THE EARLY YEARS OF THE ARAB SPRING IN YEMEN: 2011–2017

Yemen was no stranger to political instability, social polarization, and regional fragmentation even before the Arab Spring began to affect the region. However, without a doubt, the Arab Spring brought the country’s conflict-ridden structure to a different dimension.

The Arab Spring, a wave of uprisings and anti-government protests that spread across much of the Arab world, began in Tunisia in 2010 with demands for justice, freedom, bread, and democracy. These demonstrations quickly spread to countries such as Egypt, Libya, Syria, and Yemen, reaching Yemen on January 22, 2011. What began with a small group of students at Sana’a University soon grew into a mass movement, with tens of thousands of protesters filling the streets of the capital. President Ali Abdullah Saleh, in response to the rapidly growing protests, announced that he would not run in the 2013 elections and would not transfer power to his son. However, due to his history of making similar statements before the 1999 and 2006 elections and later still running for office, the protesters did not take his words seriously. Years of corruption, social injustice, and inequality had already intensified public anger. From February onward, the protests spread nationwide. A pivotal moment occurred on March 18, when a brutal crackdown by security forces resulted in 52 deaths and around 240 injuries. Following this incident, many resignations took place across the country, and numerous officers, tribes, clans, politicians, and diplomats began siding with the protesters. On June 3, a rocket attack occurred during Friday prayers at the Presidential Palace Mosque, where President Saleh and other officials were present. Saleh was injured in the attack and was transferred to Saudi Arabia for treatment. Under the mediation of the Gulf Cooperation Council, Saleh eventually handed over power to Vice President Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi. Saleh’s departure reduced the intensity of the protests, but his return to the country in September reignited the demonstrations. In February 2012, Hadi officially became president after running as the sole candidate in the elections. Following this, the United Nations oversaw the launch of the National Dialogue Conference.

The National Dialogue Conference and the Federal System Proposal

The National Dialogue Conference was established as a platform aimed at determining Yemen’s political future by bringing together various groups and perspectives. However, the process progressed slowly due to the limited representation of key groups such as southern separatists and the Houthi movement, who lacked trust in the process. Although the conference did not result in a concrete agreement, its most significant outcome was the proposal of a federal system dividing Yemen into six regions: Azal, Saba, al-Janad, Tihama, Aden, and Hadramaut. The Houthis rejected the plan, citing geopolitical disadvantages such as the lack of access to the sea and scarce natural resources in their assigned region. Similarly, southern groups opposed the division of the south into two regions, fearing that it would weaken their influence and power.

Overall, the draft federal plan failed to align with Yemen’s economic and demographic realities. Nearly all known oil and gas reserves would have been placed under the control of only 13% of the population, and no mechanisms were established to ensure an equitable distribution of natural resources. Moreover, the plan disregarded the need to maintain political and economic balance among the regions. These issues led to deepened inequalities and failed to resolve the ongoing crisis. As no meaningful resolution emerged from the conference, the crisis in Yemen continued to escalate. In January 2014, the failure to form a committee to draft a new constitution resulted in the extension of President Hadi’s term by one year.

Map 1: The draft of Yemen’s federal division adopted by the National Dialogue Conference (Baron, 2015)

