title: Saudi Arabian–led intervention in Yemen

text: Djibouti foreign minister Mahmoud Ali Youssouf said the Houthis placed heavy weapons and fast attack boats on Perim and a smaller island in the Bab al-Mandab strait. He warned that "the prospect of a war in the strait of Bab al-Mandab is a real one" and said the weapons posed "a big danger" to his country, commercial shipping traffic, and military vessels. He called on the coalition to clear the islands, which he said included missiles and long-range cannons.


title: Saudi Arabian–led intervention in Yemen

text: On 4 April, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi called protecting Red Sea shipping and securing the Bab al-Mandab "a top priority for Egypt's national security".


title: Saudi Arabian–led intervention in Yemen

text: On 15 April, coalition spokesman Saudi Brigadier General Ahmed Al-Asiri, said that its warships were focusing on protecting shipping routes and screening ships heading to port for shipments intended for the Houthis.


title: Saudi Arabian–led intervention in Yemen

text: The US Navy provided support to the naval blockade, halting and searching vessels suspected of carrying Iranian arms to the Houthis. On 21 April, the United States announced it was deploying warships to Yemeni waters to monitor Iranian ships. The US in particular noted a convoy of Iranian vessels, which US authorities said could potentially be carrying weapons to Houthi fighters in contravention of UN sanctions. The US reported that the Iranian convoy reversed course on 23 April.


title: Saudi Arabian–led intervention in Yemen

text: Sudan said it was stationing ground troops in Saudi Arabia. The Special Forces of the Bahrain Defence Force, Taskforce 11, were also deployed to Yemen.


title: Saudi Arabian–led intervention in Yemen

text: Between 31 March and April, Saudi and Houthi forces reportedly traded artillery and rocket fire across the border between SA and Yemen. A Saudi border guard was killed on 2 April, the campaign's first confirmed coalition casualty. Followed by another two soldiers killed the next day. An Egyptian truck driver was killed by Houthi shelling.


title: Saudi Arabian–led intervention in Yemen

text: SA reportedly began removing sections of the Saudi–Yemen barrier fence along its border with the Sa'dah and Hajjah governorates on 3 April. The purpose of the removal was not immediately clear.


title: Saudi Arabian–led intervention in Yemen

text: On 12 April, members of the Takhya tribe launched an attack on a Saudi base after several of its members died in an airstrike. Weapons and ammunition were taken.


title: Saudi Arabian–led intervention in Yemen

text: On 19 April, as Houthi leader Abdul-Malek El-Houthi accused SA of planning to invade Yemen, Asiri claimed that coalition forces had information regarding a planned Houthi incursion into SA.


title: Saudi Arabian–led intervention in Yemen

text: A Saudi border guard died on 19 April and two others were injured from gunfire and mortar shelling across the border.


title: Saudi Arabian–led intervention in Yemen

text: On 21 April, the Saudi Defence Ministry declared it was ending the campaign of airstrikes because it had "successfully eliminated the threat" to its security posed by Houthi ballistic and heavy weaponry. It announced the start of a new phase codenamed Operation Restoring Hope. In a televised address, Hadi said the end of airstrikes had come at his request and thanked the Arab coalition for their support.


title: Saudi Arabian–led intervention in Yemen

text: Earlier that day King Salman ordered the Saudi National Guard to join the military operation. Air and naval strikes continued despite the announcement that "Decisive Storm" had ended.


title: Saudi Arabian–led intervention in Yemen

text: Both the Omani and Iranian governments said they welcomed the end of airstrikes. On 22 April, Oman presented a seven-point peace deal to both parties. The proposed peace treaty entailed the reinstatement of Hadi's government and the evacuation of Houthi fighters from major cities.


title: Saudi Arabian–led intervention in Yemen

text: On 8 May, Saudi Arabia announced a five-day ceasefire set to start on 12 May, following heavy pressure from the US. Later in the day, Saudi airplanes dropped leaflets in the Saada Governorate warning of airstrikes throughout the area. Houthi spokesman Mohamed al-Bukhaiti later told the BBC that the ceasefire had not been formally proposed and the Houthis would not respond until a plan was properly laid out. A spokesman for the Houthi-aligned military announced agreement to the ceasefire plan on 10 May, although he warned that a breach of the truce would prompt a military response.


title: Saudi Arabian–led intervention in Yemen

text: On 13 May, humanitarian agencies said they were trying to get aid into Yemen after a five-day ceasefire took effect on Tuesday night. Ships carrying humanitarian supplies docked at the Houthi-controlled Red Sea port of Hudaydah as planes were standing by to help evacuate the injured. Meanwhile, King Salman doubled his country's Yemen aid pledge to $540 million, funds the UN said would "meet the life-saving and protection needs of 7.5 million people affected".


title: Saudi Arabian–led intervention in Yemen

text: At the operation's announcement, coalition leadership stressed that their campaign would attempt a political solution and that they would continue the air and naval blockade. Airstrikes resumed almost immediately following the coalition's announcement of the end of Operation Decisive Storm.


title: Saudi Arabian–led intervention in Yemen

text: On 22 April airstrikes continued in Taiz, where an army base was hit shortly after Houthi fighters took it over, and Aden, where an airstrike targeted Houthi tanks moving into a contested district, among other locations, such as Al Hudaydah and Ibb. The Houthis continued to fight for territory, with a Houthi spokesman saying the group would be prepared for peace talks on the condition of "a complete halt of attacks". The previous round of UN-sponsored talks collapsed after Houthi rebels attacked Hadi's residence in Sanaʽa.


title: Saudi Arabian–led intervention in Yemen

text: By 26 April, coalition forces were striking what they described as Houthi military targets in Sanaʽa and Aden and in other locations, notably in Sa'ada province near the Saudi border, nearly every night. On 26 April, after midnight, airstrikes struck Houthi and pro-Saleh positions and targets in and around Sanaʽa, Aden, and the Marib and Ad Dali' governorates, backing up anti-Houthi fighters in the latter three locations, with more than 90 rebels reportedly killed. Coalition warships shelled fighters near Aden's commercial port. Saudi warplanes also targeted Houthis in the Sa'dah Governorate, while Saudi artillery fired on targets in the Hajjah Governorate along the border. The Saudi National Guard was deployed on the border.


title: Saudi Arabian–led intervention in Yemen

text: On 28 April, Sanaʽa International Airport was bombed by Saudi F-15 fighters to prevent an Iranian plane belonging to Iranian Red Crescent Society (IRCS) from landing, while it was approaching to land. The fighters had warned the plane to turn back, in an unsuccessful attempt to thwart its landing, but the Iranian pilot ignored the "illegal warnings", saying that, on the basis of international law, his plane did not need further permission to land.


title: Saudi Arabian–led intervention in Yemen

text: On the night of 6 May 2015, the Saudi-led coalition carried out 130 airstrikes in Yemen in a 24-hour period. At first, coalition spokesperson Ahmed Asiri admitted that schools and hospitals were targeted but claimed that these were used as weapon storage sites. Asiri later claimed that his words had been mistranslated. The United Nations humanitarian coordinator for Yemen Johannes Van Der Klaauw said that these bombings constituted a war crime. "The indiscriminate bombing of populated areas, with or without prior warning, is a contravention international humanitarian law," he said. He continued to say that he was particularly concerned about airstrikes on Saada "where scores of civilians were reportedly killed and thousands were forced to flee their homes after the coalition declared the entire governate a military target".


title: Saudi Arabian–led intervention in Yemen

text: The Iranian Foreign Ministry summoned the Saudi chargé d'affaires, and the Iranian Parliament and the Iranian Red Crescent Society blasted Saudi Arabia for blocking Iranian humanitarian aid.


title: Saudi Arabian–led intervention in Yemen

text: The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) "strongly urged" the coalition to stop targeting airports and seaports so that aid could reach all Yemenis.


title: Saudi Arabian–led intervention in Yemen

text: ICRC and Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), also known as Doctors Without Borders, said that they were extremely concerned about damage to the airports at Sanaa and to the port city of Hodeidah.


title: Saudi Arabian–led intervention in Yemen

text: Overnight on 29 and 30 April, SA was reported to have airdropped arms to anti-Houthi fighters in Taiz.


title: Saudi Arabian–led intervention in Yemen

text: On 30 April airstrikes hit five provinces. New airstrikes hit SIA, completely halting aid deliveries.


title: Saudi Arabian–led intervention in Yemen

text: On 6 May coalition airstrikes targeted the Police Training Center in the Dhamar Governorate, damaging nearby houses meanwhile the civil aviation authority announced it would re-open the airport to receive aid.


title: Saudi Arabian–led intervention in Yemen

text: Coalition airstrikes targeted the houses of Saleh in Sanaʽa in the early hours of 10 May, eyewitnesses said. Khabar, a Yemeni news agency allied with Saleh said that the former president and his family were unharmed.


title: Saudi Arabian–led intervention in Yemen

text: The Moroccan government said on 10 May that one of its General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon aircraft taking part in the air campaign went missing in action over Yemen, along with its pilot. The Houthis claimed responsibility, with Yemeni state TV broadcasting a report on the jet being downed by tribal militias over the Sa'dah Governorate and showing images of the wreckage.


title: Saudi Arabian–led intervention in Yemen

text: On 18 May Saudi-led airstrikes reportedly resumed on Houthi positions after a humanitarian ceasefire expired late on Sunday. Three coalition airstrikes hit Sa'ada on Monday. Yemen's exiled Foreign Minister Riyadh Yassin blamed the rebel group for the renewal of hostilities. Al-Arabiya said Saudi forces shelled Houthi outposts along Yemen's northern border after the fighters fired mortars at a Saudi army post in Najran province.


title: Saudi Arabian–led intervention in Yemen

text: On 23 May OCHA reported that airstrikes continued in the northern governorates of Sa'ada (Baqim, Haydan, Saqayn and As Safra) and Hajjah (Abs, Hayran, Haradh, Huth, Kuhlan Affar and Sahar districts). The road connecting Haradh and Huth districts was reportedly hit. Airstrikes were also reported in Al Jawf Governorate (Bart Al Anan district).


title: Saudi Arabian–led intervention in Yemen

text: On 27 May airstrikes hit a police station in the capital, Sanaʽa, killing 45 officers. The Houthi-controlled Ministry of Health announced that in total, 96 people were killed.


title: Saudi Arabian–led intervention in Yemen

text: On 3 June the residence of a Houthi leader in Ibb province was hit by an airstrike, according to eyewitnesses.


title: Saudi Arabian–led intervention in Yemen

text: On 12 June Saudi jets bombed the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Sanaʽa Old City, killing at least six people and destroying some of the ancient buildings. UNESCO Director General Irina Bokova said in a statement that she is "profoundly distressed by the loss of human lives as well as by damage inflicted on one of the world's oldest jewels of Islamic urban landscape". Locals also condemned the action.


