Ye man, what a mess

Yemen is a small country located at the foot of the Arabian Peninsula. This unassuming 'state' has a rich and storied history and is the fabled homeland of the Queen of Sheba. The country has been ruled over the centuries by various powers, including the Ottomans for a time.

Since 2011, the country has experienced a period of, what can best be described as, anarchy. In 2011, Arab Spring protests were some of the most severe in Yemen with hundreds killed in unrest aimed at unseating the long-serving president, Ali Saleh. The president was later forced to resign and an interim government was appointed. This led to the end of the violent unrest. Yet, despite the apparent success of the revolution, much of the old regime remains in place. The ruling party, the GNC, is part of the interim authority and is still led by…Ali Saleh. Odd, but true. President Hadi, Saleh's sidekick for many years, is current president and the revolutionary youth who led the 2011 protests may well ask the pertinent question, 'wtf?'.

So the protests have ended and the old corrupt guard are still hanging around. So what you may well ask. Well the 'what' is critical. The 2011 revolution opened the lid on the demons lurking beneath the surface of the rugged Yemen exterior. Islamist extremists, southern separatists and northern Shiite Houthi rebels took advantage of the regime's distraction to capture territory and force the state authority from their lands. Tribes have joined each one of these three general parts to further complicate what must surely be the most intricate balance of political forces in the world (except maybe for Nepal).

As of writing the Houthis and their supporters control one governorate in the north, Saada, and parts of two others, Amran and al-Jawf. Thousands of their supporters are also huddled in Sanaa in a number of protest camps. Their demands? Lower fuel costs and the fall of the government. The Houthi protests are probably linked to a national dialogue in 2013 and early 2014 (which they were apart of) that concluded that Yemeni territory should be consolidated into federal regions. The Houthis were upset by this as it divided their illegally obtained territory. The protests will end and the Houthis will probably get a few seats in the power circle but will anything really change for the common Yemeni? Probably not. War and poverty will likely haunt this 'nation' for some time to come.