Saleh broke with his putative ally this month, signaled to Riyadh that he was flipping sides again, and was killed days later. The Houthis are Zaydi Shiite Muslims, significantly different in doctrine and beliefs from the Shiites who dominate in Iran, Iraq, and elsewhere. April 10, 2023 After eight years of crushing civil war in Yemen, where hundreds of thousands of people have died of violence and hunger, a new round of talks this week has raised a glimmer of hope. The cost of the war to Yemenis is staggering. What do the Houthis really want? They forged a coalition to back them including the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and other traditional Saudi allies. Zaydis believe he was a model of a pure caliph who should have ruled instead of the Umayyads. The UN is now working overtime to ensure the success of new talks, which are supposed to take place in Sweden by the end of November. For the Saudi king and his 29-year-old defense minister and son Prince Muhammad bin Salman (MBS), it was a nightmare. Yemeni fighters loyal to the Shia Houthi movement in Sanaa. please help us with your generous contributions. The Houthi movement, which had attracted support beyond its base with its criticisms of the UN transition, organized mass protests demanding lower fuel prices and a new government. Talks between the two sides halted Saudi airstrikes and paved the way for negotiations between the Houthis and Hadis government. Although they cannot hold out forever against the coalitions air power and blockades, they say they are determined not to give up. Given the Houthi movements Shia religious identity and its hostility to the United States, Saudi Arabia, and the internationally recognized Yemeni government, it was all but inevitable that it would become an Iranian-backed proxy force, much like Hezbollah in Lebanon. In 2015, the Houthis placed Hadi and his government ministers under house arrest. Professor Bernard Haykel of Princeton University, a noted expert on Yemen, addresses these questions and more, including potential avenues for resolving the unending conflict. They were also motivated by what they saw as Saleh's economic discrimination of the north. China's Confucius Institutes may face German restrictions, Spain's left pitches 20,000 in cash for youths, Iraq: Thousands of dead fish wash up amid ongoing drought, Instagram Threads: Meta sets sights on Twitter supremacy, Russia spreads disinformation in Spanish-speaking world, US military claims Iranian provenance of Houthi arms, The young Yemeni pushing for change from abroad, Saudi Arabia has blamed Iran for committing a possible "act of war" after a missile fired by Yemen's Houthi rebels targeted Riyadh. Hadi was deeply unpopular and seen as a Saudi stooge. The existing UNVIM mandate is tied to UNSCR 2216 and involves only inspecting Houthi-controlled ports like Hodeida. The purpose of the coalition was to prevent the Houthi rebels from expanding southward, which would have put an Iranian proxy force on Saudi Arabias southern border. How privacy legislation can help address AI, Fixing the Global Digital Divide and Digital Access Gap, Assessing insurance regulation and supervision of climate-related financial risk, Displaced to cities: Conflict, climate change, and rural-to-urban migration, Renewable energy should not be the next semiconductor in US-China competition, TechTank episode 73: How to address issues of racial equity and justice. Mohammed al-Bukhaiti: We will only do this when the government is formed. Yemens Houthi rebels are a decades-old resistance movement, born in opposition to Saudi Arabias religious influence. (STR/AFP via Getty Images), Wake up to the Trusted Mideast News source, By subscribing, you agree to The Media Line terms of use and. For your selfish heart A ship without an anchor, holding me back A car without a driver, a train off the tracks Who are the Houthis and why are they fighting the Saudi coalition in Who are Yemen's Houthis? - The Conversation In 2004, Salehs forces killed Hussein al-Houthi. The Zaydi elevate him to be the epitome of a symbol of fighting corruption. A succession of Zaydi Imams ruled the community and Zaydis were the majority of the population in the mountains of the north. The Houthi movement was one part of the wide national uprising against Saleh. The Houthis are a revolutionary Muslim Shiite group that captured the capital Sanaa in September 2014, ousting the internationally recognized government of Yemen, and then proceeded to attempt a military takeover of the entire country. The Houthi clan hails from Saada Province in the north, where the country's Zaydi Shiite community, about 30 percent of Yemen's 24 million. The Houthi movement was founded in the 1990s by Hussein Badreddin al-Houthi, a member of Yemens Zaidi Shia minority, which makes up about one-third of the population. After 