The International Business Times quotes Rafik Hariri Center Acting Director Danya Greenfield on the Houthi movement in Yemen:
Danya Greenfield, acting director of the Atlantic Council’s Hariri Centre, told IBTimes UK that the group’s shift away from religion has helped broaden its support base.
“Its appeal is certainly broader than religious affiliation,” she said, “in part because they are anti-establishment, and in part because of perceived nepotism and corruption [in the government].
“Their rallying cry is really drawing support among those who are frustrated and disgruntled with government performance in action.
“More than half of the country is below the poverty line, almost everyone is struggling to meet their very basic daily needs. Unfortunately the transitional government has been able to deliver very little in the way of improving day-to-day living standards in the post-2011 period,” she said.
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The movement “is well armed and well trained and they do essentially out match the government troops that have been dedicated to this fight,” Greenfield told IBTimes UK.