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Explainer | Who are Yemen’s Houthis, and why are the Iran-aligned group under attack?

  • In the 1990s, the Houthi family in north Yemen set up a religious revival movement for the Zaydi sect of Shiite Islam, which had once ruled the country
  • The Houthis say their attacks on shipping routes in the Red Sea are a show of support for the Palestinians and Hamas in its war against Israel

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Tribesmen loyal to Houthi rebels raise their weapons. Photo: AP
Reuters
The United States and Britain launched strikes from the air and sea against Houthi military targets in Yemen in response to the movement’s attacks on ships in the Red Sea, a dramatic regional widening of the Israel-Gaza war in Gaza.
As witnesses in Yemen confirmed explosions throughout the country to Reuters, President Joe Biden cautioned in a statement late on Thursday he would not hesitate to take further action if needed.

Here are some details about the Iran-aligned group.

A supporter of Shiite rebels, known as Houthis, holds a banner with Arabic writing that reads, “at your order, oh messenger of Allah,” during a celebration of Mawlid al-Nabi the birth of Islam’s prophet Muhammad in Sanaa, Yemen. Photo: AP
A supporter of Shiite rebels, known as Houthis, holds a banner with Arabic writing that reads, “at your order, oh messenger of Allah,” during a celebration of Mawlid al-Nabi the birth of Islam’s prophet Muhammad in Sanaa, Yemen. Photo: AP

History

In the late 1990s, the Houthi family in far north Yemen set up a religious revival movement for the Zaydi sect of Shiite Islam, which had once ruled Yemen but whose northern heartland had become impoverished and marginalised.
As friction with the government grew, they fought a series of guerilla wars with the national army and a brief border conflict with Sunni Saudi Arabia.

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US-led coalition strikes Iran-backed Houthi fighters in Yemen

US-led coalition strikes Iran-backed Houthi fighters in Yemen

War in Yemen

The war began in late 2014 when Sanaa was seized by the Houthis. Worried by the growing influence of Shiite Iran along its border, Saudi Arabia intervened at the head of a Western-backed coalition in March 2015 in support of the Saudi-backed government.

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