| Al Anad Air Base | |
|---|---|
| Lahij Governorate, Yemen | |
  Al Anad Air Base Location in Yemen | |
| Coordinates | 13°10′34″N44°45′44″E / 13.17611°N 44.76222°E |
| Type | Air Force Base |
| Airfield information | |
| Elevation | 274.3 m (900 ft) AMSL |
Al Anad Air Base is a military air base in the Lahij Governorate, Yemen. [1] It is the biggest air base in Yemen. [2]
The base was built by the Soviet Union during the Cold War. [3]
The base witnessed heavy clashes during the Yemeni Civil War in 1994 as it was one of the key entry points to Aden. [4]
The base served as a headquarters for United States intelligence-gathering and counterterrorism operations in southern Yemen until the aftermath of the 2014–15 Yemeni coup d'état, in which the Houthis took control of the Yemeni government and launched a military offensive against the remnants of the Western-backed administration in Aden. In March 2015, the U.S. withdrew its remaining special forces from the base [5] when Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) briefly took over the governornate. Days later, on 25 March, the installation was taken over by Houthi fighters and the 201st Armoured Brigade of the Yemen Army. [6] The following day, forces loyal to President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi shelled the base, causing at least some Houthis to flee. [7]
Loyalist fighters backed by Saudi and UAE ground forces retook the installation on 3 August 2015, with its rebel defenders fleeing to the nearby hills. [8] The recapture came two weeks after the government's victory in the Battle of Aden. [2]
On 31 January 2016 it was reported that a Tochka tactical ballistic missile fired by Houthi rebels struck the base killing dozens of Sudanese fighters and Yemeni recruits. [9]
A Houthi drone penetrated the air base on January 10, 2019, and exploded above a podium where senior army officials were sitting. The head of Yemen Intelligence Agency and six soldiers were killed and some senior officials were injured. [10]
A major attack occurred on August 29, 2021, when Houthis militants attacked the base with drones and ballistic missiles, killing 30 soldiers and wounding 60 more. [11] Later the death toll increased to more than 40 killed. [12]
Marib is the capital city of Marib Governorate, Yemen. It was the capital of the ancient kingdom of Sabaʾ, which some scholars believe to be the ancient Sheba of biblical fame. It is about 120 kilometres east of Yemen's modern capital, Sanaa, and is in the region of the Sarawat Mountains. In 2005 it had a population of 16,794. However, in 2021, it had absorbed close to a million refugees fleeing the Yemeni Civil War.
The Yemeni Air Force is the air operations branch of the Yemeni Armed Forces. Numbers of aircraft can not be confirmed but serviceability of these aircraft is low. Aircraft have been acquired by donations from other countries supporting either the Soviet Union or the United States during the Cold War. However, most of the air force was destroyed by airstrikes conducted by the "Arab coalition" consisting mainly of Saudi Arabia and UAE: 2015 military intervention in Yemen.
The Houthi insurgency, also known as the Houthi rebellion, the Sa'dah War, or the Sa'dah conflict, was a military rebellion pitting Zaidi Shia Houthis against the Yemeni military that began in Northern Yemen and has since escalated into a full-scale civil war. The conflict was sparked in 2004 by the government's attempt to arrest Hussein Badreddin al-Houthi, a Zaidi religious leader of the Houthis and a former parliamentarian on whose head the government had placed a $55,000 bounty.
The following lists events that happened in 2015 in Yemen.
The aftermath of the Houthi takeover in Yemen refers to developments following the Houthis' takeover of the Yemeni capital of Sana'a and dissolution of the government, which eventually led to a civil war and the Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen.
The Battle of Aden was a battle for the control of Aden, Yemen, between Houthis rebels and Yemen Army forces loyal to Ali Abdullah Saleh on one side, and Yemen Army units loyal to Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi and Southern Movement militias on the other side.
