The prime minister of the Iran-backed Houthi militias’ coup government in Sanaa has been missing for days, raising speculation that he may have been killed in Arab coalition air strikes on the Yemeni capital earlier this month.
Saudi-led coalition jets had carried out raids on March 7 against a number of military locations and arms depots in Sanaa.
Since then, little news has emerged over PM Abdulaziz bin Habtoor and several prominent Houthi leaders, including security official Aziz al-Jaradi, said informed sources in Sanaa.
They said it was likely that the Houthis were keeping the death of these officials under wraps as they had done so in the past when they avoided disclosing the death of Saleh al-Sammad, the former head of their coup council.
He was killed in a coalition raid in 2018 and the Houthis had concealed news of his death in order to regroup.
The sources speculated that the Houthis’ recent announcement that bin Habtoor has been infected with the coronavirus is an attempt to cover up his real fate. They added that it was possible that the militias would eventually declare his death from the disease to hide the fact that he was killed in the coalition raids.
They noted the hypocrisy of such a move when the militias constantly boast that the pandemic has not spread to regions under their control.
Indeed, pro-Houthi media in Sanaa had reported in recent days that bin Habtoor had caught COVID-19 and that he was in quarantine.
Meanwhile, an official source from the militias denied reported that bin Habtoor had defected and fled Sanaa.
Days ago, local reports said the militias had placed bin Habtoor under house arrest after he had granted permission to one of his ministers to travel abroad to receive medical treatment.
Bin Habtoor was last seen in public on March 2 when he held talks in Sanaa with new UN Resident Humanitarian Coordinator William David Gresley and Secretary-General of the Norwegian Refugee Council Jan Egeland.
