Aden (South24 Center)

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“South24 Center” issued on Monday its annual comprehensive report for 2022 which monitors the most prominent political, military, economic and humanitarian developments in Yemen in general and South Yemen in particular. 

The annual report (Arabic version), entitled “Yemen: Poor Hopes and Gloomy Prospects” prepared by Farida Ahmed, Jacob Al-Sufyani, Raad Alrimi and Reem Al-Fadhli, said that: “In 2022, Yemen witnessed drastic changes and unprecedented articulatory developments at different levels in the country which has experienced ongoing war for 8 years. Simultaneously, it refers to the gloomy path of these prospects ahead of the new year 2023". 

According to the report, these developments began with launching an expanded military battle, led by the Southern Giants Brigades to expel the Houthi fighters out of Shabwa’s northern eastern districts and Marib’s Harib.

In early April, the UN declared a two-month truce among the warring parties in Yemen for the first time since the beginning of war. It prolonged it for two consecutive periods which ended on October 2nd after the Houthis refused to extend and expand it. 

During the same month, the GCC-sponsored Yemeni Consultations in Riyadh was concluded by a power transfer declaration from former President Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi to the Presidential Leadership Council (PLC) which is the 6th one in Yemen’s history. It consists of 8 members divided between South Yemen and North. The outputs of these consultations stressed on the inclusion of “South People issue” in a special frame as part of the UN-sponsored peace negotiations.

Regarding the military and security aspects, the annual report said that “the Islah party lost their influence in Shabwa in favor of the UAE-backed Southern forces after clashes that killed 35 persons from the two parties including civilians. The report said that these events put the coherence of PLC at stake amid the ongoing demands to implement the Riyadh Agreement’s military side.

The report stressed that the military operations, launched by the Southern forces with international support against the terrorist groups in Abyan constituted a big security transformation in the counterterrorism field. 

Within the 100-page annual report, “South24 Center” documented more than 24 attacks by AQAP in the governorates of Abyan, Shabwa and Al-Dhalea which led to the killing of 76 and 72 injuries including civilians. Additionally, there were assassination operations that targeted prominent Southern commanders. The number of attacks led by the armed groups in South Yemen reached 41 which killed 110 persons and injured 120 (militarians and civilians). These statistics don’t include the victims of the direct battles in the military conflict fronts. 

The report claimed that “the concessions given to the Houthis in the three truce agreements pushed the armed group to demand more at the expense of the government in South Yemen”. The Houthis demanded “paying the salaries of all its military, security and civilian employees from the oil revenues of the government in Aden”. 

As these demands, which were described by European observers as “maximalist”, were rejected, the Houthis resorted to bombing vital oil ports in Shabwa and Hadramout. They also threatened the international shipping agencies and overseas companies. 

These attacks have halted producing and exporting oil in the areas controlled by the government. Therefore, the latter face an economic crisis that threatens catastrophic ramifications. 

Economically, the crises were aggravated during 2022 amid the fluctuation of the currency price. This is despite the declaration of a Saudi-Emirati 1.3 billion$ grant. The government led what it described as “reform efforts” prior to the Gulf grant. The hike of food products, especially after the outbreak of the Ukrainian war has increased the suffering of people according to the report. 

The report said that “the pledges of the new PLC have not so far solved the crises of salaries and the main services in South Yemen. Meanwhile, revealing corruption files in the diplomatic corps and governmental ministries has stirred a state of popular and societal anger against ministers and officials in the Yemeni government”.

At the humanitarian level, the report said: “violations against civilians in and out the military conflict areas by the warring parties continued”. Moreover, “South24 Center” monitored violations against women and children as well as arrest, kidnapping and killing operations that targeted journalists and workers in the press and media sector. Execution operations and death verdicts have increased in the Houthi areas. The decline of international humanitarian aid in Yemen risks starvation and food insecurity.

The report aims to archive, read and track events in addition to understanding the contexts and developments of crises and issues in Yemen, and in South Yemen in particular.

It said: “Over more than 4 months, South24 Center diligently worked to monitor the political, security, military, economic and humanitarian events in Yemen”. 

“South24 Center” hopes that “its publications would contribute to supporting research and journalism work at both local and external levels as well as pushing the relevant parties to find solutions for the humanitarian issues in particular in addition to the societal and political issues in general to reduce relaying crises and consolidate values of peace and coexistence, stopping wars, protecting human rights, and building people and nations”.