The policy of starvation and subjugation... Houthi miscalculations turned into a spark of popular anger
تاريخ النشر: 7th, September 2023 GMT
Over the past years, the Houthi militias, Iran's arm in Yemen, have been pursuing a policy of starvation and subjugation to impose their grip and consolidate their influence against the residents of the governorates under their control.
With the deterioration of the situation and the increase in the severity of famine among citizens, and the continued theft of employees’ salaries over a period of 8 years, this failed policy became the spark of anger that incited the people to raise their voice to demand stolen rights despite the threats and intimidations issued by the Houthi leaders against those who demand their rights.
Houthi intransigence and the refusal to pay employee salaries, especially the salaries of male and female teachers, academics and administrators at government universities in Sanaa, created a broad public and trade union movement, the first of its kind since the militia’s coup in 2014, in light of the worsening suffering in the areas of the coup and the continuation of the truce that did not bring any tangible positive results in the lives of Population.
For the eighth week in a row, the comprehensive strike of male and female teachers continues in response to the call of the “Teachers Club,” which confirmed the continuation of peaceful protests to demand the regular payment of salaries on a monthly basis and the rest of the dues and bonuses that have been cut off for years.
The teachers' strike coincided with great popular discontent and repeated demands to reject the policy of starvation and subjugation pursued by the Houthi militias to achieve their own goals and agenda. This discontent aroused the ire of the Houthi leaders, who were quick to issue provocative statements against those demanding the payment of their salaries.
The leader, Muhammad Ali Al-Houthi, from within Saada Governorate, described those demanding salaries as “foolish and crazy,” while the group’s leader, Mahdi Al-Mashat, described the movements of those demanding salaries as “demagogues, traitors, agents, and fools,” vowing to “deter them.”
The public emotional statements of the first-ranking leaders of the Houthi gang did not come out of nowhere. But it stems from its feeling of serious threats as a result of popular pressure led by unions and professional clubs for teachers and academics in Sanaa. These statements also confirm the state of confusion and anxiety that the group is experiencing after the failure of the policy of subjugation and starvation that it has pursued over the past years.
Houthi intransigence is matched by a popular pledge to escalate and expand the strike to extract rights by legitimate means. While activists launched calls on social media to organize protests and popular demonstrations to support the uprising of teachers and academics to obtain their cut salaries.
The area of popular discontent and disapproval has expanded into a real clash on the ground, an indication of the state of collective rejection of the Houthi project, which spreads false and sectarian ideas imported from Iran.
The sources said that worshipers at the Sunnah Mosque in the village of Dhuqaban in Al-Asha District, Amran Governorate, expelled a Houthi supervisor from the mosque after he attempted to give a lecture after the Maghrib prayer, pointing out that citizens refused to continue with the lies and quackery promoted by the Houthi militias and their sectarian leaders.
The sources added that the supervisor returned with military crews loaded with armed elements to storm the mosque, looted the mosque’s library, arrested four people from Dhu Qa’ban, and took them to the Al-Asha District Security Department. This mobilized the tribes of Dhuqaban to reject this oppressive policy before a calm mediation took place between the tribes and the militias.
In Al-Jawf, robberies and plundering of citizens’ lands and farms and attacks against tribesmen led to To an armed revolution against the Houthi militias. Violent clashes recently broke out between armed groups from the Hamdan tribes, “Al Saleh,” and the so-called security forces of the Houthi militia, led by the dynastic leader known as “Abu Najib Al-Sharif,” in the vicinity of Al-Hazm Market, the center of Al-Jawf Governorate (northeast of Yemen).
The clashes took place with various types of weapons near the Hamadan Bridge, south of Al-Hazm Market. It escalated when the militia attacked citizens’ homes in the Al-Safiya area, southwest of the city. Amidst the tribes' mobilization to confront the Houthi attacks, which led to the killing of a number of Houthi members and the burning of their military vehicles.
