Civil war and a Saudi-led naval blockade have Yemen teetering on the brink of a humanitarian disaster.

Pressured by Western governments and Islamic State, Al-Qaeda is undergoing a transition as it struggles to remain relevant in the global movement it helped to create.

Saudi Arabia has intervened against the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen, and in doing so opened up a new proxy front between the bitter regional rivals.

Considering the warring factions, stunted opportunities for economic growth, an imminent oil shortage, and the severe water problems, Yemen is a social and security time bomb.

If you asked a State Department employee what their worst-case scenario for the Middle East was five years ago, the response might have described what is currently unfolding across the region.

What are the challenges faced by the new Yemeni government in dealing with the Islamist insurgency in the South?

Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh’s recent statement that he ‘rejects power’ and will step down in the coming days has become somewhat of a common refrain in recent months.

The al-Shabab attack on World Cup revelers in Uganda three weeks ago has served as a wake-up call for African Union leaders.

This weekend’s double bombing in Kampala bears all the hallmarks of an al-Shabab attack. It seems that Somalia’s homegrown strain of the Taliban has struck outside its own borders for the very first time.

Two major developments occurred in Somalia last week: a merger between the Ras Kamboni Brigade and al-Shabab, and al-Shabab’s long-suspected but hitherto unmade declaration of open alliance with Al Qaeda. Both do not bode well for the survival of the beleaguered Transitional Federal Government (TFG) in Mogadishu.

While the central government struggles to cope with bubbling discontent in both north and south Yemen, Al Qaeda stands poised to expand into any vacuum that may form.