AJ: How would you describe the relationship with Tehran? Newly recruited Houthi soldiers march during the funeral of Houthi fighters killed during recent fighting against government forces, in Sanaa, Yemen, December 6, 2021. Saudi Arabia seized parts of Yemen in a war in the 1930s; some Houthis may aspire to regain this lost territory, but they have not publicly demanded any changes to the border. The war ended in a republican victory after the Saudis and Egyptians resolved their regional rivalry after the 1967 war with Israel and lost interest in the Yemen civil war. 'We are where we are today mostly. It was the third Houthi attack on the UAE, a key member of the Saudi-led coalition backing Yemens internationally recognized government, in less than two weeks, and follows a series of territorial defeats for the Houthis in its years-long battle to control the country. The event set off an escalation of confrontations that culminated later that month in the Houthi takeover of parts of the city. They are the ones turning down our calls for national dialogue. Ali Rogin Leave a comment Transcript Audio The Biden administration on Tuesday officially lifted the designation of the Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemen as a global terrorist organization. The Saudis joined with Saleh in these campaigns, but they were unsuccessful. After 2003, Saleh launched a series of military campaigns to destroy the Houthis. Stirred by what many perceived as an existential threat to the Zayd community, a Zayd awakening took place that same decade, which included the concerted embrace of overtly Shii symbols that set them apart from the Wahhb interpretation of Sunni Islam. AJ: How would you describe your relationship with the Yemeni president? If Saudi Arabia does not cease military operations in Yemen and lift the blockade, the United States should cease all arms sales and contracts with the kingdom. The war has created the worst humanitarian catastrophe in the. Just a few days ago, the military police forces began patrolling some areas. Peace talks in Geneva in September this year the first since 2016 were cancelled after the Houthi delegation failed to arrive, citing security concerns. The Pan-Arabist government, meanwhile, attempted to accelerate an ongoing alignment of the Zayd sect with modern trends in Sunni exegesis. Hussein was killed by Yemeni soldiers in 2004, and the group is now led by his brother Abdul Malik. The Houthis slogan, known as the sarkha, or scream, is God is great, death to America, death to Israel, curse on the Jews, victory to Islam. Apart from the resistance narrative, the Houthis have no stated political or governance goals for Yemen, despite the fact they are currently in control of both Sanaa and Hodeidah, a Red Sea port city through which 80% of the countrys imports flow. The world can no longer look away, says DW's Matthias von Hein. Al Jazeera spoke to Mohammed al-Bukhaiti, a member of Ansar Allahs political bureau, about the deepening crisis in Yemen, the Houthis endgame and the relationship with Tehran, the president, and al-Islah party. The Houthis first loosely presented themselves as a resistance force that rose against a Yemeni military offensive in Saada and as a force of opposition to Salehs authoritarian regime. The Zaydi-dominated north got two landlocked entities, which the Houthis argued was gerrymandered against them. Also known as: arakat Anr Allh, al-thiyyn, Adam Zeidan is an Associate Editor, having joined. But the urgent imperative is to halt the blockade and get aid to the Yemeni people. In 2004, Salehs forces killed Hussein al Houthi. This brief and simplified account of the background of the Houthis should underscore how complex Yemeni politics are and how volatile they can be. The ruler, or imam, was both a secular ruler and a spiritual leader. Two administrations have backed the war against the Houthis without a serious campaign to explain why Americans should see them as our enemies. This would also mean that Iran and its allies should halt their support to the Houthi including ending the transmission of technical expertise for drones and missiles. Salehs support for the United States War on Terror and its 2003 invasion of Iraq prompted anger from the movements sympathizers, who believed Saleh was supporting the same imperial endeavour that had disenfranchised the Zayds and threatened their traditions and way of life. After they allied with their former enemy Saleh, fearing their growing power, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, with help from the US and UK, opened an air and ground war against them. The Houthi rebels, for their part, presented an increasingly formidable challenge for the Saudi-led coalition. The impact on the Saudi military would be immediate and devastating. The Houthis have won the war in Yemen, defeating their opponents in the civil war, the Saudis who intervened in 2015 against them, and the United States which backed the Saudis. It continues the policy of its two predecessors of backing and selling arms to the