'White Coat' Houthi Terrorism Frightens Sanaa

Yemeni tribal leader Yasser al-Awwadi
Yemeni tribal leader Yasser al-Awwadi
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'White Coat' Houthi Terrorism Frightens Sanaa

Yemeni tribal leader Yasser al-Awwadi
Yemeni tribal leader Yasser al-Awwadi

In Sanaa’s Dabwa slums, teams of Houthi health workers sporting outfits designed for those dealing with coronavirus patients fired rounds of bullets to intimidate residents into staying home.

The teams claimed they were pursuing a coronavirus patient who escaped quarantine after being diagnosed.

Residents in the Houthi-controlled areas said that the militia's raids a few days ago appeared to be "white terrorism" because armed men used clothes intended for medical personnel, and were terrorizing people instead of reassuring them.

Houthis have exploited the gravity of the coronavirus crisis to double levies and terrorize the public by displaying their military strength and manipulating virus data. This has left Sanaa residents in dismay.

Sources suggest that raising funds in Ramadan is the most prominent reason for the Houthis refusing to acknowledge the number of confirmed coronavirus cases.

For Houthis, Islam’s holy month of fasting, Ramadan, is a month focused on collecting levies on which militias and their supervisors depend to cover their expenses, movements, and salaries. Houthi gunmen are using money from collected zakat and annual taxes to fund their war effort.

In other news, the last few days witnessed rage spurring among tribesmen in Al Bayda' Governorate after Houthis gunned down a female in al-Tafa district.

Hundreds of armed tribesmen heeded the call of al-Tafa district tribal leader, Yasser al-Awwadi, who demanded retaliation for the blood spilled.

Houthi militias, for their part, refused to respond to the demands of the tribes to hand over the perpetrators, withdraw the group's supervisors from the province, and return the lootings. On that case, several mediation attempts failed to contain the situation, including Omani mediation.

Local sources based in the governorates of Sanaa, Dhamar and Amran told Asharq Al-Awsat that Houthi militia leaders received orders to deploy more recruits to Al-Bayda governorate.



Türkiye’s Erdogan Says Syria's Sharaa Showed Strong Stance against Israel

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (Turkish Presidency)
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (Turkish Presidency)
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Türkiye’s Erdogan Says Syria's Sharaa Showed Strong Stance against Israel

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (Turkish Presidency)
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (Turkish Presidency)

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan praised his Syrian counterpart Ahmed al-Sharaa for showing a strong stance and not compromising in Syria's conflict with Israel, and said Sharaa took a "very positive" step by reaching an understanding with the Druze.

Hundreds of Bedouin civilians were evacuated from Syria's predominantly Druze city of Sweida on Monday as part of a US-backed truce meant to end fighting that has killed hundreds of people, state media and witnesses said.

In comments to Turkish media released on Monday, Erdogan said Syria's government had established some control in Sweida and the country's south with around 2,500 soldiers, with all but one Druze faction agreeing to respect the ceasefire during talks in Amman.

He also told reporters on his flight returning from northern Cyprus that the United States now understood it needed to "own" the issue more, warning that the main issue was Israel using the fighting as an excuse to invade Syrian lands.