Military Periscope :: Believing Youth

Believing Youth

Group Name:

Believing Youth, or Shabab al-Mu'minoon. Also known as al-Houthi or Houthi.

Location/Area of Operation:

Yemen. The supporters of al-Houthi (Hussein Badr ad-Deen al-Houthi and his other relatives) are particularly strong in Sa'dah governate, in the northwestern part (Red Sea side) of Yemen, bordering Saudi Arabia.

Stated Purpose:

The Believing Youth movement -- often identified by the name of its leader al-Houthi (Hussein Badr ad-Deen al-Houthi) -- calls for the creation of an imamate in Yemen. The family is Hashemite, the clan of the prophet Muhammad. The al-Houthis have said that they only approve of governance by a Hashemite imam or a pious Muslim. The al-Houthi violence can also be attributed to general enmity between the Shi'ite tribes and authorities in Sana'a, Yemen's capital.

Strength:

The movement has several hundred fighters, though it can probably rely upon thousands of tribe members. As many as 3,000 fighters may have taken part in the 2004 conflict against the government.

External Aid and Links:

There are suspected links between Believing Youth and Iran, with important family members having visited Tehran over the years. Al-Houthi met with the Iranian president in 1993. His father visited Iran in 2003 and reportedly fled to Iran during the 2004 rebellion.

Activities:

Believing Youth armed its supporters for fighting in 2004 by visiting local arms markets in Yemen. The weapons purchases were financed by decades of religious taxes.

Overview:

Hussein Badr ad-Deen al-Houthi was a leader of the Zaidi Shia, a Muslim sect in Yemen that makes up about 30 percent of the population. He was also a member of Parliament, representing the Al-Haq Party from 1993 to 1997. The Zaidis are a majority in the northwest.

Al-Houthi was killed in early September of 2004. Family members now claim the circumstances surrounding the death were mysterious, and demand the return of his body.

Officials estimate that as many as 600 soldiers and rebels were killed in 2004. Some claims put the death toll closer to 1,500. Thousands of families were displaced by fighting between al-Houthi rebels and government forces.

Al-Houthi was killed after holing up in Jarf Salman, a village in the Jabal Maraan mountains, located in the Sa'dah province. The Yemeni Interior and Defense ministries subsequently reported that "all the military and security operations to quell the rebellion launched by Hussein al-Houthi and his supporters have ended with the killing of al-Houthi and a number of his aides."

Fighting began anew in the spring of 2005. By 2006, a peace process was begun, mediated by a delegation from Qatar. Talks broke down in mid-August of 2007, when the Qatari mediators left Sana'a for Doha. The delegation left to consult with the Qatari government. The Qatari delegates accused the al-Houthi movement -- now headed by Abdul Malik al-Houthi -- of procrastinating on an agreed-upon timetable for peace.

Shortly after the departure of the negotiation team for Doha, reports surfaced that rebels were moving into new positions. A commander said the al-Houthis were conducting military exercises in areas under their control and taking up new defensible positions, including sites in the Takhia area near the Saudi border.

Of particular value to the al-Houthi forces are the Mutrah and Al Naqa'a strongholds near the Saudi border, neither of which the movement seems willing to abandon. These sites are held by followers of Abdullah al-Razami, a leading member of the group.

Despite various peace efforts, including a February 2008 initiative sponsored by Qatar, the Sa'dah region continued to be an unstable area in early 2009. Conflicts between al-Houthi elements and the government were compounded by the militant actions of other tribal groups in the area.

Human-rights observers as well as the U.S. State Dept. reported in February 2009 that government security forces had engaged in activities violating basic rights of the general population in the region. There were accounts of arbitrary arrests and other abuses, particularly of individuals with suspected links to the al-Houthi movement. In March 2009, the movement suggested that a full scale resumption of the war was possible.

Group Chronology:

1984

The Believing Youth organization was formed in 1984.

2004

June 18: Believing Youth launched a lengthy battle against the Yemeni government.

September: Two bombs exploded in Sa'dah, killing nine people and wounding 50 others.

Sept. 10: Hussein Badr al-Deen al-Houthi was killed.

2005

March 9-19: Negotiations between al-Houthi's father and the government failed, and the father returned from Sana'a to Sa'dah. Al-Houthi blamed the breakdown on the president's refusal to discuss the release of prisoners.

March 19: After the 2004 conflict, Yemen's president invited al-Houthi to Sana'a, claiming that if he did so, all prisoners would be released and the military would cease military and legal action against his followers.

March 20: Fighting broke out between Believing Youth and the Yemeni government at Souk at-Talh, near Sa'dah. The fighting escalated and spread to Wadi Nashoor, Razamat and Al Shafa'a -- rural areas surrounding Sa'dah. The military brought in tanks and artillery. The fighting reached its peak between March 29 and April 3, with a death toll of more than 100. There were also clashes in the regional capital Sa'dah.

April 14: The government announced an end to hostilities.

May: Rebels continued sniper attacks and moved into the tribal area of Khowlan and throughout the capital city of Sana'a. The Believing Youth conducted a series of drive-by grenade attacks and assassination attempts through May 13.

