Yemen in the grip of the Houthi militia

Ten years of civil war have brought Yemen to its knees. In the north, Houthi militias have established a strictly isolated dominion in which oppression, displacement and hunger are rife. It’s a police state, where the security apparatus monitors where people go and what they say.

Meanwhile, international organizations describe the situation in Yemen as one of the world’s worst humanitarian disasters. Ten years ago, Yemen’s capital, Sanaa, was captured by Houthi fighters, forcing the internationally recognized government to the south.

Since the war started in Gaza in October, the Houthis have tried to capitalise on the conflict to raise their international profile, and as a show of power that could gain them more negotiating influence. Claiming to be in solidarity with the Palestinian people, the Houthis initiated a series of attacks on commercial ships in the Red Sea.

Houthi attacks on ships in the Red Sea have brought the militia back into the public eye. Waging what they describe as a holy war helps them domestically, allowing them to divert people’s dissatisfaction towards an external enemy.

Victims of Houthi militias are the Yemenis fighting desperately for their children’s survival, who have almost given up hope of peace.

The Houthis have been a major force in the ongoing Yemeni civil war (which began in 2014), which has caused an estimated 377,000 deaths, many of them civilians. 

Though it is the government in the south that is internationally recognised, the Houthis have taken over much of northern Yemen, since they stormed Sana'a in 2014. They control the key port of Hudeidah, which generates up to US$1 billion (£784,000,000) in revenues for the Houthi government.