The Houthi group turned the markets and commercial establishments in the kidnapped Yemeni capital, Sanaa, into new outlets to finance its military activities, through a collection and coercion campaign targeting hundreds of companies, institutions, stores, restaurants, and commercial centers, by forcing their owners to place donation boxes inside their facilities, and extracting money from merchants and citizens under the banner of supporting the “war effort” and the families of those killed, wounded, and missing on the front lines, according to local and commercial sources.
The campaign, which was launched at the beginning of the week, reveals Houthi efforts to expand sources of forced financing and compensate for human and military losses, by burdening the private sector and the population with the burdens of the continuation of the war, at a time when the living crisis is worsening and the ability of commercial institutions to continue their activities is declining.
The sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that the group's members and supervisors targeted commercial establishments in a number of Sana'a districts, and forced their owners, under pressure and threat, to receive funds designated for collecting funds, in conjunction with field movements to urge merchants and customers to deposit sums of money in them.
She added that the group obligated its members to visit stores and establishments daily to collect the money deposited in the funds, before transferring it to the bank accounts of its senior leaders, according to the sources, who indicated that the campaign is not limited to collecting donations, but rather includes imposing financial obligations and exerting direct pressure on the owners of commercial activities.
In an indication of the expansion of the campaign, the Houthi group distributed more than 320 donation boxes to private sector institutions in a number of districts during the first two days, indicating that it intends to distribute about 4,000 additional boxes in the coming days, to include the rest of the capital’s regions and its suburbs.
This coincided with merchants' complaints about supervisors and Houthi elements storming their stores carrying donation boxes, and forcing them at gunpoint to place them inside their stores, without asking permission or obtaining their approval.
Merchants said that the group did not limit itself to imposing the boxes, but rather obligated the owners and workers of establishments to invite customers to donate, warning of taking strict measures against stores whose boxes are opened and appear empty of money, in an effort to turn merchants into tools for collecting levies from citizens.
“Ramzi,” a pseudonym for a store owner in a neighborhood in Sanaa, says that Houthi supervisors forced him to place a box inside his store under the pretext of supporting the fronts and families of the group’s dead and wounded. He explained that its members pass by repeatedly to collect money, without him having the right to object or reject the presence of the box.
He adds that the supervisors' threats and constant monitoring sometimes push him to put sums of money from his own money into the fund, to avoid being held responsible for customers' reluctance to donate or subjecting him to punitive measures, as the fund's absence of funds has become sufficient reason for accountability and pressure on him.
On the outskirts of Sanaa, a restaurant owner, who requested that his name not be published, complains that the campaign has turned into an additional means to blackmail establishment owners, saying that Houthi supervisors are not satisfied with imposing funds, but rather are putting pressure on restaurant owners and workers to pay additional amounts, despite the decline in sales and the rise in operating costs.
As for Saeed, a resident of Sanaa, he believes that the group is seeking to transform the remaining markets and stores into permanent outlets to collect money from citizens, noting that residents have become besieged by successive donation and collection campaigns, at a time when many are unable to provide the basic needs of their families.
The Yemeni Ministry of Foreign Affairs strongly condemned the continued military interventions of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard and the Lebanese Hezbollah in the internal affairs of Yemen, and their role in supporting the Houthi militias and enabling them to continue their attacks on the people and threaten regional and international security. The Foreign Ministry explained in a statement on Tuesday that the presence of 21 foreign experts from the Revolutionary Guard and Hezbollah working with the Houthis reveals the scale and seriousness of this intervention, and that it has gone beyond funding, arming and training to direct supervision and participation in planning and managing operations and building the military capabilities of the militia.
The statement stressed that this illegal foreign military presence represents a blatant violation of Yemen’s sovereignty and the principles of international law, stressing the Iranian regime’s responsibility for managing this interference through elements of the Revolutionary Guard and Hezbollah, and for harnessing Yemeni lands to serve its regional projects at the expense of the security and stability of the Yemenis. The Ministry confirmed that the involvement of these elements in supporting the Houthi military operations contributed to the killing of Yemenis and their forced displacement from their areas of residence, and exacerbated their humanitarian suffering, especially in Taiz, noting that the continued siege and attacks on civilians double the size of the humanitarian catastrophe and threaten the basic components of life.
The statement warned that the risks of this intervention go beyond Yemeni territory, posing a direct threat to regional and international security, freedom of navigation and global trade in the southern Red Sea and the Bab al-Mandab Strait.
The Ministry pointed out that continuing to support the Houthis with ballistic missiles, drones, and explosive speedboats, and providing them with the necessary expertise to develop and use these capabilities, increases the risks of targeting ships and threatening vital sea lanes and the interests of countries in the region and the world. The Ministry called on the international community, first and foremost the Security Council, to assume its responsibilities and condemn these interventions, and to take practical measures to stop the flow of weapons and military expertise to the Houthis, enforce its relevant decisions, and “hold accountable the countries, entities and individuals involved in supporting these activities,” in accordance with international law, in a way that protects the sovereignty of Yemen and the security of its people, and preserves regional and international security.
The head of the Yemeni Leadership Council, Dr. Rashad Al-Alimi, confirmed that “the Iranian regime seeks to compensate for the decline in the influence of its arms in a number of countries in the region by intensifying its investment in the Houthi militia, taking advantage of Yemen’s strategic location and its proximity to international trade corridors.”
Al-Alimi's statements came during his meeting with Clemens Hach, Director of Middle East and North Africa Affairs at the German Foreign Ministry, on Tuesday, according to the official Yemeni News Agency.
The president warned of the danger of the growing role of Iranian Revolutionary Guard networks participating in “the Houthi war against the Yemeni people, threatening international navigation, and turning Yemeni lands into a platform for blackmailing the regional and international communities.” Al-Alimi explained that these networks include dozens of experts “who participate in planning and managing operations, developing missile and drone capabilities, and threatening international navigation,” adding that this “reveals interference that goes beyond financing and arming to direct participation in managing the war and threatening waterways.”
The president added that allowing the transfer of more expertise, weapons, and technologies to these militias “will double the cost of deterring them, prolong the suffering of the Yemenis, and make the security of the region and international navigation dependent on the calculations of cross-border sabotage projects.” Al-Alimi stressed that Operation “Yemen Dawn” will continue to fully achieve its goals in restoring state institutions and extending its authority over its entire territory with the support of the “Coalition to Support Legitimacy” led by Saudi Arabia, which renewed his appreciation for its “comprehensive economic and humanitarian support in these exceptional circumstances.”
The President referred to “war crimes and gross human rights violations committed by the Houthis, including killings, abuse, kidnapping, forced disappearance, and detention of UN workers and human rights activists,” noting that “the danger of these militias has exceeded in its scope and tools the dangers of the Al-Qaeda and ISIS organizations.” “This requires international dealing with it at the level of this threat.”
Al-Alimi touched on the latest developments in the local situation, and the Houthis’ escalation on all fronts, including “their stifling siege of the residents of Taiz, and the bombing of its neighborhoods and civilian facilities,” appreciating “Germany’s firm positions alongside the Yemeni people and their legitimate government, and its rejection of attacks on civilian facilities in Yemen and Saudi Arabia.” The President looked forward to “an active German role in mobilizing consensus within the (European Union) in order to include the Houthi militias on the terrorist list, and to encourage member states to take whatever measures their national legislation allows against them, their criminal networks, and their incitement platforms in various parts of the world.”
