Military


Yemeni Civil War

After years of internal conflict, north and south Yemen were finally united in 1990. While progress was made in forming a unified government and constitution, relations were still strained between the north and south. Conflicts within the ruling coalition led to the 1993 self-imposed exile of Vice President Ali Salim Al-Bidh as political rivals settled scores on their own, leading to a deterioration in the security situation. The government continued to operate with Haydar Abu Bakr Al-Attas as prime minister, but its effectiveness was increasingly moot due to the political in-fighting and its efficacy over the country waned. Violent clashes eventually escalated into a full-scale civil war in May of 1994 fought between northern and southern factions. Most of the fighting occurred in the south although air and missile attacks were carried out against targets in the north. The United States supported Yemeni unity throughout the war and made various attempts to bring both sides to a resolution to the conflict, but none of these attempts proved to be successful.

Southern leaders declared the founding of the Democratic Republic of Yemen (DRY) in May 1994, less than a month after the conflict began, but the new state was not recognized by the international community. The new renegade republic was short- lived however, as the southern city of Aman fell to northern troops on July 7, 1994. The remaining resistance collapsed soon after and many southern secessionists went into exile.

Following the fighting, President Ali Abdullah Saleh promised general amnesty for everyone except for 16 people, and most southerners returned home to Yemen after the brief civil war. Although informal amnesty was eventually offered to the 16, most refused it, preferring to live outside of Yemen. Saleh remained as president while a new coalition government was elected that excluded the leading southern party. Muslim extremists began sporadic acts of violence, including kidnapping foreign tourists. These terrorist acts also included the October 2000 bombing of the USS Cole while it was anchored in the Yemeni port of Aden and the bombing of the British embassy.

 

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