Yemen Yemen (; ar, ٱلْيَمَن, al-Yaman), officially the Republic of Yemen,, ) is a country in Western Asia. It is situated on the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula, and borders Saudi Arabia to the north and Oman to the northeast and sha ...

, popular committees are armed groups formed by Yemeni tribes on behalf of more professional

armed forces A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...

Overview

The Yemeni army has required the support of tribal militias or what have become known as People's Committees in internal and external wars. When the 1963 revolution in northern Yemen did not receive military support from the United Kingdom, some troops allied with the deposed

imam Imam (; ar, إمام '; plural: ') is an Islamic leadership position. For Sunni Muslims, Imam is most commonly used as the title of a worship leader of a mosque. In this context, imams may lead Islamic worship services, lead prayers, serv ...

s to regain power. Tribal links weakened, especially in

Taiz Taiz ( ar, تَعِزّ, Taʿizz) is a city in southwestern Yemen. It is located in the Yemeni Highlands, near the port city of Mocha, Yemen, Mocha on the Red Sea, at an elevation of about above sea level. It is the capital of Taiz Governorate. W ...

and

Ibb Ibb ( ar, إِبّ, ʾIbb) is a city in Yemen, the capital of Ibb Governorate, located about northeast of Mocha and south of Sana'a. A market town and administrative centre developed during the Ottoman Empire, it is one of the most importan ...

; members received a monthly salary, wore military uniforms and underwent military training. During the presidency of Abdul Rahman al-Iryani (1967–1974) the military battled over policy, beginning with a conflict over the establishment of the National Council. The popular committees further polarized the country. During the 1980s

Ali Abdullah Saleh Ali Abdullah Saleh al-Ahmar (, ''ʿAlī ʿAbdullāh Ṣāliḥ al-Aḥmar;'' 21 March 1947There is a dispute as to Saleh's date of birth, some saying that it was on 21 March 1942. See: However, by Saleh's own confession, he was born in 1947 al ...

reemphasized tribal affairs, in contrast with assassinated president Ibrahim al-Hamdi. His government clashed with the

Houthis The Houthi movement (; ar, ٱلْحُوثِيُّون ''al-Ḥūthīyūn'' ), officially called Ansar Allah (' ''Partisans of God'' or ''Supporters of God'') and colloquially simply Houthis, is an Islamist political and armed movement that ...

Saada Saada ( ar, صَعْدَة, translit=Ṣaʿda), a city and ancient capital in the northwest of Yemen, is the capital and largest city of the province of the same name, and the county seat of the county of the same name. The city is located in the ...

and

'Amran Governorate ʽAmran ( ar, عمران, ʽAmrān) is one of the governorates of Yemen. Districts 'Amran Governorate is divided into the following 20 districts. These districts are further divided into sub-districts, and then further subdivided into villag ...

s from 2004 to 2009, and the popular committees were used to a regional

al-Qaeda Al-Qaeda (; , ) is an Islamic extremism, Islamic extremist organization composed of Salafist jihadists. Its members are mostly composed of Arab, Arabs, but also include other peoples. Al-Qaeda has mounted attacks on civilian and military ta ...

's insurgency. In course of the

Yemeni Revolution The Yemeni Revolution ( intifada), also known as the Yemeni Revolution of Dignity followed the initial stages of the Tunisian Revolution and occurred simultaneously with the Egyptian Revolution of 2011 and other Arab Spring protests in the ...

, more and more self-defense groups or popular committees sprung up around the country. One of these was led by warlord Abdullatif Al-Sayed who initially fought against President Saleh's government and with

al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula ( ar-at, تنظيم القاعدة في جزيرة العرب, Tanẓīm al-Qā‘idah fī Jazīrat al-‘Arab, lit=Organization of the Base in the Arabian Peninsula or , ''Tanẓīm Qā‘idat al-Jihād fī Jaz� ...

(AQAP), but later sided with the new government of

Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi ( ar, عبدربه منصور هادي, translit=ʿAbd Rabbih Manṣūr Hādī Yemeni pronunciation: ; born 1 September 1945) is a Yemeni politician and former field marshal of the Yemeni Armed Forces who served as the p ...

. He reorganized his forces as

auxiliaries Auxiliaries are support personnel that assist the military or police but are organised differently from regular forces. Auxiliary may be military volunteers undertaking support functions or performing certain duties such as garrison troops, usu ...

for the army and supported Hadi in the later Yemeni Civil War. By 2015, popular committees had spread to other provinces of Yemen, and played a major role in the Battle of Aden (2015) against the

. By 2018, the Houthi rebels had also started to organize their own "popular committees".

References

{{Yemeni Civil War (2015) Organizations of the Yemeni Crisis (2011–present) Paramilitary organizations based in Yemen Yemeni Civil War (2014–present)

Overview

See also

References