Somali Al Shabab fighters found dead among Houthi casualties, Yemeni forces say

Yemen's anti-Houthi National Resistance Forces (NRF) have disclosed the discovery of bodies of Somali Al Shabab fighters among Houthi casualties along the country's western coastline. This revelation follows reports of heightened coordination between the Iran-backed Houthi group and armed factions in the Horn of Africa. The NRF's military media stated that the identities of the deceased fighters were confirmed through documents and personal belongings found on their bodies, solidifying their ties to Al Shabab, a group operating in conjunction with the Iran-backed militia and other regional armed groups, according to the NRF.

A recent report by the non-partisan Century Foundation, a US-based think tank, sheds light on the Houthi's establishment of smuggling and training networks that span the Red Sea into the Horn of Africa, Sudan, and beyond, solidifying ties with Al Shabab, a group affiliated with Al Qaeda, and the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF). In 2024, Al Shabab initiated contact with the Houthis, requesting assistance in acquiring anti-aircraft weapons, drones, and shoulder-fired rockets to counter aerial assaults, including those from the US.

Although no evidence of the Somali group obtaining or utilizing the advanced weaponry has surfaced, the recent identification of Al Shabab operatives fighting alongside the Houthis in Yemen suggests an increasingly close relationship between the two groups. The report describes the Houthi's expansion strategy in the Horn of Africa as a replication of their patrons' playbook, developed over decades by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and Hezbollah.

Gen Tariq Saleh, a nephew of the former president of Yemen, Ali Abdullah Saleh, leads the NRF, a coalition of anti-Houthi forces loyal to Yemen's internationally recognized government. The NRF has been engaged in renewed fighting in Yemen, which has intensified since the Houthi escalated attacks on government positions in recent months, reigniting concerns of a return to all-out conflict four years after a fragile truce was established.

Despite the UN-mediated truce expiring shortly after it was signed in 2022, hostilities between the Houthis and Yemeni government forces largely ceased in the subsequent years. In a recent development, the Houthis have once again launched attacks on international shipping in the Bab Al Mandeb strait in support of Iran.