The Advancement of the Houthis and the Capture of Sana’a

Continuing their objections to the federal system plan, the Houthis wrote a letter demanding correction of the map and requesting access to the sea. However, the Hadi government did not take their demands into consideration, and decisions made under the pretext of economic crisis to restrict subsidies and social aid as part of austerity measures reignited protests across the country. Economic decline, fuel shortages, and difficulties in accessing basic needs shook the public’s trust both in the process and in the Hadi administration. Therefore, the demonstrations that began around the summer of 2014 resulted in the Houthis capturing the capital Sana’a on September 21 with the support of former President Abdullah Saleh. Following this move, the Peace and National Partnership Agreement was signed with the mediation of the United Nations, and a new government that included the Houthis and al-Hirak was formed. However, this reconciliation did not last long, as in January 2015, President Hadi and the Prime Minister were forced to resign due to pressure from the Houthis. Subsequently, on February 6, the Houthis dissolved the Yemeni parliament, announced the formation of a new committee, and declared that Mohammed Ali al-Houthi, who had led the military units that captured the capital Sana’a, was appointed as the head of this committee. On February 21, Hadi managed to escape from the capital to Aden, where he declared himself the legitimate president of the country and stated that Aden would temporarily serve as the capital. From this date on, as the military advance of the Houthis reached the outskirts of Aden, Hadi went to Saudi Arabia and began to govern the country from there.

Alliance Between Ali Abdullah Saleh and the Houthis

Ali Abdullah Saleh, who had resigned in 2011, did not lose his influence over Yemen and aimed to cause unrest in the country through the Houthis. Officers loyal to Ali Abdullah Saleh began to provide military training to Houthi militias during Hadi’s transition to the presidency. Through this move, Saleh planned to eliminate his opponents and played a key role in the Houthis’ capture of the capital Sana’a. The secret relations between the two sides date back to the six conflicts that broke out between 2004 and 2010, known as the Saada Wars. In these wars, Saleh used the Houthis as a tool to weaken opponents within the army. Saleh’s main strategy was to remove the biggest obstacle to passing on his rule to his son. During the revolution process that began with the Arab Spring, Saleh encouraged the Houthis to join the revolution and to sabotage the process by dividing the revolutionaries. In this way, he also aimed to take political and personal revenge on Al-Ahmer, who had initially sided with the protesters during the revolution. With Saleh’s support, the Houthis, who took control of the capital and many other cities, seized control of the central army’s weapons and became a significant force in Yemen. Initially, Saudi Arabia tolerated the alliance between the Houthis and Saleh due to the strengthening of the Islah Party (Yemeni Muslim Brotherhood). Thus, it was thought that a conflict between the Shia Houthis and the Sunni Muslim Brotherhood would cause both sides to lose power. However, this miscalculation led to the Houthis gaining ground and expanding their control, which in turn led Saudi Arabia to intervene directly in the process. Saleh, who had survived during his rule by following a balance policy with various alliances, aimed to regain influence by allying with the Houthis after being sidelined from politics at the end of 2011. When the alliance with the Houthis began to deteriorate due to internal disputes, Saleh turned once again toward Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. On December 2, 2017, he declared that he was open to dialogue with Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates and announced that his alliance with the Houthis had ended, thus igniting direct conflict between the two sides. Immediately after the announcement, forces loyal to Saleh managed to capture five cities, including the capital Sana’a, but the Houthis quickly regained control. After intense clashes in the capital between the two sides, Ali Abdullah Saleh was killed by the Houthis on December 4, 2017, bringing an end to an era that had long been influential in Yemeni politics.

Conclusion

Like other Arab countries during the Arab Spring, Yemen was shaken by popular uprisings that began with slogans of justice, freedom, bread, and democracy. However, this process deepened the existing structural problems, regional divisions, socio-economic inequalities, economic crises, and power struggles in the country. Despite being politically sidelined, Ali Abdullah Saleh maintained his influence and his alliance with the Houthis further complicated the crisis instead of resolving it. Situations such as the rejection of the National Dialogue Conference and the federal system plan by various groups dragged the country toward de facto division. Saleh’s announcement in 2017 that he had ended his alliance with the Houthis and his subsequent death became a major turning point in Yemen and took the civil war to a different level.

References

Şeker, Ş. (2021). The process of Yemen’s transformation into a failed state. Journal of Strategic and Social Research, 5(3), 455–473. https://doi.org/10.30692/sisad.926410

Gün, M. S. (2012). The Arab Spring in Yemen. Yaşama Journal, (22), 0–21. https://dergipark.org.tr/tr/pub/yasamadergisi/issue/54523/743145