By the beginning of December the stage was being set by the Hadi government for a major military escalation on multiple fronts. The president and vice president moved to Aden and Marib, respectively, coinciding with major troop and equipment movement toward the battle lines. By the end of December Hadi-aligned forces had captured villages in Nehm district of Sana’a and secured key areas of Shabwa governorate. Meanwhile, a joint communiqué issued by the quad appears to have modified the sequencing of the roadmap as to require the implementation of all political and security steps to begin before Hadi is to transfer his presidential authority, but whether or not he is to remain in power until a new president is elected remains an open question.
To read the full December 2016 issue of The Yemen Trend, click on the PDF icon below. The Yemen Trend is a monthly digest that highlights Yemen’s key economic and humanitarian trends and political and military developments, providing context and analysis where necessary in order to facilitate informed discussion deeply rooted in the facts.