Houthi flag: "God is Great, Death to America, Death to Israel, Curse on the Jews, Victory to Islam"
In response to the Houthi movement’s attacks on commercial shipping in the Red Sea, the US and UK have bombed over 60 sites in Yemen in an attempt to protect international trade. The US and its allies claim, not unreasonably, that the Houthi attacks could destabilise the global economy, as the Red Sea is a crucial route for shipping.
In response, some Gaza demo attendees have waved signs saying “hands off Yemen”, “Yemen will be Free, Palestine will be free” and in Cardiff demo even chanted “Yemen, Yemen make us proud, turn another ship around”. The Houthis do not represent Yemen as a whole, particularly they do not represent the religious minorities they persecute. Nor is it true that the Houthis are “attempting to stop the genocide in Gaza”, or that the Houthis have only been attacking ships to Israel.
The Houthis
The Houthi movement, also known as Ansar Allah, emerged in 1980, founded by Hussein Badredde Al-Houthi, and representing the Zaidi branch of Shia Islam. It emerged to counter US and particularly Saudi influence in Yemen, and has been fighting both the Saudis and the internationally recognised government. This war started in 2014. By most accounts the Saudis have acted brutally, indiscriminately bombing Houthi held areas in the West of Yemen, where the Houthis are mainly based.
Due to the group's similarities to Hezbollah (indeed, Ansar Allah models itself after the Lebanese quasi-state group, even adopting Hezbollah's slogans in 2003, one of which is a “curse on the Jews") and Iran's backing of the Houthis, the conflict in Yemen has been read, mostly accurately, as part of the regional cold war between Saudi Arabia and Iran. Iran, however, does not exercise control of the group – the Houthis took control of the capital in 2014 ignoring Iranian advice. The Houthis also allegedly receive funding from North Korea.
The Houthis have been accused of persecuting religious minorities in the areas they control. This includes the 50 or so Yemeni Jews left in Yemen, with Al Houthi stating that “Arab countries will not be safe from Jews except through their eradication and the elimination of their entity”. The Houthis have also been accused of violently persecuting the Baha’i community in Yemen. The Baha’i are accused of espionage and apostasy, and the Houthis have acted upon a 2013 Iranian Fatwa against the religion and its followers.
The group has also been accused of locking up children as young as 13 on charges of “homosexuality”. Minors who share cells with adults in the capital Sana’a are systematically raped by their adult cellmates. Additionally, the group has been accused of using human shields, hostage taking and diversion of international aid. The Houthis have also introduced slavery into areas of Yemen they control. Like Hamas and Hezbollah, this is not a group we should be supporting, even “critically”, under any circumstances.
What has actually happened in the Red Sea?
Stop the War, for example, has argued that the Houthis have attacked shipping in the region to “stop the genocide” in Gaza, or that they’ve only attacked ships going to, from, or owned by Israel. In fact the attacks have been fairly indiscriminate. The Houthis have attacked Norwegian, Liberian, Emirati ships amongst others. Most of these ships weren’t heading to or from Israel - destinations included Greece, Singapore and India. Whatever excuses the Houthis make for this is essentially irrelevant - the bombing of military sites in Yemen has very little to do with Israel. It has much more to do with protecting international trade and the global economy.
The response from the West
The response from the West (the US and the UK mainly) despite what has been stated in some quarters, has been reasonably measured. The US warned the Houthis that they were going to attack, and the targets were military ones. The death toll, so far, has been five, and those were not civilians. The US has not bombed Yemen indiscriminately, and has not necessarily done so on Israel’s behalf - the Houthis have attempted to fire rockets at Israel since the start of the this recent round of conflict, but the US did not involve itself until international trade was threatened.
Of course, we are against foreign military escapades like this, but it is important to get the facts correct - there is a danger that there could be a regional escalation, but up until this point, that danger mainly comes from Iranian backed proxies - Hezbollah and the Houthis. This is not going to lead to World War Three, and the US is probably only flexing its muscles to deter the Houthis from further attacks on ships.
Moreover, and most importantly, just because the Houthis are being bombed by the US does not mean that should qualify them for our “support”: they are a right wing, Islamist, fundamentalist group with a horrific track record on human rights..