Houthi rebels

Topic: Houthi rebels

Handprints as a symbol of protest against Saudi airstrikes in Yemen (photo: Reuters)

Saudi military involvement in Yemen

Chronically insecure

Saudi Arabia began its military offensive against its neighbour to the south in 2015, ostensibly to reinstate Yemen′s deposed president. Instead the war has driven the poorest country in the region to the brink of famine. By Maysam BehraveshMore

Saudi-Iranian rivalry: And the winner is...Sunni-Shia tension: Islam versus Islam Saudi intervention in Yemen: Stoking the fires

Yemen′s former president, Ali Abdullah Saleh (photo: picture-alliance/dpa)

Ali Abdullah Saleh and the conflict in Yemen

The lure of power

During the Arab Spring President Saleh faced widespread armed protests and was forced to leave office. Thanks to some unscrupulous wheeling and dealing, however, Saleh may yet pull off his bid to return to power. By Neville TellerMore

Saudi intervention in Yemen: Stoking the fires The destruction of Yemen's cultural heritage: Treasures of humanity under threat Political rule before and after the ″Arabellion″: Internal colonialism and counter-revolution

Yemen′s former minister for human rights, Hooria Mashhour (photo: AFP/Getty Images)

Interview with Hooria Mashhour

On the rebels′ blacklist

Fearing for her life in her home country, a former minister from Yemen applied to Germany for asylum. Now she′s working for the integration of refugees. Interview by Ali AlmakhlafiMore

After the upheaval in the Arab world: Escalating wars The Yemen conflict: The threat of a regional conflagration Media reports on the Yemen conflict: A skewed view of Yemen's plight

Saudi intervention in Yemen

Stoking the fires

Riyadh′s support for militants fighting the Houthis has greatly benefited al-Qaida and the Islamic State in Yemen. Reversing their advances is likely to prove difficult. By Nasser ArrabyeeMore

Yemen: History can help us to understand Media reports on the Yemen conflict: A skewed view of Yemen's plight The Yemen conflict: The threat of a regional conflagration

Shia Muslims protest in Pakistan following a terrorist attack in Lahore on 22 January 2014 which killed 24 Shia pilgrims (photo: AFP/Getty Images)

Sunni-Shia tension

Islam versus Islam

The religious element of the conflicts raging in the Middle East today is a major reason why they are proving so difficult to defuse. An essay by Shahid Javed BurkiMore

Iran-Saudi conflict: The Middle East′s Cold War Iran-Saudi conflict: Playing the sectarian card Qantara dossier: Sunni-Shia tension

French support for Bouazizi (photo: Antoine Walter; source: Wikimedia commons.org)

Five years of Arab Spring

The butterfly effect

It was the flap of a butterfly wing that was to trigger a storm in Europe. Mohamed Bouazizi's self-immolation in 2010 sent a clear signal: things were about to change. Despite many setbacks, the impact of this message is still being felt. By Karim El-GawharyMore

Post-Arabellion reform deadlock: The logic of power Political rule before and after the ″Arabellion″: Internal colonialism and counter-revolution Interview with Rafik Schami: "Escape is a life-saver"

World map showing the Middle East (source: Deutsche Welle)

Iran-Saudi conflict

The Middle East′s Cold War

The breach in diplomatic relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia is a dangerous watershed in an already unstable, war-torn region. The rupture has its roots in a strategic rivalry that stretches across the Middle East, says Bernard Haykel, Middle East expert at Princeton UniversityMore

Interview with Rami G. Khouri: Fragmentation of the Arab world Iran and Saudi Arabia: The impending storm Iran and Saudi Arabia: A plea for Islamic tolerance Qantara dossier: Sunni-Shiite tension

Houthi rebels in the Yemeni capital Sanaa (photo: Reuters/K. Abdullah)

After the upheaval in the Arab world

Escalating wars

The violence unleashed in Arab countries in the last four years may turn out to be just a first taste of what is to come. Escalating brutality and the actions of governments have put Arab citizens under immense pressure. Without a change of course, the outcome could easily be further conflict and a new wave of uprisings – this time not peaceful. By Maha YahyaMore

The Assad regime and the civil war in Syria: Clash of barbarisms Civil war in Libya: A stateless society Battles in Yemen: Opening Pandora's Box in Yemen Qantara.de dossier: Arab Spring

Bombardment of the Qahira fortress in Taiz (photo: AP)

The destruction of Yemen's cultural heritage

Treasures of humanity under threat

Ongoing airstrikes and the military conflict with the Houthi rebels bring the threat of further destruction of important historical buildings and cultural monuments in Yemen. By Amida Sholan
More

The crisis in Yemen: History can help us to understand Battles in Yemen: Opening Pandora's Box in Yemen Ait-Ben-Haddou: The battle to save a pearl of Morocco's heritage Palmyra: an oasis of cultural history