2003, Saleh launched a series of military campaigns to destroy the Houthis. The ruler, or imam, was both a secular ruler and a spiritual leader. The 1990 unification of North and South Yemen brought Ali Abdullah Saleh to power as the leader of the new Republic of Yemen. The Houthis' slogan, known as the sarkha, or scream, is "God is great, death to America, death to Israel, curse on the Jews, victory to Islam." Hezbollah, the Shiite movement in Lebanon which successfully expelled the Israeli army from the country in 2000, became an early role model and mentor for the Houthis. AJ: How would you describe your relationship with the Yemeni president? Yemen is a very divided society today; it is unclear it will ever be a unified state again. The Arab Spring came to Yemen in 2011. "Houthi relations with the Islamic republic resemble the Iran-Hamas relationship more than the Iran-Hezbollah relationship that is, the Houthis are autonomous partners who usually act in accordance with their own interests, though often with smuggled Iranian arms and other indirect help," analysts wrote in a report early Thursday. The Houthis have sent thousands of supporters to. The Saudis chose to go to war to support Hadi and prevent the Houthi-Saleh rebellion from consolidating control of the country. The existing U.N. Verification and Inspections Mechanism for Yemen (UNVIM) should be greatly expanded in mission and personnel to provide inspectors at all Yemeni ports and airfields to ensure no major violations of the resolution are perpetrated by either side. [74] The conflict has also led to the death of an American who was being held by Houthis in Yemen. American intelligence officials said that Iran was actually trying to discourage the Houthis from seizing Sanaa and openly toppling Hadi. Saudi Arabia and Egypt fear the civil war threatens the globally-important Gulf of Aden and the Suez Canal because Yemen sits on the narrow Bab el-Mandeb strait through which much of the world's oil shipments pass. The Houthis have already made significant gains recently on the ground around the port city of Hodeida. An expert's point of view on a current event. Experts point to Iranian designs and technology being used in Houthi missile attacks and drone designs, while various sources have claimed missiles and small arms are shipped overland through Oman, though the evidence chain is patchy. Many accuse Houthis of undermining the president and even working to oust him? All rights reserved. Who are the Houthis and what do they want? From its outset, the Biden administration painted peace in Yemen as a top priority, but it has done little to secure an end to the fighting. In an age of fake news masquerading as journalism, The Media Line plays a crucial role in providing fact-based news that deserves your support. They charged Saleh with massive corruption to steal the wealth of the Arab worlds poorest country for his own family, much like other Arab dictators in Tunisia, Egypt, and Syria. What Do the Protesting Houthis Really Want in Yemen? - VICE It is unclear if the Houthis have ambitions beyond northern Yemen. The Houthis easily got the upper hand on the Saudis at the outset of their intervention in 2015 and now are poised to capture the last city in the north, Marib, controlled by Riyadhs Yemeni clients. The strategic straits at the Bab al Mandab could be in the Houthis hands. With food ships finding it hard to get into Yemen's ports due to a virtual blockade by Saudi Arabia, over half the country's 28 million people already do not have enough to eat, according to the United Nations. I'm falling apart Is this what you needed? In foreign policy shift, Biden lifts terrorist designation for Houthis Infighting is rife among Houthi leaders, military wings and clerics. Given the Houthi movements Shia religious identity and its hostility to the United States, Saudi Arabia, and the internationally recognized Yemeni government, it was all but inevitable that it would become an Iranian-backed proxy force, much like Hizbullah in Lebanon. Q&A: What do the Houthis want? | Houthis News | Al Jazeera In response, Zaidi clerics began to militarise their followers against Riyadh and its allies. The war ended in a republican victory after the Saudis and Egyptians resolved their regional rivalry after the 1967 war with Israel and lost interest in the Yemen civil war. The Houthis opened direct civilian air traffic between Sanaa and Tehran, Iran promised cheap oil for Yemen, and rumors of more Iran-Houthi cooperation spread quickly. Houthis Take Control of Four Northern Provinces, Two Governors Resign", "More than 100 al Houthis killed in one week in Yemen", "Yemen government recaptures Red Sea town from Houthi rebels", "More than 20 Houthis killed in Yemen's al Bayda", "The Houthi War Machine: From Guerrilla War to State Capture", Aftermath of the Houthi