Yemen

Yemen is a country along the Arabian peninsula, situated in the most southern part of region. For a number of decades the country was split into two sections: North Yemen, which gained independence from the Ottoman empire in 1919, and South Yemen, which was an English colony until 1967. In the case of the latter country, from 1970 to 1990 it existed as a Marxist nation. In 1990 Yemen was unified, with the capital set in Sana’a and the presidency given to Saleh, leader of North Yemen since 1978.

In 2011, following revolts relating to the Arab Spring, Saleh was forced to resign. Since 2014 the capital has remained in the hands of the Houthi Shia Muslim rebel group, and since 2015, Saudi Arabia has been conducting raids against the group. The war is still taking place and has contributed to fueling fears of the grave humanitarian crisis in Yemen.