Houthis Impose New Royalties to Fund War Effort

Houthi fighters ride on the back of a patrol truck as they secure the site of a pro-Houthi tribal gathering in a rural area near Sanaa, Yemen July 21, 2016. REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah
Houthi fighters ride on the back of a patrol truck as they secure the site of a pro-Houthi tribal gathering in a rural area near Sanaa, Yemen July 21, 2016. REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah
TT

Houthis Impose New Royalties to Fund War Effort

Houthi fighters ride on the back of a patrol truck as they secure the site of a pro-Houthi tribal gathering in a rural area near Sanaa, Yemen July 21, 2016. REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah
Houthi fighters ride on the back of a patrol truck as they secure the site of a pro-Houthi tribal gathering in a rural area near Sanaa, Yemen July 21, 2016. REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah

Yemeni local sources reported to Asharq Al-Awsat on Houthis returning to spread terror among the citizens of Ibb, Dhamar, Hajjah, Al Mahwit and Raymah governorates by relaunching new campaigns to collect royalties for the coup’s war effort and recruit more innocents to their ranks.

The sources confirmed that militants roamed hundreds of cities in those governorates and raided citizens’ homes, forcing them at gunpoint to pay illegitimate royalties. The militants also threatened to enlist youths by force should their parents refuse to pay the royalties.

A villager that goes by the initials M.N. and who lives in the village near Yarim town in Ibb told Asharq Al-Awsat that the Houthi regional supervisor had before the Eid al-Adha holiday staged a far-reaching campaign to collect royalties from villagers ranging between 50,000 and 100,000 Yemeni riyals per household.

In al-Uddayn district if Ibb governorate, locals reported that Houthis have given Yemenis the choice of either paying the royalties, which they said will be pumped into supporting the Houthi war effort, or sending off one of each family’s children to fight on battlefronts. Many agreed to pay the royalties.

According to locals in Hajjah governorate, the regional Houthi supervisor Nayef Abu Kharfashah, who is considered close to the Houthi leader, had imposed levies on farmers, traders and locals that ranged between 10,000 and 200,000 Yemeni riyals.

The levy imposed on each person would be assessed according to their economic standing.

While royalties and levies were collected in dozens of towns and villages, local sources in Sanaa, the Houthi stronghold, said that Houthis handed out empty envelopes urging locals to donate cash.

One of Sanaa’s neighborhood officials, who spoke under the conditions of anonymity, confirmed that Houthi supervisors forced neighborhood officials to partake in collecting levies and threatening civilians that if they don’t donate they would be denied their subsidized gas portions.



AU Urges Permanent Ceasefire in Libya After Clashes

A man holds a sign reading in Arabic "Libya is greater than all of you", as demonstrators gather for an anti-government protest, calling upon the Government of National Unity (GNU) to resign, at the Martyrs' Square in Libya's capital Tripoli on May 23, 2025. (AFP)
A man holds a sign reading in Arabic "Libya is greater than all of you", as demonstrators gather for an anti-government protest, calling upon the Government of National Unity (GNU) to resign, at the Martyrs' Square in Libya's capital Tripoli on May 23, 2025. (AFP)
TT

AU Urges Permanent Ceasefire in Libya After Clashes

A man holds a sign reading in Arabic "Libya is greater than all of you", as demonstrators gather for an anti-government protest, calling upon the Government of National Unity (GNU) to resign, at the Martyrs' Square in Libya's capital Tripoli on May 23, 2025. (AFP)
A man holds a sign reading in Arabic "Libya is greater than all of you", as demonstrators gather for an anti-government protest, calling upon the Government of National Unity (GNU) to resign, at the Martyrs' Square in Libya's capital Tripoli on May 23, 2025. (AFP)

The African Union called for a permanent ceasefire in Libya on Saturday after deadly clashes in the capital earlier this month and demonstrations demanding the resignation of Abdulhamid al-Dbeibah, head of the Government of National Unity (GNU).

The latest fighting in the conflict-torn North African country pitted an armed group aligned with the Tripoli-based GNU against factions it has sought to dismantle, resulting in at least eight dead, according to the United Nations.

Despite a lack of a formal ceasefire, the clashes mostly ended last week, with the Libya Defense Ministry saying this week that efforts towards a truce were "ongoing".

On Saturday, the AU's Peace and Security Council condemned the recent violence, calling for an "unconditional and permanent ceasefire".

In a statement on X, the council urged "inclusive, Libyan-led reconciliation", adding that it "appeals for no external interference".

Libya is split between the GNU in Tripoli and a rival administration in the east.

The clashes were sparked by the killing of an armed faction leader by a group aligned with Dbeibah's government -- the 444 Brigade, which later fought a third group, the Radaa force that controls parts of eastern Tripoli and the city's airport.

It came after Dbeibah announced a string of executive orders seeking to dismantle Radaa and dissolve other Tripoli-based armed groups but excluding the 444 Brigade.

Egypt has flown 71 nationals home from Tripoli following the unrest, the foreign ministry said.

Friday's special flight by flag carrier EgyptAir "enabled the repatriation of 71 Egyptian citizens who had expressed a desire to come home", the ministry said.

Türkiye evacuated 82 of its nationals from Tripoli on a similar repatriation flight last week.