This dyad belongs to the conflict United Kingdom, United States of America - Yemen
Summary of conflict United Kingdom, United States of America - Yemen
In late December 2023, the United Kingdom and United States began a campaign of airstrikes against the Sanaa-based Ansarallah Government of Yemen (commonly known as Houthis, and not to be confused with the internationally recognized government of Yemen, called the Forces of the Presidential Leadership Council).
Tension had escalated as Ansarallah, a member of the Iranian-led ‘Axis of Resistance’, began shooting at international shipping, supposedly connected to Israel, in the Red Sea, Bab al-Mandeb straits and Gulf of Aden in solidarity with Hamas in the Gaza war that erupted after the 7 October 2023 attack into Israel. Ansarallah claimed the international waters of the Red Sea, Bab al-Mandeb and Gulf of Aden fell under Yemeni sovereignty, granting them the right to block access to these, thus contradicting their globally recognized status as international waters. The Ansarallah movement has been coded as the Government of Yemen since their capture of the capital of Yemen, Sanaa, in 2015 during the Yemeni civil war, in line with UCDP definitions. Starting on 19 October 2023, the Sanaa-based government began shooting at international commercial shipping in the seas surrounding Yemen, thus causing severe disruptions to global trade, in particular between Europe and Asia. The attacks ostensibly targeted Israeli linked ships in support of Hamas after the start of its conflict with Israel on 7 October 2023, but has also hit many vessels with no known links to Israel. Ansarallah claimed to have the right to “sovereign decision-making” in blocking access to shipping by its enemies, in this case Israel, in the Bab al-Mandeb Straits, Gulf of Aden and southern Red Sea, thus disputing their status of these seas as international waters.
In response the United States-led Operation Prosperity Guardian was launched on 18 December 2023 to protect freedom of navigation and access to international waters. The United States and United Kingdom both participated with aircraft carriers and conducted missile- and airstrikes inside of of Yemen, whereas another eight countries participated in the mission with vessels and military personnel as secondary warring parties.
The first fatalities in US and UK strikes occurred on 31 December 2023. The US-UK strikes on Yemen continued throughout 2024, until a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas conflict in January 2025. The strikes focused on degrading the drone and missile threat towards international shipping and coalition vessels from Yemen, and were concentrated on the coastal province of Hudaydah. Amid the breakdown of the Israel-Hamas ceasefire in March, and the subsequent resumption of Yemeni attacks on shipping, the US launched a renewed, much more intense, air campaign called 'Operation Rough Rider', with the express aim of eliminating the Ansarallah leadership and organisation. The newly elected US President Donald Trump sought to put pressure on Iran by weakening its allies ahead of planned negotiations on the Iranian nuclear program.
The conflict escalated sharply with nearly 800 people killed between March and May 2025. While most of the dead were likely members of Ansarallah, several strikes caused mass civilian casualties, notably a strike on a fuel port in April which killed around 90 civilians, followed by a strike on a migrant detention centre that killed over 60 civilians. The UK was only a minor participant in 2025, only joining in the US attacks on 30 April. The United States announced an end to the airstrikes on 6 May, claiming Ansarallah had "capitulated" after a ceasefire agreement had been reached with the group. In exchange for an end to airstrikes, the Ansarallah-led government of Yemen promised to end attacks on ships in the Red Sea. The agreement did not stipulate an end to attacks on Israel by Yemeni forces, however, resulting in some relatively minor Yemeni missile barrages against Israel, and several bombing campaigns on Yemen by Israel.
