Mapping the Yemen conflict: 2 years on

What has changed in Yemen since the Operation Storm? Which actors have emerged–or reemerged–to take advantage of the country's power vacuum? 

Guests

Adam Baron, Visiting Fellow, ECFR

Awssan Kamal, Yemen humanitarian campaigns coordinator, Oxfam

Elisabeth Kendall, Senior Research Fellow, Arabic & Islamic Studies, Oxford University

Chaired by

Frank Gardner OBE, BBC Security Correspondent

It has been nearly two years since a Saudi Arabia-led coalition launched Operation Storm, a military offensive aimed at restoring internationally recognized president Abdo Rabbu Mansour Hadi to power. But while the Houthi rebels and their allies still maintain control over the Yemeni capital, Sanaa, there is no question that the country has fundamentally changed. Tensions old and new have left the country more divided than ever, fueling new challenges as a variety of actors have emerged–or reemerged–to take advantage of the country's power vacuum, creating new facts on the ground. Simultaneously, as the conflict has devastated Yemen's already weak economy, the country has witnessed a surging hunger crisis, leaving millions on the brink of famine.

Adam Baron (@adammbaron) is a visiting fellow with ECFR’s Middle East and North Africa Programme. Adam was previously based in Sanaa, Yemen, from 2011-2014 where he worked as a journalist, reporting for the Christian Science Monitor, the Economist and the McClatchy newspapers. He is a cofounder of the Sanaa Center for Strategic Studies (SCSS), a Yemen-focused research center.

Awssan Kamal (@awssan)  is the Yemen humanitarian campaigns coordinator at Oxfam. He has worked on humanitarian issues relating to the country from both in and outside Yemen since 2011.

Elisabeth Kendall (@Dr_E_Kendall) is Senior Research Fellow in Arabic and Islamic Studies at Pembroke College, Oxford University.  Her current work examines how militant jihadist movements exploit traditional local Arab culture(s). She spends significant time in the field, particularly in Yemen, and is the author or editor of several books.