title: Saudi Arabian–led intervention in Yemen

text: On 23 September 2015, the Saudi-led coalition destroyed a ceramics factory in the town of Matnah. One civilian was killed and others were wounded. According to the BBC, the bomb is believed to have been produced in the United Kingdom by GEC-Marconi Dynamics. The factory's owner Ghalib al-Sawary told the BBC: "We built it over 20 years but to destroy it took only twenty minutes." Campaigners say this attack was a violation of the laws of war.


title: Saudi Arabian–led intervention in Yemen

text: On 26 October 2015 Médecins Sans Frontières reported that a coalition airstrike had completely destroyed a hospital they ran in Saada province's Haydan governorate, including the operating room. When the first strike hit an unused part of the hospital the facility was completely evacuated, so there were no direct casualties. A spokesman for the coalition forces, Brig-Gen Ahmed al-Asiri, denied responsibility for the attack. "With the hospital destroyed, at least 200,000 people now have no access to lifesaving medical care," MSF said. "This attack is another illustration of a complete disregard for civilians in Yemen, where bombings have become a daily routine," said Hassan Boucenine, MSF head of mission in Yemen. The GPS coordinates of the only hospital in the Haydan district were regularly shared with the Saudi-led coalition, and the roof of the facility was clearly identified with the MSF logo, he said. UNICEF said the hospital in Saada was the 39th health center hit in Yemen since March, when the violence escalated. "More children in Yemen may well die from a lack of medicines and healthcare than from bullets and bombs," its executive director Anthony Lake said in a statement. He added that critical shortages of fuel, medication, electricity and water could mean many more will close. Amnesty International said the strike may amount to a war crime and called for an independent investigation.


title: Saudi Arabian–led intervention in Yemen

text: On 8 October 2016, Saudi-led airstrikes targeted a hall in Sanaʽa where a funeral was taking place. At least 140 people were killed and about 600 were wounded. According to "The Independent", one rescuer said: "The place has been turned into a lake of blood." After initially denying it was behind the attack, the Coalition's Joint Incidents Assessment Team admitted that it had bombed the hall but claimed that this attack had been a mistake caused by bad information. After this attack, US national security spokesperson said that the US government was "deeply disturbed" by the bombing and added that US support for the Saudi-led coalition was "not a blank cheque". He added "we have initiated an immediate review of our already significantly reduced support to the Saudi-led Coalition." The United Nations humanitarian co-ordinator in Yemen Jamie McGoldrick said he was "shocked and outraged" by the "horrific" bombing. "This violence against civilians in Yemen must stop," he said.


title: Saudi Arabian–led intervention in Yemen

text: On the night of 15 February 2017, the Saudi-led coalition bombed a funeral reception near Sanaa. Initial reports suggest the bombing killed nine women and one child with ten more women reported wounded. "People heard the sound of planes and started running from the house but then the bombs hit the house directly. The roof collapsed and there was blood everywhere," a resident of the village told a Reuters news agency cameraman.


title: Saudi Arabian–led intervention in Yemen

text: An explosion in a warehouse on Sunday 7 April 2019, in Sanaa, have killed at least 11 civilians, including school children and left more than 39 people wounded. The Associated Press news agency said 13 killed, including 7 children and more than 100 were wounded. According to Al Jazeera and Houthi officials, the civilians were killed in a Saudi-led coalition airstrike. The Saudi-led coalition denied any airstrikes took place that day on Sanaa. The state-run news agency in Aden, aligned with the internationally recognized government, said the rebels had stored weapons at the warehouse. According to "The Washington Post", "some families and residents of the district of Sawan said the explosion occurred after a fire erupted inside the warehouse. They said a fire sent columns of white smoke rising into the air, followed by the explosion." Their accounts were confirmed by several videos filmed by bystanders.


title: Saudi Arabian–led intervention in Yemen

text: On 3 April, CNN cited an unnamed Saudi source who claimed that Saudi special forces were on the ground in and around Aden, "coordinating and guiding" the resistance. The Saudi government officially declined to comment on whether it had special forces, with Saudi Ambassador to the United States Adel al-Jubeir saying on 2 April that Saudi Arabia had no "formal" troops in Aden.


title: Saudi Arabian–led intervention in Yemen

text: The Battle of Aden came to an end with pro-Hadi forces again seized control of Aden port and moving into the city's commercial center. On 22 July, pro-Hadi forces had retaken full control of Aden, and the Aden Airport was reopened. In late July, an offensive launched by pro-Hadi forces drove Houthi forces out of the towns neighboring Aden.


title: Saudi Arabian–led intervention in Yemen

text: On 4 September a Houthi OTR-21 Tochka missile hit an ammunition dump at a military base in Safer in Ma'rib Governorate killing 52 UAE, 10 Saudi and 5 Bahraini soldiers. The Safer base was being built up by coalition forces for a push against Sanaa. "It was the deadliest single attack on coalition soldiers since the start of its operation against Houthi rebels in March" Asseri said. The attacked was the highest casualty loss in the history of the UAE military. Qatar deployed 1000 troops to Yemen after the incident.


title: Saudi Arabian–led intervention in Yemen

text: By 8 September it was reported that the Saudi-led forces deployed in Yemen exceeded 10,000 troops and included 30 AH-64 Apache attack helicopters.


title: Saudi Arabian–led intervention in Yemen

text: On 14 December media reported a Houthi & Saleh Forces missile attack at a Saudi military camp south-west of the besieged city of Taiz, while sources confirmed the killings of over 150 coalition soldiers including 23 Saudi troops, 9 UAE officers and soldiers, 7 Moroccan soldiers and 42 Blackwater troops.


title: Saudi Arabian–led intervention in Yemen

text: On 19 December 2015, reported clashes leaves over 40 Houthi rebels and 35 government loyalists dead, with dozens wounded on both sides.


title: Saudi Arabian–led intervention in Yemen

text: In June 2018, anti-Houthi forces led by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates assaulted the port of Hudaydah, in an effort to dislodge Houthi forces.


title: Saudi Arabian–led intervention in Yemen

text: Saudi Arabia faced growing criticism for the Saudi-led naval and air blockade, which effectively isolated the country.


title: Saudi Arabian–led intervention in Yemen

text: A "military source and pro-Hadi militiamen" told the AFP on 26 April that coalition warships were participating in the shelling of Aden.


title: Saudi Arabian–led intervention in Yemen

text: On 30 April, the Iranian navy announced it had deployed two destroyers to the Gulf of Aden to "ensure the safety of commercial ships of our country against the threat of pirates", according to a rear admiral. According to the same source, the deployment was scheduled to last until mid-June. Iran's deputy foreign minister, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, told state-run Tasnim News Agency that "others will not be allowed to put our shared security at risk with military adventures".


title: Saudi Arabian–led intervention in Yemen

text: Pakistan was called on by Saudi Arabia to join the coalition, but its parliament voted to maintain neutrality. In February 2016, Academi, the security firm withdraw from front-line duties in the Yemen campaign. Qatar was suspended from the coalition due to the 2017 Qatar diplomatic crisis. Morocco ended their participation in 2019 due to deterioration of Morocco–Saudi Arabia relations followed by United Arab Emirates in July 2019 amid possible tensions with Iran on the Persian Gulf and differences with Saudi Arabia. Sudan announced its decision to reduce troops commitment from 15,000 to 5,000 in early December 2019.


title: Saudi Arabian–led intervention in Yemen

text: The Saudi-led campaign has received widespread criticism and had a dramatic worsening effect on the humanitarian situation in Yemen, that reached the level of a "humanitarian disaster" or "humanitarian catastrophe". The war has contributed to the famine in Yemen which has threatened over 17 million people, according to the UN, as well as an outbreak of cholera which has infected hundreds of thousands.


title: Saudi Arabian–led intervention in Yemen

text: After the Saudi-led coalition declared the entire Saada Governorate a military target in May 2015, the UN's Humanitarian Coordinator for Yemen and Human Rights Watch expressed concern that the bombing there was unnecessarily harming civilians. On 1 July 2015, the UN declared for Yemen a "level-three" emergency—the highest UN emergency level—for a period of six months. Human rights groups repeatedly blamed the Saudi-led military coalition for killing civilians and destroying health centres and other infrastructure with airstrikes.


title: Saudi Arabian–led intervention in Yemen

text: In June 2015, aid agencies said the de facto blockade of Yemen had dramatically worsened the humanitarian situation, with 78% (20 million) of the population in urgent need of food, water and medical aid. Aid ships are allowed, but the bulk of commercial shipping, on which the country relies, is blocked. In one incident, coalition jets prevented an Iranian Red Crescent plane from landing by bombing Sanaʽa International Airport's runway, which blocked aid delivery by air.


title: Saudi Arabian–led intervention in Yemen

text: According to Farea Al-Muslim, direct war crimes were committed during the conflict; for example, an IDP (Internally displaced person) camp was hit by a Saudi airstrike, while Houthis sometimes prevented aid workers from giving aid. The UN and human rights groups discussed the possibility that war crimes may have been committed by Saudi Arabia during the air campaign.


title: Saudi Arabian–led intervention in Yemen

text: US Representative Ted Lieu has criticized the Saudi-led attacks on Yemen: "Some of these strikes look like war crimes to me, and I want to get answers as to why the US appears to be assisting in the execution of war crimes in Yemen."


title: Saudi Arabian–led intervention in Yemen

text: In March 2017, Human Rights Watch (HRW) reported that "Since the start of the current conflict, at least 4,773 civilians had been killed and 8,272 wounded, the majority by coalition airstrikes... Human Rights Watch has documented 62 apparently unlawful coalition airstrikes, some of which may amount to war crimes, that have killed nearly 900 civilians, and documented seven indiscriminate attacks by Houthi-Saleh forces in Aden and Taizz that killed 139 people, including at least eight children."


title: Saudi Arabian–led intervention in Yemen

text: In an April 2020 report, Human Rights Watch said that war crimes committed by Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates in Yemen go unmentioned. They stated that these countries were responsible for most child casualties and illegal attacks on schools. On December third, 2020, more than 60 organizations urged the U.N. General Assembly to establish an investigative body to gather and preserve evidence of serious human rights violations during Yemen's seven-year conflict, including possible war crimes and crimes against humanity.


title: Saudi Arabian–led intervention in Yemen

text: On 20 December 2021, the Saudi-led coalition carried out air raids at the international airport in the Yemeni capital, Sanaa. As a result of these airstrikes, UN aid flights into Sanaa were halted as the airport was no longer able to receive aircraft operated by the United Nations or international humanitarian organisations. Since 2016, humanitarian flights into Sanaa airport have been largely interrupted by a Saudi-led blockade.