The Yemeni civil war is an ongoing multilateral civil war that began in late 2014 mainly between the Rashad al-Alimi-led Presidential Leadership Council and the Mahdi al-Mashat-led Supreme Political Council, along with their supporters and allies. Both claim to constitute the official government of Yemen.
On 26 March 2015, Saudi Arabia, leading a coalition of nine countries from West Asia and North Africa, launched an intervention in Yemen following a request from Yemeni president Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi for military support after his forces were ousted from Sanaʽa by Houthi insurgents during the Yemeni Civil War. The conflict ignited between the government forces, the Houthi rebels and other armed groups after the draft constitution and power-sharing arrangements collapsed, despite progress in the political transition led by the United Nations at that time, leading to an escalation of violence in mid-2014. The Houthis and allied insurgents seized control of Sana’a and other parts of the country in September 2014 and in the following months. This prompted President Hadi to ask Saudi Arabia to intervene against the Iranian-backed Houthis.
The Abyan campaign was a campaign for control of the Abyan Governorate of Yemen, between the Houthis and Yemen Army units loyal to Ali Abdullah Saleh on one side, and militiamen and Yemen Army units loyal to Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi on the other side, supported by jihadists of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula. The Pro-Hadi Forces recaptured the Abyan Governorate on 11 August 2015, after launching an offensive on pro-Houthi forces in early August.
The Shabwah campaign was a campaign for control of the Shabwah Governorate of Yemen, between the Houthis and Yemen Army units loyal to Ali Abdullah Saleh on one side, and militiamen and Yemen Army units loyal to Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi on the other side. The offensive was also launched during a previously started AQAP offensive.
The Lahij insurgency was a guerrilla war in 2015 waged by tribesmen loyal to Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi against the Houthis and Yemen Army units loyal to Ali Abdullah Saleh, who controlled most of the Lahij Governorate of Yemen. In late July, Pro-Hadi forces had launched an offensive to recapture Al Anad Air Base and rest of Lahij Governorate. On 4 August, Pro-Hadi forces had retaken full control of the Lahij Governorate.
The siege of Taiz is an ongoing, protracted military confrontation between opposing Yemeni forces in the city of Taiz for control of the city and surrounding area. The battle began one month after the start of the Yemeni Civil War.
The Houthi–Saudi Arabian conflict is an ongoing armed conflict between the Royal Saudi Armed Forces and Iran-backed Yemeni Houthi forces that has been taking place in the Arabian Peninsula, including the southern Saudi regions of Asir, Jizan, and Najran, and northern Yemeni governorates of Saada, Al Jawf, and Hajjah, since the onset of the Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen in 2015.
The Battle of Port Midi refers to a battle during the Yemeni Civil War between the Saudi coalition-backed Hadi loyalists and the Houthi government. Although Hadi loyalists seized the port, the Houthi fighters along with the popular committees managed to conduct some attacks around Midi. The conflict also had spillovers in the rest of the Hajjah Governorate. On 26 January 2017, Hadi loyalists extended their control to Harad District in Hajjah Governorate.
The following is a timeline of the Yemeni civil war, which began in September 2014.
The Marib campaign, also called Marib offensive, is an ongoing military campaign taking place in the Yemeni civil war for the control of the Marib Governorate of Yemen. Fighting between the Houthi forces and factions of the Yemeni Army loyal to Supreme Political Council on one side, and Yemeni Army units loyal to president Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi and militiamen on the other side, took place since early 2015. Marib is rich in oil and gas resources and is a key strategic governorate because it connects the Houthi-controlled Sanaa and Alimi-controlled Hadhramaut governorates.
Events of 2020 in Yemen.
The Al Anad Air Base missile attack was a strike carried out by the pro-Saleh Yemeni Army and Houthi militants with a ballistic missile against a military camp in the Al Anad Air Base that was being used by troops of the Saudi-led coalition, in Lahij Governorate.
The Battle of Marib is an ongoing battle that erupted since February 2021 following the advance of the Houthis towards the city of Marib, the capital of Marib Governorate in Yemen controlled by the Cabinet of Yemen.