Yemenis bid farewell to the year 2021 with a new disappointment, the war that has been going on for seven years is not over yet, as it is still raging at all levels, while many people have hope for an end to the tragedy that exacerbated their sufferings in a way that they can no longer bear.
The year 2021 is considered to be one of the most difficult years for Yemenis since the beginning of the war. It witnessed a series of hot events and collapses in the military, security, political and economic aspects after it was preceded by a year in which it was invaded by Covid 19 epidemic and was accompanied by many health, livelihood and commercial consequences not only in Yemen but also all over the world.
The year 2021 began along with hot battles that raged again in different areas. At the time Ansar Allah group (Houthis) mobilized its forces and headed towards Ma’rib governorate (to the east of Sana’a, capital of Yemen) and became several kilometers close the city, Al-Amalika forces and the Republic’s Guards which affiliated with Tariq Saleh and other southern factions withdrew from wide areas in AL-Hudaydah governorate and moved to control various areas towards Taiz and Ibb Governorates. By contrast, the outbreak of these battles again exacerbated the lives of many citizens and led to the displacement of thousands of families.
Economically, the prices of food items and oil derivatives increased dramatically and unprecedented in all Yemen, and the authorities in the governorates which controlled by the Internationally Recognized Government (IRG) has imposed an increase in fuel prices. In the same regard, fuel prices have increased in the areas controlled by Ansar Allah group (Houthis) up to 150% and imposed levies and new taxes while the Internationally Recognized president called for the abolition of all taxes and levies that were imposed in the areas under his government control.
Multiple crises
The year has passed at heavy paces and unparalleled fluctuations for public servants who have been deprived of their salaries for years while the parties to the conflict are preparing to start a new phase of the war which may be bloodier than the previous one. However, there have been formal signs of convergence of some armed factions in the areas of the Internationally Recognized Government.
In year 2021, The "Riyadh Agreement" between the Internationally Recognized Government, and its partners of the Southern Transitional Council (STC) reached a dead end. Moreover, assassinations returned to the scene more than before in the areas under the control of the Internationally Recognized Government especially in Aden Governorate, which witnessed a huge explosion near the Aden international airport on October 30, and was preceded by an assassination attempt targeted the governor of Aden on September 10, along with other governorates in the south and south-western of Yemen, which experienced a hot year full of events, tensions turmoil, economic, health and political crises.
A complex fuel crisis, a continuous collapse of the local currency and popular protests condemning the deterioration of the economic and livelihood conditions in addition to security disruption in more than one Governorate.
The severe crises included electricity and water, the problem of Employees' salaries and unprecedented depreciation of the local currency in addition to political and continuous security tensions.
The interim capital of the Internationally Recognized Government, along with other Governorates in southern Yemen, such as Hadramawt and every once in a while, such as AL-Mahra and Socotra in addition to angry protests in Taiz in the southwest of the country. It witnessed, more than once, widespread protests due to the deterioration of the situation living conditions, lack of public services, and the collapse of the local currency with escalation of a wave of great indignation and anger, which led the Southern Transitional Council that dominates Aden Governorate to declare a state of emergency in the city. These protests were in mid-September of the year 2021,
The protests were escalated at different levels to denounce the significantly deteriorating living, economic and service crises, which were inaugurated at the beginning of this year, shortly after the return of the new formed Government equally with the Southern Transitional Council. A further protest march in Aden to the demonstrators trying to storm "Ma'ashiq Palace", which the Internationally Recognized Government was taking it as its headquarters. As a result, the president and members of the Internationally Recognized Government left Aden to the Saudi capital, Riyadh, in March 2021 while the ministers of the Southern Transitional Council remained in Aden. The Prime Minister Maeen Abdul-Malik returned again with some ministers on September 28 passing through Hadramawt and Shabwa Governorates. His return was accompanied by fierce battles raging in the southern regions of Ma’rib Governorate, which were escalated dramatically, in addition to tensions and congestion in Shabwa Governorate. That was after the announcement by the UAE, Saudi Arabia’s partner in the coalition, to evacuate Al-Alam camp after negotiations led by Saudi Arabia, as a result of the siege of the camp by military formations affiliated to the Internationally Recognized Government before storming it on Saturday, October 30, after violent battles with military forces affiliated to the UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council.
