The Popular Committees (), also known as the People's Committees, are armed groups formed by

Yemeni tribes Yemen, officially the Republic of Yemen, is a country in West Asia. Located in South Arabia, southern Arabia, it borders Saudi Arabia to Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, the north, Oman to Oman–Yemen border, the northeast, the south-eastern part ...

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. Militaries are typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with their members identifiable by a ...

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 1962 revolution in northern Yemen did not receive military support from the United Kingdom, some troops allied with the deposed

imam Imam (; , '; : , ') is an Islamic leadership position. For Sunni Islam, Sunni Muslims, Imam is most commonly used as the title of a prayer leader of a mosque. In this context, imams may lead Salah, Islamic prayers, serve as community leaders, ...

s to regain power. Tribal links weakened, especially in Taiz and Ibb; 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 Affash (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 (an interview recorded in a YouTube video), he was born in 1947.4 Decembe ...

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

Houthis The Houthis, officially known as Ansar Allah, is a Zaydism, Zaydi Shia Islamism, Shia Islamist political and military organization that emerged from Yemen in the 1990s. It is predominantly made up of Zaydi Shias, with their namesake leadersh ...

Saada Saada (), located in the northwest of Yemen, is the capital and largest city of the governorate bearing the same name, as well as the administrative seat of the eponymous district. The city lies in the Serat (Sarawat) mountains at an altitude o ...

and 'Amran Governorates from 2004 to 2009, and the popular committees were used to a regional

al-Qaeda , image = Flag of Jihad.svg , caption = Jihadist flag, Flag used by various al-Qaeda factions , founder = Osama bin Laden{{Assassinated, Killing of Osama bin Laden , leaders = {{Plainlist, * Osama bin Lad ...

's insurgency. In course of the

Yemeni Revolution The Yemeni revolution (or Yemeni intifada) followed the initial stages of the Tunisian revolution and occurred simultaneously with the 2011 Egyptian revolution and other Arab Spring, Arab Spring protests in the Middle East and North Africa. ...

, 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 ( or : Tanẓīm Qā‘idat al-Jihād fī Jazīrat al-‘Arab, . Organization of Jihad's Base in the Arabian Peninsula), or AQAP is a Sunni Islam, Sunni Islamic extremism, Islamist militant organization which s ...

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

Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi (born 1 September 1945) is a Yemeni politician and former military officer who served as the second president of Yemen from 2012 until his resignation in 2022. He previously served as the second vice president of Yemen fro ...

. He reorganized his forces as

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

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