Cracks appear within Yemen’s Houthi militia

Ali Rajab

Cracks are emerging within the Houthi militia in Yemen, which threatens to make the militia fall apart.

According to media reports, the militia suffers internal conflicts. This, the same reports add, puts the unity of the group in doubt and uncovers the enormity of corruption inside it.

Sultan al-Samie, a member of the Houthi politburo, launched a fierce attack against senior Houthi official Ahmed Hamed recently.

Samie accused Hamed of corruption. Hamed countered by publishing dozens of documents that prove Samie’s abuse of power and corruption.

Hamed is a close associate of Houthi leader Abdel Malak al-Houthi. He descends from Haydan District, the Houthi stronghold in Sa’dah province.

In 2015, he was appointed as the minister of information. He was then promoted to be the head of the office of the presidency. In this capacity, he has leverage over the selection of officials for senior government positions.

Samie appeared on al-Sahat channel which is owned and bankrolled by Iran to deliver a strong message to the Houthi militia.

He said he was a main partner in the Houthi takeover of power in Yemen. His message came after Hamed issued directives for trimming his powers.

Samie also delivered a speech on the occasion of the 29th anniversary of the founding of the Yemeni republic in which he accused some Houthi leaders of acting to sideline other leaders.

Samie is known to have close links to both Iran and the Lebanese Hezbollah group. He gets separate financing from Iran. Iran also runs the al-Sahat channel through Hezbollah. Samie, who on the surface owns the channel, uses it in backing the Houthi militia and also serving his own personal interests.

Analysts believe, meanwhile, that conflicts have reached a dangerous stage inside the Houthi militia.

They also expected these conflicts to end in favor of the new leadership that is expected to arrive from Sa’dah in the coming days.

Kamel al-Khoudani, a member of Yemen’s General People’s Congress Party, described the cracks that are emerging within the Houthi militia as a natural occurrence after the militia committed gross irregularities and corruption.

He told The Reference that these conflicts can put an end to the Houthi leadership altogether.

“The militia moves toward a one-man leadership style,” Khoudani said. “This is particularly true with the militia suffering unprecedented disunity.”