Houthis

Imagine a group of people in a country called Yemen. These people are called the Houthis. They have a special name, Ansar Allah, which means 'Supporters of God'.

They started a long time ago, back in the 1990s. Most of them follow a religion called Zaydi Islam. They are like a big team that has a political group and also a military group.

They have become a really important part of what's happening in Yemen.

The Houthis first became known when they started to disagree with the leader of Yemen. They thought the leader wasn't doing a good job and was being unfair. A leader named Hussein al-Houthi was very important.

He was later sadly killed in 2004. After that, his brother took over and kept leading the group. They have been involved in many big changes in Yemen, sometimes working with others and sometimes disagreeing.

The Houthis are in the news because they are a big part of a conflict in Yemen. Sometimes, they do things that make other countries worried, like attacking ships in the Red Sea. They say they are doing this to help people in Gaza. They also have allies, like Iran, who help them. It’s like having a friend who helps you with a big project. They want to have a say in how Yemen is run.

The Houthis want to make sure their Zaydi Shia friends are treated fairly. They also have ideas about how the world should work, and they don't like some other countries, like the United States and Israel. They believe they are fighting for what's right and for their people. Sometimes they work with people who are not Zaydi Shia, showing that things can be complicated!