Yemeni civil war facts for kids

The term Yemeni civil war refers to many different conflicts that have happened in Yemen. A civil war is when groups of people within the same country fight each other, often over who should be in charge or how the country should be run. Yemen has a long history, and because of different groups and ideas, it has seen many such conflicts.

Yemen's History of Conflicts

Yemen is a country located in the Middle East. Throughout its history, different parts of Yemen were sometimes separate countries, like North Yemen and South Yemen. This division, and other disagreements, led to many internal fights.

Early Conflicts

Some of the earliest conflicts include the Alwaziri coup in 1948. This was a short but intense fight over who would rule the country. Later, from 1956 to 1960, there was Yemeni–Adenese clan violence, which involved different family groups fighting.

North and South Yemen

For many years, Yemen was divided into two main parts: North Yemen and South Yemen. This led to several conflicts:

• The North Yemen Civil War (1962–1970) was a big fight between those who wanted to keep the old system and those who wanted a new republic.
• The Aden Emergency (1963–1967) was a struggle in South Yemen for independence from British rule.
• Even after they became independent, North and South Yemen had border conflicts, like the Yemenite War of 1972 and the Yemenite War of 1979. These wars were about their shared border and who had power.
• In 1986, the South Yemen Civil War was a quick but violent fight within South Yemen's government.

Unified Yemen's Challenges

In 1990, North and South Yemen united to form one country. However, challenges continued:

• The Yemeni Civil War (1994) happened just a few years after unification. It was a conflict between the northern and southern leaders who had different ideas about how the new unified country should work.
• Later, groups like Al-Qaeda caused trouble, leading to the Al-Qaeda insurgency in Yemen (1998–2014). This was a fight against extremist groups.
• The Houthi insurgency in Yemen (2004–2015) involved a group called the Houthis fighting against the government in the north.
• The South Yemen insurgency (2009–2015) saw groups in the south wanting more independence or even to separate again.

The Current Conflict

The most recent and ongoing conflict is the Yemeni civil war (2014–present). This war started when the Houthis took control of the capital city. This led to a wider conflict involving other countries:

• The Saudi Arabian–led intervention in Yemen began in 2015 when a group of countries, led by Saudi Arabia, stepped in to support the Yemeni government against the Houthis.
• Other smaller conflicts also happened during this time, like the Lahij insurgency and the Hadramaut insurgency, which were local fights for control in different parts of the country.
• The Aden unrest (2015–2019) involved fighting in the important city of Aden.

These conflicts have had a big impact on the people of Yemen, causing many challenges.

See also

In Spanish: Guerra civil de Yemen para niños

• Insurgency in Yemen (disambiguation)
• List of wars involving Yemen
• Yemen War (disambiguation)