There’s political unrest in Yemen, but what’s new? The entire Mideast has been in turmoil for decades, especially since the Arab Spring in 2011.
But Yemen, the poorest country in the region, has global importance. It is one of the world’s biggest exporters of terrorism.
Yemen is home to al Qaeda in the Arab Peninsula, or AQAP, which most recently claimed responsibility for the massacre of journalists at the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo in Paris.
AQAP is benefiting hugely from the current conflict in Yemen. Here are seven things you need to know about this small nation.
Where is Yemen?
Yemen is a country of about 26 million people on the southwestern tip of the Arabian Peninsula, sharing a border with Saudi Arabia and Oman. It’s strategically located on important shipping lanes of the Red Sea.
Yemen is a young nation, having been created in 1990 when North and South Yemen united. The north and south started a civil war within a few years, with the south prevailing after thousands died.
Yemen is very poor because of declining oil resources.
Why should I care about Yemen?
Because terrorists in Yemen have reached into the United States.
Remember Umar Farouk AbdulMutallab, the “underwear bomber” who tried to blow up an American jetliner over Detroit in 2009? He took his marching orders from AQAP.
The Boston Marathon bombing suspects and Maj. Nidal Hasan, the American soldier who gunned down 13 people at Fort Hood, Texas, apparently were inspired by an American-born cleric in Yemen, Anwar al-Awlaki. An American drone killed him in 2011.
Many would-be jihadis from the West are recruited into al Qaeda through a slick, English-language online magazine, Inspire, that’s run out of Yemen.
U.S. officials consider AQAP the most dangerous branch of al Qaeda, according to CNN terrorism analysis Paul Cruickshank.
Who’s fighting whom?
It’s actually a three-way battle among the government, the Houthis and AQAP.
The Houthis, a rebel group composed of Shiite Muslims, feel marginalized in the majority Sunni country.
In September, Houthis seized government buildings in the capital, Sanaa, and its airport. They demanded greater political influence.
President Abdu Rabu Mansour Hadi introduced a new constitution without the Houthis’ approval, so the rebels abducted Yemen’s presidential chief of staff to show their disapproval. In response the government closed roads as a security measure. That set off renewed fighting. Most of the recent fighting has been for control of the presidential complex.
On Monday, the government and the Houthis announced another ceasefire.
Hadi has battled AQAP since taking office in 2012. The United States has invested heavily in this campaign. He reorganized Yemen’s military, and for a while put AQAP on the defensive. But the conflict with the Houthis diverted resources that could be used against AQAP.
AQAP is working to keep things unstable, but It doesn’t look like AQAP has been involved in the Sanaa fighting so far.
In October, AQAP staged a suicide bombing against a Houthi rally that killed 50 people. It also released a video showing members executing 14 Houthis. At the same time, it has stepped up attacks against the police and the army.
So the Houthis and AQAP aren’t working together?
No way. In fact, they’re adversaries in the long-running Shia-Shiite conflict.
Differences between the two main branches of Islam developed over the centuries. Shiite Muslims believed the Prophet Mohammed’s cousin should have been the successor after his death in in 632 AD, while Sunnis believe a successor should have been elected.
Only 10% of the world’s Muslim population is Shiite.
Who are the Houthis?
They’re named after the late cleric Hussein Badreddin al-Houth (or Hussein Badr Eddine al-Houthi), who was killed during a 2004 rebellion against the government in Saada, according to the U.S. State Department.
Houthis are mostly militias and tribes that follow the Zaidi sect of Islam. Al Qaeda considers them Shiites.
Some members of al Qaeda and even Western displomats allege that Iran, one of the few Shiite Muslim nations, is bankrolling the Houthi rebellion in an effort to control Yemen’s Red Sea coast on one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes. The Houthis deny Iran is funding them.
Hadi has said the Houthis are being trained and advised by Hezbollah, the Lebanese Shiite militia.
Are there any other parties involved?
Some presidential officials are worried about actions by republican guards, former regime officials who are still loyal to Ali Abdullah Saleh, the ex-president who was kicked out in 2012 during the Arab Spring.
What does Yemen’s conflict mean for AQAP?
Chaos is good for terrorists.
The weaker the government, the easier it will be for al Qaeda to bring in people and train them for terrorism. The chaos hampers Western efforts to hunt down al Qaeda, and hampers Western efforts to even be in the country.