In the same regard, the crimes increased in many areas, especially in Ibb Governorate, which is under the control of Ansar Allah (Houthis) and Lahj Governorate, which is under the control of the Internationally Recognized Government. They witnessed many killings, the most horrific of which was the case of the killing the young Abdul Malik Al-Sanbani at a military checkpoint in Toor Al-Baha area on September 8. On the other hand, all the initiatives that started since the beginning of the year to open the main roads between cities and Sanaa airport have failed.
Renewal of the battles
Militarily, Ansar Allah group (Houthis) at the beginning of the year appointed a new governor for Al-Jawf Governorate after they dominated it and replaced the directors of the executive offices in the Governorate with others loyal to it. Additionally, the battles were still raging on the outskirts of the Governorate towards Marib Governorate. In October, forces affiliated with the Internationally Recognized Government were able to take control of the strategic Khanjar camp, east of Khabt and al-Shaghaf district. That did not last long and was only a matter of days before Ansar Allah group (Houthis) took control of the camp and headed towards Marib to dominate it.
In February, Ansar Allah (Houthis) escalated their military operations to dominate Marib Governorate and launched a large-scale military attack in Serwah district and the surrounding areas. It also carried out military operations using drones, cannons and missiles on different areas, resulting in many civilian casualties.
Executions and unsafe roads, with raging battles in Yemen continuing throughout the year 2021, which led to large waves of displacement and thousands of victims were fallen, but Marib fronts were the largest among others fronts.
As the Houthis group's attacks on Ma'rib continued, the Government forces announced on July 5 the start of a military operation aimed at liberating Al-Bayda Governorate from Ansar Allah (Houthis) and called it " AL-Najm AL-Thakib ' ( "The Piercing Star"). This operation came suddenly and unexpectedly for the other party, as the joint forces took control of other sites in Al-Soma’a district. During that period the Governorate witnessed violent battles that it had not witnessed before until things turned around, and Ansar Allah group (Houthis) managed to control the Governorate, so that the military spokesman of the group Yahya Saree appeared and announced in mid-September that they had taken control of the last sites controlled by the forces affiliated with the Internationally Recognized Government.
After Ansar Allah group (Houthis) had took control of the remaining districts of Al-Bayda Governorate, it became besieging Ma’rib Governorate from three axes at the same time it had progressed on Serwah fronts, which it had been stuck in for years. At the same time. After the announcement of the group’s control over the rest of Al-Bayda Gov, it intensified its attacks on Rahba district, south of Marib Governorate. The group managed to completely control the district after nearly 25 days of continuous clashes and battles.
Since September, Ansar Allah group (Houthis) has intensified its attacks more severely than before on various areas in Marib Gov. On the sixth of the same month, the group imposed a severe siege on AL- Abdiya district and continued to bombard the area with missiles and rockets, until mid-October, after the group attacked from the other direction in AL- Juba district and took control of many areas of it. Then AL- Abdiya district fell after a siege lasting more than a month.
While Ansar Allah group (Houthis) went to celebrate the victory and progress towards Marib Governorate, the forces affiliated with the Internationally Recognized Government were unprecedentedly disappointed, and some military leaders went to accuse the Arab coalition led by Saudi Arabia of not supporting them. In November, Ansar Allah group (Houthis) was able to easily took control of the districts of Usaylan, Bayhan and Ayn in Shabwa Governorate and became close to the oil areas there. That was a shock caused confusion to the forces affiliated with the Arab coalition resulted in mutual recrimination of complicity among them.
Forces affiliated with the Internationally Recognized Government had taken control of Al-Alam camp on October 30 in battles with the Shabwani Elite Forces, after they had evacuated the camp three days before the attack.
The situation was further complicated when the joint forces withdrew about 120 kilometers from their areas of control in Al Hudaydah Governorate, specifically in Bajil and Al- Tuhayta districts. That made Ansar Allah group to control it without any battles took place, which was considered as the collapse of the Stockholm Agreement that stopped the war on the West Coast in 2018.
On the evening of November 11, the joint forces commented on this withdrawal as a repositioning of their forces there within a well-thought-out plan to attack areas outside the Stockholm Agreement.
The year 2021 witnessed return of the coalition led by Saudi Arabia and the UAE to bombing the capital, Sanaa, and other areas that the coalition had stopped targeting. Since the end of November, the coalition warplanes led by Saudi Arabia and the UAE have intensified their air raids on the capital Sanaa, along with the intensification of battles in Marib Governorate since the beginning of the year.
