Yemen, officially the Republic of Yemen, is a country in West Asia. Located in southern Arabia, it borders Saudi Arabia to the north, Oman to the northeast, the Red Sea to the west, the Gulf of Aden to the south, and the southeasten part of the Arabian sea to the east, sharing maritime borders with Eritrea, Djibouti and Somalia across the Horn of Africa. Covering roughly 455,000 square kilometres, with a coastline of approximately 2,000 kilometres, Yemen is the second largest country on the Arabian Peninsula. Sanaa is its constitutional capital and largest city. Yemen's estimated population is 34.7 million, mostly Arab Muslims. It is a member of the Arab League, the United Nations, the Non-Aligned Movement and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation.
"Death to America" is an anti-American political slogan widely used in Iran, Afghanistan, Lebanon, Yemen, Iraq, Pakistan and North Korea. Originally used by North Korea since the Korean War, Ruhollah Khomeini, the first Supreme Leader of Iran, popularized the term. He opposed the chant for radio and television but not for protests and other occasions. The literal meaning of the Persian phrase "Marg bar Âmrikâ" is "Death to America". In most official Iranian translations, the phrase is translated into English as the less crude "Down with America". The chant "Death to America" has come to be employed by various anti-American groups and protesters worldwide.
Saada, located in the northwest of Yemen, is the capital and largest city of the governorate bearing the same name, as well as the administrative seat of the eponymous district. The city lies in the Serat (Sarawat) mountains at an altitude of approximately 1,800 meters. As of 2004, it was the tenth-largest city in Yemen, with an estimated population of 51,870.
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.
Hussein Badreddin al-Houthi was a Yemeni Zaidi religious, political and military leader, as well as former member of the Yemeni parliament for the Party of Truth between 1993 and 1997. He was instrumental in the Houthi insurgency against the Yemeni government, which began in 2004. Al-Houthi, who was a one-time rising political aspirant in Yemen, had wide religious and tribal backing in northern Yemen's mountainous regions. The Houthi movement took his name after his assassination in 2004.
Yemen is an Islamic country. Nearly all Yemenis are Muslims, The U.S. government estimates that more than 99 percent of the population is Muslim with approximately 60-65% belonging to Sunni Islam and 35-40% belonging to Shia Islam. Amongst the native population, there were approximately 1,000 Christians, and 6 remaining Jews in 2016. However, Pew-Templeton estimates the number of Christians to be as high as 40,000, though most do not publicly identify as such, due to fears of religious persecution. According to WIN/Gallup International polls, Yemen has the most religious population among Arab countries and it is one of the most religious populations world-wide.
The Houthis, also known as the Houthi movement and 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. The Houthis are backed by Iran, and they are widely considered part of the Iranian-led "Axis of Resistance".
The battle of Saada was a military confrontation that erupted in March 2011 between Houthi rebels and tribal forces loyal to Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh in the northern city of Saada. Following days of heavy clashes, the Houthis managed to capture the entire Saada Governorate including its provincial capital and established an independent administration, thereby marking the first such Yemeni governorate to fall out of central government control since the nationwide uprising began in 2011. Saada later becomes known as the Houthi stronghold since its takeover.
Operation Scorched Earth was the code-name of a Yemeni military offensive in the Saada Governorate that began in August 2009. It marked the fifth wave of violence during the ongoing insurgency by the Houthis against the government. In November 2009, the conflict spread across the border into neighboring Saudi Arabia. This conflict led to the Saudi military's incursion into Yemen, marking the first military operation conducted by Saudi Arabia since 1991.
Israel and Yemen do not have diplomatic relations. Holders of an Israeli passport or any passport with an Israeli stamp are barred entry to Yemen and Yemen is defined as an "enemy state" under Israeli law.
Abdul-Malik al-Houthi is a Yemeni politician and religious leader who has been the second and current leader of the Houthi movement, an organization principally made up of Zaydi Shia Muslims, since 2004.
The siege of Dammaj began in October 2011 when the Houthis, a rebel group which controls the Saada Governorate, accused Salafis loyal to the Yemeni government of smuggling weapons into their religious center in the town of Dammaj and demanded they hand over their weapons and military posts in the town. As the Salafis refused, Houthi rebels responded by imposing a siege on Dammaj, closing the main entrances leading to the town. The town was controlled by the Houthis and the fighting was mainly centered at Dar al-Hadith religious school, which was operated by Salafis.
The Axis of Resistance is an informal coalition of Iranian-supported militias and political organizations across the Middle East. Formed by Iran, it unites actors committed to countering the influence of the United States and Israel in the region.
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 Yemeni crisis began with the 2011–2012 revolution against President Abdullah Saleh, who had led Yemen for 33 years. After Saleh left office in early 2012 as part of a mediated agreement between the Yemeni government and opposition groups, the government led by Saleh's former vice president, Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi, struggled to unite the fractious political landscape of the country and fend off threats both from Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula and from Houthi militants that had been waging a protracted insurgency in the north for years.
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.
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.
Shia Islam in Yemen is practiced by a substantial minority of the population, with the vast majority of Shia Muslims in Yemen being Zaydi, while a minority are Twelver and Isma'ili. Sunni Muslims make up 65% percent of Yemen, while 35% of the country are Shia Muslims. These Shia Muslims are predominantly concentrated in the northwestern regions of the country, including the capital and major cities that are some of the most densely populated areas of Yemen.
"Death to Israel" is a political slogan against Israel, which is also used in Iran and other countries such as Iraq and Mexico. Every year, Iranian pilgrims sing the slogan of "death to Israel" during the Hajj rituals and the ceremony of disavowal of polytheists. This slogan is especially chanted against Israel by demonstrators on Quds Day and is often accompanied by the burning of the Israeli flag. This slogan has also been used in the atmosphere of the Islamic Consultative Assembly of Iran. In the film released from Iran's missile exercise during Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's presidency, the slogan "Death to Israel" was written on ballistic missiles that were fired at replicas. This slogan in Iran does not mean a mere political slogan, but an expression of the vision of the Iranian government towards Israel's current in the region.
Iran has been a key supporter of the Houthi movement in Yemen, providing military, financial, and logistical support, despite both Iran and the Houthis denying the scale of assistance for years. The relationship dates back to the 1990s, when Houthi leaders received religious training in Iran. By 2009, Iran began offering more direct support, and this escalated after the collapse of the Yemeni government in 2011. Following the Houthis' takeover of Sana'a in 2014, Iranian support became more overt, with the supply of advanced weapons, military training, and intelligence. This support helped the Houthis bolster their military capabilities, including the use of sophisticated missiles and drones, which have played a significant role in their ongoing conflict with Saudi-led forces and with Israel, and with the disruption of the global maritime trade route through the Bab al-Mandab strait.