May: The Political Security Organization -- an agency that reports directly to the president -- penetrated the Believing Youth membership in Sana'a and brought a temporary halt to the conflict.

Sept. 25: President Ali Abdullah Saleh offered amnesty to al-Houthi's militia members. Compensation was proposed for those affected by the conflict as well as $150 million for development projects in Sa'dah.

November: Fighting resumed, despite the previous amnesty offer for Believing Youth.

2006

March 3: The Yemeni government announced the release of 627 pardoned followers of al-Houthi from prison.

March 22: Local leaders of non-governmental organizations complained that only about 150 detainees had actually been released from prison.

June: A Qatari mediation party began discussions with the government and al-Houthi.

2007

January: Al-Houthi supporters threatened to kill members of a Jewish community in Sa'dah if they did not leave the country within 10 days.

Feb. 14: Three days of clashes between the Yemeni military and Believing Youth fighters left nearly 100 people dead. The army reportedly succeeded in wresting away seven mountain outposts in Sa'dah from the Believing Youth. According to government sources, 75 rebels and 18 soldiers died in the fighting.

April 23: The Yemen Times reported that the government had deployed more than 60,000 soldiers to Sa'dah to battle Believing Youth forces, which were said to number around 6,000. A tribal leader said that fighting was taking place in all 15 Sa'dah districts.

June: Parties to the conflict reached agreement on a 10-point peace plan that would be implemented over a 20-day period. The plan called for rebels to withdraw from positions and hand in their weapons. The government agreed to launch reconstruction work.

July: A tenuous halt in fighting almost fell apart when the military refused to withdraw from 45 houses it had occupied in Bani Muath. The militants were reluctant to abandon fighting positions and turn over their arms.

Aug. 12: The government accused al-Houthi of foot-dragging and not committing himself to the Qatari-brokered peace agreement.

Aug. 14: The Qatari mediation party left Sana'a for Doha for the second time. The mediators reportedly failed to convince al-Houthi to implement the June 10-point agreement.

Aug. 23: A military field commander reported rebels were still conducting exercises in areas under their control and were moving into new military positions.

Sept. 9: Tribes controlled by sheiks Ali Aiydh and Mohammed Hazam in Bait al-Russ attacked al-Houthi followers. Nine people were killed and 29 were injured. The fighting took place in Hajjah governate.

October: Reports alleged that the military had killed four suspected al-Houthi supporters when they refused to remove posters with a group slogan. Cease-fire violations were reported by both sides.

Oct. 31: Al-Houthi militants accused Yemen's army of breaking the June cease-fire with an attack on the Walad Nawar village.

2008

Feb. 1: The government and Believing Youth rebels, in talks mediated by Qatar, reached another peace accord similar to the June 2007 agreement. Under the revised agreement, the al-Houthi militants would hand over heavy- and medium-sized weapons and evacuate their strongholds. The agreement also called for Al-Malik al-Houthi and some of his followers to go into voluntary exile in Doha, Qatar, where they would refrain from political or media activities opposing the Yemeni government. In return, the government agreed to grant a general amnesty to all al-Houthi followers. The government also promised freedom of expression and said the group could form a political party. However, clashes between the government and the rebels continued to occur even as steps to implement the agreement by a Feb. 6 deadline were taking place.

April 29: Government security officials reported that seven soldiers were killed and 17 were injured during an al-Houthi rebel ambush in the Majz District.

May 2: The government accused Believing Youth rebels of setting off a motorcycle bomb outside a mosque in Sa'dah City. Sixteen people were killed and 45 were wounded. The al-Houthi faction denied responsibility for the attack.

May 4: Members of Qatar's peace delegation returned to the Sa'dah region for talks with a Yemeni presidential commission in an attempt to end the fighting and to supervise the February peace agreement.

June 13: Yemen's deputy premier for defense claimed that members of Believing Youth had received military training in Iran. He specifically accused the rebels of conducting sabotage in Yemen as a result of the training.

July: Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh abruptly declared a cease-fire. The declaration came amid reports that Saleh had met earlier in July with several tribal leaders for the purpose of forming an anti-al-Houthi "popular" army.

September 18: Citing the destabilization of the Sa'dah region, Yemen's government appealed to the international community for help. The government estimated that it would initially need about $190 million for humanitarian services and reconstruction activities. Yemens said it could supply about $50 million of that total.

2009

January 25: Al-Houthi militants released 30 prisoners they had captured a few days earlier in clashes with government security forces. The al-Houthis indicated the release was a gesture of goodwill, designed to encourage the government to release militant prisoners.

March 7: The government said that al-Houthi militants had killed two soldiers and injured a third in the al-Malaheed region of Sa'dah. According to press reports, soldiers returned fire; one militant was killed and another arrested.

March: Al-Houthi militants charged that army units opened fire on some civilians waiting to participate in a ceremony, organized by its supporters, marking the birthday of the prophet Muhammad. Also in March, militants and others reported that the government had increased its forces in the Sa'dah region.

Last Updated:

April 2009