ABDUL Malik al-Houthi, enigmatic leader of Yemen's Houthi fighters whose attacks on Red Sea shipping have drawn fire from the US and British militaries, created the defiant force challenging world powers from a ragtag militia in sandals.
Multiple shipping lines have suspended operations or taken the longer route around Africa because of the campaign by the Houthis, who rule most of Yemen after beating tough odds in a war against forces backed by Saudi Arabia.
They have vowed to keep up the pressure on the global shipping trade, which could take a toll on the world economy, until Israel halts its bombardment of Gaza to wipe out Hamas.
The Houthis said they would hit back after US and British warplanes, ships and submarines struck across Yemen overnight in retaliation for the attacks on Red Sea shipping, a widening of regional conflict over the Gaza conflict.
Al-Houthi established a reputation as a fierce battlefield commander before emerging as head of the Houthi movement, mountain fighters who have been battling a Saudi-led military coalition since 2015.
Under the direction of al-Houthi, in his 40s, the group has acquired tens of thousands of fighters and a huge arsenal of armed drones and ballistic missiles.
In January 2022, the Houthis raised the stakes with a missile attack on Gulf tourism and commercial hub the United Arab Emirates, like Saudi Arabia a key US ally.
"He (al-Houthi) managed to transform a rural militia mostly engaged in insurgency tactics into one of the most resilient non-state armed groups of the region," said Ludovico Carlino, principal analyst, country risk, Middle
East and North Africa at IHS Markit.
In a speech in 2022, al-Houthi said its goal was to be able to strike any target in Saudi Arabia or the UAE, both Opec oil producers who view Iran and its proxies as major security threats to the Middle East and beyond.
Al-Houthi is known for rarely staying long in one place, for never meeting the media and for an extreme reluctance to make scheduled public appearances.
Since the start of the Yemen war, widely seen as a proxy conflict between Saudi Arabia and Iran, foreign officials who dealt with al-Houthi have never met him in person.
Many seeking meetings were asked to travel to Sanaa, where a Houthi security convoy would take them to safe houses and conduct security checks before leading them to an upstairs room where he would appear only on a screen.
The Houthi movement was formed to fight for the interests of the Zaydi Shias, a minority sect that ruled a 1,000-year kingdom in Yemen until 1962, but felt progressively threatened by the 1990 to 2012 rule of Ali Abdullah Saleh.
Iran's backing of the Houthis, who forced Yemen's Saudi-backed internationally recognised government into exile in 2021, has helped Teheran extend its regional proxy network, which includes Hizbollah in Lebanon and militias in Iraq and Syria.
Yemen experts say the Houthis are motivated primarily by a domestic agenda though they share a political affinity for Iran and Hizbollah.
The Houthis deny being puppets of Teheran and say they are fighting a corrupt system and regional aggression.
Saudi Arabia and its allies accuse Iran of arming and training the Houthis, allegations denied by Teheran.
Analysts say the Houthis are more independent than Leba-non's Hizbollah.
"He (al-Houthi) is less beholden to the Iranians than Hizbollah is.
"In other words, he is not told to do x, y and z and he does it," said Peter Salisbury, senior analyst, International Crisis Group.
The Houthis, like other sides in Yemeni politics, operate in a land of shifting alliances.
In late 2017, they assassinated ex-president Saleh in a roadside RPG ambush after he switched sides in favour of the Saudi-led alliance.
"The Houthis also rely on a very brutal internal intelligence apparatus, suppressing any kind of dissent," analyst Carlino said.
In pre-recorded speeches and sermons, al-Houthi, who traces his lineage to Prophet Muhammad, asserts that his movement is under total siege because of its religion.
"We must focus on preserving the authenticity of our Islamic affiliation and identity," he said in one speech, denouncing a "soft war" of influence to weaken Hou-thi morale.
"Today, we are facing the most dangerous war."
The writers are from Reuters