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New Developments in the Yemeni Civil War

Hey guys!
I hope you're hard at work preparing for BMUN since it is less than a month away! We would like to emphasize that it is super important to stay up to date on the current affairs in the region as the regional dynamics are constantly changing on a daily basis. Case in point: Yemen.

Now, the Yemeni Civil War has been on since late 2014, when the Houthi rebels took control of Sana'a, the capital of Yemen. The Saudi-led coalition intervened in 2015 and helped the internationally recognized Hadi government take back control of Yemen's second city, Aden. However, since then the war has pretty much been stalemated, with both sides making incremental gains at best.

This held true until last week, when a secessionist group, the Southern Transitional Council (STC), took control of Aden and surrounded the presidential palace, with the Prime Minister and other key aides holed up inside. As a movement, this group has existed for more than a decade but due to the chaos of the civil war, they were able to gain influence as part of an alliance of convenience with Hadi's forces. Consequently, a third front has opened up in this war, with the secessionists hoping for a return of South Yemen.

In many ways, this situation is a perfect illustration of the problems that plague the Middle East. A fragile state that contains a patchwork of different ethnic and religious groups, a sectarian rivalry between two of the region's powers, Saudi Arabia and Iran, endemic corruption and widespread public discontent have all combined to create an explosive situation in Yemen.

As such, I would like to encourage you guys to take a long-term view when approaching this situation, and other volatile situations in the Middle East, and think about the underlying conditions that have led to situations like this. What can be done to tackle this issues? What can be learned from this war when it comes to tackling regional instability? Can Yemen, or even Syria for that matter, ever be unified again?

Here are the links to 2 articles about this that are worth reading:
https://www.economist.com/news/middle-east-and-africa/21736180-north-south-divide-rebellion-aden-hastening-break-up-yemen
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-yemen-security/saudi-arabia-and-uae-suffer-yemen-setback-as-allies-fall-out-idUSKBN1FM1S3

Looking forward to meeting all of you!
Anish V

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