Houthi insurgency

The Houthi insurgency, also known as the Houthi rebellion, the Sa'dah War, or the Sa'dah conflict, was a military rebellion pitting Zaidi Shia Houthis (though the movement also includes Sunnis) against the Yemeni military that began in Northern Yemen and has since escalated into a full-scale civil war. The conflict was sparked in 2004 by the government's attempt to arrest Hussein Badreddin al-Houthi, a Zaidi religious leader of the Houthis and a former parliamentarian on whose head the government had placed a $55,000 bounty.

Houthi insurgency
Part of the Yemeni Crisis and the Iran–Saudi Arabia proxy conflict

Houthi militants, September 2015
Date18 June 2004 – 16 September 2014
(10 years, 2 months, 4 weeks and 1 day)
Location
Former North Yemen
Result

Houthi victory; Conflict escalates into a full-scale civil war with the Yemeni government and foreign intervention

  • Houthi rebels take over Sa'dah and establish an independent administration in Sa'dah Governorate and parts of 'Amran, Al Jawf and Hajjah.
  • Houthis take control of Sanaa
  • Yemeni government under President Hadi relocated from Sanaa to Aden
Belligerents

 Yemen

  • Security Forces
  • Sunni tribes
  • Al-Islah militias
 Saudi Arabia
Supported by:
 Jordan
 Morocco
 Sudan
 United States		 Houthi Movement
 Yemen (pro-Saleh forces)
Alleged support by:
 Iran
 North Korea
 Libya (until 2011, alleged)

Ansar al-Sharia

Commanders and leaders

Abdrabbuh Hadi
(2012–2015)
Hameed Al-Qushaibi †
Ali Abdullah Saleh
(2004–2012) †
Mohammed Basindawa
(2011–2014)
Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar
(2004–2014)
Ali Muhammad Mujawar
(2007–2011)
Abdul Qadir Bajamal
(2001–2007)
Ahmed Saleh
(2000–2012)

Yahya Saleh
(2001–2012)
Amr Ali al-Uuzali †
Ali Salem al-Ameri †
Ahmed Bawazeir †
Khalid bin Sultan
(2011–2013)
Saleh Al-Muhaya
(2009–2011)

Abdul Malik al-Houthi
Hussein Badreddin al-Houthi †
Yahia al-Houthi
Muhammad al-Houthi
Abdul-Karim al-Houthi
Abdullah al-Ruzami  (POW)3
Abu Ali al-Hakem
Yusuf al-Madani
Taha al-Madani
Abu Haider †
Abbas Aidah †
Mohammad Abd al-Salam
Ali al-Qantawi †
Fares Mana'a4

Ali Abdullah Saleh (alleged from 2014 until his death in 2017)
Ahmed Saleh (alleged from 2014)

Yahya Saleh (alleged since 2014)		 Nasir al-Wuhayshi †
Qasim al-Raymi
Nasser al-Ansi †
Ibrahim al-Rubaish †
Khalid Batarfi
Harith bin Ghazi al-Nadhari †
Strength

Yemen:
30,000 soldiers in-theatre
66,700 total
27,000 tribal fighters
Saudi Arabia:
100,000 deployed

199,500 total

Houthis
2,000 (2004)
10,000 (2009)

100,000 (2011)		 -
Casualties and losses

Yemen:
1,000–1,300 killed
6,000 wounded
(Yemeni claim)
2,600–3,000 killed
8,000 wounded
(Independent estimates)
495 captured
(all released)
Saudi Arabia:
133 KIA
470 WIA

6 MIA/POW

3,700–5,500 rebels and civilians killed

3,000 arrested		 -

Total casualties:
Hundreds to thousands killed (humanitarian organizations), 25,000 (Houthi sources)
2,000 Sa'dah residents handicapped
250,000 Yemenis displaced

1.General Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar in charge of Yemeni operations against the Houthis until 2011 when he deserted.
2.Sheikh Badreddin al-Houthi died of natural causes in November 2010
3.Sheikh Abdullah al-Ruzami turned himself in to the authorities in 2005, but later he was released

4.Sheikh Farris Mana'a was a government ally until his arrest in 2010, after which he endorsed the Houthis and was appointed to head their administration.

Initially, most of the fighting took place in Sa'dah Governorate in northwestern Yemen, but some of the fighting spread to neighbouring governorates Hajjah, 'Amran, al-Jawf and the Saudi province of Jizan. After the Houthi takeover of the capital city Sanaa in late 2014, the insurgency became a full-blown civil war with a major Saudi-led intervention in Yemen beginning in March 2015.

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