Who are the Houthis, the militia that attacks ships in the Red Sea – Jornal da USP

The Houthis are a militia or political movement that controls most of Yemeni territory, including the capital, and about 70% of the population. Yemen, a country in the Middle East, was and still is a scene of disagreement between Sunnis and Shiites. The Sunnis in the south have received and continue to receive support from the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia. Shiite Iran supported the Houthis, who imposed an extremely violent regime on the country and committed abusive practices, including allowing women to go out into the streets only accompanied by their husbands.

Since the beginning of the conflict between Hamas and Israel, in October last year, the Houthis began attacking commercial ships sailing in the Red Sea, a strategic and politically important location, where about 70% of global trade passes. There are two entrances to the Red Sea, one to the south, between Eritrea and Yemen, and the other to the north, at the Suez Canal. Taking advantage of their advantageous position, the Houthis attacked ships sailing off the coast of Yemen, where about 30 ships were attacked. A ship was attacked and 25 people were taken hostage.

It turned out that the Houthis, since then, began to modify their action strategy, and began to identify with the Palestinian issue and the Iranian issue, and they are part of the so-called resistance movement, which is contradictory to the United States, Israel, and the West itself.
Indiscriminate attacks on commercial ships, allegedly directed at Israel, caused a major economic problem, because many ships were forced to change their course, which meant an increase in transportation costs, while increasing inflation in many countries.

In the current context of the Middle East, the Houthis are taking an aggressive stance against Western, American, and British interests. It is a very aggressive stance, and is part of the stance taken by other Iranian militias in the Middle East and those that, although not Iranian, are directly linked to the Tehran regime, such as Hezbollah. The Houthis' idea is to gain greater internal popularity and greater external popularity.

The United States and the United Kingdom have previously launched several attacks on the Houthis and Yemeni lands. The big danger here is the escalation of the conflict, which could reach Iran itself. By targeting militias linked to the Iranian regime and everyone who supports the Iranian regime, there is no doubt that there could be an unprecedented escalation in the conflict between Israel and Israel. Hamas and the direct involvement that the United States intends to avoid in the Middle East conflict. The future will determine whether this can be achieved or not.

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