LONDON – A lightning advance by Yemen’s Houthi group has brought the vital Bab el-Mandeb Strait under its control, making the once ragged highland militia a regional player with global clout.
This is how the group evolved into a formidable fighting force with Iranian support that can disrupt vital shipping and strike critical oil and gas facilities in neighboring Saudi Arabia.
Starting out in the late 1990s as a Zaydi Shiite Muslim revival movement in northern Yemen under the Houthi family, the group waged six wars against the government, building a strong local militia.
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