Yemen's Government Seeks Tribal Support Against Houthis Amid Military Offensive

Sanaa, Yemen – The Yemeni government’s new military offensive against the Houthis is testing both the balance of forces in the country and the government's ability to persuade powerful tribes in Houthi-controlled areas that the balance of power is beginning to shift. For years, many tribes hostile or wary of the Iran-backed Houthis have refrained from openly confronting the movement, deterred by their military strength and previous failed uprisings. These tribes are now observing the internationally recognized government’s newly activated frontlines – primarily on the Red Sea coast, Marib, and al-Jawf – to determine if the limited advances made since the launch of the Dawn of Yemen military operation this week can turn into sustained gains. The offensive by the Saudi Arabia-backed government forces follows significant Houthi gains in September, when the armed group, also known as Ansar Allah, captured vital trade corridors, including the port city of Mocha and territory around the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, a critical shipping route. While airstrikes have inflicted losses on Houthi forces in recent days, advancing towards Houthi strongholds, including Sanaa, Saada, and Amran, remains a significant challenge. With the government declaring an all-out war on the Houthis and pledging to recapture Sanaa, experts suggest that tribal distrust of the government may diminish, prompting tribes to shift positions at the right time. The role of the tribes could prove critical to the government’s ability to advance deeper into Houthi-controlled territories. On Monday, Marib governorate, the government’s stronghold in the north, saw a large tribal rally attended by tribal sheikhs and local anti-Houthi fighters from tribes such as the Jadan from Marib, Nihm from Sanaa, and other allied tribes. The rally announced a general mobilization to support the armed forces in the battle to restore the state and topple the Houthi coup. "If this tribal support translates into actual mobilization and sustained participation in the battle, tribes will help government troops advance toward Houthi-controlled areas and the Houthi heartland, including Sanaa," said Adel Dashela, a researcher at the Sana’a Center for Strategic Studies. Over the past decade of war in Yemen, tribes have repeatedly mobilized against the Houthis at a local level, but deep divisions and a lack of sustained outside backing have prevented the emergence of a unified tribal front. Nevertheless, tribes can potentially be a key source of manpower and influence for the government. "Tribal fighters remain indispensable to any future campaign against the Houthis. But to be effective, their military engagement must occur through formalized state and coalition command structures, rather than as an independent vanguard," Dashela said. Tribes in Yemen do not want to risk confronting Houthi forces without support and tend to wait for the right time to act, according to Abdulsalam Mohammed, chairman of the Yemeni Abaad Studies and Research Center. "The tribes seek a powerful state, and once they find the state reliable, they can side with it," Mohammed said. He added that tribes do not want to repeat mistakes made by those that rebelled against the Houthis without receiving adequate support from the government. In January 2019, fighting broke out between the Houthis and the Hajoor tribe in northwest Yemen’s Hajjah, lasting several weeks. The Houthis eventually captured the Hajoor areas in March of the same year. At that time, Saudi Arabia dropped food, medical supplies, and weapons to besieged Hajoor fighters, but this did not prevent the tribe’s defeat by the Houthis. Mohammed stated that even in areas where the Houthis have local support, some tribes could gradually shift their allegiance towards the government if they perceive it as serving their interests. "Not all tribes fighting for the Houthis are staunch supporters. Their motivations range from pragmatism to ideological loyalty and material necessity," Mohammed said. Over the past decade, the Houthis have weakened traditional tribal power structures in areas under their control, co-opting some leaders and replacing others with loyalists. They have defeated tribal challenges and have withstood conflict with the Yemeni government and Saudi Arabia, as well as bombing by the United States, the United Kingdom, and Israel. This has reinforced a perception among tribes that the Houthi military capability has become invincible. A tribal sheikh in northern Yemen, who requested anonymity for security reasons, told Al Jazeera that the Houthi military dominance over the past decade has diminished the political and military role of the tribe. "Before the Houthi takeover of power, the government was like a friend of the tribe. Today, the tribe is subordinate to the Houthis," he said. The Houthis have employed military force, financial incentives, and their public identification with the Palestinian cause to tighten their grip on territories under their control. The tribal figure noted that the Houthis used military force if negotiations or financial incentives failed to win the tribes’ backing. Additionally, the Houthi military support for Palestine has garnered the group additional popular and tribal support. As the Houthis have built up significant military and financial power over the past few years, the tribal sheikh indicated that tribes acting alone cannot match the group’s strength. He also stated that the government’s reported gains on some frontlines cannot be interpreted as a sign that the Houthis are collapsing. "A concrete government advance on the battlefields would reassure some Yemeni tribes that the Houthis have lost ground," the tribal sheikh said. "Once this materializes, anti-Houthi and neutral tribes can feel confident and begin confronting the group."