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.



Qatar and Jordan Pledge Support to Syria

23 December 2024, Syria, Damascus: Jordan's Foreign Minister Ayman al-Safadi (L) meets with Syria's new de facto ruler Ahmed al-Sharaa. (Petra/dpa)
23 December 2024, Syria, Damascus: Jordan's Foreign Minister Ayman al-Safadi (L) meets with Syria's new de facto ruler Ahmed al-Sharaa. (Petra/dpa)
TT

Qatar and Jordan Pledge Support to Syria

23 December 2024, Syria, Damascus: Jordan's Foreign Minister Ayman al-Safadi (L) meets with Syria's new de facto ruler Ahmed al-Sharaa. (Petra/dpa)
23 December 2024, Syria, Damascus: Jordan's Foreign Minister Ayman al-Safadi (L) meets with Syria's new de facto ruler Ahmed al-Sharaa. (Petra/dpa)

Qatar is ready to invest in Syria's energy sector and ports, the de facto Syrian leader Ahmed al-Sharaa said after meeting a senior Qatari official in Damascus on Monday, as his new administration widened contacts with Arab states.

Sharaa also received Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman al-Safadi, the first Arab foreign minister to visit Damascus since the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) toppled Bashar al-Assad two weeks ago. Safadi said Jordan was ready to help Syria rebuild.

The meetings further widened the diplomatic contacts of the new administration established after Sharaa's HTS, a former Al-Qaeda affiliate, led a decisive offensive that overthrew Assad after more than 13 years of war.

The end of Assad's rule has upended the geopolitics of the Middle East, dealing a major blow to his ally Iran and paving the way for other states to build new ties to a country at the crossroads of the region.

Türkiye, which long backed the Syrian opposition, was the first state to send its foreign minister to Damascus.

Qatar's Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Mohammed Al-Khulaifi flew into Damascus on Monday aboard the first Qatar Airways flight to land there since Assad was toppled.

Sharaa, speaking to reporters as he stood next to Khulaifi, said that they had discussed the challenges of the coming period, and that he had invited Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani to visit Syria.

"The Qatari side expressed its readiness for wide investments in Syria in many sectors, chief amongst them the energy sector in which they have great experience ... as well as the ports and airports," Sharaa said.

Khulaifi said Qatar, the world's third largest exporter of liquefied natural gas (LNG), would continue to "stand alongside our brothers in Syria at this time more than any other time".

"Syria and its people need support during this crucial phase which requires the concerted efforts of everyone, especially concerning the lifting of sanctions and the upcoming developmental projects," he said.

JORDAN WILL PROVIDE AID

Syria's stability is a key security concern for Jordan, which borders the country to the south.

Safadi said he agreed with Sharaa on cooperating to counter the smuggling of drugs and weapons from Syria to Jordan - a problem for years under Assad.

Safadi also noted that ISIS, with which Sharaa's group clashed earlier in the Syrian war, remained a threat.

"Our brothers in Syria also realize that this is a threat. God willing, we will all cooperate, not just Jordan and Syria, but all Arab countries and the international community, in fighting this scourge that poses a threat to everyone," he said.

"I focused on reconstruction efforts and Jordan will provide aid," Safadi said, adding that the new Syrian administration must have the opportunity to develop its plans.

There was no immediate statement from the Syrian side on the meeting.

Sharaa, who met senior US diplomats last week, severed ties with Al-Qaeda in 2016. He has said his primary focus is on reconstruction and achieving economic development and that he is not interested in engaging in any new conflicts.