The Houthi insurgency, also known as the Sa'dah Wars, was a military rebellion pitting Zaidi Shia Houthis that began in northern Yemen and has since escalated into a full-scale civil war. The conflict was sparked in 2004 by the government's attempt to arrest Hussein al-Houthi, a Zaidi religious leader of the Houthis and a former parliamentarian on whose head the government had placed a $55,000 bounty.
Initially, most of the fighting took place in Saada Governorate in northwestern Yemen, but some of the fighting spread to neighbouring governorates Hajjah, 'Amran, al-Jawf and the Saudi province of Jizan. After the Houthi takeover of the capital city Sanaa in late 2014, the insurgency became a full-blown civil war with a major Saudi-led intervention in Yemen beginning in March 2015.
Background
In 1962, a revolution in North Yemen ended over 1,000 years of rule by Zaidi Imams, who claimed descent from the Hashemites. Sa'dah, in the north, was their main stronghold and since their fall from power the region was largely ignored economically and remains underdeveloped. The Yemeni government has little authority in Sa'dah.
During Yemen's 1994 civil war, the Wahhabis, an Islamic group adhering to a strict version of Sunni Islam found in neighboring Saudi Arabia, helped the government in its fight against the secessionist south. Zaidis complain the government has subsequently allowed the Wahhabis too strong a voice in Yemen. Saudi Arabia, for its part, worries that strife instigated by the Zaidi sect so close to Yemen's border with Saudi Arabia could stir up groups in Saudi Arabia itself.
The conflict was sparked in 2004 by the government's attempt to arrest Hussein Badreddin al-Houthi, a Zaidi religious leader of the Houthis and a former parliamentarian on whose head the government had placed a $55,000 bounty.
Hussein Badreddin al-Houthi's movement accused Ali Abdullah Saleh of massive financial corruption and criticized him for being backed by Saudi Arabia and United States at the expense of the Yemeni people and Yemen's sovereignty.
Motives and objectives
When armed conflict erupted between the Yemeni government and Houthis for the first time in 2004, Ali Abdullah Saleh, the Yemeni president, accused the Houthis and other Islamic opposition parties of trying to overthrow the government and the republican system. As such, the Yemeni government alleged that the Houthis were seeking to overthrow it and to implement Zaidi religious law.
Houthi leaders for their part rejected the accusation, stating that they had never rejected the president or the republican system but were only defending themselves against government attacks on their community. The Houthis said that they were "defending their community against discrimination" and government aggression. The Yemeni government has accused Iran of directing and financing the insurgency.
According to a February 2015 Newsweek report, the Houthis are fighting "for things that all Yemenis crave: government accountability, the end to corruption, regular utilities, fair fuel prices, job opportunities for ordinary Yemenis and the end of Western influence."
In an interview with the Yemen Times, Hussein al-Bukhari, a Houthi insider, said that the Houthis' preferred political system is a republic with a system of elections where women can also hold political positions. Furthermore, he said that they do not seek to form a cleric-led government after the model of the Islamic Republic of Iran, since "we cannot apply this system in Yemen because the followers of the Shafi doctrine are bigger in number than the Zaydis."
Timeline
Phase 1: June–September 2004
From June to August 2004, government troops battled supporters of al-Houthi in the north. Estimates of the dead range from 500 to 1,000. On 10 September, Yemeni forces killed al-Houthi. Since then, the rebellion has been led by one of his brothers, Abdul-Malik al-Houthi, while his father, Badreddin al-Houthi, became the group's spiritual leader.
Phase 2: March–June 2005
Between March and April 2005, around 1,500 people were killed in a resurgence of fighting between government forces and supporters of the slain cleric, now rebranded as Houthis.
In May 2005, the rebels rejected an offer of a presidential pardon by President Ali Abdullah Saleh after their conditions for surrender were refused by the government, and minor clashes continued. On May 21, the government released estimates of the impact of the insurgency, announcing that the insurgency was responsible for 552 deaths, 2,708 injures, and over US$ 270 million in economic damages.
It was reported at the time that Badreddin al-Houthi and the Houthis' military commander Abdullah al-Ruzami surrendered to Yemeni authorities after tribal mediators worked out a deal with the government. However, this was based on a deliberate misrepresentation by the Saleh regime of a letter by the Houthi leaders in which they tried to negotiate.
In September 2005, Saleh made a speech announcing that he granted amnesty to all jailed Houthi supporters and that a financial compensation would be provided to the Hamid al-Din family which had ruled the Zaydi Imamate until 1962. However, these announcements were not carried through, except for the release of about 50 people out of a total of 4,000- to 5,000 imprisoned.
Phase 3: November 2005 – 2006
Fighting broke out again on 9 November 2005 and continued until early 2006. The pro-government Hamdan tribe, led by Sheikh Abdullah al-Awjari, battled with pro-Houthi tribes and Houthis tried to assassinate a Ministry of Justice official in Dhamar. The fighting ended before the presidential elections that year and in March 2006, the Yemeni government freed more than 600 captured Houthi fighters. There was no data with regards to casualties in 2006, but they were said to be significantly lower than those of the previous year. However, this was also linked to the Saleh regime's intensified censorship and crackdown on free press, making it virtually impossible for journalists to investigate the conflict.
Phase 4: January–June 2007
Fighting broke out on 28 January 2007, when militants attacked a number of government installations in Saada Governorate, causing 26 casualties; with six soldiers killed and leaving a further 20 injured.
