2024-01-12 14:29:13
For the first time, on the night of Thursday to Friday January 12, the “Guardians of Prosperity” coalition directly attacked Yemeni territory, sanctuary of the Houthi movement.
For the first time since the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, the United States, at the head of the “Guardians of Prosperity” coalition since December 18, led, on the night of Thursday to Friday 12 January, a campaign of strikes against the Houthis on Yemeni soil.
The British and American armies “carried out successful strikes against a number of targets in Yemen used by Houthi rebels to endanger freedom of navigation” in the Red Sea, said United States President Joe Biden overnight. Explosions were heard in the port of Hodeidah and in Sanaa, the capital. The American president warned: he “will not hesitate” has “order further measures» to protect global trade, 12% of which circulates in the Bab El-Mandeb Strait, off the coast of Yemen.
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The Houthis regularly attack commercial ships, which they accuse of links to Israel, against which they have declared war. Thus on December 31, three Houthi boats were shot down in the Red Sea by the American army while they wanted to board a merchant ship.
Who are the Houthis?
The name Houthis refers to a Yemeni tribe from which the members of this armed organization come. This name refers more precisely to the Muslim spiritual guide Badreddine al-Houthi and his son, Hussein, killed by the Yemeni army in 2004, recalls the French-speaking daily in Lebanon The Orient-The Day . The political wing of the movement, Ansar Allah (“Followers of God», in French), comes from Young Believers Foruma Muslim organization founded in 1992.The Houthis claim to be the heirs of the Zaidi imams who ruled northern Yemen for a thousand years until their overthrow in 1962 by a predominantly Sunni civil revolution.», continues the Lebanese daily. 40% of the Yemeni population claims to belong to this Shiite branch – the rest being Sunni.
This rebel faction, originating from the northwest of Yemen, has never stopped denouncing “the lack of consideration of local demands by the government. The Houthis felt marginalized», Explains Jean-Loup Samaan, associate researcher at IFRI, specializing in the Middle East. This pushed them to take up arms on numerous occasions.
The Houthis thus rebelled against central power in 2014, and conquered the capital, Sanaa, forcing President Abdrabbo Mansour Hadi to resign in January 2015. This event triggered the intervention, three months later, of Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to support government forces. “Initially, they only demanded a better distribution of economic resources. While today, they control a large part of Yemeni territory, which calls into question the resolution of the conflict. adds Jean-Loup Samaan.
Why did the United States and the United Kingdom carry out strikes?
When Hamas carried out its rezzou murderer in Israel, on October 7, the Houthis warmly congratulated him and assured him of their support. On November 19, militiamen filmed themselves, in stunning images, seizing a ship, owned by an Israeli businessman, using helicopters. Since then, attacks have increased in the Bab El-Mandeb Strait, threatening economic supplies: 12% of world trade circulates in this area.
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On December 18, the United States launched Operation “Guardians of Prosperity” to secure the strait. It is joined by the United Kingdom, and to a lesser extent, Greece, Denmark, Australia, Norway, the Netherlands – as well as France. Several frigates and destroyers, as well as the aircraft carrier USS Dwight Eisenhower participate in this operation. On December 31, the American army sank three Houthi boats which were storming a ship.
Why are they attacking Israel?
Well before the conflict between Hamas and Israel, opposition to the Jewish state was already part of “Houthi ideology», explains Jean-Loup Samaan. The latter participate in “the axis of resistance» against Israel, with terrorist groups supported by Iran, such as Palestinian Hamas or Lebanese Hezbollah. As evidenced by their motto: “God is the greatest, Death to America, Death to Israel, Cursed be the Jews, Victory to Islam.»
This hatred of the Jews was at one time “downplayed by some of the rebels who realized that it was poorly seen internationally», continues the researcher at IFRI. But ultimately, this anti-Semitism “remains an easy cause to mobilize which allows them to be popular and ensures them coordination with the Iranians, who encourage them in return“. However, the Houthis seek above all to increase “their political influence in Yemen and the region», explained to AFP Mohammed Albasha, analyst for the Navanti Groupbased in the United States.
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By targeting Israeli and American targets, the Yemeni rebels also seek to strengthen their position in negotiations with Saudi Arabia, which wants to extricate itself from the conflict in neighboring Yemen, comments for AFP Majid Al-Madhaji, from Sanaa Center for Strategic Studies. It’s about a “calculated strategy» whose objective is to “put pressure on the Americans” in order to “to accelerate the conclusion of an agreement with the Saudis», deciphers the analyst.
What is Iran’s role?
The Houthis benefit from significant military aid from Iran, which “provides technical assistance or directly supplies missiles and drones», underlines Jean-Loup Samaan. The Yemeni civil war pits them against Iran’s regional rival: Saudi Arabia, which Tehran wants to weaken.
Also read: In Yemen, an endless war that does not speak its name
Benjamin Netanyahu accused Iran of being responsible for the capture of an Israeli ship on November 19 in the Red Sea. Accusations dismissed as “invalid» by Iran the next day.
What is the situation in Yemen?
«For two years, the Saudis have sought to disengage their troops and tried to negotiate a truce with the UN», explains Jean-Loup Samaan, for whom the conflict is “in the resolution phase». More “The Houthis are not ready to make concessions because they consider that they are in a position of strength, he continues. They don’t want to share power“. Before the unprecedented Hamas attack on October 7, Saudi Arabia hoped that Iran could play a role “to lower tensions. But for the moment, nothing points in this direction», nuance Jean-Loup Samaan.
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