Nationwide Internet Blackout in Yemen Following Houthi Attacks on Israel, US

Yemen's main internet provider YemenNet, controlled by Houthi rebels, experiences nationwide outage amid Houthi attacks on Israel and the U.S., heightening concerns about escalating regional conflict.

• Yemen's main internet provider YemenNet, now controlled by the Houthi rebels, experienced a nationwide blackout that began early Friday.
• The internet outage impacted the majority of Yemen's population living in the west along the Red Sea, who depend on the undersea FALCON cable for connectivity.
• The unexplained blackout followed a series of recent drone and missile attacks by the Houthis on Israel and the U.S., including a claimed strike on the Israeli port city of Eilat and the downing of an American MQ-9 Reaper drone.
• The conflict in Yemen, which began in 2014 when the Houthis seized much of the country's north, has escalated into a regional proxy war involving Saudi ArabiaIran, causing the death of more than 150,000 people and one of the world's worst humanitarian crises.
• Despite international criticism and resulting pull-back in support, the U.S. is suspected to continue carrying out drone strikes targeting suspected members of Yemen’s local al-Qaida branch.

5 Articles

Washington Post Associated Press Quartz Quartz Quartz