The Houthi militia is forcing Sanaa residents to attend mobilization events and programs and listen to daily lectures for leader Abdul-Malik al-Houthi.
A local source in Sanaa accused the group of exploiting the UN truce to rearrange its ranks and mobilize more recruits by pushing them to attend lectures.
Well-informed sources in the capital told Asharq Al-Awsat that since the beginning of Ramadan, the group has also forced state employees to attend those events.
Local sources in Sanaa reported that the militias deployed their regional and cultural supervisors at the level of neighborhoods and residential areas in 10 districts in the capital to help officials loyal to them persuade residents.
The sources pointed out that the group stressed the necessity of mobilizing the most significant number of young people and residents to attend its so-called "Ramadan Program," prepared to attract recruits.
The militia supervisors notified the neighborhood notables in advance to attend the meetings, usually held in homes and residences affiliated with the insurgents.
The militants threatened that non-participator would be reprimanded and deprived of any raises or promotions, saying they would be treated as adversaries collaborating with the legitimate government and the coalition.
Sources revealed that the group arrested several notables and activists who refused to mobilize members since the beginning of Ramadan month.
They asserted to Asharq Al-Awsat that the attendance rate is still very low because residents refuse to accept the desire of the militias trying to subjugate them by force to their mobilizing discourse and ideas.
Residents and employees who participated in the program reported that it begins every night after Isha prayers and lasts for hours and includes sectarian speeches of Houthi leaders against anyone who opposes the group and its ideas.
The supervisors directed the attendees to mobilize recruits to the fronts, considering it a religious duty.
Some attendees told Asharq Al-Awsat that the program also includes listening to a lengthy speech of the group's leader, followed by a reading from the founder's discourse and collective chanting of the militias' slogans.
They pointed out that the group's supervisors stressed during a recent event that every residential area in Sanaa should register at least five recruits.
Observers believe that the militias' meetings during Ramadan nights reflect the significant losses among the group's ranks.
Several local reports confirmed that the Houthi's recruitment of youths, adolescents, and others in Sanaa was concentrated over the past years in about ten districts, each containing dozens of residential areas.