The raging battles in Yemen throughout the year 2021 resulted in thousands of casualties on both sides, and Marib Governorate fronts were the largest among the other fronts. Agency France-Press (AFP) reported officials in the Ministry of Defense of the Internationally Recognized Government, the fall of about 13,000 fighters from its forces, while it said that about 15,000 fighters were killed from Ansar Allah group (Houthis) in the fronts of Marib Governorate, as a result of the clashes and fighting operations there since June of this year 2021.
At the same time, the United Nations reported that number of killings caused by the war in Yemen increased this year to nearly 350,000 fighters on both sides, and the parties to the conflict are still throwing more fighters to death on different fronts without any signs to stop this absurdity. Since the beginning of the year, Ansar Allah group (Houthis) has intensified its recruitment operations in several Governorates, particularly in Hajja and Rayma Governorates, and the group established summer centers for mobilization in all the Governorates under its control.
IDPs
The battles have caused the displacement of thousands of citizens from their homes due to fear of war. On February 10, the battles that were raging in Serwah district (west of Marib Governorate) targeted a camp for the IDPs in Dana and Al-Hayal area which caused the displacement of 850 families from those camps to other areas. In March, mortar shells landed and missiles targeted the camps of the IDPs in Al-Mail, Al-Khair, and AL-Tawasul west of Marib Governorate which caused a panic to the IDPs there, and a displacement of about 550 families.
Thousands of citizens were displaced from several areas in Marib, Al-Bayda and Al-Hodeydah Governorates, as statistics indicate that nearly 40,000 people were displaced from different areas around Marib Governorate. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) reported that, more than 74,000 citizens were displaced from their areas since the beginning of this year 2021until October. The (IOM) organization also indicated that most of the displacement cases were in Ma’rib Governorate.
War on local currency and people
In 2021, Yemen witnessed multiple crises and economic events. On January 25, the United Nations Group of Eminent Experts submitted its annual report to the United Nations Security Council. The report reviewed a set of issues related to economic developments during the past year 2020 in Yemen.
The report accused the two parties to the conflict and said that the Internationally Recognized Government and Ansar Allah (Houthis) have illegally exploited the country's economic and financial resources. The central bank in Aden Governorate was also accused of embezzling $432 million from the Saudi deposit which was provided in 2018.
On the other hand, the exchange rate in the areas of the Internationally Recognized Government has recorded a decline since the beginning of the year. It decreased from 691 Riyals per dollar at the beginning of January to 870 riyals per dollar at the end of February. In contrast, during that period, the price of dollar in the areas influenced by Ansar Allah group (Houthis) maintained at 600 riyals per dollar, but these regions witnessed unprecedented fuel crises. According to the accusations of the Ansar Allah group (Houthis), it was because the Internationally Recognized Government refrainments from issuing transit permits for ships loaded with oil derivatives arriving at AL Hodeydah port at the beginning of January, which led to a severe crisis in fuel and its prices have doubled on the black market.
In March until the beginning of April, there was great turmoil and vibration in the local currency exchange rate in the Internationally Recognized Government areas, as it jumped from 870 Riyals per dollar to 913, and it remained between ups and downs during that period until Saudi Arabia provided an oil grant with a value of 422 million dollars for Yemen which led to a decline in the exchange rate to 830 per dollar but this stability did not last long. At the end of April, however, it decreased to 900 Riyals per dollar. At the same time, the United Nations Group of Eminent Experts withdrew the charges which had presented at the beginning of the year about the performance of the Central Bank in Aden Governorate and the charges which filed against some traders.
On April 20, the Yemeni Oil Company which is under the control of Houthis Government in Sanaa reopened its stations temporarily after a severe crisis since the beginning of the year and approved the sale of oil at a rate of 10,000 riyals per 20 liters with a difference of 1,000 riyals from the black market. However, the official price before the crisis that occurred at the beginning of the year was 5,900 riyals which was the official price for the company.
In May, the company set a new price for fuel at the same price on the black market at a rate of 11,500 per 20 liters. At the same time, the fuel crisis has appeared strongly in the areas under the control of the Internationally Recognized Government.