takeover in Yemen, Shabwah Governorate offensive (2014present), September 2015 Marib Tochka missile attack, Foreign involvement in the Yemeni civil war, Reactions to the Saudi-led military intervention, List of aviation shootdowns and accidents during the Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen, 2008 attack on the United States embassy in Yemen, Mujahideen Shura Council in the Environs of Jerusalem, Liwa Assad Allah al-Ghalib fi al-Iraq wa al-Sham, Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa, Shura Council of Benghazi Revolutionaries, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Houthi_movement&oldid=1160792939, Organizations designated as terrorist by Saudi Arabia, Organizations designated as terrorist by the United Arab Emirates, Organizations based in Asia designated as terrorist, Rebel groups that actively control territory, Entities added to the Consolidated List by Australia, Short description is different from Wikidata, Wikipedia indefinitely move-protected pages, Wikipedia indefinitely semi-protected pages, Articles with unsourced statements from April 2023, Pages using multiple image with auto scaled images, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 4.0, Abdul-Karim Badreddin al-Houthi high-ranking commander, Abu Ali Abdullah al-Hakem al-Houthi military commander, This page was last edited on 18 June 2023, at 20:26. The Houthis - also known as Ansar Allah, who now control most of Yemen's north, have launched repeated missile and drone attacks on Saudi Arabia and the UAE over the course of Yemen's civil war.. (01.04.2017). Leonard Cohen - Is This What You Wanted Lyrics | AZLyrics.com Who are the Houthis in Yemen? | News | Al Jazeera Additional resources Join the Hoover Institution's community of supporters in ideas advancing freedom. Instability and large-scale displacement, as well as weak governance, corruption, resource depletion and poor infrastructure, have hindered development in the poorest country in the Middle East. The Houthis have won in Yemen: What next? The terrorist group has claimed responsibility for a spate of attempted attacks on the UAE leading to global condemnation. (STR/AFP via Getty Images) News Houthi Yemen Civil War Yemen's Houthis Went From Ragtag Militia to Force Threatening Gulf Backs Saudi-Led Yemeni Bombing With Logistics, Spying", ": 3 ", "How did Yemen's Houthi-Saleh alliance collapse? But while they do not have the overwhelming financial and advanced military resources of the Saudis, the Houthis have demonstrated an outsized capability, controlling around a third of Yemeni territory including the major population centers and haveeven breached Saudi borders. The Houthis: Who Are They and What Do They Want? The Houthis military success was aided by secret collusion with Saleh, who funded the group and provided support from an army unit that remained loyal to him and his family. The Houthi leader has blamed the party for all of the countrys ills and rampant corruption. Special Envoy of the United Nations Secretary-General for Yemen Roxane Bazargan (C), visits a site reported to be a prison destroyed in a Saudi-led airstrike in the Houthi stronghold of Sa'ada in northern Yemen, on Feb. 2, 2022. Analysis: Fighting recedes, but peace in Yemen remains distant Karaganovs nuclear rant ought to scare Lukashenko. Yemen's Tragedy: War, Stalemate, and Suffering Every evening, DW sends out a selection of the day's news and features. Who has to leave the Federal Reserve next? Read more: Empowering women in Yemen's civil war. The missile was intercepted by the UAE military and no casualties were reported. Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning, 2023 Guardian News & Media Limited or its affiliated companies. Who Are Yemen's Houthis and What Do They Want? - NBC News This is when Saudi Arabia decided to intervene, forming the Decisive Storm coalition with the UAE and additional Arab states among them: Bahrain, Kuwait, Egypt and Jordan. Moreover, Undersecretary of Defense Michael Vickers said on the record in January that Washington had a productive informal intelligence relationship with the Houthis against al-Qaida. AJ: Have you reached a consensus over who should be the next prime minister? Yemen Briefing: Who are the Houthis, and what do they want? The Houthis, a rebel movement that now controls the vast majority of Yemen's north, have regularly launched missiles and drones toward neighboring Saudi Arabia and at times claimed attacks on the. The Zaydi Royalists fled to the mountains along the Saudi border to fight a civil war for control of the country. The war ended in a republican victory. The Houthis first loosely presented themselves as a resistance force that rose against a Yemeni military offensive in Saada and as a force of opposition to Salehs authoritarian regime. It is a remarkable accomplishment for a militia