It's been difficult to find any kind of long-lasting peace in Yemen this year, despite the brief hope offered by a cease-fire negotiated between the two parties — the Houthis and the forces belonging to the internationally recognized government. The cease-fire, first agreed in the spring and extended several times, lapsed in October when the two sides couldn't come to further agreement on it.

Despite the fragility of the agreement, it did give ordinary Yemenis some respite. According to the United Nations, there were no major military operations in the war and a 60% decrease in casualties.

Saudi Arabia's government is leading an international alliance against the insurgent Houthis, who control large parts of northern Yemen, including the capital, Sanaa. The Houthi rebels are supported by Iran, and what was originally a domestic conflict has evolved into a larger international struggle between the two geopolitical rivals in the region, Saudi Arabia and Iran.

The head of the internationally-recognized government, President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi, left power in a move orchestrated by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates in April and was replaced by an eight-member Presidential Leadership Council. The new council was supposed to negotiate with the Houthi rebels on a comprehensive solution to Yemen's civil war, which began........

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