Houthis – UPSC Prelims

Houthis are a large clan belonging to the Zaidi Shia sect.

Zaidis make up around 35% of Yemen’s population.

The Zaidis ruled over Yemen for over a thousand years until 1962 when they were overthrown.

In 2004, the Houthis began an insurgent movement against the Yemeni government.

In 2012, Ali Abdullah Saleh, who had been Yemen’s president, was forced to step down in the wake of the Arab Spring protests.

He was succeeded by his vice-president, Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi.

In 2015, Saleh aligned himself with the Houthis against Hadi, and they captured Sana’a.

Due to this, the president Hadi fled to Aden and subsequently to Saudi Arabia.

In 2017, Saleh broke his alliance with the Houthis, and crossed over to the side of the Saudis, the UAE, and President Hadi. After this, Saleh was assassinated.

In 2015, nine-nation coalition led by Saudi Arabia with the support of the United States began a bombing campaign against the Houthis. The air attacks were in support of Hadi’s forces.

The intervention was due to a fundamental power struggle — between Saudi Arabia and Iran.

Saudi Arabia and Western Countries believe that the Houthis are backed militarily and financially by the regime in Iran.

However, the coalition has made only limited progress since then as the Houthis remain in power in Sana’a and a humanitarian catastrophe has unfolded in Yemen.