Yemen’s Houthis: Unraveling the Group Behind Red Sea Ship Attack
They are threatening sea lanes that carry a lot of the world’s oil and are causing worry in Red Sea states as Houthi rockets and drones fly toward Israel.
Yemen’s Houthis: The Houthis of Yemen, who are allied with Iran, are making the conflict in the Middle East worse by hitting ships in the Red Sea and firing drones and missiles at Israel in what they say is an effort to help the Palestinians in the Gaza war. In reaction to the Houthi strikes, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said on Tuesday that a multinational operation would be set up to protect trade in the Red Sea.
The Houthis’ involvement in the conflict has made the area more dangerous. They are threatening sea lanes that carry a lot of the world’s oil and are causing worry in Red Sea states as Houthi rockets and drones fly toward Israel.
Yemen’s Houthis: What do the Houthis look like?
The Houthi family in the far north of Yemen started a religious revival movement for the Zaydi sect of Shi’ite Islam in the late 1990s. This group used to rule Yemen but its northern homeland had become poor and left out. As their disagreements with the government grew, they fought a number of rebel fights with the national army and a short border war with Saudi Arabia, which is a Sunni powerhouse.
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Getting stronger
During the Yemen war, which started in late 2014 when they took over Sanaa, they became stronger. Shi’ite Iran’s growing power along its border made Saudi Arabia step in as the leader of a group backed by the West to help the Yemeni government in 2015. The Houthis took over most of the north and other major cities with lots of people, while the internationally recognized government set up shop in Aden. Yemen has been mostly quiet for more than a year thanks to a peace push led by the UN. There have been talks between Saudi Arabia and the Houthis about ending the war.
Played a Part in the Middle East war
The Houthis joined the latest conflict as it spread across the Middle East. On October 31, they said they had attacked Israel with drones and rockets and said they would keep doing so “until the Israeli aggression stops.” Their acts are similar to those of Hezbollah, a Lebanese group backed by Iran that attacks Israeli positions along the border with Lebanon, and of Iraqi militias that fire on US targets in Iraq and Syria.
The Houthis made their threats even stronger on December 9 by saying they would attack all ships going to Israel, no matter what country they were from. They also told all foreign shipping companies not to do business with Israeli ports. In a statement on December 9, a Houthi spokesman said, “If Gaza does not get the food and medicine it needs, all ships in the Red Sea going to Israeli ports will become targets for our armed forces, no matter what country they are from.” Saying “Death to America, Death to Israel, curse the Jews, and victory to Islam” is what the Houthis say.
Iran ties
The United States thinks that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps of Iran is helping to plan and carry out the missile and drone strikes by the Houthis. US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said on December 18 that Iran’s backing for Houthi attacks on civilian ships had to end. Iran says it is not involved. The alliance led by Saudi Arabia has long said that Iran helps the Houthis by arming, training, and supporting them. The Houthis say they are not working for Iran and that they make their own arms.
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Arsenal
During the war in Yemen, the Houthis attacked Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates with missiles and drones, hitting oil sites and other important assets. There are nuclear missiles and armed drones in the arsenal that can hit Israel from more than 1,000 miles away in Sanaa, which is where the government is based.
Some experts say that its Tofan, Borkan, and Quds missiles are based on Iranian weapons and can hit targets up to 2,000 km (1,200 miles) away. During the war in Yemen, the Houthis fired these rockets at Saudi Arabia many times. The Houthis showed off their anti-aircraft Barq-2 missiles, navy missiles, a Mig-29 fighter jet, and helicopters for the first time in September. The Houthis have also attacked ships with fast boats that were armed with machine guns.