Explained: Who Are the Houthis and Why Did They Attack UAE?

Posted on the 19 January 2022 by Geetikamalik

Drone attacks suspected of being three petroleum tankers in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates, left three people – two Indians and Killed by Pakistan’s national on Monday. Later, Houthi rebels supported by Iran in Yemen claimed the responsibility for the attack, warned that “UAE is an unsecured country during aggressive escalation against Yemen continues.”

One of the poorest countries in the Arab world, Yemen has been destroyed by a civil war close to seven years, which began after Houthi arrested the capital of Sana’a, after the Saudi LED troops intervened and against the rebels with the aim of ending the influence of Iran. In the area and recovering former government. UAE joined the Saudi Campaign in 2015 and has been very involved in conflict since, despite announcing formal withdrawal of troops in 2019 and 2020.

Drone attack Monday marked a strategy shift by Houthi, which has so far trained their weapons and missiles more in Saudi Arabia – with which Yemen shared borders – rather than in the UAE – than in the UAE. The attack claimed by Houthi last in the UAE was in 2018.

So, who is Houthi?

Founded in the 1990s by Hussein Badreddin Al-Houthi, a member of the majority of Yemeni Shiites, the Houthi movement has a fairly straight slogan or Sarkha: “God was great, death to America, death for Israel, condemning Jews, victory for Islam.” After the Yemeni army killed Hussein in 2004, his brother Abdul Malik took over.

After the Civil War Yemen in 1962-70, Zaidi, who was once strong the first time began to miss. They were increasingly alienated from the 1980s and so on, when Sunni’s ideals increased to stand out in Saudi Arabia countries. At that time, some dissatisfied Shia Yemen, were not happy with their old authoritarian President and Saudi Ally Ali Abdullah Saleh, joined the Saudi militant group who fought against Riyadh.

Finally after a series of protests and attempts of murder, Saleh resigned from his post in 2012. But the Houthis’ moment about Reckoning came in 2014 – they decided to fellowship with Saleh and were able to confiscate Sana’a and overthrow the new name of President Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi. But in December 2017, Houthi killed Saleh after they realized he would turn to the side and allies with the Saudi LED coalition.

During his short career as president, Hadi could not restore order in the country, which was full of corruption, hunger widespread, unemployed, attack by jihadists, and the separatist movement that grew in the south. It was Hadi’s weakness that allowed Houthi to swoop and capture many North Yemen, which remained under their control even today.