In the economic context, another front flared up between the two sides of the war, which is the Internationally Recognized Government and Ansar Allah group (Houthis), in order to control the financial and banking market in Yemen. This was after the Central Bank in Aden Governorate pumped 262 billion Yemeni riyals into the market from the 1000 riyals rank of the old edition circulated in the areas of influence of Sana'a Government, which is part of the 400 billion Yemeni riyals passed through AL- Mukalla port in July in an attempt to standardize currency dealing in all Yemeni regions. However, the central bank of Sana'a had issued a circular warning against dealing with this currency in advance, and this happened in parallel with the continuous devaluation of the local currency in Aden Governorate, as the exchange rate exceeded 1000 riyals per dollar at the end of July.
After its failure of currency unification, the Internationally Recognized Government resorted to the escalation from another side. On July 25, it issued a resolution to double the exchange rate used to collect customs duties, from 250 to 500 Yemeni riyals per dollar whereas the Government took this resolution in order to double its customs revenues and cut off any customs collections on the other side. Ansar Allah (Houthis) went to oppose the resolution by mobilizing a largest number of traders and capital to address the resolution related to the riyal of customs and use it as a leverage on the other party.
In the same period, the port of Mocha was reopened for the first time since the beginning of the war. The joint forces which are supported by the Emirates, rehabilitated and officially opened the port on July 30, but the reality seemed different from what the citizen had hoped for, as this port was reopened in order to only supply the military forces with military equipment and various weapons coming from the UAE .
In August 5, the Central Bank of the Internationally Recognized Government directed Yemeni commercial banks to move their headquarters to Aden and demanded them to submit their data threatening those who did not comply with sanctions. This resolution came after a long escalation between the banks of Sana’a and Aden Governorates in order to access the data of Commercial banks in Yemen for more than a year while Central Bank of Sana’a reported that the escalation of the Bank of Aden would harm the banking process in Yemen, adding that it did not request any reports or data from commercial banks. The Yemeni Banks Association in Sana’a Governorate said that what is done by the Central bank of Aden is contrary to the law of the central bank and incompatible with the monetary authority.
As the financial war increases between the two banks, the Bank of Aden forgot its tasks and continued to fight for financial control on the other side and was preoccupied with this matter throughout the past period leading to an unprecedented deterioration of the Yemeni riyal in its regions followed by a decline in purchasing power. Additionally, the price of the Yemeni riyal in September reached to about 1,300 riyals per dollar, which resulted in a significant increase in fees for money transfers to more than 60% from the areas under the control of the Internationally Recognized Government to the areas controlled by Ansar Allah (Houthis) , whereas the exchange rate remained unchanged in the areas under the (Houthis) control.
The Central bank of Aden returned to address the matter and suspended 71 exchange and transfer companies in its areas at the beginning of October while the bank warned citizens to open accounts or deposit their money with exchange companies to avoid any risks that might occur.
Up to the beginning of December, the Yemeni riyal continued to deteriorate dramatically until it reached 1,800 riyals per dollar. After a wide protests and demands to improve the economic situation there, the Internationally Recognized president issued a resolution on December 6 to appoint Ahmed Ghaleb Al-Mabaqi as a governor of the Central Bank in Aden Governorate and the appointment of a new board of directors for the bank. Only an hour after the resolution was issued, the exchange rate decreased to 1,100 riyals per dollar. In contrast, foodstuffs prices have risen in a crazy and unprecedented manner on both sides, and the strange thing is that the prices are almost close in terms of their value in foreign currency which means that the stability of the riyal in the areas of Ansar Allah (Houthis) is an imaginary stability or imposed by force on the economic and banking sector, as many would expect.
On the other level, the Yemeni citizen is experiencing a difficult human tragedy throughout Yemen, whereas the parties to the conflict practice an exclusionary policy against citizens. The parties to the conflict have deliberately impeded the access of humanitarian aid to many areas. In Taiz Governorate, the citizens suffer from multiple economic crises, in addition to the lack of home Gas, and the same thing in the other Governorates that made many citizens protest against this bad status.
People under threats
The deterioration of the economic status in the areas under the control of the Internationally Recognized Government has led to a dramatic and unprecedented deterioration of the humanitarian situation causing thousands of protesters to come out demanding quick economic reforms, and others are calling for the Government to step down. Others also demanded for an end to the war and expulsion of the Arab coalition from Yemen.
