The Stockholm Agreement between the Yemeni government and the Houthis during last week’s talks in Sweden have led to disagreements among Houthi leaders, especially between the two main heads - Abu Ali Al-Hakem and Mahdi al-Mashat - as the former rejects the agreement while the other supports it.
Informed sources close to the Houthis in Sanaa told Asharq Al-Awsat that there were deep and bitter differences between the two movements, which are considered the two most influential currents among Houthi militias.
He pointed out that Al-Hakem movement, which rejects the agreement, was behind breaching the ceasefire, which came into force on Tuesday.
Al-Hakem considered the agreement as a “defeat”, according to the sources, who emphasized deep disputes between the two currents that have almost developed into a fist fight before the intervention of some other Houthi officials.
The sources also said that Iran and Hezbollah could not convince the two sides to reach a solution to the recent disagreements. They noted that Mahdi al-Mashat, along with a number of military and administrative officials, had the final word among the Houthi ranks, due to their strong influence in Iran and Lebanon.
The crisis led Houthi militias to breach of the truce agreed upon in Stockholm, and to fail to commit to the withdrawal of all insurgents from the city of Hodeidah and ports of the province, as it was stipulated in the agreement.
Military sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that the joint resistance forces, backed by the Arab Alliance, monitored and documented the breaches committed by Houthi militias of the Stockholm Agreement.
