Beyond the Red Sea: Who are the Houthis up against inside Yemen?
Al Jazeera
Their attacks on Red Sea ships have brought them global attention. But within Yemen, the Houthis aren’t the force.
Beirut, Lebanon – The Houthis, the most prominent group in Yemen, have seen their popularity soar in the region after their attacks on Israel-linked ships in the Red Sea threatened to disrupt a major global maritime route.
In recent weeks, the Iran-linked group has mobilised hundreds of thousands of people to the streets of Yemen’s capital Sanaa for Friday rallies in support of Gaza. Internationally, the group’s profile has grown after being on the receiving end of United States and United Kingdom air strikes for disrupting Red Sea shipping, an act they say is in support of Palestinians suffering Israeli aggression in Gaza.
But the Houthis are not the only force in Yemen; in fact, they are not Yemen’s internationally recognised government.
In September 2014, the Houthis overran Sanaa and captured vast swaths of the country, forcing then-President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi to flee.
In March 2015, a nine-country coalition led by Saudi Arabia intervened on behalf of the Hadi government. That war plunged Yemen into what the United Nations called “the world’s worst humanitarian crisis”.
