The Crisis in Yemen

A Brief History
Today's Agenda
•Learning Objectives
•Lecture
•Primary Source Map Analysis

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Learning Objectives

•SWBAT identify at least two causes of the

crisis in Yemen.

•SWBAT analyze maps that help explain the

history of Yemen.

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Who knows where Yemen
is?

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What is a humanitarian crisis?

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What is a humanitarian crisis?

singular event or a series of events that are

threatening in terms of health, safety or well-
being of a community or large group of
people. It may be an internal or external
conflict and usually occurs throughout a large
land area.
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Yemen's Northern Highlands
•United for centuries
• By common religious beliefs
• Tribal alliances
• Independence from colonial nations
•Yemen was controlled by Sayyid families
• Direct descendants from prophet Muhammad
• Ruled by an imam
• Religious leader
• Had been around for about a thousand years
• Began to change in the 20th century

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The Famous Forty
•Imam Yahya ruler of a kingdom in North Yemen
• Started study abroad for 40 most talented youth
• Some went to Egypt and Iraq, others to Europe and USA
• Wanted them to come back to help the industry of Yemen and become the
next leaders
• They did this, but not the way he had hoped

Drawing of Imam Yahya

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The Famous Forty
•Because of their new perspective of the world, they wanted change in Yemen
• Yahya killed in 1948, but son lived and stayed in power until 1962
• When Imam Ahmad died, Famous Forty began to make changes
• They started a republic in Yemen
• After they gained power, there was no future youth movement going into the
world
• Power then changed hands through nepotism and capitalism

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The Houthi Movement
•The Houthis are a prominent family from Northern Highlands
• They and other Sayyid families impacted by new government
• They were going to be losing power under new republic
• Felt threatened by this new government
• Long civil war, until late 1960s
•Houthi movement
• Grassroots movement in 1990
• Also against the Saudi's new Salafi interpretation of Islam threatened to
undermine their Zaydi religious sect

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Hussein al-Houthi
•Hussein a Zaydi revivalist
• Formed new political party
• Became populist movement outside of Yemeni government
• Had popular slogan
• "death to America, death to Israel, curse upon the Jews, victory to
Islam"
• Spread across Zaydi mosques
• Killed in 2004
• Became a martyr
• Movement named after him

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Ali Abdullah Saleh
•Saleh was the longest serving president in the Yemeni republic, serving for 33 years
beginning in 1978
• Was a Yemeni nationalist, and gained much support from the people
• Fought during the civil war, and in 1968 was one of the last defenders of
Sana'a against the tribal attackers
• Said he "danced on the heads of snakes"
• Managed to balance rival tribal, religious, and political factions and
maintain his presidency

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Unification of Yemen
•Yemen had been divided for centuries
• Different linguistic dialects, religious sects, economic structures,
topographies, and recent colonial histories
•North Yemen remained semi-autonomous under the Ottoman Empire
•South Yemen had been occupied by the British Empire since 1839
• The southern Yemeni port of Aden gradually became a colonial epicenter in
the region

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Unification of Yemen
•There was a struggle for independence in the 1960s
• British finally withdrew
• Left radical Marxist groups to form the first and only Arab communist state
by 1968
• Aden became a naval base for the Soviet Union
• Many international terrorist groups sought refuge here
•There was much violence between North and South Yemen during the Cold War

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Unification of Yemen
•When Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, the southern People’s Democratic Republic of
Yemen lost its main sources of foreign aid
• Rapid collapse of the state’s social benefits, education, and healthcare
•Saleh arranged a hasty union between North and South, granting southern
leadership an equal share of political seats despite the relatively smaller population

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Yemen and the First Gulf War
•In 1990, the newly unified Yemen represented Arab world on UN Security Council
• Yemen decided to support Iraq, and was against the US decision to invade
• Within 24 hours, the United States stopped foreign aid to Yemen, and Saudi
Arabia expelled nearly a million Yemeni migrant workers whose families
depended upon them
• The return of a million unemployed Yemenis and the loss of one of the
country’s most significant sources of revenue sent the Yemeni economy into
a tailspin
• Led to another civil war in 1994

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South Yemen wants to secede
•Starting in 1994, many people in South Yemen wanted to secede from the North
• They were defeated then, but this sentiment was reestablished in 2007 and
remains today
• al-Hirak, a new political party that revived the southern flag, protested
northern grievances, and called for southern autonomy
•President Saleh's administration in Sana’a was flanked in the south by al-Hirak, in
the north by the Houthis, and in his own capital city by the public protests of the Arab
Spring
• Resigned in 2012

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Saudi Arabia in Yemen
•Saudi Arabia and Yemen have been in conflict for decades
• Started in 1932, with a boundary issue at the North Yemen-Southern
Arabian border
• Saudi Arabia won and officially annexed three territories
• Keeping this border has been a priority for Saudi Arabia since
•Saudi Arabia built border walls and has border security to protect this border at all
times

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Saudi Arabia in Yemen
•Houthis and Saudis constantly fighting
• When Houthis took capital of Yemen, they declared their intentions against
Saudi Arabia
• Saudi Arabia responded with bombing campaigns of Sana'a, ground troops,
and Naval and Aerial blockades of Yemen
• Has helped lead to one of the worst man-made humanitarian crises of
modern times
• Saudi Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman portrays his support for the
war in Yemen as acting on an official UN condemnation of the Houthi
movement

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Partner Writing
•In pairs, answer the following questions on a sheet of paper. Each person will turn
this in
• Why did the Famous Forty decide to create a republic in Yemen? Where did
they get these ideas?
• How did the Houthi Movement start? Why did it eventually become violent?
• What was the newly unified Yemen’s decision about Iraq in 1990? Why is
this important to understand the current situation in Yemen?

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Class Discussion

•How can you summarize the history of Yemen since the early 1960s?

• What conflicts have been happening?

• What movements?

• Who is involved?

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Class Discussion

•Why is this important to know to understand the current situation?

• Why is it important to pay attention to current events?

• Could we understand current events without knowing some of their
history?
• Why is it important to know world events outside the US?

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Primary Source Analysis
•In groups, you will be looking through a packet of four maps.

•You will answer questions about the maps in your groups, but each person will be

submitting answers

•We will discuss your answers at the end of the period

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Exit Ticket
•On the back of your packet, answer the following question:

•How might this situation be resolved, or at least begin to be resolved?

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