Photo composition showing Yemeni fighters raising their machine guns next to the Yemen flag with the map of Yemen in the background. Photo: Al Mayadeen
In 2015, Yemen, a country unknown to many in the West, started a war in defense of its sovereignty that was being threatened by an interventionist alliance led by Saudi Arabia.
The Yemeni people had to pay for the lives of almost 400,000 of their children to maintain their independence. Many people have wondered how a country considered the poorest in Western Asia has been able to resist and defeat a coalition made up of some of the richest countries on the planet.
Although the conflict has continued for almost a decade, it appears to have reached a situation that could lead to its possible cessation. Although a tense situation and war conditions of different kinds remain, there has been a reduction in military actions in recent months. It is no longer a total war, but it is not a real peace either. Under the mediation of China, Saudi Arabia and Iran reconciled, paving the way for overcoming several conflicts in Western Asia and North Africa. Hopefully, Yemen is one of them.
Now, after the “Israeli” invasion of Gaza, Yemen, together with the Lebanese Hezbollah movement and other Arab and Muslim revolutionary forces, has taken an active role in the solidarity campaign with Palestine. Once again, Yemen has surprised everyone by making decisions that have not only a local impact but also a regional and global one. Once again, the world is wondering how this could have happened. In two installments, I am going to present some elements so that readers can get to know Yemen and learn about the historical struggle and the heroism of its people to understand the scope and dimension of the Yemeni decision to support, with all the resources at its disposal, the just struggle of the Palestinian people.
The Republic of Yemen is located in a strategic place, in a region where trade routes connect Asia, eastern Africa, and the Mediterranean. Its territory, located on the coasts of the Arabian Sea and at the gates of the Red Sea, overlooks the Bab el Mandeb Strait, placing it in a privileged place on the globe, especially since the 20th century when, on the one hand, large deposits of oil and gas were discovered in the region, and on the other it became a mandatory passage for most of world trade between the West and the enormous economic growth and development of East Asia.
The ancient cities of the territory were part of the biblical kingdom of Sheba(시바왕국-솔로몬과 시바 여왕의 그 시바 입니다) in ancient times. From that time began the struggle of the inhabitants of the current Yemeni territory for their liberation and independence, as they had to face the Roman Empire in the 1st century AD. The powerful Roman Empire was defeated in its attempt to dominate Yemen.
Unlike the rest of the Arabian Peninsula, Yemen had prodigious vegetation that provided great wealth to its population due to the great possibilities for consumption and trade it offered. Thus, the Greek mathematician Ptolemy named Yemen “Happy Arabia.”
Over the course of history, the Yemenis had to fight with Jewish Himyarites, who persecuted the majority Christian population until the intervention of the Ethiopians in the 6th century. When Islam arrived in the region during the 7th century, it began to shape a culture that was based on the interweaving of varied cultural and scientific knowledge and would make great contributions to humanity.
However, for many centuries, Yemen remained outside the cultural and economic development established by Islam. It was in the 15th century when the territory of today’s Yemen began to gain strategic value. In their desire for commercial expansion, the Europeans began the domination of territories throughout the world. The first Europeans to arrive in Yemen were the Portuguese, who dominated the country to control the sea route that allowed them to trade spices from Asia to Europe through the Red Sea.
In the 16th century, the Ottoman Empire began occupying regions on the coast of the Red Sea, while the interior of the country and the southern coast remained independent, governed by the Zaydis. In 1634, the Ottomans were finally driven out of Yemen by the Zaydis. Soon after, the English made their appearance in the area, installing a post of the East India Company in the port of Moka on the Red Sea.
In the 19th century, the British expanded their presence by occupying the entire southwestern tip, settling in Aden, the best port in the region, in 1839. In 1872, the Turks were able to consolidate their dominance in the interior of Yemen, for which they settled de facto a hereditary monarchy in the name of a local imam. This division effectively split Yemen into two countries.(남북예맨의 기원)
Around 1870, with the inauguration of the Suez Canal and the consolidation of Turkish rule over northern Yemen, Aden acquired new importance for British global strategy: it was the key to the Red Sea and, therefore, to the new canal.
