US House votes to end American involvement in Yemen’s Civil War

The US House of Representatives has voted to end US involvement in Yemen’s civil war. The resolution to end the American Involvement in the civil war was approved by 247 to 175 votes. The resolution directs the US President to remove US Armed Forces from hostilities in or affecting the Republic of Yemen within 30 days. The resolution rejects the US Presidents support for the Saudi-led campaign in Yemen.

Yemen Civil War

  • The roots of the civil war can be traced to the failure of a political transition which was supposed to bring stability to Yemen following an Arab Spring uprising which forced the longtime authoritarian president, Ali Abdullah Saleh, to hand over power to his deputy, Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi, in 2011.
  • President Hadi struggled to deal with a variety of problems, including attacks by jihadists, a separatist movement in the south, continuing loyalty of security personnel to Saleh, as well as corruption, unemployment and food insecurity.
  • The Houthis and security forces loyal to Saleh in a bid to regain power attempted to take control of the entire country, forcing Mr Hadi to flee abroad in March 2015.
  • Alarmed by the unfolding events which they believed to be backed militarily by regional Shia power Iran, Saudi Arabia and eight other mostly Sunni Arab states began an air campaign aimed at restoring Mr Hadi’s government.
  • The war has led to a military stalemate. Even though the government and the Houthis agreed to a ceasefire, they are yet to start withdrawing, raising fears that the deal will collapse.

Even though the resolution has been passed with an overwhelming majority at the House of Representatives, Mr Trump is expected to veto the legislation. White House has called the resolution as flawed and warned it would harm bilateral relations in the region.


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