The recent Middle East crisis in Yemen has become the new arena for the clash of interests of different regional and global players. The attacks initiated by the Houthis targeted the major shipping channels lying on the Red Sea, which is the most significant waterway connecting Europe to Asia and east Africa. US commercial ships were also direct targets of the attacks. That is why the United States and other major states became directly involved in the crisis.
But who are the Houthis and what caused this new outburst of the conflict?
The Houthis are a militia group based in Yemen and aligned with Iran. The name of the group comes from the name of their founder, Hussein Badreddin al-Houthi, who is representing the Zaidi branch of Shia Islam. The group emerged in the 1990s, partially as a reaction to rising Saudi financial and religious influence. However, the group became more prevalent starting from 2004 when the group rebelled against Yemen’s Sunni-majority government, causing it to step down leading to a humanitarian crisis. The group being a Shia Islamist political and military organization backed by Iran spent years fighting a military coalition led by Saudi Arabia in opposition to Saudi Arabia’s religious influence in Yemen. The Houthis have an estimated 20,000 fighters and their official name is Ansar Allah (supporters of God). The group controls most of the west of the country and is in charge of its Red Sea coastline.
Since the war in Palestine, the Houthis declared that all their attacks were in support of the Palestinians and aimed at stopping Israel’s war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip. The Houthi leader Abdul Malik Al-Houthi stated that his forces were “ready to move in the hundreds of thousands to join the Palestinian people and confront the enemy.” They stated that they would only target shipping from or to Israel, causing transportation costs to go up and with thousands of ships trying to avoid the Red Sea, which affected a huge number of international trade.
Specifically, this Red Sea shipping line is the shortest, cheapest and the most effective way to connect routes between Asia, parts of Africa to Europe via the Mediterranean. “8% of global grain trade, 12% of seaborne-traded oil, and 8% of the world’s liquefied natural gas trade” passes through this Red Sea route. That’s why any kind of attack or threat to an attack will definitely have a strong impact on international trade.
The active and intense attacks, involving dozens of drones and missiles by Houthis, have been carried out since November 19 and the largest attack directly targeting American ships happened on January 9, when Houthi ballistic missile struck a US-owned and operated cargo ship.
