Explained: Who are Houthis & their role in conflict against Saudi-led coalition in Yemen?

The United States has been supporting Saudi Arabia in Yemen's fight against the Houthi movement for more than six years. According to the United Nations, the war has also resulted in the world's worst humanitarian disaster. Following the assassination of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018, the Saudi and UAE-led coalition fighting in Yemen is facing unprecedented international pressure to terminate its involvement in the conflict.

In the latest development to the conflict, at least three oil tankers carrying fuel exploded in a suspected drone attack that was reported near Abu Dhabi international airport in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Monday, killing three persons. Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis claimed responsibility for the attack in the UAE after police in the capital, Abu Dhabi, reported two fires.

The Houthi rebels in Yemen are a decades-old resistance organisation that arose in opposition to Saudi Arabia's religious hegemony. They insist on not giving up, despite the fact that they will not be able to withstand the coalition's air power and blockades forever.

When was the Houthi movement founded?

Hussein Badreddin al-Houthi, a member of Yemen's Zaidi Shia minority, which makes up around one-third of the population, founded the Houthi movement in the 1990s. Hussein was later killed by the Yemeni military in 2004, following which his brother Abdul Malik took charge of the group. The war in Yemen began in September 2014, when the Houthis took control of the capital, Sanaa.

In March 2015, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and other nations joined the war in support of Yemen's internationally recognised government. The war has killed tens of thousands of people and brought the Arab world's poorest country to the brink of famine.

Zaidi clergy armed followers against Riyadh

The Zaidis, formerly a major force in north Yemen, were marginalised during the civil war of 1962-1970. They were further alienated in the 1980s as Salafist Sunni ideas gained traction over the border in Saudi Arabia, which spread the philosophy to Yemen. As a result, Zaidi clergy began arming their supporters against Riyadh and its allies, as per a report by The Guardian.

The sporadic insurgency was supported by Shia Yemenis who were frustrated by the cruelty of the long-time authoritarian President and Saudi ally Ali Abdullah Saleh. Saleh was forced to resign in 2012 due to popular protests and many assassination attempts. As one of the few revolutionary parties with military experience, the Houthis gradually expanded their power beyond their northern heartlands. 

Houthis' relationship with Iran 

The Houthis have often stated that their methods are modelled after those of the Viet Cong, Latin American guerrilla organisations, and Lebanon's feared Shia Hezbollah, with whom they have an evident affinity.

Since 2014, Hezbollah and Iran have boosted their supplies of guns, missiles, military training, and funding to the Houthi war effort. However, it is unclear how much influence Iran has over the Houthis' decision-making processes. Several times during the war, the Houthis have gone against Tehran's instructions, including a call not to take over Sanaa in 2014. 

Is Yemen on the brink of becoming another Syria?

Yemen has been plagued by insurgency and insurrection for the past decade, but the conflict escalated in 2015 when Saudi Arabia, Iran's main rival, started a large-scale intervention backed by an Arab coalition. Tens of thousands of Yemenis have perished since then, and many more have been injured or displaced.

The United States and the United Kingdom support the Saudi coalition and have provided limited practical assistance such as intelligence sharing and training, but they have avoided active engagement in Yemen. The US administration, like in Syria, has taken a hands-off policy, preferring to act through proxies rather than engaging directly. 

Houthis' recent strikes on Saudi Arabia 

Iran backed Houthi rebels have gradually increased attacks on Saudi Arabia over the last few years via the use of drones and other airborne weapons. The Abu Dhabi drone attack by Houthis claimed the lives of three people and injured six others on January 17, according to state news agency WAM.

Two Indians and one Pakistani were killed, while six others were wounded with ailments ranging from minor to moderate in the Abu Dhabi airport attack. In November last year, Houthis launched a bomb-laden drone that hit a passenger aircraft in Saudi Arabia. The crash set the aircraft ablaze although no casualties were reported as the aircraft was empty. 

(Image: AP)