Since the start of November the Houthis of Yemen have launched more than 20 attacks on shipping in the Red Sea.
Nearly 15 percent of the world’s trade passes through the Red Sea. Already 20 percent of the ships have been diverted around South Africa, adding to transport costs and inflation. Those ship owners who continue to sail through the Red Sea are faced with rocketing insurance bills.
NATO ships have rushed to the region and the Houthis have been warned of terrible consequences if they continue their strikes.
So, who are the Houthis and why are they attacking the world’s shipping?
The answer to why is easy – Gaza. The Houthis hate Israel, Saudi Arabia and the US and they are rabid supporters of the Palestinian cause. The Houthi motto is: “God is the Greatest. Death to America. Death to Israel. A Curse Upon the Jews. Victory to Islam.”
The who is slightly more complicated. For a start they are Shia Muslims which gives them a link to Iran’s mullahs. But, just to complicate matters, they are a different Shia sect known as the Zaydis. But shades of religious difference have not prevented an alliance between the Houthis and Tehran.
Next, the Houthis make up about 40 percent of the population of Yemen. Until about 1967 they were Yemen’s ruling elite for close to a 1,000 years.
It was about 1967 that the Saudis started using their oil money to interfere in Yemeni politics. The Saudi ruling family are Sunni and they have a problem with dissatisfied Shias in their Eastern Province along the border with Yemen.
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