Who Are the Houthi Rebels and What Do They Want? A Brief History

The Houthi rebels are an armed political and religious group that emerged in the 1990s as a cultural revivalist movement for the Zaydi sect of Islam, which was practiced by approximately 35% of the Yemeni population. The Houthis initially began as a movement against the Yemeni government, which they accused of corruption and being backed by Saudi Arabia and the United States. The group’s late founder, Hussein al-Houthi, led the opposition movement against Yemen President Ali Abdullah Saleh. After Saleh resigned, Saudi Arabia backed Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi as the new leader of the country, which the Houthis resented 1. The Houthis launched a military campaign against the new government, which led to a civil war that is still ongoing.

The Houthis are an armed political and religious group that champions Yemen’s Shia Muslim minority, the Zaidis. They declare themselves to be part of the Iranian-led “axis of resistance” against Israel, the US, and the wider West, along with armed groups such as Hamas and Lebanon’s Hezbollah movement. The group is now considered close allies of the government in Iran and receives some support from them. However, some experts say it’s not entirely accurate to call the Houthi rebels a direct proxy of Iranian interests. They have their own locally defined interests, and their actions in the past two months have reflected that.

See also

The Red Sea Shipping Crisis Impact On Global Trade And Supply Chains

The Red Sea Shipping Crisis: A Call for International Cooperation

The Red Sea Shipping Crisis: A Halt in Liquefied Natural Gas Carriers and a Surge in Energy Prices

The Houthis’ Red Sea Attacks: A Multifaceted Motivation

The Red Sea Crisis: A Geopolitical Tug-of-War