At the beginning of the 20th century, Turkey and the United Kingdom marked a border between their territories, which became known as North Yemen and South Yemen, respectively.
During the First World War, Imam Yahya Mahmud al-Mutawwakil, who had already been the imam of the Zaydis since 1904, allied North Yemen with the Ottoman Empire. The defeat of the Turks allowed Yemen to regain its independence in November 1918.
However, Great Britain, after recognizing the independence of Yemen in 1928, began a campaign to secure control of the entire south of the country, up to the border with Oman. By 1934, it controlled the territory and converted Aden into a protectorate, then, in 1937, into a colony. Once again, the Yemenis had to resort to armed struggle for independence.
In 1940, the nationalist Free Yemen Movement emerged to fight against the control of the country by the imams who had allied themselves with Great Britain.
The fighting took separate paths in the north and south. In 1962, the Yemen Arab Republic was created in the north, while in the south, the National Liberation Front, created in 1963, took Aden in 1967 and proclaimed independence, starting a socialist revolution.
South Yemen was renamed the People’s Democratic Republic of Yemen. It closed all British bases in 1969 and took control of banking, foreign trade, and the naval industry, and undertook land reform. In foreign policy, it maintained a close alliance with the Soviet Union. It also promoted an open anti-Zionist struggle and support for the Palestinian people.
In October 1978, at a congress that enjoyed considerable support from the population, the National Liberation Front founded the Yemen Socialist Party. In December, the first popular election since independence was held to appoint the 111 members of the People’s Revolutionary Council.
From the first years of its existence, the People’s Democratic Republic of Yemen was subjected to constant hostility from Saudi Arabia, which aspired to control parts of the territory in which oil deposits had been discovered. Tensions were aggravated by the growing U.S. military presence in Saudi Arabia.
Meanwhile, in the north, the National Democratic Front (NDF), which brought together all the progressive forces in the country, was leading the armed struggle against Ali Abdullah Saleh, who became president in 1978. When the NDF was about to take power, Saudi Arabia plotted to divert the conflict into a war against the Democratic People’s Republic of Yemen. The mediation of some Arab countries led to a ceasefire and an agreement by which negotiations for reunification, suspended since 1972, were resumed.
Finally, on May 22, 1990, the two republics united to form the Republic of Yemen, which established Sana’a, the former capital of the Yemen Arab Republic, as the political capital, while Aden (the former capital of the People’s Democratic Republic of Yemen) was designated as the economic capital. In a joint session of the Legislative Assemblies of the two held in Aden, a Presidential Council led by General Ali Abdullah Saleh was elected.
The unification of Yemen was not received well by Saudi Arabia. Consequently, the Saudis began a policy of supporting infighting and secession. In May 1994, secessionists proclaimed a Yemeni republic in the south of the country but were defeated by forces loyal to the government.
Between June and August 2004, a movement emerged that expressed the beliefs of a specific branch of Shiite-oriented Islam: the Zaydis, under the leadership of the cleric Hussein al-Houthi. Following his martyrdom in September of that year, the movement took the name Houthi, Huthi, or Ansarallah (supporters of God). The history of Zaydism is over a millennia old and it dates back to the mid-8th century. Zaydism is a branch of Islam that emphasizes the struggle for justice and human responsibility in achieving that justice. It believes that Muslims have an ethical and legal obligation by their religion to rise up and depose unjust leaders including unrighteous sultans and caliphs. This ideology, which was marginalized after losing power in 1962, formed the basis of Ansarallah’s political and religious thought.
Ansarallah’s fight against the pro-Western and pro-Saudi government of Ali Abdullah Saleh was long and bloody. They had to resort to arms on five occasions between 2006 and 2008 in defense of their territory in the north of the country until they began to expand their support base and the geographical space under their control. In 2009, Saleh formed an alliance with the Saudis to combat the growing Ansarallah Movement.
