Iran-backed rebels Houthi expand, parallel to the attacks in the Red Sea, their dominance at the local and regional level. After a break of about two weeks, the Houthi rebels have resumed missile attacks on ships in the Red Sea, which are linked to Israel, the United States or member countries of the international coalition against the Yemeni rebels. The rebels claim the attacks are a show of solidarity with the beleaguered Palestinians in Gaza. This attitude greatly boosted their popularity and now the Houthis are trying to cash in on it by bringing under their control all of Yemen, which is divided between the rebels with the capital Sanaa and the Presidential Council with its capital in Aden. The civil war in the country has been raging for a decade. It started in 2014, when the Houthis overthrew the country’s government.

THE Hisham al-Omeisi, a conflict analyst and former head of the US State Department’s Yemen Information Resource Center, explains on DW’s microphone: “The Houthis are using the popularity they have gained locally and regionally from their attacks in the Red Sea to extend their control and to consolidate their sovereignty in the territories of Yemen, where they started a program of mass recruitment of fighters under the guise of the war in Gaza. At the same time, they are projected as the leading force of the Muslim and Arab nations.”

The legitimate government has nothing to oppose the rebels

The popularity of the Houthis, however, has not translated into an improvement in governance throughout the war-torn country, Thomas Zino, a Middle East analyst and professor at the University of Ottawa in Canada, told DW: “The way they treat their fellow citizens comes in contrary to the humanitarian and moral stance they claim to take on the Palestinian issue”

Experts believe that sooner or later the price of ending the civil war in the country will be the acceptance of the Houthis as the dominant force in Yemen, despite the fact that for years the international community supported the legitimate government of the country.

Analyst Hisham al-Omeisi believes that Yemen’s internationally recognized government is unable to ultimately prevent the rise of the Houthis: “Unfortunately, the Yemeni government and the anti-Houthi movement have not been able to create a united and strong front capable of fight the rebels. But only in this way would the process of establishment and acceptance of the rebels be stopped.”

Editor: Stefanos Georgakopoulos