The Houthis released images on November 21 showing their fighters hijacking a ship in the Red Sea.
Many of the world’s biggest shipping companies have announced they will avoid the Red Sea after drone and rocket attacks on cargo ships.
The attack was carried out by the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels, who control much of Yemen.
Why did the Houthis attack ships in the Red Sea?
The Houthis have expressed support for Hamas and said they intend to target any ships heading to Israel. It is not clear whether all of the ships attacked were actually heading there.
In response, the United States launched an international naval operation to protect the ships. Participating countries include the UK, Canada, France, Bahrain, Norway and Spain.
Major shipping companies including Mediterranean Shipping Co., Maersk, Hapag-Lloyd and oil company BP have all announced they are diverting ships from the Red Sea.
The US government has accused Iran of being “deeply involved” in planning operations against commercial ships in the Red Sea.
Who are the Houthi rebels?
The Houthis are an armed group that belongs to the Zaidi sect, a Shiite Muslim minority in Yemen. Their name comes from the movement’s founder, Hussein al-Houthi.
The group was formed in the 1990s to fight corruption under then-president Ali Abdullah Saleh.
President Saleh, backed by the Saudi military, attempted to eliminate the Houthi rebels in 2003, but the Houthis defeated both.
The Houthi rebel group has been in a civil war with the Yemeni government since 2014. The government is supported against the Houthis by a coalition of Arab states led by Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
Who is supporting the Houthi rebels?
The Houthi rebels are modeled on the Lebanese Shiite militant group Hezbollah.
Iran is suspected of supplying weapons to the Houthi rebels, and the United States says Iranian intelligence is essential to allowing the Houthis to target ships.
“We know that Iran was deeply involved in planning operations against commercial vessels in the Red Sea,” White House national security spokesperson Adrian Watson said.
“This is consistent with Iran’s long-term material support and encouragement of the Houthis’ destabilizing actions in the region.”
Iran denies involvement in the Houthi attacks in the Red Sea.
image source, Getty Images
Debris of a drone launched from Yemen in the UAE capital Abu Dhabi in 2022
How much of Yemen do the Houthis control?
Most of Yemen’s population lives in areas under Houthi control.
Yemen’s official government is the Presidential Leadership Council, which was transferred to President Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi in April 2022.
But after Hadi fled Saudi Arabia in 2015, the government has been based in the Saudi capital, Riyadh.
Most of Yemen’s population lives in areas under Houthi control. Houthi rebels control the Red Sea coast, as well as Sanaa and northern Yemen.
This group collects taxes and also prints money.
