Why are ships in the Red Sea being attacked by the Houthis, and who are they?

 Why are ships in the Red Sea being attacked by the Houthis, and who are they?

The Houthi rebels in Yemen, who are supported by Iran, are intensifying their assaults on ships in the Red Sea, claiming it is retaliation against Israel for its military operation in Gaza.

One of the most significant maritime commerce routes in the world has been forced to halt passage by some of the biggest oil and shipping firms in the world due to the assaults, which might have a negative impact on the international economy.

There are concerns that the Houthis' strikes might turn Israel's battle against Hamas into a larger regional confrontation since it is thought that Iran has provided the Houthis with weapons and training.

Here is what is known about the Houthis and their motivation for entering the conflict.

Identify the Houthis

There has been a civil war in Yemen for about ten years, and one of the parties involved is the Houthi movement, sometimes referred to as Ansarallah (Supporters of God). It first appeared in the 1990s when Hussein al-Houthi, the movement's leader, launched "Believing Youth," a religious renaissance movement for the centuries-old Zaidism subsect of Shia Islam.

After a civil conflict in 1962, the Sunni dictatorship came to power and sidelined the Zaidis, who had dominated Yemen for decades. Al-Houthi's organization was established to speak for the Zadis and to counter radical Sunnism, especially the Wahhabi ideologies of Saudi Arabia. The group he most closely adhered to was dubbed the Houthis.

How did they get to be powerful?

At first, the devout young had the backing of Ali Abdullah Saleh, the first president of Yemen after the union of North and South Yemen in 1990. However, as the movement gained traction and the rhetoric against the government heated up, Saleh found himself in danger. When Saleh backed the US invasion of Iraq in 2003, despite strong opposition from the Yemenis, things became worse.

Al-Houthi saw an opening presented by the split. Identifying the outrage among the populace, he planned massive protests. Following many months in jail, Saleh issued an arrest warrant for him.

Even after Yemeni soldiers murdered Al-Houthi in September 2004, his movement persisted. The Houthi military wing expanded as more fighters joined the movement. Inspired by the first Arab Spring demonstrations in 2011, he seized Saada, a region in the north, and demanded the overthrow of the Saleh dictatorship.

Is Yemen under the Houthis' control?

In 2011, Saleh consented to transfer authority to his vice president, Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, although this administration did not gain much support. In 2014, the Houthis launched another onslaught, taking control of many areas of Sanaa, the capital of Yemen, before launching an early-year attack on the presidential palace.

Hadi escaped to Saudi Arabia, which in March 2015, at his request, began a war against the Houthis. Years of increased campaigning were anticipated; a cease-fire was finally agreed upon in 2022. The conflict concluded after six months, although there was no ceasefire between the opposing sides. This went back to full-fledged warfare.

According to the UN, the Yemeni conflict has become the greatest humanitarian disaster on record. Almost a quarter of a million people have died in the war, according to UN estimates.

The Houthis have established firm control over a large portion of northern Yemen since the truce. A settlement that would put an end to the conflict and solidify their position as the nation's rulers has also being pursued with the Saudis.

Who are his partners?

Iran supports the Houthis; when the civil war and its rivalry with Saudi Arabia intensified in 2014, Iran started to increase its backing to the organization. The Center for Strategic and International Studies reported in 2021 that Iran had given the organization technology and weaponry for unmanned aerial vehicles (drones, or UAVs), ballistic and cruise missiles, and sea mines, among other things.

The Houthis belong to the alliance of regional militias supported by the Islamic Republic of Iran, spearheaded by Iran, which is known as the "Axis of Resistance" against Israel. These last few weeks, three main groups supported by Iran have attacked Israel: the Houthis, Hamas in Gaza, and Hezbollah in Lebanon.

What is the strength of the Houthis?

The US government is monitoring incremental advancements in the lethality, accuracy, and range of the Houthi's indigenously manufactured missiles. Initially, homemade Houthi weapons were mostly put together in fragments using Iranian components that were smuggled into Yemen, an official familiar with US intelligence previously told CNN.

However, the official said that they have made gradual changes that have resulted in significant overall gains. In a recent development, the Houthis fired heavy projectiles toward Israel's southern town of Eilat in early December using medium-range ballistic missiles, which Israel intercepted.

The Houthis may not be able to threaten Israel significantly, but their technology might cause chaos in the Red Sea. They have targeted commercial vessels, some of which are known to be connected to Israel, with anti-ship missiles and drones. The USS Carney, a warship in the Red Sea, is said to have responded to the distress call as a result.

Why are ships in the Red Sea being attacked by the Houthis?

Due to a mix of location and technology, the Houthis' assaults on commercial boats in the Red Sea may cause Israel and its allies distinct kinds of suffering even if they may not have the same capabilities as Hamas and Hezbollah.

This narrow stretch of sea, which stretches from the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait off the coast of Yemen to the Suez Canal in northern Egypt and through which 12% of global trade passes, is crucial to the world economy. It accounts for 30% of global container traffic. The world economy has been painfully reminded of this fact on multiple occasions.

A ship named the Ever Given went aground in the Suez Canal in 2021, closing the crucial trade route for about a week and obstructing more than $10 billion worth of goods per day. This caused long-lasting disruptions to global supply networks. held till.

There are worries that the almost daily Houthi drone and missile strikes on commercial ships since December 9 might cause much more damage to the global economy.

Amidst concerns of Houthi threats, four of the five largest shipping firms in the world—Maersk, Hapag-Lloyd, CMA CGM Group, and Evergreen—have said they would stop shipping across the Red Sea. The announcement by oil giant BP on Monday that it would follow suit caused the price of gas and oil to skyrocket.

Attacks may require ships to circumnavigate Africa more thoroughly, raising the cost of insurance. Businesses may decide to charge customers more for their products due to the higher cost of transportation, which would boost prices at a time when governments are fighting to rein in post-pandemic inflation.

The Houthis claim that they will only surrender if Israel permits food and medicine to reach Gaza. It's possible that the Houthis are targeting Israel's supporters with economic harm in an effort to put pressure on Israel to cease attacking its area.

As they want to take control of northern Yemen, supporting the Palestinian cause may also be an effort to acquire legitimacy both locally and regionally. Additionally, they may use it to their advantage against Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, two competing Arab nations they claim to be US and Israeli stooges.

What reaction has the world given?

Perhaps the intention behind these strikes is to get additional nations to join the war. Israel has issued a warning, saying that if the international community does not intervene, it is ready to deal with the Houthis. This month, Tzachi Hanegbi, the national security advisor, called the Houthi strikes a "naval siege" and said that a "global arrangement" was required to address the danger "because it is a global issue".

A senior US military officer said that at least 12 commercial and commerce ships had been attacked in the Red Sea over the course of the previous month, and that the assaults were of a magnitude not seen in "two generations." According to the official, the assaults included those ships and at least 44 nations; but, because of the wide-ranging consequences for international commerce, the effect on a worldwide scale was probably larger.

A new international naval task force was established by the US on Monday to "tackle the challenge posed by this non-state actor" that is endangering trade. The group will include the UK, Bahrain, Canada, France, Norway, and other nations. endangers innocent people, seafarers, and free movement, and it violates international law."

Mohammed al-Bukaiti, a spokesperson for the Houthis, told Al Jazeera on Monday that the organization would oppose any coalition headed by the US in the Red Sea.

The US could be forced to go more into the Middle East by the Houthi rebels, whom it has been unable to ignore but who are successfully gaining ground on, just as the Biden administration is starting to put pressure on Israel to cease its operations in Gaza. not possible.