title: Saudi Arabian–led intervention in Yemen

text: According to a report by Relief Web, released on 13 December 2022, the Houthis along with the Saudi/UAE-led coalition have used explosive weapons in densely populated areas of Yemen throughout the duration of the conflict. The report details at least ten such incidents of civilian harm caused by attacks carried out by the Saudi/UAE-led coalition and the Houthis.


title: Saudi Arabian–led intervention in Yemen

text: Since the Saudi-led coalition began military operations against Ansar Allah on 26 March 2015, Saudi-led coalition airstrikes unlawfully struck hospitals and other facilities run by aid organizations, according to Human Rights Watch. Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) medical facilities in Yemen were attacked four times in three months. On 26 October 2015, HRW documented six Saudi-led airstrikes which bombed a MSF hospital in Haydan district (Sa'dah Governorate), wounding two patients. MSF's director of operations Raquel Ayora said: "The way war is being waged in Yemen is causing enormous suffering and shows that the warring parties do not recognise or respect the protected status of hospitals and medical facilities. We witness the devastating consequences of this on people trapped in conflict zones on a daily basis. Nothing has been spared—not even hospitals, even though medical facilities are explicitly protected by international humanitarian law."


title: Saudi Arabian–led intervention in Yemen

text: On 16 May 2016, Brigadier General Ahmed Hassan Asiri responded to Human Rights Watch's accusations, stating that Saudi Arabia's actions are not motivated by self-interest, but rather "because we saw population undermined and oppressed by the militias". Ahmed Asiri claimed that Human Rights Watch did not have a team on the ground in Yemen, and when told by Mary Louise Kelly during an interview that Human Rights Watch had visited Yemen, stated "No. No one can get in Yemen without the permission of the coalition".


title: Saudi Arabian–led intervention in Yemen

text: Human Rights Watch responded to these statements on 16 May 2016. Belkis Wille stated that "In fact, this two-week trip was the fourth I had made to Yemen since the beginning of the war in March 2015. Given what I go through to get into Yemen, al-Assiri's statement was laughable". She stated that on each of her visits to Yemen during this time period her passport has been confiscated, with no reason being given. She claims that this indicates that the coalition knows that she is visiting Yemen.


title: Saudi Arabian–led intervention in Yemen

text: After initially denying responsibility, on 15 October 2016, Saudi Arabia admitted responsibility for the funeral airstrikes which killed at least 140 and injured 525. Saudi Arabian forces blamed the airstrikes on "wrong information" which was provided by an unnamed party, which had reportedly claimed the funeral was a legitimate target. Human Rights Watch has claimed that the airstrikes likely constitute a war crime, due to the indiscriminate nature of the attack.


title: Saudi Arabian–led intervention in Yemen

text: In March 2015, President Barack Obama declared that he had authorized US forces to provide logistical and intelligence support to the Saudis in their military intervention in Yemen. Deputy Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that "as part of that effort, we have expedited weapons deliveries, we have increased our intelligence sharing, and we have established a joint coordination planning cell in the Saudi operation centre."


title: Saudi Arabian–led intervention in Yemen

text: NATO powers such as the United Kingdom and the United States support the Saudi Arabian–led intervention in Yemen primarily through arms sales and technical assistance. France had also made recent military sales to Saudi Arabia. MSF emergency coordinator Karline Kleijer called the US, France and the UK part of the Saudi-led coalition, which imposed the weapons embargo and blocked all ships from entering Yemen with supplies. Rights groups have criticized the countries for supplying arms, and accuse the coalition of using cluster munitions, which are banned in most countries. Oxfam pointed out that Germany, Iran, and Russia have also reportedly sold arms to the conflicting forces. Tariq Riebl, head of programmes in Yemen for Oxfam, said, "it's difficult to argue that a weapon sold to Saudi Arabia would not in some way be used in Yemen," or "if it's not used in Yemen it enables the country to use other weapons in Yemen." Amnesty International urged the US and the UK to stop supplying arms to Saudi Arabia and to the Saudi-led coalition. On August 3, 2019, a United Nations report said the US, UK and France may be complicit in committing war crimes in Yemen by selling weapons and providing support to the Saudi-led coalition which it accused of using starvation of civilians as a tactic of warfare.


title: Saudi Arabian–led intervention in Yemen

text: In 2016, the United States government sold 1.3 billion dollars of arms to Saudi Arabia despite concerns from officials that it could be complicit in war crimes through its support for the Saudi Arabian-led coalition in Yemen. U.S. government lawyers were unable to conclude whether the U.S. support for the coalition made them a co-belligerents under international law.


title: Saudi Arabian–led intervention in Yemen

text: Arms sale by United Kingdom to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates in 2019 reportedly soared by £1bn, i.e. 300%, in comparison to the figures in 2018. Andrew Smith of the Campaign Against Arms Trade condemned the increase and criticized the UK arms industry of being dominated by human rights abusers and dictatorships. UK-made fighter jets have been accused of causing catastrophic damage in Yemen. According to official figures released by the Department for International Trade (DIT), the United Kingdom has exported £11bn worth of arms in 2019, becoming the second-highest arms exporter after the United States. The UK traded arms despite a June 2019 court ruling halting the sale of weapons to Saudi Arabia that could be used in Yemen.


title: Saudi Arabian–led intervention in Yemen

text: In January 2020, the State Department told lawmakers that it was planning to permit Raytheon to sell precision-guided missiles worth $478 million to Saudi Arabia and expand its manufacturing inside the country, despite the kingdom's human rights record and objections by both Democratic and Republican lawmakers. On February 4, 2021, the new US President Joe Biden announced an end to the U.S. support for Saudi-led operations in Yemen. However, U.S. arms sales have continued.


title: Saudi Arabian–led intervention in Yemen

text: In early June 2020, the French government published a report on the arms exports of 2019, where the sale of €1.4 billion arms was made to Saudi Arabia. Human Rights Watch urged the French authorities to halt any arms sale to Saudi, considering the country is accused in possible war crimes and human rights abuses in Yemen. In July 2020, Amnesty International revealed that France had promoted a private military center to train Saudi troops and backed it both financially and politically. According to the report, France intended to train the Saudi soldiers in the operations of the latest versions of weapons that had already been used in the Yemeni conflict. The training center has been set up at the town of Commercy in Meuse with funds extracted from the French taxpayer's money, violating international treaties, as per Lebel.


title: Saudi Arabian–led intervention in Yemen

text: In September 2020, a United Nations panel listed Canada among the countries who contributed to fueling the war in Yemen. Following that, 39 human rights organizations, arms-control groups and labor unions, including the Public Service Alliance of Canada, sent a joint letter to the Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, urging for the country to end arms exports to Saudi Arabia.


title: Saudi Arabian–led intervention in Yemen

text: The Saudi-led coalition used a precision-guided munition developed in the United States in an air hit on a detention facility in Sa'adah, northwestern Yemen, that killed at least 80 people and injured over 200, according to Doctors Without Borders. The laser-guided bomb used in the raid was made by Raytheon, a US defence company.


title: Saudi Arabian–led intervention in Yemen

text: Following a spate of missile assaults by Yemeni rebels, the US will deploy a guided-missile destroyer and cutting-edge fighter jets to help defend the United Arab Emirates, according to a US statement released Wednesday, February 2, 2022.


title: Saudi Arabian–led intervention in Yemen

text: The commander of US Central Command arrived in the United Arab Emirates on Sunday, February 6, 2022, to expand on previous Pentagon announcements to assist the UAE in bolstering its defenses following attacks in Yemen by Iranian-backed rebels.


title: Saudi Arabian–led intervention in Yemen

text: In a June 2022 joint analysis, the Washington Post in association with Security Force Monitor at Columbia Law School's Human Rights Institute (SFM) reported that the United States supported the majority of the Saudi-led coalition's airforce squadrons. A large portion of the coalition airstrikes were carried out by aircraft developed, maintained and sold by U.S. companies, and were flown by pilots trained by the U.S. military. Out of the 39 air force units of the coalition that could have conducted airstrikes, 38 likely benefited by U.S. approved contracts and in the seven years since the beginning of the bombing campaign, the U.S. approved 213, out of the 902 total contracts, that potentially served the coalition's airforce units.


title: Saudi Arabian–led intervention in Yemen

text: On 7 June 2022, an internal report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) was released which concluded that the United States' State Department and the Defense Department had failed to properly assess war crimes allegations against the Saudi-led coalition and had not adequately tracked civilians deaths caused by American-made weapons. The report concluded that there were serious gaps in U.S. government oversight on how arms sold to Saudi Arabia and the UAE were used.


title: Saudi Arabian–led intervention in Yemen

text: In December 2015, David Ottaway, a senior scholar at the Wilson Center in Washington, estimated the Saudi-led military coalition was spending $200 million a day on military operations in Yemen. His sources speculate that the Saudis are supplying most of the funding.


title: Saudi Arabian–led intervention in Yemen

text: On 20 October 2020, State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (Seco) published a report that Swiss companies exported war material to the value of almost 690 million francs. According to this report Saudi Arabia, currently involved in a conflict in Yemen bought war material from Switzerland for 3.8 million francs.


title: Saudi Arabian–led intervention in Yemen

text: Following the call by the leader of the Houthi movement, Abdul-Malik al-Houthi, tens of thousands Yemenis of various socioeconomic backgrounds took to the streets of the rebel-controlled capital, Sanaʽa, to voice their anger at the Saudi intervention.


title: Saudi Arabian–led intervention in Yemen

text: On 21 April 2015, representatives of 19 Yemeni political parties and associations rejected UN Resolution 2216, stating that it encouraged terrorist expansion, intervened in Yemen's sovereign affairs, violated Yemen's right of self-defence and emphasized the associations' support of the Yemeni Army.


title: Saudi Arabian–led intervention in Yemen

text: On 23 April, a spokesman for the Houthis said UN-sponsored peace talks should continue, but only following "a complete halt of attacks" by the coalition.


title: Saudi Arabian–led intervention in Yemen

text: In a televised address on 24 April, Saleh called on the Houthis and other armed groups to withdraw from the territory they had seized and participate in UN-sponsored peace talks, in exchange for an end to the air campaign. Exiled Yemeni Foreign Minister rejected the peace proposal saying that Saleh had no role in the talks.


title: Saudi Arabian–led intervention in Yemen

text: On 26 April, the General Authority for Archeology and Museums in Yemen condemned attacks targeting historical sites. The statement highlighted an attack that completely destroyed an ancient fortress in the Damt District of the Ad Dali' Governorate. Yemeni political parties issued a letter to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon requesting that he continue the peace talks. The letter emphasized that Yemen was still under attack by air, land and sea and that the existing blockade was increasing the humanitarian crisis and that education had been denied for 3 million students due to the "random attacks".


