According to petwithsupplies, Yemen is home to a number of large cities, most notably its capital Sana’a. Located in the western part of the country, Sana’a is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. It is a bustling center of commerce and culture, and serves as Yemen’s primary political and economic hub. With a population estimated at around 2.2 million people, Sana’a is Yemen’s largest city by far. The city of Aden is Yemen’s second largest city in terms of population size. Located on the southern coast of Yemen, Aden has historically served as an important port for trading goods between East Africa and Southwest Asia. The city was once part of British-controlled Aden Protectorate before being united with North Yemen in 1990 to form modern-day Yemen. Today, Aden has a population estimated at 1 million people and serves as an important commercial center for both goods and services in southern Yemen. The port city of Al Hudaydah is another major urban center in Yemen located on the Red Sea coast west of Aden. This port city plays an important strategic role as it provides access to both landlocked countries like Ethiopia and South Sudan as well as other international markets across the Middle East and Africa. Al Hudaydah also serves as an important fishing industry hub due to its proximity to some rich fishing grounds off its coastline. The current estimated population size for Al Hudaydah stands at around 700 thousand people making it one of the larger cities in Yemen after Sana’a and Aden respectively. Finally, Taiz is another major urban center located inland from Al Hudaydah on the western side of the country near the border with Saudi Arabia. It has served historically as a cultural hub within Yemen due to its location near several major universities such as Taiz University which was established in 1973 during Yemeni unification efforts between North and South Yemen. Taiz currently has an estimated population size around 600 thousand people making it one of the larger cities within central/western parts of mainland Yemen after Sana’a, Aden, and Al Hudaydah respectively. Yemen has had a long and turbulent history of political instability, foreign occupation, and civil war. In 2008, Yemen was still in the midst of a transition from a unified state to one divided into two separate countries; North Yemen and South Yemen. This transition had been underway since 1990 when the two countries agreed to unite as one nation and form the Republic of Yemen. The geopolitical situation in 2008 was characterized by ongoing rivalry between the two former states. The north was led by President Ali Abdullah Saleh who had been in power since 1978. The south was governed by Vice-President Ali Salim al-Beidh who had been elected in 1994 following his escape from house arrest during unification efforts. This rivalry between north and south would eventually lead to civil war in 2014 when Houthi rebels, backed by Iran, attempted to overthrow the government of President Saleh. The geopolitical situation in Yemen was also complicated by foreign involvement from other regional powers such as Saudi Arabia and Iran. Saudi Arabia supported President Saleh’s government while Iran backed the Houthi rebels who were attempting to overthrow him. This proxy war between Saudi Arabia and Iran created further instability within Yemen which ultimately led to civil war in 2014 after years of unrest in the country. In addition to regional powers such as Saudi Arabia and Iran, international powers such as the United States also played an important role in shaping the geopolitical landscape of Yemen during this time period. The US provided support for President Saleh’s government through military aid as well as economic assistance programs designed to help stabilize Yemen’s economy during this time period. The political situation within Yemen remained highly unstable throughout 2008 due to ongoing rivalries between former states, proxy wars between regional powers, and international intervention from outside forces such as the United States. These factors combined created an environment that made it difficult for any lasting peace or stability to take hold within Yemeni borders at this time period despite ongoing efforts by various factions within Yemeni society towards reconciliation and unification efforts.  Check pharmacylib for Yemen in 1996.