# Yemen War > Yemen's civil war, running since 2014, pits Houthi rebels against a Saudi-led coalition across a country with more than 23 million people in humanitarian need. **Meta:** type: reference · date: 2026-07-03 · heads: · 4 takes · 3 lenses · 2 regions ## What it is Yemen's civil war is a multi-sided armed conflict among three main forces: the Houthi movement (Ansar Allah), which controls northern Yemen including the capital Sanaa; Yemen's internationally recognized Presidential Leadership Council (PLC), backed militarily and financially by Saudi Arabia; and the UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council (STC), which seeks autonomy or independence for southern Yemen. Iran supplies the Houthis with ballistic missiles, drones, and training. The United Nations estimates that roughly 60 percent of the approximately 377,000 deaths recorded by early 2022 resulted from indirect causes including disease and economic collapse, not direct violence. Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) and the Islamic State retain a presence in parts of the country. ## History The conflict began in September 2014, when a tactical alliance between Houthi insurgents and former president Ali Abdullah Salih toppled the internationally recognized government and seized Sanaa. President Abd-Rabbuh Mansur Hadi fled and appealed for foreign intervention. In March 2015, Saudi Arabia led a nine-state coalition into Yemen, beginning an air campaign that has continued for more than a decade without restoring government control of the north. ACLED data puts directly conflict-related deaths above 160,000 since March 2015, including more than 15,700 civilians killed in direct strikes. A UN-mediated nationwide truce took effect in April 2022, reducing warring-party activity by approximately 70 percent in the following year. The truce expired in October 2022 without a permanent settlement; fighting resumed at lower intensity. From November 2023 onward, the Houthis launched hundreds of drone and missile attacks on commercial shipping and Israeli targets through the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, citing solidarity with Gaza, disrupting a corridor carrying roughly 30 percent of global container trade. ## Current state As of July 2026, fighting in Yemen's domestic theater is at extended stalemate, but instability in the south sharpened. In December 2025, the UAE-backed STC moved to seize the southeastern governorates of Hadramut and Al-Mahra; Saudi Arabia and PLC forces repelled the attempt by 10 January 2026. The Houthis [paused Red Sea strikes](/en/n/yemen-houthi-red-sea-conditional-pause) on commercial vessels after the April 2026 Iran-US ceasefire announcement, but threatened to resume attacks and potentially close the Bab el-Mandeb Strait if hostilities against Iran restart. The [humanitarian situation](/en/n/yemen-humanitarian-collapse-2026) has deteriorated sharply: 18 million Yemenis face severe hunger, 19 million lack adequate healthcare, and Yemen's 2026 humanitarian response plan, requesting US$2.16 billion, was only 14 percent funded at mid-year. Seventy-three UN personnel were arbitrarily detained by Houthi authorities. The World Food Programme ended contracts with 365 staff in Houthi-controlled northern Yemen, which accounts for 70 percent of the country's humanitarian needs. In May 2026, UN Special Envoy Hans Grundberg announced the largest detainee release since the war began, covering more than 1,600 conflict-related prisoners, an agreement in early implementation. ## Relationships Saudi Arabia finances, arms, and provides air power to the PLC government, motivated by shared border security and concern about Iranian influence expanding along its southern flank. The UAE's separate backing of the STC reflects strategic interest in controlling Yemen's southern ports and the Gulf of Aden coastline, diverging from Saudi priorities. Iran's arms pipeline to the Houthis, including ballistic missiles and drone components, is the central Iran-proxy dynamic in the Arabian Peninsula; US military officials stated in April 2026 that Iran's supply capacity has been significantly degraded. The United States conducts counterterrorism operations in Yemen against AQAP and led the Operation Prosperity Guardian multinational naval coalition in the Red Sea, launched in December 2023, to protect commercial shipping. ## What to watch Whether the May 2026 detainee release holds and expands is the main test of UN-mediated confidence-building under Grundberg. The PLC-STC power struggle in southern Yemen remains unresolved and could flare again over Hadramut's oil revenues and port access. Houthi posture in the Red Sea is directly conditional on the trajectory of Iran-US tensions. The humanitarian funding gap, a US$2.16 billion plan at 14 percent funded, risks accelerating clinic closures and famine. UN peace talks have made little structural progress toward a permanent ceasefire since 2022. ## Regional takes (batched by bias / lens) ### official record - **UN Security Council, Resolution 2812 (2026)** (Global, en) — Council press release on Resolution 2812, extending Houthi attack reporting requirements by six months; the primary instrument of the current UN monitoring regime over Yemen's conflict. Source: https://press.un.org/en/2026/sc16274.doc.htm - **Security Council Report, Yemen June 2026 Monthly Forecast** (Global, en) — Pre-briefing forecast covering Yemen's political and humanitarian situation as of June 2026: 18 million food-insecure, 19 million lacking healthcare, and the 2026 response plan only 14 percent funded. Source: https://www.securitycouncilreport.org/monthly-forecast/2026-06/yemen-89.php ### US think-tank - **CFR Global Conflict Tracker: War in Yemen** (United States, en) — Continuously updated profile of Yemen's conflict covering all actor dynamics and humanitarian indicators; cites the UN estimate of roughly 377,000 total deaths by early 2022, including indirect causes. Source: https://www.cfr.org/global-conflict-tracker/conflict/war-yemen ### conflict data - **ACLED, Conflict Watchlist 2024: Yemen and the Red Sea** (Global, en) — Data-driven entry documenting more than 160,000 directly conflict-related deaths since March 2015, the 2022 truce dynamics, and the Red Sea escalation tied to the Gaza war from late 2023 onward. Source: https://acleddata.com/report/conflict-watchlist-2024-yemen-and-red-sea-rising-tensions-threaten-peace-process-and ## Across the graph - Related: [[yemen-humanitarian-collapse-2026]], [[yemen-houthi-red-sea-conditional-pause]] - Entities: Yemen War, Houthis, Saudi Arabia, Iran, United Nations --- Canonical: https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/yemen-war-dossier