Editing Yemeni Armed Forces (section)

==History==

===Early beginnings===
The origins of the modern-day Yemeni military can be traced back to the late 19th century when [[Ottoman Turks|Turkish Ottomans]] began recruiting tribal levies to create four battalions of gendarmerie and three cavalry regiments. In 1906, the [[Italian Armed Forces|Italians]] recruited thousands of [[Yemenis]] and gave them military training in [[Italian Somaliland]] before sending them to [[Libya]] to fight the [[Senussi]] insurgency of 1911. Aware of the gains made by the Hashemites in the course of the Arab revolt, a combination of these forces - all of which held strong ties to various local tribes - rebelled against the Ottoman rule in Yemen during the First World War. Although nowhere near as famous as the uprising involving Thomas E. Lawrence - "Lawrence of Arabia" - the Yemen revolt led to the withdrawal of the Turkish military. After officially declaring independence from the Turkish Ottomans in 1918, Yemen was only internationally recognized in 1926. By that time, Imam Yahya kept a cadre of 300 Ottoman officers and soldiers to train his army, which - while remaining an outgrowth of the tribal levies that functioned as little more than a palace guard - was officially organized as follows:

*Special Imamate Guard: nominally a 5,000-strong unit of specially selected combatants named "Ukfa" considered absolutely loyal to the monarch;
*The Outback Army: this up to 50,000-strong force consisted of Zaidi tribesmen - infantry and cavalry - that served for one or two years, but brought their own rifles and provisions;
*The al-Army: established in 1919, this consisted of several groups of tribal levies. Each tribe included a retainer who reported on the behavior, awards, and misdeeds of members of his tribe; if a member of the tribal levy stole, or left without permission, the retainer and tribal chief compensated the imam for the loss;
*The Defensive Army: established in 1936, this was a draft of all able-bodied men - including urban Yemenis - capable of bearing arms and given six months of military training. With all members of the Defensive Army receiving periodic training for 10 years after their draft, this became a form of a reserve army.

During the early 1920s, an ammunition factory was constructed in Sana'a by a Yugoslavian (or German) and an Australian. After his army performed dismally in fierce clashes with the British and in the 1934 Saudi–Yemeni war, the Imam saw the need to modernize and expand the armed forces eventually purchasing from Italy six tanks, 2,000 rifles, four anti-aircraft artillery (AAA) pieces and some communications gear, while Iraq provided additional rifles and communications equipment. Italy also opened a flight school in Sana'a. In 1954 Imam Ahmad also established military cooperation with Egypt, and Cairo donated a total of four cannons, six heavy machine guns, 12 light machine guns and 20 rifles to Sana'a, deploying four Egyptian army officers to serve as instructors.<ref name="grounds"/>

===North Yemeni armed forces===

When the Republican Government took power in a coup much of the stability and any remaining professionalism in the army was destroyed. The new government had to build a new army to fight the royalist insurgents. First training centers and recruitment offices were established in every province. The Egyptians played a remarkable role in the process of building a modern national army through serving as advisers and giving Yemeni officers the chance to study in Egyptian academies. With help from the Egyptians four full infantry brigades were formed. These consist of the Revolution brigade, the Nasr brigade, the Unity brigade and the Al Araba brigade. One problem in the young Yemeni army was a lack of strong leadership. Egyptian advisers needed to form a unified military command, so the following bodies were established:

