation in the south, present a complex challenge to Ali Abdullah Saleh
Issue 861, 25 September 2009. more
Yemen’s Al-Houthi rebellion: Zaidi revivalist resentments
The Al-Houthi rebellion is closely linked to the north’s distinctive traditions of Zaidi Shiism and the emergence of a ‘revivalist’ movement among Zaidis resentful of the growing influence of the Sunni conservative Salafi Wahhabis whom President Ali Abdullah Saleh has been willing to accommodate.
Issue 861, 25 September 2009. more
Suicide bomb attack on Mohammed Bin Nayef underlines renewed terror threat in Saudi Arabia
The Kingdom is on high alert after the audacious assassination attempt during Ramadan – the first recorded Al-Qaeda attack on a Saudi royal in recent times – and the security focus is on the border with Yemen
Issue 861, 25 September 2009. more
Risk management report
State under more pressure as aid agencies warn of humanitarian catastrophe
Issue 861, 25 September 2009. more
Yemen’s northern crisis adds to Saudi communal tensions
The position of Ismailis in Najran is set against the troubling state of neighbouring northern Yemen, where the conflict between government forces and the Al-Houthi rebel movement is growing more intense
Issue 860, 11 September 2009. more
Tension on two fronts in Yemen as Saleh confronts southern unrest and Houthi rebels
The wily president will need all his political skills to find a way out of the present crisis, but with national unity in jeopardy Ali Abdullah Saleh seems in no mood to compromise on major issues, and jails across Yemen are filling up
Issue 859, 7 August 2009. more
Also see Issue 859, 7 August 2009. Al-Houthi threat spreads
Risk management report
Saleh continues balancing act in unpromising political and economic environment
Issue 855, 12 June 2009. more
Pirates project the Horn’s instability onto the Gulf’s economies, adding further to pressures on Yemen
Widening their scope of operations, Somali pirates are posing an ever greater challenge to regional governments. While energy producers are rethinking their export strategies, governments are concerned that the Horn of Africa’s instability will encroach on the Gulf region’s southern flank. Yemen is especially vulnerable as the collapse of export revenues piles further pressure on President Saleh. GSN analyses developments in the Gulf of Aden, Somalia and Yemen, and talks exclusively to the Southern Movement’s new figurehead Ali Salem Al-Baydh.
Issue 853, 15 May 2009. more
Also see Issue 853, 15 May 2009. The business of piracy
Yemen’s South gets organised as oil slump compounds crisis facing Saleh
The collapse of energy export revenues is piling further pressure on President Ali Abdullah Saleh as the tribal and post-socialist wings of the southern campaign unite around a figurehead, Ali Salem Al-Baydh, who talked exclusively to GSN about the evolving crisis.
Issue 853, 15 May 2009. more
Southern Yemen’s discontent comes to the boil with tribal leader’s defiance
While Western governments have been fretting over Yemen’s jihadist threat, Ali Abdullah Saleh is confronted by other challenges. Overt opposition from the influential Sheikh Tareq Bin Nasser Al-Fadhli is accelerating a gathering confrontation between the Sanaa regime and an embittered and neglected southern population – which holds the risk of a disastrous new conflict splitting the troubled Yemeni state.
Issue 852, 1 May 2009. more
Also see Issue 852, 1 May 2009. Southern Yemen lines up its grievances; Sheikh Tareq Bin Nasser Al-Fadhli: Afghan CV of Abyan tribal figurehead
Attack on Korean tourists signals new escalation in Yemeni jihadist threat
The 15 March suicide bombing of Korean tourists in Yemen and the 18 March follow-up attack on a foreign convoy in Sana’a have underlined the danger of trying to draw a line under Yemen’s terrorist threat.
Issue 850, 27 March 2009. more
Risk management report
GSN Risk Grade — E/5: Saleh continues balancing act in unpromising political and economic environment
Issue 850, 27 March 2009. more
Yemen upstream update – new flexibility to win back old friends
Yemen is trying to counter the threat of falling oil production by bringing in more IOCs – with recent changes to the hydrocarbons law intended to entice back the majors, rather than giving new incentives to the minnows who have helped build up its industry. The emergence of export LNG is an added incentive to invest, provided gas-gathering systems and other infrastructure can be efficiently developed. President Saleh is looking to old friends in Russia to help develop such projects, but all participants are welcome during a period when many western IOCs are confronted with financial pressures, and equity stakes will become available as firms seek to cash in their assets.
