Houthis Mobilize Fighters in Sanaa After Heavy Losses in Marib

A Houthi fighter operates a machine gun mounted on a military truck on the outskirts of Sanaa. (File photo: Reuters)
A Houthi fighter operates a machine gun mounted on a military truck on the outskirts of Sanaa. (File photo: Reuters)
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Houthis Mobilize Fighters in Sanaa After Heavy Losses in Marib

A Houthi fighter operates a machine gun mounted on a military truck on the outskirts of Sanaa. (File photo: Reuters)
A Houthi fighter operates a machine gun mounted on a military truck on the outskirts of Sanaa. (File photo: Reuters)

Houthi militias have incurred heavy losses in Marib, prompting the militia leaders to mobilize new fighters to compensate for the shortage on battlefronts.

Military media of the Yemeni army had reported earlier that the Houthi militia lost more than 10,000 men since last January on various fronts, especially in Marib, which the group has been desperate to control to no avail.

Since the beginning of this year, the Yemeni army and the popular resistance have managed to thwart more than 300 Houthi attacks on various fronts.

Well-informed sources in Sanaa told Asharq Al-Awsat that the group's efforts to mobilize recruits were unsuccessful in Sanaa and the tribal areas.

In the past few days, several reports stated that dozens of Houthi recruits left the battlefronts in Marib and al-Jawf after a dispute over financial allocations and low food supplies.

Meanwhile, informed sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that Houthi leader Khaled al-Madani, who is close to the group leader and directly responsible for the local authority in the capital, intensified his movements to mobilize recruits, especially in schools, mosques, and government departments.

Madani held several meetings in various city directorates and neighborhoods, including one with the capital's mayor, Hammoud Abbad, to discuss mobilization efforts.

Houthi's Saba news agency reported that the meeting, which included the group's supervisors in the directorates, touched on the priorities for following up on the mobilization plan and strengthening the steadfastness and cohesion of the home front.

Informed sources had previously told Asharq Al-Awsat that the group's leaders in the tribal, rural districts surrounding Sanaa held several meetings with notables and tribal leaders to urge them to push recruits to Marib.

The Houthi media admitted that several recruitment campaigns had been launched, and extensive meetings were held in the directorates of Sanaa, which discussed mechanisms for strengthening mobilization efforts on the fronts.

Meanwhile, during the latest briefing to the UN Security Council, Assistant Secretary-General at the Departments of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs, and Peace Operations, Mohamed Khiari, said that no progress had been made in the UN efforts to reach an agreement based on the four-point plan.

The plan includes a nationwide ceasefire, the re-opening of Sanaa airport, the easing of restrictions on the flow of fuel and other commodities through Hodeidah port, and the resumption of face-to-face political negotiations between the Yemeni parties, he said.

Khiari called on all parties to prioritize civilian needs and abstain from weaponizing the economy, particularly in light of the critical humanitarian situation in the country.

The new UN envoy to Yemen, Hans Grundberg, is scheduled to officially begin his work in the coming few days, and resume the efforts made by his predecessor, Martin Griffiths, to bring peace and persuade the Houthis to end the war.



MSF Suspends Operations at Key Hospital in Sudan's Capital

FILE - South Sudanese people sit outside a nutrition clinic at a transit center in Renk, South Sudan, on May 16, 2023. (AP Photo/Sam Mednick, File)
FILE - South Sudanese people sit outside a nutrition clinic at a transit center in Renk, South Sudan, on May 16, 2023. (AP Photo/Sam Mednick, File)
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MSF Suspends Operations at Key Hospital in Sudan's Capital

FILE - South Sudanese people sit outside a nutrition clinic at a transit center in Renk, South Sudan, on May 16, 2023. (AP Photo/Sam Mednick, File)
FILE - South Sudanese people sit outside a nutrition clinic at a transit center in Renk, South Sudan, on May 16, 2023. (AP Photo/Sam Mednick, File)

Medical aid agency MSF said on Friday it has been forced to suspend its activities at one of the few remaining hospitals in southern Khartoum due to repeated attacks, cutting off yet another lifeline for those who remain in the Sudanese capital.
War has been raging in Sudan since April 2023, sparked by a power struggle between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) ahead of a planned transition to civilian rule, triggering the world's largest displacement and hunger crisis.
The hospital, which lies in territory controlled by the RSF, helped treat the victims of frequent airstrikes by the Sudanese Armed Forces, as well as hundreds of malnourished women and children in an area where two neighborhoods have been judged at risk of famine, reported Reuters.
"In the 20 months MSF teams have worked alongside hospital staff and volunteers, Bashair Hospital has experienced repeated incidents of armed fighters entering the hospital with weapons and threatening medical staff, often demanding fighters be treated before other patients," MSF said in a statement.
"Despite extensive engagements with all stakeholders, these attacks have continued in recent months. MSF has now taken the very difficult decision to suspend all medical activities in the hospital."
The fighting in Sudan has cut off up to 80% of hospitals in conflict areas, where millions who cannot afford to escape the violence remain. Civilians face frequent air and artillery fire and hunger as supplies are blocked by both warring parties and prices skyrocket.
Medical facilities, including MSF-supported ones that have suspended operations, have frequently come under attack by RSF soldiers demanding treatment or looting supplies. Bashair Hospital has served more than 25,000 people, MSF said, including 9,000 hurt by blasts, gunshot wounds, and other violence.
"Sometimes dozens of people arrived at the hospital at the same time after shelling or airstrikes on residential areas and markets," MSF said in the statement, citing an incident on Sunday where an airstrike one kilometer away drove 50 people to the emergency room, 12 of them already dead.