Yemen’s Houthis have expanded from a Zaidi minority movement in northern Yemen into the ruling force in Sanaa and a major regional actor across the Red Sea coast. Their rise followed years of war with Yemen’s government, a Saudi-led intervention in 2015, and later attacks on shipping, Israel and Saudi Arabia. The group is aligned with Iran’s Axis of Resistance but keeps some autonomy from Tehran.
Houthi troopers patrol in Sana'a, Yemen, Sept. 12 / EPA-Yonhap
DUBAI — Within a matter of days, Yemen's Houthis have swept south and seized the strategic Bab al-Mandab Strait, cementing their rise as a force to be reckoned with in the constellation of Iran-backed armed groups across the Middle East.
Once considered a relatively isolated religious and military movement, the Houthis now hold all of Yemen's Red Sea coast, as well as significant territory in the country's north, including the capital Sanaa.
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