title: Saudi Arabian–led intervention in Yemen

text: On 2 May 2015, the Yemenis Forum of Persons With Disability stated that 300 centres and organizations had been forced to stop operations following the intervention. The organization denounced the air and sea blockade that "increased the suffering of the disabled greatly". The same day Hussein al-Ezzi, the Houthi head of foreign relations, sent a letter addressed to Secretary General Ban seeking an end to the "unjustified Saudi aggression". He asked the UN to seek an end to what Houthis described as blatant aggression against the country.


title: Saudi Arabian–led intervention in Yemen

text: On 7 May, 17 humanitarian agencies stressed that life-saving aid would run out in a week and emphasized the need to remove the existing blockade. The International Non-Government Organizations Forum in Yemen appealed for allowing basic materials to enter the country immediately.


title: Saudi Arabian–led intervention in Yemen

text: On 10 May, Houthi military spokesman Sharaf Luqman welcomed the Russian initiative, which advocated a suspension of military operations and also lifting the blockade.


title: Saudi Arabian–led intervention in Yemen

text: On 26 March 2017, the second anniversary of the war, over a hundred thousand Houthi supporters demonstrated in Sanaa protesting the Saudi aggression and expressing solidarity.


title: Saudi Arabian–led intervention in Yemen

text: Anti-Houthi groups, especially Sunnis, while supporting the intervention did not wish for the return to power of Hadi, since they viewed him as the man "who ceded control of the capital without a fight six months ago".


title: Saudi Arabian–led intervention in Yemen

text: On 3 April, the Al-Islah party, the Yemeni branch of the Muslim Brotherhood, declared its support for the campaign. Supporters of the party reportedly suffered consequences, including kidnappings and raids, as a result of this declaration.


title: Saudi Arabian–led intervention in Yemen

text: On 26 April, the foreign minister in Hadi's government, Riad Yaseen, rejected Saleh's calls for UN-sponsored peace talks on the ground.


title: Saudi Arabian–led intervention in Yemen

text: On 5 April a firefight broke out between anti-government Shiite rioters and security forces in Saudi Arabia's Shiite-minority in Eastern Province, with one police officer killed and three others injured. The firefight broke out after calls in the Eastern Province to protest against the military intervention.


title: Saudi Arabian–led intervention in Yemen

text: On 29 April, King Salman dismissed his appointed crown prince, Muqrin of Saudi Arabia. Some regional political analysts speculated that the decision was precipitated by Muqrin's alleged opposition to the intervention. Salman appointed Muhammad bin Nayef, who publicly announced his support of the operation, to replace Muqrin.


title: Saudi Arabian–led intervention in Yemen

text: On 21 April, Saudi prince Al-Waleed bin Talal reportedly offered 100 Bentleys to participating pilots. The announcement was met with substantial criticism.


title: Saudi Arabian–led intervention in Yemen

text: On 3 April Bahrainis protested against the war on Yemen. A prominent Bahraini opposition politician, Fadhel Abbas, was reportedly arrested by Bahraini authorities for condemning the bombing as "flagrant aggression".


title: Saudi Arabian–led intervention in Yemen

text: Kuwaiti politician Abdul-Hamid Dashti reportedly criticized the war and described it as an "act of aggression". A prominent Kuwaiti lawyer, Khalid Al Shatti, was summoned by Kuwaiti authorities for his criticism of the Saudi government.


title: Saudi Arabian–led intervention in Yemen

text: On 28 April, Kuwaiti Foreign Minister Sabah Al-Khalid Al-Sabah stated that the only solution to the Yemen crisis was political.


title: Saudi Arabian–led intervention in Yemen

text: The Arab League, United States, Turkey, OIC and Hamas voiced support for the intervention, but the European Union, Russia and the United Nations criticised it. The United Kingdom, and France supported the intervention, and along with Canada have supplied the Saudi military with equipment.


title: Saudi Arabian–led intervention in Yemen

text: Iran condemned intervention as "US-backed aggression". Iran's U.N. Ambassador Gholamali Khoshroo said that "those who violate international law, including international humanitarian law, should be held accountable for their acts and there should be no room for impunity." Iraqi Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi expressed the Iraqi government's opposition to the intervention: "This (Yemen war) can engulf the whole region in another conflict. We don't need another sectarian war in the region." The Hezbollah secretary general criticized Saudi Arabia and its allies, saying "all invaders end up being defeated".


title: Saudi Arabian–led intervention in Yemen

text: The Chinese foreign ministry expressed in January 2016 its support for the intervention and the Hadi government, while stressing its desire for a resumption of stability in Yemen.


title: Saudi Arabian–led intervention in Yemen

text: Somalia's government blamed the Saudi-led coalition for the killing of at least 42 Somali refugees off the Yemeni coast. Somali Prime Minister Hassan Ali Khaire called the attack on a boat carrying refugees "atrocious" and "appalling".


title: Saudi Arabian–led intervention in Yemen

text: Asian countries including China, India, Malaysia and Pakistan, moved within days to evacuate their citizens from Yemen.


title: Saudi Arabian–led intervention in Yemen

text: On 4 April, the ICRC called for a 24-hour humanitarian ceasefire after the coalition blocked three aid shipments to Yemen. Russia also called for "humanitarian pauses" in the coalition bombing campaign, bringing the idea before the United Nations Security Council in a 4 April emergency meeting. Saudi Arabia's UN ambassador raised questions over whether humanitarian pauses are the best way of delivering humanitarian assistance. On 7 April, China renewed calls for an immediate ceasefire.


title: Saudi Arabian–led intervention in Yemen

text: On 10 April, the Pakistani Parliament declined a Saudi Arabian request to join the coalition. The Parliament clarified the wish to maintain a neutral diplomatic stance.


title: Saudi Arabian–led intervention in Yemen

text: On 16 April a group of US and UK-based Yemen scholars wrote an open letter, stating that the operation was illegal under international law and calling for the UN to enforce an immediate ceasefire.


title: Saudi Arabian–led intervention in Yemen

text: On 19 April, international aid agency Oxfam condemned SA over airstrikes it said hit one of its warehouses containing humanitarian supplies in Saada.


title: Saudi Arabian–led intervention in Yemen

text: Aid groups came out against the air campaign: Amnesty International said some of the coalition's airstrikes "appear to have failed to take necessary precautions to minimize harm to civilians and damage to civilian objects". Reporters without Borders condemned a strike in Sanaa on 20 April that caused the deaths of four employees of Al-Yemen Al-Youm TV and injured ten others; it also condemned attacks on journalists by pro-Houthi forces.


title: Saudi Arabian–led intervention in Yemen

text: On 4 May the UN called on the coalition to stop attacking Sanaa Airport to allow delivery of humanitarian aid. On 10 May the UN Humanitarian Coordinator for Yemen stated that the attacks on Saada province were in breach of international law. On 29 June, Secretary General Ban Ki-moon denounced a coalition airstrike that had hit a UN compound in Aden the previous day and requested a full investigation.


title: Saudi Arabian–led intervention in Yemen

text: Human Rights Watch criticized the UN Security Council repeatedly for "remaining almost silent on coalition abuses". In January 2016 an unpublished United Nations panel investigating the Saudi-led bombing campaign in Yemen uncovered "widespread and systematic" attacks on civilian targets in violation of international humanitarian law, calling UN Security Council up for an international commission of inquiry. Saudi Arabia had previously objected to an inquiry being set up, and had not been supported by Western governments.


title: Saudi Arabian–led intervention in Yemen

text: In February 2016 the Secretary-General of the UN (UNSG) Ban Ki-moon raised strong concerns over continued Saudi-led airstrikes, saying that "coalition air strikes in particular continue to strike hospitals, schools, mosques and civilian infrastructures" in Yemen. He urged States that are signatories to the Arms Trade Treaty to "control arms flows to actors that may use them in ways that breach of international humanitarian law".


title: Saudi Arabian–led intervention in Yemen

text: In June 2016, Ban Ki-moon removed a Saudi-led coalition from a list of children's rights violators, saying that Saudi Arabia threatened to cut Palestinian aid and funds to other UN programs if coalition was not removed from blacklist for killing children in Yemen. According to one source, there was also a threat of "clerics in Riyadh meeting to issue a fatwa against the UN, declaring it anti-Muslim, which would mean no contacts of OIC members, no relations, contributions, support, to any UN projects, programs".


title: Saudi Arabian–led intervention in Yemen

text: In September 2016, British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson was accused of blocking the UN inquiry into Saudi war crimes in Yemen.


title: Saudi Arabian–led intervention in Yemen

text: In April 2018, French President Emmanuel Macron voiced support for the Saudi Arabian–led intervention in Yemen and defended France's arms sales to the Saudi-led coalition. France authorised $18 billion (€16 billion) in arms sales to Saudi Arabia in 2015.


title: Saudi Arabian–led intervention in Yemen

text: Bahri Abha – the Saudi Arabian ship arrived on 10 December 2019, at the Sagunto, Valencia port, where they were faced by Spanish Control Arms campaign organizations. Since the beginning of the Yemen war, the same ship has reportedly ferried $162 million worth of US-made arms to the kingdom. The organizations of the likes of Amnesty International, FundiPau, Greenpeace and Oxfam Intermón have objected to the shipment of arms from Spanish port.


title: Saudi Arabian–led intervention in Yemen

text: On June 15, 2020, Secretary-General of the UN, António Guterres, removed the Saudi-led coalition from a list of children's rights violators despite continued grave violations against children in Yemen.


title: Saudi Arabian–led intervention in Yemen

text: On 12 November 2021, in opposition to Saudi Arabia's offensive operations in the Yemen civil war, Rep. Ilhan Omar introduced a joint resolution to block the sale of $650 million US weapons to the Kingdom. The weapons sale was authorized by the Biden administration and was expected to include 280 missiles, 596 LAU-128 Missile Rail Launchers, and other equipment. Omar said in a statement, “It is simply unconscionable to sell weapons to Saudi Arabia while they continue to slaughter innocent people and starve millions in Yemen, kill and torture dissidents, and support modern-day slavery."


title: Saudi Arabian–led intervention in Yemen

text: On 28 December 2021, The Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Yemen, Hans Grundberg, raised an alarm about the safety of civilians in the war-torn Yemen given the escalating violence, including airstrikes carried out by the Saudi-led coalition. According to his statement, airstrikes on Sanaa resulted in loss of civilian lives, and damage to the country's infrastructure. He also underlined that violations of international humanitarian and human rights law cannot continue with impunity.


