Houthi militias have warned the families of soldiers who fled frontlines in Marib and al-Jawf governorates that their children will face harsh punitive measures if they do not return to their battle positions, Yemeni sources reported.
Houthis said they will consider the fleeing soldiers as traitors and supporters of the government.
Battleground sources confirmed that hundreds of Houthi militants had abandoned their posts in Marib after being left without cover against attacks launched by government forces and Arab Coalition airstrikes.
Houthis face a major shortfall in soldiers after having incurred the loss of thousands of fighters in ongoing battles in Marib and al-Jawf, Sanaa-based sources told Asharq Al-Awsat.
This has led to Houthi leaders pressuring tribal chiefs into intensifying recruitment campaigns in order to compensate for government advances in Marib.
After witnessing the death of hundreds of their comrades on battlefronts, dozens of Houthi militants fled battlefields in Marib and al-Bayda governorates, leading to Houthis losing control over multiple security checkpoints established on highways connecting the two governorates.
Houthi supervisors in districts where the militants had fled issued strict warnings to the families of escapees, threatening grave punishment for those who do not return to Houthi camps.
In other news, the head of NUDP, a national union centered on fighting for the rights of marginalized persons, said that Houthi militias are spearheading a mission of ethnic cleansing against persons of African descent.
“Houthi militias practice a policy of ethnic cleansing against dark-skinned Yemenis by throwing them on the frontlines of battlefronts, taking advantage of their poverty and difficult living conditions,” Noman al-Huthaifi said.
Huthaifi recounted the case of Ahmed al-Atmi, a 16-year-old child soldier, who was a victim of this ethnic cleansing.
On several social media platforms, Huthaifi posted about six children having died among Houthi ranks on multiple battlefronts in al-Jawf and Marib.
