Yemen attacked by al-Qaeda and Iranian proxies… at once

Yemen: Beautiful country. Shame about the bloodthirsty insurgents. Image via Wikipedia

Heavy fighting has resumed in northern Yemen, threatening a fragile truce between the Yemeni government and Houthi separatists. Meanwhile, al-Qaeda is launching a fresh assault in… southern Yemen.

Reports of mass violence in the north are trickling up through the world press. Agence France-Presse reports the death of 20 tribal militiamen allied with the government and 10 Houthi separatists. The Tehran Times reports 49 total dead and al-Arabiyya has a separate death count.

Adding to the troubles, al-Qaeda has just claimed responsibility for a terrorist attack against Yemeni intelligence services:

The militant group’s regional wing, known as Al Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, said in an Internet statement Friday the attacks were in retaliation for the killing of at least one militant fighter in Yemen’s southern Abyan province.

On July 14, gunmen on motorcycles using mortars and rocket-propelled grenades opened fire on people inside the two buildings in the provincial capital, Zinjibar.

After the assault and subsequent clashes with police and guards, the attackers fled.

The al-Qaeda press release, which circulated through waves of jihadi forums, was simple and succinct:

“The two blessed raids resulted in the death and injury of dozens of officers and soldiers [...] one of our heroes was killed while the rest members returned unharmed.”

According to al-Qaeda, the attack was welcomed by the Yemeni people.

So, why should Westerners care, besides the fact that Yemen has turned into a safe harbor for jihadists from around the world?

It’s simple: The northern insurgency has existed for a while — Houthi separatists professing a local variant of Shiite Islam are rebelling against the central government, which has a Shiite leader but is mostly Sunni. The separatists are widely believed to be backed by Iran and the government is receiving military aid from Saudi Arabia. In other words, it’s a proxy war.

But what is new is the southern insurgency. Northern and southern Yemen were embroiled in a violent civil war for years that is now — as the al-Qaeda attack is proving — flaring up again. Southern Yemeni insurgents are claiming that they are fighting for economic justice against a corrupt government, but al-Qaeda’s local affiliates — who are carrying out attacks on their behalfs — are not necessarily so interested in “economic justice.”

The Yemeni government, facing two separate insurgencies, risks becoming a failed state. The worst case scenario is simple: Somalia lies right across the water.