The Houthis targetting the merchant shipping in the Red Sea has grabbed everybody’s attention. Despite their conflict, the Houthis never had the world's attention span for so long. They were a ragtag rebel group who cleverly struck Saudi assets in the Middle East, be it the oil assets in AbuDhabi or the refineries of Armaco, the Saudi oil company. But their latest provocative actions in the Red Sea threaten to pinch everyone’s pocket. Therefore, there is a rush to find out who the Houthis are. Like most in the Middle East, their story is about ethnic conflict and suffering. I hope this piece brings you a step closer to understanding the region. Happy Reading.
The Houthi – Yemen Conundrum Bruce Riedel, an American author, while writing a commentary for the magazine 'Brookings' in December 2017, wrote, "For over two-and-a-half years, the United States has supported Saudi Arabia in a war against the Houthi movement in Yemen. The war has created the worst humanitarian catastrophe in the world and threatens to turn into the largest famine in decades. Yet very few Americans know who the Houthis are, what they stand for, and why they are our de facto enemies. Two administrations have backed the war against the Houthis without a serious campaign to explain why Americans should see them as our enemies". For those who think the Israel-Hamas conflict is a complex issue, they need to visit the Yemen Houthi conundrum. It's a predicament which does not allow one to choose without leaving a stab in one's heart. The issue is complex and debilitating. Yet, most people are unaware of the extent of the contours of the conflict and the potential geopolitical problems it could create. It takes an Israel-Hamas strife for the world to find out who the Houthis are. The narration above is not a propaganda brief supporting the Houthis but a proclamation of the harsh realities of international geopolitics. This article puts into perspective why the Houthi menace needs to be arrested, or else the world would pay a dear price for its existence. Geography of Yemen Yemen, an Arab country, is situated in the southern portion of the Arab peninsula. It holds a very strategic geopolitical location as its southern tip rests at the entrance of Bab-el-Mandab. The narrow strip of water connects the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea. Its strategic importance is well known as it connects the sea lanes of Asia to the Mediterranean through the narrow man-made Suez Canal. This sea lane sees 15 % of the world's shipping pass through it. It is a jugular that connects the East's economies to the West. At the narrowest point where the bab- el-Mandab turns into the Red Sea, the distance between the Asian land mass and the African continent is a mere 18 Km. The map below reflects the absolute dominance that the southern end of Yemen can exercise in any activity near its territorial waters. Yemen has rugged mountains in the North, deserts in the East, highlands with flat peaks in the Centre, and narrow coastlands. It has been bestowed with so much by natural geographic advantage, yet it is snatched away by its people and destiny. Yemen today is one of the poorest nations. Map of Yemen
The Problem Yemen is a Sunni-majority country. Shias are in the minority. Houthis are a tribe which inhabits the rugged northern portion of the country. They belong to the sect of Zaydis, which is different from both the Shiites (Shia) and the Sunni sects of Islam. By definition, they are Shiites (Shias), but in practice, they are closer to Sunnis. They started being a moderate Islamic sect, bending towards secularism. Their ideals were a fair and less corrupt society. The Yemen-Houthi problem dates back to the early 1990s. Trouble began when their leader, Houssein-AI-Houthi, emerged as an opposition to the President of Yemen, Ali Abdullah Saleh, a Sunni Muslim in the 1990s. The Houthis accused him of corruption and being supported by Saudi Arabia and the United States. In 2003, the Houthis leadership came under the influence of the Lebanese Hezbollah, the Shia militant group, an Iranian proxy. This proved decisive in the future of the Houthis, who then were rechristened as Ansar Allah (Defenders of God) as they swore to the Iranian call 'Death to America and Death to Israel'. In a bizarre turn of events, the politics of Yemen then took a turn, which saw friends and foes turning against their own. The Arab Spring led to a civil war in Yemen in 2014. The Houthis fought the government forces who were supported by a coalition led by Saudi Arabia, a few Sunni-dominated Middle Eastern nations, and the US and the UK. President Saleh had to resign during the Arab Spring in 2011. Yet in 2014, he sided with the Houthis to seize power. By 2017, the Houthis had captured Sanaa, the capital city, and were in control of the northern portion of Yemen. This victory of the Houthi rebels was a blow to the Saudi-led coalition, who then renewed their effort to throw the rebels out of territories proclaimed to be home to the official Yemeni government, named STC (Southern Transitional Council). Though recognised as one country, Yemen is divided into protectorates. The map below gives the known divisions among the groups.
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