HOUTHIS - INTERNATIONAL

·         The Houthis are a large clan belonging to the Zaidi Shia sect, with roots in Yemen’s northwestern Saada province.

·         The Houthi movement, officially called Ansar Allah (Supporters of God), began in the 1990s against the dictatorship of Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh.

·         The Houthis are one faction in a bloody civil war that has raged in Yemen since 2014.

·         They currently control territory in the west and northwest of Yemen, including the capital Sana’a.

·         The Houthis, backed by Iran, are a part of what Iran calls, “The Axis of Resistance” — an informal anti-Israel and anti-West political and military coalition that it leads.

·         Other notable groups in the Axis include Hezbollah and Hamas.

·         In Yemen, the Houthis are fighting against the Sunni-led internationally recognized Yemeni government, backed by Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

·         Experts see the civil war in Yemen as a proxy war between Iran and Saudi, the two foremost Islamic powers in the world.