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The Houthi insurgency, also known as the Houthi rebellion, the Sa'dah Wars, or the Sa'dah conflict, was a military rebellion pitting Zaidi Shia Houthis against the Yemeni military that began in Northern Yemen and has since escalated into a full-scale civil war. The conflict was sparked in 2004 by the government's attempt to arrest Hussein Badreddin al-Houthi, a Zaidi religious leader of the Houthis and a former parliamentarian on whose head the government had placed a $55,000 bounty.
In the years after the September 11, 2001 attack on the World Trade Center in New York City, Yemen became a key site for U.S. intelligence gathering and drone attacks on Al-Qaeda. According to the 2012 U.S. Global Leadership Report, 18% of Yemenis approved of U.S. leadership, with 59% disapproving and 23% uncertain. According to a February 2015 report from the Congressional Research Service, U.S. officials considered Al-Qaeda in the Arab Peninsula the Al-Qaeda affiliate "most likely to attempt transnational attacks against the United States."
The Houthi movement, officially the Ansar Allah, is a Zaydi Shia Islamist political and military organization that emerged from Yemen in the 1990s. It is predominantly made up of Zaydi Shias, with their namesake leadership being drawn largely from the Houthi tribe. The group has been a central player in Yemen's civil war, drawing widespread international condemnation for its human rights abuses, including targeting civilians and using child soldiers. The movement is designated as a terrorist organization by some countries.
On 17 September 2008, a group of seven militants attacked the United States embassy in Sanaa, Yemen. The attackers first attempted to infiltrate the embassy compound disguised as security forces, but later resorted to an attempt to breach the wall of the embassy with a suicide car bomb after they were compromised, though the bombing failed as the vehicle had detonated from an inner security checkpoint before reaching the target. The attack killed 19 people, including the attackers, and injured 16, though no embassy staff of diplomats were killed or injured.
The Al-Qaeda insurgency in Yemen is an ongoing armed conflict between the Yemeni government, the United States and their allies, and al-Qaeda-affiliated groups in Yemen. It is a part of the Global War on Terror.
Iran and Yemen have had cordial, if tepid, relations since the Iranian Revolution in 1979. Ties between the Saudi-backed Yemeni government in Aden, however, have been damaged in recent years by Iran's support for the rival Yemeni government in Sanaa linked to the Houthi movement. Since 2019, Iran has recognized the Supreme Political Council as the sole legitimate government of Yemen.
Abdul-Malik al-Houthi is a Yemeni politician and religious leader who has been the second and current emir of the Houthi movement, an organization principally made up of Zaydi Shia Muslims.
The Houthi takeover in Yemen, also known by the Houthis as the September 21 Revolution, or 2014–15 Yemeni coup d'état, was a popular revolution against Yemeni President Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi led by the Houthis and their supporters that pushed the Yemeni government from power. It had origins in Houthi-led protests that began the previous month, and escalated when the Houthis stormed the Yemeni capital Sanaa on 21 September 2014, causing the resignation of Prime Minister Mohammed Basindawa, and later the resignation of President Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi and his ministers on 22 January 2015 after Houthi forces seized the presidential palace, residence, and key military installations, and the formation of a ruling council by Houthi militants on 6 February 2015.
The aftermath of the Houthi takeover in Yemen refers to developments following the Houthis' takeover of the Yemeni capital of Sana'a and dissolution of the government, which eventually led to a civil war and the Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen.
The Yemeni civil war is an ongoing multilateral civil war that began in late 2014 mainly between the Rashad al-Alimi-led Presidential Leadership Council and the Mahdi al-Mashat-led Supreme Political Council, along with their supporters and allies. Both claim to constitute the official government of Yemen.
On 26 March 2015, Saudi Arabia, leading a coalition of nine countries from West Asia and North Africa, launched a military intervention in Yemen at the request of Yemeni president Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi, who had been ousted from the capital, Sanaa, in September 2014 by Houthi insurgents during the Yemeni Civil War. Efforts by the United Nations to facilitate a power sharing arrangement under a new transitional government collapsed, leading to escalating conflict between government forces, Houthi rebels, and other armed groups, which culminated in Hadi fleeing to Saudi Arabia shortly before it began military operations in the country.
Iran and Saudi Arabia are engaged in a proxy conflict over influence in the Middle East and other regions of the Muslim world. The two countries have provided varying degrees of support to opposing sides in nearby conflicts, including the civil wars in Syria and Yemen; and disputes in Bahrain, Lebanon, Qatar, and Iraq. The struggle also extends to disputes or broader competition in other countries globally including in West, North and East Africa, South, Central, Southeast Asia, the Balkans, and the Caucasus.
War crimes and human rights violations, committed by all warring parties, have been widespread throughout the Yemeni civil war. This includes the two main groups involved in the ongoing conflict: forces loyal to the current Yemeni president, Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi, and Houthis and other forces supporting Ali Abdullah Saleh, the former Yemeni president. Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant have also carried out attacks in Yemen. The Saudi-led coalition, backed by the United States and other nations, has also been accused of violating human rights and breaking international law, especially in regards to airstrikes that repeatedly hit civilian targets.
