{"id":1657,"date":"2025-04-24T20:51:24","date_gmt":"2025-04-24T11:51:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/souqtimes.com\/?p=1657"},"modified":"2025-04-24T20:51:24","modified_gmt":"2025-04-24T11:51:24","slug":"who-are-yemens-houthis-and-why-are-they-attacking-ships-in-red-sea","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/souqtimes.com\/ja\/uncategorized\/1657\/","title":{"rendered":"Who are Yemen’s Houthis and why are they attacking ships in Red Sea?"},"content":{"rendered":"

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March 16 (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump has launched the biggest\u00a0military<\/a>\u00a0operation in the Middle East since taking office against Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis after they resumed Red Sea shipping attacks.<\/div>\n
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The strikes, which have killed at least 24 people so far, could last for weeks according to one U.S. official and come as Trump ramps up sanctions pressure on Tehran.<\/div>\n
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WHAT IS THE HISTORY OF THE HOUTHIS?<\/h2>\n
In the late 1990s, the Houthi family in the far north of Yemen set up a religious revival movement for the Zaydi sect of Shi’ite Islam, which had once ruled Yemen, but whose northern heartland had became impoverished and marginalized.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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As friction with the government in the capital Sanaa grew, they fought a series of guerrilla wars with the national army and a brief border conflict with Sunni Muslim Saudi Arabia.<\/div>\n

WHO IS THE HOUTHI LEADER?<\/h2>\n
Abdul Malik al-Houthi created the defiant force challenging world powers from a group of ragtag mountain fighters in sandals. Al-Houthi established a reputation as a fierce battlefield commander before emerging as head of the Houthi movement.<\/div>\n
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Under the direction of al-Houthi, who is in his 40s, the group has grown into an army of tens of thousands of fighters and acquired a huge arsenal of armed drones and ballistic missiles. Saudi Arabia and the West say the arms come from Iran, though Tehran denies this.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Al-Houthi is known for rarely staying long in one place, for never meeting the media and for extreme reluctance to make scheduled public appearances.<\/div>\n

HOW DID THE HOUTHIS COME TO CONTROL MUCH OF YEMEN?<\/h2>\n
A civil war erupted in Yemen in late 2014 when the Houthis seized Sanaa. Worried by the growing influence of Shi’ite Iran along its border, Saudi Arabia led a Western-backed coalition in March 2015, which intervened in support of the Saudi-backed government.<\/div>\n
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The Houthis established control over much of the north and other large population centres, while the internationally recognised government based itself in the port city of Aden.<\/div>\n
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Yemen enjoyed a period of relative calm amid a U.N.-led peace push, but a sharp escalation in regional tensions since the start of the Gaza war has increased risks of a new conflict between the militia and Riyadh.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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WHY ATTACK SHIPS?<\/h2>\n
The Houthis have waded into the Gaza conflict with attacks on shipping routes in the Red Sea as a show of support for the Palestinians and Hamas, the Islamist group that controls Gaza.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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They have also claimed attacks on ships they say are linked to Israel in the Gulf of Aden, the Arabian Sea, the Indian Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea.<\/div>\n
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The Houthi attacks have disrupted global shipping, forcing firms to re-route to longer and more expensive journeys around southern Africa.<\/div>\n
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While the militia has said it attacked only vessels with links to Israel, the United States and Britain, shipping industry sources say all ships were at risk.<\/div>\n
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The U.S. and Britain had retaliated with air strikes against the Houthis as part of international efforts to restore the free flow of trade along a key route between Europe and Asia that accounts for about 15% of the world’s shipping traffic.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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A period of relative calm started in January alongside the Gaza ceasefire but the group then warned in March it would resume its naval operations if Israel did not lift a blockage of aid into Gaza.<\/div>\n
The Houthis then announced on March 12 a resumption of attacks with immediate effect.<\/div>\n

WHAT ARE THE HOUTHIS’ LINKS WITH IRAN?<\/h2>\n
The Houthis are part of what has been called the “Axis of Resistance” – an anti-Israel and anti-Western alliance of regional militias including Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis, backed by Iran.<\/div>\n
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The Houthis’ slogan is “Death to America, Death to Israel, curse the Jews and victory to Islam”.<\/div>\n
The Saudi-led coalition accuses Tehran of arming and training the Houthis, a charge both deny. The coalition also says Lebanon’s Iran-backed Hezbollah is helping the Houthis, an accusation it rejects.<\/div>\n
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While Iran champions the Houthis, the Houthis deny being puppets of Iran, and Yemen experts say they are motivated primarily by a domestic agenda.<\/div>\n
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Editing by Peter Graff and Lincoln Feast.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Our Standards:\u00a0The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Source:
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Dahan, M., & Georgy, M. (2025, March 16). Who are Yemen\u2019s Houthis and why are they attacking ships in Red Sea? Reuters<\/i>. https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/world\/middle-east\/who-are-yemens-houthis-why-are-they-under-attack-2024-01-12\/<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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