Battle of Sa'dah
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The Battle of Saada was a military confrontation that erupted in March 2011 between
Houthi 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 ...
rebels and tribal forces loyal to Yemeni President
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 ...
in the northern city of
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 ...
. Following days of heavy clashes, the Houthis managed to capture the entire
Saada Governorate Saada ( ar, صَعْدَة, Ṣaʿdah) is one of the governorates of Yemen. The governorate's seat and the largest city is Saada. It is the epicentre of Zaydism
including its provincial capital and established an independent administration, thereby marking the first such Yemeni governorate to fall out of central government control since the nationwide uprising began in 2011. Saada later becomes known as the Houthi stronghold since its takeover.


Background


Houthi rebellion in Sa'dah

Sa'dah has been a site of violent confrontations for years between the Yemeni government and the rebels known as the Houthi movement. The conflict was sparked in June 2004 by Ali Abdullah Saleh government's attempt to arrest
Hussein Badreddin al-Houthi Hussein Badreddin al-Houthi ( ar, حسين بدر الدين الحوثي; 20 August 1959 – 10 September 2004), also spelled Hussein Badr Eddin al-Houthi, was a Yemeni Zaidi religious, political and military leader, as well as former member o ...
, the
Zaydi Zaydism (''h'') is a unique branch of Shia Islam that emerged in the eighth century following Zayd ibn Ali‘s unsuccessful rebellion against the Umayyad Caliphate. In contrast to other Shia Muslims of Twelver Shi'ism and Isma'ilism, Zaydis, ...
religious leader who founded the Houthi movement and a former
Al-Haqq Haqq ( ar, ''ḥaqq'') is the Arabic word for truth. In Islamic contexts, it is also interpreted as right and reality. Al-Haqq, 'the truth, is one of the names of God in the Qur'an. It is often used to refer to God as the Ultimate Reality i ...
parliamentarian on whose head the government had placed a US$55,000 bounty. Though the manhunt eventually led to the killing of Hussein Badreddin al-Houthi in September 2004, the conflict continues to rage for another six wars known as the "Sa'dah War" which lasted until 2010. With one of his brothers
Abdul Malik al-Houthi Abdul-Malik Badruldeen al-Houthi ( ar, عبد الملك بدر الدين الحوثي) is a Yemeni politician and religious leader who serves as the leader of the Houthi movement (Ansar Allah), a revolutionary movement principally made up of ...
succeeded as the new Houthi leader, the movement has been transformed from a grassroot Zaydi religious revivalist network into a strong fighting insurgent forces since then. By 2009, Houthi rebels have also expanded their insurgency beyond Sa'dah governorate which took place at Saudi territories near the Saudi border. Saudi Arabian military intervened in November 2009 to support the Yemeni government action against the Houthis. The war has reached into a protracted state in 2010 as neither the Houthi rebels could gain control any areas in Sa'dah, nor the government forces were able to subdue the rebellion. A few months later, a fragile truce brokered by
Qatar Qatar (, ; ar, قطر, Qaṭar ; local vernacular pronunciation: ), officially the State of Qatar,) is a country in Western Asia. It occupies the Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it sh ...
had been reached for all sides during the following year, which temporarily halted all fighting afterwards. The conflict saw ceasefires being reached many times. A ceasefire, brokered in June 2007, was followed by a peace agreement in February 2008. By April 2008, however, the peace process was in jeopardy as each side of the conflict accused the other of failing to implement aspects of the peace agreement. Analysts warned that the conflict will damage the humanitarian situation in the region. By mid-2010, it was estimated that there were 342,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Sa'dah as a result of the conflict.


The Yemeni uprising

In the wake of
Arab Spring The Arab Spring ( ar, الربيع العربي) was a series of Nonviolent resistance, anti-government protests, Rebellion, uprisings and Insurgency, armed rebellions that spread across much of the Arab world in the early 2010s. It began in T ...
which overthrown rulers in
Tunisia ) , image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa , image_map2 = , capital = Tunis , largest_city = capital , ...
and
Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...
, a nationwide uprising was soon building up in
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 Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, north and ...
in January 2011. The Houthis declared their support for the uprising against Ali Abdullah Saleh and large crowds of Houthi followers joined the anti-government protests on their 10th day. During February and March, thousands of protesters held weekly marches in Sa'dah city from the gates of the old city to the security barracks of Saleh's army to demand the resignation of Ali Abdullah Saleh as Yemeni president. Meanwhile, skirmish clashes broke out as early as January on the outskirts of Sa'dah city between the Houthis and the Al Abdin tribe led by Sheikh Uthman Mujalli, a vocal anti-Houthi tribal leader. Mujalli was also a Salafi parliamentarian from Sa'dah governorate representing the ruling General People's Congress (GPC) party. A few weeks after the clashes started, the student protest movement that began in the capital
Sana'a Sanaa ( ar, صَنْعَاء, ' , Yemeni Arabic: ; Old South Arabian: 𐩮𐩬𐩲𐩥 ''Ṣnʿw''), also spelled Sana'a or Sana, is the capital and largest city in Yemen and the centre of Sanaa Governorate. The city is not part of the Governo ...
soon spread to other parts of Yemen. Houthi rebels then began laying siege to Mujalli and his followers. Sa'dah provincial government later came under increasing pressure as anti-government protests grew as well as gradual local security collapse.