Since the beginning of the year, protests came out to the streets in more than one Governorate, such as Aden, Taiz and Hadramaut. Protests and demonstrations have escalated since March, while September was the most protesting month, as popular demonstrations took place in most areas of southern Yemen. At the same time, the tensions between the forces of the UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council and the Internationally Recognized Government had reached its peak, which changed in these Governorates into a conflict between the two parties affecting the citizen with its consequences.
Between 14 and 16 of September, the demonstrations and protests in Aden city had reached their climax. The demonstrators escalated their protests, and this prompted the forces of the Southern Transitional Council to suppress the demonstrators and shoot them with live bullets leading to the killing of three citizens and injuring others. As the demonstrators escalated and blocked the main roads, the Southern Transitional Council, which is considered the de facto authority in Aden Governorate, declared on September 15 a state of emergency in all areas under its control, and its forces deployed in the streets and neighborhoods of several cities, preventing the protesters to come out.
At the same time, Hadhramaut Governorate witnessed protest demonstrations demanding the provision of services, the reconstruction of the economy and to put an end to the severe fuel crisis. They also called for the resignation of the governor, Faraj Al-Bahsani, which prompted him to declare a partial curfew in the Governorate, as the military forces had fired upon demonstrators in the city of AL-Shihr (East of Mukalla) in March which caused killing a 17-year-old protester and others were injured.
On September 27, thousands of protesters came out in Taiz city, and they were the most demonstrations since the beginning of the protests in the city at the beginning of this year. The security forces intercepted the demonstrators and opened fire on them killing one protester and others were injured.
In the same regard, citizens and merchants called for a general strike in different areas of the Governorates in the Internationally Recognized Government-controlled areas more than once while the Yemeni Exchange Association announced the closure of Mney-Changing Establishments in Taiz and Aden Governorates more than once in the same year in protest of the continued deterioration of the local currency there.
In Ansar Allah (Houthis)-controlled areas, citizens live in a tragic situation, however, the Houthis oppressive behavior prevented citizens to come out and protest against them. In the early August, dozens of merchants in Ibb city staged protest demonstrations against leaders of the Houthis group, as they said that the Houthis group is practicing blackmailing against them.
They demanded the dismissal of the director general of endowments in the Governorate, Bandar al-Asal, who had raised rents to 200%. This led to the intervention of security forces in order to break up the protests and arrested about 20 demonstrators who accused of provoking riots, disturbing public tranquility and working with the Internationally Recognized Government. Violent clashes also erupted at the end of February between citizens in the Al-Hyma area (East of Taiz Governorate) and forces affiliated with Ansar Allah group (Houthis) after the group accused one of the area's leaders (sheikh) of treason and working for the (IRG). The battles there lasted about a week, resulting in many casualties, and these battles led Houthis to control the area and arrested nearly 300 people who were imprisoned in AL- Hawban prisons under their control.
Murdering the pen as well as human
In a horrific incident, the journalist Rasha Al-Harazi was killed on November 9, just moments before she was about to deliver her due baby in Aden Governorate. That was because of an explosive device had been planted by unknown terrorists on the car of her husband, the journalist Mahmoud Al-Otmi, who was seriously injured in the explosion of the car when they were on their way to the hospital. This was not the first incident. A car bomb had exploded while the governor of Aden Governorate was passing killing the governor's press secretary, Ahmed Abu Saleh, and the photojournalist Tariq Mustafa.
On the other hand, the defacto authorities in various places have committed many violations on freedom of opinion and expression against activists and journalists, as Ansar Allah group (Houthis) arrested the journalist Younis Abdussalam in Sana'a Governorate in the early August, as well as the sport journalist Majed Yassin in Ibb Governorate in early November. Photographer Abdul Rahman Al-Ghabri was also attacked while filming in Old Sanaa. In addition, Transitional Council forces arrested Raafat Rashad, director of (Aden FM) Radio on October 8, and the same forces attacked the office of Saba Official News Agency in Aden Governorate more than once during the year 2021.
In Socotra Governorate, forces backed by the United Arab Emirates arrested the activist Abdullah Badahen, and military forces arrested the activist Amatellah AL-Hammadi in Marib Governorate on September 13. The Specialized Court in Sana'a in its turn issued a prison sentence against the artist, Intisar Al Hammadi, and her companions serving five years in prison, that was after one month of the arrest.
