Yemen embittered by Houthi terrorism

Noura El-Bendary

The Yemeni people have been suffering from the repercussions of the Houthi coup against the legitimate government for the past five years. The Houthi militias starved the Yemeni people and used the places of worship to promote the mullah doctrines and spread sectarian sedition among the Yemenis.

Between January 2016 and August 2019, the Houthi militias have fostered lawlessness, increasing the crime rate in the country. Abdel Basset Al-Shagie, director of the Marib-based Media Center, said 2,955 civilians were killed by the Houthis.

In a forum organized by the Media Center in Marib, Al-Shagie said 70 women and children were raped.

He noted that a total of 10,811 people were killed over the past five years. He added that the Houthi militias sought to hide their crimes by cracking down on journalists and human rights activists.

Yemeni journalist Mohamed Al-Gamaie said the Houthi militias had seized 1.292 trillion riyals in addition to $5 billion. Al-Gamaie noted that the Houthi militias had seized 400 companies, charities and educational institutions.

A World Bank survey showed that 35% of Yemeni companies shut down and 51% of firms had downsized their businesses.

The Yemeni Statistics Agency said on August 25 that the Houthi coup incurred losses totaling $54.7 billion between 2015 and 2018.

Journalist Mahmoud El-Taher, an expert on Yemeni affairs, before the Hothi militias occupied Sanaa in 2014, the US dollar exchange rate stood at 215 Yemeni riyals.

“Now the dollar sells for 600 riyals,” El-Taher told THE REFERENCE.

“Yemen used to print more than 50 newspapers, magazines and periodicals whether daily, weekly and monthly. These newspapers were official, independent and party-affiliated publications. Now, the Houthis enforce a single editorial trend in all the territories under their control,” he said.

The journalist said before the Houthis controlled Sanaa, there were 42 diplomatic missionaries in the city. “There is only the Iranian embassy in Sanaa at present,” El-Taher said.

“There were also 29 offices of different political parties in Sanaa. These offices no longer exist,” he added.