Republic of Yemen Armed Forces

North Yemen Civil War

Fighting during the North Yemen Civil War

The North Yemen Civil War began in 1962 and ended in 1970. It took place between the North Yemen republican forces and the Mutawakkilite Kingdom of Yemen. The Royalists received support from Saudi Arabia and Jordan while the Republicans received support from Egypt and the Soviet Union. the Royalists used local tribesmen. The Republicans also used about 55,000 Egyptian troops.

The Royalists were commanded by Muhammad al-Badr of the Mutawakkilite Kingdom of Yemen.

The Republican commanders were Gamal Abdul Nasser and Abdul Hakim Amer from Egypt and Abdullah as-Sallal from the North Yemen republic. During the conflict over 50,000 of Egypt's troops were tied down in Yemen, which proved to be a disadvantage to Egypt during the Six-day war in 1967. The war concluded when the Republican forces won, and this resulted in transformation of the Mutawakkilite Kingdom of Yemen into North Yemen. Over 100,000 died on both sides during the conflict.

Chemical warfare during North Yemen Civil War

The first attack took place on June 8, 1963 against Kawma, a village of about 100 inhabitants in northern Yemen, killing about seven people and damaging the eyes and lungs of twenty-five others. This incident is considered to have been experimental, and the bombs were described as "home-made, amateurish and relatively ineffective". The Egyptian authorities suggested that the reported incidents were probably caused by napalm, not gas. The Israeli Foreign Minister, Golda Meir, suggested in an interview that Nasser would not hesitate to use gas against Israel as well.

There were no reports of gas during 1964, and only a few were reported in 1965. The reports grew more frequent in late 1966. On December 11, 1966, fifteen gas bombs killed two people and injured thirty-five. On January 5, 1967, the biggest gas attack came against the village of Kitaf, causing 270 casualties, including 140 fatalities. The target may have been Prince Hassan bin Yahya, who had installed his headquarters nearby. The Egyptian government denied using poison gas, and alleged that Britain and the US were using the reports as psychological warfare against Egypt. On February 12, 1967, it said it would welcome a UN investigation. On March 1, U Thant said he was "powerless" to deal with the matter.

On May 10, the twin villages of Gahar and Gadafa in Wadi Hirran, where Prince Mohamed bin Mohsin was in command, were gas bombed, killing at least seventy-five. The Red Cross was alerted and on June 2, it issued a statement in Geneva expressing concern. The Institute of Forensic Medicine at the University of Berne made a statement, based on a Red Cross report, that the gas was likely to have been halogenous derivatives - phosgene, mustard gas, lewisite, chloride or cyanogen bromide.

The gas attacks stopped for three weeks after the Six-Day War of June, but resumed on July, against all parts of royalist Yemen. Casualty estimates vary, and an assumption, considered conservative, is that the mustard and phosgene-filled aerial bombs caused approximately 1,500 fatalities and 1,500 injuries.

1994 Civil War

During the 1994 Yemeni Civil War almost all of the actual fighting in the 1994 civil war occurred in the southern part of the country despite air and missile attacks against cities and major installations in the north. Southerners sought support from neighboring states and received billions of dollars of equipment and financial assistance, mostly from Saudi Arabia, which felt threatened during Gulf War in 1991 when Yemen supported Saddam Hussien. The United States repeatedly called for a cease-fire and a return to the negotiating table. Various attempts, including by a UN special envoy, were unsuccessful to effect a cease-fire.

Southern leaders declared secession and the establishment of the Democratic Republic of Yemen (DRY) on 21 May 1994, but the DRY was not recognized by the international community. Ali Nasir Muhammad supporters greatly assisted military operations against the secessionists and Aden was captured on 7 July 1994. Other resistance quickly collapsed and thousands of southern leaders and military went into exile.

2011 Yemeni Revolution

Yemeni soldiers from the 1st Armoured Division on 60th Street in Sana'a, 22 May 2011

In March 2011, a month after the beginning of an uprising against President Salehs rule, Maj. Gen. Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar, the commander of the 1st Armoured Division, defected to the side of the protesters taking hundreds of troops and several tanks to protect protesting citizens. Rival tanks of the 1st Armoured Division and the Republican Guard faced off against each other in San'na.^[6]

The Yemeni Army's 119th Brigade, which had defected to the opposition, launched a joint operation with 31st and 201st Brigades which were still loyal to Saleh and retook the city of Zanjibar on 10 September from Islamist militants who were exploiting the chaos in the country to expand their influence. The offensive relieved besieged army units in the process.^[7]

On 17 September, at least one rebel soldier was killed in clashes with loyalists in San'na near the city's central square, trying to protect the protest camp there from security forces.^[8]

Anti government tribesmen overran a loyalist army base north of San'na on 20 September, capturing 30 soldiers, the government responded with airstrikes killing up to 80 civilians.^[9]

Houthi takeover in Yemen

Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen

Pro-Hadi forces

Beginning in October 2015, the Saudi-led coalition transitioned from direct fighting to providing support and training for Yemeni forces loyal to President Hadi's government. They helped form a new Yemeni National Army (YNA), which they trained at the Al Anad Air Base in the Lahij Governorate. These consisted of Hadi loyalist units, popular mobilization militias and Eritrean and Somali recruits. Eight brigades were trained in total. The Gulf coalition-trained YNA order of battle is as follows:^[10]

• "Salman Decisiveness"
• 1st Infantry Brigade
• 2nd Infantry Brigade
• 3rd Infantry Brigade
• 4th Infantry Brigade
• 19th Infantry Brigade
• 22nd Infantry Brigade
• 14th Armored Brigade

The Hadi government forces are organized into military districts, as established by the Presidential Decree No. 103 dating back from 2013, dividing each of the country's provinces into military regions. As of 2016, four are in active service under President Hadi, but the other three are areas under Houthi control. They include the following:^[11]

• First Military Region (Hadhramaut Governorate—Seiyun)
• Second Military Region (Hadhramaut Governorate–Mukalla)
• Third Military Region (Marib Governorate)
• Fourth Military Region (Aden Governorate)

In addition to ground forces, the UAE air force trained pilots to form a new Yemeni Air Force using Air Tractor AT-802 light craft. By late October these were reported to be in operation and assisting Hadi loyalist army units near Taiz.^[10] Yemeni Army troops fought in Taiz against the Houthi forces, seizing control of several districts in the city in late April 2017.^[12]

The Yemeni army has been reinforced by thousands of volunteers under Tareq saleh's national resistance forces. Elements of the republican guard and the Giants brigade have joined the yemen army against the houthis.

Naval equipment

(Number of equipment needs to be verified)

Corvette

• 2 Tarantul I class

Missile boats

• 18 Osa class missile boat
• 8 Gunboat

Patrol crafts

• 3 Type 037 class submarine chaser class coastal patrol craft
• 10 fast attack patrol boats
• 2 Sana'a patrol vessels

Utility crafts

• 11 Barbe class utility landing craft
• 7 Amphibious warfare ship

Landing ships

• 1 Polnocny class landing ship

Minesweepers

• 1 Natya class minesweeper
• 2 Yevgenya class minesweeper