India welcomes ceasefire in Yemen

• India on Thursday welcomed the announcement of a two-month ceasefire in Yemen and hoped that it will help in building a positive momentum towards an inclusive political process to end the eight-year-long conflict in that country.
• The UN-brokered ceasefire, the first such nationwide arrangement since 2016, was announced on Friday by Hans Grundberg, the special envoy of the UN Secretary-General (UNSG).

Yemen issue

• One of the Arab world’s poorest countries, Yemen has been devastated by a near seven-year civil war, which started after Houthis captured the capital Sana’a, following which Saudi-led forces intervened and fought the rebels with the aim of ending Iranian influence in the region and restoring the former government.
• The UAE joined the Saudi campaign in 2015 and has been deeply involved in the conflict ever since, despite announcing the formal withdrawal of its forces in 2019 and 2020.

Houthi rebels:

• Founded in the 1990s by Hussein Badreddin al-Houthi, a member of Yemen’s Shia majority.
• It is a group of Zaidi Shia Muslims who ruled a kingdom in the province for nearly 1,000 years.

Background of the war in Yemen:

Arab Spring

• In 2010 Arab Spring was a series of anti government protests, uprisings and armed rebellions that spread across the Middle East.
• Oppressive regimes and a low standard of living was the spark, beginning with protests in Tunisia.
• Social media played the role of catalyst behind the swift spread of revolution throughout the world, as new protests appear in response to success stories shared from those taking place in other countries globally.
• The effects of the 'Tunisian Revolution' spread like fire to five other countries: Libya, Yemen, Egypt, Bahrain and Syria, where either the regime was toppled or major uprisings or social violence occurred, including riots, civil wars, mass murdering or insurgencies.
• Demonstration took in countries like Morocco, Iraq, Algeria, Iranian Khuzestan, Lebanon, Jordan, Oman, Sudan and Kuwait.
• Minor protests also occurred in Djibouti, the Palestinian National Authority, Saudi Arabia, Mauritania and the Moroccanoccupied Western Sahara.
• The wave of initial revolutions and protests faded by mid-2012, as many Arab Spring demonstrations were met with violent responses from authorities, as well as from pro-government militias, counter demonstrators and militaries.
• These attacks were answered with violence from protestors in some cases. Largescale conflicts resulted into the Syrian Civil War, the Iraqi insurgency the Egyptian Crisis, the Yemeni Crisis and the Libyan Civil War.
• Consequences of Arab Spring

Exam Track

Prelims Takeaway

• Operation RAHAT
• Gulf of Aden
• Location - Major cities and surrounding countries
• Arab Spring

Mains track

Q. The recent announcement of a two-month ceasefire in Yemen has sparked hopes of stabilization of Middle East region. Explain the cause of conflict in Yemen and discuss the implications of this conflict on India and the world.