The Saudi-led intervention in Yemen began on 26 March 2015 under the codename Operation Decisive Storm (later Operation Restoring Hope), launched by a coalition assembled by Saudi Arabia after Houthi (Ansar Allah) forces seized Sanaa in September 2014 and advanced on Aden, forcing President Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi to flee.
The coalition initially included Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Egypt, Jordan, Morocco, Sudan, and Senegal, with logistical and intelligence support from the United States, the United Kingdom, and France. Qatar was expelled in 2017 amid the Gulf diplomatic crisis. The stated objective was to restore the internationally recognised Hadi government and counter what Riyadh characterised as Iranian influence operating through the Houthis.
The campaign has combined airstrikes, a naval and air blockade, and ground operations supporting Yemeni factions including forces loyal to Hadi and, separately, the UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council (STC). The intervention drew on the framework of UN Security Council Resolution 2216 (April 2015), which imposed an arms embargo on Houthi leaders and demanded their withdrawal from seized territory.
Humanitarian consequences have been severe. The UN has repeatedly described Yemen as one of the world's worst humanitarian crises, citing famine conditions, a major cholera outbreak from 2016 onward, and tens of thousands of civilian deaths from combat and indirect causes. High-profile incidents — including the August 2018 Dahyan school bus strike investigated by the UN Group of Eminent Experts — prompted arms-sale reviews in Germany, Denmark, the Netherlands, and partial restrictions in the US Congress.
A UN-brokered truce took effect on 2 April 2022 and, although it formally lapsed in October 2022, largely held in practice. Following the March 2023 China-brokered Saudi–Iranian rapprochement, Riyadh and the Houthis entered direct talks aimed at a roadmap to end Saudi involvement, though a comprehensive political settlement remained unresolved as fighting continued at lower intensity.
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In August 2018, a Saudi-led coalition airstrike on a school bus in Dahyan, Saada governorate, killed dozens of children and drew international scrutiny of Western arms sales to Riyadh.