Who are Yemen's Houthis and what do they want?
Who are Yemen's Houthis and what do they want? Officially known as Ansar Allah, or "helpers of God", the movement emerged in Yemen's far north in the 1990s around the cleric Hussein al-Houthi. It is rooted in Zaydism, a branch of Shia Islam whose followers are a minority in Yemen but concentrated in the northern highlands. The group fought six rounds of war with the government of former president…
The Yemeni group known as the Houthis, officially called Ansar Allah, emerged in the 1990s in the far north of the country, with roots in a Shia Muslim branch called Zaydism. The group gained prominence through a series of conflicts with the Yemeni government between 2004 and 2010. In 2014, Houthi fighters captured the capital Sanaa, and in 2015, Saudi Arabia led a military coalition into Yemen to support the internationally recognized government, which has mostly governed from Riyadh and the southern city of Aden since then. By 2022, the Houthis controlled about 30% of Yemen's territory but around 80% of its population.
The Houthis have been demanding greater autonomy for the northern region and recognition as Yemen's governing authority. They reject Saudi Arabia's characterization of their actions as a siege and have threatened to escalate attacks within Saudi Arabia, vowing to continue until the aggression stops and the siege on Yemen is lifted.
The group's ambitions extend beyond Yemen, as they frame their politics in opposition to US and Israeli power in the region. Since 2023, the Houthis have attacked more than 100 commercial ships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, claiming they are acting in solidarity with Palestinians during Israel's conflict in Gaza. The attacks were halted temporarily in May 2025 due to a ceasefire deal brokered by Oman, but resumed in March after the US and Israel launched a war on Iran.
The Houthis are closely aligned with Iran, with Iran counting them as part of its "Axis of Resistance" alongside Hezbollah and Hamas. The group's arsenal has been largely supplied and designed by Tehran, and they have received extensive military support from Iran. The Houthi fighting force has grown significantly from an estimated 30,000 in 2015 to around 350,000 by 2024, although exact counts vary.
Despite having no conventional navy and limited air power, the Houthis have acquired drones, explosive-laden drone boats, and medium-range ballistic missiles capable of reaching targets up to 2,000km away, including Israel.
Written by urgent.news from Middle East Eye's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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