Tribal sources have confirmed on Thursday that for the past consecutive days the Houthis (Shiite tribal faction which stronghold is located in the northern province of Sa’ada) have relentlessly assaulted tribesmen affiliated to al-Islah (Sunni radical faction) just north the Yemeni capital, Sana’a.
Although President Abdo Rabbo Mansour Hadi negotiate a truce earlier this month, keen to restore order as NDC representatives hashed out the last details of Yemen’s reconciliation talks and institutional overall, the warring factions have unable and unwilling to sustain a meaningful ceasefire so far.
If the epicentre of this fight for control first revolved around the northern city of Dammaj, located in Sa’ada, the front has now moved south, some 40Km away from Sana’a, a reality which has made officials unsettle as they wonder just how far outside their zine of influence the Houthis intend to push forth.
Tensions first erupted late last October, when the Houthis leadership alleged Salafis militants were using their religious centre of Dar al-Hadith as a front when it really had been turned into a training camp facility for wannabe Jihadists. As Salafis contested the allegations, the Houthis took arms and marched onto the centre, determined to as they said free the region from Islamic radicals.
It is important to note that the Houthis have yet to substantiate their claims with tangible proofs.
Following three days of intense fighting, tribesmen from Arhab have said they managed to clear several “high grounds over-looking Sanaa’ international airport,” by forcing Houthi militants to retreat from their positions.
"The men of the Arhab tribe pushed the Houthis back from Mount Nisr and three adjacent hills in fighting that erupted on Tuesday evening, inflicting 10 dead in Houthi ranks and at the cost of seven dead among our own men," a tribal spokesman explained late on Wednesday.