*Army management authority
*Logistics authority
*General military armament authority
*War operations room led by Captain Abdul Latif Deifallah.<ref name="grounds"/>
[[File:T-34-85 tank on the military parade in Yemen Arab republic.jpg|thumb|306x306px|[[Soviet Union|Soviet]]-made [[T-34|T-34-85]] tanks on the military parade of the North Yemeni army, 1976.]]
[[File:Military parade in Yemen Arab republic (3).jpg|left|thumb|239x239px|North Yemeni soldiers on the parade, 1976.]]
Post-civil war recovery of North Yemen proved extremely problematic. Badly damaged by years of fighting, the economy was in tatters. The military ate up to 50 percent of the national budget, totalling only some £9 million, which was hopelessly insufficient for the circumstances. Controlled by the government, the military's logistical system was not only dependent on Sana'a's trust in the loyalty of local commanders, but also subject to graft and corruption. The Soviets, who wholeheartedly helped during the siege of Sana'a, proved ever more reluctant with the provision of spares and support equipment: Moscow preferred cooperation with the PRY, the government of which was ideologically closer to the USSR, and thus found little incentive in supporting the problematic Northerners. Before long, the lack of Soviet support seriously affected the combat capability of the North Yemeni military. It also had negative impacts upon the morale of the military in general, and began causing rifts between Sunni and Zaidi personnel. In an attempt to improve the situation, the commander-in-chief of the North Yemeni armed forces, colonel Hassan Al-Amri, visited Prague to request military aid. As so often before, the Czechoslovaks denied all such requests because they were certain that Yemen could not pay. Instead, Czech officials offered obsolete arms - including old rifles, sub-machine guns, anti-armour rockets and uniforms. It remains unclear whether Amri accepted this offer. By January 1971, dissent within the 30,000-strong armed forces reached a level where Amri was forced to dismiss several hundred army officers with Sunni backgrounds, apparently because they were in opposition to the government's decision for rapprochement with Saudi Arabia. Later the same year, right-wing officers began plotting a coup with the intention of imposing a military regime, while dozens of left-wing officers were arrested and accused of conspiring with possible Soviet and Iraqi support. Fearing another coup attempt, Amri then reorganised the military so that control over combat units was exercised by corps commanders for infantry, armour and artillery - irrespective of their geographic area of responsibility. He also created the General Reserve Force under the command of Colonel Ibrahim Al-Hamdi, and the Republican Guard, both of which consisted of about 7,000 troops of acknowledged loyalty to the government. Personnel-related problems persisted, nevertheless. In January 1971, a plot was uncovered - supposedly organised by Soviet advisers - under which several pilots intended to defect with their aircraft to Aden. In another attempt to improve the situation, President Iryani visited Moscow and requested additional military aid, including deliveries of MiG-17 fighter-bombers, in December 1971. However the Soviets also refused. The only improvement the North Yemeni air force experienced during this period was the expansion of Al-Daylami air base, undertaken during the same year.<ref name="grounds">Mello, Alexandre. Knights, Michael. [http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/policy-analysis/view/gulf-coalition-operations-in-yemen-part-1-the-ground-war Gulf Coalition Operations in Yemen (Part 1): The Ground War] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161013112419/http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/policy-analysis/view/gulf-coalition-operations-in-yemen-part-1-the-ground-war |date=2016-10-13 }}. Published 26 March 2016. Retrieved 24 October 2016.</ref>

