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Yemeni Tribal Sheikhs Systematically Targeted by Houthis

Gathering of Houthi militants. AP file photo
Gathering of Houthi militants. AP file photo
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Yemeni Tribal Sheikhs Systematically Targeted by Houthis

Gathering of Houthi militants. AP file photo
Gathering of Houthi militants. AP file photo

Since the Houthi militias launched their coup against Yemen’s legitimate government five years ago, they have been using tribal chiefs whether by recruiting them or by humiliating and repressing them and eliminating their social role.

Tribal sources in the capital, Sanaa, have reported that the group has returned to targeting tribal chiefs in the capital and other Houthi-run areas, after accusing them of not recruiting militants from their tribes to fight in insurgent ranks and falling short in collecting financial donations.

The sources confirmed that the group conducted several arrests against tribal men, especially in the vicinity of Sanaa, by raiding their homes.

People from the area told Asharq Al-Awsat that the raids and arrests aim to humiliate tribes and their chiefs and subject them to the rule of Houthis, in addition to forcing them to attend workshops intended to incite sectarian tension.

Since their coup, the militias have been practicing all sorts of humiliation against Yemenis. Houthi abuse of civilians are not limited to civilians in Yemen. The Iran-backed militias have conducted all sorts of violations such as assaults, arrests, murders and abductions against dozens of elders in Sanaa and other areas under their control.

According to a recent Yemeni report, in 2019, the group killed, abducted and destroyed the homes of more than 22 tribal chiefs, the majority of whom opposed their coup.

The report confirmed that last year, the militias killed 12 elders who had paved the way for the coup in 2014.

The Houthis’ targeting of their allies have taken several shapes and forms, most prominently, killing them in humiliating ways in order to spread terror among people and other tribal chiefs who support them.

This was the fate of Sheikh Mohammad al-Matri, known as Abu Siraj, one of the Bani Matar chiefs in West Sanaa. Sheikh Mohammad al-Shatwi - a prominent figure in the Sufyan district in Amran governorate - who supported the Houthis, also met a similar fate.

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Syria’s Al-Qusayr Celebrates Eid al-Fitr without Hezbollah for First Time in Years

People perform Eid Al-Fitr prayers in Al-Qusayr. (Sami Volunteer Team)
People perform Eid Al-Fitr prayers in Al-Qusayr. (Sami Volunteer Team)
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Syria’s Al-Qusayr Celebrates Eid al-Fitr without Hezbollah for First Time in Years

People perform Eid Al-Fitr prayers in Al-Qusayr. (Sami Volunteer Team)
People perform Eid Al-Fitr prayers in Al-Qusayr. (Sami Volunteer Team)

Amid the devastation, thousands of residents of Syria’s Al-Qusayr performed Eid Al-Fitr prayers in the northern district square—the site where the city’s first protest against President Bashar al-Assad’s rule erupted in 2011.

For the first time in Al-Qusayr’s history, Eid prayers were held in a public square. It was also the first mass gathering of residents in an open space in 13 years, following a war that destroyed 70% of the city, displaced its people, and led to its capture by Lebanon’s Hezbollah and Syrian regime forces.

Al-Qusayr, a region located near the Lebanese border, was once Hezbollah’s most significant stronghold in Syria. The group withdrew after the fall of the Syrian regime in December, but its loyalists and affiliated locals remained, along with residents of several border villages that have seen sporadic clashes in recent months.

The most intense fighting occurred in February, when Syrian forces launched a military operation that pushed them into Lebanese territory and deployed troops to seal off illegal border crossings.

Tensions flared again two weeks ago after Syrian soldiers were killed in the border region, triggering an exchange of artillery fire between the two sides.

The clashes left casualties on both ends and forced the displacement of border village residents before a ceasefire was reached with the Lebanese army.

The agreement included the closure of four illegal crossings in an effort to curb the smuggling of weapons and drugs, a trade that has flourished over the past decade under the former regime.

As soon as the regime fell, refugees from Al-Qusayr living in Lebanese camps began returning to their hometown. Hundreds arrived to find their homes completely destroyed, forcing them to set up tents beside the ruins while they rebuilt or searched for alternative housing.

The residents of Al-Qusayr resumed their communal Eid traditions after Ramadan. (Sami Volunteer Team)

The large turnout for Eid prayers underscored the scale of the return.

Journalist Ahmed al-Qasir, who recently came back, estimated that about 65% of those displaced have now returned. Before the uprising, Al-Qusayr had a population of around 150,000, he told Asharq Al-Awsat.

Shahin, 30, who returned in 2018, described the city as a wasteland at the time, despite some 20,000 people having already come back.

“Hezbollah, regime militias, and smugglers controlled the area. There were no real markets, just small shops. Everything was in ruins—schools, clinics, hospitals,” he said.

Residents had to travel 30 kilometers to Homs for basic necessities, enduring regime checkpoints that extorted money along the way.

With the fall of Assad’s regime and Hezbollah’s withdrawal, life in Al-Qusayr has slowly begun to return to normal. Since the start of Ramadan, markets have reopened despite widespread destruction, poverty, and hardship.

On the eve of Eid, the city’s streets buzzed with late-night shopping, Shahin noted.

“Al-Qusayr is finally regaining its role as the region’s commercial hub,” he said.

According to a survey by the Sami Volunteer Team, more than 30,000 refugees returned to Al-Qusayr and its countryside within the first month of the regime’s collapse.

That number is believed to have doubled over the past four months, and team organizers expect it to rise further once the school year ends.

Zaid Harba, a member of the 40-person volunteer group, said most returnees came from refugee camps in Lebanon, while fewer arrived from displacement camps in northern Syria.

Many families there are waiting for the academic year to conclude before arranging their return.