Saudis. Saleh ruledor misruledYemen for the next 33 years. Its critics claim that Ansar Allah, the Houthi movements political wing, lacks political expertise and yet it wasable to ride the wave of popular anger over the governments decision to decrease fuel subsidies. The Houthis have already made significant gains recently on the ground around the port city of Hodeida. From its outset, the Biden administration painted peace in Yemen as a top priority, but it has done little to secure an end to the fighting. We are where we are today mostly because of domestic politics and power relations among political actors. June 21: SSDI payment for . Their anti-American posture is deeply rooted in the origins of the movement, a legacy of the poor decision to invade Iraq in 2003. It is the other groups, al-Islah party and their allies, the al-Ahmer tribe, as well as some power centres within the government, that sought to use the sectarian card and frame the conflict along sectarian lines, however, in Yemen, tribal affiliation and Arab nationalistic sentiments have more of an influence among Yemenis than the sectarian identity. About the Author. The battle for Marib is the critical next stage in the war. If a missile hits Riyadh, Jeddah, or Abu Dhabi and kills dozens or more, the pressure for retaliation against Iran will be significant. "Welcome to Yemen." The men in the camp are Houthis, a Shia group who have proven themselves to be Yemen's most potent fighting force, and who are now moving to cement their status as the rising. In turn, the Houthi leadership has said it will stop attacks on the Saudi-led coalition their most significant concession in years, although there is still evidence of fighting. May 6, 2021 Nadwa Al-Dawsari President Joe Biden's commitment to "stepping up" diplomacy to end the war in Yemen generated hope among peace practitioners and policy shapers. The establishment in the early 1980s of a Wahhb seminary near adahthe heart of Zayd societystruck a chord. In June 2018 the Saudi-led coalition advanced on the city, hoping that the threat of its loss would choke Houthi leaders into negotiating a peace agreement favourable to the coalition. They also enjoyed international recognition as the legitimate government of North Yemen. They fought against both the Ottomans and the Wahhabis in the 18th and 19th centuries. (modern). Many accuse Houthis of undermining the president and even working to oust him? With the collapse of the Ottoman Empire in 1918, a Zaydi monarchy called the Mutawakkilite Kingdom took power in North Yemen. Al-Bukhaiti: We are a national movement that strongly subscribes to the principles of Arab nationalism and pan-Islamism. A Yemeni official says a commercial flight carrying more than 270 Yemeni Muslim pilgrims has left the rebel-held capital of Sanaa to Saudi Arabia, the first such flight in about seven years. But to grasp the complexities of the situation in Yemen, we should only look in Yemen for answers and not in Tehran or Lebanon for that matter. 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Yemen needs a new Security Council resolution to guide the peace effort, not the existing one that was tilted deliberately toward Saudi interests. 29 Mar 2015. Indeed, we have rejected the Gulf initiative and we did not take part in the presidential elections. In late 2017 Saleh announced his readiness to engage in dialogue on the demands of the Saudi-led coalition. Saudi Arabia supported the royalists against Egypt, as did Israel, clandestinely. The Saudi blockade of Yemen is a principal cause of the humanitarian catastrophe by denying food and medicine to the country. The Saudi-led coalition has tightened the blockade and gradually gained more territory, although Hadi has little if any control over the territory recovered from the rebels. Yemen is a very divided society today; it is unclear it will ever be a unified state again. For the next thousand years, the Zaydis fought for control of Yemen with various degrees of success. The distribution of power among all domestic players in Yemen was supposed to be resolved in a UN-sponsored National Dialogue Conference in 2013. Both Iran and the Houthis deny the charge. AJ: But did you, at any stage of the conflict, receive logistical or military support from Tehran? They seem to be in no hurry to complete the conquest of Marib. In 2015, the Houthis placed Hadi and his government ministers under house arrest. This is when Saudi Arabia decided to intervene, forming the Decisive Storm coalition with the UAE and additional Arab states among them: Bahrain, Kuwait, Egypt and Jordan. The Yemeni army and air force was used to suppress the rebellion in the far north of Yemen, especially in Saada province. The Houthis trace their origins to a religious tradition known as Zaidism, a branch of Shia Islam that emerged during the failed revolt of Zaid a great-great-grandson of the Prophet Muhammad . In 740, Zayd led an uprising against the Umayyad Empire, which ruled from Damascus. Ben Horowitz is a cofounder and general partner at the venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz. Iran preferred a less radical course, but the Houthi leadership was drunk with success. The Houthi movement was one part of the wide national uprising against Saleh. With Soviet assistance, Egypt sent tens of thousands of troops to back the republican coup. Read more: The young Yemeni pushing for change from abroad. The Houthis also known as Ansar Allah, who now control most of Yemens north, have launched repeated missile and drone attacks on Saudi Arabia and the UAE over the course of Yemens current eight-year-old civil war. It now threatens Israel with tens of thousands of missiles and drones. ", Read more: US military claims Iranian provenance of Houthi arms. One moderator for . It indicates the ability to send an . U.S. On October 2, Gulf Arab states demanded the restoration of government authority in Yemen, issuing a thinly veiled criticism of rebels with ties to Iran. Israel also clandestinely backed the Zaydi Royalists. The Zayds, usually under the leadership of a political-spiritual head known as an imam, remained the regions predominant political force thereafter, despite the occasional challenge to Zayd rule. Yemeni politics are incredibly complex and volatilerather than get drawn into a quagmire against an enemy they hardly know, the United States and its partners should get serious about finding a political solution. Saleh ruled or misruled Yemen for the next 33 years. Yemen - The Houthis began as a theological movement preaching peace, but now find themselves at the centre of an international conflict. The Houthis opened direct civilian air traffic between Sanaa and Tehran, Iran promised cheap oil for Yemen, and rumors of more Iran-Houthi cooperation spread quickly. As a first principle it should call for an immediate and total halt to all foreign interference in Yemen. Meanwhile, the Yemeni public is divided: While many supported the protest against the price hike, others were unnerved by the Houthis military operations. He suggested that the cooperation could continue. Meanwhile, the Houthis are in no hurry to end a war they have already won. Dania Alami 02/02/2022 Houthi rebels in Yemen on Monday launched a ballistic missile at the United Arab Emirates. Mohammed al-Bukhaiti: We will only do this when the government is formed. The existing UNVIM mandate is tied to UNSCR 2216 and involves only inspecting Houthi-controlled ports like Hodeida. Ali Owidha/TPX Images of the Day via Reuters Houthi. Madison Hall. The bombing in Tahrir Square was the bloodiest in Sana'a for years, killing more than 60 people. (06.11.2017), Two years ago, a tribal conflict in Yemen widened into a full-scale war after intervention by Saudi Arabia. The Houthi blockade severely disrupted the lives of people here. ' Partisans of God or Supporters of God') and colloquially simply Houthis, is an Islamist political and armed organization that emerged from Saada Governorate in North Yemen in the 1990s. Zayd elites and religious scholars formed Al-aqq Party, whose main objectives were to represent the interests of the Zayd community while resisting the infusion of Wahhb ideas and practices into the country. Canadian guidelines say women should start getting mammograms at age 50 unless they have specific risk factors. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). Zaydis believe he was a model of a pure caliph who should have ruled instead of the Umayyads. Get a Britannica Premium subscription and gain access to exclusive content. They have rejected participation in Yemen's National Dialogue Conference, refused to sign the U.N.-sponsored peace agreement in Kuwait after months of talks, and made grave errors among local tribes, either fighting or coercing them to accept their mode of governance. Unpacking the Chinese readouts of Blinkens meetings in Beijing, Germany finds that on defense, growing up is hard to do, Strobe Talbott Center for Security, Strategy, and Technology, Nonstate armed actors and illicit economies in 2022, Egyptian-backed revolutionary military cabal overthrew the Mutawakkilite king, Houthis began secretly colluding with Saleh against Hadi, United Nations Development Programme estimated, it is unclear it will ever be a unified state again, U.N. Verification and Inspections Mechanism for Yemen (UNVIM). AJ: So does this mean there has not been any backdoor negotiations or talks between Ansar Allah and al-Islah party during the recent crisis? The movement became increasingly armed, with weapons coming primarily from the black market or military sources. The RSAF would not be able to keep aircraft in the air, let alone operational fighting machines. The Houthis have acted expressly against Irans advice on several occasions during the war, including a demand not to take over Sanaa in 2014. But while the convergence of the Zayd and Sunni doctrines had been a hitherto endogenous movement, the 1970s saw the injection of specifically Wahhb (i.e., Saudi) ideas that undermined the core elements of Zayd doctrine and challenged the authority of Zayd