In 2011, as part of the Arab Spring, Yemen – one of the poorest countries in the world – rioted against then-President Ali Abdullah Saleh. When Saleh deployed the military against the demonstrators in March 2011, the situation escalated.
The international community intervened, Salih was forced to resign and his former deputy, Abed Rabbo Mansur Hadi, became president.
BUT: During this time, Shiite Houthi rebels gained strength and initially managed to take control of the province of Saada in northern Yemen and adjacent regions. In 2015, the rebels took the Yemeni capital Sanaa, and President Hadi fled abroad.
In order to stop the Shiite minority from taking power, a coalition of majority Sunni countries, the “Arab Alliance” led by Saudi Arabia, intervened. Background: Saudi Arabia suspected that the Houthi rebels were supported by Shia Iran – a political opponent.
The USA, Great Britain, France and also Germany support the Arab Alliance in trying to stop the Houthi rebels.
According to the UN, around 380,000 people have died as a result of the conflict, most of them from hunger, disease and a lack of drinking water. Millions more people had to flee.
The UN considers the crisis in Yemen to be the largest humanitarian catastrophe in the world.