Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels are stepping up their strikes on ships in the Red Sea, which they say are revenge against Israel for its military campaign in Gaza. Йеменские хуситы, поддерживаемые Ираном, усиливают атаки на корабли в Красном Море в качестве мести Израилю за его военную операцию в Газе.
The attacks have forced some of the world’s biggest shipping and oil companies to suspend transit through one of the world’s most important maritime trade routes, which could potentially cause a shock to the global economy. Атаки принудили крупнейшие мировые компании по нефтедобыче и перевозке приостановить транзит через один из главнейших торговых путей по морю, что может стать шоком для глобальной экономики.
The Houthis are believed to have been armed and trained by Iran, and there are fears that their attacks could escalate Israel’s war against Hamas into a wider regional conflict. Предполагается, что хуситов тренирует и вооружает Иран, и существуют опасения, что их атаки могут эскалировать израильскую войну против ХАМАС в более широкий региональный конфликт.
The Houthi movement emerged появилось in northern Yemen, where most people follow Zaydism, a sub-sect of Shia Islam. Zaydi imams had jostled for control боролись за контроль of the region for centuries, and in 1918 they established a sovereign state основали суверенное государство. The imams ruled until 1962, when a military coup sparked a civil war военный переворот запустил гражданскую войну that led to the establishment of the Yemen Arab Republic. Zaydi areas became poorer than the predominantly Sunni midlands. In the 1980s the Saudi and Yemeni governments began promoting radical Sunnism in the north. A relatively peaceful Zaydi resistance movement emerged in response. In the 1990s Hussein al-Houthi, a Zaydi cleric священник, helped to launch the Believing Youth, a youth Shia religious movement.
Growing support for the movement made it a threat to Yemen’s government угроза йеменскому правительству; the country’s leaders had supported America’s invasion of Iraq поддержали вторжение американцев в Ирак in 2003, which many Yemenis decried осуждали.
After Houthi was killed by government forces in 2004, the new Houthi leaders fought their first war воевали в первой войне against the Yemeni government.
In 2011, during the Arab spring Арабская весна, the Houthis seized control захватили контроль of Saada, a province in northern Yemen, and adopted the name Ansar Allah, or “Defenders of God” защитники Бога.
In 2014 the Houthis swept out of their northern stronghold and took control of Sana’a, Yemen’s capital. With the support of Iran, they seized most of western Yemen.
In 2015, at the request of Yemeni government, the Saudis launched a campaign against the Houthis: in the years that followed around 25,000 airstrikes killed more than 19,000 civilians бомбардировки убили гражданских.
Since a ceasefire прекращение огня in April 2022 Yemen has enjoyed relative calm относительное спокойствие. They appear to be close to a deal with the Saudis that would stop the war and cement their role in the government.