The Yemeni governor of Taiz, Nabil Shamsan, considered the arrival of the Houthi militias to the governorate “in this way” as the beginning of its end, stressing that Taiz will be victorious and lift the siege, and will be “the great gateway to victory,” and that the ultimate goal of the battle is to reach the capital, Sana’a.
Shamsan said, in an interview with Al-Sharq Bloomberg, that the battle has been going on for more than ten years, and during which the fronts and locations have changed, explaining that the fall of a site or geographical area does not mean the end of the battle, just as its restoration does not mean achieving victory. He added: “The ultimate goal of this battle is to reach the capital, Sanaa,” as the point at which it can be said that the battle has reached its goal.
He pointed to the continuation of fighting on the various fronts of Taiz Governorate, including Sabr, Al-Misrakh, and the eastern and western fronts, praising the steadfastness of the fighters and resistance men and what they are providing on these fronts.
He stressed his confidence in the governorate's ability to overcome the siege, saying: “Taiz will be victorious, Taiz will lift the siege, and Taiz will be the great gateway to victory.” He added, "The arrival of the Houthi militias in Taiz in this way is the true beginning of their end."
Speaking about the humanitarian repercussions, the governor warned that the Houthi siege had now included all the governorate’s ports, preventing the arrival of food, medicine, energy and fuel, describing the humanitarian situation as “extremely difficult.”
He explained that the diesel shortage led to hospitals almost shutting down and the equipment used to transport garbage malfunctioning, while the Water Corporation could no longer pump water to citizens. He said that the inaccessibility of the main waste dump forced the concerned authorities to transport the garbage from the main streets to other locations within the governorate, without being able to take it out.
Shamsan pointed out that there are more than two million liters of diesel and more than 51 gas trailers in Tor Al-Baha, in addition to hundreds of tankers parked in Lahj and Aden waiting to be allowed to enter Taiz. He added that the wait for these shipments exceeded two weeks, stressing that they belong to merchants who paid for them to provide materials and services to citizens, and not state-owned supplies.
Regarding coordination with the Saudi-led coalition, the governor said that communication continues “at the moment” and in “every small and large matter,” adding: “We are now in one trench.”
He appreciated the efforts of Saudi Arabia, under the leadership of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz, and Crown Prince and Prime Minister Prince Mohammed bin Salman, in supporting Yemen and supporting the fronts, saying that the Kingdom is undertaking support efforts “on behalf of almost all countries.”
He described the Houthis as “Iranian militias” whose goals go beyond the borders of Taiz and Yemen, stressing that “without the efforts made by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the situation would have been completely different.”
In conjunction with the intense competition to influence public opinion and the propaganda battle parallel to the military escalation, a number of social media celebrities loyal to the Houthi group in Yemen complained about the deterioration of their living conditions, and demanded the provision of financial support and free or discounted services, sparking a debate between the group’s supporters and opponents about the deserving of support and ridiculing their positions.
The demands go beyond saving money to calling for the establishment of an institutional framework that regulates their situation, reducing Internet costs, and allocating fixed monthly allocations, while informed sources revealed to Asharq Al-Awsat that a number of them submitted a protest note to media leaders in the group, in which they objected to the decline in the allocations granted to them, in exchange for doubling them for others.
According to the sources, the protest memorandum indicated a doubling of financial dues to activists and celebrities belonging to the areas recently controlled by the group, including districts on the western coast and southern Taiz Governorate, who accompanied the arrival of its forces to their towns and villages and sought to communicate with the population in an attempt to normalize the situation.
While the authors of the memorandum expressed their dissatisfaction with what they considered a disparity in the distribution of financial allocations, and called for a reconsideration of the support mechanism, the sources indicated that the Houthi leaders responded directly to them with multiple justifications, including that the activists who accompanied the group’s arrival to their areas were performing very important tasks, and reminded them of the financial difficulties facing the group.
The group was subjected to the depletion of its resources after US financial and economic sanctions were imposed on it, in addition to the Israeli Air Force targeting a number of economic facilities under its control, such as Hodeidah ports and cement factories.
The sources were not able to know the details of the memorandum, the names of its sponsors, and the size and type of support requested.
Pay per post
Recently, a number of criticisms have emerged of the group’s dealings with its media professionals and celebrities on social networking sites, and one of them, named Muhammad Qatin, revealed the method of financial dealings that the group has begun to adopt with them, after he demanded the Houthi Media Committee in Sana’a and its officials to allocate fixed monthly allocations, instead of calculating the financial compensation for each publication separately.
The activist loyal to the group said in a post on Facebook that the concerned authorities must support famous communication figures, or establish a media office for them or a union that will take care of their situation. He also called for the provision of free Internet lines through the Telecommunications Corporation, similar to what he said were privileges obtained by employees of the corporation.
Another complained that some celebrities bear the costs of the Internet out of their money, while they do not find support commensurate with their activity, criticizing their accountability for posts as if they were working on a daily basis.
This proposal shows the paradox in the nature of the relationship between the Houthi group and its celebrities on social media platforms. Instead of providing them with fixed support, he talks about the mechanism for calculating the compensation according to the circular, which makes the activity closer to piece work, daily wages, or contracting.
Another Houthi activist, Hashem Al-Haifi, also demanded the provision of Internet services at reduced prices or for free, because this would not constitute a major burden if it was limited to a few hundred workers in this field, while a colleague of his warned that not paying attention to these demands would weaken the group before its opponents in the media and militarily, and would enable the legitimate government to reach “Aya Tour,” which is a famous street intersection north of the capital, Sana’a, which is under the group’s control.
Frequent demands
Hussein Al-Amalhi, a famous Houthi figure, described the group as the “stingiest authority” ruling Sanaa, demanding that funds be provided to media professionals, actors and activists so that they can devote themselves to media work in the face of what he described as the expansion of anti-group media activity.
He called for entrusting the management of the media system to a person capable of operating it, while allocating an appropriate budget for it, in criticism of the method of managing this file and the amount of resources available to it.
Al-Amalhi, one of the group's most prominent celebrities on social media, who was famous for using obscene expressions and inappropriate language to attack the group's opponents, was arrested two years ago for a period of approximately a month, after speaking about corruption in the courts and judicial institutions controlled by the Houthis.
A Houthi activist, nicknamed “Abu Ghaith,” supported these demands by calling for reducing Internet prices or providing special packages that allow celebrities to communicate and continue their activities at their expense, complaining about the high cost of the packages and the slow service, as well as the weak interaction with his posts, even through liking or sharing.
The activist, known as Abu Taha Al-Badri, stressed the importance of psychological, media, and propaganda warfare in the conflict, calling on the group’s leadership to recognize the role played by social media celebrities, provide them with adequate support, and provide the necessary support and funding.
Al-Amalhi’s demands received support from some of the group’s loyalists, but they were also met with ridicule from others who saw that the search for financial compensation for media work was not commensurate with what fighters offer on the front lines, where some of them lose their lives, demanding that famous communications professionals work for free, considering that, according to their rhetoric, a form of jihad.
On the other hand, a number of social media users ridiculed these demands, accusing their owners of supporting a group that fights the Yemenis and plunders their money and the state’s capabilities for free. They are surprised that these people would accept to perform these tasks and antagonize society without enjoying financial privileges, and instead receive contempt.
The past months have witnessed an escalation of complaints from artists and media professionals loyal to the group about the deterioration of their living conditions, accusing it of not fulfilling its obligations to them and leaving them subject to suffering, in exchange for obscene enrichment of its leaders. A number of them were subjected to arrest or abuse campaigns because of these complaints.