Issue 849, 13 March 2009. more
Also see Issue 849, 13 March 2009. : Map: Yemen blocks and hydrocarbons infrastructure
Yemen’s Saleh manoeuvres his ‘pit of snakes’
Despite approaching legislative elections, Yemen’s president will worry more about northern security, jihadist groups and the return of Guantanamo detainees than the political challenge from a quarrelsome opposition. But no one is yet focused on the real long-term danger – economic disaster as oil revenues collapse.
Issue 846, 30 January 2009. more
Risk management report:
GSN Risk Grade — E/5: Saleh continues balancing act in unpromising political and economic environment
Issue 843, 19 December 2008. more
Risk management report: Jihadists bomb US embassy, economic growth sustained by aid flows
Tensions remain high. Recent terrorist attacks indicate that jihadist opponents of President Ali Abdullah Saleh are mobilising against Western and oil industry targets. There also remain problems elsewhere, with scores of minority Shia Muslims dying in the north-west where rebels loyal to Abdelmalik Al-Houthi are accused of trying to overthrow the government.
Issue 837, 26 September 2008. more
Partners revise Yemeni security warnings
The jihadist threat to foreign interests may be waning with the gradual whittling down of the cadre of (known) hardened Yemeni militants. This war of attrition – analysed at length in GSN over the past year, with an update on Al-Qaeda in Yemen/Jund Al-Yemen in Defence and security, below – may not yet signal the threat’s end. But it has convinced governments and corporations that Yemen remains a place where their citizens can travel and where money can be made if care is taken.
Issue 835, 1 September 2008. more
Al-Qaeda in Yemen under pressure but defiant
The death of the Al-Tamimi brigade’s Hamza Al-Qayti deprived the jihadist movement of a senior leader and suggested that the security forces may have turned the tide against ‘Al-Qaeda’s’ Jund Al-Yemen arm, following confidence-sapping attacks in H2 2007 and H1 2008. But it is premature to say that the threat has gone away.
Issue 835, 1 September 2008.
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Qatar, Yemen projects signal return of PF market
While many projects remain on hold while sponsors and bankers gauge the regional and international fallout from sub-prime, deals going ahead in Qatar and Yemen show the region retains strong attractions for financiers.
Issue 830, 2 June 2008. more
Exotic weapon, marginal effect
The 30 April indirect fire attack aimed at the Italian Embassy in Sanaa uncovered new evidence about the cell behind the spate of recent attacks, highlighting its military ineffectiveness and political focus in equal measure. GSN’s soundings suggest the exotic European mortar system involved was also used to attack the United States Embassy on 18 March.
Issue 829, 19 May 2008. more (Also see Issue 828, 5 May 2008: Terrorist threat begins to snowball and Issue 827, 21 April 2008: Yemeni jihadist attacks highlight growing threat)
Somali pirates take on allcomers in Gulf of Aden
An increasing number of pirate attacks is likely in the Gulf of Aden throughout this year, according to GSN’s sources in the maritime security world, as the ‘Somali Marines’ stake their claim to the waterway.
Issue 828, 5 May 2008.more
Major rioting in Aden underlines growing north/south splits
A series of major riots on 12-14 January left at least two Yemeni civilians dead and scores wounded as unemployed southern soldiers and civilians protested at declining economic conditions and north/south inequities.
Issue 821, 21 January 2008.more
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| Perspectives: from the GSN archive |
Trade & project finance and insurance report: Generally open, but ‘selective’
Its planned liquefied natural gas plant and some promising recent E&P work suggest better times ahead, but Yemen remains dependent on outside assistance, and markets see it as what Euler Hermes’ Andrew Atkinson called “relatively high risk”.
Issue 815, 12 October 2007. more
Sanaa strangles Houthi rebellion but may suffer in the longer term from exploiting sectarian tensions
Only Ali Abdullah Saleh could have pulled together Salafist militants, the United States and Saudi Arabia into a coalition of the willing to support his offensive against Al-Houthi rebels, but the episode still carries hidden costs for the government and foreign interests in Yemen.
Issue 808, 22 June 2007. more (Also see Issue 808, Military analaysis: Saleh’s forces grind forward against Houthi rebels)
United States backs Saleh in Houthi confrontation
US ambassador Thomas Krajeski has assured the government of Washington’s backing in its struggle to quell the Houthi rebellion in the north of the country (GSN 799/1). Despite reports of heavy casualties, and allegations that the army has directly targeted civilian homes and markets around the regional capital Saada, Washington appears to have no qualms in maintaining its support for President Ali Abdullah Saleh, a key strategic ally in the ‘war on terror’.
Issue 800, 2 March 2007. more (Also see Issue 799, 16 February 2007: Stakes are raised as Yemen’s leader opts for the mailed fist)
Saudi and Yemeni terrorist threats two sides of the same coin for security community
Western analysts see a common terrorist threat facing the governments of Saudi Arabia and Yemen, reflecting the depth and intensity of cross-border ties in a region where Saudi/Yemeni jihadists have injected a blend of Saudi money and hardcore Wahhabi doctrine into Yemen’s rather lackadaisical ultra-radical Islamist community.
