The humanitarian catastrophe underway in Yemen showed no signs of subsiding in January, with the UN and international humanitarian NGOs warning famine is a possible scenario for 2017. The offensive up the western coast of Taiz governorate by Hadi-aligned forces, with heavy air support from the coalition, left several hundred fighters dead appears to be paving the way for an imminent offensive on Hodeidah governorate. Meanwhile, throughout January the UN envoy travelled to several of the coalition member states’ capitals before meeting President Hadi in Aden and the Houthi/Saleh alliance in Sana’a. However, by the end of the month he reported neither side had shown real progress. Hadi-aligned forces demonstrated their intention to make further military gains before entering into a new round of talks, and Houthi/Saleh forces appeared unwilling to submit a plan for how they would withdraw and hand over heavy weapons as stipulated in the roadmap.
To read the full January 2017 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.