General

Trump’s Houthi buddies, Who are they?

Until May of 1990 Yemen consisted of two nations. The Yemen Arab Republic, or North Yemen was created in 1962 by a military coup to overthrow the monarchy. The People’s Democratic Republic of Yemen or South Yemen was a one party socialist state. When the two agreed to reform into one nation the two armies were kept separate.

Economic conditions in the early 90s, and food shortages, were so bad that in 1994 the two sides started a civil war. The conflict started in May 1994 when the South seceded. In the end Ali Abdullah Saleh’s Northern forces prevailed. He was elected president in October of the same year.

In October of 2000, 17 US sailors lost their lives in a suicide attack against the destroyer USS Cole. Saleh promised US President George Bush Jr his intention to help fight terrorism. Saleh moved to disarm the Houthis, or Ansar Allah, a Zaydi sect led by Hussein al-Houthi, the group responsible for the attack. Houthis protested and 65 were arrested. Saleh placed a bounty for Hussein al-Houthi.

Hezbollah, a Shia Iranian proxy militia in Lebanon began providing weapons and support to al-Houthi. The Houthis adopted a slogan or Sarkha modeled on a motto from revolutionary Iran “Allah is the Greatest, Death to America, Death to Israel, Curse be upon the Jews, Victory to Islam.” This sloganeering attracted more members. In 2004 the Houthi Insurgency began when Hussein al-Houthi was killed by Yemeni government forces. Abdul Malik al-Houthi, Hussein’s brother, became the leader of the movement and is now part of the Iranian Axis.

The Yemeni Revolution began in 2011 along with other Arab Spring uprisings. The Houthis joined this movement. They launched missiles into Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emerites and became the leaders of the revolution. Whereas most of the Arab Spring uprisings were against authoritarian regimes, this one intended to replace the elected Yemeni government with a Shia Theocracy. Yemen descended into factional warfare.

Since then the Houthis have taken over a sizeable chunk of Yemen.

The Green area is controlled by the Houthi movement. The blue is controlled by Tareq Saleh’s National Resistance Forces. The Yellow is controlled by Southern Transitional Council. The White is controlled by Ansar al-Sharia/Al Queda in the Arabian Peninsula forces. The Orange is Controlled by Hadrami Elite Forces. The Pink is controlled by the Presidential Leadership Council-led government.

Despite support for the officially recognized government by the UAE and Saudi Arabia their forces have been unable or unwilling to retake land gained by the Houthis.

Houthi militants have drawn widespread international condemnation for human rights abuses, including targeting civilians and using child soldiers. Houthi forces routinely force families to marry their young daughters to their soldiers and warlords, some as young as 11 years.

Some have tried to say the underage marriages in Yemen increased with Saudi involvement in the Yemen Crisis. What a way to spin. Being under attack from a foreign power might motivate one to hide or fight, but marry a preteen girl? Give us a break.

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