Aligned Nations · The wars

Yemen

⚔ The aggressor

Both: the Houthis, occupying the capital, and the Saudi-led coalition, occupying the east, south and islands

An occupying force is the aggressor, and Yemen has two. The Houthis took Sanaa by force in September 2014, overthrowing the recognised government, and hold the capital and the north. The Saudi-led coalition intervened in March 2015 and keeps foreign troops on Yemeni soil: Saudi forces in al-Mahra since 2017 and across the south since its intervention against the southern separatists in December 2025, and the UAE in Socotra and on Mayun island (taken by the Houthis in September 2026). After four years of truce, Saudi Arabia struck Sanaa airport on 13 July 2026 and the war resumed.

Backed by

  • Iran → The HouthisUN experts have traced Houthi missiles, drones and components to Iran; Iran denies arming them directly.
  • The United Arab Emirates → The southern separatists (STC)Armed, paid and directed the Southern Transitional Council's forces until Saudi Arabia broke them up in 2025–26.
  • The United States and the United Kingdom → Saudi ArabiaThe coalition's warplanes and bombs, and until 2018 US mid-air refuelling.

Their case: The Houthis call their 2014 takeover a revolution against a corrupt, foreign-backed government; Saudi Arabia says its forces are there at the invitation of Yemen's recognised government.

Arabian Peninsula · since 2014 (renewed July 2026) · updated 2026-10-12

Deaths: About 150,000 in the fighting, and 377,000 counting hunger and disease (UNDP, to end 2021)

Four years of truce ended in July 2026: the Houthis blockade Saudi Arabia and strike its airports, while the Saudi-backed government's 'Operation Yemen Dawn' fights for the Red Sea coast.

🇾🇪 Yemen26%🇸🇦 Saudi Arabiaaggressor21%

Summary

The Houthis (Ansar Allah) seized Sanaa in 2014 and a Saudi-led coalition intervened in 2015. A UN truce in 2022 brought four years of relative calm. It broke on 13 July 2026, when Saudi Arabia struck Sanaa airport's runway to stop an Iranian aircraft carrying a Houthi delegation; on 20 July the Houthis declared a naval 'blockade for blockade' on Saudi Arabia, hit Saudi tankers and refineries, and in September took Mokha and Perim Island on the Red Sea coast.

On 4 October 2026 the government of the Presidential Leadership Council launched 'Operation Yemen Dawn' with coalition air power, claiming Bab al-Mandeb, Dhubab and Mokha — claims Reuters could not verify. Houthi missiles on Riyadh and Abha airports killed three Saudis and injured 36 on 6–8 October. The WHO counts more than 5,000 casualties, including 959 deaths, since 6 August, about 200,000 newly displaced and cholera spreading; the UN envoy says Yemen has returned to full-scale war.

Where it stands: Full-scale war since summer 2026, with the government offensive on the Red Sea coast and Houthi strikes on Saudi civilian airports continuing in October. Three in four families in parts of Yemen are going hungry (WFP).

The parties

  • Yemeni government (Presidential Leadership Council)

    26%

    The recognised government fighting to restore its authority — a defensible cause — though its own war depends on foreign air power.

    • Asked for the July 2026 Saudi strike on Sanaa airport that ended the truce.
    • Launched Operation Yemen Dawn on 4 October 2026 with coalition support.

    🇾🇪 Yemen in the nations ranking26%

  • Saudi-led coalition

    21%

    Its 2015 war brought blockade and famine; it ended the 2022 truce by bombing Sanaa's airport.

    • Struck Sanaa airport on 13 July 2026, ending four years of truce.
    • Claims 100 jets and 324 'high-value' Houthi targets hit on 4–5 October; Houthi health officials report civilian deaths.

    🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia in the nations ranking21%

  • Houthis (Ansar Allah)

    Resisted foreign intervention, but now strikes civilian airports and shipping and blockades a neighbour.

    • Declared a naval blockade of Saudi Arabia on 20 July 2026 and struck Saudi tankers and refineries.
    • Cruise missiles on Riyadh's King Khalid and Abha airports killed three and injured 36 (6–8 October 2026).
    • Took Mokha, Perim Island and most of the Red Sea coast in September 2026.

    An armed group, not a nation — not scored in the ranking.

Articles

How each nation is scored — the ten principles of our policy reforms
  1. Justice (adl). No one's land, life, rights or wealth taken unjustly; justice upheld for everyone, even enemies, and what was wrongly taken given back. Economic, Financial, Political and National Policy Reform
  2. Protection of life (hifz al-nafs). Life is sacred: non-combatants never targeted, war only against real aggression, and no help given to another's aggression. Political Policy Reform; the objectives of the sharia (maqasid)
  3. Prohibition of usury and speculation (riba, gharar). Public and private finance built on shared risk and real assets, not interest-bearing debt or speculative bets. Economic, Financial, Political and National Policy Reform
  4. Circulation of wealth and zakat (tadawul al-mal). Wealth must not circulate only among the rich; zakat, endowments and fair wages meet every person's basic needs. Economic, Financial, Political and National Policy Reform
  5. Trust over common resources (amana). Water, energy, minerals and public assets belong to the whole community — not privatised, monopolised or signed away for private or foreign gain. Economic and Financial Policy Reform
  6. Accountability and truthfulness (muhasaba, sidq). Rulers, security forces and firms answer to law and to the public; no coups, state capture, bribery or concealment. Economic, Political and National Policy Reform
  7. Legitimate authority by consultation (shura). Rule rests on the community's consent, given through consultation and a free pledge — not inheritance, force or foreign backing. Political and National Policy Reform
  8. Kept covenants and peacemaking (wafa bil-ahd, sulh). Treaties, contracts and rulings honoured; an offer of peace met with peace; disputes ended by reconciliation. Economic, Financial and Political Policy Reform
  9. Independence and self-reliance (izza). No foreign power or creditor in control of the nation's revenues or decisions; its own strength, industry and knowledge built. Financial and Political Policy Reform
  10. Human dignity, privacy and freedom of worship (karama). Every person's dignity protected — citizen or migrant; no spying on private lives; faiths and places of worship free and safe. Economic, Financial, Political and National Policy Reform

These are the principles the Policy Reform pages draw from the expert opinions. Each nation is marked 0–5 on each from its record as a state — its economy, government and treatment of its people, and its conduct in its wars — drawn from UN bodies, the ICJ and ICC, human-rights monitors and the reporting under each war. The ten marks make the percentage; each war a nation started, provoked or joined against another people then takes 15 points off it, and an aggressor always ranks below every nation that started no war. The score judges a state's conduct, not its people or their faith.