HOUTHIS
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Context
- Yemen’s Houthis have waded into the ongoing conflict in Palestine.
Who are the Houthis?
- The Houthis are a large clan belonging to the Zaidi Shia sect, with roots in Yemen’s northwestern Saada province.
- The Houthi movement, officially called Ansar Allah (Supporters of God), began in the 1990s against the dictatorship of Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh.
- Today, the Houthis are one faction in a bloody civil war that has raged in Yemen since 2014.
- They currently control territory in the west and northwest of Yemen, including the capital Sana’a.
- The Houthis, backed by Iran, are a part of what Iran calls, “The Axis of Resistance” — an informal anti-Israel and anti-West political and military coalition that it leads.
- Other notable groups in the Axis include Hezbollah and Hamas.
- In Yemen, the Houthis are fighting against the Sunni-led internationally recognized Yemeni government, backed by Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
- Experts see the civil war in Yemen as a proxy war between Iran and Saudi, the two foremost Islamic powers in the world
PRACTICE QUESTION Q. The Houthis are members of a rebel group operating in which country? Choose the correct code. 1.A 2.B 3.C 4.D Answer 2.B |