title: Saudi Arabian–led intervention in Yemen

text: On 29 July 2022, the United Nations’ Committee against Torture issued its findings on the United Arab Emirates after review of the States party. In the session, the committee expressed concerns regarding the country's inhuman practices despite compliance of the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. In its finding, the committee issued concerns about allegations of torture and maltreatment against the UAE-led armed forces, related non-state armed groups, and state security agencies in the Yemen war and fight against terrorism. The committee announced a special onus on the probe and prosecution of the allegations of offenses concerning torture and ill-treatment in the said situations and demanded for a viable pathway to be introduced for the victims in order for them to seek redress, justice and rehabilitation.


title: Saudi Arabian–led intervention in Yemen

text: Both al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) and Islamic State had a presence in Yemen before the Saudi-led intervention. AQAP had controlled substantial pieces of territory for some time, while Islamic State claimed for twin bombings in Sanaa the following month that killed 140 people and injured hundreds more.


title: Saudi Arabian–led intervention in Yemen

text: The two radical groups have used the conflict to expand and consolidate, an obvious fact accepted by the Pentagon. The Houthis disengaged fighting AQAP to face rival Yemeni militias at the same time as they were being hit by coalition air strikes; A source indicates that Yemeni troops in the south remained in their bases instead of confronting al-Qaeda militants, fearing Saudi air strikes on any troop movements. There are questions about the ability of the country to confront its Islamist militancy problem due to the major infrastructure damage caused by the war.


title: Saudi Arabian–led intervention in Yemen

text: Within weeks of the commencement of the Yemen's civil war, AQAP had exploited the chaos to capture the south-eastern port city of Mukalla, along with nearby military, transport, and economic infrastructure. A series of prison breaks by al-Qaeda—they emptied Mukalla's jail of 300 prisoners and emptied 1,200 inmates in June 2015 from the central prison in Taiz—released jailed jihadists of all ranks. Reports indicate that Yemen's prisons had, in preceding years, reportedly become "de facto jihadi academies", as veteran militants were placed in cells alongside young, regular criminals.


title: Saudi Arabian–led intervention in Yemen

text: The coalition campaign against the Houthis in Yemen's city of Aden in July 2015 and subsequent chaos increased AQAP and Islamic State presence in the city. Residents of Aden faced a wave of bombings and shootings that prevented efforts at stabilization. AQAP conducted assassinations of judges, security officials, and police.


title: Saudi Arabian–led intervention in Yemen

text: On 26 August 2015, Bob Semple, a British petroleum engineer who was kidnapped and held as a hostage by Al Qaeda in Yemen was freed by the UAE armed forces after 18 months of captivity.


title: Saudi Arabian–led intervention in Yemen

text: At the start of February 2016, AQAP recaptured Azzan, an important commercial city in Shabwa province. A few weeks later, al-Qaeda fighters and Saudi-led coalition forces were seen fighting a common target; the Houthis.


title: Saudi Arabian–led intervention in Yemen

text: But the situation is different in Aden, the AQAP/ISIS and pro-Hadi that were fighting a common enemy in Taiz are enemies in Aden. On 29 February 2016, a suicide car killed 4 pro-Hadi troops in Shiek Othman district in Aden, the city that Hadi uses as a temporary capital.


title: Saudi Arabian–led intervention in Yemen

text: The United Arab Emirates has spearheaded an active role against fighting AQAP and ISIL-YP presence in Yemen through a partnership with the United States. In April 2016, UAE armed forces assisted Yemeni forces in retaking the city of Mukalla from AQAP during the Battle of Mukalla. In August 2017, the UAE armed forces assisted a Yemeni army offensive against AQAP in Shabwah Governorate.


title: Saudi Arabian–led intervention in Yemen

text: In an Op-Ed in "The Washington Post" Yousef Al Otaiba, the UAE ambassador to the United States, described that the intervention has reduced AQAP presence in Yemen to its weakest point since 2012 with many areas previously under their control liberated. The ambassador declared that more than 2,000 militants have been removed from the battlefield, with their controlled areas now having improved security and a better delivered humanitarian and development assistance such as to the port city of Mukalla and other liberated areas. An Associated Press investigation outlined that the military coalition in Yemen actively reduced AQAP in Yemen without military intervention, instead by offering them deals and even actively recruiting them in the coalition because "they are considered as exceptional fighters". UAE Brigadier General Musallam Al Rashidi responded to the accusations by stating that Al Qaeda cannot be reasoned with and cited that multiple of his soldiers have been killed by them. The UAE military stated that accusations of allowing AQAP to leave with cash contradicts their primary objective of depriving AQAP of its financial strength. The notion of the coalition recruiting or paying AQAP has been thoroughly denied by the United States Pentagon with Colonel Robert Manning, spokesperson of the Pentagon, calling the news source "patently false". The governor of Hadramut Faraj al-Bahsani, dismissed the accusations that Al Qaeda has joined with the coalition rank, explaining that if they did there would be sleeper cells and that he would be "the first one to be killed". According to "The Independent", AQAP activity on social media as well as the number of terror attacks conducted by them has decreased since the Emirati intervention.


title: Saudi Arabian–led intervention in Yemen

text: In January 2019, CNN stated that Saudi Arabia and the UAE provided al-Qaeda linked groups in Yemen with US-made military equipment including vehicles.


title: Saudi Arabian–led intervention in Yemen

text: On 25 June 2019, Saudi special forces announced that they captured the leader of the ISIL-YP, Abu Osama al-Muhajer, on the 3 June along with other members including the chief financial officer of the organization.


title: Saudi Arabian–led intervention in Yemen

text: In April 2020, Yemeni journalist Salah Bin Laghbar revealed documents showing cooperation between Saudi-led coalition and al-Qaeda in Yemen; "An official document from the al-Humiqani tribe warns Saudi-led coalition against sending weapons to terrorist organizations through the Al-Rashad Party, Muslim Brotherhood and terrorist Abdul Rahman Abu al-Harith al-Humiqani, who is affiliated with Daesh."


title: Saudi Arabian–led intervention in Yemen

text: On 25 March 2015, Gulf Air, the Bahraini flag carrier airline announced the immediate suspension of service to Sanaʽa. Somali airlines such as Daallo Airlines and Jubba Airways also encountered difficulties, as they were unable to fly over Yemen after its airspace became restricted. On 15 April 2015, Turkish Airlines suspended all Yemen flights until 1 June.


title: Saudi Arabian–led intervention in Yemen

text: Following Hadi's request, the administration of the Egypt-based Nilesat and Saudi-based Arabsat, two satellite communication companies, stopped broadcasting Yemeni state-run television channels that had fallen under Houthi control. The channels included Al-Yemen, Al-Eman, Saba News Agency and Aden TV. Armed Houthis closed down the Sanaʽa offices of four media outlets, including Al Jazeera, Yemen Shabab and Suhail channels, as well as Al-Masdar's newspaper and website. Al-Saeeda channel was also stormed, but was allowed to remain open on the condition it not broadcast anti-Houthi material. Houthi Political Office member Mohammad Al-Bukhaiti said the channels were closed for supporting the coalition.


title: Saudi Arabian–led intervention in Yemen

text: King Salman replaced his half-brother Muqrin as crown prince with Muhammad bin Nayef and named his son Mohammed bin Salman as defence minister, and then-Ambassador to the United States Adel al-Jubeir as foreign minister. Some reports linked the cabinet reshuffle to the war. At least one political analyst suggested that Muqrin was not supportive of the military intervention, and that this cost him his position. Prince Muqrin's Yemeni Lineage was pointed out as another possible cause.


title: Saudi Arabian–led intervention in Yemen

text: On 19 June 2015, WikiLeaks announced the intention of releasing over 500,000 Saudi diplomatic documents to the internet. In its statement, WikiLeaks referred to a recent electronic attack on the Saudi Foreign Ministry by a group calling itself the Yemen Cyber Army, but did not indicate whether they passed the documents to WikiLeaks.


title: Saudi Arabian–led intervention in Yemen

text: On 15 May 2015, new UN envoy to Yemen Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed proposed peace talks in Geneva. Rebel spokesman Hamed al-Bokheiti said the Houthis were willing to hold talks in any "neutral" country. Five days later the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Ban Ki-moon announced that peace talks would be held in Geneva starting on 28 May and urged all parties to participate. Houthi rebels reiterated their support for the talks while exiled government officials said they would participate only if the Houthi's withdrew from occupied cities.


title: Saudi Arabian–led intervention in Yemen

text: On 26 May, Ban announced that the peace talks were to be postponed indefinitely after exiled Yemeni officials refused to attend until rebels withdrew from all occupied cities. On 6 June the UN announced that peace talks would take place on 14 June Both the exiled officials and the Houthi group confirmed their attendance.


title: Saudi Arabian–led intervention in Yemen

text: Secretary-General Ban called for a "humanitarian pause" during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. Peace talks between the exiled government and the Houthis concluded in Geneva without reaching a ceasefire.


title: Saudi Arabian–led intervention in Yemen

text: On 4 July 2015, Houthi spokesman Mohammed Abdul Salam said in a post on his Facebook page that he had met Ahmed on Friday to discuss a Ramadan truce. The US and EU announced their support for a humanitarian truce.


title: Saudi Arabian–led intervention in Yemen

text: On 9 July, the UN announced an unconditional truce between 10 July until the end of Eid ul Fitr on 17 July. The Special Envoy to Yemen assured the agreement of all warring factions. The truce was interrupted within an hour by airstrikes. Coalition spokesman later added that the coalition was not bound by the truce and that any truce would be counterproductive. It later added that it was not requested to pause by the exiled Yemeni Government.


title: Saudi Arabian–led intervention in Yemen

text: On 8 September 2015, Vice News revealed a leaked email by UN Envoy to Yemen Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed. In it, the envoy confirms that Houthi rebels and the party of former president and Houthi ally Ali Abdullah Saleh have expressed willingness to accept—with some reservations—a UN Security Council resolution, approved in April. This demanded the rebels "withdraw their forces from all areas they have seized, including the capital, Sanaa". "AA/GPC agreed to a new wording on UNSC resolution 2216 that states unequivocally that they are committed to the implementation of 2216 (see document attached) with the exception of article which infringe on Yemeni sovereignty and those related to sanctions," wrote Ould Cheikh Ahmed, referring to Ansar Allah (AA)—another name for the Houthis—and Saleh's General People's Congress party (GPC). "In addition, the new text includes acceptance of the return of the current government for a period of 60 days during which a government of national unity shall be formed," wrote the envoy in the email. According to Ould Cheikh Ahmed, during talks, the Houthis gave ground on certain language, including "mandatory support by the international community for reconstruction that was in the earlier version". "The latter was particularly opposed by KSA Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and GCC Gulf Cooperation Council who did not want it to be interpreted as a form of mandatory compensation," added the UN envoy.


