Who are the Houthis and why UK and US strike them

Background and Origin

In 1962 a revolution in Northern Yemen ended over 1000 years of rule of Zaidi Imam, who claim the decadent from Hashemite. Sa'dah  in the north was their main strong hold ,since their fall this area was largely ignored by Yemen government and remain underdeveloped.

The Yemeni government has little authority in Sa'dah during the Yemen civil war of 1994 the Zaidi Shias complain the role of Wahabi Sunnis in the state of Yemen, So Islamist military and political organization emerged in Yemen. Which predominantly consist of Zaidi Shias of Houthi tribes, the organization is also known as Ansar Allah. Under the leadership of their religious leader Hussein al Houthi  they start opposition to the president of  Yemen   Ali Abdullah Saleh, who was accused of corruption  and oppression  with US and Saudi Arabia  backing.

Hothis Insurgences from 2004 to 2014 

Initially their ambition were more open but through the course of time it change into more traditionalist, In 2004, when the group’s supporters protested in mosques in the capital,  then-President Ali Abdullah ordered the arrest of some group members, and urged their then-leader, Hussein al-Houthi, to stop the protesters from disturbing worshippers  which Hussein refused,  to which the president send troops to arrest Hussein and the first war broke out between Yemen army and the houthis. The president accused Houthis as rebellion  who want to established Zaidi religious law in Yemen the accusation were rejected by houthis leaders who said that they are only against the discrimination of their community not the republican system and the president .

 On 10, September 2004 Hussein was killed and his brother Abdul Malik al Houthi led the organisation. After that incident a full scale  war broke out between the Houthis and the Yemen army who was militarily supported by Saudi Arabia , ended in cease fire agreement in 2010, which last only for one day when Yemen forces strikes and killed 24 houthis the very next day.

In 2011, more then  200 people were killed in clashes between Houthis and Salafi militias in Sa'dah province, followed by a major demonstration by over 16,000 protestors that took place in Sana on 27 January which pressurize the  President Saleh to announced that he would not run for reelection in 2013 nor pass power to his son.                                           On March 26, Houthi rebels declared the creation of their own administration in Saada Governate, independent from Yemeni authorities. Presidential election was held in Yemen on 21 February 2012, With a reported 65 percent turnout, Abdrabbuh Mansur al-Hadi won 99.8% of the vote which  put an end to 33 year rule of Saleh, But after saleh the clashes  between the new govt and houtis continued till 2014. In which more than 25,00 people were killed and 250,000 Yemenis displace.                                                                                     At the end of 2014 Houthi rebels take over Sa'dah and establish an independent administration in Sa'dah Governorate and parts of Amran, Al Jawf and Hajjah. they also take control of Sanaa and force Yemeni government under president Hadi to relocate from Sanaa to Aden.

Y  Yemen War from 2015 to 2022

In 2015 the Houthi's advancement forces the president  to flew into Saudi Arabia and ruled as president in exile from there .To check the Houtis advancement  Saudi Arabia  led coalition with logistic support form United State  start Ariel bombardment of  houthis controlled area of Yemen  and also put a navel blocked.  In these Ariel bombardment more than 90 thousand civilian were killed and total of 377,000 causalities occurs.

 UN estimates that 60 percent of the estimated 377,000 deaths in Yemen between 2015 and the beginning of 2022 were the result of indirect causes like food insecurity and lack of accessible health services. Two-thirds of the population, or 21.6 million Yemenis, remain in dire need of assistance. All sides of the conflict are reported to have violated human rights and international humanitarian law

On February 2021, Joe Biden announced an end to USA, support  for Saudi-led offensive operations in Yemen, and revoked the designation  of the Houthis as a terrorist organization.
In 2022 UN  broker the case fire between all the major players in Yemen. Though the six-month UN brokered cease-fire officially lapsed in October 2022, both sides have since refrained from major escalatory actions and hostility levels remain low

After 2023 Israel-Hamas War

Following the outbreak of the 2023 Israel-Hamas war ,  the Houthis, expressed support for the Palestinians  and threatened to attack Israel. Houthi leader Abdul-Malik al-Houthi warned the United States against intervening, threatening retaliation with drones and missiles and they start attacking every  commercial and military  ship associate with Israel  in the red see

On 19 October 2023  several drones and missile were fired  toward Israel by houthis and US officials said they shot them down. United Nation Security Consul passed resolution refraining Houthis from attacking commercial ship in the red sea which the group denied and carry out more attack. On 12 January, the US and UK conducted 73 airstrikes  against over a dozen Houthi targets with different location in Yemen with the support of multiple other countries in which 6 Houthi fighter were killed.