On July 20, the committee tasked with ending the violence between Houthi rebels and the Yemeni army in Jawf reached a ceasefire agreement just days after Houthi rebels took over two military bases in the area.   

NEWS ANALYSIS
Violent conflict ongoing: humanitarian crisis unfolds in Yemen
Mareike Transfeld writes in Muftah that since the conclusion of the National Dialogue Conference (NDC) in January 2014, the Houthi rebel movement has pushed forward more aggressively on the military front, and this territorial expansion shows that the NDC failed to achieve its most important goal: to reconcile conflicting groups within Yemeni society. While the international community responds to the escalation with calls for cease fire agreements and demands for the Houthi movement to hand over its weapons, Yemen’s political elite remain fragmented. [Muftah, 7/19/2014]
 
Yemen model won’t work in Iraq, Syria
Katherine Zimmerman of the American Enterprise Institute writes in The Washington Post that attempting to replicate the United States’ “Yemen model” in Iraq and Syria will almost certainly fail. Zimmerman argues that not only is the Yemen model not working but the conditions that have delivered occasional successes in Yemen do not exist in either Iraq or Syria, these include a cooperating host government, a cohesive military force, and a scattered and disorganized enemy. [Washington Post, 7/17/2014]

Yemen’s security void leaves resources untouched
Al Monitor explores recent comments by Amat al-Alim Alsoswa, the director of the Executive Bureau for the Acceleration of Aid Absorption and Implementation of the Mutual Accountability Framework emphasizing that the government will be unable to achieve the desired development needed to reduce unemployment and poverty and to address the challenges related to chronic malnutrition and food security due to recent security crisis. Alsoswa also discussed upcoming reform projects in Yemen including an action plan that is being prepared for the second half of the year to support the implementation of twenty-one selected projects, mostly through allocations which have yet to be approved amounting to $2.04 billion, twenty-six percent of total donor aid. [Al Monitor, 7/17/2014]

POLITICAL PROCESS
Constitution drafting committee outlines structure for judicial branch in federal system
On July 14, the constitution drafting committee discussed basic principles and agreed upon articles outlining the judicial branch of a new federal system. The articles discussed the responsibilities and structure of the judicial branch and the different types of courts that would comprise the judicial system. The committee also developed initial drafts of the articles that will address the legislative and executive branches of government. In other news, President Abdrabo Mansour Hadi appointed six members to the Supreme Judicial Council and five members to the Presidential Office High Authority for Tender Control (HATC). [Al Masdar (Arabic), 7/15/2014, Al Masdar (Arabic), Saba (Arabic), 7/21/2014]

INTERNATIONAL ENGAGEMENT
Yemen, UK review arrangements to hold Friends of Yemen meeting in September
Yemen’s ambassador to the United Kingdom Abdullah al-Radhi and United Kingdom Minister of State for International Development Alan Duncan has reviewed the ongoing arrangements to hold the Friends of Yemen meeting in New York. Al-Radhi and Duncan touched on sides of cooperation relations between the two friendly countries and ways to boost their economic and development relations as well. [Saba, 7/15/2014]

SECURITY
Ceasefire reached in Jawf; clashes erupt between Yemen’s army and Houthi rebels in Hamdan
Clashes broke out between Houthi rebels and residents of Hamdan after hundreds of Houthi rebels arrived in Hamdan on July 14. Militants attacked several houses prompting local tribesmen to confront them. On July 20, the committee tasked with ending the violence between Houthi rebels and the Yemeni army in Jawf reached a ceasefire agreement just days after Houthi rebels took over two military bases in the area. The army regained control over their territories following the ceasefire. [Al Masdar (Arabic), 7/21/2014]

Armed militants seize 2 million Yemeni rials from post office
Suspected al-Qaida militants attacked a post office in Hadhramawt, killing a policeman and stealing two million rials ($9308.64) on July 16. Also in Hadhramawt, two al-Qaeda suspects on a motorbike killed a civilian and wounded one of his relatives. Officials did not elaborate on the motive for the attack. [Gulf News, 7/16/2014]

Armed militants kill two soldiers in Al Bayda’
Two soldiers were killed and another wounded on July 16 when unidentified armed militants attacked a police department in Al Bayda’. Clashes between policemen and armed militants lasted for half an hour. In related news, unidentified gunmen attacked a security checkpoint and kidnapped two soldiers also in Al Bayda’. [Al Masdar (Arabic), 7/16/2014]

ECONOMIC AND HUMANITARIAN ISSUES
Yemen struggles towards fuel price reform as finances crumble
A clampdown on state spending was an effort by Yemen’s government this month to win public support before its biggest economic reform in years: higher fuel prices. But an angry public may not be won over. In the long run, reducing the subsidies would be good news for the state budget; they cost about $3 billion last year, or a third of state revenue. Some of the money freed up by the reform could be used to increase fuel supplies, easing the shortages which anger the public. [Reuters, 7/21/2014]
 
World Food Programme allocates $500 million to improve food security in Yemen
Yemen signed a memorandum of understanding with the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) to provide $500 million to improve food security in Yemen. The memorandum aims to support 6 million Yemenis experiencing food scarcity and food insecurity. [Saba, Al Masdar (Arabic), 7/17/2014]
 
Cement factory estimated to create 350 jobs in Aden
The Aden Free Zone Authority (AFZ) and Dar Al-Yemen Co. Ltd signed an agreement on July 17 to set up a cement factory at a total cost of $32 million. According to the agreement, the project would provide more than 350 job opportunities. The factory is expected to be operational over a period of eight to eleven months. [Saba, 7/17/2014]

Observatory for Human Rights releases report on violations against human rights activists
Yemen’s Observatory for Human Rights released its first report addressing violations against human rights activists in 2013. The report exposed thirty violations against human rights activists and revealed several violations against government personnel. A number of finance ministry employees claimed that the government falsely accused them of violating government policies, prevented them from entering the building, and transferred them from Sana’a to Marib without their consent. [Saba (Arabic), 7/16/2014]
 
More than 10 million Yemenis struggle for food
The preliminary findings of a new survey conducted by the World Food Programme (WFP) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) shows that Global Acute Malnutrition (GAM) reached emergency levels in some areas of the country. The agencies stated that around five million people were found to be severely food insecure, suffering from levels of hunger where external food assistance is generally required. The survey also showed the prevalence of chronic malnutrition among children under the age of five is beyond the international benchmark of critical. Levels of food insecurity showed a slight decline from forty-five percent to forty-one percent since a similar survey was conducted in 2011. [UNICEF, Saba (Arabic), 7/15/2014]