Houthis Briefing Paper
The Houthis are a Zaydi Shia group in the northern province of Sa’ada. The Houthis and their political wing, Ansar Allah, have been in conflict with the central government for years, and accuse the government of human rights violations, religious oppression, and denial of educational and employment opportunities to Houthis. The central government contends that Iran is financially and militarily supporting the Houthis. Since 2004, the Houthis have been involved in several minor wars and low-level conflicts against Yemen’s central government and neighboring tribes, particularly those represented in al-Islah. The Houthis collaborated with the JMP, Al-Hiraak, and the revolutionary youth to push Saleh out of office in 2011. Since then, the Houthis have been steadily expanding their sphere of influence in the north through military action. The Houthis are concerned that the transition to federalism will weaken their control in northern Yemen because areas under their control could be divided.