Sadah

Sadah is the capital city of Saada Governorate in north-western Yemen at an elevation of about 1,800 meters. Its population in 2004 was estimated at 51,870.It was formerly identified with Karna, the kingdom of the ancient kingdom of Ma’in, which is now known to be identical to the ancient Qarnawu near the modern Ma’in in the Al Jawf Governorate.

Since June 2004, violent conflict has taken place in Saada, killing several thousand and displacing 250,000 people countrywide.Known in English as the Houthi insurgency in Yemen, the conflict has its roots in an insurgency against the government of Yemen which was initiated by the Zaidi religious leader Hussein Badreddin al-Houthi in 2004. A ceasefire, brokered in June 2007, was followed by a peace agreement in February 2008. By April 2008, however, the peace process was in jeopardy as each side of the conflict accused the other of failing to implement aspects of the peace agreement. Analysts suggest that renewed conflict will damage the humanitarian situation in the region.