The Houthi group has turned markets and commercial establishments in Yemen's Houthi-held capital, Sanaa, into new sources of funding for its military activities, launching a coercive fundraising campaign targeting hundreds of companies, businesses, shops, restaurants and shopping centers, according to local and business sources.
The campaign forces business owners to install donation boxes on their premises and extracts money from merchants and residents under the pretext of supporting the group's "war effort" and the families of its fighters killed, wounded or missing on the front lines, the sources said.
The campaign, launched at the beginning of the week, reflects efforts by the Houthis to expand their sources of compulsory funding and offset military and personnel losses by shifting the financial burden of the continuing war onto businesses and residents, at a time when living conditions are deteriorating and commercial establishments are increasingly struggling to remain operational.
Sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that Houthi members and supervisors had targeted commercial establishments in several districts of Sanaa, forcing owners through threats and intimidation to accept donation boxes while conducting field visits to pressure merchants and customers into contributing money.
The sources said the group had ordered its members to visit shops and businesses daily to collect money deposited in the boxes, then transfer the proceeds to bank accounts belonging to senior Houthi leaders.
They added that the campaign went beyond collecting donations, involving mandatory financial contributions and direct pressure on business owners.
More than 320 donation boxes in two days
In a sign of the campaign's expanding reach, the Houthis distributed more than 320 donation boxes to private-sector establishments across several districts during the first two days, with plans to distribute about 4,000 additional boxes in the coming days to cover the rest of the capital and its outskirts.
The move coincided with complaints from merchants who said Houthi supervisors and armed members had entered their shops carrying donation boxes and forced them at gunpoint to install them without seeking their permission or consent.
Merchants said the group had also ordered business owners and employees to encourage customers to donate, warning that shops whose boxes were opened and found empty would face severe measures.
The threats appeared aimed at turning merchants into collectors of compulsory contributions from ordinary residents.
Ramzi, a pseudonym for a shop owner in a Sanaa neighborhood, said Houthi supervisors had forced him to place a donation box inside his store under the pretext of supporting fighters on the front lines and the families of Houthi members killed or wounded in combat.
He said Houthi members regularly visited his shop to collect the money, leaving him no opportunity to object or refuse to keep the box on his premises.
Ramzi added that repeated threats and constant monitoring by Houthi supervisors sometimes forced him to put his own money into the box to avoid being held responsible when customers failed to donate or facing punitive measures.
An empty donation box, he said, had become sufficient grounds for questioning and intimidation.
On the outskirts of Sanaa, a restaurant owner who requested anonymity complained that the campaign had become another means of extorting money from business owners.
He said Houthi supervisors not only imposed donation boxes but also pressured restaurant owners and employees to make additional payments despite declining sales and rising operating costs.
Saeed, a Sanaa resident, said he believed the Houthis were seeking to turn the city's remaining markets and shops into permanent collection points for extracting money from the public.
He said residents were increasingly overwhelmed by successive donation drives and compulsory levies at a time when many were struggling to provide basic necessities for their families.