Issue 796, 22 December 2006. more
Patchy local polling checks opposition momentum
Questions about ballot rigging remain, but the hard truth of President Saleh’s victory is that the socialist/Islamist common front’s long-term viability has been sorely tested by failures in municipal and regional elections.
Issue 791, 13 October 2006. more
Yemen’s direction unclear as official figures give Saleh big victory
Defeated presidential contender Faisal Bin Shamlan may not grab many headlines beyond Yemen, but he will be remembered as the first opposition candidate in the Arabian history to mount a serious electoral challenge to an incumbent head of state or government. The official figures tell a simple story: President Ali Abdullah Saleh won with a comfortable 77.17% of the vote, far ahead of Bin Shamlan’s 21.82%.
Issue 790, 29 September 2006. more
Yemen’s abortive oil attacks a reminder that Al-Qaeda has not gone away
Yemen’s standing as a minor oil producer was enough to ensure that four suicide car bombs on oil installations on 15 September attracted almost no international media attention and made no impact on global oil prices. But for the Sanaa authorities and foreign investors the attacks, minor though they were, delivered a key message: jihadi Islamist militants remain a serious threat despite five years of vigorous US-supported security force counter-measures.
Issue 790, 29 September 2006. more
Saleh steps up diplomatic efforts as donors tighten the screw
Forced to rely increasingly on Gulf and European assistance after suffering cuts in US aid, Yemen is mounting a renewed diplomatic offensive in Washington, to rebuild its standing with the Bush Administration and regain goodwill in Congress.
Issue 781, 12 May 2006. more
Yemen and friends struggle to rebuild potentially failing state
Yemenis are excited about the prospects for new investment, while much speculation focuses on impending presidential elections, but most sources were far more concerned about enduring factors of instability that threaten the state’s viability, when they talked to GSN in Sanaa.
Issue 780, 28 April 2006. more
Yemen defies security concerns to woo IOCs
Security is a significant concern, but many IOCs seem willing to live with the risk to bid for new exploration blocks in a country where majors are in short supply, but smaller, ambitious companies have established a track record.
Issue 734, 14 May 2004. more
Yemen builds US security links but obsolete equipment, tribal society weigh heavy on military
Yemen has the lowest level of defence spending of any Gulf country except Bahrain, but that figure is rising slowly from its nadir during the civil war in 1994. At the same time, Yemen is becoming increasingly reliant on external security assistance from the USA, which provided $16.7m in assistance, plus cost-free military equipment transfers in FY04.
Issue 729, 5 March 2004. more
Border dispute repaired
Saudi Arabia and Yemen have come to an understanding in their border dispute after talks in Riyadh, although the Saudis do not appear to have given ground in their insistence on an unusual security barrier, an elevated concrete-filled pipeline the Kingdom’s authorities have installed across a stretch of the mutual border zone.
Issue 728, 20 February 2004. more (Also see Issue 727, 6 February 2004: New cross-border spat adds to GCC tensions)
Yemen looks for friends
With the likelihood that a 6 October explosion on the French tanker Limburg, 5km off Al-Dabbah oil terminal on the Hadhramaut coast, was the result of a suicide bomb-boat attack, Yemen once again find itself struggling to reassure the West of its capacity to clamp down on Islamist extremism.
Issue 695, 9 October 2002, p1. Download the PDF
Yemen caught between US rock and Islamist hard place
Afghanistan’s Taliban are preparing for a US air strike in retribution for the Kabul regime playing host to Saudi-born renegade Osama Bin Laden—according to many reports the prime suspect behind the 12 October bombing of the USS Cole, which killed 17 US sailors. According to the version being pushed by US officials, the extent of organisation which went into the attack suggested it was long in the planning, linked to a revival of operations by Bin Laden and his allies, rather than any short-term reaction to events in Gaza and the West Bank.
Issue 648, 6 November 2000. more
Saudi Arabia: Border deal with Yemen
Quietly and with little ceremony, Saudi Arabia and Yemen signed a border deal in Jeddah, apparently ending the 66-year old dispute that has been intensively negotiated over the last five years.
Issue 639, 26 June 2000, p7. Download the PDF.
Ali Abdullah Saleh becomes Yemen’s first directly elected president
To no-one’s surprise, Ali Abdullah Saleh won an outright victory in Yemen’s presidential elections, with 96.3% of the vote.
Issue 621, 4 October 1999. Download the PDF.
