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Yemen is the poorest country in the Middle East. The Houthis were a Yemeni group of rebel outsiders. Yet they now have the entire West on the ropes with their blockade of the Red Sea. 

I spoke to Beirut-based writer Séamus Malekafzali for a primer on how we got here. 

Séamus's substack: https://www.seamus-malekafzali.com/

Séamus on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Seamus_Malek

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