Airstrikes in Yemen

The Saudi – led coalition recently conducted airstrikes in Yemen. More than hundred people were killed during the attack.

About the airstrikes

The airstrikes were conducted in Saada of Yemen. The Saada region has a strong hold of Houthis. The attack was a response to the Houthis attack on UAE.

What is the issue?

The Yemen crisis traces back to 2011. An uprising in Yemen forced the then President Ali Abdullah Saleh to resign in 2011. Also, he was forced to hand over his powers to Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi. Hadi couldn’t handle the infiltration of terrorists, separatist movement and attacks by the jihadists. Eventually unemployment, corruption and food insecurity in the country increased.

The Houthi Movement took advantage of the political instability. The Houthi movement is led by the Shia Muslims. They are minorities in the country. They captured Saada province and slowly started moving southwards. Even the Sunnis and other ordinary Yemenis started supporting Shias. The Houthis slowly took over Sanaa, the capital of Yemen.

Saudi – led coalition

Saudi Arabia and the eight other Arab states are Sunni regions. The US, UK and France supported Saudi. These countries are fighting against the Houthis and are referred to as Saudi led coalition. Iran is a Shia country and therefore supports the Houthis.

What is the recent issue?

In January 2022, the Houthi rebels attacked UAE with a drone. This caused multiple explosions in UAE. The Saudi – led coalition has conducted airstrikes in response to this attack.

Zaydis

The Houthis are actually Zaydis Shias. The Zaydis follow the oldest Islamic principle. The Zaydis were highly powerful in Yemen for decades. However, their dominance ended in 1962 when Egypt overthrew their monarchy.

Concern of Saudi Arabia

The Houthis are backed by Iran. Iran supplies arms and weapons to Houthis. Saudi Arabia seed Houthis as Iranian proxies.