The escalating tribal rejection of the violations has reached Saada Governorate, the main stronghold of the militias. Armed confrontations renewed between the Bani Hudhayfah tribes and Houthi groups affiliated with the leader “Abu Ali al-Hakim,” in Dahyan, Majz District, Saada.
The clashes came after an attempt by the so-called “Abu Ali Al-Hakim” to seize the lands of the Bani Hudhayfah tribes located on the outskirts of Dahyan. This attempt faced a harsh reaction from the tribes, causing the death of one of the ruler’s companions and three others, in addition to a number of wounded.
The tribal unrest continues in Saada, amid the influx of a number of supporters and advocates of the Bani Hudhayfah tribe to support their sons and work to prevent the Houthi leader, “Abu Ali al-Hakem,” from controlling the farms.
المصدر: نيوزيمن
كلمات دلالية: of the Houthi
إقرأ أيضاً:
Al-Shalfi: Houthi Escalation Is a Negotiating Tactic, Not a Move Toward War
Journalist Ahmed Al-Shalfi has affirmed that the latest Houthi escalation against Saudi Arabia is more indicative of a negotiating pressure tool than genuine preparation for an all-out war. His comments come amid what he described as “confirmed” reports of ongoing talks between Houthi representatives and Saudi officials aimed at reaching a comprehensive political solution to the Yemeni crisis.
Speaking to Arabi21, Al-Shalfi said the “recent threats issued by the Houthi group against the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia are notable both in timing and intensity and were far from spontaneous. They were made across all levels of the group — from its leader to political and media officials, down to field commanders — reflecting a coordinated and deliberate decision to raise the ceiling of rhetoric toward Riyadh.”
He noted that this escalation became more apparent following a statement issued Saturday by the Houthi-run Ministry of Interior announcing the discovery of an alleged “intelligence cell run by the United States, Israel, and Saudi Arabia,” which the group claimed was operating from within Saudi territory.
According to Al-Shalfi, the statement clearly suggests that the level of dialogue between the Houthis and the Kingdom “may have stalled,” pushing the group from subtle messaging to direct accusations — a shift that indicates “unprecedented tension” in the ongoing communication channels between the two sides.
He added that Houthi-affiliated media have recently resumed publishing reports of artillery shelling targeting border areas in Saada governorate, describing these incidents as “Saudi aggression.” He pointed out that such rhetoric had largely disappeared over the past two years, and its return in this manner signals “a real crisis in the trajectory of understandings with Riyadh, as well as an attempt to revive the narrative of external threat to mobilize internal support and redirect public opinion.”
Al-Shalfi continued: “What is striking is that all of this coincides with confirmed reports of talks between Houthi representatives and Saudi Arabia that appear to have made no tangible progress — particularly as the Houthis insist on returning to the roadmap agreed upon by Yemeni parties and Saudi Arabia before the Gaza war. That roadmap is no longer acceptable to the United States or influential regional actors, as it granted the Houthis broad political and economic concessions.”
He explained: “From this perspective, the Houthi escalation — including the intelligence cell statement and the limited border-level tensions — is better understood as a negotiating pressure tactic rather than preparation for a full-scale war.” He noted that the group, by nature, is “adventurous and non-hesitant,” and may undertake field actions to demonstrate seriousness, improve its negotiating position, or secure gains.
However, he stressed that “today’s reality is entirely different from what it was two years ago. The Houthis are now in a phase of hesitation after suffering losses from American and Israeli strikes and the killing of several of their political and military leaders, in addition to the weakening of Iran’s regional axis following the Gaza war.”
Al-Shalfi concluded that the Houthi escalation “is likely to remain confined to rhetoric, accusations, and limited clashes without developing into a broader confrontation,” noting that the group “understands that any full-scale war at this moment could open a front it is not prepared to withstand.”
الداخلية توضح حقيقة اختفاء فتاة أسيوط: تركت منزلها بإرادتها