For Ansarallah, the fact that a country like Saudi Arabia with an extremely conservative Wahhabi current was present and interfered in the country’s affairs was seen as a threat to the sovereignty of the nation in general and particularly to their existence as a minority. From that moment on, their struggle, which had originally been strictly internal, became a confrontation against foreign intervention.
Although at first, the Ansarallah fighters suffered heavy defeats, including (as mentioned before) the fall of their top leader, they grew stronger over time. From 2011 onwards, under the leadership of al-Houthi’s younger brother, Abdul Malik, the Ansarallah Movement began to claim significant victories and inflict significant setbacks on the enemy. The anti-imperialist and anti-Zionist rhetoric was strengthened by identifying Saudi Arabia as the dominant partner of the United States and “Israel” in the area.
The so-called “Arab Spring” had a special influence on the growth of support for Ansarallah in their fight against Saleh’s repressive government. In Yemen, the political earthquake that shook a significant part of the Arab world had a much more organized response than in neighboring countries. Faced with the strength of the protests, Saleh fled the country and took refuge in Saudi Arabia, being replaced by his vice president, Abdo Rabu Mansur Hadi, who tried to bring order to the country by reaching an agreement with factions opposed to Saleh “to change everything without changing anything,” leaving out the Ansarallah movement.
At the end of 2014, Ansarallah decided to begin the offensive to reclaim the capital, Sana’a. In this context, Saleh — surprisingly, in an attempt to regain power — established an alliance with Ansarallah to confront Hadi. Ansarallah, which had not supported the peace agreements signed by Hadi, allied themselves with their greatest enemy to take the capital. The Republican Guard, a force loyal to Saleh, favored the entry of Ansarallah into Sana’a. Hadi fled to Riyadh, the Saudi capital, from where he “runs” the territories not yet controlled by Ansarallah. In reality, Hadi is a puppet of the Saudi Wahhabi monarchy and its masters in Washington.
Once in power, the Ansarallah Movement formed a Revolutionary Committee to run the country. They were forced to fight simultaneously with the terrorist forces of Al Qaeda, with Saudi Arabia that protects them, and a coalition of other Gulf countries. All these enemies were armed and supported by the West, primarily the U.S., Britain, and Germany.
Saleh considered that Ansarallah had not fulfilled the agreements that, according to him, meant that he had to assume power again, and with Saudi support, he turned against them. Following this betrayal, Ansarallah attacked Saleh’s house, executing him on the spot.
From Riyadh, Hadi called for Saudi intervention in Yemen. To fulfill this request, the Saudi monarchy organized a coalition of Sunni countries to launch the Decisive Storm operation in 2015. This operation relied on air attacks against all populated areas of North Yemen and killed many thousands of people.
This action was planned as a definitive offensive to take control of the country and was followed by a second operation called Restore Hope which was focused more on diplomatic rapprochement. In reality, the war did not cease at any time; on the contrary, the alliance’s land, air, and maritime actions were reinforced by a naval blockade that prevented the entry of international aid, plunging the country into the worst humanitarian crisis in world history until the current Zionist actions in Gaza were unleashed, both with explicit support from the United States.
Ansarallah, which had popular support and better knowledge of the terrain, began using guerrilla warfare tactics inspired—according to the movement—by the liberation struggle in Vietnam and the resistance movements in Latin America. The fighters of Ansarallah were incredibly effective against this invading army that lacked morale, discipline, and motivation for battle. The U.S.-led Saudi-UAE coalition soldiers, which included a very large contingent of mercenaries hired by private companies, have been unable to claim military victories.
Riyadh received heavy blows even in its own territory when Ansarallah’s combative operations struck deep into Saudi territory through an advanced attack system using drones and long-range missiles that hit armed forces barracks, oil refineries, and critical infrastructure works at great distances across the border.