Storming of Sa'dah

On 18 March, government snipers fired on a mass protest in the Yemeni capital Sana'a. Known as the "Karama Massacre", the event triggered nationwide outrage and a flood of defections from the government officials. In response to the bloody event, Houthi rebels stormed Sa'dah city next day on 19 March, allegedly blowing up houses and inflicting heavy civilian casualties. This led to a heavy conflict with the Al Abdin tribes in which 45 people were killed and 13 houses were destroyed. Houthis then attacked Telmus military site, overlooking the city and captured numerous machine guns, mortar shells, guns and tanks. Houthis prevailed in the fighting and burned down Sheikh Mujalli's house, destroying all his possessions and seizing sixteen cars. Sheikh Mujalli and his followers were chased out from Sa'dah as a result of his increasing local unpopularity there. Sa'dah governor Taha Hajer also fled the province to Sana'a and police deserted their posts, after which all the leaders of the Sa'dah army headquarters handed over their military equipment and bases to the Houthi rebels. The armed defectors mostly consists of troops from 1st Armoured Division (''Firqa'') led by
Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar Ali Mohsen Saleh al-Ahmar ( ar, علي محسن صالح الأحمر), sometimes spelled "Muhsin", (born 20 June 1945) is a Yemeni military officer who served as the vice president of Yemen from 2016 to 2022, when he was dismissed by President A ...
who declared support for the uprising as well. By 26 March, Houthi rebels were in full control of the city, running all the government facilities and control checkpoints and controlling all entrances to the city. This marked the first such Yemeni provincial capital to fell out from central government control since the uprising erupted.


Aftermath

On 26 March, Houthi field commander Abu Ali Abdullah al-Hakim al-Houthi appointed Fares Manaa, one of the Middle East's most prominent arms dealers and former ally to Saleh, as governor of Saada. Manaa broke with Saleh after he had been imprisoned by him for months in Sanaa and he resigned from GPC party to join forces with the Houthis along with several other prominent Saada politicians. Houthis later declared a separate administration fully independent from the
government of Yemen The Politics of Yemen are in an uncertain state due to the Houthi takeover in Yemen. An armed group known as the Houthi movement, Houthis or Ansar Allah seized control of the Northern Yemeni government and announced it would dissolve House of Rep ...
, consisting of rebels, residents and defected military commanders. The Houthi takeover of Saada resulted in over four years of relative peace and stability in the governorate until the
Yemeni Civil War Yemeni Civil War may refer to several historical events which have taken place in Yemen: *Alwaziri coup, February – March 1948 *Yemeni–Adenese clan violence, 1956–60 *North Yemen Civil War, 1962–70 *Aden Emergency, 1963–67 *South Yemen#Di ...
in 2015. Since then, Saada Governorate became famously known as the Houthi stronghold where prominent leaders such as Abdulmalik al-Houthi are believed to be residing.Yemen's 'Death to America' rebels bring calm to northern Yemen
October 28, 2012


See also

*
Siege of Dammaj The siege of Dammaj started in October 2011 when the Houthis, a Zaydi-led rebel group which controls the Sa'dah Governorate, accused Salafis loyal to the Yemeni government of smuggling weapons into their religious center in the town of Dammaj an ...
*
Houthi takeover in Yemen The Houthi takeover in Yemen, also known as the September 21 Revolution (by supporters), or 2014–15 coup d'état (by opponents), was a popular revolution against Yemeni President Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi led by the Houthis and their supporters t ...


References

{{Reflist, 2 Military operations involving Yemen
Sa'dah 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 ...
2010 in Yemen Houthi insurgency in Yemen Yemeni Crisis (2011–present) March 2011 events in Asia Saada Governorate