Covid 19 epidemic is still killing thousands of Yemenis without any precautionary measures to be taken to combat it by the country's health authorities. According to the data of the Ministry of Health in Aden Governorate, the total number of the affected people until mid-December reached nearly 10,000. 20 people died, and about 6,000 people were recovered.
In the same regard, 10 journalists are still detained in Sana’a Governorate by Ansar Allah group (Houthis) including 4 journalists who have been sentenced to death by the Specialized Criminal Court in Sana’a. On the same level, the Specialized Criminal Court have increased its irregularities this year by infringing on its responsibilities and using them against activists, journalists and civilians alike. Ansar Allah group (Houthis) had executed 9 defendants; one of them was a minor child, on September 18, after the court issued a death sentence against them accusing them of assassinating the president of the plitical office of Ansar Allah (Houthis) Saleh Al-Samad.
Citizens are still under threats
Many of the main roads between cities are still closed for military reasons by one of the parties. This year witnessed some attempts and initiatives to open some of these roads, however, many of these initiatives failed. This made citizens resort to other highly dangerous detour roads which are unpaved in most cases. In addition to this danger, the military points there practice many forms of violations against passers-by, leading to murder or imprisonment in many cases.
On the 8th of September, a military checkpoint of the UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council intercepted a car carrying the young man, Abdul Malik Al-Sanabani, in Toor Al-Baha district in lahaj Governorate and detained him for hours. He was brutally tortured and killed on the same day.
Al-Sanabani was returning from the United States of America via Aden International Airport to his home village after a period of exile that lasted there for years. After three days of killing Al-Sanabaniy by one of the recruits there, the news was spreaded and within moments it turned into a public opinion issue that shook the feelings of thousands of citizens and became the talk of people across the country. The security services initially responded to the incident and opened a file for the case, which has not achieved anything so far. In early December, Al-Sanabani was buried in Sana’a Governorate.
On 4 October, gunmen in the same area killed a health worker for the MSF Organization, Atef Al-Harazi, as he was passing that road. A gunman in Al-Jawazea'a area in Al-Qabbita district had shot directly at a family while they were crossing the checkpoint killing 5 people including a child and a pregnant woman and wounding an elderly woman and three brothers. A group of armed recruits carried out several kidnappings of many People including people working for humanitarian organizations, such as the ICRC and other organizations.
On August 10, AL-Hareq family in Taiz Governorate was subjected to extermination in a hideous way, as the prominent leader Majed Al-A'araj in the military forces of the Internationally Recognized Government in Taiz Governorate, accompanied by armed men, attacked a private piece of land belonging to AL-Hareq family in Beerbasha area. As a result of this attack, an armed clash between the armed men and members of Al-Hareq family took place. The clashes ended with the killing of Al-A'araj, his companions and 3 members of Al-Hareq family, and another one was injured. The armed groups attacked the area and surrounded it, arrested women and children from the family, and blew up the houses there.
The tension in that area lasted for about 3 days without any intervention from the concerned authorities. At the same time, activists and relatives of the family demanded intervention from the authorities. However, the issue has remained neglected for days, and despite the submission of many reports from the relatives, the security services are still manipulating the issue until now. On the other hand, the parties to the conflict have intensified their attacks on citizens. On the first day of this year, the Houthis fired a missile at a wedding hall in AL Hodeydah killing 3 civilians and wounding others most of them children. In November, the group bombed a mosque in the AL-joba district in Marib killing 22 people and others were wounded.
Death by burning in Yemen
On March 7, a large fire broke out and smoke rose in the sky of Sanaa Governorate warning of a disaster that had not happened before. A fire broke out in the prison of the Immigration and Passports Authority, as a result of an attempt by security forces there to break up the prisoners' strike inside the prison.
As Immigration and Passports Authority prison housed about 900 African immigrants most of them were from Ethiopian nationality in separate wards. After sonic bombs were fired at them in one of the wards in order to force them to break their hunger strike, a heavy fire broke out. Everyone was unable to put it out which caused a number of dead and wounded prisoners.
According to information, in the ward in which the fire broke out, there were about 350 people, and no one knew how many casualties there. Later on, Ansar Allah group (Houthis) announced the funeral of 44 people while hundreds of wounded remained in hospitals. It deported many of them to the areas under the control of the Internationally Recognized Government after this incident.