YEMEN: AN INDOMITABLE PEOPLE – PART TWO
By Sergio Rodríguez Gelfenstein,
The transnational mainstream media have planted the narrative that Ansarallah act under the influence of the Iranian government. While neither Iran nor Ansarallah have denied being part of an axis of resistance against imperialism, colonialism and Zionism, an axis that also incorporates political forces from Lebanon, Syria, Bahrain, and Palestine itself, simplifying the equation to a relationship of “subordination” is both superficial and banal, given the Yemeni people’s own history of struggle.
결론입니다.
후치 반군이 반 제국주의, 반 식민주의, 반 시온니즘의 한 축인 것은 분명하지만
이들이 레바논인 이나 시리아 바레인 팔레스탄인들과의 협력관계를 주종관계나 에이전트 관계 따위로 생각하는 것은
후치 반군들의 저항의 역사를 너무 모르고, 서구식 기준에 맞춰 지나치게 단순화한 것이다.....는 것입니다.
In West Asia, the growing aggressiveness of “Israel” and the interventionist presence of the United States have been polarizing the political situation. Iran’s recent agreement to settle differences with Saudi Arabia, as well as other agreements that have brought Egypt and Turkey, Qatar and Saudi Arabia, among others, closer together after years of estrangement, in addition to the stagnation of the war in Yemen—all point to the weakening of the imperialist-Zionist pole and the strengthening of the resistance.
In this context, by history and geographical location, the role of Yemen and the Ansarallah movement is decisive. It is worth noting that Ansarallah has never hidden its relationship with Iran. They are united by their common belonging to the Shiite branch of Islam. Both the founder of the Ansarallah movement and his brother, who leads it now, spent part of their lives in Qom (Iran) training politically and ideologically while studying the Shiite current, based on the idea that the legitimate succession of Mohammed belongs to the descendants of his son-in-law Ali, as opposed to the Sunnis who believe that the successors of Mohammed should be the companions of the prophet. Sunni comes from “Ahl al-Sunna” which translates as “the people of tradition,” and Shia comes from “Shiat Ali” which means “the party of Ali.”
But this does not mean that Yemenis are mere “accessories” of Iran. Beyond the financial, military, communicational and political support it has received from Tehran, the Ansarallah movement has demonstrated autonomy and self-determination in the design and execution of its actions both in the war against Saudi Arabia and its allies since 2015 and now in supporting the Palestinian cause.
In addition to its aid to Palestine, Yemen has a direct conflict with Israel for the support that the Zionist entity gave to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) during the war of 2015 that allowed it to occupy the strategic Yemeni islands of Socotra, located in the Arabian Sea, about 350 kilometers south of Yemen’s coasts. In Socotra, the entity has established a series of spy bases for gathering information throughout the region, and in particular in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.( 바브엘만데브 해협)
The UAE-Israel base in Socotra also benefits the United States because through this base the US controls the Gwadar port in Pakistan which is also part of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC)(차이나 파키스탄 회랑). The Gwadar port was developed by China so that goods unloaded there could be shipped overland to China, especially to its western region.
As for the current events, Yemen’s actions in support of Palestine began almost immediately after October 7. On October 19, a US Navy ship shot down missiles and drones fired by Ansarallah against Israel, according to Pentagon information released at the time.
A few days later, on October 27, six people were injured when two drones fell in Taba, an Egyptian town bordering Israel, after being intercepted by the Israeli air force. On October 31, Ansarallah claimed a drone strike against the Zionist entity. The “Israeli” army reported intercepting a missile launched from the south.
Ansarallah military spokesperson General Yahiya Sa’ari announced in a televised statement that the organization had launched a large number of ballistic missiles and drones toward “Israel” and that there would be more attacks in the future “to help the Palestinians achieve victory.” In response, Israeli National Security Adviser Tzachi Hanegbi said that the Ansarallah attacks were intolerable, but declined to elaborate when asked how “Israel” would respond.
In mid-November, Ansarallah announced that its armed forces would attack all ships sailing under the Israeli flag or operated or owned by Israeli companies or sailing to Israeli ports. A few days later, General Sa’ari announced that the Yemeni armed forces will prevent ships of all nationalities bound for Israeli ports from sailing in the Arabian Sea and the Red Sea until the food and medicine needed by the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip are allowed to enter the war-devastated enclave.
