중동분쟁 블랙홀 될 ‘예멘 내전’…전면 재발 문턱서 수싸움 치열

The ongoing conflict in Yemen, known as the Yemeni Civil War, is increasingly becoming a black hole in the Middle East. The Houthis, a rebel group in Yemen, declared the end of a ceasefire they had been observing since April 2022 after the airport in Sana, their capital, was bombed by Saudi Arabia. In retaliation, the Houthis initiated a naval blockade of Saudi Arabia and launched attacks on its oil facilities.

This has put Yemen on the brink of all-out civil war. The situation is further complicated by the ongoing US-Israeli-Iranian conflict, which could turn the Yemeni conflict into a multi-party conflict in the region. The Yemeni civil war has led to the country's split into North and South Yemen, which later merged to form the Republic of Yemen in 1990.

However, power and financial distribution disputes led to a civil war in 1994, with the northern region dominated by Iranian-backed Shia cleric Ali Abdullah Saleh. After Saleh's overthrow in 2011, Yemen was divided again, with the northern part under Houthi control and the southern part under a government supported by Saudi Arabia.

The current Houthi leadership, supported by Iran, has been able to maintain control over most of Yemen's population centers, but the peace agreement with Saudi Arabia has been put at risk by recent escalations.