Country Report on Terrorism 2021 - Chapter 4 - Terrorist Safe Havens - Yemen

The Iran-backed Houthis continued to control large portions of northern Yemen, where the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps continued to maintain a presence.  The Saudi-led coalition, which includes Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), provided support to the Republic of Yemen government (ROYG), which continued to fight to hold off further advances and reclaim areas held by the Houthis.  The ROYG, with Saudi and Emirati support, continued counterterrorism operations to degrade al-Qa’ida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) and ISIS-Yemen operations in the country.  However, owing to the ongoing conflict, instability, and its own degraded capabilities, the ROYG was constrained severely in its ability to prevent terrorist training, funding, recruitment, and transit.  Although AQAP and ISIS-Yemen have been weakened in recent years, the two groups continued to benefit from the ongoing conflict, successfully instilling themselves among elements of the anti-Houthi coalition and exploiting the security vacuum with room to operate in large parts of the country.  Further, AQAP continued to harbor external operations ambitions.  The ROYG was as cooperative with U.S., Saudi, and Emirati counterterrorism operations as its limited capacity allowed.

Yemen’s political instability continued to hinder efforts to enact or enforce comprehensive strategic trade controls to counter the flow of weapons and munitions in the region.  This left Yemen vulnerable as a transit point for destabilizing weapons, including weapons originating from Iran.  The government was not known to support or facilitate the proliferation or trafficking of WMD in or through its territories.

Associated documents