In view of this announcement and following the first attacks on ships bound for Israel, four major shipping companies: the world’s largest container line, Swiss-based Mediterranean Shipping Co. (MSC), Denmark’s Maersk, France’s CMA CGM, and Germany’s Hapag-Lloyd suspended the passage of their vessels through the Red Sea. These companies transport approximately 53% of the world’s maritime containers, and about 12% of world trade in terms of volume. It should be noted that 30% of the world’s container traffic passes through Bab al-Mandeb.
In response, on December 19, the United States proposed to create a naval alliance in order to launch an operation called “Prosperity Guardian” presumably dedicated to “ensuring freedom of navigation in the Red Sea.” In practice, this meant declaring war on Yemen and militarizing the Red Sea. But Yemen has remained unbowed in its position. Its armed forces have asserted that “any attack on Yemeni assets or Yemen’s missile launching bases would stain the entire Red Sea with blood,” claiming that they possess “weapons to sink your aircraft carriers and destroyers.”
The escalation of actions since then has been evident. On December 20, the leader of Ansarallah, Sayyed Abdul Malik Al-Houthi, emphasized in a speech that the responsibility of the Islamic world, and especially the Arab world, for the conflict in Palestine was great, for being “the heart of that world.” In this regard, he deplored the Islamic-Arab position in the summits held to discuss the issue, especially the one held in Saudi Arabia. Al-Houthi characterized that view as weak. He noted that there should be a commitment by the Arab and Muslim peoples to support Palestine, and criticized the focus of some countries on the “conspiracy against Palestine.” The Yemeni leader said that his nation did not expect from the United States and European countries a positive position or role towards Palestine. For these reasons, he considered that the perspective of the axis of resistance should be aimed at raising the level of military support for Palestine.
In this framework, Al-Houthi warned that Ansarallah would attack US warships if Yemeni forces were attacked by Washington after the launching of Operation Prosperity Guardian. According to Al-Houthi, the US is not trying to protect world shipping but is seeking to militarize the sea.
However, the United States could not reach a consensus with its “allies” about the naval alliance. Disagreements were generated with the Arab countries that were called to join the coalition, which has hindered a coherent response to the Yemeni attacks on ships transiting the Red Sea. Two key regional countries involved in the long-running US war against Yemen—the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia—expressed opposition, which has been a major obstacle to the US plan to end the maritime attacks. The final course of action considered by Washington is a military response to Ansarallah, but some Arab allies have refused to join. Instead they prefer the diplomatic route and reinforcement of maritime protection for ships.
Analysts consulted on the matter agree that the objectives of the proposed US operation are vague as the naval chiefs have not been given precise missions. Moreover, the coalition ships, although equipped with advanced weaponry, can only limit themselves to repel missile attacks, escorting merchant ships with warships, which is questionable since Yemen’s missile arsenal is inexhaustible in light of the actions undertaken in the last eight years. “Neither the management of the world shipping companies, nor the captains of merchant ships, nor the insurers will be willing to play this lottery,” stressed Ilya Kramnik, a Russian expert on naval forces.
Similarly, Michael Horton, co-founder of Red Sea Analytics International, an independent consulting firm dedicated to providing unbiased analysis of security dynamics in the Red Sea, noted that Ansarallah “has only deployed a fraction of its weapons, and has not used longer-range missiles, more advanced drones, and hard-to-detect sea mines.”
In this situation, US Vice Admiral Kevin Donegan noted that “the United States has also been accepting as normal the persistent attacks… by the Houthis.” According to the New York Times, this has forced President Biden to face a difficult choice related to future deterrence plans for Ansarallah. He must consider that Saudi Arabia is not seeking an escalation of the conflict that could scuttle a hard-negotiated truce. Tim Lenderking, US special envoy for Yemen, stated in mid-December that “everyone is looking for a formula to reduce tensions.”