group with no air force or navy. Indeed, we have rejected the Gulf initiative and we did not take part in the presidential elections. Hawthorne Heights - Is This What You Wanted? Lyrics | AZLyrics.com Who are the Houthis and why did they attack Abu Dhabi? The Saudis joined with Saleh in these campaigns, but they were unsuccessful. Biden administration to remove Houthis from terrorist list - CNN We are only there to protect those places including government installations, embassies, and main roads because there are hardly any security forces in the capital now. The American invasion of Iraq in 2003 deeply radicalized the Houthi movement, like it did many other Arabs. In 1962, an Egyptian-backed revolutionary military cabal overthrew the Mutawakkilite king and established an Arab nationalist government with its capital in Sanaa. While the war in Yemen has had a broader regional dynamic, frequent references to the group by Saudi Arabia and its allies as a mere Iranian proxy do not tell the whole story. Riyadh portrays them as Iranian puppets, but many Yemenis see them as patriots fighting the countrys traditional enemy Saudi Arabia and America, Israels defender. This is an inaccurate analysis of the situation in Yemen. Gulf States Iran Saudi Arabia Yemen, Center for Middle East Policy Strobe Talbott Center for Security, Strategy, and Technology. What Do Peace Talks in Yemen Mean for Its 8-Year War? - The New York Times After they allied with their former enemy Saleh, fearing their growing power, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, with help from the US and UK, opened an air and ground war against them. The Houthis won against both Saleh and the Saudi army, besting them both again and again. Meanwhile, the Houthis are in no hurry to end a war they have already won. Newly recruited Houthi soldiers march during the funeral of Houthi fighters killed during recent fighting against government forces, in Sanaa, Yemen, December 6, 2021. And we do not want to go against this consensus. AJ: How would you define the Houthi movement and what is your endgame? The Zaidis have felt for a long time that they were disaffected and ignored," said Robert McFadden, senior vice president at the . The Houthis have acted expressly against Irans advice on several occasions during the war, including a demand not to take over Sanaa in 2014. An Emirati-leased Swift boat came under rocket fire from Houthis in the area last week, suffering serious damage. Iran has been accused of supplying the Yemeni rebels with heavy weaponry, including the missiles that they have launched against Saudi Arabia and the UAE. He had complicated relations with both Riyadh and Washington, but by the late 1990s was generally aligned with both against al-Qaida. The media overplayed this. Iran is another source of support, especially since the Houthis and Iranians share a common enemy in Saudi Arabia. Two administrations have backed the war against the Houthis without a serious campaign to explain why Americans should see them as our enemies. The Houthis' war of attrition is enabling their rise The Houthi rebels' wins were dependent on their ability to create chaos. Who are the Houthis? It may be wise for the international community to set its sights and goals on encouraging peace between the parts of Yemen, not on unification itself. They are the ones turning down our calls for national dialogue. Whats at stake for China in the Wagner rebellion? However, with bigger fires getting out of control in other parts of the world, it seems to have been relegated to the back page of mainstream media for most of the last few. Artificial Intelligence & Emerging Technology, Modis visit to France and Europe-India ties, Strobe Talbott Center for Security, Strategy, and Technology, Nonstate armed actors and illicit economies in 2022, Egyptian-backed revolutionary military cabal overthrew the Mutawakkilite king, Houthis began secretly colluding with Saleh against Hadi, United Nations Development Programme estimated, it is unclear it will ever be a unified state again, U.N. Verification and Inspections Mechanism for Yemen (UNVIM). Their strategy was to open up multiple battlefronts in a war of attrition that depleted government resources and tested Saudi ground and air defenses. It is also strikingly like Hezbollahs success story in Lebanon. Sunni-ruled Saudi Arabia and its allies, including the U.S., see the Shiite Houthis as being financially and militarily supported by Shiite-ruled Iran. A high ranking member of the Houthi movement speaks to Al Jazeera about the movements endgame in Yemen. Yemeni forces killed Houthi leader Hussein al-Houthi in September 2004, sparking an escalation in the conflict, with as many as five wars fought between the Houthis and Yemeni government forces between 2004 and 2010.
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