Houthis

The Houthis (in Arabic : الحوثيون al-Ḥūthiyyūn; alternatively: (al-) Houthis ) are a group rebel Shiite Zaydi operating in Yemen . They have also been referred to as a "powerful clan ",  and the title Ash-Shabab al-Mu'min (in Arabic : الشباب المؤمن , translated as Believers Youth (BY) or Young Believers ). The group takes its name from Badreddin Hussein al-Houthi , their former commander, who was killed by forces of the Yemeni army in September 2004 .  Several other commanders, including Ali al-Qatwani , Abu Haider , Abbas Aidah and Yousuf al-Madani (one son-Hussein al-Houthi) were also killed by Yemeni forces. The brothers' father Houthi, Hussein al-Houthi Badreddin is considered the spiritual leader of the group.
Members of the group had between 1,000 and 3,000 fighters until 2005  and between 2,000 and 10,000 fighters from 2009 .  According to Ahmed Al-Bahri, the Houthis had a total of 100,000 to 120,000 followers, including armed fighters and unarmed supporters.
The Houthis claimed that their actions are for the defense of their community and discrimination by the government, although the government of Yemen in turn accuses them of wanting to overthrow it and establish a Shiite religious law  , destabilize government and "make a stir with feelings of anti-Americanism ".
The Yemeni government also accused the Houthis of having links with external sponsors, especially the Iranian government (since Iran is a Shia majority country).  In turn, the Houthis have responded with claims that the Yemeni government is being supported by external agents virulently anti-Shia, including Al-Qaeda and the government of Saudi Arabia