elites. He also created the a16z Cultural Leadership Fund . They take their name from Zayd bin Ali, the great-grandson of Ali, the Prophet Muhammads cousin and son-in-law, whom all Shiites revere. The Houthis easily got the upper hand on the Saudis at the outset of their intervention in 2015 and now are poised to capture the last city in the north, Marib, controlled by Riyadhs Yemeni clients. ", "Yemen: Houthi army spokesman declares end of Jawf operation, holds 'key to Marib', "The primacy of stability over real change", "Houthi rebels seize province, clash with al-Qaeda in Yemen's Rada'a", "Latest updates on Yemeni fronts in the period March 2019 March 2020", "What's Next? Houthi propaganda plays to the line that Yemen is under attack by a Saudi-American-Israeli conspiracy. The south is primarily Sunni with very few Zaydis. They were also motivated by what they saw as Saleh's economic discrimination of the north. In September, after months of armed resistance, he was killed by Yemeni forces; leadership of the movement passed briefly to his father and later to his brother Abdul Malik. Shiite Muslims are the minority community in the Islamic world and Zaydis are a minority of Shiites, significantly different in doctrine and beliefs from the Shiites who dominate in Iran, Iraq, and elsewhere (often called Twelvers for their belief in twelve Imams). They were critical of the process and of Hadi. While it is part of who we are but it occupies a secondary role and is not a decisive factor. The American invasion of Iraq in 2003 deeply radicalized the Houthi movement, like it did many other Arabs. Iran is another source of support, especially since the Houthis and Iranians share a common enemy in Saudi Arabia. While the Houthis originate from the minority Zaydi offshoot of Shiite Islam, they have evolved from a religious group into a militia and political force. The Zaidis, once a powerful force in north Yemen, were sidelined during the 1962-70 civil war and then further alienated in the 1980s as Salafist Sunni ideals gained prominence across the border in Saudi Arabia, which exported the ideology to Yemen. The scale and reach of the Houthi attacks illustrates how the rebels have progressed as a fighting force since the start of the Yemen war in 2015, and just how much they have benefited from . By Saeed Al Batati. DW examines the group's history, activities and alliances. The port city of Al-udaydah (Hodeidah), meanwhile, served as a vital asset for the Houthi rebels. Zaidi Fiver Shiites are a denomination which arose in a dispute over the succession of the imamate and are actually closer in religious belief to Sunnis than the Twelver Shiites in Iran, Iraq and Lebanon. It was a very difficult challenge for an untried team in the royal palace. As a Saudi-led campaign against the Houthi rebels began in March, Hadi and his government fled to Saudi Arabia, where they ruled from exile. The war ended in a republican victory. The Houthis were formed by Zaidite scholars, a Shia sect who have lived in Yemen for over a thousand years and also ruled the country for several centuries. Saleh was ousted as president in February 2012 and replaced by his former deputy, Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi. 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Hezbollah, the Shiite movement in Lebanon which successfully expelled the Israeli army from the country in 2000, became an early role model and mentor for the Houthis. They . Sunnis and Shiites agree that he was a righteous man. The Houthi clan hails from Saada Province in the north, where the country's Zaydi Shiite community, about 30 percent of Yemen's 24 million people,. The missile was intercepted by the UAE military and no casualties were reported. The Houthis won against both Saleh and the Saudi army, besting them both again and again. But while they do not have the overwhelming financial and advanced military resources of the Saudis, the Houthis have demonstrated an outsized capability, controlling around a third of Yemeni territory including the major population centers and haveeven breached Saudi borders. Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning, 2023 Guardian News & Media Limited or its affiliated companies. Internal and external pressure forced Saleh to resign, and his vice president, Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi, assumed the presidency for a two-year transitional period in a deal brokered by the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). A traditional enemy with ties to their regional foe was taking over the country on their southern belly. Given that the conflict in Yemen has been framed along sectarian lines between Yemens Shia population (represented by the Houthis) and the Sunni leaders of al-Islah party. The missile was intercepted by the UAE military and no casualties were reported. The movement (Arabic arakat) calls itself Anr Allh (Defenders of God); the popularized term Houthi movement refers eponymously to its charismatic founder.
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