Documents reveal flow of “millions of dollars” from Qatar to support Yemen’s Brotherhood, Houthis

By Ali Rajab

Qatar has a long history of funding extremist and terrorist groups, and Doha is keen, in the meantime, to appear as the advocate that defends Sunnis against a Shiite tide. In public, the country supports Sunni groups, denying any support to Shiites.

But the Shiite militias themselves have confirmed the support they receive from Doha. A striking example of this contradiction on Qatar’s side is the Iraqi “billion dollar bags” scandal; Doha paid huge ransom to secure the release of Emirs (Princes) in Iraq.

This was no more than a cover Doha used well to provide support to the pro-Iran Shiite militias in Iraq.

This Qatari scenario of contradiction has transferred from Iraq to Yemen, as Doha is backing the Houthi Ansarollah movement, and the Yemeni Congregation for Reform (al-Isalah), Yemen’s Muslim Brotherhood.

This indicates how Qatar has mastered militia-making, to serve its own interests, and, meanwhile, posing threats to stability of the Arab countries.

Qatar’s assistance to the Houthis and al-Islah is a major cause of the chaos and the bloody conflict in Yemen.

Up to 900 documents leaked from the archive of the Yemen Intelligence Agencies have revealed Qatar’s support to the Houthis, since the turn of the century.

In addition, Qatari opposition said on its official account on Twitter that the former “Hamdeen regime” in Qatar had offered the Houthis financial and logistic support worth USD 500 million since the beginning of the Arab boycott of Doha, June 2017.

Qatar offers Houthi institutes and schools USD 50,000 monthly, the documents have revealed. The Qatari intelligence body has also given Houthi elements 100 Thuraya satellite phones, in addition to providing experts from Hezbollah and Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) to the Yemeni governorate of Saada to train Houthis.

One “thanks” document revealed that Qatar Charity paid USD 60,000 to the Houthis’ Al-Shuhada (Martyrs) institution.

Qatarileaks said that Doha had provided USD 60 million in support for al-Islah, to use for destabilizing Yemen, and fight against the Saudi-led Arab coalition supporting legitimacy in Yemen.

Qatar’s backing has also found its way to the media, al-Islah’s Belqees Channel, and Ansarollah’s Al-Masirah.

In addition, the Saudi Al-Watan newspaper said that Qatar had also offered numerous al-Islah members plots of land, villas and housing grants, in return for attacking the UAE and Saudi Arabia, as well as spreading chaos in Yemen.

By the same token, Undersecretary of the Yemeni Ministry of Information Abdou Al-Meghles, said that the Hamdeen regime had paid huge bribes, donations, and enormous amounts of money to senior leaders in the Yemeni legitimate regime, and the military to hamper the operations of the Arab coalition in Yemen.

“Qatar is carrying out a filthy conspiracy against the Arab coalition and Yemen through supporting the terrorist Houthis and Brotherhood,” Kamel Al-Khudani, a leader in the General People’s Congress party, said in exclusive statements to Al-Marjie (The Reference).

He added that Qatar would be held account for crimes in Yemen once the Houthis and the Brothers are defeated.

The Yemeni people will never forget Qatar’s treason of their country, he stressed.