https://crsreports.congress.gov
Updated July 12, 2024
Yemen: Conflict, Red Sea Attacks, and U.S. Policy
Yemen is a conflict-afflicted nation along the strategic Bab
al Mandab Strait, one of the world’s most active shipping
lanes. Since 2015, a civil war has pitted the Iran-backed
Houthi movement against Yemen’s internationally
recognized government, its backers, and other anti-Houthi
forces. Foreign intervention complicates the conflict, which
has contributed to what United Nations agencies have
described as “one of the largest humanitarian crises in the
world.” An uneasy truce has frozen conflict lines since
2022 (Figure 1). The Iran-backed Houthis have launched
numerous attacks on international shipping since October
2023, ostensibly to compel Israel to end its war with
Hamas. U.S.-led coalition patrol operations and
counterstrikes seek to restore security in the Red Sea
corridor, but Yemen’s underlying conflict remains
unresolved and the long-term threats the Houthis could pose
present a vexing challenge for policymakers to consider.
Overview and Key Stakeholders
Long-running Yemeni disputes over governance and energy
resources have deepened since 2015 amid foreign influence
and intervention. The Republic of Yemen was formed by a
1990 merger of the Sana’a-led Yemen Arab Republic (a
former Ottoman province, then Zaydi Shia-ruled kingdom)
and the Aden-led People’s Democratic Republic of Yemen
(a former British colony and protectorate, then independent
Marxist regime). North-south tensions and conflict have
recurred since the 1960s, and a southern independence
movement remains active. Tribal networks and local actors
are the most influential parties in many areas of the country.
Arab Spring-era protests and unrest led the president of the
Republic of Yemen Government (ROYG) to resign in
2012. A U.N.-mediated transition and national dialogue
sought to broker new governing arrangements. The Houthi
movement (alt. Ansar Allah or Partisans of God), a north
Yemen-based Zaydi Shia network, opposed U.N.-backed
outcomes and resumed an insurgency. In 2014, the Houthis
seized the capital, Sana’a, and later advanced on Aden.
ROYG leaders fled and requested international
intervention. In March 2015, a coalition led by Saudi
Arabia began a military campaign against the Houthis,
whose attacks across Yemen’s borders grew in complexity
and scope with deepening support over time from Iran. The
United States has provided logistical, intelligence, and
advisory support to the coalition, but ended aerial refueling
and some arms sales to Saudi Arabia in response to civilian
casualties and congressional action.
In 2019, tensions between anti-Houthi forces in the ROYG
(backed by Saudi Arabia) and the separatist Southern
Transitional Council (STC, backed by the United Arab
Emirates) led to open warfare. A 2020 power-sharing
agreement formed a coalition government. Since 2022, an
eight-person Presidential Leadership Council (PLC) has led
Yemen’s internationally recognized government. That year,
the ROYG and Houthis signed a truce, halting military
operations and establishing humanitarian measures. Lines
of conflict, in some areas mirroring Yemen’s pre-
unification borders, remain static (Figure 1). Meanwhile,
Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) and the
Islamic State have remained active in remote areas.
Figure 1. Yemen: Key Actors and Approximate Areas of Influence
As of July 2024
Source: CRS using ESRI and U.S. Department of State map data. Areas of Influence based on ACAPS data and U.N. and media reports.
Notes: STC – Southern Transitional Council. AQAP – Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula. All areas approximate and subject to change. Shading
includes lightly populated and uninhabited areas.
