HOUTHIS MOBILIZE FOR “LONG-TERM” WAR

SANA’A, March 22—The Houthi-controlled Supreme Security Committee announced a “general mobilization” for war on Saturday, taking control of Taiz city Sunday as they push southwards toward Aden. 

Militias and military convoys under Houthi control moved towards the governorates of Taiz, Al-Dhale, Marib and Al-Baida following the announcement, with forces loyal to Abdu Rabo Mansour Hadi making preparations in Aden.

The announcement came hours after a speech by Hadi was aired on Aden Live TV, in which he responded to Houthi-led airstrikes on the Presidential Palace in Aden on Thursday and accusations he was behind Friday’s deadly bombings in the capital.

Hadi called the attacks in Aden “a continuation of the military coup that began in Sana’a” and vowed to replace “the Iranian flag hoisted in the mountains of Marran with the flag of Yemen,” referring to the Houthi stronghold in northern Sa’ada governorate and alleged backing for the group from Iran. 

Suicide bombings at the Badr and Al-Hashoush mosques in Sana’a city on Friday killed 137 and left hundreds injured, according to statistics from the Ministry of Health, while a failed attack at Al-Hadi mosque in Sa’ada governorate left only the attacker dead. 

A group purporting to be a Yemeni branch of the Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attacks online, although it has not be independently verified, while Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) has denied involvement.

 Mohammad Al-Bukhaiti, a member of the Houthi Political Office in Sana’a, blamed Hadi for “dragging Yemen into war” and accused him of “conspiring with Al-Qaeda to kill soldiers, blow up mosques and take innocent lives.” 

“We assure everyone that this is not a war against civilians but is being waged to protect them. What happened in Taiz and elsewhere is within the framework of our general mobilization,” he added, referring to the group’s capture of Taiz city on Sunday.According to Al-Bukhaiti, “general mobilization” is meant to prepare both armed forces and wider society for “long-term warfare” and will involve the funneling of all government, financial and human resources towards the war effort.

Nabil Al-Sharjabi, political analyst and professor of crises management at Hodeida University, says the diversion of national resources for war “will devour everything.”

“Announcing a general mobilization means depleting the national economy and dedicating all of the country’s resources to war. It will lead to the collapse of the economy, it will be a disaster if the Houthis continue with this madness,” he said.