Houthis Oppress Protesters Rallying against Poor Living Standards in Sanaa

People demonstrate to denounce the deterioration of Yemen's economy and the devaluation of the local currency. (Reuters)
People demonstrate to denounce the deterioration of Yemen's economy and the devaluation of the local currency. (Reuters)
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Houthis Oppress Protesters Rallying against Poor Living Standards in Sanaa

People demonstrate to denounce the deterioration of Yemen's economy and the devaluation of the local currency. (Reuters)
People demonstrate to denounce the deterioration of Yemen's economy and the devaluation of the local currency. (Reuters)

The Iran-backed Houthi militias in Sanaa resorted on Saturday to all forms of oppression to suppress a protest against poor living standards in the Yemeni capital.

The rally was called for by activists and staged amid heavy Houthi security presence.

Sanaa residents told Reuters dozens were arrested on Saturday, including 16 female students.

The students were released at the end of the day after signing a pledge not to take part in demonstrations again, one of them said, asking not to be identified for fear of retribution. She said female Houthi supporters “attacked us with electric shock batons and clubs, supported by armed men”.

“They beat me until I fell to the ground and I received an electric shock in the back when I stood up again. I wasn’t able to move when they took me to the police station,” she said.

Saturday’s protest was yet another sign of the people’s mounting frustration with the Houthis’ oppressive and sectarian rule.

The Houthis had dispatched their members to the streets in an attempt to prevent the protesters from holding their rally.

Social media activists documented the Houthis’ oppressive tactics against the demonstrators. They showed footage of Houthi attacks against dozens of students at Sanaa University. They also said that more than 50 students were arrested and taken to a police station.

The poor living conditions in Sanaa is blamed on the militias’ corruption and looting of state institutions. This has led to the deterioration of the currency and spike in consumer goods prices.

Prior to the protest, the Houthis had launched a social media campaign warning the people against staging their demonstration.

Female activists in Sanaa were singled out and they were the victims of insults by Houthi leaderships, as shown in footage published by activists on social media.

The league of mothers of kidnapped Yemenis condemned these insults, saying they go against Yemeni norms and traditions that put women in high standing.

It demanded the unconditional release of all detainees and that the Yemenis speak up against the Houthis’ insults.

"Yemen society is conservative and we did not believe that the Houthis would arrest women, as it is a shame in Yemeni traditions and taboos, but they did,” said Ahmed, an anti-Houthi activist whose name has been changed for security reasons.

He confirmed to AFP that not only Houthi women but also fighters participated in beating the women, then took them to al-Gudairi police station in an armed vehicle.

"The Houthi fighters transported the women to the police station, then on to an unknown location and took their mobiles so we cannot contact them", Ahmed said.

Prior to its 2014 coup against legitimate forces, the Houthis had claimed to support protests against corruption and high prices in Yemen, saying that it was the right of all Yemenis.

Ever since their coup, however, the militias now view protests as a threat to their sectarian existence.

On Thursday, a militia leader said that protests against poor living conditions should take the shape of fighting on the battlefield, not demonstrations against the Houthis on the streets of Sanaa.

His suggestion was met by ridicule among the Yemenis, who blame the militias’ poor management of institutions for the current state of affairs in the country.



Pedersen Says ‘Extremely Critical’ to Avoid Syria Being Dragged into War in Region

UN special envoy for Syria Geir Pedersen meets with Syrian Foreign Minister Bassam Sabbagh in Damascus on Sunday. (Syrian Foreign Ministry)
UN special envoy for Syria Geir Pedersen meets with Syrian Foreign Minister Bassam Sabbagh in Damascus on Sunday. (Syrian Foreign Ministry)
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Pedersen Says ‘Extremely Critical’ to Avoid Syria Being Dragged into War in Region

UN special envoy for Syria Geir Pedersen meets with Syrian Foreign Minister Bassam Sabbagh in Damascus on Sunday. (Syrian Foreign Ministry)
UN special envoy for Syria Geir Pedersen meets with Syrian Foreign Minister Bassam Sabbagh in Damascus on Sunday. (Syrian Foreign Ministry)

The UN special envoy for Syria said on Sunday that it was “extremely critical” to end the fighting in Lebanon and Gaza to avoid the country being pulled into a regional war.

“We need now to make sure that we have immediately a ceasefire in Gaza, that we have a ceasefire in Lebanon, and that we avoid Syria being dragged even further into the conflict,” said Geir Pedersen ahead of a meeting with Syrian Foreign Minister Bassam Sabbagh in Damascus.

The Syrian Foreign Ministry has not released any details about the Pedersen-Sabbagh meeting. It only issued a brief statement in which it announced the meeting.

Local sources said Pedersen's second visit to Damascus this year is aimed at exploring the possibility of resuming the Constitutional Committee meetings aimed at resolving the Syrian crisis.

The meetings have been stalled since the eighth round on February 22, 2022, due to a dispute over the venue of the reconvening of the Constitutional Committee. Russia, which is not satisfied with Switzerland's joining Western sanctions against Moscow because of the Ukraine war, refuses to hold it in Geneva.

“Pedersen is holding talks with Syrian officials in Damascus, where he arrived last Wednesday, about the possibility of resuming the Constitutional Committee meetings,” reported Syria’s Al-Watan newspaper.

Earlier this month, Russian presidential envoy for Syria Alexander Lavrentyev told TASS: “As you know, only one venue - Geneva - is still unacceptable for the Russian side. As for all others, we are ready to work there.”

He added: “Probably, there is an open option with Baghdad, which, regrettably, was rejected by the Syrian opposition. It refused from this venue because Baghdad is supporting Damascus. They don’t think that Iraq is a neutral venue.”

The Russian diplomat stressed that the committee’s work should be resumed as soon as possible, but, in his words, it takes a lot of effort to find a venue that would be acceptable for both Damascus and the Syrian opposition.

Israel has been conducting airstrikes in Syria against government forces, Iranian troops and Hezbollah targets since the eruption of the crisis there in 2011. Strikes have increased following the Israeli war on Hezbollah in neighboring Lebanon.

On Sunday, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the death toll of the Israeli airstrikes on Palmyra city on November 20 continues to increase with many people suffering from severe injuries.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights documented the death of three Syrians and two non-Syrian members of Iranian-backed militias, bringing the number of fatalities to 105.