Further attacks on 31 January left six more soldiers dead and 10 wounded. A further ten soldiers died and 20 were wounded in an attack on an army roadblock near the Saudi Arabian border on 1 February. Though there was no official confirmation of militant casualties in the attacks, government sources claim three rebel fighters were killed in a security operation following the 31 January attacks.
In February, the government launched a major offensive against the rebels involving 30,000 troops. By 19 February, almost 200 members of the security forces and over 100 rebels had died in the fighting. A further 160 rebels were killed in the subsequent two weeks. A French student was also killed.
A ceasefire agreement was reached on 16 June 2007. The rebel leaders agreed to lay down arms and go into exile in Qatar (by whom the agreement had been mediated), while the government agreed to release rebel prisoners, help pay for reconstruction and assist with IDPs returning home. In total some 1,500 people were killed by the conflict in 2007, including 800 government troops, 600 rebels and 100 civilians.
Phase 5: March–July 2008
Armed incidents resumed in April 2008, when seven Yemeni soldiers died in a rebel ambush on 29 April. On 2 May, 15 worshippers were killed and 55 wounded in a bombing at the Bin Salman Mosque in Saada as crowds of people left Friday prayers. The government blamed the rebels for the bombing, but the Houthis denied responsibility. Shortly after the attack, three soldiers and four rebels died in overnight skirmishes.
On 12 May, clashes between Yemeni soldiers and rebels near the border with Saudi Arabia killed 13 soldiers and 26 rebels. During fighting in May 2008, a total of 1,000 government forces were killed and 3,000 injured. Some 70,000 people were displaced by the fighting. President Saleh declared an end to fighting in the northern Sa'dah governorate on 17 July 2008.
Phase 6: Operation Scorched Earth, August 2009 – February 2010
On 11 August 2009, the government promised to use an "iron fist" against the rebels. The Yemeni troops, backed by tanks and fighter aircraft, launched a fresh offensive, code-named Operation Scorched Earth, against the Houthis in the northern Sa'ada province. Hundreds of thousands of people were displaced by the fighting.
On 17 September, more than 80 people were killed in an air raid on a camp for displaced people in northern Yemen.
The conflict took on an international dimension late in the month. Clashes were reported between the Houthis and Saudi security forces near the border. Also, Yemeni officials captured a boat in the Red Sea that was transporting anti-tank shells and, according to some reports, five Iranian "instructors" sent to help the Houthis. Various official Iranian sources responded, calling this claim a politically motivated fabrication, and stating that the ship was traveling for business activities carrying no consignment.
In early November the rebels stated that Saudi Arabia was permitting Yemeni army units to launch attacks from across the border at a base in Jabal al-Dukhan, charges which were denied by the Yemeni government. In late October, heavy clashes in the area of Razih led to the Houthis capturing two military headquarters and killing Yemeni General Amr Ali Mousa Al-Uuzali. In early November, General Ali Salem al-Ameri and regional security chief Ahmed Bawazir were killed in a Houthi ambush as they were returning from Saudi Arabia.
Attacks on Saudi Arabia's borders, new ceasefire: November 2009 – January 2010
The conflict took on an international dimension on 4 November 2009 when the Houthis attacked the Saudi border, killed one of the Saudi border guards, seized al-Khubah Village and other villages. The Houthis accuse Saudi Arabia of supporting the Yemeni government in attacks against them. It was not clear what type of support they meant. The Saudi government denied this. The rebels shot dead a Saudi security officer in a cross-border attack. The rebels took control of a mountainous section inside Saudi Arabia, in the border region of Jabal al-Dukhan and occupied two villages inside Saudi territory.
The Houthis had entered Saudi territory and attacked patrols, and that a second soldier later died from wounds sustained in the same clash. On 5 November, Saudi Arabia responded by launching heavy air strikes on rebels in northern Yemen, and moved troops nearer the border. Saudi government officials said only that the air force had bombed Yemeni rebels who had seized a border area inside the kingdom, which they said had now been recaptured. The officials said at least 40 rebels had been killed in the fighting. The Saudi government adviser said no decision had yet been taken to send troops across the border, but made clear Riyadh was no longer prepared to tolerate the Yemeni rebels.
The Saudi assault continued the following day, as Saudi residents near the southern border of Jizan Province were evacuated. At the same time, a Houthi spokesman reported to the media that they had captured Saudi troops. On 18 November, Yemen forces killed two Houthi commanders, Abbas Aaida and Abu Haider. On 19 November, Yemeni forces took control of al-Malahiz, killing the local commander Ali al-Qatwani.
On 20 December, a Saudi air strike killed some civilians. According to a spokesman for the Houthis, a Saudi attack killed 54 people in the town of Al Nadheer in the northern province of Sa'dah. The group also claimed that Saudi forces were advancing on the nearby town of Zawa, also in Sa'dah, and had fired more than 200 shells.
On 22 December, the Houthis stated that they managed to repulse Saudi Arabian forces trying to infiltrate into the province of Sa'dah, killing an unspecified number of Saudi soldiers in a battle in the border region.
The fighting between Yemeni and Saudi forces and Houthis killed at least 119 Yemeni government forces, 263 Houthis, 277 civilians and 7 foreign civilians. Saudi casualties were confirmed at 82 at the time. With more soldiers killed in subsequent clashes and missing soldiers being found dead, however, the casualties rose to 133 killed by 22 January 2010. The number of missing was put at six.