AP News Guide: What to know about Yemen's yearslong war

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Yemen's yearslong war between Shiite rebels and a Saudi-led coalition backing its exiled government has escalated with an assault on the insurgent-held port city of Hodeida.

Here's a look at Yemen, its tangled history and the combatants involved in a war that's sparked what is now the world's worst humanitarian crisis.

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THE ARAB WORLD'S POOREST NATION

Yemen is an arid nation on the southern tip of the Arabian Peninsula, just a little larger than Spain. Its coasts run along the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea, as well as a crucial chokepoint between the two bodies of water called the Bab el-Mandeb strait. The strait is one of the world's busiest shipping corridors and leads to the Suez Canal.