Yemen’s role in the Axis of Resistance

Yemeni anti-imperialist fighters have proven so effective that the Israeli regime has now threatened to murder the leadership of the Ansarallah forces that govern most of Yemen — as it murdered leading figures of Hamas and Hezbollah. According to military analysts, so far the Israeli state has failed to locate the Yemeni leaders.

Yemen, the poorest country in West Asia, has managed to stall sea traffic in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, making powerful Western companies detour their shipments to Israel around the southern tip of Africa at the cost of millions of dollars. 

And Yemen won’t stop! Not until these ships “transport the food and medicine that the Palestinians need” in the Gaza Strip. (Resistance News, Dec. 27) 

A Dec. 29 New York Times article confirmed: “The militia appeared undeterred even after Israel’s war planes on Thursday carried out their fourth and most brazen round of retaliatory strikes in Yemen, damaging the international airport in the capital, Sana’a, and other infrastructure.”

In part two of an article reposted at workers.org, entitled “Yemen: An Indomitable People,”  Venezuelan analyst Sergio Rodríguez Gelfenstein, quotes Eduardo Vasco, a Brazilian journalist, who said Ansarallah’s actions in the sea lane are “paralyzing the world economy, that is, the very functioning of the capitalist regime, which is at the root of the problem of the war of aggression in the Middle East.” 

Rodriguez Gelfenstein wrote that the imperialists hesitate to retaliate as there could be reprisals against the United States’ allies in the region, “mainly against their oil fields, which would brutally aggravate the economic crisis with one of oil (which has already started).”  (workers.org/2024/01/76336/)

How is this possible? For some clues, it would be helpful to review the history of this area of Yemen, located on the coasts of the Arabian Sea and at the gate to the Red Sea, dominating the Strait of Bab el Mandeb, a perfect spot to monitor all seagoing vessels attempting to approach ports in the area. 

Rodríguez Gelfenstein stated in part one of the cited article: “This is true especially since the 20th century when, on the one hand, large energy deposits (oil and gas) were discovered in the region, and on the other, the enormous economic growth and development of East Asia transformed Yemen into a country astride an essential sea route for much of world trade.” (workers.org/2024/01/76333/)

Rodríguez Gelfenstein traces the history of Yemeni battles back to the first century CE, in which the Yemenis defeated the Roman Empire’s attempt to dominate them. In the ensuing centuries, the Yemenis faced many adversaries, attempting to dominate their strategic geographical position, sometimes losing and sometimes winning. 

In 1969, in alliance with the Soviet Union, the Yemenis won their sovereignty and adopted a socialist and an anti-Zionist position in support of Palestine. Nine years later, in 1978, they voted in 111 members of a Peoples’ Revolutionary Council. 

Then ensued years of internal and external struggle with Saudi Arabia and U.S. imperialism. Yemen was bombed, blockaded and sanctioned. Yet the Yemenis never gave up. 

According to Rodríguez Gelfenstein, “The Houthis [Ansarallah], making use of a wide margin of maneuver, supported by greater and better knowledge of the terrain and using guerrilla warfare tactics, inspired — according to them — by the liberation struggle in Vietnam and the resistance movements in Latin America, demonstrated great capacity to hit an invading army that has low morale and lacks a drive for combat and discipline.” 

Rodríguez Gelfenstein wrote that during the battles with Saudi Arabia in the 21st century, the Ansarallah were able to develop advanced weapons systems, able to strike deeply into Saudi territory. This is how the Yemeni people rightfully contribute their share to the Axis of Resistance in West Asia.

In the same fashion, despite the unspeakable destruction of hospitals and homes, the ruthless murder of health workers, journalists and, most tragically, of children, the resistance of the Palestinians in Gaza continues.