- Upto 20th Century, Yemen existed as two separate countries - the Yemen Arab Republic (YAR) in the north and the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen (PDRY) in the south.
- In 1990, the countries chose to unify and create the Republic of Yemen.However, southerners started complaining and rose the conflict.
- By 2011, the country was facing challenges from al Qaeda-linked militants and separatists in the south and Zaydi Shia rebels in the north.
Present scenario:
- yemen is facing civil war with the main fight between forces loyal to the beleaguered President, Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi, and those allied to Zaidi Shia rebels known as Houthis.
- Yemen is strategically important because it sits on the Bab al-Mandab strait, a narrow waterway linking the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden, through which much of the world's oil shipments pass.
- Egypt and Saudi Arabia fear a Houthi takeover would threaten free passage through the strait and thus are at war against houthis along with support of jordan.morocco and sudan.
