October 18, 2014: The Shia rebels now control all or part of nine of the 22
provinces. The Shia rebels are fighting Sunni tribesmen in the north (less
and less) and south (more and more) as well as AQAP (Al Qaeda in the Arabian
Peninsula) Islamic terrorists who are sending suicide bombers and gunmen
into areas where Shia rebels are operating. Despite all the opposition the
Shia rebels keep advancing, mainly because the army and police do not oppose
them and sometimes cooperate with them. The government has little to say
about this curious and unpublicized (at least by the army) development. This
has led to accusations that former dictator Ali Abdullah Saleh, who was from
the north, has a secret deal with the many army officers who once loyally
served him to stand aside and let the Shia rebels take control of the
capital. This does not make a lot of sense because Saleh always opposed
restoring the autonomy the northern Shia lost in the 1960s. Then again,
Saleh may have changed his mind if the new deal included immunity from
prosecution for past corrupt acts. Meanwhile army commanders have made no
public statements explaining their lack of resistance to the Shia rebels. At
the same time both the army and the Shia rebels are fighting AQAP and
pro-AQAP Sunni tribes in the south. AQAP is trying to rally the southern
Sunni tribes to help form an AQAP led religious dictatorship in the south
(for a start) and eventually all of Arabia. There is not a lot of enthusiasm
for a religious dictatorship in the south but forming a new Sunni Arab state
in the south is popular, especially if it includes the oil fields.
The GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council, the Arab oil states in the Persian Gulf)
agrees that Yemen cannot be allowed to disintegrate. For one thing that
would provide Iran with another ally (the Shia tribes of the north). At the
moment the GCC is trying to determine exactly what is going on with the
Yemeni government and army. Both still exist, but the army is not opposing
the Shia and the government can do nothing without permission from the Shia
rebels who now control the capital. Yemen needs a new coalition to run the
country because the one that existed until September has ceased to function,
at least when it comes to the Shia rebels occupying the capital and the
growing number of cities and provinces the Shia have taken control of.
Shia and Sunni tribal militias in Ibb province (150 kilometers southwest of
the capital) agreed to a 24 hour truce. Skirmishing in this area has been
going on since the 14th.
October 17, 2014: In the southeast (Ibb province) a clash between Shia and
Sunni militias left six Shia and two Sunni tribesmen dead. In the southeast
(Bayda province) Shia rebels were ambushed by AQAP gunmen and several Shia
were killed. Despite that the Shia rebels, with the cooperation of the local
army garrison, took control of Radda, which had long been a base for AQAP.
The commander of the army garrison was a supporter of deposed dictator
Saleh. There was several days of fighting in Radda, leaving over a dozen
dead and many more wounded before AQAP conceded defeat and left the town.
AQAP announced that is now fully backed ISIL (al Qaeda in Iraq and the
Levant). AQAP didn't say it had joined ISIL, but urged all Moslems to
support ISIL in its fight against the West and its Arab allies who were now
bombing ISIL in Iraq and Syria.
October 16, 2014: Shia rebels captured the town of Harad and a major border
crossing with Saudi Arabia. The Saudis moved more troops to their side of
the border and increased border patrols in the area.
In the southeast (Ibb province) AQAP men raided the town of Udain, killing
five policemen. Udain is 20 kilometers west of the city of Ibb, which the
Shia rebels now occupy.
October 15, 2014: In the southeast (Ibb province) AQAP entered Al Adeen and
attacked government facilities, leaving six soldiers dead and six soldiers
and police wounded.
The U.S. announced rewards totaling $45 million for information leading to
the death or capture of eight AQAP leaders.
The oil pipeline to the Red Sea was bombed again, halting flow of oil and
much needed income for the government. The 320 kilometer long pipeline
extends from oil fields in Marib province to the Red Sea export terminal.
October 14, 2014: In the north (the Saudi border near Munde) Shia rebels
skirmished with Saudi troops who were setting up a border post on the Yemeni
side of the border. This part of the Saudi effort to construct a barrier
system (an enhanced fence) along 1,800 kilometers of its Yemen border. This
is unpopular with many of the tribes on the Yemen side as it prevents them
from freely crossing with their flocks, as they have done for centuries.
Shia rebels took control of the port of Hodeida (200 kilometers west of the
capital).
October 13, 2014: President Hadi appointed the Yemen UN representative
Khaled Bahah as the new prime minister. Balah was approved by the Shia
rebels and must now form a government satisfactory to both Sunnis and Shia.
Saudi Arabia called on Iran to withdraw its support for the Shia rebels in
Yemen. Iran denied any involvement, despite considerable evidence otherwise.
Inside Iran the mass media is quite happy with the way things are going in
Yemen. The Saudis fear that Iran is gaining another ally as it already has
with the Assad dictatorship in Syria and the Shia Hezbollah militia in
Lebanon which is so powerful that it can usually veto any government policy
it disagrees with. In all three of these countries the Shia are a minority
which, via Iranian support, have come to gain a disproportionate amount of
political power.
October 11, 2014: In the south (Hadramout province) an AQAP roadside bomb
killed two soldiers and wounded three others.
October 9, 2014: In the capital an AQAP suicide bomber detonated his
explosives at a political demonstration killing 47 Shia. In the south
(Hadramout province) AQAP used a suicide bomber and gunmen to attack several
army targets. The attackers were repulsed but killed 20 soldiers.
Yemen's newly appointed prime minister (Ahmed Awad bin Mubarak) quit 33
hours after getting the job when the Shia rebels made it clear that he was
not acceptable.
October 8, 2014: In the southeast (Bayda province) AQAP made three attacks
that left ten policemen dead. This was apparently done with the approval of
local tribal chiefs who recently announced that they believed the local
police were working with the Shia rebels.
October 5, 2014: AQAP posted an undated video to the Internet showing
Islamic terrorists killing 14 Shia soldiers in Yemen.
October 3, 2014: In the north (Amran province) a bomb planed inside a car
went off leaving two dead and ten wounded. It was unclear if this was the
work of Shia or Sunni terrorists.