===South Yemeni armed forces===
[[File:PDRY military parade.jpg|thumb|[[Ali Nasir Muhammad|Ali Nasser Muhammad]] with Defense Minister Saleh Musleh Qasim inspecting the units participating in a military parade in South Yemen]]
The origins of the [[South Yemen|South Yemeni]] army can be traced back to WW1, when the 1st Yemeni battalion was formed, consisting of locally enlisted Arabs to confront Turkish troops threatening [[Aden]]. This unit was disbanded in 1925, but reformed three years later as [[Aden Protectorate Levies]] (APL), under the control of the RAF. Between 1929 and 1939, the APL served to protect airfields and other bases, and also for garrison duties on [[Perim]] and [[Kamaran]] islands. During the Second World War, it was reinforced through the addition of an anti-aircraft unit, which in 1940 managed to shoot down an Italian bomber over Aden. In 1957, the APL was reorganised and placed under the control of the British army. Four years later, it came under the jurisdiction of the [[Federation of South Arabia]] and was officially redesignated as the FRA. By 1964, this comprised five infantry battalions, an armoured car squadron and a signal squadron. In June 1967, it was reinforced by the addition of four battalions of the Federal Guard  (or National Guard) that were merged into its existing structure, and recruitment of its tenth battalion. A year later, three battalions of the [[Hadrami Bedouin Legion]] - an internal security force in the former [[Aden Protectorate|Eastern Aden Protectorate]] - were integrated into the FRA. The British trained these units in mountain warfare and helicopter-supported operations, some even for urban internal security operations. Therefore, when the British hurriedly negotiated a transfer of power to the [[National Liberation Front (South Yemen)|National Liberation Front]] (NLF) as the dominant political force in the FSA in November 1967, the new government was able to reach back upon a well-trained and organised, even if small, army. 
[[File:South Yemeni Armed Forces parade.jpg|left|thumb|Parade of the PDRY Armed Forces in 1971]]
[[File:South Yemeni Armed Forces.jpg|left|thumb|267x267px|South Yemen soldier on the parade, 1980s.]]
In June 1969, a radical Marxist wing of the NLF gained power in Aden and on 1 December 1970, the country was renamed the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen. The Armed Forces was renamed as the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen Armed Forces. Subsequently, all political parties were amalgamated into the NLF - renamed the United National Front - or banned, while the government established very close ties to [[Moscow]]. Curious to obtain a foothold from which it could control and influence developments in the Red Sea, Arabian sea and Horn of Africa, as well as enhance its capacity to monitor US and allied activities in the Middle East and bolster its own military presence, the [[Soviet Union]] grabbed the opportunity. While officially befriending both governments in Sana'a and Aden, Moscow subsequently  took over the duty of assisting the military build up of South Yemen only. In the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen, this process came forward at a more significant rate than in North Yemen - not only because of the better training local armed forces had earlier received from the British, but also because the United National Front was ideologically opposed to tribalism and did its best to eradicate it. The build-up was further bolstered by the arrival of Soviet advisors in 1968. As relations with Moscow grew ever stronger, a much larger Soviet Military Advisory Group - headquartered in Aden and commanded by a Major General - was established in early 1969. One Soviet colonel took over command of the air force while another assumed command over ground forces. The latter reorganised and expanded available forces into six brigades of three battalions each (based in [[Aden]], [[Beihan]], Al-Qisab, [[Mukayras|Mukayris]], Al Anad, [[Al Abr]] and [[Mukalla]]), a signal battalion, training battalion, military academy, military police unit and several minor support units. Furthermore, the Soviets became instrumental in the development of an effective intelligence system based on human and technical resources, and the establishment of an effective logistics system capable of supporting mobile operations, and they also provided advanced training, including for counter-insurgency (COIN) operations.<ref name="grounds" />

===North Yemen Civil War===
[[Image:North Yemen Civil War.jpg|thumb|300px|Fighting during the North Yemen Civil War]]
The [[North Yemen Civil War]] began in 1962 and ended in 1970. It took place between the northern [[Yemen Arab Republic]]an 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]], using about 55,000 [[Egyptian Armed Forces|Egyptian troops]]. The Royalists used local [[tribesmen]].

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

The Republican commanders were [[Gamal Abdel Nasser]] and [[Abdel Hakim Amer]] from Egypt and [[Abdullah al-Sallal]] from the Yemen Arab 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 1967 [[Six-Day War]] with [[Israel]]. Egyptian troops were withdrawn to join the Six-Day War. The civil war concluded when the Republican forces won, and resulting in the transformation of the Mutawakkilite Kingdom of Yemen into the Yemen Arab Republic. 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 [[halogen]]ous 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===
[[File:Yemen 1994 civil-war 03.jpg|thumb|238x238px|[[Democratic Republic of Yemen|Southern separatist forces]] with the [[T-54/T-55|T-55]] tank during civil war.]]
During the [[Yemeni civil war (1994)|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.
[[File:Yemen government forces artillery, 1994.jpg|left|thumb|Yemeni government forces artillery positions.]]
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 personnel went into exile.

