Who are the Huth rebels, and why are ships attacking the Red Sea?

Yemen's nose, linked to Iran, is playing a escalating role in the conflict in the Middle East, attacking ships on the Red Sea, firing missiles and carrying out intimidation attacks on Israel in a campaign they say aims to support Palestinians in the war in Gaza.

US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin announced on December 19th the establishment of a multinational operation to protect trade on the Red Sea in response to rebel attacks Huthi.

The rebel Huthi's role has increased regional risks of conflict, endangering the sea lines through which most of the world's oil is transported and increased concerns among the states of the Red Sea, as rockets and drones fly toward Israel.

But who are Huth?

History

In the late 1990 ' s, the Huth family in the north of Yemen set up a religious revival for the Zaydi sect of Shiite Islam, who once ruled Yemen, but the northern part of the country was marginalized and impoverished.

As friction with government increased, they waged a series of guerrilla wars with the national military and a brief border dispute with the Sunship power of Saudi Arabia.

Growing Power

Their power grew during the war in Yemen that began in late 2014 when the Huth rebels took control of Sana. Worried by increasing Iran's influence along its border, Saudi Arabia intervened in 2015 and led the Western-backed coalition in support of the Yemeni government.

Hhutt established control in most of the summer and other major populated centres, while the internationally recognised government placed headquarters in Aden.

Yemen experienced relative calm over a year because of efforts to peace led by the United Nations. Saudi Arabia holds talks with Huth in an effort to stop the war.

Role in the Middle East War

Huth entered the recent conflict as it spread throughout the Middle East, announcing on October 31st that they fired missiles and carried out intimidation attacks toward Israel. The Huth rebels pledged that they would continue to conduct attacks “until Israeli aggression stops”.

Their actions have echoed the role of the Lebanese group, Hezbollah, which is backed by Iran, a group that has attacked Israeli positions on the Lebanese border, and Iraqi militias that have attacked US targets in Iraq and Syria.

Confronting their threats, Huth said on December 9th that they would target all ships heading towards Israel, despite their nationality, and warned all international shipping companies not to co-operate with Israeli ports.

“If Gaza does not accept the food and medicines it needs, all ships at the Red Sea who travel towards Israeli ports, regardless of their nationality, will become targets for our armed forces”, a spokesman for the Huth rebels said through a statement on December 9th.

The Slogan of the Huth rebels is: “Death to America, Death to Israel, curse to Jews and victory for Islam”

Links to Iran

The United States believes Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard is helping plan and carry out missile attacks and those fearing the Huthi rebels.

Iran's “support for the rebels' attacks on commercial ships must ban”, US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin said on December 18th.

Iran denies involvement.

The longtime Saudi-led coalition has accused Iran of arming, training and funding Huth. Huth denies they are Iranian collaborators and say they produce their own weapons.

Arsenal

The Huth rebels have demonstrated their capabilities in terms of rockets and drones during the Yemen war in attacks on Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, targeting oil initiatives and vital infrastructure.

Their arsenal includes ballistic missiles and fears capable of striking Israel over 1,000 miles [1,600 km] from Sana.

Tofan, Borkan and the Huth rebels' Quads are modeled after Iranian weapons and, according to experts, can hit targets up to 2,000 miles [2,000 km] away.

Huth fired dozens of these missiles in Saudi Arabia during the Yemen war. In September, the Huth rebels first exposed the Barq-2 opposing missiles, naval missiles and Mig-29 combat aircraft.

Huth rebels have also used speedboats equipped with machine guns during their operations on ships. /rel