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
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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.



Drone Attack Halts Oil Output at Sarsang Field in Iraqi Kurdistan

An oil field in Dibis area on the outskirts of Kirkuk, Iraq (File Photo: Reuters)
An oil field in Dibis area on the outskirts of Kirkuk, Iraq (File Photo: Reuters)
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Drone Attack Halts Oil Output at Sarsang Field in Iraqi Kurdistan

An oil field in Dibis area on the outskirts of Kirkuk, Iraq (File Photo: Reuters)
An oil field in Dibis area on the outskirts of Kirkuk, Iraq (File Photo: Reuters)

A drone attack halted production at the Sarsang oilfield in Iraq’s Kurdistan region on Tuesday only hours before its US operator signed a deal to develop another field.

The Sarsang field is operated by HKN Energy, a privately held US oil and gas company active in Iraq’s Kurdistan region and owned by Hillwood Energy, part of the Hillwood group founded by Ross Perot Jr.

Two hours after the morning attack, HKN Vice President Matthew Zais was in Baghdad with Oil Minister Hayan Abdel-Ghani to sign a preliminary agreement to develop the Himreen oilfield in northern Iraq, the oil ministry said, Reuters reported.

The signing ceremony was also attended by US Ambassador Steven Fagin, whose embassy condemned the drone attacks on oil infrastructure in the Kurdistan region and urged the Iraqi government to investigate and hold those responsible accountable.

Washington said such attacks undermine Iraq’s sovereignty and efforts to attract foreign investment.

Production at the Sarsang field was halted as a precautionary measure after an explosion, two engineers told Reuters.

Kurdistan regional authorities confirmed that the blast was from a drone attack.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack, but Iraqi Kurdistan security sources said that initial investigations suggested that the drone came from areas under the control of Iran-backed militias.

Heavy plumes of smoke were seen rising from the Sarsang field in the Dohuk region of northern Iraq, said one oil engineer at the field.

Field operator HKN said that the halt to production was to allow firefighters to extinguish the fire, later adding that emergency response teams contained the damage.

There were no casualties, Iraqi Kurdistan's ministry of natural resources and HKN said.

The incident is under investigation and a full assessment of the damage has been initiated, the company said without providing further detail on the cause of the explosion.

On Monday two drones fell on the Khurmala oilfield near Erbil in Iraqi Kurdistan, damaging the water pipes at the field.