In February 2007 at least a dozen people, including an 11-year-old boy, were killed during a land dispute between tribesmen from al-Baydha and Sanhan that erupted in a southern suburb of the Yemeni capital, Sana’a. A sheikh from Sanhan kidnapped the son of a sheikh from al-Baydha to pressure him into renouncing ownership of a large plot of land. The youth reportedly fought back, injuring his kidnapper, and was then killed. The boy’s family rejected mediation and a gun battle erupted, with further killings apparently occurring when injured fighters were taken to hospital.

Initiated in 2008, the Yemen Armed Violence Assessment (YAVA) comprises a multi-year field-based project designed to generate quantitative and qualitative analysis of the drivers and dynamics of armed violence in the country. The YAVA is designed to support efforts to prevent and reduce armed violence in Yemen, not least by the Yemeni government, which has taken significant steps in recent years to address weapons carrying in cities and constrain the arms trade.