Aden, Yemen – In a new tribal escalation against the Houthi authority, Sheikh Abdul Hamid Ali Al-Shahri, one of the most prominent sheikhs of the central regions of Yemen, threatened the group with a harsh response if his brother, who is detained by its security services, is not immediately released.
Harsh criticism of the group’s leaders’ actions
In a post on his Facebook account, Al-Shahri sharply criticized Ali Hussein al-Houthi, the son of the group’s founder and deputy interior minister in the Houthi government (which is not internationally recognized). He described the actions that led to his brother’s arrest as “thuggery and banditry” unbecoming of someone holding an official position in the state. Al-Shahri also asserted that these transgressions affect the dignity of the tribes and cannot be ignored or overlooked.
A crucial deadline and tribal escalation
Sheikh al-Shahri presented the group’s leadership with two options, giving them no more than 24 hours to release his brother. He threatened to take drastic escalatory measures in Ibb Governorate, including establishing tribal gatherings (armed assemblies) and declaring a general mobilization of tribes in the central regions to pressure the group.
In a strongly worded message to the son of the group’s founder, al-Shahri asserted that the tribes of the central regions would not be satisfied with traditional protests or displacement to areas controlled by the legitimate government. Rather, they would confront these violations from within, stating, “We will accept no excuses or apologies then, for the depths of the earth are better and more enduring than its surface.”
These developments come amid escalating tensions between the Houthi group and tribes in areas under its control, stemming from the group’s policy of arbitrary arrests. This poses a significant test for the Houthis’ influence in the central regions, given the tribes’ unity and growing anger against the practices of the Houthi “Interior Ministry.” Tribal circles in Ibb Governorate are anxiously awaiting developments in the coming hours, fearing the outbreak of armed clashes should the group persist in ignoring tribal demands.
