Since the new Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the Houthis, who control Yemen's Red Sea, have begun to attack merchant ships frequently. The Houthis said they would continue their attacks until Israel "stops its aggression against our staunch brothers in the Gaza Strip." The United States formed a multinational alliance to carry out "Red Sea escort", and the Houthis responded forcefully and ignored the 10-nation escort alliance formed by the United States. How effective are the Houthis? Why do they dare to fight the United States? Will the United States take action against the Houthis?
Houthis frequently attack merchant ships
What are >> Houthis?
100,000 rebels,
It controls most of northern Yemen
According to the report, the Houthis are Yemeni armed rebel groups that have long been stationed in the northern province of Saada, and are mainly composed of Shiite militias that rule large areas of Yemen. With 100,000 armed men, the armed group claims to be the most powerful rebel force in Yemen and has a strong anti-American ideology.
The Houthis were formerly known as Young Believers, a religious revival movement of the Shiite branch of Yemen's Zayd. The group was founded in 1992 by Zaidite religious figure Badar Houthi. As the group's power grew, Badar's son, Hussein al-Houthi, was elected to the Yemeni parliament in 1993, and the group took the opportunity to become active in Yemeni politics.
In 2003, after the outbreak of the Iraq war, the group launched mass demonstrations against President Saleh's pro-American policies and demanded that the Yemeni government support Saddam's regime, but they were eventually suppressed. In 2004, Hussein Houthi was killed by Yemeni government forces. Subsequently, his younger brother Abdul Malik al-Houthi succeeded him as the leader of the organization and renamed the young believers as the Houthis.
Since then, the Houthis have risen and grown in power, rising from Saada province against the Yemeni government.
In 2011, Yemeni President Saleh was forced to resign during the Arab Spring that swept West Asia and North Africa, and then-Vice President Abs-Rabbu Mansour Hadi was elected president of Yemen the following year. In a bid for more autonomy, the Houthis began to confront Hadi's government. Since capturing the capital, Sana'a, in September 2014, the Houthis have taken control of much of northern Yemen.
In early 2015, the Houthis attacked the presidential palace again, and Hadi then fled to Saudi Arabia. In March of the same year, the Saudi-led Arab League backed Hadi and began a crackdown on the Houthis. In Yemen, a "North (Houthis) South (Hadi Government) Confrontation" has developed between the Houthis and the Arab League-backed Hadi government.
In 2018, the Yemeni government and the Houthis reached a ceasefire agreement brokered by the United Nations, but it was not long before the two sides accused each other of breaking the ceasefire. In 2022, the warring parties agreed to a two-month ceasefire from April 2 last year, and the ceasefire agreement was later extended twice until it expired on October 2 last year. Although the agreement expired, it was not completely ineffective, and there were far fewer violent incidents in Yemen than before the war. After the ceasefire, the Houthis also consolidated their control over much of northern Yemen.
How effective is >>?
was once jokingly called the "Slipper Army" in the Middle East,
Acquisition of advanced weapons and equipment with Iranian funding
How effective is the Houthis, and how has it survived the Saudi-led coalition?
According to the report, the Houthis were once nicknamed the "slipper army" in the Middle East by the outside world, because they not only had very backward weapons and equipment in the early days, but also did not even have a unified military uniform. The image of the Houthis wearing slippers and holding AK-47s is impressive. Although the Houthis are poorly armed and equipped with tanks, they have not only defeated Yemeni government forces, but also fought against the well-armed Saudi coalition for three years, and the land offensive has reached almost Saudi Arabia.
The Houthis have been through many battles, have been fully trained in actual combat, and have become an organized and trained tribal force that has maintained long-term warfare. Today, the Houthis are a high-tech armed group with a large number of attack drones, cruise missiles and ballistic missiles.
In addition, the Houthis are accompanied by "mysterious foreign aid". According to reports, the Houthis have received significant support from Iran, a fellow Shia, which not only provides them with financial and arms and ammunition assistance, but even sends military advisers to provide guidance on training and operations. With Iran's funding, the Houthis have acquired a lot of more advanced weapons and equipment, and their combat effectiveness has been greatly improved, not only with a variety of heavy weapons, but also with control of important cities such as Sana'a, the capital of Yemen, so that they can declare war on Israel in the name of "Yemen".
On September 21 this year, the Houthis displayed the Aguirre ballistic missile, the Al-Quds-4 long-range cruise missile, the Storm ballistic missile, and a large number of al-Badr ballistic missiles, of which the Storm medium-range ballistic missile has a range of 2,000 kilometers, and the Al-Quds-4 long-range cruise missile has a range of 2,000 kilometers. The Houthis hope that the parade will demonstrate to the outside world their growing military might, especially the ability to deliver long-range strikes through ballistic missiles and drones.
Recently, the U.S. Department of Defense confirmed that an American MQ-9 Reaper drone was shot down by the Yemeni Houthis, which is not the first time that the Houthis have destroyed advanced Western weapons. In the past few years, American-made F-15S fighters, European Tornado fighter-bombers, and M1A2 tanks have almost all been lost in Yemen.
Why did >> target merchant ships in the Red Sea?
