What's Behind the Sectarian Tensions in Yemen?

Tensions between Yemen's two warring sects mean the country is still in danger of a civil war erupting.
Followers of Yemen's al-Houthi Shi'ite group ride in an open vehicle while carrying weapons to secure a road in the northwestern province of Saada, ahead of attending the funeral of the group's late founder al-Houthi Hussein Badr Eddin al-Huthi, June 4, 2013. The body of Huthi, who was killed in clashes with government forces in 2004, was released by Yemeni authorities nine years after his death following which DNA tests were carried out to determine his identity, local media reported. REUTERS/Mohamed al-Sa
Followers of Yemen's al-Houthi Shiite group ride in an open vehicle while carrying weapons to secure a road in the northwestern province of Saada, ahead of attending the funeral of the group's late founder Hussein Badreddin al-Houthi, June 4, 2013. - REUTERS/Mohamed al-Sayaghi
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Farea al-Muslimi
@AlMuslimi
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Yemeni society is torn between two warring sects. Today, for every step Yemen takes toward democracy, it takes two steps back toward a sectarian conflict the cost of which it cannot afford.

Historical roots

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