US State Department: Houthis were arming themselves almost entirely through the black market, and purchase of arms from the Yemeni military

War on Yemen

Contrary to claims by Saudi Arabia that Iran is arming the Houthis, US State Department confirmed that this was not the case, and indeed that the Houthis were arming themselves almost entirely through the black market, and purchase of arms from the Yemeni military itself.
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B. SANAA 2185

Classified By: Ambassador Stephen Seche for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).
 

1.  (S/NF) SUMMARY.  Little is clear about the Houthi
leadership, aside from the fact that Abdulmalik al-Houthi is
the rebel group's current leader.  Houthi field commanders do
not seem to agree on key ideological and religious
principles.  The Houthis' numbers range from the hundreds to
the thousands, though it is difficult to determine how many
of these adhere to Houthi ideology and how many are tribesmen
who have joined the Houthis' fight for other reasons.
Numerous organizations have documented the Houthis' use of
child soldiers, as well as violations of international
humanitarian law such as looting, forced evacuations, and
executions.  Contrary to ROYG claims that Iran is arming the
Houthis, most analysts report that the Houthis obtain their
weapons from the Yemeni black market and even from the ROYG
military itself.  END SUMMARY.

LEADERSHIP AND ORGANIZATION
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