CIAO DATE: 10/2013
August 2013
Center for Strategic and International Studies
The closings of US Embassies in the Gulf and reporting on the threat raised by Al Qa'ida in the Arabian Peninsula has served as a grim warning of the level of instability in Yemen. Yemen is the most troubled state in the Arabian Peninsula. It remains in a low-level state of civil war, and is deeply divided on sectarian, tribal, and regional levels. A largely Shi'ite Houthi rebellion still affects much of the northwest border area and has serious influence in the capital of Sana and along parts of the Red Sea coast. Al Qa'ida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) poses a threat in central Yemen, along with other elements of violent Sunni extremism, there are serious tensions between the northern and southern parts of Yemen, and power struggles continue between key elements of the military ruling elite in the capital and outside it.
Resource link: Yemen and U.S. Security [PDF] - 434K