Ansarallah
 Ansarallah  (Freedom fighters, Terrorists)   | |
|---|---|
 Targeting Israeli shipping | |
| Islamist political and military organisation from Yemen. |
Ansarallah, known in the West as the Houthi movement, is a Shia Islamist political and military organisation that emerged from the Saada Governorate of Yemen in the 1990s. Ansarallah is predominantly made up of Zaidi Shias from the Houthi tribe.[1]
Under the leadership of Zaidi religious leader Hussein al-Houthi, the Houthis emerged as an opposition movement to Yemen's then-president Ali Abdullah Saleh, accusing him of corruption and criticising him for being backed by Saudi Arabia and the United States. Al-Houthi accused Saleh of seeking to please the United States' interests at the expense of the Yemeni people and Yemen's sovereignty. In 2003, influenced by the Lebanese Shia political and military organisation Hezbollah, the Houthis adopted their official slogan: "God is the Greatest, Death to America, Death to Israel, A Curse Upon the Jews, Victory to Islam." Resisting Saleh's order for his arrest, al-Houthi was killed by the Yemeni military in Saada in 2004, sparking the Houthi insurgency. Since then, except for a short period, Ansarallah has been led by his brother Abdul-Malik al-Houthi.
Ansarallah attracts followers in Yemen by portraying themselves as fighting for economic development; the end of political marginalisation of Zaidi Shias; and promoting regional political–religious issues in its media, fostering the rhetoric of an overarching Israeli and American conspiracy against the Arab world and widespread Arab "collusion" with those countries. The Houthis have a complex relationship with Yemen's Sunnis, having discriminated against them yet also allying with and recruiting them. Ansarallah took part in the Yemeni Revolution of 2011 by participating in street protests and by coordinating with other Yemeni opposition groups. As part of the initiative undertaken by the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) to broker peace in the region following the unrest, the Houthis joined Yemen's National Dialogue Conference, but later rejected the November 2011 GCC deal's provisions stipulating the formation of six federal regions in Yemen, claiming that the deal did not fundamentally reform governance and that the proposed federalisation "divided Yemen into poor and wealthy regions"; there were also fears among the Houthi leadership that the GCC deal was a blatant attempt to weaken them by dividing areas under their control between separate regions. In late 2014, the Houthis repaired their relationship with Saleh, and with his help, they took control of the capital city and much of northern Yemen and announced the fall of the country's existing government, which was led by president Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi.
Contents
Fighting the Saudis
Since 2015, the Houthis have been fighting the Saudi-led military intervention in Yemen, which seeks to restore Yemen's sovereignty to the internationally recognised government. Additionally, the Islamic State has attacked all of the major parties to the conflict, including individual Houthis, Saleh's forces, the Yemeni government, and the Saudi-led military coalition. The Houthis aim to govern all of Yemen and support external movements against the United States, Israel, and Saudi Arabia. They have launched repeated missile and drone attacks against a number of Saudi cities. Due to the Houthis' ideological background, the conflict in Yemen is widely seen as a front of the Iran–Saudi Arabia proxy war.
Targeting Israeli shipping
Following the outbreak of the 2023 Gaza−Israel conflict, the Houthis began seizing a number of civilian cargo ships bound for Israel off Yemen's coast in the Red Sea.[2]
On 19 November 2023, Ansarallah took over an Israeli-linked cargo ship called the Galaxy Leader and shortly after released a slick video of the vessel’s capture. It has since been turned into a tourist attraction for Yemenis. Ansarallah has subsequently attacked numerous vessels passing through the Bab al-Mandeb strait, a narrow passageway leading into the Red Sea and further on to the Suez Canal.[3]
US response
In response, the United States imposed sanctions on 13 alleged financiers of the Houthis and has put together a maritime coalition to try to deter Houthi attacks in the Red Sea. However, out of the 20 countries the US said had agreed to support the coalition, only the United Kingdom has directly contributed warships, leaving Washington to effectively “act alone” against the Houthis.
On 31 December 2023, the US military stated that it sunk three boats waging an attack on the Singapore-flagged Maersk Hangzhoua container ship in the Red Sea as it continued its patrol mission to counter threats from the Houthis. Helicopters from two US warships – the USS Eisenhower and USS Gravely – shot at the “Iranian-backed Houthi small boats” sinking three of the boats, killing several of their crew, while a fourth boat escaped.[4]
Comment on X
- The crisis in the Red Sea is leading to the Houthis becoming far more powerful and relevant than they could have ever imagined.
- The Houthis are a predominately Shiite tribe inhabiting Northern Yemen. Up until recently, they were almost totally unknown outside the Arabian Peninsula. However, since 2014, they have been engaged in a civil war with Saudi-backed, Sunni tribes of Yemen.
- Throughout this war, Iran has been the chief sponsor of the Houthis. Iran has supplied the Houthis with a limited number of ballistic missiles and drones. However, the Houthis lack significant numbers of modern, guided weapons. With the systems supplied by Iran, the Houthis are really only capable of taking pot shots at maritime traffic in the Red Sea. They don’t have weapons capable of sinking large, modern cargo ships.
- The Houthis were relegated to the status of a third world tribe before this encounter. However, now that tribe has emerged on the vanguard of an anti-American, anti-Israeli coalition in the Middle East. As a result, they have become a household name throughout the world as a result of this stand-off.
- On the one hand, the Houthis will never be more than a Yemeni tribe. They will never be able to extend direct influence much beyond the borders of Yemen.
- On the other hand, they are taking on a symbolic importance as a voice that is willing to challenge American dominance of the Middle East.[5]
Event Participated in
| Event | Start | Location(s) | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023-2024 Israel-Hamas War | 7 October 2023 | Israel Gaza Palestine Golan Heights Lebanon Egypt Iraq Syria Indian Ocean | Hamas attack on dozens of illegal Israeli settlements in Southern Israel provoking mass retaliatory killings by Israel. Corporate media call it the Israeli "9-11", while critics of Israel refer to "10-7" as a staged, military operation in order to manufacture consent for a disproportionate response. |
References
- ↑ "Infographic: Yemen’s war explained in maps and charts"
- ↑ "Yemen’s Houthis target Israel-linked ships in Red Sea. Here’s what to know"
- ↑ "Beyond Gaza: How Yemen’s Houthis gain from attacking Red Sea ships"
- ↑ "US army attacks three Houthi boats in Red Sea, killing at least 10 fighters"
- ↑ "The Houthis are taking on a symbolic importance as a voice that is willing to challenge American dominance of the Middle East"
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