The Supreme Political Council is an extraconstitutional collective head of state and executive established in 2016 in Sanaa by the Houthi movement and the pro-Houthi faction of the General People's Congress (GPC) to rule Yemen opposed to the Presidential Leadership Council (PLC) in Aden. The SPC carries out the functions of head of state in Yemen, appointing the country's cabinet and managing the Yemen's state affairs in a bid to fill in political vacuum during the Yemeni Civil War. The Council aims to outline a basis for running the country and managing state affairs on the basis of the constitution. Since 2018 the SPC has been headed by Mahdi al-Mashat as Chairman of the Council.
The following is a timeline of the Yemeni civil war, which began in September 2014.
On 30 December 2020, a plane carrying members of the recently formed Yemeni government landed at Aden International Airport in the southwest of Yemen. As passengers disembarked, there were explosions and gunfire, leaving 38 people dead and 107 others injured. None of the passengers were hurt in the attack and the Yemeni cabinet members were quickly transported to Mashiq Palace for safety.
The Battle of Marib is an ongoing battle that began in February 2021 following the advance of the Houthis towards the city of Marib, the capital of Marib Governorate in Yemen controlled by the Cabinet of Yemen.
The 2022 Abu Dhabi attack was a terrorist attack against three oil tanker trucks and an under construction airport extension infrastructure in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates conducted by the Houthi movement using drones and missiles. Although several missiles and drones were intercepted, 3 civilians were killed and 6 were injured by a drone attack.
Levi Salem Musa Marhabi is a Yemenite Orthodox Jew and one of the last Jews living in Yemen. He was imprisoned by Houthi militants in 2016 for allegedly assisting in smuggling a Torah scroll out of the country. Held in a prison in Sanaa, Marhabi has received harsh treatment from his detainers, with an emergence of reports of torture and deteriorating health conditions. In 2019, a Yemeni court ordered his release; however, the Houthis continued to detain him.
References
- ↑ Rasmussen, Sune Engel (12 November 2021). "Houthi Rebels in Yemen Occupy U.S. Embassy Compound, Hold Hostages" . The Wall Street Journal . Archived from the original on 16 November 2021. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
Houthi rebels stormed the embassy compound in San'a on Wednesday and took U.S.-employed security personnel hostage
- ↑ O’Grady, Siobhán; Cheng, Amy (12 November 2021). "Iran-backed Yemen forces breach US Embassy compound in Sanaa, detain local employees" . Stars and Stripes . Archived from the original on 16 November 2021. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
breached by Iran-backed Houthi forces, the State Department said
- ↑ Morgan, Ryan (2021-11-12). "Iran-backed rebels storm US Embassy in Yemen, take 25 employees hostage". American Military News. Archived from the original on 2021-11-24. Retrieved 2021-11-25.
- ↑ "US calls on Houthi rebels to release local embassy staffers". Khaleej Times . Agence France-Presse. 12 November 2021. Archived from the original on 15 November 2021. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
State Department spokesman Ned Price declined to say how many local employees had been detained
- ↑ Falconer, Rebecca (November 12, 2021). "Iran-backed rebels detain Yemeni U.S. Embassy staff after breaching compound". Axios. Archived from the original on 2021-11-16. Retrieved 2021-11-16.
- ↑ O'Grady, Siobhán; Cheng, Amy (11 November 2021). "Yemen's Houthi forces breach U.S. Embassy compound, detain local employees" . The Washington Post . Archived from the original on 16 November 2021. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
The State Department also called on Houthi forces to "immediately vacate" the embassy compound and to "return all seized property."
- ↑ Hatem, Mohammed (November 9, 2021). "Iran-backed Houthis Detain 25 Yemenis Working for U.S." . Bloomberg News . Archived from the original on 2021-11-16. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
Those rounded up include Yemenis working for the U.S. embassy and USAID, the international development arm of the American government
- ↑ "US Demands Yemeni Rebels Leave US Embassy Building, Release Security Guards". VOA. 2021-11-12. Archived from the original on 2021-11-16. Retrieved 2021-11-25.
- ↑ Kelly, Laura (11 November 2021). "US calls for Iran-backed Houthis to release detained Yemeni staffers from embassy". The Hill . Archived from the original on 16 November 2021. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
The president also reversed the former Trump administration's decision to label the Houthis a terrorist organization, a move celebrated by the United Nations
- ↑ Richman, Jackson (12 November 2021). "Iran-Backed Houthi Rebels Storm US Embassy in Yemen, Take Hostages: Report". Mediaite . Archived from the original on 16 November 2021. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
designated the Houthis as a terrorist group, only for the Biden administration to rescind that designation the following month in a move that critics said was meant to ease tensions between the United States and Iran
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