Houthi insurgency

An armed rebellion led by Yemen’s Houthi movement against the Yemeni government, beginning in 2004 and escalating into a wider civil war.

Zaydism: A branch of Shia Islam historically rooted in Yemen, with distinct doctrines of leadership and jurisprudence. Zaydi religious identity and revival networks shaped the movement’s early base.
Saada Wars: Six rounds of fighting between the Yemeni government and Houthi forces in Saada from 2004 to 2010. These successive campaigns defined the insurgency before the 2011 uprising.
Abdul-Malik al-Houthi: The leader of Yemen’s Houthi movement since the death of his brother Hussein in 2004. He directed the movement through its expansion from Saada into national power.
Yemeni civil war (2014–present): A conflict in Yemen that began in 2014 and involves the Houthis, the internationally recognized government, and multiple local and foreign actors. The insurgency became one central front in this broader and more fragmented war.
Saada Governorate: A mountainous governorate in northwestern Yemen bordering Saudi Arabia. The rebellion began in Saada, where the Houthis built support and fought their first battles.
Yemeni Revolution: The 2011 popular uprising that forced President Ali Abdullah Saleh to transfer power. The upheaval weakened central authority and changed the Houthis’ political opportunities.
Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi: Yemen’s president from 2012 until his resignation in 2015, later recognized internationally as the country’s head of state. Hadi’s government became the Houthis’ principal national adversary after Saleh left office.
Yemeni al-Qaeda insurgency: The armed campaign by al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula and its predecessors against Yemeni authorities and rivals. It is a separate insurgency whose actors and ideology differ from the Houthi movement.
Hussein Badreddin al-Houthi: A Yemeni religious and political leader who founded the Houthi movement and led its first uprising. His speeches and killing in 2004 made him the rebellion’s founding figure.
National Dialogue Conference: A 2013–2014 Yemeni political process intended to negotiate a post-Saleh constitution and state structure. The conference failed to resolve disputes over power-sharing and federal boundaries that fueled renewed conflict.

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