title: Saudi Arabian–led intervention in Yemen

text: On 10 September, UN Envoy to Yemen announced that all parties had agreed to peace talks. A statement from Hadi's office following a meeting on the issue of new talks affirmed the president's "complete support for the sincere efforts exerted by the special envoy". It urged Ahmed to "exert efforts to achieve the public and honest commitment on the part of the Houthis and Saleh" to implement 14 April council resolution unconditionally. On 13 September, the exiled Yemeni government announced that it would no longer participate in the peace talks.


title: Saudi Arabian–led intervention in Yemen

text: On 18 April, peace talks aimed at ending Yemen's civil war that were set to begin faltered before they could start, when delegates representing Yemen's Houthi rebels refused to attend.


title: Saudi Arabian–led intervention in Yemen

text: On 20 April, talks convened, based on UN Security Council resolution 2216 which called for the Houthi fighters to withdraw from areas they seized since 2014 and hand heavy weapons back to the government.


title: Saudi Arabian–led intervention in Yemen

text: On 6 August, the UN special envoy to Yemen, Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed, announced the suspension in Kuwait, where the talks were being held. He said that the negotiations were not a failure and that they would resume in a month at an undisclosed location. Mr. Ahmed is the second United Nations envoy to try to broker peace talks between the Houthis and other factions in Yemen since March 2015. His predecessor quit after similar peace talk efforts failed. After the breakdown of the talks, one of the Houthi negotiators, Nasser Bagazgooz, blamed the United Nations envoy for seeking what he said amounted to a military solution on behalf of the Saudi-led coalition. Previous negotiations floated the idea of forming a unity government—composed of Houthi and former Hadi government leaders. But the exiled Hadi leaders have consistently rejected any deal that would diminish their power over Yemen, and the Houthis have said that they will reject any deal that does not give them a seat at the table.


title: Saudi Arabian–led intervention in Yemen

text: The Saudi-led military coalition and Houthis (Ansar Allah) arrived at a swift ceasefire agreement effective 17 November 2016, as a result of efforts of US Secretary of State John Kerry and Omani dignitaries.


title: Saudi Arabian–led intervention in Yemen

text: After the United Nations urged both sides to pursue peace talks in order to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic in Yemen, Saudi-led coalition spokesman Turki Al-Maliki called a unilateral ceasefire beginning 9 April at noon, to support efforts to mitigate the COVID-19 pandemic. However, despite pledging ceasefire in Yemen, Saudi-led coalition carried out dozens of airstrikes in the span of a week. The Yemen Data Project stated that at least 106 Saudi-led airstrikes, across 26 raids in Yemen had been carried out by the Kingdom in just one week. On July 2, coalition fighter jets launched scores of airstrikes on several Yemeni provinces. The operation was a response to ballistic missile and drone launchings by the Houthis against Saudi Arabia. Both sides stepped up their attacks in September.


title: Mortal Kombat (1995 film)

text: Mortal Kombat is a 1995 American fantasy martial arts action film directed by Paul W. S. Anderson and written by Kevin Droney. Based on the video game franchise of the same name, it is the first installment in the "Mortal Kombat" film series. Starring Linden Ashby, Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, Robin Shou, Bridgette Wilson, Talisa Soto, and Christopher Lambert, the film follows a group of heroes who participate in the eponymous Mortal Kombat tournament to protect Earth from being conquered by malevolent forces. Its story primarily adapts the original 1992 game, while also using elements from the game "Mortal Kombat II" (1993).


title: Mortal Kombat (1995 film)

text: The film premiered in the United States on August 18, 1995. It received mixed reviews from critics, who praised the martial art sequences, atmosphere, and production values, but criticized the performances, script, and toned-down violence from the games. Despite the mixed critical response, the film was well-received by fans of the series. It was also a commercial success, grossing $122 million on an $20 million budget.


title: Mortal Kombat (1995 film)

text: "Mortal Kombat" was followed by a 1997 sequel, "", along with two television series: the animated sequel "" (1996) and the live-action prequel "" (1998–1999). The follow-ups were unable to match the original film's success, and the series was rebooted with a 2021 film.


title: Mortal Kombat (1995 film)

text: Mortal Kombat is a martial arts tournament that is held once every generation between representatives of the realms of Earth and Outworld, conceived by the Elder Gods amid looming invasion of the Earth by Outworld. If Outworld achieves ten consecutive victories, the Outworld Emperor will invade and conquer the Earthrealm. They have already won nine times. Shaolin monk Liu Kang, movie star Johnny Cage, and special forces officer Sonya Blade are chosen by Rayden, the god of thunder and defender of Earthrealm, to prevent Outworld from winning their tenth straight tournament. Liu seeks revenge against the tournament host Shang Tsung for killing his brother Chan, a death for which he blames himself; Sonya is lured onto the ship headed for Shang Tsung's island by crime boss Kano, who murdered her partner; and Johnny seeks to debunk media claims that his martial arts skills are faked.


title: Mortal Kombat (1995 film)

text: Tsung orders the creature Reptile to prevent Princess Kitana, the Emperor's adopted daughter, from allying with the Earth warriors. Liu, Johnny, and Sonya advance to the final rounds of the tournament, with Sonya killing Kano, Johnny defeating Scorpion, and Liu killing Sub-Zero.


title: Mortal Kombat (1995 film)

text: Soon, most of Earthrealm's warriors are defeated by the reigning tournament champion, Prince Goro, including one of Johnny Cage's peers, Art Lean, whose soul is taken by Shang Tsung. This causes the few remaining Earthrealm warriors to lose hope. Rayden warns the Earth warriors that their own fears and egos will make them lose to Goro, but that Goro can still be beaten by mortal men and women. Hoping to protect Liu and Sonya, Johnny challenges Goro. Shang Tsung allows the fight, under the stipulation that he may, in turn, choose anyone to face him in the final fight, in any place of his choosing. Rayden initially rebukes Johnny for challenging Goro, but is impressed when Johnny shows his awareness of the gravity of the tournament.


title: Mortal Kombat (1995 film)

text: During their fight, Johnny uses guile and the element of surprise to defeat an overconfident Goro. Now desperate, Tsung takes Sonya hostage and takes her to Outworld, intending to fight her in the final fight for an easy win. Knowing that his powers are ineffective there, Rayden sends Liu and Johnny into Outworld to rescue Sonya and challenge Tsung. In Outworld, Liu is attacked by Reptile, but gains the upper hand and kills him. Kitana meets up with Johnny and Liu. She reveals to them that her home was once a beautiful and peaceful place, until the Emperor came from a third realm and brought Outworld to ruin after winning ten consecutive Mortal Kombat tournaments there. He then adopted Kitana and took the throne for himself. Not wanting the Emperor to succeed in taking over Earthrealm, Kitana helps them infiltrate Shang Tsung's fortress, disguised in the robes of his followers.


title: Mortal Kombat (1995 film)

text: Before Shang Tsung can fight Sonya, the trio reveal themselves. Kitana berates Tsung for his treachery to the Emperor and for breaking the rules of Mortal Kombat, distracting him while Liu and Johnny free Sonya. Tsung then challenges Johnny but is counter-challenged by Liu. During the lengthy battle, Liu faces not only Shang Tsung but the souls that he took in past tournaments. To take advantage, Shang Tsung morphs into Chan to confuse Liu. Finally accepting that he is not responsible for Chan's death allows Liu to see through the charade. As Shang Tsung begins to lose his power over the souls he took, Liu Kang fires an energy bolt at him, knocking him off and landing onto a bed of spikes. Tsung's death releases all of the captive souls, including Chan's. Before ascending to the afterlife, Chan tells Liu that he will remain with him in spirit until they are reunited.


title: Mortal Kombat (1995 film)

text: The Earth warriors return to Earthrealm, where a victory celebration is taking place at Liu's Shaolin temple. The jubilation stops when the Outworld Emperor appears and declares he has come for everyone's souls. Raiden and the warriors take up fighting stances.


title: Mortal Kombat (1995 film)

text: Goro: The reigning Mortal Kombat champion, is physically portrayed by Tom Woodruff, Jr. and voiced by Kevin Michael Richardson, both of whom were uncredited. Gregory McKinney appears as Jaxx. Frank Welker, who also provided vocal effects for Goro and Reptile, makes an uncredited appearance as the voice of the Outworld Emperor.


title: Mortal Kombat (1995 film)

text: While "Mortal Kombat II" was in the playtest phase and the original "Mortal Kombat" had still only been released in arcades, not for home consoles, movie producer Lawrence Kasanoff visited some friends at the game's publisher, Midway Games, and played a "Mortal Kombat" unit that was in their offices. He saw cinematic possibilities in the concept and expressed interest in making a film based on the game, but Midway head Neil D. Nicastro disagreed that the game could be a successful film, particularly given the failure of past movie adaptations of video games. After months of negotiations, Kasanoff finally acquired a limited option on the "Mortal Kombat" film rights.


title: Mortal Kombat (1995 film)

text: Though a number of top directors submitted pitches for the film, the producers chose unknown director Paul W. S. Anderson after they saw a screening of his debut film, "Shopping", which they felt showed he could take an innovative approach to the material. Anderson had no experience with visual effects but was enthusiastic about making a "Mortal Kombat" film, so he read every book he could find on visual effects and, in his words, "kind of bluffed my way in."


title: Mortal Kombat (1995 film)

text: Cameron Diaz was originally cast as Sonya Blade, but dropped out due to a wrist injury and was replaced by Bridgette Wilson. Wilson had accepted a role in "Billy Madison" after being passed up in the "Mortal Kombat" auditions in favor of Diaz, and so had to fly out to the set the morning after her last day filming "Billy Madison". Steve James was originally cast to play Jaxx, but he died from pancreatic cancer a year before production on the film began.


title: Mortal Kombat (1995 film)

text: Goro was portrayed by an elaborate $1 million animatronic created by Tom Woodruff Jr. and Alec Gillis of Amalgamated Dynamics and operated by 13 to 16 puppeteers. This advanced construct proved a continuous source of problems on the set; Goro frequently broke down, and the person operating Goro from inside could only do so for two minutes at a time due to lack of oxygen. Though Anderson did his best to block and shoot Goro in a way that worked around the animatronic's limitations, ultimately Goro's screen time had to be severely reduced from what was originally planned.


title: Mortal Kombat (1995 film)

text: Filming began in August 1994 and ended in December 1994. The Outworld exterior scenes were filmed at the abandoned Kaiser Steel mill (now the Auto Club Speedway) in Fontana, California, while all of Goro's scenes were filmed in Los Angeles. Shooting locations in Thailand were accessible only by boat, so cast, crew and equipment had to be transported on long canoe-style vessels. Location manager Gerrit Folsom constructed an outhouse in a secluded area near the set in order to alleviate the problem of repeated trips to and from the mainland. Filming locations in Thailand include the Wat Phra Si Sanphet, Wat Chaiwatthanaram and Wat Ratchaburana temples. The arrival of Earth's contestants via boats, Liu Kang's meditation scene and the fight between Liu Kang and Kitana were filmed at the Railay Beach and the Phra Nang Beach, respectively. The bows of the boats were fitted with ornamental dragon-head carvings and used in the movie as the fighters' secondary transport to Shang Tsung's island from his personal junk.


