Inmates held at the central prison in Hodeidah refused to fight alongside Houthi militias prompting Houthi gunmen to resort to violence.
Houthis set fire to prison cells and fired rounds of live bullets, killing at least three prisoners and injuring 20 others.
This came at a time Houthis amped up violence practiced against residents in areas they control. Since the break of war, Houthi militiamen are held accountable to countless looting of bank funds and imposing restrictions on commercial companies.
Reports also warned against the Iran-backed coup carrying out plans on making sales on large properties belonging to the former ruling party, the General People’s Congress, in Hodeidah and Taiz.
Houthi militias are planning to transfer hundreds of inmates on Sunday from the central prison to unknown locations, likely training camps after which they will recruit them to fight among the insurgency’s ranks, relatives of prisoners and security sources in Hodeidah told Asharq al-Awsat.
Sources said Houthis fired randomly at the prisoners, set fire to jail cells, and used gas bombs in an effort to quell the uprising of prisoners who refused to leave the prison.
A squad of Houthi militiamen led by Abu Ali al-Kahlani killed three prisoners and wounded 20 others, sources added.
Houthi ranks have been diminishing over battles with government forces and allies—pushing militias to recruit and release inmates from Houthi-run prisons in Sana'a, Ibb, Dhamar,and Hajjah. According to security sources, Houthis managed to recruit more young people, adolescents and civilian staff.
Sources said that hundreds of Hodeidah prisoners who refused to fight alongside Houthi ranks face torture and coercion—while relatives urge international humanitarian organizations to intervene to stop Houthi crimes against their imprisoned relatives.
Houthi militiamen refused to allow the family visits to prisoners and refused to allow food and water to enter jail cells, sources said.
“They will not eat or drink anything until they bow down to carry out what is required of them,” inmate relatives cited Houthi prison guards as saying.
The central prison in Hodeidah, nestled south of the city, holds more than 700 prisoners.
Many fear that the group will take up prisoners as human shields if they insist on refusing to comply with the group's desire for their recruitment.
