Part 3 and Last: Shiite Insurgency in Yemen

HannibalGore · #1 ● 02-23-2021, 12:23 AM

June 18, 2004 - February 6, 2015

The Shiite insurgency in Yemen or Sa'dah conflict is a still ongoing civil war, started in June 2004 when opposition cleric Hussein Badreddin al-Houthi, leader of the Houthis, a Shiite movement of the Zaydis, started a rebellion against the Yemeni Government. Most of the fighting has focused on the Sa'dah governorate, but it has spread to other neighbors and even to border areas with Saudi Arabia.

The Yemeni government claims that the Houthis were trying to overthrow it and implement Shiite religious law. The rebels say they are "defending their community against discrimination" and aggression from the government. The Government of Yemen has accused Iran of leading and financing this insurgency.

In August 2009, the Yemeni government launched an offensive against the rebels; hundreds of miles of civilians were displaced by the fighting. The conflict turned international on November 4 of that year, when clashes between rebels and Saudi security troops began in the border areas, prompting the Saudis to launch an offensive against the rebels. The Shiites have accused the Government of Saudi Arabia of supporting that of Yemen, something that is denied. The US has intervened openly since December 14, 2009, when it launched 28 air strikes against insurgent positions in Sa'dah.

General Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar commanded government operations until he defected during protests in Yemen in 2011.