===2011 Yemeni revolution===
{{Main|Yemeni revolution}}
[[File:Yemeni soldiers from the 1st Armoured Division.JPG|thumb|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 [[2011 Yemeni uprising|uprising]] against President Saleh's 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 (Yemen)|Republican Guard]] faced off against each other in Sann'a.<ref>Maj. Gen. Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar</ref>

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 [[Zinjibar]] 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.<ref name=ZiljibarRecapturedCNN>{{cite news|last=Almasmari|first=Hakim|title=Yemen army recaptures provincial capital of Abyan|url=http://www.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/meast/09/10/yemen.siege.zinjibar/index.html?iref=allsearch|work=CNN.com|publisher=CNN|accessdate=10 September 2011|date=10 September 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121110150710/http://www.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/meast/09/10/yemen.siege.zinjibar/index.html?iref=allsearch|archive-date=10 November 2012|url-status=live|df=dmy-all}}</ref>

On 17 September, at least one rebel soldier was killed in clashes with loyalists in [[Sanaʽa]] near the city's central square, trying to protect the protest camp there from security forces.<ref>[https://news.yahoo.com/dissident-soldier-killed-clash-yemen-army-113255905.html]{{dead link|date=May 2020}}</ref> After anti-government tribesmen overran a loyalist army base north of Sanaʽa on 20 September, capturing 30 soldiers, the government responded with airstrikes killing up to 80 civilians.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052970204422404576594413336931554?mod=googlenews_wsj |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180506040003/https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052970204422404576594413336931554?mod=googlenews_wsj |url-status=dead |archive-date=2018-05-06 | title=Yemeni Tribesmen Storm Army Base - WSJ }}</ref>

===Houthi takeover in Yemen===
{{main|Houthi takeover in Yemen}}
[[File:Houthis protest against airstrikes 2.png|thumb|298x298px|Houthis protest in Sana'a.]]
During the revolution of 2011, large crowds of [[Houthis]] participated in the protests. When the armed uprising started, the Houthis used this as a chance to take over northern Yemen. When Ali Abdullah Saleh was replaced by [[Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi]] as president, Hadi was to take over as president for two years. The Houthis also participated in the national dialogue conference, brokered by the United Nations and the [[Gulf Cooperation Council]] to increase Hadi's term by 1 year and allow him to introduce sweeping reforms in all civilian, economic and military authorities alike. This was to purge all authorities of Saleh loyalists. But the National Dialogue conference also allowed Hadi to convert Yemen into a six-region federal system. The Houthis withheld their support from the federal region system. After Hadi's decision to increase fuel prices and remove diverse subsidies, the Houthis began an advance on all Yemeni provinces to complete the takeover of Yemen. [[Hajjah]] and [['Amran|Amran]] were the first targets followed by their siege of the Sunni-majority town of [[Dammaj]]. After problems in Egypt, Saudi Arabia was forced to declare the [[Moslem Brotherhood]] a [[terrorist organization]] and withdraw their support from the [[Al-Islah (Yemen)|Islah party]] in Yemen. This allowed the Houthis to overrun the 310th armored brigade in Amran and execute its commander and replace him with a Houthi. After this, the Houthis advanced on Sanaʽa and aligned themselves with the Saleh-loyal [[General People's Congress (Yemen)|General People's Congress]] (GPC). As the Yemeni special forces and republican guard were loyal to the GPC, this allowed the Houthis to overrun several of their bases in Sanaʽa. This was the first of the Houthi presence in Sanaʽa. As a result, the [[Yemeni Air Force]] (YAF) launched heavy airstrikes on columns of Houthi forces outside Sanaʽa; this caused them a large number of casualties but didn't stop their advance. The Houthis pushed on and captured the high command of the Yemeni army. Hadi panicked as the presidential compound was besieged by the Houthis. Finally, the fighting ended as the peace and partnership agreement was signed between the Houthis and Hadi. This included Hadi replacing his whole cabinet. The Houthis saw this as a chance to track down and arrest the Islah Party's allies in Sanaʽa. They also tried to impose their control over the whole Yemeni Military, but when the officers refused to obey them, they replaced them with Houthi favorites and with this, they even took over the restive Yemeni Air Force. After this, the surviving elements of the Islah party's militia, the presidential guard, and remnants of military units loyal to Hadi decided to fight. Violence reached its peak in the capital when the Houthis launched their last power grab when they drove out the presidential guard from the presidential compound and secured camp Bilad Al Rus, the main base of the MBG (Missile Batteries group) as well as Al Daylami Air Base and the Ministry of defense building in Sanaʽa.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://foreignpolicy.com/2015/01/23/how-the-houthis-did-it-yemen-hadi-arab-spring/|first=Laura|last=Kasinof|title=How the Houthis Did It|date=2015|website=Foreign Policy|access-date=15 February 2015|archive-date=30 March 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220330021054/https://foreignpolicy.com/2015/01/23/how-the-houthis-did-it-yemen-hadi-arab-spring/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-31169773|title=Yemen rebels announce takeover|work=BBC News|date=February 6, 2015|access-date=September 12, 2021|archive-date=July 24, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220724062902/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-31169773|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen===
{{main|Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen}}
{{update|section|date=May 2015}}

