60 Troops Killed in Houthi Missile Attack in Yemen - Essay Sample

Introduction

On the 18th of January 2020, Yemen reported to the media that at least 60 military troops died in the Houthi Missile attack launched by the Shiite rebels. The missile hit an army camp, killing military officers and injuring several other people on the spot, as reported by Yemen officials and television of the Saudi Arabia State. Besides, the attack in the Ma'rib central province also left about ten people severely wounded. However, the state government officials report that they expected the death toll number to rise from the burnt victims who were fighting for their lives in the hospital. Notably, the Houthi attack on the military training camp came amid the ongoing bombardment by the forces backed by the Saudi State government that target the east of Sanaa. As a result, those previous attacks killed at least twenty two people on both sides of the rebelling camps as reported by the officials. As guides by the causes, events, and outcomes, this essay focuses on the impacts of the attack on global terrorism.

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Ma'rib missile attack may not be an ordinary form of violence because of the characteristics of both the composition of the perpetrators and the motive of the attack (McWilliams, 2020). For any kind of abuse to qualify to be a terror attack, it has to an act of violence whose players are non-state actors (Santuraki, 2020). Additionally, the law must be targeting the civilian population and aimed at causing fear amongst them to achieve political objectives. For this reason, the Ma'rib missile attack as a terror attack because it involved the Shiite rebels supported by anti-Yemen neighboring governments to cause fear and political instability in Yemen.

On the other hand, the rebels forming the Shiite group are against the current government. The Houthis, as popular know, claim that they are defending their marginalized community against discrimination and oppression from the current regime (Bar, 2020). Further, they claim that the level of abuse on their people from the government is inhumane, and they will not relent until the government meets their demands. On the contrary, the government of Yemen is accusing Iran and other Middle East states of financing such unwarranted insurgency in the country.

Also, these Iran-supported Houthi rebels called Shiite groups have been in control of their capital of the Ma'rib province called Sanaa along with the part of the North. Moreover, they have been exercising authority in these territories since the ousted the government of the former President of Yemen in 2014 (Al Dosari & George, 2020). Therefore, war becomes a proxy affair a few months later when the Saudi government intervened to drive out these rebels and restore order for the internationally recognized government to take over and rule. For this reason, the Shiite group had to find a plan to ensure that they keep ruling this territory, and that is when they deemed fit to launch a missile attack that claimed lives totaling to 116 to date.

Houthi rebels used the attack to send a message to the Saudi government over their power within the jurisdiction they were capturing. Moreover, they were wanted to prove both the Yemen government and any other supporter of its ideologies that they were the symbols of authority in that territory that should have international recognition. Also, they aimed at proving to the enemies of Iran that through their support in successfully exercising power in the capital and the North, Iran is a compelling state across the Middle East.

As a counter-attack, after the attack on Saturday the 18th of January, 2020, the local government launched a fierce war between the Houthi's rebels and the government forces. The war that began on Monday the 20th 2020, aimed at controlling a junction that was in the east of Ma'rib on the highway connecting Ma'rib province to Sanaa. As an attempt to counter the missile attack in the military training camp, the government wanted to ensure recapturing the rebels' territory and end their illegal exercise of power forth will.

Similarly, the Saudi government took full responsibility for helping Yemen fight her enemy within its territories. For this reason, the government of Saudi released airstrikes on both the rebel-held Saada province and the capital Sanaa. Therefore, the well-orchestrated Monday attack by the two forces led to the death of the senior commander of the rebel group Jabel Al Muwaed as reported by Saudi television.

Elsewhere, the counter-attack by the government of Yemen and Saudi hoped to dismantle the Houthi rebels' organization as the Saudi called on the rebels for a ceasefire treaty (Jachnik, 2020). Unfortunately, the ever rebel group refused to enter into the much-anticipated ceasefire treaty organized on the 9th of April 2020. Instead, the group vowed to continue with their push towards Yemen's government stronghold of Ma'rib province that was rich in economic resources (Seliktar & Rezaei, 2020). It, therefore, shows that both the outcomes of the attack and the counter war made the terrorist organization more reliable and more determined to stand for what they believed is theirs. Despite the death of their commander, the rebel group grew more durable than before the attack.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the much destructive terror attack launched by the Houthi group allowed the group to gain more fame than before after the botched 9th April 2020 agreement ordeal. Notably, most of the terror group supporters felt overwhelmingly happy with the determination of the terror group even after the death of its commander. As a result, Iran still vowed to support it until it achieves its objectives of conquering the entire Ma'rib province that they believe is the hub of economic resources. Apart from the funds, they would also get support to ensure that they win the war of discrimination and government aggression as they claim. For this reason, most of their followers essentially financiers and supporters promised to continue following and supporting them.

References

Al Dosari, A., & George, M. (2020). Yemen War: An Overview of the Armed Conflict and Role of Belligerents. J. Pol. & L., 13, 53.

Bar, S. (2020). The re-tribalisation of the Middle East. Comparative Strategy, 39(2), 128-144.

Jachnik, C. V. (2020). Disarmament, Demobilization, and Reintegration-An underdeveloped diplomatic tool in Yemen. SIRIUS-Zeitschrift fur Strategische Analysen, 4(1), 1-14.

McWilliams, S. (2020). Psychopath?: Why We Are Charmed By The Anti-Hero. Mercier Press.

Santuraki, S. U. (2020). Armed Non-State Actors and State Failure: Failing International Law or Failure of International Law. Jurnal Undang-Undang dan Masyarakat, 24.

Seliktar, O., & Rezaei, F. (2020). Proxies in the Gulf and Beyond: Saudi Arabia, the Gulf Principalities, and Yemen. In Iran, Revolution, and Proxy Wars (pp. 203-234). Palgrave Macmillan, Cham.