The War Before the Next – Yemen’s Fractured Southern Alliance

Fighters with the Tihama Resistance forces travel towards the frontline in Hudaydah, Yemen, Nov. 18, 2018. The Tihama Resistance forces are a local group within the coalition fighting the Houthis. The Houthis, originally from Nothern Yemen, held major parts of the country until they were pushed back by the Southern alliance backed by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. The Tihama Resistance hails from the Tihama Plain, the most impoverished part of one of the poorest countries on earth. They fight for either independence or an equal seat at the table in a unified Yemen, adding to the diverse and often conflicting goals of the alliance against the Houthis.