SUMMARY
Ansarallah (Supporters of God) was formed in 1992 by Hussein Badr al-Din al-Houthi as al-Shabab al-Mumin (The Believing Youth). The group has often been referred to simply as the Houthis, due to the dominance of the al-Houthi family in the groups leadership.
The group was formed as a Zaydi revivalist movement, and aimed to end perceived the persecution of old sāda (sing. Sayyid) elite and end the growing influence of Sunni Islam, most notably the Dar al-Hadith movement, in the Zaydi heartland, which had been sponsored by prominent figures in the Ali Abdullah Saleh regime, who ruled Yemen from 1978 until 2011. Zaydism is a branch of Shia Islam that diverged from the main body as followers of the failed uprising of Zayd ibn Ali in 740. The Zaydi tribes had been the dominant political force in North Yemen for most of its history, with the Zaydi Imams being the rulers of North Yemen from its independence in 1918 until the republican coup in 1962, and prior to this ruling parts of or all of Yemen in various capacities with few interruptions since the 9th century. Since 1962, the sāda has seen its traditionally prominent role severely diminished, often viewed with distrust as a form of defunct nobility by the new Republican government.
Ansarallah came into the spot-light in 2003, as members of the group shouted anti-American and anti-Israel slogans in a mosque in the northern Saada town in the presence of the President Saleh. This was seen as a grave offense against the president and the dispute escalated into demonstrations. An arrest warrant was issued in June the following year for the leader of the group, Hussein al-Houthi. Clashes erupted and a few months later, and Hussein al-Houthi was killed by security forces.
The conflict did not end with the death of Husein al-Houthi, instead the leadership of Ansarallah was taken over by relatives (see below) and the clashes continued to escalate in northwestern Yemen. The conflict has seen several rounds, known as the six Saada Wars, shifting from calm periods to months of intensive fighting.
The conflict between the government and Ansarallah was for several years not included in UCDP data due to the lack of a stated incompatibility. The UCDP definitions states that the incompatibility, or the conflict issue, can be either concerning government (the type of the political system, the replacement of the central government) or territory (secession or autonomy for intrastate conflicts). Ansarallah persistently claimed that they don't want to overthrow the sitting government. Instead, the group has stated that it want the government to end what they perceive as socioeconomic injustices and the governments political discrimination of the group and Zaydi tribes.
In June 2008, during the fifth phase of the conflict, ‘Abd al-Malik al-Houthi clarified that their opposition was directly to President Ali Abdullah Saleh, and was based on him being an agent (‘amil) of Israel and the United States. Under the banner of their slogan of “Death to America, Death to Israel, Curse Upon the Jews, Victory to Islam”, and with the imagery of guns aimed at the head of Saleh, Al-Houthi declared that “the Yemeni leader himself and the Yemeni government itself... have become dirty, despicable tools, to execute the American agenda, and the American-Israeli plans in the Arab world and Yemen,” thus making apparent their intention to use violence to remove Saleh. This marks the start of their conflict over government in UCDP data.
The fifth conflict ended only weeks later in a ceasefire agreement with the government, after a brutal conflict in which around 1,000 government soldiers are believed to have been killed earlier in the year. An new round of fighting erupted in August 2009, killing at least some 1,300 people during the year, and not ending until the following year. Between November 2009 and February 2010, Ansarallah also clashed extensively with Saudi Arabia. Ansarallah crossed the border into Saudi Arabia in November, ostensibly in punishment over Saudi Arabia's support for the Yemeni government. Due to the lack of a valid incompatibility this violence is excluded.
As anti-Saleh protests erupted in 2011, Ansarallah announced its support and participation in the protest movement. The year-long campaign to force Saleh to resign seriously destabilized Yemen as Saleh's security forces divided against themselves. In the power-vacuum, Ansarallah began taking control of large swathes of northern Yemen, mirroring the expansion of AQAP in the south. Small-scale clashes had been taking place with militias aligned wide the Salafi Dar al-Hadith movement, which aimed to propagate its vision of Sunni Islam in the Zaydi heartland of Saada, and its Islah allies since 2009. In 2011, these clashes escalated dramatically as the restraints of government authority collapsed. Heavy fighting took place in 2011, 2012 and 2013, resulting in Ansarallah greatly expanding its territory and largely destroying Dar al-Hadith.
The overthrow of Saleh resulted in the creation of the National Dialogue Conference in early 2012, a transitional body with Houthi representation that was to create a new system of governance for Yemen, and Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi taking office as transitional president.
On 9 March 2014, however, the leader of the group, Abd-al-Malik al-Houthi, called on the government to step down. The leader cited what the group perceived as the governments failure to improve living standards in the country as well as corruption as reasons for its call for resignation. However, the more immediate reasons appears to have been the decisions reached on 24 January 2014 by the National Dialogue Conference to extended President Hadi's term of president and ratified a plan to federalize Yemen, which was opposed by Ansarallah. In response, Ansarallah marched on the capital, capturing Amran enroute. In September 2014, Ansarallah captured much of the capital Sanaa before signing an agreement with the government to provide Ansarallah more political sway, and removing their rivals in the Islah party from their positions of power. The battle for the capital resulted in the government being practically held hostage by Ansarallah, as they were left in control of little more than the presidential palace and parliament, allowing Ansarallah to expand its area of control with little resistance. Heavy fighting with al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) erupted in October as Ansarallah entered Bayda governorate, killing hundreds. By late November fighting died down with Ansarallah in control of most of the governorate.
On 20 January 2015, Ansarallah captured the Presidential Palace in Sanaa city. Ansarallah thus took full control of the capital and ousted the government led by President Hadi, who was forced to resign. They were aided by former president Saleh in this effort, who has been accused of effectively hindering a government response to the takeover. According to UCDP definitions, Ansarallah was then seen as the Government of Yemen as the party controlling the capital. One month later, on 21 February, former president Hadi rescinded his resignation and thus made claims of government power. The conflict over government between Government of Yemen - Forces of Hadi soon escalated into war. A Saudi-led coalition on 26 March launched airstrikes against the Government of Yemen, in support of Forces of Hadi. In 2022, Hadi resigned and was replaced by the Presidential Leadership Council, causing the opposition coalition to change its name to Forces of the Presidential Leadership. For more information see Government of Yemen - Forces of the Presidential Leadership Council.
Ansarallah has had several leaders over the years, all close relatives to the founder, Hussein al-Houthi. Hussein al-Huthi was succeeded in 2004 by his father, Badr al Din al Houthi, and Abdullah Ayed al Ruzami. In 2006, Abd al-Malik al-Houthi, Badr al Din al Houthis son, assumed leadership of the group. Up until November 2010, Badr al-Din al-Houthi had served as the groups spiritual leader. That month, AQAP (al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula) carried out two suicide attacks against supporters and members of Ansarallah. AQAP claimed that Badr al-Din al-Houthi was killed in the first attack. However, Ansarallah's spokesmen claimed that he died from chronic asthma.
Ansarallah has been involved in the state-based conflict over government and non-state categories of UCDP organised violence.