As long as the Israeli-Palestinian conflict does not stop,
will continue to intercept and seize merchant ships in the Red Sea
Since the outbreak of the new Palestinian-Israeli conflict on October 7, the Houthis have launched frequent missile and drone attacks on Israel on the pretext of "supporting Palestine", and have continuously attacked ships "associated with Israel" in the Red Sea waters.
On November 30, the Houthis issued a statement saying that they had launched drone and missile attacks on Israel on November 28 and 29, the third time that the Houthis have taken similar actions against Israel since the current round of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict escalated. The Houthis have declared that they will continue to use drones and missiles against Israeli targets as long as Israel does not stop its attacks on Palestine. In addition, the Houthis have warned that ships associated with or cooperating with Israel will be intercepted and seized in the Red Sea.
In just one month, more than 10 merchant ships have been attacked by the Houthis. On 19 November, the Houthis dispatched special forces to detain the Israeli-linked cargo ship Galaxy Leader sailing in the Red Sea waters by way of boarding and inspection, and in early December, the Houthis announced that they had seized the Unity Explorer merchant ship and the Ninth The merchant ship carried out drone and anti-ship missile attacks, on December 11 the Houthis launched another attack on a Norwegian-flagged oil tanker, on December 14 the Houthis claimed an attack on a container ship owned by shipping giant MAERSK, and on December 18 the Houthis again attacked two ships in the Red Sea waters, saying that they would continue to block all ships bound for Israel until more humanitarian aid is brought into the Gaza Strip.
The Red Sea is one of the world's most important transportation routes for oil and liquefied natural gas, as well as consumer goods. About 12% of global trade passes through the Red Sea, which is connected to the Mediterranean Sea via the Suez Canal. Houthi attacks have forced freight companies to detour Africa, leading to higher transportation costs and delays for energy, food and consumer goods.
Several international shipping companies said they had told their ships not to enter the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, which separates the Red Sea from the Gulf of Aden. Four of the world's top five container companies (accounting for 53% of global container trade) have suspended operations in the Red Sea, which has had a major impact on the global economy.
Why do >> dare to go to the United States?
Ignoring the 10-nation escort alliance of the US group,
"If the United States sends troops, it will pay a worse price than the Vietnam War"
U.S. Secretary of Defense Austin said on the 19th that the United States is forming a multinational force to escort ships in the Red Sea, and 10 countries including the United Kingdom, France and Canada will join to deal with Houthi attacks on incoming ships. Some US media reported that the US Department of Defense is considering a crackdown on the Houthis.
In the face of a 10-nation combined fleet, the Houthis responded that even if the United States succeeds in mobilizing the whole world, the Houthis will not stop military operations and may conduct maritime operations every 12 hours. The Houthis will cease their attacks only if Israel ceasefires and allow unhindered humanitarian supplies to enter the Gaza Strip. The multinational force formed by the United States militarized the Red Sea without justification and said that anyone who tries to expand the conflict must face the consequences for their actions. Whichever country targets the Houthis, the group's ships will be targeted.
Houthi leader Abdul Malik Houthi said that if the United States attacks the Houthis, then American warships will be targeted by the Houthis. If the United States sends troops to Yemen, the United States will suffer a more disastrous defeat than it did in Vietnam and Afghanistan.
>> will the United States do it?
The Biden administration has chosen to downplay the risks,
Reducing major events to small ones will cool down the situation in the Middle East
The Houthis have directly shot down the US Reaper drone, provoked US destroyers, and equipped with ballistic missiles and anti-ship missiles that threaten passing US ships at all times, posing a real threat to the US military. Will the US do anything to the Houthis?
According to multiple sources, the United States and its allies are considering military strikes on Houthi bases in Yemen, arguing that the so-called "Red Sea Escort Alliance" previously announced by the United States is not enough to eliminate the threat of the Houthis to the Red Sea shipping lanes, but to attack and weaken the Houthis at the source.
Will the conflict in the Red Sea further expand? So far, the US military has not counterattacked the Houthi actions. At a press conference on the 18th, Austin also did not answer questions about "why the Pentagon did not fight back". Reuters reported that the Biden administration chose to downplay the risks and cool down the situation in the region. Saudi Arabia, an old rival of the Houthis, has also urged the United States to exercise restraint in the Red Sea attacks. Since 2015, the Saudi-led coalition of Arab States has been cracking down on the Houthis, but none of them have done anything about the Houthis. The U.S. military's strikes against the Houthis may not stop them from continuing to attack merchant ships, but may instead lead the Houthis to attack U.S. military bases in the Gulf of Aden with missiles, thus "completely spiraling out of control."
In this regard, Song Zhongping, a well-known military expert, said that the Houthis have anti-ship missiles, drones, and small ships at sea, although the weapons and equipment they have are not powerful, but the organization is supported by Iran and has rich combat experience, even in the face of the United States, it will not show weakness. Once the United States strikes the Houthis, the latter will inevitably retaliate, which will inevitably make the regional situation more complicated and chaotic. In addition, the United States has to assess whether Iran, the backing of the Houthis, will intervene. At present, the United States hopes to make the big things small and the small ones, that is, to confine the Yemeni Houthis to Yemen, and should not spread to other countries and regions in the Middle East.
Huashang Daily Gale News reporter Guo Ji compiled and edited Dong Lin