A Yemeni rights group has documented the ongoing violations committed by the Iran-backed Houthi militias in the country.
The Yemen International Team for Peace listed the crimes committed by the militias in the Rasaba region in the Dhamar province, as well as in the city of Hajjah.
The rights group has sought to highlight the violations that other organizations have overlooked.
It documented an incident on December 2 in which the militias assaulted the residents of the Rasaba district. Several civilians were killed and injured when the Houthis opened fire at them at checkpoints.
Two civilians, Sheikh Daifallah Muthana and Mohammed al-Aaqar, were badly wounded and taken to a mosque, fearing that the clinic where they received treatment would be blown up by the Houthis.
The militants discovered the wounded in the mosque, stormed it and shot them dead in total disregard to the sanctity of the place of worship, said the Yemeni rights group.
The Houthis later blew up Sheikh Daifallah’s house and looted his property, including a gas station and water pump, which used to provide water to some 1,000 families.
The militias also arrested 35 people in the region and tortured them during their detention, said the rights group. Six of the detainees are still imprisoned.
It hoped that other rights organizations would look into these Houthi crimes to ensure that justice is achieved for the people and that the perpetrators would be held accountable.
Separately, the militias continued on Monday to harass the residents of Dhamar after several Houthis were killed and wounded in clashes with the locals.
The fighting erupted as civilians have grown increasingly frustrated with the militias in Sanaa, Dhamar and Ibb. Calls have been made to the people to break the barrier of fear against the Houthis.
Witnesses and rights sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that the militias arrested more than a hundred residents of Dhamar’s Kharba village. They also looted their property and assaulted the children and elderly.
This crackdown was in retaliation to the death of a Houthi and injury of six others in clashes with residents. The unrest erupted as the militias were attempting to arrest a local on alleged charges of having ties with the legitimate government and Saudi-led Arab coalition.
As the oppression against the civilians mounts, leading member of the General People’s Congress Mohammed Abdullah al-Qawsi called on them to persevere and wait for the “zero hour” to rise up against the militias.
Qawsi had fled Yemen in December following the assassination of former President and GPC leader Ali Abdullah Saleh by the Houthis.
