An interesting and insightful view, thanks Adam. The bit that stood out the most to me was about the (effectively) stolen UA grain feeding Yemeni people. I'd not heard that anywhere else, and not an angle that would have occurred to me. I believe in you and the BTL project and am excited for the year ahead.
Thanks Will! Your words mean a lot. There's a lot of stuff out there on the Houthis that's a bit under the radar, and I'll be publishing my findings soon!
How exactly did you come to the conclusion that the Houthis are helping Al Shabab in Somalia? Al shabab is a sunni jihadi group that pledged its allegiance to ISIL while the Houthis have been fighting ISIL forces in the Arabian
Hi Babak - there’s a fair amount of info out there to corroborate it. First, al-Shabaab has pledged to al-Qaeda, not IS. Although both are Sunni, AQ is more pan-Islamist and reports indicate much of its top leadership is based in Iran. Second, the Houthis have ceased fighting with al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) and have even released prisoners from the group, potentially signaling warming relations with AQ central. Finally, there’s a fair amount of intel coming from the US claiming ties between AS and the Houthis: last year, the two groups reportedly met to discuss cooperation and weapons transfers. I’ve written a fair bit about ties between the two and I urge you to have a look at some of the past articles.
An interesting and insightful view, thanks Adam. The bit that stood out the most to me was about the (effectively) stolen UA grain feeding Yemeni people. I'd not heard that anywhere else, and not an angle that would have occurred to me. I believe in you and the BTL project and am excited for the year ahead.
Thanks Will! Your words mean a lot. There's a lot of stuff out there on the Houthis that's a bit under the radar, and I'll be publishing my findings soon!
How exactly did you come to the conclusion that the Houthis are helping Al Shabab in Somalia? Al shabab is a sunni jihadi group that pledged its allegiance to ISIL while the Houthis have been fighting ISIL forces in the Arabian
peninsula for a long time.
Hi Babak - there’s a fair amount of info out there to corroborate it. First, al-Shabaab has pledged to al-Qaeda, not IS. Although both are Sunni, AQ is more pan-Islamist and reports indicate much of its top leadership is based in Iran. Second, the Houthis have ceased fighting with al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) and have even released prisoners from the group, potentially signaling warming relations with AQ central. Finally, there’s a fair amount of intel coming from the US claiming ties between AS and the Houthis: last year, the two groups reportedly met to discuss cooperation and weapons transfers. I’ve written a fair bit about ties between the two and I urge you to have a look at some of the past articles.