Despite heavy US bombardment, Yemen's Houthis drive recruitment, propaganda successes
The US has escalated its bombing campaign of Houthi areas in Yemen.
But Houthi recruitment increased regardless of the campaign.
The Houthis are leveraging the bombing as a propaganda tool, say experts.
As America's escalated bombing campaign and economic sanctions hit Yemen hard, the Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Washington's crosshairs are trying to mine the situation for propaganda and recruitment, analysts said.
On Monday, four days after 80 people were killed in US strikes on a fuel port, the Houthis released a slick promotional video showing special forces marching over the Israeli flag and somersaulting through flaming hoops.
Against a soundtrack of dramatic music, the masked soldiers fire automatic weapons at targets bearing the American, Israeli and British flags - the three countries involved in attacks on Yemen since January 2024.
The Houthis, part of Iran's "axis of resistance" against Israel and the US, have painted themselves as defenders of Gaza during the Israel-Hamas war, launching a drumbeat of missiles and drones both at Israel and at cargo vessels plying the key Red Sea trade route.
In response, the administration of US President Donald Trump has ramped up pressure on the group, redesignating it a terrorist organisation and carrying out near-daily air strikes that have killed more than 200 people since mid-March.
"The Houthis are absolutely trying to use the intensified campaign of US air strikes for propaganda purposes," said Thomas Juneau, a Middle East specialist at the University of Ottawa's Graduate School of Public and International Affairs.
"They are actively using information operations to try to position themselves as champions of the resistance against the United States and its regional partners, including to maximise recruitment domestically."
AFP
The Houthis, whose regular rallies against the US and Israel are attended by large crowds in the rebel-held capital Sanaa, have urged Yemenis to mobilise.
They say that tens of thousands had signed up for military training since the start of the war in the Gaza Strip.
In February 2024, Human Rights Watch warned that child recruitment for the rebels' armed forces had "noticeably" increased since the Gaza war began in October 2023.
Rebel television aired interviews with survivors of last week's attack on the Ras Issa fuel port, the deadliest of the US campaign, who vowed support for Gaza even as they lay wounded on stretchers.
The US escalation "comes at a steep human cost, which could intensify Houthi mobilisation and recruitment", said US-based Yemen expert Mohammed Albasha.
AFP
But the US raids have also succeeded in destroying some Houthi military capabilities and have forced its leadership into hiding, analysts say.
The Houthis managed to survive a decade of air strikes by a Saudi-led coalition and more than a year of US attacks aimed at deterring their harassment of Red Sea shipping.
"The difference with the American bombing campaign is its relentless pursuit of Houthi leadership," said Maged al-Madhaji, chairperson of the Sanaa Centre for Strategic Studies, an independent think-tank.
Attacks on communication networks and control centres have caused "unprecedented damage to the movement's infrastructure", he added.
He said:
However, this damage can be repaired if the campaign stops and neither a ground operation nor a political path is pursued. The Houthis are capable of adapting and enduring pressure.
Meanwhile, Washington is strangling the rebels financially, sanctioning banks and hitting infrastructure like the Ras Issa fuel terminal - a vital source of energy and funds for the Houthis' precarious economy.
Returning the rebels to the US terror list makes it risky for companies to operate in their territory, including by importing materials, as they could face sanctions of their own.
"The economic damage is much bigger than just (military strikes)," said Baraa Shiban, a Yemen specialist at Britain's Royal United Services Institute, a security think-tank.
He also questioned the effectiveness of the Houthi propaganda among a population already reeling from more than a decade of war with the Saudi-led coalition.
"People are frustrated, tired, and they're exhausted. And, you know, the economic situation is very, very dire," Shiban said.
"People just want the cycle of violence to end."
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