A building in Faj Attan, near Sanaa, destroyed in a Saudi airstrike (photo: Reuters/M. Al Sayaghi)

The Yemen conflict

The threat of a regional conflagration

It is not clear what Saudi Arabia hopes to achieve with the war in Yemen. In any case, the ongoing airstrikes are not going to solve any problems. On the contrary: many new ones are emerging, such as the strengthening of the al-Qaida network or a dangerous confrontation between Iran and Saudi Arabia. By Ali Sadrzadeh
More

Military intervention in the Islamic world: What good is an Arab military alliance?Media reports on the Yemen conflict: A skewed view of Yemen's plight The crisis in Yemen: History can help us to understand

A Saudi soldier on the Yemeni border (photo: imago/Xinhua)

Military intervention in the Islamic world

What good is an Arab military alliance?

If new Arab military alliances want to avoid the mistakes of past interventions, their members will have to re-assess their approach and address the structural deficits that led to previous failures. By Omar AshourMore

The crisis in Yemen: History can help us to understand Saudi Arabia and the conflict in Yemen: Saudi actions backfire Media reports on the Yemen conflict: A skewed view of Yemen's plight Yemeni refugees in Cairo: An unwelcome exile

Interview with the Yemeni director Sara Ishaq

"Yemen is like a garden that was full of weeds"

Sara Ishaq is one of Yemen's foremost young filmmakers. Her film "Karama Has No Walls" documented the 2011 massacre on Change Square in Sanaa and was nominated for an Academy Award in March 2014. Nader Alsarras met the Yemeni director and spoke to her about the situation in Yemen and the fate of the country after the revolution of 2011More

Media reports on the Yemen conflict: A skewed view of Yemen's plight Yemeni refugees in Cairo: An unwelcome exile Non-violent, anti-terror campaign in Yemen: Working for peace and tolerance Yemen and the Arab Spring: Revolution on hold Interview with the Yemeni Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Tawakkol Karman Saleh: ''Saleh is the source of terror''

Supporters of Yemen's former president Ali Abdullah Saleh demonstrating in Sanaa on 13 May 2015 (photo: Reuters/Mohamed al-Sayaghi)

Media reports on the Yemen conflict

A skewed view of Yemen's plight

In this opinion piece, Charlotte Wiedemann criticises the fact that many media reports about the current Yemen conflict are ill-informed, tendentious and overlook the West's responsibility for the escalation of the conflictMore

Battles in Yemen: Opening Pandora's Box in Yemen The crisis in Yemen: History can help us to understand Saudi Arabia and the conflict in Yemen: Saudi actions backfire Yemeni refugees in Cairo: An unwelcome exile

German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier (left) and the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi General Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan in Abu Dhabi on 31 May 2014 (photo: dpa/picture alliance)

Germany's Middle East policy

Is Germany changing tack?

Violent conflicts are spreading throughout the Middle East. The German government is extending a hand to the Egyptian president, siding with Saudi Arabia in the Yemen conflict and delivering weapons to the Peshmerga. But there is criticism from the opposition and scepticism within the ruling coalition. By Bettina MarxMore

Germany's role in the Gulf Region: Building bridges between Europe and the Gulf States Relations between Saudi Arabia and Egypt: Conditional support Saudi Arabia and the conflict in Yemen: Saudi actions backfire

Saudi Defence Minister Prince Mohammed bin Salman and soldiers (photo: Reuters/Saudi Press Agency)

Saudi Arabia and the conflict in Yemen

Saudi actions backfire

Saudi Arabia bears the greatest responsibility for the triumphant advance of the Houthi militia in Yemen, says Birgit Svensson: the leading Sunni power in the Gulf simply stood by while a Shia counterbalance emerged virtually on its doorstep, thereby creating an opportunity for TehranMore

The crisis in Yemen: History can help us to understand Political crisis in Yemen: Teetering on the brink Power struggle in Yemen: An unstable situation turns critical Political upheaval in Yemen: The triumphant advance of the Houthi rebels Iran's foreign policy in Yemen and Iraq: Arab fear of the "extended arm of Iran"

Anti-Houthi demonstration in Taiz, Yemen (photo: REUTER/ A. Mahyoub))

The crisis in Yemen

History can help us to understand

Yemen continues to struggle with its worst crisis in years, as conflicting parties fight for control of the nation. The UN's special advisor says the country has been pushed to the brink of civil war, in a tussle that has serious implications for the region and the security of the West. By Elham ManeaMore

Battles in Yemen: Opening Pandora's Box in Yemen Political crisis in Yemen: Teetering on the brink The crisis in Yemen: The primacy of stability over real change Power struggle in Yemen: An unstable situation turns critical