Security forces in Yemen’s southern city of Taiz on Wednesday killed the prime suspect in the assassination of Iftihan al-Mashhari, Director of the Taiz Cleaning Fund, and arrested another, in a case that has triggered public anger and exposed rifts between security and military leaders.
Authorities said the man, a member of a local military brigade, was shot dead after resisting arrest during a raid in al-Rawda district, north of the city. Police said he used rifles, grenades and large amounts of ammunition while moving across rooftops and even shielding himself behind children.
Images shared on social media showed his bloodied body lying beside a school wall before security forces removed it.
Rights activists and lawyers condemned the killing, warning it could derail investigations into a crime they say is linked to entrenched corruption networks. A judicial source told Asharq al-Awsat the death deprived courts of a key witness and risked letting those behind the attack escape accountability.
Mashhari’s killing last month sparked outrage in Taiz, where residents accuse military leaders of shielding suspects and fueling lawlessness. She had previously received death threats from the slain suspect, who stormed her office in August, shut it down and threatened to kill her, according to official documents.
The dispute has widened into a showdown between security forces and army brigades. Police spokesman Osama al-Sharabi accused a commander in the 170th Air Defense Brigade, Mohammed Saeed al-Makhlafi, of blocking the manhunt. Makhlafi denied the charges, threatened to sue Sharabi, and appeared with armed supporters outside police headquarters.
Earlier this week, a joint statement by Taiz’s military command and police said four suspects had been arrested, including the motorcycle driver used in the assassination, and that operations were expanding in northern districts where the brigade holds sway. Police said 14 suspects have been detained in total.
Mashhari’s relatives, residents and hundreds of sanitation workers under her supervision have staged sit-ins outside government buildings, demanding justice and the dismissal of military commanders they accuse of complicity. Protesters erected tents at the governor’s office, vowing to continue until all perpetrators are brought to justice.
Taiz police chief Brigadier General Mansour al-Akhali promised to pursue wanted men “into their hideouts,” praising cooperation between police and the army. But rights defenders warned that killings during raids and rivalries between military and security units risk destroying evidence and silencing witnesses.
