Houthi militants targeted security personnel in Taiz killing 4

Four Yemeni security personnel, including a senior army officer, were killed Wednesday when Shia Houthi militants shelled army positions in the southwestern Taiz province. The shelling targeted an army outpost in Taiz’s Mawzi district, Abdullah al-Shaabi, a spokesman for forces loyal to President Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi, told Anadolu Agency.

According to al-Shaabi, Colonel Yaslam Saeed al-Yafei, a commander in the Yemeni army’s First Brigade, was killed in the artillery barrage, along with three soldiers. Taiz’s Mawzi district continues to witness sporadic clashes between the Houthis and allied forces loyal to former President Ali Abdullah Saleh on the one hand, and the Yemeni army, backed by a Saudi-led Arab coalition, on the other.

Earlier this year, the Yemeni army managed to recapture Taiz’s Bab al-Mandab and Mucha and districts, while the Houthis remain in control of the province’s Mawzi and Dhubab districts. Yemen has remained in a state of war since 2014, when the Houthis and their allies overran much of the country, including capital Sanaa, forcing Hadi’s government to set up a provisional capital in the coastal city of Aden.

The conflict escalated in 2015 when Saudi Arabia and its Arab allies launched a massive air campaign aimed at reversing Houthi military gains and shoring up Hadi’s embattled pro-Saudi government. According to UN officials, more than 10,000 people have been killed in the fighting to date, while the Red Cross has reported that over 3 million people have fled their homes as a direct result of the conflict.

On the political side, Political council of Houthi rebels has launched a scathing attack on the General People’s Council (GPC) led by former President Ali Abdallah Saleh. The Houthi council said it was not honored to run the country’s affairs through a partnership with Saleh who is not fighting corruption.

Houthis have taken new restrictive steps against Saleh such as putting new conditions to keep the alliance with him, including not holding any events and approving their latest decisions namely in the judicial branch, Yemeni sources revealed in press statements.

The tension between the two insurgency partners comes amid warnings from Yemeni vice president Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar that Houthis will try to eliminate those who helped them control Sana’a, in a hint to Saleh and his party. Ahmar said that the Houthi rebels, with whom Saleh had formed a coalition to govern the capital Sana’a, will look to eliminate him out after what seemed to be a breakdown in relations earlier this month.

Speaking at a meeting with local officials in Marib, north Yemen, Ahmar said that it was in the Houthis’ nature to back-stab those they are supposedly cooperating with. He added that the Houthi insurgents would not be where they are if the country’s political life was organized.

Ahmar warned that while others are working for the interest of the country, Houthis use the opportunity to achieve their own goals. Houthis did confirm in their statement that they still support by all means available their partnership with the GPC despite accusations and defamation.

However, in a direct accusation of corruption, the insurgents said the GPC was hindering reform. The statement mentioned that more than once, Ansarallah members called for Higher Political council meetings to discuss national issues, but they were obstructed.

On Wednesday, the Houthi leader discussed over the phone current issues with Saleh, in what was described by analysts as a step to contain tension between the two sides. Analysts noticed that media outlets of both parties issued the statement, which could mean that the two leaders are trying to limit the problem following the recent fallout.