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Yemen Fears Influx of Iran-Backed Militias into Sanaa

Houthis are seen during a rally in Sanaa, Yemen. (Reuters)
Houthis are seen during a rally in Sanaa, Yemen. (Reuters)
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Yemen Fears Influx of Iran-Backed Militias into Sanaa

Houthis are seen during a rally in Sanaa, Yemen. (Reuters)
Houthis are seen during a rally in Sanaa, Yemen. (Reuters)

The Yemeni government is worried about Iranian-backed foreign militias crossing into Houthi-run areas, especially after Pakistani fighters were seen in Sanaa, joining Houthi protests under claims of jihad.

Information Minister Moamar al-Eryani raised these fears in an official statement as the Houthis continue to threaten shipping in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.

Al-Eryani accused Iran’s Revolutionary Guard of sending thousands of Pakistani and Afghan militia members to Houthi areas in recent months.

He also pointed to reports of collaboration between the Houthis and terrorist groups, like ISIS and al-Qaeda, with support from Iran.

He described this as a dangerous development amid escalating piracy and terrorist attacks by the Houthis in the Red Sea, Bab al-Mandab Strait, and Gulf of Aden, which threaten international shipping and global trade.

The minister also referenced interviews broadcasted by the Houthi-affiliated Al-Masirah TV, featuring Pakistani nationals who participated in Houthi demonstrations in the Houthi-held capital, Sanaa.

These individuals revealed their intention to join what they called “jihad” in support of Gaza.

Al-Eryani accused the Houthis of using the Palestinian cause as a cover for their own expansionist agenda. He said the Houthis use this pretext to destabilize Arab countries, spread chaos, and threaten international interests.

He called for a united global response to what he termed “systematic terrorism” by Iran, which affects many countries.

The minister urged the international community to enforce UN principles, including non-intervention and respect for sovereignty, and to thwart smuggling arms and fighters to the Houthis in violation of UN Security Council Resolution 2216.

Al-Eryani also called for the Houthis to be designated as a “global terrorist organization,” with sanctions imposed, assets frozen, and travel bans for their leaders.

He emphasized the need for better international cooperation on intelligence sharing, and efforts to counter funding and recruitment for the militia.

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Arab World

Lebanese Front’s Tunnels Used for Defense, Attack and Launching Missiles

In 2019, Israeli forces searched for attack tunnels dug in southern Lebanon that extend into Israel (Israeli Ministry of Defense)
In 2019, Israeli forces searched for attack tunnels dug in southern Lebanon that extend into Israel (Israeli Ministry of Defense)
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Lebanese Front’s Tunnels Used for Defense, Attack and Launching Missiles

In 2019, Israeli forces searched for attack tunnels dug in southern Lebanon that extend into Israel (Israeli Ministry of Defense)
In 2019, Israeli forces searched for attack tunnels dug in southern Lebanon that extend into Israel (Israeli Ministry of Defense)

Lebanon’s Iran-backed Hezbollah group faces Israeli air superiority and technological capabilities by going underground. The group has built a massive and complex network of tunnels in the South, the southern suburbs of Beirut, and the Bekaa regions.
The ongoing clashes between Hezbollah and the Israeli army on the southern Lebanese border, which erupted in October, has brought back the spotlight on these tunnels, which have been shown to be divided into 3 types.
The first are defensive tunnels that allow the party’s fighters to take shelter from aircraft raids. The second are offensive tunnels that the Israeli army said it destroyed in 2019, and the third group consists of small tunnels to hide rocket launchers and which appeared in one of the video clips broadcast by Hezbollah’s military media last month.
According to Israeli reports, Hezbollah started digging tunnels in the 1980s and 1990s, but those remained far from the border with Israel. However, in 2006, the Israeli media showed a tunnel that the Israeli army discovered during the July war inside Lebanese territory, and quoted officials as saying that the party’s construction of cross-border tunnels began before the start of the Second Lebanon War in 2006.
Concerned about tunnels extending into Israeli territory, Israeli authorities launched a campaign in 2018 to destroy this infrastructure, and announced in 2019, the end of its operation to raze all of Hezbollah’s cross-border attack tunnels.
The last tunnel that Israel destroyed stretched along 800 meters. The Israeli army said the tunnel extended over dozens of meters into Israel, and was dug to a depth of 55 meters, making it the deepest tunnel discovered by the army. The tunnel was equipped with electricity, had a railway to transport equipment and waste, exit stairs and other elements that made it more advanced than other passageways that were uncovered.
In 2020, the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, with the participation of the Israeli army, organized a field tour for 12 diplomats from UN Security Council member states, to show them the tunnel on the northern border with Lebanon.
Since the eruption of war on Oct. 8, Lebanese sources have confirmed that the Israeli army used bunker-piercing bombs to destroy tunnels suspected of being built by the party in the border area.
A report issued by the Alma-Israel Research Center said that after the 2006 Lebanon War, the party established a defensive plan to confront any possible Israeli invasion, with dozens of operations centers equipped with local underground networks and tunnels.
In addition to the previous two types of tunnels, Hezbollah media revealed a third category. Last month, the party’s media presented a report on the party’s artillery and weapons, and one of the clips showed a rocket launcher rising from the ground and launching a missile, indicating that the party hides these platforms underground.