title: Mortal Kombat (1995 film)

text: At Anderson's encouragement, the actors ad-libbed much of the film's dialogue, including the quips "Thank God I didn't ask him to park the car." and "Those were $500 sunglasses, asshole." Most of the cast had several weeks of training for the fight sequences prior to the filming, but due to the last-minute recasting of the Sonya Blade role, Bridgette Wilson had to do all her training on the set. The Sonya vs. Kano fight was one of the last scenes filmed so that Wilson would have enough time to train.


title: Mortal Kombat (1995 film)

text: Despite the intensity of the fight scenes coupled with the actors performing most of their own stunts, the only notable reported injury at the time was a bruised kidney Ashby suffered while shooting Cage's fight scene with Scorpion. Scorpion's stunt double violently collided with a steel bar in the same scene, but as with most stunt person injuries, it was not widely reported in the media. Wilson dislocated her shoulder, but found she had no problems once it was put back in place and continued with the filming. Robin Shou fractured two ribs while being thrown into a pillar in the fight scene between Liu Kang and Reptile, but kept quiet about it for fear that the production would be shut down. He told only Keith Cooke, the actor who plays Reptile, asking him not to hit him on the right side of his rib cage, and finished the scene before going to the hospital.


title: Mortal Kombat (1995 film)

text: Because they wanted the film to have a PG-13 rating while staying as close as possible to the video game, the producers talked extensively with the ratings board to learn the precise limitations of the rating and attempted to creatively optimize the amount of violence and foul language in the film within those limitations. For instance, they learned that the PG-13 rating forbids onscreen death, but only of human characters, so they had all the deaths of non-humans take place onscreen.


title: Mortal Kombat (1995 film)

text: Shou said that in the original script he "was supposed to fall in love with Talisa Soto [Kitana]. I was looking forward to it, but they thought we have so much action, we don't want to add romance to it. They cut it out." Also scripted but not filmed were a short battle between Sonya and Jade, another of Shang Tsung's servants, and a scene where Shang Tsung allowed the heroes a night to mourn the loss of Art Lean and bury him in the Garden of Statues, underneath the statue of Kung Lao. The character of Reptile was originally omitted from the script but later added in response to focus groups being unimpressed with the film's early fight sequences. The fight between Reptile and Liu Kang was filmed on a set in a hangar in Van Nuys Airport. Shou and Anderson noted that neither knew what Reptile's lizard form would look like until after filming, making the pre-fight sequence difficult to shoot.


title: Mortal Kombat (1995 film)

text: The film was originally scheduled for a May 1995 U.S. release, but was pushed back to August. According to Kasanoff, this was because New Line Cinema's executives felt the film had the potential to be a summer hit. It was released on October 20 in the United Kingdom, and on December 26 in Australia.


title: Mortal Kombat (1995 film)

text: The film's score album was composed by George S. Clinton, released by Rykodisc on October 11, 1995. The film's soundtrack album was released by TVT Records on August 15, 1995. The soundtrack album went platinum in less than a year reaching No. 10 on the "Billboard" 200.


title: Mortal Kombat (1995 film)

text: Though the film is based on the original "Mortal Kombat" game, characters and gameplay elements from its sequel, "Mortal Kombat II", were incorporated. The otherworldly dimension of Outworld was not formally mentioned until the second game, in which Jax, Kitana, and Shao Kahn, the game's final boss, also make their official debuts; Kahn briefly appears in the film's closing scene and is identified only as "the Emperor" throughout. Shang Tsung's soul-stealing power was first visualized in "Mortal Kombat II" as one of his Fatality finishing moves, while Liu Kang uses his "Bicycle Kick" special move from the game. After he kills Scorpion in his fight, Cage then drops an autographed picture of himself near his remains, in a reference to his Friendship finishing move. Shang Tsung's robed Shadow Priests, seen before the final battle, were first seen in the second game as background characters.


title: Mortal Kombat (1995 film)

text: "Mortal Kombat" opened on August 18, 1995, and was #1 at the box office for the weekend with $23.2 million, nearly eight times the opening amount of the only other new release that weekend, "The Baby-Sitters Club". At the time, it was the second-highest August opening after 1993's "The Fugitive". The film enjoyed a three-week stint at number one, grossing domestically in the United States. It also earned $51.7 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $124.7 million. The film became the highest-grossing adaptation of a video game, before being surpassed by "" in 1998.


title: Mortal Kombat (1995 film)

text: On Rotten Tomatoes, of critics gave the film a positive review, with an average rating of . The site's critics consensus reads, "Despite an effective otherworldly atmosphere and appropriately cheesy visuals, "Mortal Kombat" suffers from its poorly constructed plot, laughable dialogue, and subpar acting." Metacritic gave the film a weighted average score of 60 out 100, based on 13 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A−" on an A+ to F scale.


title: Mortal Kombat (1995 film)

text: Reviewers praised its atmosphere, fighting sequences, production values, and visuals. However, its PG-13 rating and to a lesser extent, the performances and writing were criticized. Lisa Schwarzbaum of "Entertainment Weekly" called "Mortal Kombat" "a contentedly empty-headed extended advertisement for the joy of joypads (filmed in cheesily ornate cinema de Hong Kong style)" and too noted how it "is notably free of blood and gore." Stephen Holden of the "New York Times" said ""Mortal Kombat" might be described as mythological junk food. Although there is talk of the three kombatants' having to face their deepest fears to prevail, the action is so frenetic and the dialogue so minimal that the allegory is weightless." Roger Ebert said he was "right in the middle" and noted that the fans might be disappointed by the film's killings being much less brutal than the notoriously violent "Mortal Kombat" video games. Marc Savlov from the "Austin Chronicle" mentioned that "It's the cinematic equivalent of cotton candy and Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Robots, but you may recall, you loved that stuff as a kid. I know I did," giving it a 2.5/5 star rating. Laura Evenson from "San Francisco Chronicle" mentioned "Mortal Kombat the movie has everything a teenage boy could want: snakes that jut out of a villain's palms, acrobatic kung- fu fighting and a couple of battling babes. Everything, that is, but an interesting plot, decent dialogue and compelling acting" and concluded that it will likely become a cult classic.


title: Mortal Kombat (1995 film)

text: Kevin Thomas of the "Los Angeles Times" gave the film a glowing review, writing that "as impressive as the special effects are at every turn, even more crucial is Jonathan Carlson's superb, imaginative production design, which combines Thailand exteriors with vast sets that recall the barbaric grandeur of exotic old movie palaces and campy Maria Montez epics. John R. Leonetti's glorious, shadowy camera work and George S. Clinton's driving, hard-edged score complete the task of bringing alive the perilous Outworld". Gene Siskel of the "Chicago Tribune" gave it a "thumbs up" rating on "Siskel & Ebert", calling it "the only half-way decent video game movie [he] has ever seen" and "a lot of fun", saying he was positively surprised by its various high-quality production values, including the "often sensational" special effects, the exotic locations, and the cast of characters being "clearly drawn out of appealing types". Leonard Klady from "Variety" awarded the film a 3.5/5 stars, stating, "But where others have sunk in the mire of imitation, director Paul Anderson and writer Kevin Droney effect a viable balance between exquisitely choreographed action and ironic visual and verbal counterpoint". Kim Newman from "Empire" magazine said, "By the time the big, world-saving bout comes around, it's hard not to wish that Shung Tsu [sic] would settle the fate of mankind by asking Liu Kang what the capital of Venezuela is... rather than engaging him in yet another round of supernaturally assisted dirty fighting," with a final rating of 3 stars out of 5.


title: Mortal Kombat (1995 film)

text: From the 1998 founding of Rotten Tomatoes until 2018, "Mortal Kombat" held the highest critical rating on the site of any video game adaptation. Critical re-evaluations have been mixed but mostly positive due to the well-crafted action sequences, the cast performances, and the exotic set designs, and the film now is considered a cult classic. The video game series itself would take cues from the movie in its lore, such as the need for a realm to win ten straight tournaments before it can invade another, and the retconning of Kano (originally a Japanese-American character) as Australian following Trevor Goddard's performance.


title: Mortal Kombat (1995 film)

text: A 2020 editorial that discusses the work of Paul WS Anderson on Rotten Tomatoes said of "Mortal Kombat", "Critics were split at 47% on the Tomatometer, but audiences loved the electronic soundtrack, creative fight scenes, and diverse cast of committed actors who sacrificed multiple bruised ribs to bless us with some excellent brawls." The editorial attributed the film's box office success chiefly to its conscious playfulness, asserting that "Anderson and his talented crew knew what they were making, and they made it earnestly." Bloody Disgusting commented that "thanks to the kinetic speed in which the actors are moving, the high-octane music, and ironically, the movement of the camera, each fight is given ample feeling and aggression", particularly praising the Scorpion/Johnny Cage and Liu Kang/Reptile fights.


title: Mortal Kombat (1995 film)

text: In 2020, Rotten Tomatoes discussed the film in the "Rotten Tomatoes Is Wrong" podcast series. Scott Johnson criticized the film as not being a faithful adaptation, citing in particular the absence of R-rated gore (which he felt was the only thing genuinely appealing about the game) and the presence of Reptile (who he erroneously said does not appear in the original game). Co-panelist Jacqueline Coley countered that an R rating would have blocked out the "Mortal Kombat" fan base, recounting how even with a PG-13 rating she could only see the film in theaters by sneaking in, and noted that the most beloved video game films are not faithful adaptations but well-crafted cinema which capture the essence of the games. Mark Ellis agreed with Coley that "Mortal Kombat" succeeded in this respect, commenting in particular how it mimics the game's minimal plot by focusing on the tournament, creating an experience similar to watching March Madness. JoBlo.com called Mortal Kombat "colorful, ambitious, and surprisingly funny; Anderson tied everything around a perfect cast lead by the great Robin Shou." Screen Rant referred to the choreography as "top notch", the locations as "amazing", the soundtrack as "pure perfection", and the cast as "dedicated and outstanding", but the CGI as cartoonish and "laughable", the violence as not true to the source material, the Goro animatronic as "not even that impressive by 1995 standards", and the portrayals of Scorpion and Sub-Zero as insulting and "completely wasted". CBR mentioned that Mortal Kombat is "an above-average martial arts classic that was high on fun and easily one of the most rewatchable video game movies, 25 years later". Bloody Disgusting said the film does an excellent job of paying tribute to its source material by including a large number of characters from the game without any of them feeling shoehorned in and by capturing the intense action feel of the game, while Collider stated that "The film knows how to walk the line between reverence and goofiness".


