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 neighbouring Saudi Arabia. Starting out in the late 1990s as a Zaydi Shi’ite Muslim revival movement in ​north Yemen under the Houthi family, the group waged six wars against the government, building a strong local militia. When Yemen’s central state disintegrated during the 2011 Arab Spring, the Houthis took advantage, ‌gaining more ground and developing a relationship with Iran and its Lebanese ally Hezbollah. In 2014 they seized the capital Sanaa, ousting the government, and halting a Gulf-backed political transition. That prompted a Saudi-led military intervention to support the government, leading to years of civil war that ground to a stalemate and a 2022 ceasefire.

Full explainer : How the Houthis Outmaneuvered Washington and Riyadh.