Yet it never managed to expand its reach beyond its stronghold in the north of the country. That changed in 2011, when the popular protests and political chaos stemming from the Arab Spring led to widespread institutional paralysis, allowing the Houthis to march past a military that largely refused to fight it.
从2004到2010年，该集团与也门政府打了六场战争，甚至与沙特阿拉伯也产生过摩擦。但它从未成功将势力范围推广到其牢牢掌握的也门北部以外。2011年，形势发生了变化，阿拉伯之春所导致的群众游行和政治混乱引起了普遍的制度瘫痪，军队拒绝与胡塞运动分子作战。