On the other side of the conflict, on December 24, the commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, Major General Hossein Salami, announced that Israel will face a total naval blockade if the Mediterranean Sea, the Strait of Gibraltar, and other waterways were closed. To date, Yemen has already been able to blockade almost in its entirety the Israeli port of Eilat, located on the Red Sea, which is operating at only 15% of its capacity. Ansarallah armed forces were also able to hit an Israeli ship deep in the Arabian Sea, near India, at a great distance from Yemeni territory. Meanwhile, Iran has drones and long-range hypersonic missiles which, in the event of an all-out war against Zionism, could easily target commercial ships moving through the Mediterranean towards Israeli ports.
Moreover, in preparation for a combat of other dimensions against Israel, the Yemeni armed forces announced that it has 20,000 reservist soldiers trained and ready to fight alongside the country’s armed forces against the Zionist entity and the coalition led by the United States.
On December 28, Yemen warned the United States and its partners about the militarization of the Red Sea and stated that it will intensify its attacks against its enemies if the blockade of Gaza continues. In this context, a day earlier, the top commanders of the Yemeni Armed Forces met to discuss the latest regional developments and review the combat readiness of the troops. At the end of the meeting they expressed their readiness to carry out the orders of the Ansarallah leader. On January 4, after a Yemeni naval contingent came face-to-face with US military forces in the Red Sea, in which the Yemeni side lost three boats and 10 fighters, the commander of the Yemeni Coastal Defense Forces, Major General Muhammad Al-Qadiri warned that Yemen would respond by determining the target in each case on the islands, in the Red Sea, and at “the bases where the Zionists and the Americans are stationed.”
If the US and its alliance eventually decide to directly challenge Ansarallah in the Red Sea, they will face a vast naval war from the Gulf of Aden, the Arabian Sea, and the Indian Ocean. It would unleash an unstoppable spiral of confrontations of incalculable dimensions.
In any case, Yemen has already been able to use its strategic position as a force in the global scenario and to impose itself as an important player in the ongoing confrontation and to express one of the most courageous forms of support for the Palestinian people facing the Israeli war machine supported by the United States and Great Britain, constituting an important pressure card against Zionism and its US mentor.
Controlling the Suez Canal means controlling 90% of global trade, directly affecting Israel by hitting its economy. In this sense, Ansarallah has been able to do what Israel and the United States have tried to avoid at all costs until now: “to turn the genocide in Gaza into a global crisis.”
Lebanese journalist Khalil Harb, citing the World Bank, stated in an article for The Cradle that Israel imports and exports almost 99% of its goods by river and sea, and more than half of its GDP depends on trade in goods.
Brazilian journalist specialized in international politics, Eduardo Vasco, pointed out that in addition to the direct impact that the Ansarallah movement is causing in West Asia, its actions are “paralyzing the world economy, that is to say, the very functioning of the capitalist regime, which is at the root of the war of aggression in the Middle East.” Vasco is of the opinion that the United States and Israel are limited in carrying out a direct attack on Yemen because there could be retaliation against US allies in the region, “mainly against their oil fields, which would brutally aggravate the economic crisis with an oil crisis, which has already begun. For this reason, while the UAE wants strong action against Ansarallah, the Saudis are cautious.”
At the close of this article came the information that Yemen had attacked a US ship carrying supplies to Israel, thus responding to the recent US attacks against Yemeni naval forces.
Moreover, responding to the statements of US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, Yemen’s Deputy Foreign Minister Hussein Al-Ezzi confirmed “the safety of navigation to all destinations except the ports of occupied Palestine,” categorically discarding the fake news disseminated by Washington, London and Berlin regarding the safety of navigation.
All these actions show the capacity and determination of the Yemeni people to take a leading role against Israel’s war on Palestine. In fact, they make it clear that, despite being a small country, globally and regionally marginalized from economic development, they have a will to fight that expresses the millenary sentiment of existing as an independent nation, challenging the US by putting obstacles and impediments to the imperial execution of its policies in the region.