Houthis Form Specialized Taskforce for Tracking Fighters who Fled Battlegrounds

Houthi fighters ride on the back of a truck
Houthi fighters ride on the back of a truck
TT

Houthis Form Specialized Taskforce for Tracking Fighters who Fled Battlegrounds

Houthi fighters ride on the back of a truck
Houthi fighters ride on the back of a truck

Houthi leader Abdul-Malik Badreddin al-Houthi has ordered the formation of field teams tasked with tracking and capturing militants fleeing battlefields in Yemen, especially those raging in Marib governorate, well-informed sources said.

In Marib, Houthi ranks continued to sustain grave losses, triggering panic among remaining fighters from the Iran-backed group. Armed militants fled fierce clashes in the governorate in droves.

Hundreds of Houthis abandoning their posts in battlegrounds west and north of Marib has created a sharp shortage crisis for coup forces. Combatants bolted from fighting in the Sirwah, Hilan, al-Mukhadrah, al-Kasarah, Reghwan and Mudghal districts.

Some of the deserters secretly returned to their hometowns and villages without notifying Houthi leaders.

Aziz al-Jaradi, a senior Houthi commander who heads the group’s preventative security unit, was tasked with forming specialized teams for chasing down and capturing the deserters and detaining Houthi supervisors who are refusing to join the fight in Marib.

Some Houthi officers have declined to recruit more soldiers for battles in the governorate, leaving the group’s ranks depleted.

Following their leadership’s directives, Houthi intelligence agents tracked down deserters and raided their homes. Initial reports suggest that hundreds were apprehended by the group across seven different Houthi-run governorates.

According to local sources, Houthi agents warned the families of fighters who fled the battleground that they will be treated as traitors and will be subjected to harsh punishment.

Over the weekend, the newly formed tracking teams arrested around 45 escapee fighters in Dhamar governorate, locals told Asharq Al-Awsat.

Racial discrimination and extreme sectarianism were among the prime factors driving recruits to abandon Houthi ranks, locals explained.

Around 190 fighters were arrested in Sanaa and over 69 were detained in Ibb governorate, they affirmed.

Those arrested are being given an ultimatum: either return to fighting on battlefronts or face torture and imprisonment.



Trump Administration Faces Pressure to Ease Sanctions on Syria

Members of the “Syrian-American Coalition for Peace and Prosperity” meet at the Republican Party headquarters in Washington with Senate Majority Leader Senator John Thune to discuss the urgent need to lift sanctions on Syria (X)
Members of the “Syrian-American Coalition for Peace and Prosperity” meet at the Republican Party headquarters in Washington with Senate Majority Leader Senator John Thune to discuss the urgent need to lift sanctions on Syria (X)
TT

Trump Administration Faces Pressure to Ease Sanctions on Syria

Members of the “Syrian-American Coalition for Peace and Prosperity” meet at the Republican Party headquarters in Washington with Senate Majority Leader Senator John Thune to discuss the urgent need to lift sanctions on Syria (X)
Members of the “Syrian-American Coalition for Peace and Prosperity” meet at the Republican Party headquarters in Washington with Senate Majority Leader Senator John Thune to discuss the urgent need to lift sanctions on Syria (X)

US lawmakers have renewed pressure on Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Treasury Secretary Scott Pruitt to provide answers on their plans to ease the crippling economic sanctions on Syria.
The move comes as the United States seeks to influence the transitional process following the fall of President Bashar al-Assad’s regime.
Two weeks after their initial letter, US Senators Elizabeth Warren, Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, and Representative Joe Wilson, Member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, sent a bipartisan follow-up letter to Rubio, urging the State Department to provide details and a clear timeline on the Trump Administration’s plans to revise US sanctions on Syria following the collapse of the Assad regime.
In their letter, they acknowledged the historic opportunity Syria faces for rebuilding in the absence of Assad’s repressive regime.
“We are writing to request a follow-up briefing to discuss the specifics of the State Department’s plans to update US sanctions on Syria. As noted by your response, we mutually recognize Syria’s historic opportunity to rebuild in the absence of Assad’s repressive rule,” wrote the lawmakers.
The request follows a letter Warren and Wilson sent to the Department of State last month, pressing the administration to reevaluate outdated, broad-based sanctions that now risk undermining regional stability and reconstruction.
“Our current sanctions not only threaten Syria’s economic and social stability but also risk spurring migration, worsening dependency on illicit drug exports, and once again providing inroads for Iran or Russia,” they also noted.