Why More Yemenis are Supporting the Houthis
In the south of Yemen, many people are generally hostile towards the Houthi rebels. However, they often view the group’s attacks in the Red Sea positively. Is the conflict bringing the war-torn country together?
The sun is low. It’s afternoon in the Yemeni city of Shibam, 4 PM. The light makes the beige-white high-rises shine. Majestic skyscrapers made of compacted clay rise densely into the sky. In the shadow of the spectacular skyline, children play soccer in the sand. The scenery appears peaceful – for a moment, the war that has been ongoing in Yemen for nine years seems far away.
A large flag flutters in the wind outside the city gate: red, white, and black, with a light blue triangle and a red star. It’s the flag of South Yemen. It signifies that some militant groups in Shibam would like to secede from the northern part of the country, which is controlled by the Houthi rebels. Shibam is located in Hadramaut, a region where people have been hostile towards the Houthis for years. However, in these days, some are rethinking their stance, including Mohammed Faisal. He is a tour guide and sighs. Due to the war, foreign tourists no longer visit the narrow alleyways of the UNESCO World Heritage site, he laments, saying, “The situation is devastating, families have been suffering immensely since the start of the war, and we lack the money to renovate our homes.”
Imam Preaches Resilience to the Houthis
500 kilometers west lies the Old City of Sanaa, also a UNESCO World Heritage site. The Houthis have been in control there since 2014. Hassan Abdallah sits in a small mosque in the capital. He is a Houthi supporter and considers himself part of the Zaidi sect, a Shiite group with its own theological teachings. Visitors of the mosque respect Abdallah and address him as “Sheikh.”
A preacher rallies Houthis supporters, urging them not to back down despite the airstrikes carried out by the US military and its allies. After the prayer, Abdallah also expresses himself boldly. “The US attacks will not affect us. We are resilient, and we have endured airstrikes for nine years in the war against Saudi Arabia,” he states, adding, “They have only made us stronger.”
Since October 7 – the day of the Palestinian Hamas terrorists’ attack on Israel – Abdallah has been demonstrating every Friday after prayer. Like every loyal Houthi who wants to be perceived as upright, he must take to the streets. Tens of thousands of Houthi supporters show solidarity with the people in Gaza, chanting against Israel and the USA. The message the Houthis from the mountainous region in northern Yemen want to convey to the world is, “We will not be intimidated, not even by superpowers.”
Gaining Prestige in the Arab World
Bombs have been falling on Yemen again for nearly two weeks. The US-led military coalition in the Red Sea is targeting Houthi positions. However, the group shows no intention of halting their attacks on trade ships around the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait. As a result, the US once again designates the Houthis as a terrorist organization, while in the Arab world, they have gained prestige as militant opponents of the USA’s closest ally, Israel.
One of their objectives is to disrupt trade around the Israeli port of Eilat. Their calculation is to be celebrated as protectors of the Palestinian cause. The Houthis closely link the war in the Gaza Strip to the conflict in the Red Sea, explains analyst Hisham Al-Omeisy, saying, “The Houthis demand a ceasefire in Gaza as a condition to stop their attacks in the Red Sea. They might temporarily be more restrained, but they will remain a threat in the long term.”
Sympathy with Palestinians
In Shibam, the sun has now set. Mohammed Faisal, the tour guide, has been playing dominoes with his friends in a street café for hours. They discuss politics, and Faisal taps the domino board, stating that Yemen is a playing field for foreign powers. The men around him nod in agreement.
Yemenis’ Increasing Support for the Houthis amid the Current Conflict with the USA
In the current conflict against the USA, they now sympathize even with the Houthis, their old enemies. The Palestinian cause is greater, according to Faisal: “We share the same blood. We sympathize with them; it is not an attack on a country but on the entire Arab-Islamic world.”
However, hardly anyone believes that the Middle East conflict is truly uniting the warring parties in Yemen. The Houthis have different interests than the people in Shibam; they are only temporarily standing together in support of the Palestinians, as expressed by the domino players. As peaceful as the scene around them may seem in the evening, the country is still far away from achieving real peace in Yemen.