title: Mortal Kombat (1995 film)

text: Cary Hiroyuki Tagawa's take on Shang Tsung is now regarded as the ideal portrayal of the sorcerer. JoBlo.com noted that every actor who has taken the role since have been compared to Tagawa, commenting that his delivery "has all the cadence and embellished style like he's on Broadway, but he holds himself physically like he's just casually laying down the law. Tagawa "is" Shang Tsung." Screen Rant reported that while they felt all the main cast members were equally outstanding, Tagawa was "the best casting of the movie to many". Christopher Lambert as Lord Rayden has also received positive coverage with JoBlo.com commenting that he "lent the production maturity and star power" while CBR mentioned that he "steals every scene he appears, delivering ridiculous lines like, 'The fate of billions depends upon you,' before laughing and apologizing".


title: Mortal Kombat (1995 film)

text: "Mortal Kombat 11" paid tribute to the first movie with numerous Easter eggs as well as bringing back Cary Hiroyuki Tagawa to play Shang Tsung in the "Aftermath" storyline. Subsequent downloadable content would feature voices and likeness from Christopher Lambert, Linden Ashby and Bridgette Wilson-Sampras as Raiden, Johnny Cage and Sonya Blade, respectively.


title: Mortal Kombat (1995 film)

text: A sequel entitled "" was released in 1997. It was directed by John R. Leonetti, who was the cinematographer of the first film. Only Robin Shou and Talisa Soto reprised their roles, with the others being recast. Its storyline is largely an adaptation of "Mortal Kombat 3", following Earthrealm's warriors in their battle against Shao Kahn.


title: Mortal Kombat (1995 film)

text: In contrast to its predecessor, "Annihilation" was critically panned and failed at the box office. As a result, development of the planned third installment halted and never progressed beyond pre-production. In July 2009, actors Chris Casamassa (Scorpion) and Linden Ashby (Johnny Cage) separately announced that they would be reprising their respective roles from the original film, with Casamassa additionally claiming that filming would begin in September of that year, but the project did not commence production.


title: Mortal Kombat (1995 film)

text: On April 11, 1995, New Line Home Video, Turner Home Entertainment and Threshold Entertainment released a tie-in animated film on VHS and Laserdisc, titled "Mortal Kombat: The Journey Begins". Serving as a prequel to the feature film, it follows the protagonists Liu Kang, Johnny Cage and Sonya Blade as they travel on a mysterious boat to the Mortal Kombat tournament. On the way they meet Rayden, who provides them with some hints about how to survive the tournament and defeat Shang Tsung and his army of Tarkatan minions. Upon arriving at the island where the battles take place, Rayden retells the origins of Shang Tsung, Goro, Scorpion, Sub-Zero and the Great Kung Lao in between fight scenes.


title: Mortal Kombat (1995 film)

text: The film featured a combination of traditional animation, motion capture, and CGI to explain the origins behind some of the movie's main characters, as well as a fifteen-minute behind-the-scenes documentary of the theatrical release. Trailers of the film were seen on the promotional screener VHS copy, and on other VHS releases from Turner Home Entertainment and New Line Home Video. The film was included on the "Mortal Kombat" Blu-ray released in April 2011.


title: Mortal Kombat (1995 film)

text: A novelization of the movie by "Martin Delrio" (James D. Macdonald and Debra Doyle) was released through Tor Books. It is based on an early version of the film's script, and as such it includes several deleted or unfilmed scenes, such as a fight between Sonya Blade and Jade.


title: Mortal Kombat (1995 film)

text: Threshold Entertainment produced two television series related to the film, the animated "Mortal Kombat: Defenders of the Realm" and the live-action "Mortal Kombat: Conquest". "Defenders of the Realm", which aired on the USA Network's Action Extreme Team animation block in 1996, served as an alternative sequel and featured Liu Kang, Kitana, Sub-Zero, Sonya Blade, Jax, Kurtis Stryker, and Nightwolf as the eponymous heroes. "Conquest" served as a prequel centered on the Great Kung Lao, accompanied by original characters Siro and Taja, and aired in syndication from 1998 to 1999. Both series received negative reviews and were cancelled after one season.


title: Mortal Kombat (1995 film)

text: In 2021, New Line Cinema produced a new Mortal Kombat reboot film and was released by Warner Bros. Pictures in April 2021 in theaters and HBO Max.


title: Melbourne City FC

text: Melbourne City Football Club is an Australian professional soccer club based in the south–eastern Melbourne suburb of Cranbourne East, that plays in the A-League, the top level of Australian soccer, under licence from Australian Professional Leagues (APL).


title: Melbourne City FC

text: Founded in 2009 as Melbourne Heart, the club competed under that name from its inaugural 2010–11 season until they were rebranded in mid-2014 by the City Football Group (CFG), in partnership with Holding M.S. Australia. In August 2015, City Football Group bought out the Holding M.S. Australia consortium to have 100% ownership of the club.


title: Melbourne City FC

text: Since forming in 2009, Melbourne City has claimed two A-League Men premierships and one championship, as well as one FFA Cup title (in 2016).


title: Melbourne City FC

text: Melbourne City is run from the City Football Academy, a facility located within the Casey Fields sports precinct, in the south-east suburb of Cranbourne East. The club plays home matches at Melbourne Rectangular Stadium, commercially known as AAMI Park, a 30,050 seat multi-use venue in Melbourne's City Centre. The club also has an affiliated youth team which competes in both the National Youth League and the third division of the NPL Victoria league, and a senior women's team which competes in the A-League Women.


title: Melbourne City FC

text: After the dissolution of the National Soccer League in 2003, brought about by the Crawford Report, plans were drawn up for a new revamped national competition to begin the following season. Despite the calls for the new competition to feature two clubs from Melbourne, in 2004 Football Federation Australia, opting for a "one city, one team" policy, announced that the Melbourne Victory had won the licence to be the only Melbourne club to compete in the new national competition, known as the A-League. A 5-year moratorium was also established preventing any other expansion sides from the eight original A-League teams' areas entering the competition until the 2010–11 season, allowing Victory five seasons to establish itself in the Melbourne market.


title: Melbourne City FC

text: On 1 March 2008, former Carlton Football Club vice-president and businessman Colin DeLutis expressed his interest in a second Melbourne A-League side, with an approach to the FFA to become sole owner of the second licence with the bid name of 'Melbourne City'. FFA chief executive Ben Buckley raised the possibility of expanding the A-League from eight to 12 teams in May 2008, in readiness for the 2009–10 season. Buckley also revealed the existence of a third Melbourne bid tentatively known as 'Melbourne Heart' backed by Peter Sidwell, to compete with the two other bids of Southern Cross FC and Melbourne City.


title: Melbourne City FC

text: On 25 July 2008, the Melbourne City bid dropped out of the bidding process leaving the Melbourne Heart and Southern Cross FC bids as the last two bids standing. By September 2008, the Melbourne Heart bid was awarded exclusive negotiating rights for the league's 11th licence, beating out the South Melbourne-backed Southern Cross FC bid. Negotiations continued until Sidwell's group was awarded the licence to join the A-League's 2010–11 season by the FFA on 12 June 2009.


title: Melbourne City FC

text: Heart started its inaugural season against Central Coast Mariners on 5 August 2010, at their home ground AAMI Park, losing 1–0. The club's first ever goal was an own goal scored by Ben Kantarovski in the Heart's second league game, a 1–1 draw against Newcastle Jets. Melbourne Heart's first win was a 1–0 victory over North Queensland Fury, which came in the fifth round of their first A-League season on 4 September 2010. They contested the first ever Melbourne Derby against Melbourne Victory on 8 October 2010, and won 2–1. Heart finished their first season on equal points with Newcastle Jets, but behind on goal difference in eighth position. They failed to make it into the top six teams to reach the finals, despite sitting in sixth position for majority of the season.


title: Melbourne City FC

text: After a moderately more successful second season, Melbourne Heart finished 6th on the ladder, enough to make the finals. Heart's first finals game was against Perth Glory, where they were defeated 3–0 at nib stadium. Wins over local rivals continued to occur over the following two seasons, though the club failed to finish above the bottom two places and claimed the wooden spoon in 2013/14.


title: Melbourne City FC

text: It was announced on 23 January 2014 that the City Football Group had acquired Melbourne Heart for $12 million. The deal involved CFG acquiring 80% of Heart, the other 20% to be held by a consortium of businessmen allied to Rugby league club Melbourne Storm. On 5 June 2014, the team obtained Spanish World Cup-winning striker David Villa on loan from New York City FC, another team owned by the City Football Group. Villa was expected to play in the A-League until New York City entered Major League Soccer in 2015. Villa played only four of an expected ten matches, scoring twice, before being recalled by New York City. Although none of the matches were won, coach John van 't Schip credited Villa with bringing attention to the new team, and it was estimated that his presence trebled the club's attendance. Ahead of the 2015–16 season, City Football Group announced it had bought out the remaining 20% share of the club held by a consortium for a $2.25 million fee, thus acquiring 100% ownership of Melbourne City Football Club.


title: Melbourne City FC

text: Under manager John van 't Schip, the club developed a reputation for attacking and high-scoring soccer, with the 2015/16 season characterised as the club's most sustained period of on-field success. The signing of Uruguayan striker Bruno Fornaroli was key to the club becoming the most attacking and (scoring wise) prolific team in the league that season. The senior team finished the regular season a club high fourth on the table whilst the women's team achieved a remarkable feat by winning all 14 of its regular season games on the way to both a maiden premiership and championship in the club's inaugural season in the women's league. The men's team qualified for its first final of any kind in November 2016, and achieved silverware when it defeated Sydney FC 1–0 in the 2016 FFA Cup Final. Despite this success, City continued to fall short in knockout finals matches, losing at the elimination or semi-finals stage of the series over successive seasons. van 't Schip left the club mid-way through the 2016/17 season to be with his terminally ill father and under the temporary stewardship of Michael Valkanis the season ended with another early finals exit.


title: Melbourne City FC

text: Following van 't Schip's departure, City management signed former Manchester United Reserves and Wigan Athletic coach Warren Joyce as manager ahead of the 2017/18 season. Despite overseeing improvements in the team's defensive capabilities, Joyce was unable to bring any silverware to the club. He left the club at the end of the 2018/19 season, in which the club again failed to reach the Grand Final, though with a respectable winning percentage. "Fairfax" soccer journalist Michael Lynch reported that, despite shoring up the team defensively, Joyce's "two years in charge will be remembered for the number of high-profile players who departed the club" under his watch, which included a falling-out with star striker Fornaroli, as well as the departures of Neil Kilkenny, Fernando Brandán and Australia's leading goalscorer Tim Cahill.