Saudis under time pressure to break Yemen stalemate

Dubai/Riyadh, April 28

The frontlines of Yemen’s messy civil war have barely moved after weeks of Saudi air strikes and fighting between rival factions, but behind the scenes there are faint signs of shifts that could alter the balance on the ground.

At stake is the stability and political future of a country that is home to Al-Qaida’s most active international wing, has become a theatre of rivalry between top regional powers Saudi Arabia and Iran, and sits on main shipping routes.

But as the conflict continues and the impoverished country hurtles deeper into a humanitarian catastrophe, Yemenis warn that the longer the fighting lasts, the harder it will be to restore meaningful state control.

“By reading the map of all Yemen’s battles and military clashes, both the air strikes and the internal Yemeni battles, one can see that the front is in the same place it was the day it all started, and neither side could push its advantage,” political activist Bushra al-Maqtari wrote in the al-Araby al-Jadeed newspaper on Sunday. — Reuters