“Campaign Against Yemen Rebels Enters New Phase, Saudi Says” Essay Sample

The article, “Campaign against Yemen rebels enters new phase, Saudi says” talks about the consequences of military air campaign, led by Saudi Arabia in Yemen to defeat the Shiite Houthi rebels supported by Iran. Last month they had taken over the main territory of the country as well as the Yemeni capital, Sanaa. Even though the airstrikes made them retreat, they still keep controlling the Yemen's southern part based in the port city of Aden. According to the article, the operation was carried out upon the request of Abed Rabbo Mansur Hadi, the Yemeni legitimate President, who had escaped and moved to Saudi Arabia after the rebels' offensive (“Saudi Arabia says the campaign against Yemen rebels enters new phase”, 2015).

The concept this article illustrates is “politically motivated violence outside of state control” (O’Neil 2010).

This article shows that in Yemen there was in power the government which did not meet the religious and political beliefs of such a considerable population group as the Shiites concentrated in the South of the Sunni-dominated country. As they were not able to change the state's authorities through elections or in other democratic way, they have resolved to rely on the power politics. As a non-state actor, the rebels have involved a lot of civilians, setting political goals, mainly to throw off the current President and take over the capital, – all of that shows signs of political violence the state could not cope with.
As a result, the government lost control over the country and was forced to appeal to Saudi Arabia with a request for a military help. In spite, the regime as well as the civilians is still under attack, as the above-mentioned “humanitarian intervention” cannot put an end to the threat of uncontrolled political violence until in Aden exist institutions promoting further violence in one or another way.

References

Saudi Arabia says the campaign against Yemen rebels enters new phase. (n.d.). Retrieved April 25, 2015, from http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/iran-president-yemen-strikes-show-saudi-mental-imbalance/2015/04/21/f969790c-e7fd-11e4-8581-633c536add4b_story.html