Covid 19 is another death
Covid 19 epidemic is still killing thousands of Yemenis without any precautionary measures to be taken to combat it by the country's health authorities. According to the data of the Ministry of Health in Aden Governorate, the total number of the affected people until mid-December reached nearly 10,000, 20 people died and about 6,000 people recovered. In the areas controlled by Ansar Allah (Houthis) , the authorities did not reveal the presence of any affected cases, despite of that there were thousands affected people by the disease and warnings by organizations specialized in this field.
On the other hand, about five donations of Covid19 vaccinations arrived Yemen during the year 2021 amounting to about one and a half million doses, and they did not come out of the areas under the control of the Internationally Recognized Government.
Yemen witnessed two waves of the epidemic during the year in which many citizens died in different regions including Dr. Saif Al-Asali, the former Minister of Finance who died in mid-April. He was the most prominent political figure that the country lost during the year.
Yemen lost the most important sport figure in Yemen, Captain Sami Naash, the coach of the national teams who was affected by Covid 19 and was taken to the health isolation center in Al-Buryqa, Aden Governorate, but he died on May 16.
Al Amrani .. loss of the year
On July 12, Yemenis woke up to the news of the death of Sheikh Muhammad bin Ismail Al-Amrani, and great sadness descended on Sanaa covering the countrywide. Sanaa went out for a solemn funeral that has not witnessed for many years.
Throughout his life, Al-Amrani was able to win the love of the Yemeni people. He was known for his moderation and religious instinct that brought together all denominations and sects at a time when Yemen was suffering from fragmentation and religious extremism accumulated for years.
Peace negotiations.. To where?
On June 15, UN envoy Martin Griffiths appeared to announce the failure of peace efforts in Yemen in his recent briefing to the Security Council, and said that the Yemeni parties refuse to negotiate any peace plan and stop the war in the country. 'As stated in his briefing' the Houthis insist on a separate agreement about the ports and airports as a precondition for ceasefire talks and the political process while the Yemeni Government insists on implementing all measures as a single package including the start of a ceasefire.
The end of the year 2021 was deferent, for the whole of Yemenis did not sleep on the night of December 13, and celebrated in several ways different from any other celebration. Moreover , it was the first time that Yemenis of all stripes and affiliations agreed.
On August 6, the United Nations announced the appointment of the Swedish Hans Grundberg as an envoy to succeed the former envoy Griffiths. In his first briefing on September 10, he said that he intended to listen to as number of Yemeni men and women as possible stressing that the path to be followed should be guided by the aspirations of The Yemeni people. He previously stated that there had been no real peace efforts in Yemen over the previous years ignoring the efforts of the former envoy Griffiths.
As the international peace efforts suddenly changed at the beginning of the year. In order to pressure on the political parties to impose peace, however, the recent battles in Marib Governorate completely changed the scene and in about months after the American envoy, Tim Lenderking, got closer to Ansar Allah group (Houthis), he attacks them in unprecedented manner and accused them of hindering peace efforts in Yemen. Since the appointment of Lenderking on February 4 after US President Joe Biden announced the cessation of military support to Saudi Arabia while media indicate that Biden administration returned to its military support in mid-November.
On the other hand, a tribal mediation succeeded on September 29 in the exchange of about 206 prisoners in Taiz Governorate from both sides of war, and one of the mediators in this process was the leader of AL Eslah Party Thia Al-Haq al-Ahdal and other tribal leaders (sheikhs). After less than a month the leader of AL Eslah Party Thia Al-Haq al-Ahdal was assassinated on October 23 in Taiz city under mysterious circumstances.
Sport is the remained joy for Yemenis
The end of the year 2021 was different, for all Yemenis did not sleep on the night of December 13. They celebrated in several ways different from all celebrations, and it was the first time that Yemenis of all sects and affiliations agreed, and was on the occasion of winning Yemen in West Asian Junior Championship 2021.
All Yemenis chanted in one voice raising the national flags high. Everyone came out to the streets after the Yemeni junior team won the final match in which the Saudi team was defeated by penalty kicks. It is the first regional championship that the Yemeni junior team wins.
The year 2021 also witnessed many sporting events that were suspended since the beginning of the war in the country for about seven years, as the Yemeni league was held in mid-September. Additionally, Fahman Abyan club won the first championship of the league, and was the first rural club to win this title in Yemen
