2023-12-19 15:16:00
(CNN) — Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels are stepping up attacks on ships in the Red Sea, which they say are revenge against Israel for its military campaign in Gaza.
The attacks have forced some of the world’s largest shipping and oil companies to suspend transit through one of the world’s most important maritime trade routes, potentially causing a shock to the global economy.
The Houthis are believed to have been armed and trained by Iran, and there are fears that their attacks could escalate Israel’s war against Hamas into a broader regional conflict.
Here’s what we know about the Houthis and why they’re getting involved in the war.
Who are the Houthis?
The Houthi movement, also known as Ansarallah (Supporters of God), is one side in the Yemeni civil war that has raged for nearly a decade. It emerged in the 1990s, when its leader, Hussein al-Houthi, launched the “Believing Youth,” a religious revival movement of a centuries-old subsect of Shiite Islam called Zaidism.
The Zaidis ruled Yemen for centuries, but were marginalized under the Sunni regime that came to power after the 1962 civil war. The Al-Houthi movement was founded to represent the Zaidis and resist radical Sunnism, particularly the ideas Wahhabis of Saudi Arabia. His closest followers became known as the Houthis.
Newly recruited fighters who joined a Houthi force intended to be sent to fight in support of Palestinians in Gaza march in Sanaa, Yemen, on December 2, 2023. (Khaled Abdullah/Archyde.com)
How did they come to power?
Ali Abdullah Saleh, Yemen’s first president after the unification of North and South Yemen in 1990, initially supported the Faithful Youth. But as the movement’s popularity grew and anti-government rhetoric sharpened, it became a threat to Saleh. Things came to a head in 2003, when Saleh supported the US invasion of Iraq, which many Yemenis opposed.
For al-Houthi, the breakup was an opportunity. Taking advantage of public outrage, he organized massive demonstrations. After months of disorder, Saleh issued an arrest warrant.
Houthi fighters took control of the Galaxy Leader freighter in the Red Sea on November 20, 2023. (Houthi Movement via Getty Images)
Al-Houthi was assassinated in September 2004 by Yemeni forces, but his movement lived on. The Houthi military wing grew as more fighters joined the cause. Emboldened by the first Arab Spring protests in 2011, they took control of the northern province of Saada and called for an end to Saleh’s regime.
Do the Houthis control Yemen?
Saleh agreed in 2011 to hand over power to his vice president Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, but this government was no more popular. The Houthis attacked again in 2014, taking control of parts of Sana, Yemen’s capital, before finally storming the presidential palace early the following year.
Hadi fled to Saudi Arabia, which launched a war against the Houthis at his request in March 2015. What was expected to be a quick campaign lasted years: he finally signed a ceasefire in 2022. It expired after six months, but the warring parties have not. He returned to full-scale conflict.
The United Nations has said the war in Yemen has become the world’s worst humanitarian crisis. According to UN statisticsalmost a quarter of a million people have died during the conflict.
Since the ceasefire, the Houthis have consolidated their control over most of northern Yemen. Also They have sought an agreement with the Saudis which would permanently end the war and cement their role as rulers of the country.
Who are your allies?
The Houthis are backed by Iran, which began increasing its aid to the group in 2014 as the civil war escalated and its rivalry with Saudi Arabia intensified. Iran has provided the group with weapons and technology for, among other things, sea mines, ballistic and cruise missiles, and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs or drones), according to a 2021 report by the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
Houthi fighters march in support of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, in a parade in Sanaa, Yemen, on December 2, 2023. (Khaled Abdullah/Archyde.com)
The Houthis are part of the so-called “Axis of Resistance” of Iran, an alliance of anti-Israel and anti-Western regional militias led by Iran and backed by the Islamic Republic. Along with Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Houthis are one of three prominent Iranian-backed militias that have launched attacks against Israel in recent weeks.
How powerful are the Houthis?
US officials have been tracking iterative improvements in the range, accuracy and lethality of the Houthis’ domestically produced missiles. Initially, homegrown Houthi weapons were largely assembled from Iranian components smuggled into Yemen in pieces, an official familiar with US intelligence previously told CNN.
But they have made incremental modifications that have resulted in big overall improvements, the official said. In a novel development, the Houthis have used medium-range ballistic missiles against Israel, firing a barrage of projectiles into the southern region of Eilat in Israel in early December, which Israel said it intercepted.
While the Houthis may not be able to pose a serious threat to Israel, their technology can wreak havoc in the Red Sea. They have used drones and anti-ship missiles to attack commercial ships (some of which are not believed to be linked to Israel), prompting the USS Carney, a warship in the Red Sea, to respond to distress calls.
Why are the Houthis attacking ships in the Red Sea?
While, due to a combination of geography and technology, the Houthis may lack the capabilities of Hamas and Hezbollah, their attacks on commercial vessels in the Red Sea may inflict a different kind of pain on Israel and its allies.
The global economy has received a series of painful reminders of the importance of this narrow strip of sea, which stretches from the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait off the coast of Yemen to the Suez Canal in northern Egypt; through which 12% of global trade flows pass, including 30% of global container traffic.
In 2021, a ship called Ever Given ran aground in the Suez Canal, blocking the vital trade artery for nearly a week (holding up to $10 billion in cargo each day) and causing disruptions to global supply chains that lasted much longer.
There are fears that Houthi drone and missile attacks on commercial ships, which have occurred almost daily since December 9, could cause an even greater shock to the global economy.
Four of the world’s top five shipping companies – Maersk, Hapag-Lloyd, CMA CGM Group and Evergreen – have announced they will suspend shipping through the Red Sea amid fears of Houthi attacks. Oil giant BP said Monday it would do the same, a move that sparked a surge in oil and gas prices.
The attacks could force ships to take a much longer route around Africa and cause insurance costs to skyrocket. Companies could pass on the higher cost of transporting their products to consumers, again raising prices at a time when governments around the world have struggled to control post-pandemic inflation.
The Houthis say they will only relent when Israel allows food and medicine into Gaza; Their attacks could be aimed at inflicting economic pain on Israel’s allies in the hope that they will pressure it to stop bombing the enclave.
Championing the Palestinian cause could also be an attempt to gain legitimacy at home and in the region as they seek to control northern Yemen. It could also give them an advantage against their Arab adversaries, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, whom they accuse of being lackeys of the United States and Israel.
How has the world reacted?
The attacks could be aimed at drawing more countries into the conflict. Israel has warned that it is willing to act against the Houthis if the international community does not do so. National security adviser Tzachi Hanegbi said this month that a “global agreement” is needed to address the threat “because it is a global problem,” referring to the Houthi attacks as a “naval siege.”
The United States announced on Monday a new multinational naval task force composed of the United Kingdom, Bahrain, Canada, France, Norway and others, to “meet the challenge posed by this non-state actor” that “threatens the free flow of commerce, puts endangering innocent people and sailors and violates international law.”
Mohammed al-Bukhaiti, a Houthi spokesman, told Al Jazeera on Monday that the group would confront any US-led coalition in the Red Sea.
Just as the Biden administration is beginning to bow to pressure to pressure Israel to end its campaign in Gaza, the United States may find itself drawn deeper into the Middle East by the heterogeneous – but effective – Houthi rebels who have made themselves impossible to ignore.
CNN’s Katie Bo Lillis and Natasha Bertrand contributed reporting.
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