“Death to the United States, death to Israel, curse to the Jews and victory to Islam”: the slogan of the Houthi rebel group leaves no doubt about its ideology. For years, he has announced the imminent threat of an American attack in Yemen. “For the Houthis, the American strikes are a self-fulfilling prophecy,” says Italian researcher Luca Nevola, of the NGO ACLED.
But who are the Houthis, who control a large part of the country?
The group, a religious minority, was born in the 1990s, in reaction to government repression of which it claimed to be victims. His name comes from the clan of a leader of the movement, the religious leader and politician Hussein al-Houthi, who died in 2004. With elements specific to the sect of Islam from which he came, Zaydism, he incorporated a discourse anti-American and anti-Semitic. The American invasion of Iraq marked the rise of the movement.
The group is part of a regional “axis of resistance” made up of Iran and its allies, but it is not a “puppet” of Tehran, specifies Thomas Juneau, who wrote the book Yemen at war.
“He is an actor who is extremely nationalist, extremely proud and who does not take orders from anyone, from Iran or anyone else, but that does not mean that the two do not share interests,” underlines the professor from the University of Ottawa.
Iran is suspected of providing material and strategic aid to the Houthis. “In the absence of Iranian support, the Houthis would not be able to do what they are doing in the Red Sea,” said Mr. Juneau.
War in Yemen
The group also benefited from the conflict in Yemen, pitting it against the Saudi-backed government. Although the Houthis were already fighting in certain areas of the country, the war officially began in 2014, when the group took control of the capital, Sanaa.
At the time of the truce negotiated in April 2022 by the United Nations, the Houthis controlled around 30% of the country in area, especially in the North and West, where two thirds of the population are concentrated. The country’s president has also gone into exile in Saudi Arabia.
A good part of the Houthis’ weapons stock comes from army reserves and taxes levied in the territories they control, says Mr. Nevola. In the Red Sea, they used missiles, but also easily accessible drones which are then modified, he adds.
According to ACLED data, attacks on ships in the Red Sea caused little material damage. “I don’t think it was precise enough and maybe they didn’t really want to cause civilian casualties,” says Mr. Nevola.
Palestinian support
The Houthis justify the attacks at sea and the missiles and drones launched towards Israel as acts of support for the Palestinians, in reaction to the Israeli operation in Gaza.
“The war in Gaza offers a pretext to the Houthis,” judges Mr. Juneau, specifying that the ambitions of the rebel group are also to have regional authority. A way, too, of rallying the population around a particularly popular cause, at a time when the Houthis need support.
Hundreds of thousands of Yemenis responded to their call to demonstrate on Friday.
PHOTO MOHAMMED HUWAIS, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
Thousands of Yemenis, some carrying Palestinian flags, demonstrated in Sanaa on Friday, after the American and British strikes.
Fight back
“It is very plausible that they respond to American strikes, against American ships or interests, in particular with the help of allies,” said Mr. Nevola. It’s unlikely they won’t try to make money with this. »
They also warned that “all American-British interests [étaient] “became legitimate targets”, after the strikes by the United States and the United Kingdom on Friday morning, which reportedly targeted around thirty targets.
Experts believe the strikes will have little impact on the Houthis’ capabilities.
It is unclear how the situation could develop, but the fate of civilians raises concerns.
In eight years, hostilities have left some 400,000 dead, according to the UN, and have plunged the country into a serious humanitarian crisis.
The Yemeni population risks being further isolated due to the current crisis. “The population is the victim,” laments Mr. Juneau. Governance is extremely repressive, corrupt and there is also a huge amount of diversion of humanitarian assistance for the Houthi military and security forces. »
With Agence France-Presse and The world