===Pro-Hadi forces===
[[File:Aerial bombardments on Sana'a, Yemen from Saudi Arabia without the right aircraft. injustice - panoramio.jpg|thumb|Aerial bombardments on Sana'a.]]
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 [[Eritrea]]n and [[Somalia|Somali]] recruits. They also include large parts of the former Yemeni military that are based in the southern, eastern and central parts of Yemen. Eight brigades were trained in total. The Gulf coalition-trained YNA order of battle is as follows:<ref name="grounds"/>
[[File:Victims of Saudi-led airstrikes on a university that had been used as a detention center by Houthi rebels in Dhamar, in southwestern Yemen.jpg|thumb|Victims of Saudi-led airstrikes.]]
*"Salman Decisiveness" 
*1st Infantry Brigade 
*2nd Infantry Brigade 
*3rd Infantry Brigade 
*4th Infantry Brigade 
*19th Infantry Brigade 
*22nd Infantry Brigade
*14th Armored Brigade
Parts of the former Yemeni army also joined Hadi including:
*35th Armoured Brigade
*115th Armoured brigade
*312th Armoured brigade
*123th infantry brigade 
*3rd mountain infantry brigade
*2nd border guards brigade
*11th border guards brigade
*310th Armoured brigade
*3rd Presidential guard 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:<ref>Ali al-Dhahab (30 June 2016). [http://studies.aljazeera.net/en/reports/2016/06/yemens-warring-parties-formations-dynamics-160630100544525.html; Yemen's Warring Parties: Formations and Dynamics] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170823073048/http://studies.aljazeera.net/en/reports/2016/06/yemens-warring-parties-formations-dynamics-160630100544525.html; |date=2017-08-23 }}. ''[[Al Jazeera Media Network|Al Jazeera]]'' Center for Studies. Retrieved 22 August 2017.</ref>
*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 [[United Arab Emirates Air Force|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]].<ref name="grounds" /> Yemeni Army troops fought in Taiz against the Houthi forces, seizing control of several districts in the city in late April 2017. A renewed offensive was launched by the Yemeni national army which received plentiful air support from the Yemeni air corps and Saudi-led coalition; they secured the whole of the city and installed the Hadi government in overall control of Taizz.<ref>[https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2017/04/25/Yemeni-army-seizes-control-of-Gharafi-in-Taiz.html Yemeni army seizes control of Ghadafi in Taiz] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170429180434/http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2017/04/25/Yemeni-army-seizes-control-of-Gharafi-in-Taiz.html |date=2017-04-29 }}. [[Al Arabiya]]. Published 25 April 2017. Retrieved 14 May 2017.</ref> 
 
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 Yemeni army against the Houthis.