Who are the Houthis, their history and their objectives
The Houthis are a rebel group that controls much of Yemen, a Middle Eastern country suffering from one of the world's worst humanitarian crises. In this article, we are going to explain who the Houthis are, their history and their objectives. Who are the Houthis, their history and their objectives The Houthis belong to the Zaydi branch of Shiite Islam, a religious minority in Yemen that represents around 40% of the population. The Zaidis ruled Yemen for more than a thousand years until the republican revolution of 1962, which ended the monarchy and established an Arab republic. History The Houthis emerged as a political and religious movement in the 1990s, led by Hussein Badreddin al-Houthi, a Zaidi cleric who opposed Saudi Arabia and the United States' influence in Yemen. Al-Houthi accused the Yemeni government of corruption, marginalization and oppression of the Zaydis. In 2004, the government launched a military campaign against al-Houthi followers, who had ta...