AL-MUKALLA: Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis have abducted an outspoken tribesman as part of their assault on internet influencers and others who accuse the militia group of corruption and leaving people to starve.
The Houthis reportedly abducted Mohammed Salah Al-Houthi from his home in Sanaa’s Khawlan just days after he appeared on recordings condemning the militia’s leaders for enriching themselves and failing to tackle poverty and famine.
Brig. Gen. Mohammed Al-Kumaim, a Yemeni military analyst, told Arab News on Saturday that the Houthis arrested Al-Houthi at the weekend after laying siege to his home in Dar Al-Sharef after he refused to surrender. In the ensuing gunfire, the commander of the operation, Abdul Hamed Al-Houthi — Mohammed Salah’s cousin — was killed.
Al-Kumaim said the Houthis staged the operation only after getting a signed commitment from local tribesmen, declaring Al-Houthi an outlaw for his criticism.
“We have said for quite some time that this movement would not tolerate criticism. They would jail you for uttering the words ‘I am hungry,’” he said.
Little is known about Al-Houthi, except that he is a government employee who gained notoriety after appearing in several videos declaring his defection from the movement and denouncing its mismanagement and inability to ease the suffering of the people.
“I proclaim my defection from this Nazi terrorist group to the world. I am not honored to be in their company,” he said in one clip.
“I am telling you that children are starving to death. People rush to consume food from garbage cans,” he said in another.
The Houthis have stepped up their arrests of opponents, many of them social media influencers who criticize the militia for failing to pay public workers and fight corruption.
Four internet influencers were tried in Sanaa last week, accused by the Houthis of spreading false information, inciting the people against the militia and ruining the image of its leaders.
The four YouTubers, who have millions of social media followers and were previously known for supporting the militia, have been detained on various occasions since mid-December.
Al-Kumaim said that the Houthis had ramped up their attacks on influencers as it saw them as a threat to their efforts to win the hearts and minds of millions of Yemenis.
“These voices, such as Al-Mumari, first exposed to the public that they are a fraudulent gang of criminals, and second agitated the street against them.
“These individuals disprove their claim that they are a decent organization that adheres to the Qur’an, principles, and morality,” he said, referring to the Yemeni YouTuber who was abducted by the Houthis late last month.
