Invisible War: On The Front Lines In Yemen
- By RFE/RL
Rare photos from the fighting in Yemen reveal a war -- widely seen as a proxy battle between Saudi Arabia and Iran -- that is going largely unnoticed in a world gripped by other crises.
1
A fighter loyal to Yemen's Saudi-backed government looks toward Iran-backed Huthi rebels in Yemen's western province of Hodeida on November 21. The photo is one of several recent pictures captured by photojournalists showing the front lines of the conflict raging today in western Yemen.
2
Pro-government fighters in Hodeida on November 21. The conflict in Yemen has been ongoing since 2014, and is largely seen as a proxy war between Iran and Saudi Arabia.
3
Huthi fighters walk to the front line in the Al-Jubah district of Yemen's Marib Province. The Huthi are a movement that was formed in the 1990s from Yemen's Shi'a religious minority.
4
Huthi in Marib. The group was initially born out of opposition to the influence of neighboring Saudi Arabia on the religious landscape of Yemen, but later widened its claimed mission to include promises of better governance over the impoverished Arab country.
5
A shell bursts on a mountainside during fighting between fighters loyal to Yemen's government and Huthi fighters. After the "Arab Spring" protests that swept much of the Middle East in 2011, Huthi militias began to seize control of territory in Yemen and in 2015 they overthrew the country's president to seize the capital, Sanaa.
6
A mass funeral for Huthi rebel fighters killed in battles with Saudi-backed government troops in the Marib region. Huthis have become notorious for their identifying "scream" of "death to America, death to Israel, damn the Jews, victory to Islam." Some Huthi leaders have publicly distanced themselves from the chant.
7
Yemeni pro-government forces fighting Huthi rebels on the edge of Marib on November 10. In response to the Huthi takeover, in 2015 Saudi Arabia, along with several other Muslim countries launched a military intervention in Yemen with backing from the the United States and the United Kingdom.
8
An arch damaged by fighting on the outskirts of Hodeidah on November 13. The Red Sea port city was captured by Huthi forces this month. According to an AP report, the controversial Saudi-led alliance against the Huthis has worked closely with Al-Qaeda in Yemen.
9
Fighters loyal to Yemen's Saudi-backed government load a recoilless rifle in the country's northeastern province of Marib on October 27. While Saudi Arabia backs Yemen's internationally recognized, but embattled government, Iran is widely believed to support the Huthi rebels as part of a quest to increase its influence in the region.
10
The scene of a car bomb blast that killed 12 people, including children, near the airport of Aden on October 30. As well as the complex allegiances on either side of the long-running war, the Islamic State group has wreaked havoc on both sides of the conflict with several bomb attacks that have killed hundreds of people.
11
A wounded Yemeni boy lies on a hospital stretcher in Taez on October 30. According to UNICEF, Yemen is currently the largest humanitarian crisis in the world, with around 21 million people in need of help, including more than 11 million children.
12
A fighter loyal to Yemen's Saudi-backed government in Marib. The city is the last remaining stronghold of pro-government forces in the country and a battle for the city is currently under way.
13
Fighters loyal to Yemen's Saudi-backed government in countryside near Marib. Although Tehran has denied involvement, Yemen's foreign minister told the AFP news agency on November 21 that the contested city of Marib "has become one of the most strategic priorities for the Iranian regime and its proxies in the region."
