Yemen Reinforces Security Around Offices of Int’l Organizations in Southern Taiz

Security forces have detained 20 people in connection to the assassination. (Yemeni security media)
Security forces have detained 20 people in connection to the assassination. (Yemeni security media)
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Yemen Reinforces Security Around Offices of Int’l Organizations in Southern Taiz

Security forces have detained 20 people in connection to the assassination. (Yemeni security media)
Security forces have detained 20 people in connection to the assassination. (Yemeni security media)

Authorities in the Yemeni city of Taiz and surrounding areas have stepped up security measures around the offices of international organizations and have approved a ban on carrying weapons.

The new measures were introduced days after a World Food Program (WFP) staff member was shot and killed by unknown gunmen in Turbah in southern Taiz.

Official sources revealed that Taiz Governor Nabil Shamsan and members of the security committee met in the southern Taiz countryside and approved the tightened measures and weapons ban.

They agreed to boost security checkpoints at the entrances and exits of the city to help further strengthen security measures.

The officials discussed Moayad Hameidi’s assassination and the latest progress in the investigation into it.

The Taiz governor later met with UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Yemen David Gressly as part of efforts to contain the fallout from the assassination and assure relief groups over their work in Yemen.

He was briefed on the security measures adopted by the police and security forces to arrest the suspects, revealing that 20 people have been detained in connection to the crime.

Shamsan told Gressly that local authorities are keen on involving UN investigators in the probe and will brief them on the latest developments until the perpetrators are found.

He hoped that the killing will not affect humanitarian work in Taiz.

For his part, Gressly stressed the need to strengthen security measures and prevent similar incidents that may impact humanitarian work and the delivery of aid.

Meanwhile, the family of the primary suspect in the murder, Ahmed Youssef al-Sarra, denied his involvement. They said they have proof that he was in the al-Fayoush region in the Lahj governorate at the time of the crime.



Top Houthi Leaders Flee Sanaa Amid Trump-Ordered US Strikes

Top Houthi leaders disappear from Sanaa, communication cut off (Houthi Media)
Top Houthi leaders disappear from Sanaa, communication cut off (Houthi Media)
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Top Houthi Leaders Flee Sanaa Amid Trump-Ordered US Strikes

Top Houthi leaders disappear from Sanaa, communication cut off (Houthi Media)
Top Houthi leaders disappear from Sanaa, communication cut off (Houthi Media)

Senior Houthi leaders have disappeared from public life in Sanaa, gripped by fear of US airstrikes ordered by President Donald Trump, now entering their third week, sources in Yemen said.

The first-tier leadership of the Iran-aligned group is believed to have fled the capital, which remains under Houthi control, seeking shelter in remote areas of Saada and Amran provinces.

According to informed sources, the group’s leaders have severed traditional communication channels and several have either gone into hiding or relocated to undisclosed locations as a precaution against possible targeted strikes.

Since the launch of US airstrikes on March 15, senior and mid-level Houthi leaders have vanished from public view and social media platforms, Yemeni sources say, as fear of targeted attacks continues to grow within the group’s ranks.

Informed sources confirmed there has been no trace of the group’s top two tiers of leadership - neither in the institutions under Houthi control in Sanaa, nor on the streets and neighborhoods they once frequented in luxury vehicles.

Even the sectarian events that Houthi leaders were known to regularly attend have reportedly gone on without their visible presence.

The Houthi group has remained tight-lipped about the extent of its human and military losses following US airstrikes ordered by Trump.

However, sources say several leaders not belonging to the ruling family of Houthi leader Abdulmalik al-Houthi are still believed to be in Sanaa.

Many of these figures have adopted strict security measures to avoid detection, including travelling in vehicles with tinted windows and covering their faces with cloaks when leaving temporary residences, sources told Asharq Al-Awsat.

The precautions reflect growing fears of betrayal or being targeted by further strikes.

A source in Sanaa revealed that third-tier Houthi officials—mostly tribal figures and field supervisors—were instructed to flee to the northern provinces of Saada, Amran and other areas as US air raids intensified.

According to the source, mid-level Houthi officials have lost all direct contact with the group’s senior leadership after the latter switched locations and shut down their communication lines.